Oriental wit and wisdom, or, the "Laughable stories" / collected by Mar Gregory John Bar-Hebraeus ; translated from the Syriac by E. A. Wallis Budge.

  • Bar Hebraeus
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Oriental wit and wisdom, or, the "Laughable stories" / collected by Mar Gregory John Bar-Hebraeus ; translated from the Syriac by E. A. Wallis Budge. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    “onness and the drunkenness which is worse than that “of wine.” CCXXII. Another of the sages said, “The Greeks “are the more skilful, but the Persians are the more in- “telligent.” CCXXIII. Another king never permitted any man to kiss his hand, “For,” said he, “the kissing of the hand “is the proof [of the friendship] of friends and of the “flattery of foes.” CCXXIV. Another king was besought by a certain man who professed to lead an ascetic life to give him the office of governor in a certain place, and he said to him, “If the ascetic life wherein thou art occupied “is of God, it is not meet for us to destroy it by “giving thee a governorship whereby sin would be “provoked; and if it be merely hypocrisy it is not meet “for us to niake a hypocrite a governor.” Thus he dismissed him. CCXXV. Another of the wise men used to say, “The “power of being able to [gratify a passion] destroyeth “lust, even as water quencheth fire.” CCXXVI. One of the nobles of a certain king was about to rebel against him, and although the king wished to slay him he would not do this thing without taking counsel of one of his sages. And having called a certain wise man he asked him concerning it; and he made answer to him, saying, “There is nothing [left] “for thee to do but to remove him from the earth; if “thou doest not this thy kingdom will not stand.” When the king heard this he was mightily angry, and he said to the sage, “Wouldst thou counsel me to slay “the man who is my right arm and upon whom I lean.^” and he thrust out the wise man and drove him away.