“The hand that does good never wears out—so safeguard it; your profit will be abundant while the principal remains untouched.”
Story. A letter once came from Caesar, king of the Romans, to the just ruler Anushirwan in which he asked: “By what means does a kingdom endure?” Anushirwan replied: “I never act out of ignorance; when I issue a command I carry it through, abandoning it neither from fear nor from hope. In other words, once I decree a matter I do not revoke it for the sake of one who courts my favor or dreads my power, nor do I alter anything I have ordered.”
Wisdom. Aristotle was asked whether anyone besides God Most High may rightfully claim kingship. He answered: “Whoever possesses—even if only on loan—these qualities may do so: knowledge, justice, generosity, forbearance, gentleness, and such traits as accompany them. For kings became kings through the ‘divine shade’ (farābaradhī) and the light of perception, through purity of soul, ever-increasing intellect, learning, antiquity of lineage, nobility of origin, and the empire vested in their forebears. The reality of what they call the divine shade is manifested in sixteen traits: sound intellect, learning, keenness of wit, swift grasp of affairs, perfection of form, brilliance, horsemanship, courage, bold initiative, deliberation, good character, fairness to the weak, love for the subjects, open display of leadership, endurance, tact where tact is due, sound judgment, skillful management, wide reading of historical accounts, memorizing the biographies of kings, and investigating the circumstances and deeds adopted by earlier rulers. This world is but the remnant of the dominions of peoples who once possessed it, then passed away and became mere memories—each person is remembered for what he did. The Hereafter has its treasure and this world has its treasure: the treasure of this world is handsome praise and a pleasant remembrance, while the treasure of the Hereafter is righteous deeds and the earning of reward.
Wisdom. On one occasion Alexander boarded the royal barge. A senior officer said to him, “God Most High has granted you a vast realm; take many wives so that you may have many sons and be remembered through them after you.” Alexander replied, “A man is not remembered after he is gone by the multitude of his children, but by upright conduct and purity of intention. A man who has defeated the men of this world ought not to let women defeat him.”