On the Excellence of Contentment
STORY XCVII
A sick man, having been asked what his heart desired, replied: "That it may not desire anything."
When the bowels are full and the belly pains,
there is no use in all other things being right.
STORY XCVIII
A grain dealer, to whom Sûfis were owing some money, asked them for it every day in the town of Wâset, and used harsh language towards them. The companions had become weary of his reproaches, but had no other remedy than to bear them; and one of them, who was a pious man, remarked: "It is more easy to pacify a hungry stomach with promises of food than a grain dealer with promises of money."
It is preferable to be without the bounty of a gentleman than to bear the insults of the gatekeepers; it is better to die wishing for meat than to endure the expostulations of butchers.
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