Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Mey iç ḫoş geç göñül yıḳma cihânda
Ḳayırma ki Kerîm işi keremdür

In English

1. Drink wine, live pleasantly, break no one's heart in this world; do not worry, for the work of God the Generous (Kerîm) is generosity and forgiveness.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The two lines of this couplet, given by Latîfî under the heading "Beyt", do not rhyme; it may be an inner couplet of a ghazal (gazel) or a couplet composed on its own. The edition of the biographical anthology (tezkire) does not indicate the metre. It is not certain that the couplet is Melîhî's own poem. Latîfî introduces it as a couplet the poet had on his lips "ekser-i ezmânda", most of the time: "bu beyt vird-i zebânı ve raṭbü'l-lisânı idi". This expression shows that the couplet was often recited, not who composed it. That the biographer gives it in Melîhî's entry among the poet's other couplets strengthens the possibility that it is Melîhî's; but it is also possible that he loved and repeated another poet's couplet.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The couplet is a brief summary of the rind (libertine) attitude in divan poetry. The first line lays down a rule of life with three commands: drink wine, live pleasantly, break no hearts. Here breaking hearts is singled out as the real sin. The second line gives the justification for this ease. In Old Turkish the verb "ḳayırmak" means to worry, to be anxious. God's name Kerîm, the Generous and Forgiving, is invoked, and His work is said to be kerem, generosity; the sinful servant's hope rests on this generosity. "Kerîm" and "kerem" come from the same root, and their use side by side is the figure of iştikak (derivation). The contrast between the ascetic's outlook, based on fear, and the libertine's, based on hope, lies in the background of such couplets.

Historical Context

Latîfî gives the couplet immediately after the story of Mehmed II (the Conqueror) pardoning Melîhî. According to the biographer, the sultan was pleased when the poet said he had not broken his oath because he had had wine administered to himself by enema, and pardoned him. Latîfî then says he hopes that God too has forgiven this sinner's faults through His mercy, and relates that Melîhî returned to his old ways and once more took the road to the tavern. Within this narrative the couplet stands like a saying that sums up both the poet's way of life and the tolerance the biographer shows him. For the poet's life, see the article Melîhî of Tokat.

Bibliography

Online sources