Muntakhab al-tawarikh 379.9

379.9

When the balance of justice is brought into the midst, And the deficiency and excess of all shall be made apparent, When I shall have in my company mountains of sin, Beside which the mountains shall seem no larger than a blade of grass, It is not impossible to Thine illimitable mercy To weigh down the scale of my obedience: In that place of fear and confusion, When the records of each one’s acts shall fly open, And my record shall be so black That it will be impossible to enter any fresh sin therein, Wash my record with the cloud of Thy clemency, And, by that washing, raise me to honour: When the fire of hell shall leap forth as a banner To draw to itself all the people of the world, Pour, of Thy grace, some water on my fire, And bring me forth purified from that fire. When over hell the narrow bridge shall appear can, in justice, be nothing but mere boasting and vaunting, which are repugnant to refined natures, and so far am I from vainglory and pride in this matter that I am ashamed of them, and if I should attempt any lofty flights regarding them this base coin of mine, this worthless and contemptible merchandise, my faulty and unappreciated style, is sufficient to refute and falsify my claim. In these matters nobody knows me as well as I know myself.