Prevod

The boy said, “Whoever earns his livelihood in this world gains strength for the world to come. For I have seen that this world and the next are like two kings, one just and the other tyrannical. The tyrant’s land abounded in trees, fruit, and growing things, but he allowed no merchant to escape without seizing his money and merchandise. They bore this patiently because of the abundant livelihood they found in that fertile land. Now the just king sent a man from his own country, gave him a great sum of money, and commanded him to go to the tyrant’s land and buy jewels there. The man set out with the money and entered that country. The king was told, ‘A merchant has come to your land with a great deal of money, intending to buy jewels here.’ So he sent for him, had him brought before him, and said, ‘Who are you? Where have you come from? Who brought you to my land, and what is your business?’ The man replied, ‘I come from such-and-such a country. Its king gave me money and commanded me to buy him jewels in this land, so I obeyed his command and came.’ The king said, ‘Woe to you! Have you not heard how I treat the people of my land, taking their money every day? How, then, have you come here with your money? And here you have been living in my land all this time!’ The merchant replied, ‘None of this money is mine. It is merely a trust in my keeping until I deliver it to its owner.’ The king said, ‘I will not let you earn your livelihood in my land unless you ransom yourself with all this money.’” And dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

When it was the nine hundred and tenth night

She said, “It has reached me, O fortunate King, that the tyrannical king said to the merchant who wished to buy jewels in his land, ‘You shall not earn a livelihood in my country unless you ransom yourself with this money—or perish.’ The man said to himself, ‘I am caught between two kings. I know that this king’s tyranny falls upon everyone who dwells in his land. If I do not satisfy him, I shall surely perish and the money will be lost, without my having accomplished my purpose. Yet if I give him all the money, I shall surely meet my doom at the hands of the king who owns it. I have no recourse but to give him a small portion of this money and satisfy him with it, thus saving both myself and the money from destruction. I can then draw my sustenance from the abundance of this land until I have bought the jewels I seek. In this way I shall have satisfied him with what I give him, taken my share of his land’s bounty, and returned to the owner of the money with what he requires. For I trust in his justice and forbearance, and need not fear punishment for the money this king takes, especially if it is only a little.’ Then the merchant addressed the king, saying, ‘O King, I will ransom myself and this money with a small portion of it, to cover my stay from the day I entered your land until I leave it.’ The king accepted this and gave him leave to go about his business for a year. So the man spent all his remaining money on jewels and departed for his master. The just king represents the world to come, and the jewels in the tyrant’s land represent good deeds and righteous works. The man entrusted with the money represents one who seeks a livelihood in this world, and the money he carries represents a person’s lifetime. When I perceived this, I knew that whoever seeks a livelihood in this world ought never to let a day pass without seeking the next. Thus he will have satisfied this world through the share he takes of the earth’s abundance, and satisfied the world to come through the portion of his life he spends in its pursuit.”

Shammas said, “Tell me, then, do body and soul share equally in reward and punishment, or does punishment fall only upon that which harbors desires and commits sins?” The boy replied, “An inclination toward desires and sins may itself become a cause for reward, through restraining oneself from them and repenting of them. The matter rests in the hands of Him who does as He wills, and things are distinguished by their opposites. Yet the body must have sustenance, and there can be no living body without the soul. The soul is purified by sincerity of purpose in this world and by turning toward what will benefit it in the next. The two are like horses running a race, like infants nourished at the same breast: they share in deeds, while intention determines the distinctions within the whole. Thus body and soul share alike in deeds, and in reward and punishment.”