Sol 6.1

  1. Rise to the wine when the lute’s third strings call,

    For wine is nothing but an awakener of spirits.

  2. It is the pure, eternal essence; and if there appears

    Foam upon it, to which it is bound, that foam is newly arisen.

  3. I sipped it unmixed; and when it took effect,

    A playful drunkenness held sway among my breastbones.

  4. And the fragrance of its breaths wafted forth, bringing harm to

    Souls over which ignorance tyrannizes and wreaks havoc.

  5. I swore to them: its cup is nothing other than its own essence.

    So they said, “Make amends for it, for you have broken your oath.”

  6. And nothing but the radiance of the rays had misled them,

    So they said, “It has a second and a third in beauty.”

  7. Remain until, through its description, it effaces you from awareness of it,

    And you leave behind whatever in you disputes about it.

  8. So if your eyes behold its eyes,

    You have triumphed; otherwise, the eyes are vile.

  9. And if one sign within you has not replaced another sign

    Through what has been said about it, depart, for you remain.

  10. Its tale became disguised in Shem and Ham,

    And grew elusive, so Japheth did not grasp its meaning.

  11. And it never dwelt in time for a single day; rather,

    It is time that dwells within it, if you reflect.

Sol 6.1