Having lived for many years in Beirut, John Wortabet grew to know much about the Islamic world. Recognizing the wisdom and integrity of the people and religion of what was then known as Syria, Wortabet set about to preserve the essentials of Arabic wisdom in this little book. The wisdom saying, a literary form of ancient pedigree in this part of the world, is generally a brief but pointed statement of a truth distilled from careful observation. Wortabet here presents these saying arranged according to topic, with the goal of facilitating understanding between the wider world and those who live in what has become a very unsettled region.

John Wortabet (1827-1908) was a medical doctor and professor of anatomy at the Medical College in Beirut. He was a physician in the Hospital of the Knights of St. John, and wrote an Arabic version of Gray’s Anatomy.