My being was as an unfinished statue, Uncomely, worthless, good for nothing. Love chiselled me: I became a man And gained knowledge of the nature of the universe. I have seen the movement of the sinews of the sky, 155 And the blood coursing in the veins of the moon. Many a night I wept for Man’s sake That I might tear the veil from Life’s mysteries, And extract the secret of Life’s constitution From the laboratory of phenomena. 160 I who give beauty to this night, like the moon, Am as dust in devotion to the pure Faith (Islam)-- A Faith renowned in hill and dale, Which kindles in men’s hearts a flame of undying song: It sowed an atom and reaped a sun, 165 It harvested a hundred poets like Rúmí and Attár. I am a sigh: I will mount to the heavens; I am a breath, yet am I sprung of fire. Driven onward by high thoughts, my pen Cast abroad the secret of this veil, 170 That the drop may become co-equal with the sea And the grain of sand grow into a Sahara. Poetising is not the aim of this _masnaví_, Beauty-worshipping and love-making is not its aim. I am of India: Persian is not my native tongue; 175 I am like the crescent moon: my cup is not full. Do not seek from me charm of style in exposition, Do not seek from me Khánsár and Isfahan.[31] Although the language of Hind is sweet as sugar, Yet sweeter is the fashion of Persian speech. 180 My mind was enchanted by its loveliness, My pen became as a twig of the Burning Bush. Because of the loftiness of my thoughts, Persian alone is suitable to them. O Reader, do not find fault with the wine-cup, 185 But consider attentively the taste of the wine. FOOTNOTES: [23] Jamshíd, one of the mythical Persian kings, is said to have possessed a marvellous cup in which the whole world was displayed to him. [24] The Sea of Omán is a name given by the Arabs to the Persian Gulf. [25] The holy well at Mecca. [26] Jalálu´ddín Rúmí, the greatest mystical poet of Persia (A.D. 1207-1273). Most of his life was passed at Iconium in Galatia, for which reason he is generally known as “Rúmí,” _i.e._ “the Anatolian.” [27] This refers to the famous _Masnaví_ of Jalálu´ddín Rúmí. [28] Rue-seed, which is burned for the purpose of fumigation, crackles in the fire. [29] “Wine” signifies the mysteries of divine love. [30] Majnún is the Orlando Furioso of Arabia. [31] Khánsár, which lies about a hundred miles northwest of Isfahan, was the birth-place of several Persian poets. I _Showing that the system of the universe originates in the Self and that the continuation of the life of all individuals depends on strengthening the Self._