Mantic uttaïr, §8

He cannot be praised by any tongue. Before Him are more than a hundred thousand veils of light and darkness. In the two worlds there is no one who can dispute His sovereignty. He is the sovereign above all; He is immersed in the perfection of His majesty. He does not fully reveal Himself even in the place of His abode, which science and understanding cannot attain. The path is unknown, and no one has constancy enough to find it, though thousands of creatures desire it. The purest soul cannot portray Him, nor can reason comprehend Him. One is bewildered and, despite one’s two eyes, remains in darkness. No science has yet discovered His perfection, no sight has yet beheld His beauty. Creatures have been unable to rise to His excellence; science has lagged behind, and the eye has fallen short. In vain have creatures sought, by means of their imagination, to attain this perfection and beauty! How can one open this way to the imagination, how can one deliver the moon (mâh) to the fish (mâhi)? There, thousands of heads will be like balls of wax; nothing will be heard but exclamations and sighs. In this path one finds, by turns, water and dry land, and one cannot conceive its length. A man with the heart of a lion is needed to travel this extraordinary road, for the way is long and the sea is deep. Thus one walks in bewilderment, now laughing, now weeping. As for me, I would be happy to find the trace of this path, for it would be a disgrace to me to live without reaching it. What use would the soul be if it had no object to love? If thou art a man, let thy soul be without no mistress. A perfect man is needed for such a path, for he must know how to usher his soul into this court. Bravely wash thy hands of this life, if thou wouldst be called a man of action. What use would life be if one did not love? For thy beloved, renounce thy cherished life, as do men worthy of their calling. If thou dost surrender gra-

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“...ously thy soul, thou shalt deserve that thy beloved sacrifice her life for thee.”