Chapter MCMIII

The Festival of Spring from The Díván of Jeláleddín

Rendered in English Gazels after Rückert's Versions

_With an Introduction And a Criticism of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám_

By William Hastie, D.D. Professor of Divinity, University of Glasgow

Glasgow James MacLehose and Sons Publishers to the University

1903

'In Depth of Conception, as well as in Loftiness of Flight and Sublimity of Language, JELÁLEDDÍN surpasses all the Poets of the East.'

PROFESSOR HERMANN ETHÉ.

'The greatest Mystical Poet of any Age.'

REYNOLD A. NICHOLSON.

'And all the Breeze of Fancy blows,
And every Dew-drop paints a bow,
The wizard Lightnings deeply glow,
And every Thought breaks out a Rose.'

TENNYSON.

This Book with its Sincere Utterances of Love and Friendship towards the Highest is dedicated to

William A. Sanderson, Esq. Byethorne, Galashiels

My ever faithful Friend in Adversity, as in Prosperity

Old Songs are sweetest Old Friends are best

Note

The current, popular spelling of Persian Names and Words has been generally adopted in the following pages, in order to avoid any appearance of pedantry. The _Turkish_ forms have occasionally been preferred when in place, _e.g._ _Devlet_ for _Daulat_, and _Mevlānā_ for _Maulānā_. The exact transliteration of the Persian—such as Jalálu-'d-Din, Shams-ud-Din, Umar, G̲h̲asal, Díwán—will be found in the foot-note references to more learned Works.

Contents

Introduction

Jeláleddín as a Persian Poet—Judgments of Scholars and Experts in Persian Literature since Sir W. Jones—The Philosophical and Theological Interest—Hegel—Tholuck—The Poetical Form—The Gazel—The Divan—Fitzgerald's Omar Khayyám—Burns—Browning—Keats's Nightingale—Coleridge echoes the Faith of Jeláleddín.

Fifty Gazels of Jeláleddín

PAGE

I. Light, 1

II. Death and Life, 2

III. Invocation, 3

IV. Faith, 4

V. Dawn, 5

VI. Allah Hu, 6

VII. Spring, 7

VIII. Spring's Festival, 8

IX. Dependence, 9

X. Mystical Union, 10

XI. Identity, 12

XII. Confession, 13

XIII. Discordia Concors, 14

XIV. Renovation, 15

XV. Revolving in Mystic Dance, 16

XVI. The Soul in All, 17

XVII. Responsibility, 18

XVIII. Action, 19

XIX. Bondage, 20

XX. Love's Freedom, 21

XXI. In My Heart, 22

XXII. Not Deaf to Love, 23

XXIII. Assimilation, 24

XXIV. Cleanliness, 25

XXV. Where is He? 26

XXVI. Love's Slavery, 27

XXVII. Psyche in Tears, 28

XXVIII. Substitutional, 29

XXIX. God's Throne, 30

XXX. The Lion of God, 31

XXXI. Self-Realisation, 33

XXXII. Thy Hand, 34

XXXIII. The Priests, 35

XXXIV. The Pilgrims, 36

XXXV. Many Faiths, One Lord, 37

XXXVI. Love Absolute, 38

XXXVII. Renunciation, 39

XXXVIII. All Fulness, 40

XXXIX. Friendship, 41

XL. The Friend Supreme, 42

XLI. Immortality, 44

XLII. The First and Last, 45

XLIII. Mystic Love Dance, 46

XLIV. Dream Fear, 47

XLV. The Cry of Love, 48

XLVI. Night Thought, 49

XLVII. Up out of Night, 50

XLVIII. All One, 52

XLIX. O Wake in Me, 53

L. Jeláleddín, 55

Notes

A. Sir William Jones on the Mystical Poetry of the Persians. 57

B. Hegel on the Character of the Persian Lyrical Poetry. 59

C. Von Hammer's Account of Omar Khayyám. 61

Introduction