“ If you lack perfect wisdom, make yourself as deadUnder the shadow of the wise, whose words give life. ”
Rumi, Masnavi (1273). copy citation
| Author | Rumi |
|---|---|
| Source | Masnavi |
| Topic | wisdom life |
| Date | 1273 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | Masnavi, Book IV |
| Note | Translated by Edward Henry Whinfield |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Masnavi_I_Ma'navi/Book_IV |
Context
“Nor half a lamp which might recognize and seek light.
He lacks wisdom, so as to boast of being alive,
And also half wisdom, so as to assume to be dead?
That half wise one became as one utterly dead
In order to rise up out of his degradation.
If you lack perfect wisdom, make yourself as dead
Under the shadow of the wise, whose words give life.
The fool is neither alive so as to companion with 'Isa,
Nor yet dead so as to feel the power of 'Isa's breath.
His blind soul wanders in every direction,
And at last makes a spring, but springs not upwards.”
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