But if in vain, down on the stubborn floor
Of Earth, and up to Heav'n's unopening Door,
You gaze To-day, while You are You—how then
To-morrow, when You shall be You no more?
The original of this quatrain is C. 24.
If the heart understood the secret of existence as it is,
In death it would know all the secrets of God:
If to-day thou knowest nothing, being with thyself,
What wilt thou know to-morrow when thou abandonest thyself?
Ref.: C. 24, L. 78, B. 74, S.P. 49, P. 85, B. ii. 106, T. 25.—W. 52, N. 49. V. 77.
Waste not your Hour, nor in the vain pursuit
Of this and That endeavour and dispute;
Better be jocund with the fruitful Grape
Than sadden after none, or Bitter, Fruit.
The inspiration for this quatrain comes from O. 50 and O. 107:
Those who are the slaves of intellect and hair-splitting,[61]
Have perished in bickerings about existence and non-existence;
Go, thou dunce! and choose (rather) grape juice,
For the ignorant from (eating) dry raisins, have become (like) unripe grapes (themselves).[62]
Ref.: O. 50, L. 262, T. 102, P. v. 164.—W. 216, V. 267.