Page:The Harvard Classics Vol. 16.djvu/212

 son 'Ali Nur-ed-Din arose, and prepared his funeral, and the Emirs and Wezirs and other officers of the state attended it, and among them was the Wezir El-Mo'in the son of Sawi; and as the procession passed out from the mansion, one of the mourners recited these verses:

I said to the man who was appointed to wash him Would that he had yielded obedience to my counsel,

Put away from him the water, and wash him with the tears of honour, shed in lamentation for him:

And remove these fragrant substances collected for his corpse, and perfume him rather with the odours of his praise:

And order the noble angels to carry him in honour. Dost thou not behold them attending him?

Cause not men's necks to be strained by bearing him: enough are they laden already by his benefits.

'Ali Nur-ed-Din for a long time remained in a state of violent grief for the loss of his father; but as he was sitting one day in his father’s house, a person knocked at the door, and he rose up and opened it, and lo, there was a man who was one of his father's intimate companions, and he kissed the hand of Nur-ed-Din, and said to him, O my master, he who hath left a son like thee hath not died. This is the destination of the lord of the first and the last among mankind. O my master, cheer up thy heart, and give over mourning.And upon this, 'Ali Nur-ed-Din arose, and went to the guest-chamber, and removed thither all that he required, and his companions came together to him, and he took again his slave. Ten of the sons of the merchants became his associates, and he gave entertainment after entertainment, and began to be lavish with presents. His steward, therefore, came to him, and said to him, O my master Nur-ed-Din, hast thou not heard the saying, He who expendeth and doth not calculate is reduced to poverty? This profuse expenditure, and these magnificent presents, will annihilate the propertyBut when 'Ali Nur-ed-Din heard these words of his steward, he looked at him, and replied, Of all that thou hast said to me, I will not attend to one word. How excellent is the saying of the poet: