Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Whatever EXISTS, shall be worn away and die;

that which IS TO BE, then - whence does it spring?

He has not come into being, but is eternal;

that which BECOMES cannot be everlasting.

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Which does not increase, how can it die?

The world forever wears away and disappears

for if it did not die it could not grow.

No one can undo the knot tied by Gods hand.

Four wives and seven husbands procreate

without cease and all things of the world but God

are like these women. Decrepit filthy earth,

how does it manage to seize and enchant our hearts?

What do you think, my sage? When does the wheel

of this watermill ever cease to turn? Tell me how

that which is not can ever be, or that which is

can cease to be? Dont waste your time in chat

(fashionable as it may be with So-and-So);

how did you develop a taste for food

that gives indigestion? Rather ask:

if the world goes on forever, what can it do

for you? or if it dies, what can you do?

He who wants to know more of what I teach

ought first to purify his soul, for hone

cannot stick to a hand thats purified.

Wisdom asks no one but the wise

to busy himself with such matters.

Furs and silks are still lovely even on hag

but they cannot improve an ugly womans face.

He who cleanses his soul of error and sin

in the fire of intellect, deserves to dole out

measure by measure the contents of my sack,

but if you lack the wherewithal, refrain

from spattering heavens cupola with mire.

He whom love of the world has inflamed will never

be able to comprehend the truths I speak;

O confidence-man, O trickster, what can you gain

from poetry such as mine? You cannot trust

yourself - how then shall anyone trust you?

Prepare your heart, as I instruct and hope,

for the work at hand, so that this axe of mine

can trim the branches from your ignorance-tree

(but mildly and without pain); and turn your face

from those who deal in superstitious slander.

Good counsel scratches out the eye of ignorance

as sure as a fool in public will lose his pants!