The Beloved's Reply to the Messenger

When the free cypress heard these words, she answered: 'Listen, wise old teacher,' 'I am the candle that has a hundred moths. Why would I care about this madman?' 'There's no use in telling this tale, in repeating the story of such a lunatic.' 'Who would pick up a snake with their bare hand? Who would take a stranger as their lover?' 'Someone so unhinged gets along with no one. What kind of person would fall in love with him?' 'If I somehow came to terms with him, how could I ever hold my head up among people again?' 'He is an ignorant man lost in fantasy. The man who wants me chases impossible dreams.' 'Anyone who sits down even for a moment, any day, in any place, with such a scattered mind,' 'will soon give his enemies what they wish for, and end up disgraced among the people.' 'Tell him, as a kindness, to leave this street. How long will he keep hammering cold iron?' 'His heart is unripe in the game of love. Let it boil away, since it is only half-cooked.' 'If you truly must have a sweetheart, someone your heart accepts,' 'go and find someone as plain and colorless as yourself, some madman with no name and no honor to lose.' 'From this door you'll gain nothing you desire. Your soul will burn in this raw, foolish passion.'