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I took thee for a man of sense, but I see thou babblest and

dotest for illness. Allah hath said in the Blessed Book,[FN#613]

'Paradise is prepared for the goodly who bridle their anger and

forgive men.' and so forth; and in any case thou art excused. Yet

I cannot conceive the cause of thy hurry and flurry; and thou

must know that thy father and thy grandfather did nothing without

consulting me, and indeed it hath been said truly enough, 'Let

the adviser be prized'; and, 'There is no vice in advice'; and it

is also said in certain saws, 'Whoso hath no counsellor elder

than he, will never himself an elder be';[FN#614] and the poet

says:-

Whatever needful thing thou undertake, * Consult th' experienced

and contraire him not!

And indeed thou shalt never find a man better versed in affairs

than I, and I am here standing on my feet to serve thee. I am not

vexed with thee: why shouldest thou be vexed with me?