Bounties of the Gracious God — Page 114
114 to you and do you a favour, but you became wroth. I intended to dig for you and bring you water, but you made it sink even deeper. Now, after this, I will write a response to that statement of yours through whose publication you have wronged your own self and wasted your own time. As for your denial of the elo- quence of my poems in your statement, this is because you have not tasted the sweetness of my words. I attribute this to noth- ing but your ignorance and lack of wisdom and your prejudice and meanness. O unwise one! Get up from your place and study some of the collections of the great poets so that you are familiar with the literature of great writers and the style of their writings. Do you call false that what is true and consider ugly that what is beautiful. You consume filth, yet show aversion to decency. In fact, there are no more arrows left in your quiver, so now you are wont to find faults as has been the habit of fools from time immemorial, that is, they try to hide their own ignorance by finding faults with others. Lamentable indeed is your condition! You did not even look at the abundance of vast meanings, nor did you give a second thought to the subtlety of the majestic words, rather like flies you were drawn to filth. You did not take into consideration the beauty of the narration or the language and its perfect organization. O ignorant one! From this condi- tion of yours I have realized that you have not tasted anything from this language and you have no idea what eloquence actually is. You have pounced upon me like a wolf before having obtained knowledge and wisdom. Is this what makes you compete with me in this field [of eloquence and articulateness] and encourages you to stand before me like warriors? Do you rely on A s ghar ‘Al i on whose behalf Ja‘far [Zatalli] had written to you and then you