" And she thanked them for this. All this while the
curtains were drawn between Nuzhet ez Zeman and the women with
her, on the one side, and King Sherkan and the Cadis and merchant
seated by him, on the other. Presently, Sherkan called to her and
said, "O queen, the glory of thine age, this merchant describes
thee as being learned and accomplished and asserts that thou art
skilled in all branches of knowledge, even to astrology: so let
us hear something of all this and give us a taste of thy
quality."
"O King," replied she, "I hear and obey. The first subject of
which I will treat is the art of government and the duties of
kings and what behoves governors of lawful commandments and what
is incumbent on them in respect of pleasing manners. Know then, O
King, that all men's works tend either to religion or to worldly
life, for none attains to religion save through this world,
because it is indeed the road to the next world. Now the world is
ordered by the doings of its people, and the doings of men
are divided into four categories, government (or the exercise
of authority), commerce, husbandry (or agriculture) and
craftsmanship. To government are requisite perfect (knowledge of
the science of) administration and just judgment; for government
is the centre (or pivot) of the edifice of the world, which is
the road to the future life since that God the Most High hath
made the world to be to His servants even as victual to the
traveller for the attainment of the goal: and it is needful that
each man receive of it such measure as shall bring him to God,
and that he follow not in this his own mind and desire.
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