the days of fruitfulness will pass and you will be in the same state as when you first began your struggle with your desires. when you no longer regard desire as a temptation and passion as an enemy you will be deceived by them and become weak against them and you will entrust yourself to them although they are the most present enemy and the most evil intruder. so guarantee me the first desire and i will guarantee you complete patience and a final ease and the stability of honor in your hearts and wealth in your descendants and the continuation of peoples esteem for you. for if the only benefit of wealth was that you would continue to be esteemed by those who never took a dirham from you then the merit in that would be clear and the profit apparent. even if there were no blessing from wealth or benefit from ease if the owner of a lot of money were to connect with a great king and among his companions were those who were more respected had more longstanding companionship were more sincere in love were more enjoyable and were more beneficial and correct yet were of light means and had little money then that king wanted to divide the money or distribute it among them in part to make the share of the wealthy one greater even if he was less than his companions in everything and the share of the one who was light was less even if he was above his companions in everything.
تنقضي أيام الفاكهة وأنت على مثل إبتداء حالك وعلى أول مجاهدتك لشهوتك. ومتى لم تعد الشهوة فتنة والهوى عدوا، اغتررت لهما وضعفت عنهما، وائتمنتهما على نفسك، وهما أحضر عدو وشر دخيل. فاضمنوا لي النزوة ١ الأولى، أضمن لكم تمام الصبر وعاقبة اليسر، وثبات العز في قلوبكم والغني في أعقابكم ودوام تعظيم الناس لكم. فإنه لو لم يكن من منفعة الغنى إلا أنك لا تزال معظما عند من لم ينل منك قط درهما، لكان الفضل في ذلك بينا والربح ظاهرا. ولو يكن من بركة الثروة ومن منفعة اليسر، إلا أن رب المال الكثير لو أتصل بملك كبير، وفي جلسائه من هو أوجب حرمة، وأقدم صحبة وأصدق محبة، وأمتع إمتاعا، وأكثر فائدة وصوابا، إلا أنه خفيف الحال قليل ذات اليد، ثم أراد ذلك الملك أن يقسم مالا أو يوزع بينهم طرفا ٢ ، لجعل حظ الموسر ٣ أكثر، وإن كان في كل شيء دون أصحابه، وحظ المخف أقل، وإن كان في كل شيء فوق أصحابه.