mselves on my mercy, I received them with kindness, I conferred on
them additional honors, and I drew the pen of oblivion over their evil
actions; and I treated them in such sort, that, if suspicion remained in
their hearts, it was plucked out entirely.

"_Seventhly_, I selected out, and treated with esteem and veneration,
the posterity of the Prophet, and the theologians, and the teachers of
the true faith, and the philosophers, and the historians. And I loved
men of courage and valor; for God Almighty loveth the brave. And I
associated with good and learned men; and I gained their affections, and
I entreated their support, and I sought success from their holy prayers.
And I loved the dervishes and the poor; and I oppressed them not,
neither did I exclude them from my favor. And I permitted not the evil
and the malevolent to enter into my council; and I acted not by their
advice; and I listened not to their insinuations to the prejudice of
others.

"_Eighthly_. I acted with resolution; and on whatever undertaking I
resolved, I made that undertaking the only object of my attention; and I
withdrew not my hand from that enterprise, until I had brought it to a
conclusion. And I acted according to that which I said. And I dealt not
with severity towards any one, and I was not oppressive in any of my
actions; that God Almighty might not deal severely towards me, nor
render my own actions oppressive unto me.

"And I inquired of learned men into the laws and regulations of ancient
princes, from the days of Adam to those of the Prophet, and from the
days of the Prophet down to this time. And I weighed their institutions
and their actions and their opinions, one by one. And from their
approved manners and their good qualities I selected models. And I
inquired into the causes of the subversion of their power, and I shunned
those actions which tend to the destruction and overthrow of regal
authority. And from cruelty and from oppression, which are the
destroyers of posterity and the bringers of famine and of plagues, I
found it was good to abstain.

"_Ninthly_. The situation of my people was known unto me. And those who
were great among them I considered as my brethren; and I regarded the
poor as my children. And I made myself acquainted with the tempers and
the dispositions of the people of every country and of every city. And I
contracted intimacies with the citizens and the chiefs and the nobles;
and I appointed over them g