Among his other compositions are: an essay on Reason
and Love; Advice to Kings; Arabian and Persian idylls, and a book of
elegies, besides a large collection of odes and sonnets. Saadi was an
accomplished linguist, and composed several poems in the languages of
many of the countries through which he travelled. "I have wandered to
various regions of the world," he tells us, "and everywhere have I mixed
freely with the inhabitants. I have gathered something in each corner; I
have gleaned an ear from every harvest." A deep insight into the secret
springs of human actions; an extensive knowledge of mankind; fervent
piety, without a taint of bigotry; a poet's keen appreciation of the
beauties of nature; together with a ready wit and a lively sense of
humour, are among the characteristics of Saadi's masterly compositions.
No writer, ancient or modern, European or Asiatic, has excelled, and few
have equalled, Saadi in that rare faculty for condensing profound moral
truths into short, pithy sentences. For example:
"The remedy against want is to moderate your desires."
"There is a difference between him who claspeth his mistress in his
arms, and him whose eyes are fixed on the door expecting her."
"Whoever recounts to you the faults of your neighbour will doubtless
expose your defects to others.
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