The Institutes of Akbar 122.1

122.1

The success of the three branches of the government, and the fulfilment of the wishes of the subjects, whether great or small, depend upon the manner in which a king spends his time. The care with which His Majesty guards over his motives, and watches over his emotions, bears on its face the sign of the Infinite, and the stamp of immortality; and though thousands of important matters occupy, at one and the same time, his attention, they do not stir up the rubbish of confusion in the temple of his mind, nor do they allow the dust of dismay to settle on the vigour of his mental powers, or the habitual earnestness with which His Majesty contemplates the charms of God’s world. His anxiety to do the will of the Creator is ever increasing; and thus his insight and wisdom are ever deepening. From his practical knowledge, and capacity for every thing excellent, he can sound men of experience, though rarely casting a glance on his own ever extending excellence. He listens to great and small, expecting that a good thought, or the relation of a noble deed, may kindle in his mind a new lamp of wisdom, though ages have past without his having found a really great man. Impartial statesmen, on seeing the sagacity of His Majesty, blotted out the book of their own wisdom, and commenced a new leaf.