Seven Veils of Seth by Ibrahim Al-Koni

Author:Ibrahim Al-Koni [Al-Koni, Ibrahim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Garnet Publishing (UK) Ltd
Published: 2014-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

2 Glad Tidings

The day he arrived at the market mounted on his jenny, he stopped her at a nearby wall and tossed her a handful of clover for her delectation. Then he went to the square, where the chief merchant hurried to greet him, jubilantly resorting to panegyric hyperbole: “It is reported that Wantahet willingly carries his jenny on his back when wading through mires in the sandy desert or transports her by camel-back, like a precious cargo, thus going out of his way to demean camels.” “Ha, ha. . . . Why shouldn’t the jenny master carry his jenny on his back, since she protected him one day? Why shouldn’t the jenny master decry the offspring of camels, since his fear of them is not unfounded?”

“The jenny master’s tongue never lacks a response. Only a person granted felicitous use of this organ by the spirit world will ever know happiness.”

“The tongue assures happiness in our world, but eternal happiness depends on the intellect.”

“You’re right. Anyone granted mastery over the tongue will never need to conclude a pact with our master luck.”

“And anyone allied with luck will equally have little need for the tongue. You merchants are the scions of luck.”

“That’s what everyone thinks. Only a few people realize that nothing depends so much on the intellect, which you just mentioned, as does commerce. Because they are ignorant of the truth about this riddle called commerce, people disdain it. The problem is not that common people are naturally opposed to what they don’t understand; they simply have never known the delight of commerce. They don’t understand that landing a deal ranks even above landing a beautiful virgin.”

“I know that no sedentary person practices a profession unless he finds pleasure in its pursuit.”

“Commerce, Mr. Foreigner, isn’t just trade. Commerce does not consist merely of profit or loss. Commerce – like woman – is a plaything. Commerce is a song! Commerce, for the accomplished practitioner, is a stanza in a long epic. The epic is the physical world and commerce is its verses. Commerce’s brilliance is evidenced by its ability to call forth civilization from a void. Were it not for commerce, this oasis wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. If it were not for commerce, we would not have had the pleasure of meeting here in the market today.”

From behind his veil, he watched the merchant with interest but interrupted at this juncture: “Your aria about commerce has moved me, inspiring me to dream up a deal. Ha, ha . . . would you imagine that the jenny master would dare engage in commerce by offering a deal to the master merchant?”

The chief merchant smiled a salesman’s cunning leer and then replied, “Why not? A contract lies hidden in everyone’s pocket. In the heart of each creature sleeps a wish that can be converted into a contract. The innards of any individual conceal a contract. A woman is pregnant with a fetus; a man is burdened with a contract. From cradle to grave, our entire life is a contract.

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