Words were assisting (did not fail) him, (but) he was ignorant that hearsay (traditional knowledge) is mere babble in the presence of sight (immediate vision).2065
دست می‌دادش سخن او بی‌خبر ** که خبر هرزه بود پیش نظر
Indeed, these matters of hearsay are (only) a substitute for sight: they are not for him who is present, (but) for him who is absent.
این خبرها از نظر خود نایبست ** بهر حاضر نیست بهر غایبست
Whoever has been caused to attain unto sight, before him these matters of hearsay are idle.
هر که او اندر نظر موصول شد ** این خبرها پیش او معزول شد
When you have sat down beside your beloved, after this banish the dallálas (the old women who act as go-betweens).
چونک با معشوق گشتی همنشین ** دفع کن دلالگان را بعد ازین
When any one has passed beyond childhood and has become a man, the letter and the dallála become irksome to him.
هر که از طفلی گذشت و مرد شد ** نامه و دلاله بر وی سرد شد
He reads letters, (but only) for the purpose of teaching (others); he utters words, (but only) for the purpose of making (others) understand.2070
نامه خواند از پی تعلیم را ** حرف گوید از پی تفهیم را
’Tis wrong to speak by hearsay in the presence of those who see (who are endowed with vision), for it is a proof of our heedlessness and deficiency.
پیش بینایان خبر گفتن خطاست ** کان دلیل غفلت و نقصان ماست
In the presence of the seer silence is to your advantage: on this account came (from God) the allocution, Be ye silent.
پیش بینا شد خموشی نفع تو ** بهر این آمد خطاب انصتوا
If he (the seer) bid you speak, speak gladly, but say little and do not draw out (your words) to length;