Ali Ben Abi Taleb. [767:6] —— -660.
Believe me, a thousand friends suffice thee not;
In a single enemy thou hast more than enough.[767:7]
Footnotes
[767:6] Ali Ben Abi Taleb, son-in-law of Mahomet, and fourth caliph, who was for his courage called "The Lion of God," was murdered a. d. 660. He was the author of a "Hundred Sayings."
[767:7] Translated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and wrongly called by him a translation from Omar Khayyám.
Found in Dr. Hermann Tolowiez's "Polyglotte der Orientalischen Poesie."
Translated by James Russell Lowell thus:—
He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare,
And he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.
[768]