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“Whoever is content is rich.”
contentmentGulistan
“A book speaks to a stranger as a brother.”
booksBostan
“Do not despise the small gift. The river is made of drops.”
smallBostan
“The lion in the jungle eats grass. Such is the law of love.”
transformationBostan
“Two hands of clay make ten thousand prayers.”
workBostan
“Do not call yourself wise. The wise are silent.”
humilityGulistan
“He who walks with the wise grows wise.”
companyBostan
“In the rose garden, the thorns also have their reason.”
acceptanceGulistan
“My garden is small. My fragrance is great.”
essenceGulistan
“The drop joins the ocean. The drop does not lose itself.”
unityBostan
“To know without practicing is to plow without sowing.”
actionGulistan
“In the mirror of the heart, the lover sees the Beloved.”
mirrorBostan
“The dawn breaks for the watchful, not for the asleep.”
watchfulnessBostan
“Whoever does not know the value of bread does not know the value of the world.”
gratitudeBostan
“Do not look at the cup. Look at what is in the cup.”
essenceGulistan
“A friend is a second self.”
friendshipGulistan
“He who never travels remains a child.”
travelBostan
“The path of love is long, but every step is sweet.”
pathBostan
“Do not weep at the grave. Weep at the cradle of the unloving.”
perspectiveBostan
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