This article addresses key concepts pertaining to Adab on the one hand and Abbasid administrative practices on the other, by focusing on an unpublished work that straddles both themes. It is shown that Arabic works on both Adab and bureaucracy are difficult to isolate and categorise conclusively as both genres were receptive to diverse flavourings, be they of an ornamental nr of a strictly practical nature. Although the article adopts a comparative approach to these issues, detailed attention is paid to (...) the character of the particular work under discussion and its author. (shrink)