Nr. 209
Calcutta nr. 209
How long will you be prisoners of colour & perfume
How long of ugly & fair will you be (prisoners)
If the fountain of Zemzem & the Water of Life (you find)
In the end you must descend into the heart of earth.
FitzGerald 1879 - 15
And those who husbanded the Golden grain,
And those who flung it to the winds like Rain,
Alike to no such aureate Earth are turn'd
As, buried once, Men want dug up again.
Nicolas 1867 - 132
Jusqu'à quand seras-tu la dupe des couleurs et des parfums d'ici-bas? Quand cesseras-tu tes recherches sur le bien et le mal? Fusses-tu la source de Zèmzèn, fusses-tu même l'eau de la vie que tu ne saurais éviter d'entrer dans le sein de la terre.
Payne 1898 - 272
How long thus the bondman of colour and air' wilt thou be?
How long in pursuit of each foul thing and fair wilt thou be?
Though the fountain of Zemzem thou wert or the Water of Life,
At last in the dust laid and buried for e'er wilt thou be.
Thompson 1906 - 212
How long the slave of scent and hue remain?
How long all ill or good seek to attain?
Though Zamzam's fount or from Life's wellspring,thou
Within earth's breast at last wilt sink again.
Whinfield 1883 - 158
Why toil ye to ensure illusions vain,
And good or evil of the world attain?
Ye rise like Zamzam, or the fount of life,
And, like them, in earth's bosom sink again.