The touchstone of false friends is the day of need: by way of proof, ask a loan from your friends.

Ten doors are opened if one door be shut: the finger is the interpreter of the dumb man's tongue.

In this market every head has a different fancy: everyone winds his turban in a different fashion.

The wave is ignorant of the true nature of the sea: how can the temporal comprehend the eternal?

When a man becomes old, his greed becomes young: sleep grows heavy at the time of morning.

The roots of the aged palm tree exceed those of the young one; the old have a greater attachment to the world.

To the seeker after pearls, silence is a speaking argument, for no breath comes forth from the diver of the sea.