Power and Purpose

"Wise people delay eating. Devout people do not satisfy their appetite. Hermits take only enough to sustain life. The young eat until the dishes are taken away. The old eat till they sweat.
A wise person who engages in controversy with fools, should not expect to be treated with honour. And if a fool should overpower a sage with eloquence, no one should be surprised: a common stone can break a jewel.
Do not be surprised that the dissolute do not heed the words of the devout; the music of a lute is drowned by the beat of a drum.
A natural talent without training is pitiable: training without a natural talent is wasted. A wise person is like a tray at a pharmacist - in silence it manifests its own merits. An ignorant person is like the drum of a warrior - loud and useless.
Friendship takes many years to establish: so do not fall out with a friend over a single disagreement.
Reason is captive in the hands of passion - just as a weak man is captive in the hands of an artful woman.
Purpose without power is mere weakness and deception: power without purpose is emptiness and insanity." - Sadi: Gulistan 8