Persian · noun · Iqbal's Emblems
Seemab
सीमाब
said see-MAAB
also written: simab, seemaab, quicksilver, mercury
Meaning
Mercury; quicksilver, an emblem of ceaseless, agitated motion.
Literally: quicksilver, mercury
Usage & notes
Seemab is quicksilver — mercury, the metal that will not lie still, classical emblem of restlessness, trembling and a heart that cannot be calmed, 'seemab-paa,' quicksilver-footed, for ceaseless agitation. It is unrest made elemental. Iqbal prizes exactly this restlessness as a virtue of the living self: the soul that quivers like quicksilver is the soul still striving, for the still and settled heart is, in his view, half dead — true life is perpetual motion and longing.