On the Secret of This Uproar

Don't say this is no time for such a debate. What is this clamor between reason and love? Each of them was there at the first act of creation; each has given man dignity and honor. If these two are one, then what is all this fuss? What is the point of this whole book and letter? And if one comes from creation and the other from divine command, then what passion drives each of them on? Since this question has crossed your mind and this longing, this fancy, has settled in your head, open the ear of your soul and grasp these words, so you may learn the ancient secrets. Be careful: don't lose your way here. If you hear that secret, don't be dumbfounded. Many clever minds have stumbled here; they never truly heard its secret laid bare. And what they did hear from the masters of vision was nothing but hints and veiled suggestions. Through that misleading, unbalanced speech they toppled headlong into the pit of error. However much the mystics try to conceal, in the end they tear away the veil of secrets. Since the ignorant have no path to that place, they cannot tell rank from ruin, dignity from a ditch. They grow bewildered by the mystics' words and fall in step with the band of the lost. But we will speak, come what may. Even if the desired goal is never reached, lovers have no aim but the beloved; getting what they want or not is no concern of theirs.