On the Advantages of Silence
STORY CXIX
A merchant, having suffered the loss of a thousand 'dinârs, enjoined his son not to reveal it to anyone. The boy said: "It is thy order, and I shall not tell it; but thou must inform me of the utility of this proceeding, and of the propriety of concealment."
He replied: "For fear the misfortune would be double; namely, the loss of money, and, secondly, the joy of neighbors at our loss."
Reveal not thy grief to enemies, because they will say, Lâ haul,[1] but rejoice.
- ↑ Figuratively the words Lâ haul are synonymous with the exclamation 'God forbid!' but literally mean 'There is no power'; they are the first two words of the following phrase, generally uttered by Moslems when any extraordinary event or calamity takes place: 'There is no power nor strength except by [the will of] Allah the Most High.
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