On the Topic of Human Nature
Throughout this course, there have been three major authors we have discussed, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Ferdowsi. By reading and analyzing their major works, we have come to realize that each has something to say about the nature of humanity and that there are connections between them. Ferdowsi and Herodotus seem remarkably similar in most instances, while Thucydides is the pessimistic viewer of humanity. Several subjects are present to some degree in each author, the topics of wisdom, power, and fear. Ferdowsi’s predominate theme about human nature is wisdom. He says this directly in his Book of Kings, “Of God’s best gift to thee extol the worth/ Of wisdom. . .” God has given us the great gift of wisdom and if we do not pursue it “thy journey through this world is sad.” But what exactly is wisdom anyway? Regarding this question, Ferdowsi answers it as well, “God created thee/To know appearance and reality.” This is how Ferdowsi defines wisdom, as knowing the difference between what is true and what is false. And how exactly do we come by this wisdom? Here too Ferdowsi answers us; “ Learn by the words of the sages how to wend/ Thy way, roam the earth, converse with everyone;/ And when thou hearest any man of lore/ Discourse, sleep not, increase thy wisdom’s store…” Simply put, listen to the words of the wise, travel, and speak to everyone you meet for everyone has something to say. He also encourages us to question what we hear, not to blindly accept all the words we are given. This idea of wisdom is exemplified in The Occultation of Kay Khosrow. Khosrow says, “ I have reached life’s bourn, I have seen the world’s secrets, its good and evil, what is plain and what is hidden, and I have seen that whether a man tills the soil or reigns as a king, he must finally pass through death.” The phrase “what is plain and what is hidden” directly coincides with Ferdowsi’s definition of wisdom stated in his preface. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Khosrow is a personification of wisdom and that what he says are statements of wisdom.