Yea, although to the wise it be shameful to seek the Lord of Lords in the dust, yet this betokeneth intense ardor in searching.  “Whoso seeketh out a thing with zeal shall find it."(12)

The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved.  Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things.  That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of God.  Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is needed, if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall cast away the world.

On this journey the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth in every region.  In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend; in every country he looketh for the Beloved.  He joineth every company, and seeketh fellowship with every soul, that haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of the Friend, or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved One.

And if, by the help of God, he findeth on this journey a trace of the traceless Friend, and inhaleth the fragrance of the long-lost Joseph from the heavenly messenger,(13) he shall straightway step into

The Valley of Love

and be dissolved in the fire of love.  In this city the heaven of ecstasy is upraised and the world-illuming sun of yearning shineth, and the fire of love is ablaze; and when the fire of love is ablaze, it burneth to ashes the harvest of reason.

Now is the traveler unaware of himself, and of aught besides himself.  He seeth neither ignorance nor knowledge, neither doubt nor certitude; he knoweth not the morn of guidance from the night of error.  He fleeth both from unbelief and faith, and deadly poison is a balm to him.  Wherefore Attar(14) saith: 

    For the infidel, error—­for the faithful, faith;
    For Attar’s heart, an atom of Thy pain.

The steed of this Valley is pain; and if there be no pain this journey will never end.  In this station the lover hath no thought save the Beloved, and seeketh no refuge save the Friend.  At every moment he offereth a hundred lives in the path of the Loved One, at every step he throweth a thousand heads at the feet of the Beloved.

O My Brother!  Until thou enter the Egypt of love, thou shalt never come to the Joseph of the Beauty of the Friend; and until, like Jacob, thou forsake thine outward eyes, thou shalt never open the eye of thine inward being; and until thou burn with the fire of love, thou shalt never commune with the Lover of Longing.

A lover feareth nothing and no harm can come nigh him:  Thou seest him chill in the fire and dry in the sea.

    A lover is he who is chill in hell fire;
    A knower is he who is dry in the sea.(15)