The Moon carried on, "To value ourselves, upon the glitter and finery of dress, is one of the most trifling of all vanities; and a man of sense, would be ashamed to bestow upon it the least attention. They who examine things by the scale of common sense, must find something of weight and substance, before they can be persuaded to set a value upon it. The mind—which is stored with virtuous and rational sentiments—and the behaviour—which speaks complacence and humility—stamps an estimate upon the possessor, which all judicious spectators are ready to admire and acknowledge.Take a note of the following sketch,A Peacock, puffed up with vanity, met a Crane one day, and to impress him spread his gorgeous tail in the Sun. 'Look,' he said. 'What have you to compare with this? I am dressed in all the glory of the rainbow, while your feathers are gray as dust!'The Crane spread his broad wings and flew up toward the sun. 'Follow me if you can,' he said. But the Peacock, stood where he was among the birds of the barnyard, while the Crane soared in freedom far up into the blue sky. He said, 'The useful is of much more importance and value, than the ornamental.'The Peacock values himself, upon the glitter and finery of dress, is one of the most trifling considerations in nature; and what a man of sense would be ashamed to reckon even as the least part of merit. Indeed, children, and those people who think much about the same pitch with them, are apt to be taken with varnish land tinsel: but they who examine by the scale of common sense, must find something of weight and substance, before they can be persuaded to set a value.If there be any merit in an embroidered coat, a brocade waistcoat, a shoe, a stocking, or a sword-knot, the person who wears them, has the least claim to it; let it be ascribed where it justly belongs, to the several artisans who wrought and disposed the materials of which they consist.This moral, is not intended to derogate any thing from the magnificence of fine clothes and rich equipages, which, as times and circumstances require, may be used with decency and propriety enough: but one cannot help being concerned, lest any worth should be affixed to them more than their own intrinsic value.Next, take a look on this sketch,A Jackdaw chanced to fly over the garden of the King’s palace. There he saw with much wonder and envy a flock of royal Peacocks in all the glory of their splendid plumage.Now the black Jackdaw was not a very handsome bird, nor very refined in manner. Yet he imagined that all he needed to make himself fit for the society of the Peacocks was a dress like theirs. So he picked up some castoff feathers of the Peacocks and stuck them among his own black plumes.Dressed in his borrowed finery he strutted loftily among the birds of his own kind. Then he flew down into the garden among the Peacocks. But they soon saw who he was. Angry at the cheat, they flew at him, plucking away the borrowed feathers and also some of his own.The poor Jackdaw returned sadly to his former companions. There another unpleasant surprise awaited him. They had not forgotten his superior airs toward them, and, to punish him, they drove him away with a rain of pecks and jeers.To aim at making a figure by the means of either borrowed wit, or borrowed money, generally subjects us at last to a ten-fold ridicule. A wise man, therefore, will take his post quietly, in his own station, without pretending to fill that of another, and never affect to look bigger than he really is, by means of a false or borrowed light.What we may learn from this fable is, in the main, to live contentedly in our own condition, whatever it be, without affecting to look bigger than we are, by a false or borrowed light. To be barely pleased with appearing above what a man really is, is bad enough; and what may justly render him contemptible in the eyes of his equals: But if, to enable him to do this with something of a better grace, he has clandestinely feathered his nest with his neighbour’s good, when found out, he has nothing to expect but to be stripped of his plunder, and used like a felonious rogue into the bargain.
And finally, notice this following sketch,The birds once met together to choose a King, and among others, the Peacock was a candidate. Spreading his showy tail, and stalking up and down with affected grandeur, he caught the eyes of the silly multitude by his brilliant appearance, and was elected with acclamation.Just as they were going to proclaim him, the Magpie stept forth into the midst of the assembly, and thus addressed the new King, 'May it please your majesty elect, to permit a humble admirer to propose a question. As our king, we put our lives and fortunes in your hands. If, therefore, the Eagle, the Vulture, and the Kite, our unruly brethren, should in the future, as they have in times past, make a descent upon us, what means would you take for our defence?'This pithy question, opened the eyes of the birds, to the weakness of their choice. They cancelled the election, and have ever since regarded the Peacock as a vain pretender, and considered the Magpie to be as good a speaker as any of their number."As a closing, the Moon then summarized, "Form and outside, in the choice of a Leader, should not be so much regarded, as the qualities and endowments of the mind. In choosing a Leader, from the king of the land, down to the master of a company, upon every new election, it should be enquired into, which of the candidates is most capable of advancing the good and welfare of the community; and upon him the choice should fall. But the eyes of the multitude, are so dazzled with pomp and show, noise and ceremony, that they cannot see things really as they are. And from hence, it comes to pass, that so many absurdities are committed and maintained in the world. People should, open the eyes and ears, to examine and weigh, the real weight and merit of the person, and not be imposed upon by false colours and pretences. And Allah knows best."
Citations & References:
- Handbook of Research on Islamic Business Ethics, Edited by Abbas J. Ali, Edward Elgar
- Syaikh Safiurrahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) Volume I, Darussalam
- Abd Ar Rahman bin Muhammed ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah, Translated by Franz Rosenthal, Pantheon Books
- Samuel Croxall, D.D., Fables of Aesop and Others, Simon Probasco
- Thomas Bewick, Bewick's Select Fables, Bickers & Sons
[Part 1]
- Handbook of Research on Islamic Business Ethics, Edited by Abbas J. Ali, Edward Elgar
- Syaikh Safiurrahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) Volume I, Darussalam
- Abd Ar Rahman bin Muhammed ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah, Translated by Franz Rosenthal, Pantheon Books
- Samuel Croxall, D.D., Fables of Aesop and Others, Simon Probasco
- Thomas Bewick, Bewick's Select Fables, Bickers & Sons
[Part 1]
