The World’s Wit and Humor: An Encyclopedia in 15 Volumes. 1906.
Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207–1273)Old Age
Old Man.I am in sore trouble owing to my brain.
Physician.The weakness of the brain is due to old age.
Old Man.
Dark spots are floating before my eyes.Physician.That, too, comes from old age, oh, venerable sheikh!
Old Man.My back aches very much.
Physician.The result of old age, oh, lean sheikh!
Old Man.No food that I take agrees with me.
Physician.The failure of the digestive organs is also due to old age.
Old Man.I am afflicted with hard breathing.
Physician.Yes, the breathing ought to be affected in that manner. When old age comes, it brings a hundred complaints in its train.
Old Man.My legs are getting feeble, and I am unable to walk much.
Physician.It is nothing but old age which obliges you to sit in a corner.
Old Man.My back has become bent like a bow.
Physician.This trouble is merely the consequence of old age.
Old Man.My eyesight is quite dim, oh, sage physician!
Physician.Nothing but old age, oh, wise man!
Old Man.Oh, you idiot, always harping on the same theme! Is this all you know of the science of medicine? Fool, does not your reason tell you that God has assigned a remedy to every ailment? You are a stupid ass, and with your paltry stock of learning are still fumbling in the mire!
Physician.Oh, you dotard past sixty, know, then, that even this rage and fury is due to old age!