M6:2560 — ز آب و روغن کهنه را نو می‌کند / او به مسخرگی برون‌شو می‌کند

Translation: With water and oil, he makes the old appear new; with buffoonery, he fashions an escape. Meaning: This verse recounts the minister's accusation against the jester: the jester, he claims, is using cunning and artifice to present an old, false story as new and plausible, leveraging his role as a clown to create an excuse or an escape route from his predicament.

In this verse, we encounter the pinnacle of the minister's intrigue and 'conspiracy theory' against the jester. This is part of the minister's cunning plot to incite the king against the jester and discredit his claims. The minister here accuses the jester of 'applying water and oil,' meaning employing cunning and deceit, to make an 'old' and pre-fabricated or false story appear 'new' and believable. This expression explicitly refers to embellishing and adorning the truth or weaving deceptive narratives.

I have repeatedly emphasized that Mawlana absolves himself of 'craftsmanship' and 'coloring' his words; he believes his speech arises from his 'state' (حال) and is 'naturally natural.' Yet here, the minister attributes precisely this quality to the jester, accusing him of speaking not from sincerity but from 'artifice' and for ulterior motives. This opposition between what Mawlana deems authentic and what the minister attributes to the jester is highly illuminating.

The second hemistich completes the accusation: 'He, with buffoonery, finds a way out.' This means the jester exploits his position and role as a 'buffoon' or 'clown' to find an 'escape route' (borūn-šow) for himself. He claims to have come from his village for an important task, but now that things haven't gone his way or he has changed his mind, he wants to extricate himself from the predicament with ludicrous excuses and clownish antics. The minister is essentially saying that the jester uses the 'mask' of his buffoonery to conceal his true intentions and deceive the king. This battle over truth is one that rages not only in royal courts but also constantly in society: a battle between truth-tellers and fabricators of 'news,' between those who speak from an authentic 'state' and those who 'artificially' twist truths.

Key takeaways

• 'Applying water and oil' symbolizes cunning and deceit to make old things appear new.
• The minister accuses the jester of fabricating narratives and abusing his role to escape accountability.
• This verse highlights the opposition between genuine 'state' (hāl) and fabricated 'artifice' or 'news-making'.
• The jester's 'escape route' (borūn-šow) is fashioned by leveraging his mask of buffoonery.
• This story offers a lesson about the deception of power and attempts to discredit truth-tellers.