could be brought to say: "I am ignorant."

XXXII

Ten people will partake of the same joint of meat, and two dogs will
snarl over a whole carcase. The greedy man is incontinent with a whole
world set before him; the temperate man is content with his crust of
bread:--A loaf of brown bread may fill an empty stomach, but the produce
of the whole globe cannot satisfy a greedy eye:--My father, when the sun
of his life was going down, gave me this sage advice, and it set for
good, saying: "Lust is a fire; refrain from indulging it, and do not
involve thyself in the flames of hell. Since thou hast not the strength
of burning in those flames (as a punishment in the next world), pour in
this world the water of continence upon this fire--namely, lust."

XXXIII

Whoever does not do good, when he has the means of doing it, will suffer
hardship when he has not the means:--None is more unlucky than the
misanthrope, for on the day of adversity he has not a single friend.

XXXIV

Life stands on the verge of a single breath; and this world is an
existence between two nonentities. Such as truck their deen, or
religious practice, for worldly pelf are asses. They sold Joseph, and
what got they by their bargain?--"_Did I not covenant with you, O ye
sons of Adam, that you should not serve Satan; for verily he is your
avowed enemy_":--By the advice of a foe you broke your faith with a
friend; behold from whom you separated, and with whom you united
yourselves.

* * * * *

XXXVI

Whatever is produced in haste goes hastily to waste:--I have heard that,
after a process of forty years, they convert the clay of the East into a
China porcelain cup. At Bagdad they can make an hundred cups in a day,
and thou may'st of course conceive their respective value. A chicken
walks forth from its shell, and goes in quest of its food; the young of
man possesses not that instinct of prudence and discrimination. That
which was at once something comes to nothing; and this surpasses all
creatures in dignity and wisdom. A piece of crystal or glass is found
everywhere, and held of no value; a ruby is obtained with difficulty,
and therefore inestimable.

XXXVII

Patience accomplishes its object, while hurry speeds to its ruin:--With
my own eyes I saw in the desert that the deliberate man outstripped him
that had hurried on. The wing-footed steed is broken down in his speed,
whilst the camel-driver jogs on with