From the Stories of the Masnavi

Wisdom is beneficial knowledge and righteous action; whoever seeks meaning and wisdom must look with a patient eye that searches for hidden truths, plumbing the depths of the soul rather than yielding to its temptations, freeing themselves from the shackles that bind their life, and understanding that true life does not consist of eating, drinking, worldly pleasures, and fleeting desires, but rather in refining the soul, perfecting the spirit, and the attainment of the intellect.