The Festival of Spring

PUBLISHED BY JAMES MACLEHOSE AND SONS, GLASGOW, Publishers to the University.

MCMIII.

The Festival of Spring from The Díván of Jeláleddín

Rendered in English Gazels after Rückert's Versions

With an Introduction And a Criticism of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

By William Hastie, D.D. Professor of Divinity, University of Glasgow

Glasgow James MacLehose and Sons Publishers to the University 1903

'In Depth of Conception, as well as in Loftiness of Flight and Sublimity of Language, Jeláleddín surpasses all the Poets of the East.'

'The greatest Mystical Poet of any Age.'

'And all the Breeze of Fancy blows,

And every Dew-drop paints a bow,

The wizard Lightnings deeply glow,

And every Thought breaks out a Rose.'

This Book with its Sincere Utterances of Love and Friendship towards the Highest is dedicated to

William A. Sanderson, Esq. Byethorne, Galashiels

My ever faithful Friend in Adversity, as in Prosperity

Old Songs are sweetest Old Friends are best

The current, popular spelling of Persian Names and Words has been generally adopted in the following pages, in order to avoid any appearance of pedantry. The Turkish forms have occasionally been preferred when in place, e.g. Devlet for Daulat, and Mevlānā for Maulānā. The exact transliteration of the Persian—such as Jalálu-'d-Din, Shams-ud-Din, Umar, Ghasal, Díwán—will be found in the foot-note references to more learned Works.