carried to the harem. At midnight, when he woke, he found
himself on a gilded couch surrounded by perfumed candles, scent-boxes of
aloes, and lovely women whose songs ravished his ear. "Disconcerted and
stupefied," says the poet, "he no longer retained reason nor life. He
was no longer in this world, nor was he in the other. His heart was full
of love for the princess, but his tongue remained mute. His spirit was
in ecstacies. When he awoke in the morning he found himself again a
slave at his old post. The memory of the past night was so vivid that it
caused him to utter a cry; he tore his garments, and threw dust upon his
head. They asked him what was the matter, but he knew not what to reply.
He could not say whether what he had seen was a dream or a reality;
whether he had passed the night in drunkenness or in full possession of
his faculties. What he had seen had left a profound impression on his
mind, and yet he could not trace it out accurately. He had contemplated
Beauty beyond all words, and yet he was not sure whether he had seen It
after all. The only effect of his vision was a trouble of mind and
uncertainty."

(7) At last comes the seventh valley, that of Poverty and Annihilation.
"But these words are insufficient to describe it; forgetfulness,
deafness, dumbness, fainting--such is the condition of the pilgrim in
this valley. One sun causes millions of shadows to vanish. When the
ocean is agitated, how can the figures traced on its waters remain? Such
figures are this world and the world to come, and he who knows them to
be nothing is right. He who is plunged in this sea, where the heart is
astray and lost, has by means of his very annihilation found immutable
repose. In this ocean, where reigns a constant calm, the heart finds
nought but annihilation."

Attar also illustrates the Sufi doctrine of annihilation (which
resembles the Buddhistic nirvana) by an allegory. "One night," he says,
"the butterflies were tormented by the desire to unite themselves with
the candle-flame. They held a meeting, and resolved that one of them
should go and experiment, and bring back news. A butterfly was sent to a
neighbouring house, and he perceived the flame of the candle which was
burning within. He brought back word and tried to describe the flame
according to the measure of his intelligence; but the butterfly who
presided over the assembly said that the exploring butterfly had
attained no real knowledge of the candle-f