XVI. Sun

Selected Religious Poems of Solomon ibn Gabirol, tr. by Israel Zangwill, [1923], at sacred-texts.com

p. 94

XVI.

Who can grasp Thy greatness?
For Thou hast appointed the Sun for the computing
Of days and of years, and appointed periods,
And to make the fruit-tree to burgeon,
And, under the sweet influence of the Pleiades and the bands of Orion,
The green shoots luxuriant.
Six months he journeyeth towards the north to warm the air,
And the waters, the woods, and the rocks,
And as he draweth nigh to the north,
The days grow longer and the seasons wax,
Till there is found a place where the day is so lengthened
That it lasteth six months,
According to confirmed indications,
And six months he journeyeth towards the south
In his appointed courses
Till there is found a place where the night is so lengthened
That it lasteth six months,
According to the proof of searchers.
And from this may be known a fringe of the ways of the Creator,
A whisper of His mighty powers,
Of His strength and His wondrous works.
As from the greatness of servants
May the greatness of the master be known
By all men of understanding, p. 95
So through the ministering Sun is revealed
The grandeur and glory of the Lord,
"For all the goods of his Master are delivered into his hands."