his maturity– Anatolia, from which he gets the sobriquetRum–by
identifying them with intrinsic wisdom. Like al-Ghazali, Rumi alludes to
the ones polishing the mirror as external to theory, but of pure hearts (lines
34 – 35). Yet unlike Nizami’s subtle use of poetry as a popularizer of com-
plex ideas, his work explicitly elucidates its spiritual implications. The
familiarity of the narrative to his educated readers allows interpretation
to blossom.
Once the Chinese said,“At art we’re the best!” 1
The Greeks said,“With more talent we’ve been blessed!”
The sultan said,“I’ll set a test for you
To see which of your claims is really true.”
They all prepared to paint a room’s interior, 5
In knowledge though the Greeks were far superior.
“Come, show us to a room,”said the Chinese,
”and give the Greeks one similar to it, please.”
They found adjoining rooms which formed a pair,
One half for each group, thus completely fair; 10
Then the Chinese requested lots of paint,
The king supplied them, generous as a saint:
Each drawn form from his own storehouse men would bring
More paint for them as gifts from this kind king.
The Greeks said,“Colorful paints will not prove 15
Successful–color’s what we must remove!”
They closed their space off, polished every wall
Clear as the heavens up above us all;
Color to colorlessness can change quite soon,
Color’s a cloud, colorlessness the moon; 20
If in the clouds some radiance should appear,
It’s from the sun and moon that it shines here.^52
Rumi discusses the mirror not simply as a polished surface in relation to
light, but as one removing color and connected to the sun and the moon.
This correlates with ibn Arabi’s interpretation of color in relationship to
the cosmos, which depends on the distinction between material form and
the Platonic Real. He explains:
Know that what is‘other than the Reality,’which is called the Cosmos, is, in
relation to the Reality, as a shadow is to that which casts the shadow, for it is the
shadow of God, this being the same as the relation between Being and the Cosmos,
since the shadow is, without doubt, something sensible. What is provided there is(^52) Rumi, 2004 : 212. The“Greeks”in this translation indicates the artists of Rum.
150 Seeing through the Mirror