I know what is, and what is not, I know
The lore of things above, and things below;
But all this lore will cheerfully renounce,
If one a higher grade than drink can show.
336. L. N. B. Line 1, Being and Not-being, «Grade,» i.e., of learning.
Though I drink wine, I am no libertine,
Nor am I grasping, save of cups of wine;
I scruple to adore myself, like you;
For this cause to wine-worship I incline.
337. C. L. N. A. I. J. A hit at the vain and covetous Mollas. Also ascribed to Anwari.
To confidants like you I dare to say
What mankind really are—moulded of clay,
Affliction's clay, and kneaded in distress,
They taste the world awhile, then pass away.
338. C. L. N. A. I. J. Note the archaic form.
We make the wine-jar's lip our place of prayer,
And drink in lessons of true manhood there,
And pass our lives in taverns, if perchance
The time mis-spent in mosques we may repair.