Prevod

“It is like the blind man and the cripple whom the owner of an orchard took in and brought into his orchard, charging them neither to spoil it nor to do anything that might harm it. When the fruit ripened, the cripple said to the blind man, ‘Look here! I see some delicious fruit, and I long to taste it, but I cannot get up and go to it. You have sound legs, so go and bring us some to eat.’ The blind man replied, ‘Now that you have mentioned it, you have stirred a longing I had not felt before. But I cannot do as you ask, for I cannot see the fruit. How are we to get it?’ While they were talking, the keeper of the orchard came up to them. He was a learned man, and the cripple said to him, ‘Keeper, we have a craving for some of this fruit, but you see how we are: I am crippled, and my companion is blind and cannot see a thing. What are we to do?’ The keeper replied, ‘Do you two not remember the pledge the owner of the orchard exacted from you—that you would not meddle with anything in a way that might cause harm? Give up this notion and do nothing of the kind.’ They said to him, ‘We must have some of this fruit to eat, so tell us what means you can devise.’ When they would not abandon their purpose, he said, ‘The way to do it is for the blind man to stand up and carry you, cripple, on his back, then bring you close to a tree whose fruit you fancy. Once he has brought you near it, you can pick whatever fruit you can reach.’ So the blind man rose and took the cripple on his back, and the cripple guided him along the path until he brought him to a tree. Then the cripple began picking whatever he pleased. They kept at this until they had ravaged the trees in the orchard. Just then the owner arrived and said to them, ‘Wretches! What have you done? Did I not make you promise not to spoil this orchard?’ They replied, ‘You know that neither of us can reach anything: one of us is crippled and cannot stand, while the other is blind and cannot see what is before him. What fault can be ours?’ The owner said, ‘Perhaps you think I do not know what you did, or how you ravaged my orchard. I can picture you, blind man, getting up and taking the cripple on your back, while he guided you along the path until you brought him to the tree.’ Then he seized them, punished them severely, and drove them out of the orchard. The blind man represents the body, which can see only through the soul; the cripple represents the soul, which can move only through the body. The orchard represents the deeds for which a servant of God receives his due, and the keeper represents reason, which enjoins good and forbids evil. Thus body and soul share in both reward and punishment.” Shamas said to him, “You have spoken truly, and I accept what you say. Tell me, which of the learned do you consider most worthy of praise?” The boy replied, “He who knows God and profits by his knowledge.” Shamas asked, “And who is that?” The boy answered, “He who seeks his Lord’s pleasure and avoids His wrath.” He asked, “And which of them is best?” The boy replied, “He who knows God best.” Shamas asked, “And which of them is most thoroughly tested?” He answered, “He who patiently perseveres in putting his knowledge into practice.” Shamas said, “Tell me, which of them is most tenderhearted?” He replied, “He who is most prepared for death, remembers it most often, and has the fewest hopes of a long life. For one who keeps the visitations of death before his mind is like a man gazing into a clear mirror: he sees the truth, and the mirror only grows clearer and brighter.” Shamas asked, “Which treasures are finest?” He replied, “The treasures of heaven.” He asked, “And which treasures of heaven are finest?” He replied, “Glorifying God and praising Him.” He asked, “And which treasures of earth are best?” He replied, “Doing good to others.” Then dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

When the nine hundred and eleventh night came,

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that when the vizier Shamas asked the king’s son, “Which treasures of earth are best?” he replied, “Doing good to others.” Shamas said, “You have spoken truly, and I accept what you say. Now tell me about these three distinct things—knowledge, judgment, and understanding—and what unites them.” The boy replied, “Knowledge comes from learning, judgment from experience, and understanding from reflection. Reason is where they take root and come together. Whoever possesses all three qualities is complete, and whoever joins the fear of God to them will act rightly.” Shamas said, “You have spoken truly, and I accept your answer. Now tell me: can passion and desire alter the qualities you have described in a learned and knowledgeable man, endowed with sound judgment, keen discernment, and a fine, surpassing understanding?” The boy replied, “When these two qualities take hold of a man, they distort his knowledge, comprehension, judgment, and understanding. He becomes like a fierce eagle, wary of snares, that stays high in the sky by virtue of its great cunning. As it hovered there, it saw a hunter setting his snare. When the man had finished setting it, he put a piece of meat inside. The eagle caught sight of the meat, and passion and desire overcame it, until it forgot the snare it had seen and the wretched fate of every bird caught in one. It swooped down from the heights of the sky onto the piece of meat and became entangled in the snare. When the hunter came and saw the eagle caught there, he was greatly astonished and said, ‘I set my snare to catch a pigeon or some other feeble bird. How did this eagle fall into it?’ Now it has been said that when passion and desire urge a wise man toward something, he uses his reason to consider its consequences, and so refrains from what they have made alluring, mastering his desire and passion through reason. When passion and desire urge him toward something, he should make his reason like a horseman skilled in horsemanship: if he mounts a headstrong horse, he pulls hard upon the bridle until it obeys and goes where he wishes. But a foolish man, possessing neither knowledge nor judgment, for whom all matters are confused and over whom passion and desire hold sway, acts according to his appetite and whim and so is numbered among the lost. No one is in a worse plight than he.”

Shamas said, “You have spoken truly, and I accept what you say. Now tell me, when is knowledge beneficial, and when does reason ward off the harm of passion and desire?” The boy replied, “When their possessor directs them toward seeking the life to come. For reason and knowledge are both beneficial, but their possessor should employ them in pursuit of this world only so far as he needs to earn his sustenance and protect himself from its evils. He should devote them to working for the hereafter.” Shamas asked, “Tell me, what should a man most steadfastly pursue and occupy his heart with?” He replied, “Righteous deeds.” Shamas said, “But if a man does that, it will distract him from earning his living. How, then, is he to secure the livelihood he cannot do without?” The boy replied, “His day has twenty-four hours. He should set aside one portion for earning his living, another for ease and rest, and devote the remainder to seeking knowledge. For a man who has reason but no knowledge is like barren ground with no place fit for cultivation, planting, or growth. Unless it is prepared for cultivation and planted, it will yield no useful fruit; but once it is prepared and planted, it brings forth good fruit. So too a man without knowledge is of no use until knowledge is planted in him; once it is planted, he bears fruit.” Shamas said, “Then tell me, what is knowledge without reason like?” He replied, “It is like the knowledge of a beast that has learned the times for eating, drinking, and waking, yet has no reason.” Shamas said, “Your answer was brief, but I accept what you have said. Now tell me, how should I guard myself against the sovereign?” The boy replied, “Give him no grounds against you.” He asked, “How can I avoid giving him grounds against me when he has authority over me and holds the reins of my affairs in his hand?” The boy replied, “His authority over you rests upon the duties you owe him. If you give him his due, he has no power over you.” Shamas asked, “What does a vizier owe his king?” He replied, “Sincere counsel and diligence in private and in public, sound judgment, the keeping of his secrets, concealing nothing from him that he ought to know, constant attention to the business he has entrusted to him, seeking his pleasure in every way, and avoiding his wrath.” Shamas said, “Then tell me how a vizier should conduct himself with the king.” The boy replied, “If you are a king’s vizier and wish to remain safe from him, let the attention you give him and the words you address to him exceed his expectations of you. Let the requests you make of him be in keeping with your standing in his eyes, and beware of placing yourself in a station he has not deemed you worthy of, for that would amount to presumption against him.”