" The
servant did as he bade, and I waited till a favourable moment,
when I let him blood; and he did not cross me, but thanked me,
and all present also praised me. When the cupping was over, I
could not help saying to him, "By Allah, O my lord, what made
thee say to the servant, 'Give him a hundred and three dinars'?"
Quoth he, "One dinar was for the astrological observation,
another for thine entertaining converse, the third for the
bloodletting and the remaining hundred and the dress for thy
verses in my honour."' 'May God show no mercy to my father,'
exclaimed I, 'for knowing the like of thee?' He laughed and said,
'There is no god but God and Mohammed is His Apostle! Glory be to
Him who changes but is not changed! I took thee for a man of
sense; but I see thou dotest for illness. God says, in His
precious Book, that Paradise is prepared for "those who restrain
their wrath and forgive men", and in any case thou art excused.
But I am ignorant of the cause of thy haste, and thou must know
that thy father and grandfather did nothing without consulting
me, for indeed it is said that he with whom one takes counsel
should be trustworthy and that he who takes counsel shall not be
disappointed. It is said also that he who hath not an elder (to
advise him) will never be an elder himself; and indeed the poet
says:
Ere thou decide to venture thyself in aught, Consult an
experienced man and cross him not.
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