Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/300

288 righteousness, abandoning his evil courses and turning to God with sincere repentance; and he altogether forswore women and devoted himself to the ordering of the affairs of his realm and the governance of his people in the fear of God. Moreover, he made the son of Shimas vizier in his father’s room and the chief of his counsellors and keeper of his secrets and commanded to decorate his capital and the other cities of his kingdom seven days. At this the subjects rejoiced, glad in the prospect of justice and equity, and fear and alarm ceased from them and they were instant in prayer for the king and for the vizier who had done away this trouble from him and them.

Then said the king to the vizier, ‘What is thy counsel for the proper ordering of the state and the prospering of the people and the furnishing of the realm anew with captains and counsellors as before?’ ‘O king of high estate,’ answered the boy, ‘in my judgment, it behoves, before all, that thou begin by tearing out from thy heart the root of frowardness and leave thy debauchery and tyranny and devotion to women; for, if thou return to the root of transgression, the second backsliding will be worse than the first.’ ‘And what,’ asked the king, ‘is the root of frowardness that it behoves me to tear out from my heart?’ ‘O mighty king,’ answered the vizier, little of years but great of wit, ‘the root of frowardness is the ensuingof [sic]the desire of women and inclining to them and following their counsel and policy; for the love of them troubles the soundest wit and corrupts the most upright nature, and manifest proofs bear witness to my saying, wherein, if thou meditate them and consider their actions and the consequences thereof with eyes intent, thou wilt find a loyal counsellor against thine own soul and wilt stand in no need of my advice.

Look, then, thou occupy not thy heart with the thought of women and do away the trace of them from thy mind,