| A dervish was sitting by the roadside when a haughty courtier with his
retinue, riding past in the opposite direction, struck him with a cane,
shouting:
'Out of the way, you miserable wretch!'
When they had swept past, the dervish rose and called after them:
'May you attain all that you desire in the world, even up to your
greatest wishes!'
A bystander, much impressed by this scene, approached the devout man and
said to him:
'Please tell me whether your words were motivated by generosity of
spirit, or perhaps out of revenge because the desires of the world will
undoubtedly corrupt that man even more?'
'O man of bright countenance,' said the dervish, 'has it not occurred to
you that I said what I did simply because people who attain their real
desires then do not need to ride around striking dervishes?' |