But slave to woman’s will is he, without reprieve.
He, to whose words the universe has all bowed down,[291]
Was he who sang: “Humayrā, speak to me!” Life’s crown![292]
Of fire and water, fire is quelled through water’s wet;
Still, water boils through fire, when in a cauldron set.185
The cauldron, like a veil, those lovers keeps apart;
And water’s influence no longer cools fire’s heart.
To outward show, as water, thou mayst rule thy wife;
In stern reality, thou cleavest to her,—thy life.
This attribute, humanity must own its force: