The same portion of the sky that forms a circle round the moon by night also forms a circle round the sun by day How great is the labour of both!
A sour heart; a face hardened with inward pride and a nature as difficult to penetrate as the narrowest of mountain passes—these things are known to be characteristic of women: their mind is known by the wise to be as changeable as the drop of dew on the lotus leaf. Faults develop in a woman as she grows up, exactly as poisonous branches sprout from the creeper.
The beautiful features of a woman are praised by the poets—her breasts are compared to pots of gold: her face to the shining moon, and her hips to the forehead of an elephant: nevertheless the beauty of a woman merits no praise.
From The Baharistan, the work of Jami, a Persian poet and philosopher.
Bahlúl being asked to count the fools of Basrah, replied: “They are without the confines of computation. If you ask me, I will count the wise men, for they are no more than a limited few.”