Saadi
Thirteenth-century Persian poet, traveler, and Sufi master, born and buried in Shiraz, regarded throughout the Persian-speaking world as the greatest moral poet of the language. After more than thirty years of wandering — through Damascus, Aleppo, the Hejaz, North Africa, and as far as India — he returned to Shiraz and composed the Bostan (The Orchard, 1257) and the Gulistan (The Rose Garden, 1258), two of the most beloved books in Persian literature. The Gulistan in particular blends prose anecdote with verse epigram, and its couplet Bani Adam — "the children of Adam are limbs of one body" — adorns the entrance hall of the United Nations in New York.
106
quotes in library
Quotes by Saadi
106 quotes“Fortune is a flying bird. Catch it if you can.”
fortuneGulistan
“The reed flute weeps because it has been cut from the reed bed.”
longingBostan
“He who plants a tree plants hope.”
hopeBostan
“The eyes of a hundred men cannot see what the eyes of one lover see.”
visionBostan
“In the dark of grief, the lamp of the friend's name burns brightest.”
nameBostan
“To one whose heart is full of God, the empty stomach is no torment.”
sufficiencyBostan
“What you sow, you will reap.”
karmaGulistan
“Whoever knows the Beloved does not fear the loss of anything else.”
belovedBostan
“A teacher's tongue is the foundation of every kingdom.”
teachingGulistan
“The mountain in the heart of God: every step is a song.”
pathBostan
“Do not laugh at one who has fallen. The path is long. You may yet stumble.”
humilityGulistan
“Every friendship is a covenant. Honor it.”
friendshipGulistan
“To the heart of the lover, every breath is the Friend's name.”
breathBostan
“The wise close their lips and open their hearts.”
silenceGulistan
“It is better to be silent and reckoned a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
silenceGulistan
“What is sweeter than honey? What is more bitter than gall? Both are in the heart.”
heartBostan
“He who has nothing left to lose is mightier than the king.”
freedomGulistan
“In the night of separation, the morning is the Beloved's face.”
reunionBostan
“Patience is bitter. Its fruit is sweet.”
patienceGulistan
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