The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

The merchant, on hearing these words,[I_6] exclaimed, Verily to God we belong, and verily to Him we must return! There is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great! If I killed him, I did it not intentionally, but without knowing it; and I trust in thee that thou wilt pardon me.--The Jinnee answered, Thy death is indispensable, as thou hast killed my son:--and so saying, he dragged him, and threw him on the ground, and raised his arm to strike him with the sword. The merchant, upon this, wept bitterly, and said to the Jinnee, I commit my affair unto God, for no one can avoid what He hath decreed:--and he continued his lamentation, repeating the following verses:-- Time consists of two days; this, bright; and that, gloomy: and life, of two moieties; this, safe; and that, fearful. Say to him who hath taunted us on account of misfortunes, Doth fortune oppose any but the eminent? Dost thou not observe that corpses float upon the sea, while the precious pearls remain in its furthest depths? When the hands of time play with us, misfortune is imparted to us by its protracted kiss. In the heaven are stars that cannot be numbered; but none is eclipsed save the sun and the moon. How many green and dry trees are on the earth; but none is assailed with stones save that which beareth fruit! Thou thoughtest well of the days when they went well with thee, and fearedst not the evil that destiny was bringing. --When he had finished reciting these verses, the Jinnee said to him, Spare thy words, for thy death is unavoidable.