166
THE QUATRAINS OF
246.
Youth is the time to pay court to the vine,
To quaff the cup, with revellers to recline;
A flood of water once laid waste the earth,
Hence learn to lay you waste with floods of wine.
247.
The world is baffled in its search for Thee,
Wealth cannot find Thee, no, nor poverty;
Thou'rt very near us, but our ears are deaf,
Our eyes are blinded that we may not see!
248.
Take care you never hold a drinking bout
With an ill-tempered, ill-conditioned lout;
He'll make a vile disturbance all night long,
And vile apologies next day, no doubt.
246. C. N. A. I. J.
247. N. So Hafiz, Ode 355 (Brockhaus): "How can our eyes behold Thee, as Thou art?"
