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Authors: A. C. Grayling
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the dust where it spilled, but the oil had not.
7. ‘The corn of the field you passed would already have been eaten if its owner was poor. The lofty tower was not well fortified if there were division or argument among those within.
8. ‘And as for the funeral: the dead man lived, if he had children; but was truly dead, if he left no progeny behind.’
9. At this the peasant and his wife marvelled, and understood; and unbeknown to them the sage, who was not sleeping as they thought, heard the daughter’s words.
10. In the morning the daughter asked her father to give the sage some food she had prepared.
11. She gave her father thirty eggs, a dish of milk, and a whole loaf of bread, bade him eat and drink his fill, then take the remainder to the sage.
12. ‘Ask him when you give him the remainder,’ she said, ‘how many days old the month is; ask him, is the moon new, and is the sun at its zenith?’
13. The peasant ate two eggs, a little of the loaf, and sipped some of the milk, then carried the rest to the sage and gave it to him.
14. When he returned to his daughter he laughed, and said, ‘Surely the man is a fool; for it is the mid-month and the moon is full;
15. ‘But when I gave him the remainder of the food, he said, “The sun is not full, neither is the moon, for the month is two days old.”
16. ‘Now I know for certain that the man is wise,’ said the daughter, and she went to the sage and said, ‘You are seeking something: tell me what it is and I will answer you.’
17. So the sage told her of the king’s dream, and the daughter answered, ‘I know the answer. But you must take me to the king himself so that I can tell him.’
18. When the sage and the peasant’s daughter came before the king, she said, ‘Search your harem; you will find among the women a man disguised as one of them,
19. ‘For he is the lover of one of the women, and hides among them to be with her.’
20. The king’s guards searched and found that it was true; and brought the offenders before the king. He said to the peasant’s daughter,
21. ‘Before I punish them, I wish to know what gift I can give you to express my thanks: ask what you will, and if it is agreeable to me, you shall have it.’
22. The peasant’s daughter said, ‘I ask two things. First, these two have transgressed because of love. I ask you to let them go, for can love ever be a crime that should be punished as other crimes?’
23. The king granted her request, sparing the erring couple’s lives but banishing them from the kingdom for ever.
24. Then the peasant’s daughter gestured towards the sage and said, ‘For my second request, I would have this man for my husband, if he will take me,
25. ‘Because wisdom is the fountain of all good things, and is worthy of love itself; and this man is wise.’
26. Now because the sage had heard the peasant’s daughter interpret all his sayings, he had loved her from that moment;
27. So he said to the king, ‘And I would marry her for the same reason; for she is wise, and worthy of love in herself.’
28. So the peasant’s daughter and the sage were married, and between them raised many wise children, and gave the king counsel whenever he asked.
Chapter 8
1. Charicles was pleased with this story, and thanked the stranger for telling it; and he began to think the stranger was good after all, to honour wisdom with a tale such as this.
2. ‘You have carried me,’ he said, ‘with an instructive story, and made the journey light.’ It was nightfall, and they were approaching a city, hoping to find an inn.
3. When Charicles recognised the city they were entering, he wept, and said, ‘Here in this place lived one who was a dear friend of mine;
4. ‘He died some years ago, but not so many years that my eyes can help filling when I think of him.
5. ‘His name was Adasnes. He was a judge, and a good man. I will tell you a story to illustrate his cleverness.’
7. ‘The corn of the field you passed would already have been eaten if its owner was poor. The lofty tower was not well fortified if there were division or argument among those within.
8. ‘And as for the funeral: the dead man lived, if he had children; but was truly dead, if he left no progeny behind.’
9. At this the peasant and his wife marvelled, and understood; and unbeknown to them the sage, who was not sleeping as they thought, heard the daughter’s words.
10. In the morning the daughter asked her father to give the sage some food she had prepared.
11. She gave her father thirty eggs, a dish of milk, and a whole loaf of bread, bade him eat and drink his fill, then take the remainder to the sage.
12. ‘Ask him when you give him the remainder,’ she said, ‘how many days old the month is; ask him, is the moon new, and is the sun at its zenith?’
13. The peasant ate two eggs, a little of the loaf, and sipped some of the milk, then carried the rest to the sage and gave it to him.
14. When he returned to his daughter he laughed, and said, ‘Surely the man is a fool; for it is the mid-month and the moon is full;
15. ‘But when I gave him the remainder of the food, he said, “The sun is not full, neither is the moon, for the month is two days old.”
16. ‘Now I know for certain that the man is wise,’ said the daughter, and she went to the sage and said, ‘You are seeking something: tell me what it is and I will answer you.’
17. So the sage told her of the king’s dream, and the daughter answered, ‘I know the answer. But you must take me to the king himself so that I can tell him.’
18. When the sage and the peasant’s daughter came before the king, she said, ‘Search your harem; you will find among the women a man disguised as one of them,
19. ‘For he is the lover of one of the women, and hides among them to be with her.’
20. The king’s guards searched and found that it was true; and brought the offenders before the king. He said to the peasant’s daughter,
21. ‘Before I punish them, I wish to know what gift I can give you to express my thanks: ask what you will, and if it is agreeable to me, you shall have it.’
22. The peasant’s daughter said, ‘I ask two things. First, these two have transgressed because of love. I ask you to let them go, for can love ever be a crime that should be punished as other crimes?’
23. The king granted her request, sparing the erring couple’s lives but banishing them from the kingdom for ever.
24. Then the peasant’s daughter gestured towards the sage and said, ‘For my second request, I would have this man for my husband, if he will take me,
25. ‘Because wisdom is the fountain of all good things, and is worthy of love itself; and this man is wise.’
26. Now because the sage had heard the peasant’s daughter interpret all his sayings, he had loved her from that moment;
27. So he said to the king, ‘And I would marry her for the same reason; for she is wise, and worthy of love in herself.’
28. So the peasant’s daughter and the sage were married, and between them raised many wise children, and gave the king counsel whenever he asked.
Chapter 8
1. Charicles was pleased with this story, and thanked the stranger for telling it; and he began to think the stranger was good after all, to honour wisdom with a tale such as this.
2. ‘You have carried me,’ he said, ‘with an instructive story, and made the journey light.’ It was nightfall, and they were approaching a city, hoping to find an inn.
3. When Charicles recognised the city they were entering, he wept, and said, ‘Here in this place lived one who was a dear friend of mine;
4. ‘He died some years ago, but not so many years that my eyes can help filling when I think of him.
5. ‘His name was Adasnes. He was a judge, and a good man. I will tell you a story to illustrate his cleverness.’
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