Me you cannot distinguish from rancorous men.
As for me, I am able, oh name-bearing king!
Any horse out of one hundred thousand to bring.
With wisdom and judgment as herdsman I serve;
Do you in like manner your own flock preserve!”
In that capital anarchy causes distress,
Where the plans of the king than the herdsman’s are less.
STORIES FROM THE GŪLISTĀN.
The Gūlistān is the best of Sā’dī’s works, and one of the most popular of the Persian classics. It has been translated into the dialects of India, as well as the languages of Europe, and the Latin version of Gentius has long been popular with European scholars.
It has acquired a greater popularity, both in the East and the West, than any other work by the same author, on account of the graceful style of its composition, and the varied character of its contents. It is a collection of short stories, each of which is intended to illustrate some cardinal principle. There are one hundred and eighty-eight of these sketches, while the final chapter is devoted to “Rules for the Conduct of Life.” Many of these rules, like the Dhammapada of Būddha, appear to have been founded upon the proverbs of Solomon. Of the sketches, the following[[271]] are the best.