id="pgepubid00015">SELF-RESPECT, AND THE SENSE OF SHAME

Son of man, if you have no self-respect, do what you will.

Men see no fault in one who respects himself.

If you fear not the consequences of an evil life, and have no sense of shame, you are free to do what you will.

No, by God, life has no worth, and this world has no happiness to a man who has lost his self-respect and abandons himself to shamelessness.

There is no good in a man who is not ashamed of men.

He who has a brazen face has a craven heart.

To be ashamed before God is to obey His commandments and to avoid what He has forbidden; to be ashamed before men is to avoid all harm to them; and to be ashamed before one's self is to be chaste and clean when one is alone.

Be ashamed in your own sight more than in the sight of men.

He who does a thing in secret of which he would be ashamed if done openly, has no respect for himself.

He who respects not himself can have no respect for others.

I shall not kiss a hand which deserves to be cut off.

CHARACTER

A man is truly religious when he is truly good.

A good character is a great boon.

Kind words are the bonds of love.

A kind word is like an act of charity.

If you cannot help men with money, help them with a cheerful face and a kindly bearing.

No man is entitled to consideration unless he has these three things, or at least one of them: the fear of God to restrain him from evil, forbearance with wicked men, and a good nature towards all.

There are cases where not kindness but severity is necessary.

Kindness increases the love of friends, and diminishes the hatred of enemies.

Be firm after you have been kind.

God loves the man who is tender-hearted.

An evil nature is a calamity from which there is no escape.

If you hear that a mountain has moved from its place believe it, but if you hear that a man has changed his character do not believe it, for he will act only according to his nature.

An inherited quality may be traced back to the seventh grandfather.

There are four points in a good character from which all other good traits take their origin—prudence, courage, continence, and justice.

When a woman has had more than one husband in this life, she will, in the future state, be free to be the wife of him whose character she esteemed the most.

BENEVOLENCE

Koran. Do good unto others as God has done unto you.

Is the reward of kindness anything but kindness?

He who does a kindly act shall be recompensed tenfold.

Ye can never be righteous unless ye give away from that which ye love.

Traditions. The upper hand [which giveth] is better than the lower hand [which taketh].

God's creatures are the objects of His care, and He loveth best that man who is most helpful to them.

Proverbs. Do not be ashamed to give little, for it is less than that, if you give nothing.

If you give, give freely, and if you strike, strike boldly.

He who soweth kindness shall reap thanks.

What a man does for God is never lost.

Be merciful to him who is beneath you, and you will have mercy from Him who is above you.

The best kind of good is that which is done most speedily.

Inopportune kindness is injustice.

No true joy but in doing good and no true sorrow but in doing evil.

Cruelty to animals is forbidden by God.

A peacemaker gets two-thirds of the blows.

GENEROSITY

Generosity is to do a kindness before it is asked, and to pity and give a man who asks.

A generous man is nigh unto God, nigh unto men, nigh unto paradise, far from hell.

Overlook the faults of a generous man, for God helps him when he falls and gives him when he is needy.

A man who doeth good does not fall, and if he fall he will find a support.

Be not ashamed to give little—to refuse is less.

GRATITUDE

He is unthankful to God who is unthankful to man.

He who is unthankful for little is unthankful for much.

God continues His favours to him who is grateful.

He who is ungrateful for the good he receives deserves that it should be withdrawn from him.

Man can be thankful to God only so far as he does good to his fellow men.

If a man professes to thank God and his wealth decreases, his thanksgiving must be vitiated by his neglect of the hungry and naked.

Be grateful to him who has done you good, and do good to him who is grateful to you.

Gratitude takes three forms—a feeling in the heart, an expression in words, and a giving in return.

The most worthless things on earth are these four—rain on a barren soil, a lamp in sunshine, a beautiful woman given in marriage to a blind man, and a good deed to one who is ungrateful.

RECOMPENSE

To recompense good for good is a duty.

Neglect of recompense is contemptible.

If a man do you a favour recompense him, and if you are unable to do so, pray for him.

The worst kind of recompense is to requite evil for good.

Reproach faults by kindness, and requite evil by good.

There is no glory in revenge.

Meet insult by insult, and honour by honour. Evil can be repelled only by evil.

What you put into the pot you will take out in the ladle.

He who plays with a cat must bear its scratches.

He who lives in a house of glass should not throw stones at people.

Sins may lurk, but God deals heavy blows.

FLAUNTING KINDNESS

To carry a heavy rock to the summit of a mountain is easier than to receive a kindness which is flaunted.

The bane of a generous action is to mention it.

It is better to refuse a kindness than to be reminded of it.

I would not accept the whole world if I were to suffer the humiliation of being constantly reminded of the gift.

To bestow and flaunt a kindness, and to be stingy and refuse to do an act of kindness, are equally bad.

When you do a kindness hide it, and when a kindness is done to you proclaim it.

Do good, and throw it into the sea.

KNOWLEDGE

Koran. O God, increase my knowledge. Are they who know and they who know not equal?

He who has been given wisdom has been given a great good.

What ye have been given of knowledge is only a small part.

Above a learned man there is one more learned.

Traditions. Learned men are trustees to whom God has confided mankind.

Stars are the beauty of the heavens, and learned men are the ornament of a people.

Angels bend down their wings to a seeker of knowledge.

Proverbs. The rank of the learned is the highest of all ranks.

If learning does not give wealth it will give esteem.

Knowledge increaseth the honour of a nobleman, and bringeth men of low degree into the houses of kings.

A seat of learning is a garden of heaven.

Forgetfulness is the bane of knowledge.

It is difficult for a man to know himself.

Knowledge is a lamp from which men light their candles.

A mind without education is like a brave man without arms.

Kings govern men, and learned men govern kings.

That day in which I have learned nothing, and in which I have added nothing to my knowledge, is no part of my life.

He who seeks learning without study will attain his end when the raven becomes grey with age.

To every noble horse a stumble, and to every learned man an error.

Knowledge