Arise, leave the cares of this world which are fleeting;
be joyous, pass gaily this life of a moment, for if the
favors of heaven had been constant to others, this turn
of joy would not have come to you.
Listen to me, O thou who hast not seen old friends
[of experience]! Vex not thyself with this Wheel of
Heaven which has neither surface nor foundation: content
thyself with what thou hast and, as a peaceable spectator,
observe here below the various games to which men are
destined.
Employ all thy efforts to be agreeable to drinkers,
and follow the good counsel of Khayyam. O friend!
demolish the bases of prayer and of fasting, drink wine,
steal if you will, but do good.
Justice is the soul of the universe, the universe is the
body. The angels are the wit of the body, the heavens
the elements, the creatures in it are the members; behold
here the eternal unity. The rest is only trumpery.
Yesterday evening, in the tavern, the object of my
heart that ravishes my soul [God] presented me a cup
with a ravishing air of sincerity and a desire to please
me, inviting me to drink. No, said I to him, I will
not drink. Drink, he answered me, for the love of my
heart.