Nageeb assented.
“It concerns Salim,” said Khayyat.
“What has this Salim accomplished,” asked Nageeb Fiani, “in alleviation of the sorrows of love?”
Khayyat would not answer.
“Tell me,” Nageeb pleaded.
“This Salim,” said Khalil Khayyat, “made a song that could not be uttered. It is well,” said Khalil Khayyat. “You remember?”
Nageeb remembered.
“Then know this,” said Khalil Khayyat, abruptly, “the song he could not utter he sings in gentle deeds. It is a great song; it is too great for singing—it must be lived. This Salim,” he added, “is the greatest poet that ever lived. He expresses his sublime and perfect compositions in dear deeds. He is, indeed, a great poet.”
Nageeb Fiani thought it great argument for poetry; so, too, Khalil Khayyat.