many doubts, point out hidden treasures, and is, as it were,
a mirror of all things, is even an ignorant man."

"These six--the peevish, the niggard, the dissatisfied,
the passionate, the suspicious, and those who live upon
others' means--are forever unhappy."

"That mother is an enemy, and that father a foe, by whom
not having been instructed, their son shineth not in the
assembly; but appeareth there like a booby among geese."

"There are two kinds of knowledge in use: the knowledge
of arms, and the knowledge of books. The first is the scoff
if the wise, whilst the last is forever honoured."


We give you other Indian fables from the
collection of Bidpai. La Fontaine in one of the
prefaces to his French fables in verse expresses his
gratitude to "Bilpay the Indian sage." These
are the very manuscripts translated from the
Sanskrit into Persian by the physician who took
them back to his king. Sir William Jones says
that "Bidpai" signifies "beloved physician" and
that Bilpay is simply a mis-spelling of the word.
As other scholars contended that Bidpai was not
a man at all, but probably one of the two wise
camels that did most of the talking in the earlier
fables, you and I will not be able to settle the truth
of the question. All these points are interesting,