of Egypt, so that everyone who had a son born in that year named him ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.

In stark contrast stood the chamberlain Tash, the great amir of Khurasan. One day he passed by the money-changers of Bukhara while a man was calling his servant—whose name also happened to be Tash. The amir immediately ordered the stalls of the money-changers pulled down and their assets confiscated, declaring, “You only meant to make light of my name.” Behold, then, the difference between a freeborn Qurashi and one who is ennobled only by his silver coins.

Much more could be said on this subject, but we shall be content with this lest the book grow too long.

Know that, though fulfillment may be delayed, determined resolve will one day carry its possessor to the desired goal. A poet has said:

My striving is for glory, and my sure knowledge tells me
that I shall one day attain what I have sought.
Were I to serve a sultan merely for daily bread,
I would never ask it of anyone beneath the throne.

What is praiseworthy in a man is that his ambition not exceed his station and capacity, lest he spend his life burdened with constant grief. As another poet put it:

If you were content with simple sufficiency,
no one on earth would live more comfortably than you.
But should you one day hanker after more,
the whole wide world would still not satisfy you.
Of what use is a towering ambition
when it never answers by granting what you seek?