{41} Chapter Two
The Raja said to the Brahman, “I have heard how the scheming informant cloaked certainty with suspicion so that the lion’s reputation was sullied and he was branded with the infamy of breaking his word and how enmity took the place of friendship and abhorrence the place of intimacy due to the actions of the king’s minister. Now, if you will, tell me the end of Dimna and how he justified himself to the lion and the beasts. The king must have consulted his own mind and become suspicious of Dimna. How did he make amends, and how did he become aware of Dimna’s treachery? What was Dimna’s justification, how did he seek to save himself, and in what way was an inquest held?”
“Murder will out,” said the Brahman. Awakening sedition is never auspicious for any reason. I have read in histories and legends that when the lion finished with the bull he regretted his hastiness. Every time he remembered all his indebtedness to the bull and all his past actions he was pained all the more by thoughts of his having been his best friend and dearest follower. He wanted to speak of him and hear him spoken of constantly. To this end he met privately with each of the beasts and asked them to tell him stories of the bull.
Once the leopard was with him until late into the night, and as he was returning home he passed by Kalila and Dimna’s house. Kalila was regaling Dimna with all that he had done to the bull. The leopard stopped and listened. Kalila had reached the point at which he was saying, “You did a dreadful deed. You found an opening for treachery and backstabbing and perpetrated a massive betrayal on the king. You can never be safe because at any moment you may suffer the consequences. Not one of the beasts will ever forgive you or help you escape. All will be unanimous in wanting you killed or mutilated. I do not need you as a neighbor. Away with you! Never come to me again!”
Dimna said, “ ‘If I detach my heart from you and take my love from you, upon whom shall I bestow that love and to whom shall I take that heart?’ There is nothing to be done about the past. Get these gloomy thoughts out of your mind and be happy. An enemy has been overthrown, {42} the world is open to us, and the skies of hope are clear. I was not unaware of the evil of my betrayal in the code of chivalry and honesty, but I was overcome by greed and envy.”
When the leopard heard this he went to the lion’s mother and made her promise to keep secret what he was going to tell her. After she promised he related to her what he had heard and reported in full Kalila’s sermons and Dimna’s confession. The next day the lion’s mother went to see her son and found him grieving. When she asked the reason he said, “Killing Shanzaba and the memory of everything he did for me. The more I try to get the memory of him out of my mind, when I contemplate the best interests of the kingdom and think of a compassionate, sincere, and knowledgeable advisor, the more I think of him and his good character.”
The lion’s mother said, “The king’s words indicate that his heart is telling him that Shanzaba was innocent, and this is causing him dismay. It is weighing on his mind that he took action without certainty and clear proof. If the king had thought about what he was being told and had been able to maintain self-control and consider it dispassionately, the truth would have been known, for there is no beacon in the darkness of doubt like the king’s discerning and enlightened mind. A king’s perspicacity can discover what is in the mind of the celestial sphere and the secrets of the unseen world.”
“I thought much about the bull,” the lion said, “and was anxious to accuse him of treachery so that I would be excused by others for killing him. Now the more I think about him, the better I think of him and the more I regret having killed him. The poor thing was too enlightened and conducted himself too well for an accusation by the envious to be right, for the wishes of the unwise to have taken root in his mind, or for him to have contemplated opposing me. Neither was anything due him neglected that would have provoked enmity or contention. I want to have an inquest into this affair and am going to insist on it, however useless it may be and despite the fact that I have left no room for redress. Nonetheless, recognizing where wrong and right are is not without great benefit. If you know or have heard anything, tell me.”
“I have heard something,” she said, “but it is not possible to reveal it, for one of your intimates has sworn me to secrecy. The wise have warned sternly against disclosing secrets. Otherwise all would be told.”
“The dicta of the wise have many different aspects and interpretations,” said the lion. “They think it right to apply them according to {43} circumstances. To keep secrets about persons under suspicion is to abet them. It may be that the person who told you wanted to absolve himself of the responsibility of telling it and put it upon you. Reflect well and do whatever you think best.”
“This view is correct,” she said, “but to disclose the secret has two obvious drawbacks. The first is the enmity of the person who has relied on me, and the second is the mistrust of others, who will never tell me anything again or make me a confidante to any secret.”
“You are perfectly correct,” said the lion, “and I would not want to make you unwillingly do something wrong in order to acquit myself of responsibility for this error. If you do not want to name the person or disclose his secret, at least tell me in general.”
“What the wise say about the excellence of forgiveness and benevolence is well known,” said the lion’s mother, “but that only applies to crimes the effects of which are not widely detrimental. When the harm is seen to be widespread and touches upon the king, when it provokes boldness in other troublemakers, when it allows enemies to gain strength, and when it is seen as a license for misconduct and corruption, there is no longer any room for forgiveness or disregard of evil, and it must be dealt with. That Dimna, who persuaded the king to do it, is a scheming snake-in-the-grass and a seditious troublemaker.”
“I knew it,” the lion said to his mother.
He went off and thought about it, and then he dispatched messengers to summon the army and sent word for his mother to come. Then he had Dimna brought in. Turning away from him, he was lost in thought. When Dimna saw that he was facing calamity he turned to one of the intimates and whispered, “Has something happened? Why is the king worried? Why have you been assembled?”
“The king is considering whether to let you live or not,” the lion’s mother said. “Since your treachery has been discovered and the lie you told about his champion and counselor has been revealed you shouldn’t be left alive for even a moment.”
“The ancients have left no piece of wisdom unsaid about the vicissitudes of the world that the moderns could add to,” said Dimna. “It was said long ago that all plans are subject to destiny, and the more a wise man tries to avoid it and protect himself, the nearer he comes to a snare of catastrophe. To seek safety in advising the king and happiness in keeping company with evil people is like writing on water and entrusting {44} winnowed chaff to the wind. Anyone who is a loyal advisor in service to a king is in greater danger because both the king’s friends and his enemies oppose him. The friends oppose him because they are envious and compete for the status he enjoys, and the enemies oppose him for the sincere advice he gives on affairs of the kingdom. This is why the really wise take refuge in safety, turn their backs on the fleeting world, renounce its pleasures and lusts, and choose solitude over mingling with people and worship of the Creator over service to the created, for in service to divine majesty there is no such thing as error or mistake, and it cannot be imagined that good could be rewarded with evil. According to the law of the Creator, judgment must be given with absolute justice. Affairs of people differ markedly, and happenstance is more important than merit. Sometimes the disloyal are rewarded as though they were loyal, and sometimes counselors are taken to task as though they were criminals. Kings are subject to whim. Mistakes are apparent in their actions, and good and evil are alike to them. A successful king is he whose actions are nearer to correctness and farther from harshness, who neither patronizes out of need nor torments out of fear. The most pleasing characteristic of kings is a desire to do right and to empower good servants. The king well knows—and none of those present will fail to testify—that between the bull and me there was no contention, tension, ancient enmity, or hereditary animosity that would cause any friction. I did not think that he had either ill or good intentions toward me that would have engendered envy or hatred. I gave the king advice and discharged my obligation by doing so. He saw the truth of my claim and proof of it and acted in accordance with his own views. Many treacherous and inimical persons have been afraid of me. Of course they will connive and cry out unanimously against me. But I never thought that the result of my advice and service would be that the king would be pained by my existence.”
When the king heard Dimna’s words he said, “He should be turned over to the judges for a trial, for in all justice punishment cannot be meted out without clear proof.”
“What judge is fairer or more just than the king’s own impartial mind?” Dimna said. “No verdict he gives can be objected to or gainsaid. The king knows that there is nothing like deliberation for resolving doubt and increasing insight. I am confident that if a trial is held I will be safe from the king’s wrath and my innocence and the truth of my allegation {45} will be proven. However, much effort must be exerted in the investigation of me, for fire cannot be brought out of stone without great effort. If I thought I was guilty of a crime I would not be so insistent, but I am confident that an inquest will reveal my loyalty. If I were involved in this affair there were plenty of opportunities to escape and I would not have continued to serve at the king’s court and sit around waiting for calamity to strike. I expect the king to turn this affair over to an honest and impartial person and order him to report his findings every day. The king will consider the evidence until I am cleared of all suspicion, for the very thing that made killing the bull just in the king’s eyes will keep him from doing the same to me.
“For what reason would I think of such treachery? I possess neither stature nor station that I would fail to be worshipful or entertain notions of grandeur. Being a servant of the king, in the end I share in his justice and there is no way I can be deprived of it or have my hopes of it cut off during my lifetime or after my death.”
One of those present said, “What Dimna says is not in veneration of the king. He wants to ward off calamity from himself.”
“Who is worthier to advise me than myself?” said Dimna. “Anyone who fails himself in time of need and does not strive to protect himself can have no hopes of others. Your words indicate your lack of understanding and great ignorance. Beware lest you think that these justifications will cloud the king’s mind. When he reflects and applies his regal discrimination to your skulduggery you will be disgraced and your spite revealed, for in one night he can do what would take a lifetime and with one indication he can defeat massive armies.”
“Given your past deceit and treachery,” the lion’s mother said, “I am not surprised that you have a ready supply of adages and sermons for every situation.”
“A sermon is appropriate when it is accepted,” said Dimna, “and an adage is timely when it is listened to.”
“Traitor,” said the lion’s mother, “you still hope to save yourself through chicanery and deceit.”
“If a person rewards good with evil,” said Dimna, “I at least kept my promise and was faithful to my word. The king knows that no traitor would dare to speak in his presence and that if he allows such with regard to me the detriment would redound on him. It has been said that anyone who rushes into something and neglects the benefits of reflection {46} and deliberation will suffer the fate of the woman who was so eager she couldn’t tell the difference between her lover and his slave.”
“How was that?” asked the lion.
It is related that there was a merchant in Kashmir named Hamir. He had a beautiful wife the likes of whom had never been seen. She had cheeks as radiant as a day of victory and tresses as twisted and endless as a night of separation. A master painter who put all others to shame was their neighbor, and he was having an affair with the merchant’s wife. One day the wife said to him, “Every time you go to so much trouble to come here it takes so much time for you to call out and throw a stone. Why don’t you use your skill to make something that will be a sign for me?”
“I will make a sheet of two colors,” he said. “The white will glisten like stars shining on water, and the black will shine like curly ebony hair on the necks of Turks. When you see it you can quickly come out.”
A servant of his heard these words. The painter made the sheet, and some time passed. One day the painter went out on business and was gone for a long time. The servant borrowed the sheet from the painter’s daughter and deceived the merchant’s wife with it and went in to her. After satisfying his lust he returned the sheet. When the painter came and wanted to see his beloved he threw the sheet over his shoulder and went there. The woman ran out to him and said, “My beloved, you have just left. I hope nothing has happened that you have returned so soon.”
The man realized what had happened. He chastised his daughter soundly and burned the sheet.
“I have told this story that the king may know that one should not be hasty. Truly one should recognize that I am not saying these things in fear of punishment or death, for death, although it is an unsought-for sleep and rest, will certainly occur and cannot be escaped. If I had a thousand lives and knew that the loss of them would benefit the king and that he was so inclined, I would instantly give them all and know that my {47} happiness in this world and the next lay therein, but the king is obligated to look to the consequences of this affair, for kingship without followers is not possible, and to attack competent servants for a false notion is not without detriment. It is not every day that a competent servant can be found who is reliable and worthy of patronage.”
When the lion’s mother saw that Dimna’s words were being listened to agreeably, she became suspicious and thought the lion might believe his gilded treachery and honeyed lies, for he was truly eloquent and silver-tongued and was justly proud of his articulateness. Turning to the lion, she said, “Silence implies consent. Thus is it said that remaining silent is tantamount to agreeing.” So saying, she arose angrily.
The lion ordered Dimna to be bound and turned over to the judges to be imprisoned until they could investigate his case.
After that the lion’s mother came back and said, “I always used to hear talk of Dimna’s charlatanism, but now it has been confirmed by the lies he tells and the justifications he comes up with to wriggle out of it. If the king lets him speak he will save himself with one word. His death will be a great relief to the king and the army if you are quick about it and do not give him any respite.”
“Kings’ intimates are envious, contentious, and suspicious,” said the lion, “and they lie in wait for one another day and night. The greater an intimate’s virtue, the more he is attacked and the more he is the object of malevolence and envy. Dimna’s station of intimacy was hard for the army to take. I don’t know whether they have united in this affair to advise me or whether it is out of enmity toward him. I do not want to be so hasty with regard to him that I harm myself for the benefit of others. Without having a thorough investigation I cannot consider myself absolved of having him killed, for following one’s lusts and falling prey to passion cloud correct opinions and right strategy. If I undermine people of virtue and competence on suspicion of treachery, my wrath will quickly subside, but I will regret it.”
When Dimna was taken to prison and placed in heavy chains, Kalila was moved by brotherly compassion to sneak in to see him. As soon as he saw him tears rolled down his cheeks and he said, “O brother, how can I see you in such misery and affliction? What enjoyment can I have in life after this? Now that things have come to this pass, if I speak sternly to you, you won’t mind. I saw it all unfold and gave you advice, but you paid no attention. The most unwelcome thing to you is advice. If in times {48} of need and safety I had neglected to give you advice, today I would be your partner in crime. However, you gave in to your own self-satisfaction and reliance on your own opinion. I told you what the wise say, that a schemer dies before his time, and by dying they do not mean a cessation of life but torment that spoils life such as you have fallen prey to. Death would be preferable. Rightly have they said that a man’s destruction lies between his jaws.”
“You always said what was right and advised me well,” said Dimna, “but concupiscence and craving high position clouded my judgment and rendered your advice worthless in my mind—like a sick person avid for food even though he knows it is to his detriment. He pays no attention to advice and eats according to his lust. To live happily and without opponents, to pass one’s days free of worry and in safety, is another thing altogether. Wherever there is great ambition there is no escaping pain and expectation of dreadful harm. I know that I have planted the seed of this calamity, and anyone who plants something will of course reap what he has sown even if he regrets it and knows that he has planted a poisonous plant. Today it is time to harvest the fruits of my own actions and words. What makes it worse is the fear that you may be accused along with me on account of our past friendship. God forbid you be tortured into revealing what you know of my secrets. Then I would be under two burdens. One would be the burden of my own pain and the shame for what you suffer on my account, and the other would be that I would have no more hope of salvation since there is no doubt of your truthfulness, and when you bear witness for strangers there is no doubt about your doing the same for me, with whom you shared such a friendship. You see my condition today. Now is the time for compassion and kindness.”
“I understand what you are saying,” said Kalila. “The wise have said that no one can bear up under torture and will say anything, true or false, to make it stop. I know of no ruse that can help you. Now that you are in this state you might as well confess your crime, own up to what you have done, and save yourself in the afterlife by repenting, for there is no doubt that you are going to perish.”
“Let me think about it,” said Dimna, “and I’ll do what needs to be done together with you.”
Kalila left in pain and sadness, his heart heavy with worries. He lay down on his bed and tossed and turned until he stopped breathing.
{49} Imprisoned with Dimna was a beast, and he was sleeping nearby, but he woke up while Kalila and Dimna were talking and heard everything they said and remembered it, but he said nothing.
The next day the lion’s mother repeated what she had said before, that merely imprisoning evildoers was equivalent to killing good people and that anyone who lets a miscreant live shares in his evil. The lion ordered the judges to be quick to decide on Dimna’s case and make his treachery known to elite and commoner alike. He also repeated his order that they report their proceedings every day.
The judges assembled and gathered the elite and the commoners. The judge’s advocate turned to those present and said, “The king has commanded that all care be taken in Dimna’s case and in investigating the charge made against him so that no doubt remain and the verdict you give be in full compliance with justice and in no way attributable to currying favor with or intimidation by the king. Every one of you must say what you know of his guilt for three purposes. First, to assist in justice and to speak the truth are of the utmost importance in religion and virtue. Second, when one traitor is punished, all wayward persons will be chastised. Third, the comfort and benefit of all will be assured by punishing persons who engage in chicanery and corruption and by ending their means of doing so.”
When this speech ended, all those present fell silent. No one said anything, for their certainty was not apparent. No one thought it right for anything to be said on mere suspicion or wanted a verdict to be given or blood shed based on his testimony.
When Dimna saw that, he said, “If I were guilty I would be glad of your silence, but I am innocent. He who cannot be proven guilty of a crime cannot be touched. In the view of the wise and honest he is acquitted. Everyone must speak of what he knows about my case and speak honestly and truthfully. There is accountability for every word either in the short run or in the long run, and this will be a verdict of life or death. Anyone who condemns me on suspicion or doubt without irrefutable proof will be like the man who claimed to be a physician without any medical knowledge, ability to diagnose, or skill in medicines or treatment.”
“How was that?” asked the judges.
In a certain city in Iraq there was a skilled physician, renowned for his treatments, known for his knowledge of medicines and causes, {50} and of vast experience. Destiny, as is its custom to take back its gifts and snatch away precious things, struck him down and deprived him of his sight, and gradually he lost his vision. A shameless ignoramus, seeing the field empty, began to claim to be a physician and gained some renown.
The king of the city had a daughter he had married to his nephew. She was having difficulty giving birth, and the wise old physician was called in. He asked about her pain, and when he heard the answer and diagnosed the cause he prescribed a medicine called zamahran. “It will have to be made,” they said.
“My eyes are weak,” he replied. “You will have to do it.”
Now the quack stepped forward and said, “It’s a job for me. I know how to do it.” The king called him forth and told him to go into the storehouse and get the ingredients. He went in without any knowledge or expertise. By chance a bag of lethal poison fell into his hands, and his mixed it in with the other ingredients and gave it to the young woman. No sooner did she drink it than she gave up the ghost. In grief over his daughter the king gave the quack a draft of the same poison. He drank it and died on the spot.
“I have told this story that you may know that acting on ignorance and doubt may have disastrous consequences.”
One of those present said, “It would be better not to ask either the commoners or the elite how deceitful or corrupt he is. The best person to ask would be himself, for the signs of crookedness can be seen in the ugliness of his face.”
“What are those signs?” asked the judge. “They must be told because not everyone will know.”
“The wise have said that if one has a wide brow, if his right eye is smaller than the left and constantly twitches, if his nose is inclined to the right, if he has three hairs growing from every pore in his body, and if his gaze is always toward the ground, such a person’s impure being is a compendium of corruption and deceit and a source of degeneracy and treachery. All these signs are found in him,” he said.
“In verdicts rendered by people there may be suspicion of favoritism and hypocrisy,” said Dimna. “Only God’s verdict is absolutely correct, and no error or mistake can be imagined in it. If such signs as you have {51} mentioned can determine justice and truth, and if they can be used to distinguish truth from falsehood, then people have no need of proof for anything, and no one need be praised for doing good or punished for doing evil because no one can get rid of these marks. Reward for good and retribution for evil are both null and void. If, God forbid, I have done what they say I have done, these traits made me do it, and since it was not possible to get rid of them I should not be punished, for they were created along with me. Since there was no escaping them, how can a verdict be given? You have at least made clear your own ignorance and blind traditionalism, and you have interfered unnecessarily with your incomprehensible speech.”
When Dimna gave this reply those present fell silent and said nothing. The judge ordered him taken back to prison.
Kalila had a friend named Rozbih. He went to Dimna to inform him of Kalila’s death. Dimna grieved, sighing from the bottom of his heart and shedding tears.
“Alas for a compassionate friend and brother of good counsel to whom I ran when I was in trouble,” he said. “I took refuge in his counsel and advice. His heart was a storehouse of his friends’ secrets that the world would never know. Now what comfort can I have in life and what is the use of living longer? Were it not for the fact that I take consolation from this affliction in your friendship, I would kill myself now. Thank goodness you are recompense for all losses, and your life consoles me for the loss brought on by his death. Today you are for me that same brother that Kalila was. Give me your hand and accept me as a brother.”
Rozbih agreed and said, “I am under a great obligation to you. All persons of gallantry, wisdom, and experience would be proud to call you friend. I only wish I could get you released and were able to do something worthy.”
They took each other by the hand and swore friendship. Then Dimna said, “In a certain place there is buried treasure belonging to Kalila and me. If you will take the trouble to bring it you will be thanked for your efforts.”
Rozbih went to where he indicated and brought it. Dimna took his share and gave Kalila’s share to Rozbih, charging him to stay near the king to sniff out what was happening and report it to him. Rozbih did this until the day of Dimna’s death.
{52} The next day the judges took their verdict to the lion and presented it. The lion took it and opened it. Then he summoned his mother. When she read the verdict she was perturbed and said, “If I speak sternly it will not please the king, and if I do not, I will be remiss in compassion and advice.”
“In giving advice compassion is not necessary,” said the lion. “Whatever you have to say will be acceptable, and it will not be subject to doubt.”
“The king cannot distinguish between falsehood and truth,” she said, “and does not recognize what benefits him from what is detrimental. If given a chance Dimna will stir up sedition that the king will be powerless to counter.” So saying, she got up in anger and left.
The next day Dimna was brought out, and the judges assembled and sat in the presence of the public. The judge’s advocate repeated what he had said on the first day. When nobody said anything the chief judge turned to Dimna and said, “Although those present are befriending you by their silence, all minds are set against you for your treachery. When you are so labeled what is the use of keeping you alive in our midst? It would be better for you to confess your guilt and save yourself in the afterlife with remorse. At least then you will have two things in your favor to be recorded in history. First, confession of your crime for salvation in the hereafter and choosing the eternal world over this fleeting one. Second, renown for your eloquence in these questions and answers and the various justifications you have given. Know truly that to die with a good name is preferable to living in infamy.”
“The judge cannot condemn me on the basis of his suspicion and that of those present without clear proof and evidence. Suspicion does not at all allow one to dispense with facts. Even if you have suspicions and everyone else is convinced of my guilt, I am the best judge of my own actions. To keep my certainty hidden because others have doubts is far from wise or honest. Concerning the suspicion you harbor that, God forbid, I may have caused someone’s blood to be shed there are different opinions and beliefs differ, but if I bring about my own death for no good reason, how could I be excused for doing that? No one has the right over me that I have over myself. Therefore how could I allow for myself what I would not in all chivalry allow for the least person? Enough of this talk. If it is advice, you’ll have to find better advice to give, and if it is a trick, to persist in it after it has been exposed is not the way of the wise. It is the job of judges to render a verdict, and avoidance of error {53} is praiseworthy. You have always been truthful and fair, but in this case you have taken to driveling on about how miserable and misfortunate I am and set aside all pretense to certainty and caution. You have rendered your verdict according to the insinuations of self-interested parties and your own baseless suspicions. Anyone who gives testimony about something of which he knows nothing will suffer the fate of the scheming gamekeeper.”
“How was that?” asked the judge.
There was a local ruler of some renown who had a wife named Baharoë. She had a face as beautiful as the moon, cheeks like roses, and skin like silver. Not only was she extremely beautiful but she was also very pious and virtuous. Her actions were pleasing, she was charming, and she was very kind. The ruler also had a shameless slave who kept the falcons. His gaze fell upon the virtuous wife, and he tried to get to her, but she paid him no attention. Despairing of her, he wanted to do her harm by plotting to expose her to shame. He got two parrots from a bird catcher and taught one of them to say, “I saw the gatekeeper in the master’s clothing sleeping with the mistress.” He taught the other to say, “I at least am saying nothing.” Within a week he had taught them to say these things. Then one day when the ruler was drinking with his friends the slave brought the birds in and set them down in front of him. They repeated what they had been taught to say. As it was in the language of Balkh, the ruler didn’t know what it meant, but he did like the sound of their voices and found them attractive. He turned the birds over to his wife to care for.
Some time passed. A group of people from Balkh were guests of the ruler. When they had finished their meal they sat drinking. The ruler called for the birdcage, and as usual they said their two speeches. The guests hung their heads and exchanged glances. Finally they asked the ruler if he knew what the birds were saying.
“No,” he said, “I do not, but their voices are charming.”
One of the men of Balkh who held a position of authority explained the meaning to him and took his hand from the wine, excusing himself by saying, “In our city it is not customary to eat or drink anything in the house of a man whose wife is a profligate.”
{54} While this was going on the slave said, “I too have seen them many times and can bear witness.”
The ruler was astonished and ordered his wife to be killed. However, she sent a message saying, “Haste is the work of the devil, and the wise and experienced consider deliberation and reflection necessary, especially when blood is going to be shed, as the Koran says: ‘O true believers, if a wicked man come unto you with a tale, inquire strictly into the truth thereof’ [Kor. 49:6]. Retribution for my actions is necessary, and when the truth has been ascertained, if I deserve death, I will submit instantly. At least allow that the people of Balkh be asked if the birds know anything of the language of Balkh other than those two phrases. If they do not then you may be certain that the shameless gamekeeper has coached them, for when he could not have his way with me and my virtue prevented him from having his way, he came up with this plot. If the birds can say anything else in that language know that I am guilty and my blood is licit.”
The ruler took all precaution and established that his wife was innocent, so he retracted his order for her death and commanded that the falconer be brought in. He came back with a falcon on his arm, ready to serve.
The wife asked, “Did you see me do what you said?”
“Yes, I did,” he replied. With this the falcon on his arm flew into his face and pecked his eyes out.
“This is the reward for eyes that thought they saw what could not have been seen,” she said, “and you deserve it in the Creator’s justice and mercy.”
“I have told this story that it may be known that to proceed in haste based on suspicion is inauspicious and futile and has disastrous consequences in this world.”
All of these proceedings they wrote down and sent to the lion. He showed them to his mother. When she had apprised herself of the contents she said, “Long live the king. The only benefit all my efforts in this affair have had is that that accursed one has been disgraced. Today his chicanery and deceit are focused on destroying the king and causing an upheaval in affairs of state. The consequences will be worse than what he perpetrated on a loyal minister and counseling champion.”
{55} These words made a great impression on the lion, and he thought long and hard about it all. Then he said to his mother, “Tell me from whom you heard the truth so that I will have a justification for putting Dimna to death.”
“It would be difficult for me to disclose the secret of a person who relied on me, and killing Dimna would give me no reason to rejoice. How could I permit myself to disclose a secret that has been entrusted to me? However, I will ask that person. If I am given permission I will reveal it.”
She left the lion and summoned the leopard and said, “The various forms of patronage and preference the king has given you are well known. The distinction you enjoy is too obvious to need elaboration.” Then she said, “You need to discharge the obligation you owe him for the good things you enjoy. People of virtue consider it obligatory to assist one who has suffered injustice by disclosing proof in a case of life and death, for anyone who withholds evidence of a murder will be condemning himself on the day of judgment.” And she recited to him convincing arguments of this sort.
“If I had a thousand lives I would sacrifice them all in an instant for the king,” the leopard said, “and I still would not have discharged the least of my obligations to him and would still consider myself defective in being a good servant. The reason I refrained from giving testimony was to avoid being suspected by the king. Now that things have come to this pass I must not neglect the best interests of the kingdom and will do what is commanded.” He then told the king of the conversation between Kalila and Dimna as he had heard it, and he testified before the assembly of the beasts. When that became general knowledge the other beast who had heard their conversation in prison sent a messenger to say, “I too have testimony.” The lion ordered him brought, and he bore witness to what had transpired in prison between Kalila and Dimna.
“Why didn’t you speak up on the first day?” he was asked.
“A sound verdict cannot be given on the basis of one witness,” he said. “I cannot allow animals to be tormented without benefit. With two witnesses Dimna’s sentence of death is justifiable.”
The lion ordered Dimna to be bound and held under surveillance. Food was withheld from him and he was held under duress until he died of hunger and thirst. Such is the consequence of chicanery and the end of dishonesty.{56}