140
THE QUATRAINS OF
207.
Sooner with half a loaf contented be,
And water from a broken crock, like me,
Than lord it over one poor fellow-man,
Or to another bow the vassal knee.
208.
While Moon and Venus in the sky shall dwell,
None shall see aught red grape-juice to excel:
O foolish publicans, what can you buy
One half so precious as the goods you sell?
209.
They who by genius, and by power of brain,
The rank of man's enlighteners attain,
Not even they emerge from this dark night,
But tell their dreams, and fall asleep again.
207. C. L. N. A. I. In line 2, note izáfat dropped after silent he. Kam az khudé, "one less than yourself." Vullers, p. 254.
