Saʿdi’s Golestanگلستان سعدی

“Saʿdi’s Golestan” (656 AH / 1258 CE) is a masterpiece of melodious Persian prose: a collection of brief, didactic tales arranged in eight chapters—on the conduct of kings, the ethics of dervishes, the virtue of contentment, the benefits of silence, love and youth, weakness and old age, the impact of education, and the etiquette of companionship. Its style blends rhythmic cadence, concision, parable, and gentle wit, and where needed, graceful verses deepen the meaning. With a soft irony and a humane outlook—from justice and statecraft to personal ethics, love, education, and sociability—Saʿdi turns lived experience into practical lessons. Read in schools for centuries and translated into many languages, the Golestan remains engaging and inspiring for its limpid prose, applicable wisdom, and vivid portrait of life in the seventh Islamic century.