ere are
their swaying branches, their spreading boughs, their lofty mansions,
their trellised gardens? And what of the delights of these gardens--their
exquisite grounds and gentle breezes, their purling streams, their
soughing winds, their cooing doves and rustling leaves? Where now are
their resplendent morns and their brightsome countenances wreathed in
smiles? Alas for them! All have perished and are gone to rest beneath a
canopy of dust. Of them one heareth neither name nor mention; none knoweth
of their affairs, and naught remaineth of their signs.

263 What! Will the people dispute then that whereof they themselves stand
witness? Will they deny that which they know to be true? I know not in
what wilderness they roam! Do they not see that they are embarked upon a
journey from which there is no return? How long will they wander from
mountain to valley, from hollow to hill? "Hath not the time come for those
who believe to humble their hearts at the mention of God?"(57) Blessed is
he who hath said, or now shall say, "Yea, by my Lord! The time is come and
the hour hath struck!", and who, thereafter, shall detach himself from all
that hath been, and deliver himself up entirely unto Him Who is the
Possessor of the universe and the Lord of all creation.

264 And yet, what hope! For naught is reaped save that which hath been
sown, and naught is taken up save that which hath been laid down,(58)
unless it be through the grace and bestowal of the Lord. Hath the womb of
the world yet conceived one whom the veils of glory shall not hinder from
ascending unto the Kingdom of his Lord, the All-Glorious, the Most High?
Is it yet within us to perform such deeds as will dispel our afflictions
and draw us nigh unto Him Who is the Causer of causes? We beseech God to
deal with us according to His bounty, and not His justice, and to grant
that we may be of those who have turned their faces unto their Lord and
severed themselves from all else.

265 I have seen, O Shah, in the path of God what eye hath not seen nor ear
heard. Mine acquaintances have repudiated Me, and My pathways have been
straitened. The fount of well-being hath run dry, and the bower of ease
hath withered. How numerous the tribulations which have rained, and will
soon rain, upon Me! I advance with My face set towards Him Who is the
Almighty, the All-Bounteous, whilst behind Me glideth the serpent. Mine
eyes have rained down tears until My bed is drenched.

266 I sorr