O thou who soweth the seed in autumn! I think not that thou wilt reap the corn at harvest-time.
If thou nourish the thorn-tree of the desert, think not that thou wilt ever eat its fruit.
Green dates come not from the poisonous colocynth; when thou sowest seed, hope only for the fruit of that very seed.
CHAPTER II
CONCERNING BENEVOLENCE
If thou art wise, incline towards the essential truth, for that remains, while the things that are external pass away.
He who has neither knowledge, generosity, nor piety resembles a man in form alone.
He sleeps at peace beneath the ground who made tranquil the hearts of men.
Give now of thy gold and bounty, for eventually will it pass from thy grasp. Open the door of thy treasure to-day, for to-morrow the key will not be in thy hands.