[ON STRIVING IN GOD'S PATH.]

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If thou wouldst possess the pearl, O man, leave the barren waste and wander by the sea; and if thou obtainest not from the sea its pellucid pearl, at least thou shalt find that thou hast not failed to reach the water. Strive in God's path, O soldier; if thou hast no ambition, thou shalt have no honour; saddle and get ready thy horse for the journey to the Court of the Blest. The man who disowns in shame the dust and water of his being rides on the air like fire; crown not thy head with the heavens, so mayest thou receive the diadem from Gabriel; thine shall be the angels' crown, while the crown of the firmament shall be cast down.

The true believer ever labours; for merely to hint at labour is a sick man's prayer. What knowest thou of contempt of life, having no will to show thyself a warrior? When thou hast laid low the

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head of pride then hast thou prostrated thyself before the door of the search; the heart's ka`ba has become God's dwelling-place. But the dog's ambition extends only to its bone.