Yúsuf and Zulaikha: A Poem

Jami

Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith

64 chapters · about 4 h

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The opening

PROLOGUE

UNFOLD, 0 God, the bud of hope: disclose From Thine eternal Paradise one rose Whose breath may flood my brain with odour, while The bud’s leaf-liplets make my garden smile. O grant that I, in this drear world of woe, The boundless riches of Thy grace may know. May gratitude to Thee my thoughts employ; To sing Thy praises be my task and joy.

Vouchsafe a prosperous day from those that are Best on the roll of “Wisdom’s calendar. Send forth Thy soldier to the war ‘and teach His lips to conquer in the field of speech. Grant that my tongue may weigh the pearls, 0 Lord, Which Thy dear bounty in my heart has stored; And let the fragrance Thou hast lent my muse Its musky breath from Kaf to Kaf diffuse. Lips sweet as sugar on my pen bestow, And from my book let streams of odour flow.

In this world’s inn, where sweetest songs abound, I hear no prelude to the strain I sound. The guests have quaffed their wine and passed away; Their cups were empty and they would not stay. No sage, no stripling — not a hand ere mine — Has held this goblet o£ poetic wine. Kise, Jami, rise: thy fear behind thee cast, And, be it clear or dull, bring forth the wine thou hast.

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About this edition

The words
Ralph T. H. Griffith's English translation, copied word for word.
Left out
  • Page numbers and running heads from the printed pages, in 6 places
  • The printed table of contents (the app makes its own)
  • A preface, foreword or afterword
  • The library's call-number label on the scanned copy (“PK 6490 Y8E5 18S2 c. 1 ROBA”, University of Toronto) (6 blocks)
  • Notes and pages added by translators, editors or publishers, in 3 places
  • The series half-title (“TRUBNER'S ORIENTAL SERIES.”) (2 blocks)
  • The printer's imprint (“BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CC. EDINBURGH AND LONDON”, as read)
  • The title page and opening pages before chapter 1, in 2 places
  • The half-title “YtiSUF AND ZULAIKHA.” (title matter)
  • A speck between the lines of a quotation in the Appendix, read as “4”, standing on no line of the text
  • The printer's imprint (“PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON.”)
  • The library's book-card pocket and labels on the back of the scanned copy (University of Toronto) (10 blocks)
  • Printer's signature letters at page feet (“D”, “K”, “L”, “N”, “P”, “Q”, “T”) and a speck there (“0”) (8 blocks)
  • A speck between the printed lines (read by the OCR as “i”), standing on no line of the text
  • A speck between the printed lines (read by the OCR as “o”), standing on no line of the text (2 blocks)
  • A speck between the printed lines (read by the OCR as “«”), standing on no line of the text