Sorrowed at the conduct of her son, who gave no ear to her advice, a woman brought to him the cradle in which once he slept, and said: “O weak in love and forgetful of the past! Wast thou not a weeping and helpless child, for whom through many nights I sacrificed my sleep? Thou hadst not then the strength thou hast to-day; thou couldst not ward the flies from off thy body. A tiny insect gave thee pain; to-day thou excellest amidst the strong. In the grave wilt thou again be thus, unable to repel the onslaughts of an ant. How, when the grave-worms eat the marrow of thy brain, wilt thou relight the Lamp of Intellect? Thou art as a blind man who seeth not the way, and knoweth not that a well lies in his path. If thou be grateful for thy sight, ’tis well; if not, then surely art thou blind. Thy tutor gave thee not the power of wisdom; by God was it implanted in thy nature. Had He withheld this gift from thee, truth would have appeared to thee as falsehood.”
Discourse concerning the Art of the Most High God
For thee is set the bright moon in the sky by night, the world-illuminating sun by day.
Like a chamberlain, the heavens spread for thee the carpet of the Spring.
The wind and snow, the clouds and rain, the roaring thunder and the lightning glittering as a sword—all are His agents, obedient to His word, nourishing the seed that thou hast planted in the soil.
If thou be athirst, fret not; the clouds bear water upon their shoulders.
From the bee He giveth thee honey, and manna from the wind; fresh dates from the date-tree and the date-tree from a seed.
For thee are the sun and moon and the Pleiades; they are as lanterns upon the roof of thy house.
He bringeth roses from the thorn and musk from a pod; gold from the mine and green leaves from a withered stick.