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Spartan Surfers

c. 1210–1291

Saadi

Poet of Shiraz who travelled for decades before writing the Bustan and the Gulistan, a book of stories and maxims in prose and verse.

7 sourced lines

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

  1. All people are limbs of one body, made from one essence.

    Saadi's most famous lines say humanity is one body: when one part hurts, the rest cannot rest. If another's pain leaves you untouched, he adds, you do not deserve the name human. Let other people's trouble reach you.

    Gulistan 1.10, James Ross, 1823

  2. If you feel nothing for others' pain, you do not deserve the name human.

    Compassion is not an extra; Saadi treats it as the definition of being human. Indifference shrinks a person. Let the suffering of others move you to act.

    Gulistan 1.10, James Ross, 1823

  3. Whoever plants bad seed and hopes for good fruit is dreaming.

    Saadi says this to a king who wants protection while oppressing his people. Bad actions do not grow good outcomes. Plant what you hope to harvest.

    Gulistan 1.10, James Ross, 1823

  4. Be kind to the weak and you will not fear the strong.

    A ruler who treats ordinary people well has a whole country behind him. The same is true in any team or family. Take care of those under you and they will stand with you.

    Gulistan 1.10, James Ross, 1823

  5. Musk is known by its scent, not by what the perfumer says.

    Real quality speaks for itself; it needs no salesman. Saadi adds that a skilled person need not announce it. Let your work carry its own scent.

    Gulistan 8 (Ross, Apophthegm 59), James Ross, 1823

  6. A scholar who does not practice is a bee without honey.

    Knowledge that never turns into action stings without feeding anyone. Saadi asks learning to be useful. Put what you know into practice, or at least do not use it to wound.

    Gulistan 8 (Ross, Apophthegm 86), James Ross, 1823

  7. A lie is like a sword cut. The wound may heal. The scar remains.

    Saadi gives the example of Joseph's brothers: after one great lie, even their truth was doubted. Trust can be repaired, but it carries the mark. Guard your word so you never need the repair.

    Gulistan 8 (Ross, Apophthegm 98), James Ross, 1823