Touchstone proves

The touchstone proves what is gold; and the beggar, him who is stingy.” He said, “I speak of them from experience, for they keep a guard at their gate, and station rude violent men to deny admittance to their dearest friends; and these, seizing the collars of men of distinction, declare that nobody is at home ; and verily they say truly. He who hath neither wisdom, liberality, prudence, nor judgment, of him the porter says rightly, that, 4 No one is in the house.’

I replied,  In this they are excusable, because they are teased out of their lives with importunate solicitation, and tormented with beggarly petitions ; and it is a contradiction to reason to suppose that, if the sands of the desert were converted into pearls, they would satisfy the eyes of the beggars. The eye of an avaricious man cannot be satisfied with wealth, any more than a well can be filled by dew. Libation Tai was an inhabitant of the desert; had he dwelt in a city, he would have been overwhelmed by the importunities of beggars, who would have torn the clothes off his back,” He said, “I pity their condition.” I replied, “Not so, for you envy them their riches.”

We were talking thus, opposing force to force, when he advanced a pawn. I endeavored to repel it; and whenever he put my King in check, I relieved it by the Vizier, or Queen, until he had exhausted of all the coin in his course, and had spent all the arrows of the quiver of disputation. Take care not to throw down the shield when combating with an orator, who hath nothing but borrowed eloquence. Practice thou religion, and serve God, for the verbose orator, who measures his periods, exhibits arms before the gate, but there is nobody within side of the castle. At length, when having no arguments left, I had put him to shame, he became outrageous and spoke incoherently.

It is the way with the ignorant when confounded by the adversary’s arguments, to have recourse to violence ; as Azur, the idol-maker, when he could not convince his son Abraham by arguments, began to quarrel, as God hath said, ‘ Of a truth, if thou wilt not give up this point, I will stone thee.’ He gave abuse; I retorted harshly; he tore the collar of my garment, and I laid hold of his beard. We were tumbling over one another, and the people running after us, laughing and astonished at our conduct. In short, we referred our dispute to the Cazy, and agreed to abide by his impartial decision, in order that a Mahommedan judge might resolve what was advisable, and discriminate between the rich and the poor.