"
[18] The cow is sacred among the Hindus.
The sentiment so tersely expressed in the Chinese proverb, "He who never
reveals a secret keeps it best," is thus finely amplified by Saadi: "The
matter which you wish to preserve as a secret impart not to every one,
although he may be worthy of confidence; for no one will be so true to
your secret as yourself. It is safer to be silent than to reveal a
secret to any one, and tell him not to mention it. O wise man! stop the
water at the spring-head, for when it is in full stream you cannot
arrest it."[19]
[19] Thus also Jami, in his _Baharistan_ (Second "Garden"):
"With regard to a secret divulged and one kept
concealed, there is in use an excellent proverb, that
the one is an arrow still in our possession, and the
other is an arrow sent from the bow." And another
Persian poet, whose name I have not ascertained,
eloquently exclaims: "O my heart! if thou desirest ease
in this life, keep thy secrets undisclosed, like the
modest rose-bud. Take warning from that lovely flower,
which, by expanding its hitherto hidden beauties when in
full bloom, gives its leaves and its happiness to the
winds."
The imperative duty of active benevolence is thus inculcated: "Bestow
thy gold and thy wealth while they are thine; for when thou art gone
they will be no longer in thy power.
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