TIMUR AND HAFIZ
The Sufi poet Hafiz of Shiraz wrote the famus poem:
If that Sharazi Turkish maid would take my heart
Into her hand:
I'd give Bokhara for the mole upon her cheek-
Or Samarkand.
The conqueror Tamerlane had Hafiz brought before him and said:
'How can you give away Bokhara and Samarkand for a woman? Besides, they are in my own domains, and I shall not permit anyone to pretend that they are not!'
Hafiz said to him:
'Your meanness may have given you power. My generosity has put me in your power. Your meanness is obviously more effective than my prodigality.'
Tamerlane laughed and let the Sufi go.
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