Hymn I (on Paradise)

2. I took my stand halfway

   between awe and love;

a yearning for Paradise

   invited me to explore it,

but awe at its majesty

   restrained me from my search.

With wisdom, however,

   I reconciled the two;

I revered what lay hidden

   and meditated on what was revealed.

The aim of my search was to gain profit,

   the aim of my silence was to find succor.

3. Joyfully did I embark

   on the tale of Paradise—

a tale that is short to read

   but rich to explore.

My tongue read the story’s

   outward narrative,

while my intellect took wing

   and soared upward in awe

as it perceived the splendor of Paradise—

   not indeed as it really is,

but insofar as humanity

   is granted to comprehend it.

4. With the eye of my mind

   I gazed upon Paradise;

the summit of every mountain

   is lower than its summit,

the crest of the Flood

   reached only its foothills;

these it kissed with reverence

   before turning back

to rise above and subdue the peak

   of every hill and mountain.

The foothills of Paradise it kisses,

   while every summit it buffets.

~St. Ephrem the Syrian