Furthermore, the foundation on which writing is based [is] that only a subordinate should take [it] up and only one who is in a sense a servant [can] master it. We have never seen an important person undertake it for its own sake or share in his secretary's work. Every secretary is required to be loyal and requested to bear hardship patiently. The most diverse conditions are imposed on him and he is sorely tried. The secretary has no right to set any of those conditions. On the contrary, he is thought slow at the first lapse even if exhausted and censured at the first error even if unintentional. A slave is entitled to many complaints against his master. He can request his sale to another if he wishes. The secretary has no way to lay claim to his late back wages or to leave his patron if he acts unfairly. He is governed by the rules for slaves. His status is that of a dolt.
It should be enough for you to know of this group that the noblest of them is at the bottom of the pay scale. The most wealthy of them are the least regarded by the ruler. The head of the secretariat who acts as spokesman to the nation earns a tenth of the income of the head of land tax. The scribe whose handwriting lends beauty to the communications of the caliph earns a fraction of the income of the head copyist in the land tax bureau. The correspondence secretary is not fetched for a disaster nor is his aid sought in a crisis. When the ministers have settled on a course of action and agreed in their appraisal, a note is tossed him with the gist of the order. He prepares the text. When he has finished his editing and straightened out the words, he brings in his copyist. He sits as near as anyone to the caliph, in a restricted location away from visitors. Once that task is completed, however, there is no difference between those two scribes and the common people. This is true although their craft is not common to all secretaries nor found among the common people. Those of them most copious in knowledge are the least respected and those of them nearest the caliph are the most underrated.
What of the land tax secretary? His knowledge is not extraordinary. The people are not prevented from having a share of it. Anyone who has worked or been worked for could fill his place. His quality which he himself finds most praiseworthy is the ability to make problems for foes. The happiest of his affairs for which he hopes fulfillment are greed and to deprive others of their rights. He thinks himself most proficient in his profession when he can violate the rulings of the Prophet and take advantage of the oversights of the defendant.
World History
