There was a certain young preacher who was learned and intelligent, a man of sanctity and a true worshipper. He was forcible in eloquence and correct in grammar, but his articulation was so faulty that he could not properly repeat the letters of the alphabet.

I said to a Holy man, “The youth has not got his front teeth!”

“Speak not thus,” he replied. “You have discerned his fault, but your eyes are closed to his many virtues. Thorns and roses grow together; why are you regarding only the thorns? He who is of bad nature sees nothing in the peacock but its ugly feet.”



From The Bustan of Sa’di