O wine, most limpid, pure, and crystalline,
Would I could drench this silly frame of mine
With thee, that passers by might think 'twas thou,
And cry, «Whence comest thou, fair master wine?»
A Shaikh beheld a harlot, and quoth he,
«You seem a slave to drink and lechery»;
And she made answer, «What I seem I am,
But, Master, are you all you seem to be?»
473. L. N. The technical name of quatrains like this is suwal o jawab, or muraja'at. Gladwin, Persian Rhetoric, p. 40.
If, like a ball, earth to my house were borne,
When drunk, I'd rate it at a barley-corn;
Last night they offered me in pawn for wine,
But the rude vintner laughed that pledge to scorn.
474. C. L. N. A. I. J. Note the yas i tankir in Kuye, juye, and giraye.
Now in thick clouds Thy face Thou dost immerse,
And now display it in this universe;
Thou the spectator, Thou the spectacle,
Sole to Thyself Thy glories dost rehearse.