Saadi Quotes

Two orders of mankind are the enemies of church and state; the king without clemency, and the holy man without learning.

A man of virtue, judgment, and prudence speaks not until there is silence.

God gives sleep to the bad, in order that the good may be undisturbed.

Be not so severe as to cause shyness, nor so clement as to encourage boldness.

He who learns the rules of wisdom, without conforming to them in his life, is like a man who labored in his fields, but did not sow

Publish not men's secret faults, for by disgracing them you make yourself of no repute.

A little beauty is preferable to much wealth.

A man is insensible to the relish of prosperity until he has tasted adversity.

The true disciple should aim to live for the gospel, rather than to die for it.

In the faculty of speech man excels the brute; but if thou utterest what is improper, the brute is they superior.

Make no friendship with an elephant keeper If you have no room to entertain an elephant

But for the cravings of the belly not a bird would have fallen into the snare; nay, nay, the fowler would not have spread his net. The belly is chains to the hands and fetters to the feet. He who is a slave to his belly seldom worships God.

I have often found a small stream at its fountain-head, that, when followed up, carried away the camel with his load.

The best loved by God are those that are rich, yet have the humility of the poor, and those that are poor and have the magnanimity of the rich.

When the ruler is obedient to God, God is his protector and friend.

He who is indifferent to the suffering of others is a traitor to that which is truly human.

A lovely face is the solace of wounded hearts and the key of locked-up gates.

Court the society of a superior, and make much of the opportunity; for in the company of an equal thy good fortune must decline.

A handsome woman is a jewel; a good woman is a treasure.

Were the diver to think on the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl.

Whenever you argue with another wiser than yourself in order that others may admire your wisdom, they will discover your ignorance.

Avoid that which an enemy tells you to do; for if you follow his advice, you will smite your, knees with the hand of sorrow. If he shows you a road straight as an arrow, turn from it and go the other way.

Be generous, and pleasant-tempered, and forgiving; even as God scatter favors over thee, do thou scatter over the people.

Man is, beyond dispute, the most excellent of created beings, and the vilest animal is a dog; but the sages agree that a grateful dog is better than an ungrateful man.

Capacity without education is deplorable, and education without capacity is thrown away.

The world is not a courtroom There is no judge no jury no plaintiff. This is a caravan filled with eccentric beings telling wondrous stories about God.

If thou tellest the sorrows of thy heart, let it be to him in whose countenance thou mayst be assured of prompt consolation.

To use the hands in making quicklime into mortar is better than to cross them on the breast in attendance on a prince.

If wisdom was to cease throughout the world, no one would suspect himself of ignorance.

It is safer to be silent than to reveal one's secret to any one, and telling him not to mention it.

I fear God the most, but after Him, I fear those who don't fear Him.

Whoever has his foe at his mercy, and does not kill him, is his own enemy

To pardon the oppressor is to deal harshly with the oppressed.

The bird alighteth not on the spread net when it beholds another bird in the snare. Take warning by the misfortunes of others, that others may not take example from you.

No reliance can be placed on the friendship of kings, nor vain hope put in the melodious voice of boys; for that passes away like a vision, and this vanishes like a dream.

Whoever gives advice to a heedless man is himself in need of advice.

That which is not allotted the hand cannot reach; what is allotted you will find wherever you may be.

However much you are read in theory, if thou hast no practice thou art ignorant

Whatever is produced in haste goes hastily to waste.

Better hold the hand for coin, though small, Than lose, for one half a dang, it all.

Expose not the secret failings of mankind, otherwise you must verily bring scandal upon them and distrust upon yourself.

The sea does not contain all the pearls, the earth does not enclose all the treasures, and the flint-stone does not inclose all the diamonds, since the head of man encloses wisdom.

When a man appreciates only eating and sleeping, what excellence has he over the reptiles?

Though someday we may become as eloquent as Sahban, but we might also miss the essence of the Forgiving One.

The bad fortune of the good turns their faces up to heaven; the good fortune of the bad bows their heads down to the earth.

Much contention and strife will arise in that house where the wife shall get up dissatisfied with her husband.

Roam abroad in the world, and take thy fill of its enjoyments before the day shall come when thou must quit it for good.

Most of the birds of the Old World can be found here, as Oman is on a strategic route for migrating birds