Book of the Selection of Pearls

Wisdom

1. The sage says, Wisdom is the means by which the wise thoroughly evince their gratitude towards their Creator; by which they become his true worshipers during life and obtain a good name after death.

2. Nothing, says he, tends so greatly to render the intellect acute as instruction and wisdom; nor is anything more calculated to manifest true knowledge than good conduct. [ . . . ]

Meekness

81. He who is deficient of the following three qualities cannot be said to have the least idea of faith—first, meekness to reply to folly; second, piety to guard from sin; and third, gentleness to reconcile himself with mankind. [ . . . ]

Faith

122. Nothing transcends faith—it is our safeguard against the direct hardships of poverty, sickness, and dread; this protection faith only can afford.

123. Man should fervently supplicate the grace of God to imbue him with the spirit of faith, for faith is the basis of the holy law. Man should further implore Him for tranquility, for that is the summit of felicity; tranquility should be pursued with avidity in this world, so as to ensure happiness in the world to come: for inexhaustible are the treasures of faith, and unbounded the scope of pious actions. [ . . . ]

Reliance on God

129. The days of man are preordained and determined. To extend them, your utmost exertions shall not avail, and those decreed for you, your greatest strength will be too feeble to reject.

130. A patient resignation of that which we have once failed to attain affords physical tranquility, and contentment with that allotted to us by our Creator produces spiritual felicity.

131. The humble committal of our affairs into the hand of God leads to true and pure felicity. [ . . . ]

Moral Duties and Good Discipline

223. Experience is an unbounded field, whereby the wisdom of the intelligent is increased. [ . . . ]

228. Instruction, while on the one hand it guards from confusion and doubt, will on the other increase the perplexity of the simple-minded, like the day, which lends brightness to sound eyes and blindness to the bat. [ . . . ]

Friendship

261. There are likewise three degrees of friendship: the first, like our sustenance, is indispensable to our existence; the second may be regarded in the light of an occasional, but necessary, remedy; and the third may be compared to a distemper, which should be carefully guarded against. [ . . . ]

The King

370. The friendship of a king, though it confers dignity and honor, is like a lofty and steep mountain, abounding in delicious and refreshing fruits, but overrun with ferocious beasts—its ascent is toilsome, and the dwelling thereon doubly so. [ . . . ]

Love of Truth

374. A despot once condemned to death a sage, on false accusation. When led to death, he perceived his wife weeping bitterly. Why do you weep? said the sage. Have I not cause for tears, replied the wife, seeing that you suffer death innocently? Well, replied the sage, calmly, would you see me die guilty? [ . . . ]

Indifference to This World and Love for That to Come

551. It is related of a sage who dwelt in a province whose inhabitants were in great distress, but who remained indifferent to the public sorrow, that being asked whether he sympathized with the sufferings of his fellow-creatures? “No,” was his reply. Being interrogated as to the reason, he rejoined, “Had this scene appeared to me in a dream, could you imagine that the illusion would have remained on my awaking? Hence my indifference; for reflection leads me to regard every event in life as a dream, and him alone vigilant who forms a correct notion of human nature; for as the spark is the eye of light, so is the intellect the eye of the soul; and as the sun is the luminary of the universe, so is the soul the light of the body.”