"Know, O my son, that the world of the present is but a house of

mortality, while that the future is a house of eternity. I wish,



before I die, to bequeath thee certain charges, and do thou take

heed of what I say and incline thy heart to my words." Then he gave



him his last instructions as to the properest way of dealing with

his neighbors and the due management of his affairs, after which he



called to mind his brother and his home and his native land and wept

over his separation from those he had first loved.



Then he wiped away his tears and, turning to his son, said to him:

"Before I proceed, O my son, to my last charges and injunctions,



know that I have a brother, and thou hast an uncle, Shams al-Din

hight, the Wazir of Cairo, with whom I parted, leaving him against his



will. Now take thee a sheet of paper and write upon it whatso I say to

thee." Badr al-Din took a fair leaf and set about doing his father's



bidding, and he wrote thereon a full account of what had happened to

his sire first and last: the dates of his arrival at Bassorah and of



his forgathering with the Wazir, of his marriage, of his going in to

the Minister's daughter, and of the birth of his son- brief, his life



of forty years from the day of his dispute with his brother, adding

the words: "And this is written at my dictation, and may Almighty



Allah be with him when I am gone!" Then he folded the paper and sealed

it and said: "O Hasan, O my son, keep this paper with all care, for it



will enable thee to establish thine origin and rank and lineage, and

if anything contrarybefall thee, set out for Cairo and ask for



thine uncle and show him this paper, and say to him that I died a

stranger far from mine own people and full of yearning to see him



and them." So Badr al-Din Hasan took the document and folded it and,

wrapping it up in a piece of waxed cloth, sewed it like a talisman



between the inner and outer cloth of his skullcap and wound his

light turban round it. And he fell to weeping over his father and at



parting with him, and he but a boy.

Then Nur al-Din lapsed into a swoon, the forerunner of death, but



presently recovering himself, he said: "O Hasan, O my son, I will

now bequeath to thee five last behests. The FIRST BEHEST is: Be



overintimate with none, nor frequent any, nor be familiar with any. So

shalt thou be safe from his mischief, for security lieth in



seclusion of thought and a certain retirement from the society of

thy fellows, and I have heard it said by a poet:



"In this world there is none thou mayst count upon

To befriend thy case in the nick of need.



So live for thyself nursing hope of none.

Such counsel I give thee-enow, take heed!



"The SECOND BEHEST is, O my son: Deal harshly with none lest fortune

with thee deal hardly, for the fortune of this world is one day with



thee and another day against thee, and all worldly goods are but a

loan to be repaid. And I have heard a poet say:



"Take thought nor haste to will the thing thou wilt,

Have ruth on man, for ruth thou mayst require.



No hand is there but Allah's hand is higher,

No tyrant but shall rue worse tyrant's ire!



"The THIRD BEHEST is: Learn to be silent in society and let thine

own faults distract thine attention from the faults of other men,



for it is said, 'In silence dwelleth safety,' and thereon I have heard

the lines that tell us:



"Reserve's a jewel, Silence safety is.

Whenas thou speakest, many a word withhold,



For an of Silence thou repent thee once,

Of speech thou shalt repent times manifold.



"The FOURTH BEHEST, O My son, is: Beware of winebibbing, for wine is

the head of all frowardness and a fine solvent of human wits. So shun,



and again I say shun, mixing strong liquor, for I have heard a poet

say:



"From wine I turn and whoso wine cups swill,

Becoming one of those who deem it ill.



Wine driveth man to miss salvation way,

And opes the gateway wide to sins that kill.



"The FIFTH BEHEST, O My Son, is: Keep thy wealth and it will keep

thee, guard thy money and it will guard thee, and waste not thy



substance lest haply thou come to want and must fare a-begging from

• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)


• welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)


• absent [´æbsənt, əb´sent] a.不在的 vt.使缺席 (初中英语单词)


• procession [prə´seʃən] n.队伍 v.列队行进 (初中英语单词)


• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)


• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)


• absence [´æbsəns] n.不在，缺席；缺乏 (初中英语单词)


• diligent [´dilidʒənt] a.勤奋的 (初中英语单词)


• thereupon [,ðeərə´pɔn] ad.因此；于是 (初中英语单词)


• reference [´refərəns] n.参考；参照；出处 (初中英语单词)


• slender [´slendə] a.细长的；微薄的 (初中英语单词)


• creation [kri´eiʃən] n.创作；作品；创造 (初中英语单词)


• grandfather [´grænd,fɑ:ðə] n.(外)祖父；祖先 (初中英语单词)


• counsel [´kaunsəl] n.商议；劝告；律师 (初中英语单词)


• welfare [´welfeə] n.福利(事业) (初中英语单词)


• prevail [pri´veil] vi.胜(过)；流行；普遍 (初中英语单词)


• persian [´pə:ʃən] a.波斯的 n.波斯人 (初中英语单词)


• funeral [´fju:nərəl] n.葬礼，丧葬；困难 (初中英语单词)


• ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)


• instruct [in´strʌkt] vt.教育；指导；通知 (初中英语单词)


• retain [ri´tein] vt.保持；保留；留住 (初中英语单词)


• learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)


• writing [´raitiŋ] n.书写；写作；书法 (初中英语单词)


• incline [in´klain] v.(使)倾斜 n.斜坡 (初中英语单词)


• management [´mænidʒmənt] n.管理；处理；经营 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)


• dispute [di´spju:t] v.&n.争论，辩论；争吵 (初中英语单词)


• enable [i´neibəl] vt.使能够；赋予权力 (初中英语单词)


• origin [´ɔridʒin] n.起源；由来；出身 (初中英语单词)


• contrary [´kɔntrəri] a.相反的 n.相反 (初中英语单词)


• frequent [´fri:kwənt] a.常见的，频繁的 (初中英语单词)


• mischief [´mistʃif] n.伤害；故障；调皮 (初中英语单词)


• security [si´kjuəriti] n.安全；证券；抵押品 (初中英语单词)


• liquor [´likə] n.酒类；(溶)液 (初中英语单词)


• wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• sultan [´sʌltən] n.苏丹 (高中英语单词)


• concerning [kən´sə:niŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)


• tidings [´taidiŋz] n.消息，音信 (高中英语单词)


• accordance [ə´kɔ:dəns] n.一致；调和 (高中英语单词)


• destiny [´destini] n.命运 (高中英语单词)


• furthermore [,fə:ðə´mɔ:] ad.而且，此外 (高中英语单词)


• brightly [´braitli] ad.明亮地；聪明地 (高中英语单词)


• faintly [´feintli] ad.微弱地，软弱无力的 (高中英语单词)


• goodly [´gudli] a.适意的；漂亮的 (高中英语单词)


• compliment [´kɔmplimənt] n.敬意 vt.赞美；祝贺 (高中英语单词)


• related [ri´leitid] a.叙述的；有联系的 (高中英语单词)


• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)


• administer [əd´ministə] vt.管理；支配；执行 (高中英语单词)


• eternity [i´tə:niti] n.永恒，来世，无穷 (高中英语单词)


• dealing [´di:liŋ] n.交易；来往 (高中英语单词)


• separation [,sepə´reiʃən] n.分离；分开；分居 (高中英语单词)


• befall [bi´fɔ:l] v.降临；发表(于) (高中英语单词)


• document [´dɔkjumənt] n.公文；文件；证件 (高中英语单词)


• tyrant [´taiərənt] n.暴君；霸主；专制君主 (高中英语单词)


• distract [di´strækt] vt.使分心 (高中英语单词)


• repent [ri´pent] v.后悔；悔改；悔悟 (高中英语单词)


• beware [bi´weə] v.(用于祈使句)谨防 (高中英语单词)


• salvation [sæl´veiʃən] n.救助；拯救 (高中英语单词)


• gateway [´geit-wei] n.入口；通道；途径 (高中英语单词)


• morrow [´mɔrəu] n.翌日 (英语四级单词)


• exceeding [ik´si:diŋ] a.超越的，非常的 (英语四级单词)


• traveled [´trævəld] a.见面广的；旅客多的 (英语四级单词)


• whereof [weər´ɔv] ad.关于什么；关于那事 (英语四级单词)


• wherefore [´weəfɔ:] ad.为什么；因此 (英语四级单词)


• solicit [sə´lisit] v.恳求，请求 (英语四级单词)


• formally [´fɔ:məli] ad.形式地，正式地 (英语四级单词)


• stature [´stætʃə] n.身高；身材 (英语四级单词)


• theology [θi´ɔlədʒi] n.神学 (英语四级单词)


• loveliness [´lʌvlinis] n.美丽，可爱 (英语四级单词)


• blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)


• almighty [ɔ:l´maiti] a.万能的；全能的 (英语四级单词)


• whereupon [,weərə´pɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语四级单词)


• bequeath [bi´kwi:ð] vt.遗赠；传下 (英语四级单词)


• retirement [ri´taiəmənt] n.退休；撤退；幽静处 (英语四级单词)


• befriend [bi´frend] vt.亲近；帮助 (英语四级单词)


• worldly [´wə:ldli] a.现世的；世俗的 (英语四级单词)


• disappearance [,disə´piərəns] n.消失；失踪 (英语六级单词)


• pregnant [´pregnənt] a.怀孕的；含蓄的 (英语六级单词)


• glossy [´glɔsi] a.光滑的，有光泽的 (英语六级单词)


• sprite [sprait] n.小妖精；捣蛋鬼 (英语六级单词)


• applied [ə´plaid] a.实用的，应用的 (英语六级单词)


• insight [´insait] n.洞悉；洞察力；见识 (英语六级单词)


• sumptuous [´sʌmptʃuəs] a.奢侈的；豪华的 (英语六级单词)


• politeness [pə´laitnis] n.礼貌；文雅；温和 (英语六级单词)


• especial [i´speʃəl] a.特别的，特殊的 (英语六级单词)


• turban [´tə:bən] n.(穆斯林的)缠头巾 (英语六级单词)


• weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)


• harshly [´hɑ:ʃli] ad.粗糙地，冷酷地 (英语六级单词)