About this edition

This edition contains Book I of Rúmí’s Mathnawí, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, together with his introduction and postscript.

The source is The Mathnawí of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí, Volume II, Cambridge University Press for the Trustees of the E. J. W. Gibb Memorial, published by Luzac & Co., London, 1926. That volume contains Books I and II; Nicholson’s references to “this volume” retain their original meaning.

Each numbered verse corresponds to one Persian couplet. Nicholson’s wording and headings are retained; line endings adjust to the reading format. Labels such as [7.2] identify the second original note on source page 7, not a page of this edition. The retained notes are collected at the end.

Persian-script quotations and eight notes devoted to Persian quotations or variant readings have been omitted. Two further notes retain their English explanations, with Persian fragments removed.

Hidden Lantern · 2026