Sol 6.1

  1. Greetings, O Minister of Finance, from me

    to you, and from all the sincere.

  2. And honor for your standing from senators

    and deputies, as a reward for those who serve.

  3. And O son of the eminent man who long ago fulfilled his duty

    to Egypt, O brother of the eminent men.

  4. The one versed in every affair chose you,

    so you stood by him, and he was your helper.

  5. For him and you, the two parties met as companions,

    and became leaders of equal standing.

  6. And private counsel brought them together for good,

    as a mother gathers her dutiful sons.

  7. And whoever boasts proudly of his numbers—

    they, through you both, are the nobles more numerous still.

  8. You aided the former when they were comrades,

    and from you today comes aid for the latter.

  9. And you parted from those who went leftward,

    and kept pace with those who went rightward.

  10. Those who rise against you have no claim

    beyond the claims of tellers of alarming rumors.

  11. We have seen no excuse in what they habitually do

    for them, except misgivings and suspicions.

  12. You left them, as they left you, in reproach,

    and you and they will return to reconciliation.

  13. And their hearts have remained sound,

    and they have not lost discernment or their eyes.

  14. And they bear you no grudge,

    even if they are the sternest in holding you to account.

  15. Nor have the portents of war distracted you from them,

    and you have shown them firmness and gentleness in full measure.

  16. If you satisfy your nation, it will feel secure

    with you, and the harm of the angry will count for little.

  17. Minister of Finance, you collect wealth lawfully,

    and distribute it with the justice of the resolute.

  18. You collected its tax revenue from every wealthy person,

    and it became the alms due on that wealth for the needy.

  19. Prescribed dues are what you collect, not oppressive levies;

    you pay them out and discharge them faithfully.

  20. And whether they are gifts or loans,

    they have found in you their guarantor.

  21. For their benefit you took from them, and they are equal

    before you, paying and receiving.

  22. Whatever worldly goods they give are returned

    to them as a fine and precious jewel.

  23. And with what they paid, you preserve nothing but

    the welfare of their lives, in this world and in faith.

  24. And whoever spends a single unit of what he has acquired

    for his nation will regain it in hundreds.

  25. And whoever finds his taxes burdensome,

    you guarantee that they will grow lighter for him.

  26. And one who gives the realm his lifeblood—will he remain

    grudging toward it with what his hand holds?

  27. And what indispensable law

    has been without the willing and the unwilling?

  28. And whence comes any accusation against you over treasures

    for which you appointed angels as guardians?

  29. And those are God's treasuries, which asked for more,

    so you were the most incorruptible of those who filled them.

  30. And the dinar moving between your hands is nothing

    but a soldier occupying fortresses.

  31. Without money, no path could be secured

    toward their hopes by the hands of reformers.

  32. The land and those upon it have seen from you

    with their own eyes more than they knew for certain.

  33. By your own efforts, after your family, within its bounds,

    you attained your spacious, firmly established station.

  34. And the best of your benefactions, varied as they are,

    is the cultivators' share from the valley.

  35. You settled their debt for them, and they regained

    their resources and what they put to productive use.

  36. The onslaught of invaders upon a land is not

    heavier than the shackles of creditors.

  37. And you are the object of the hopes and approval

    of your country—such is the reward of the skillful.

Sol 6.1