54.
To knaves Thy secret we must not confide,
To comprehend it is to fools denied,
See then to what hard case Thou doomest men,
Our hopes from one and all perforce we hide.
55.
Cupbearer! what though fate's blows here betide us,
And a safe resting-place be here denied us,
So long as the bright wine-cup stands between us,
We have the very Truth at hand to guide us.
56.
Long time in wine and rose I took delight,
But then my business never went aright;
Since wine could not accomplish my desire,
I have abandoned and forsworn it quite.
54. C. L. N. A. B. I. There is a variation of this, beginning Asrár i jahán.
55. C. L. N. A. I. In line 3 scan măyāst. Bl. Prosody, p. 13, and note tashdíd on Hakk dropped. Ibid, p. iv.
56. C. L. N. A. I. J.
