s, that haply they may enter them in
Thy name, and by the power of Thy sovereignty, that thereby the sovereign
bounties vouchsafed by Thee unto Thy chosen ones and the transcendent
gifts granted unto Thy trusted ones be perfected, that they may extol Thy
virtues with such melodies as none can either intone or describe, and that
none of Thy people may conceive the design of appearing in the guise of
any of Thy chosen ones, or of emulating the example of Thy loved ones, and
that none may fail to discern between Thy friends and Thine enemies, or to
distinguish them that are devoted to Thee from such as stubbornly oppose
Thee. Potent art Thou to do what Thou willest, and powerful and supreme
art Thou over all things.

Exalted, immeasurably exalted art Thou, O my Beloved, above the strivings
of any of Thy creatures, however learned, to know Thee; exalted, immensely
exalted art Thou above every human attempt, no matter how searching, to
describe Thee! For the highest thought of men, however deep their
contemplation, can never hope to outsoar the limitations imposed upon Thy
creation, nor ascend beyond the state of the contingent world, nor break
the bounds irrevocably set for it by Thee. How can, then, a thing that
hath been created by Thy will that overruleth the whole of creation, a
thing that is itself a part of the contingent world, have the power to
soar into the holy atmosphere of Thy knowledge, or reach unto the seat of
Thy transcendent power?

High, immeasurably high art Thou above the endeavors of the evanescent
creature to soar unto the throne of Thine eternity, or of the poor and
wretched to attain the summit of Thine all-sufficing glory! From eternity
Thou didst Thyself describe Thine own Self unto Thy Self, and extol, in
Thine own Essence, Thine Essence unto Thine Essence. I swear by Thy glory,
O my Best-Beloved! Who is there besides Thee that can claim to know Thee,
and who save Thyself can make fitting mention of Thee? Thou art He Who,
from eternity, abode in His realm, in the glory of His transcendent unity,
and the splendors of His holy grandeur. Were any one except Thee to be
deemed worthy of mention, in all the kingdoms of Thy creation, from the
highest realms of immortality down to the level of this nether world, how
could it, then, be demonstrated that Thou art established upon the throne
of Thy unity, and how could the wondrous virtues of Thy oneness and Thy
singleness be glorified?

I bear witness, th