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مسالك الابصار في ممالك الامصار 309.e117

English (machine translation) 309.e117

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English

309.e117.1

He is the author of gleaming maxims and pithy sayings, of awakening admonitions, of embellishments worth memorising, and of similes that took hold of the edges of exhortation. He uttered them from a mind that was clear and not clouded, that kept faith and did not betray; so they came as happy inspirations and flowed as generous gifts, and they took up a dwelling in hearts, and from the moment they entered it they settled there and claimed it as their own.

309.e117.2

Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿa said: "He had many treatments and much experience in medicine, and versatility in the philosophical sciences. Among the things he said in his book which he named Muntaḥal al-jawhar:

309.e117.3

'O ruler! Beware the stumbles of time, fear the domination of the days and the anguish of fortune, and know that deeds have their recompense, so beware the consequences, for they are treacherous; be on your guard against them. The decrees of fate

309.e117.4

are hidden, so prepare for them; time is changeable, so beware its turns of fortune; it is base in its onslaught, so fear its assault; it is quick to catch one off guard, so do not feel safe from its assault.

309.e117.5

Know that whoever does not cure himself of the sickness of sins in the days of his life, how far he is from a cure in an abode that has no medicine! Whoever subdues his senses and makes them serve the good he puts forward, his merit becomes plain and his nobility evident. Whoever does not control his soul, which is one, will not control his senses, which are five; and if he does not control his senses despite their fewness, and his soul despite its lowliness, it will be hard for him to control his aides, given their great number and roughness, and the common subjects in the farthest lands and the edges of the kingdom will be even further beyond control.'"

309.e117.6

And among them:

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