In 1963, I suggested to the late Professor Arberry that he un-
dertake the translation of a representative selection of Rūmī
lyrics from the Dīvān-e Shams, to be published in the Persian
Heritage Series. Rūmī Dīvān, despite its somewhat uneven
texture, contains some of the most inspiring poems written in
the Persian language and has certainly not been surpassed in
the sheer depth and exuberance of feeling by the work of any
other Persian poet. And yet the Dīvān had remained largely
untranslated into English. R. A. Nicholson Selected Poems
from the Dīvāni Shamsi Tabrīzī, ( Cambridge University Press,
1898) which contained the translation of forty-eight lyrics, was
the most extensive work to represent the Dīvān in English.

Professor Arberry, with his exemplary knowledge of Persian
literature, his vast experience in translating literary works, and
his personal affinities with mystical thought of the poet, was the
outstanding choice for the handling of this most difficult task.
Rūmī, although easy to enjoy in Persian, is far from easy to
translate. Much of the appeal of his poetry depends on the mu-
sicality of his verse, which is bound to the lost in translation. The
force of his passion and the subtlety of his mystical sentiments,
expressed in a somewhat unorthodox diction, is also a constant
challenge to the translator.

Professor Arberry translation of the first two hundred
poems was ready in 1965 and was published jointly by Allen
and Unwin and the University of Chicago Press in 1968 under
the title of Mystical Poems of Rūmī, I. ¹

After the publication of the first volume, Professor Arberry,
afflicted with failing health, nevertheless was able to complete,
though with great difficulty, the preparation of the present vol-
ume, which contains translations of another two hundred poems.
His untimely death in 1973, which dealt a serious blow to Per-
sian and Arabic studies, came before he was able to send me his
manuscript and it was only through the diligence and kindness

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