“ A mirror is what Beauty busies itself with.Since Not-being is tho mirror of Being,If you are wise, choose Not-being (self-abnegation) .Being may be displayed in that Not-being,Wealthy men show their liberality on the poor.He who is an hungered is the clear mirror of bread,The tinder is the mirror of the flint and steel. ”
Rumi, Masnavi (1273). copy citation
| Author | Rumi |
|---|---|
| Source | Masnavi |
| Topic | mirror bread |
| Date | 1273 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | Masnavi, Book I |
| Note | Translated by Edward Henry Whinfield |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Masnavi_I_Ma'navi/Book_I |
Context
“The friend replied that he had long considered what gift would be most suitable to offer, and at last had fixed upon a mirror, which he accordingly produced from his pocket and presented to Joseph, at the same time begging him to admire his own beauteous face in it.
Defect and Not-being the Mirror wherein
Absolute Perfect Being is reflected 1.
He drew forth a mirror from his side
A mirror is what Beauty busies itself with.
Since Not-being is tho mirror of Being,
If you are wise, choose Not-being (self-abnegation) .
Being may be displayed in that Not-being,
Wealthy men show their liberality on the poor.
He who is an hungered is the clear mirror of bread,
The tinder is the mirror of the flint and steel.
Not-being and Defect, wherever they occur,
Are the mirrors of the Beauty of all beings.
Because Not-being is a clear filtered essence,
Wherein all these beings are infused.
When a garment is made by a good tailor,”
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