Mantic uttaïr, The Lover

A lover, troubled in his mind by the excess of his love, fell asleep, groaning, upon a burial mound. His mistress passed by the place where he had laid his head, and found him asleep and senseless. She at once wrote him a note suited to the occasion, and fastened it to her lover’s sleeve. When he awoke from his sleep, he read the letter, and his heart was bathed in blood, for these words were written in it: “O thou who art mute! Rise, and, if thou art a merchant, labour to earn money; if thou art an ascetic, keep vigil through the night, pray to God until daybreak, and be his slave; but, if thou art a lover, be ashamed. What has sleep to do with the lover’s eye? By day he measures the wind, and by night, with his burning heart, he represents the radiance of the moon. Since thou art neither this nor that, O thou who art devoid of all radiance! do not falsely boast that thou lovest me. If a lover can sleep anywhere but in his shroud, I shall call him a lover—but one in name only. Since thou hast come to love through madness, may sleep be favourable to thee! But thou art unworthy of love.”