' This Mystic Marriage '...

"Descending to the earth,
that strange intoxicating beauty of the unseen world
lurks in the elements of nature.

And the soul of man,
who has attained the rightful balance,
becoming aware of this hidden joy,
straightaway is enamored and bewitched.

And from this mystic marriage are born
the poets' songs, inner knowledge,
the language of the heart, virtuous living,
and the fair child Beauty.

And the Great Soul gives to man as dowry
the hidden glory of the world."




- Mahmud Shabistari
The Secret Rose Garden: Mahmud Shabistari
Translated by Florence Lederer
London: J. Murray, 1920, p. 34