It should be from "Storm Collection", the chapter is called "Self-Knowledge"

A tiny part of the original text is omitted:

Beirut.

On a drizzly night, Selim was sitting in front of his writing desk. There were many ancient books and papers on the desk.

... (Part omitted) Read a philosophical correspondence, which is an article in which Socrates instructs his disciple Plato to have "self-knowledge."

While carefully reading the precious words in the article, Selim recalled the discussions of philosophers and teachers on this issue. He found that Western thinkers all adhered to Socrates' thoughts, and Eastern scholars also followed Socrates' teachings. While reading and thinking... Selim's mind was completely immersed in the topic of "Self-knowledge". He couldn't help but suddenly stood up, stretched out his arms, and shouted loudly:

"Yes, yes! Self-knowledge is The mother of all knowledge! I should know myself. I know my personality in detail. I should lift the curtain of my soul, remove the ornaments in my soul, and clarify: my spirit. The meaning of existence lies in material existence, and the secret of material existence lies in spiritual existence.”

Selim talks with extraordinary passion, and his eyes are burning with the torch of self-knowledge. After that, he walked into the next room and stood like a statue in front of the huge glass mirror that went from the ceiling to the ground. He looked at his own figure carefully, looked at his face carefully, looked at his head shape, and took a look at his entire body. Body -...

In this way, Selim stood for half an hour, as if the eternal concept had given him a grand thought, allowing him to rely on its power to understand the depths of his soul and make his heart Every corner is filled with light. Then, he opened his mouth calmly and said to himself:

"I am short; Napoleon and Hugo are also small men.

"My forehead is narrow; Su Grates and Spinoza also had narrow foreheads.

“I have a bald forehead; Shakespeare also had a bald forehead.

“My nose is big and curved; Severula, Voltaire and George Washington both had a hooked nose.

“I have eye problems; the apostle Paul and Nietzsche also had eye problems.

“I have a big mouth and a protruding lower lip; Cicero and Louis XIV also had big mouth. Mouth protrudes.

"My neck is thick; Johnny Bale and Miles Antonio are also thick necks.

"My ears are long and protruding; Byron, Cervanti Si Ye also has a pair of fan ears.

“My cheekbones are protruding and my cheeks are concave; the same is true for Lafitte and Lincoln.

“My two shoulders are not flat, but one is high and the other is low; The same goes for Obita and Adib Ishaq. "My palms are thick and my fingers are short; the same is true for Pellico and Dante."

"In short, I am thin, like most thinkers, exhausted by exertion." Oddly enough, like Balzac, I always have a coffee pot next to me when I write or read. In addition, like Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky, I like to interact with common people.

“I only wash my hands and face once a day or two; Beethoven, Walter, and Tyman all have this habit. The strange thing is that, like Boccaccio and Rembrandt, I like to inquire about women. , wishing to know what they did when their husbands were away.

“I am a glutton for wine, comparable to Noah, Abou Nois, Debussy and Malraux; I am a glutton for delicious food. , can be compared with Peter the Great and King Bashir Shehabi. "

Mr. Selim was silent for a moment, then touched his forehead with his fingertips and said again:

"This is me! This is my actual situation! The characteristics of great men of ancient and modern times are all concentrated in me. A young man with such merits will definitely be able to do great things in this world.

"Self-knowledge is the first of the maxims. Tonight, I have known myself. From this night on, I will begin a great work; it is the world that has revealed to me and injected into my soul all kinds of things." different factors.

I have accompanied some of the great men of mankind, from Noah to Socrates, Boccaccio, and Ahmed Faris Scheideag. I had no idea what that great job I was about to start would be. However, a person like me who combines both material and spiritual things is indeed a miracle created day and night. I have learned about myself. Yes! By Allah, I am fully aware of myself. May my soul last forever, my personality last forever, and the universe last forever until my great cause is completed. ”

Mr. Selim paced back and forth in the room, with a human appearance hanging on his ugly face. He moved as he walked, repeating the sound of a cat’s meow mixed with the sound of bones clashing. Abu Allah's verses:

Even if I am left alone,

I will create an unprecedented miracle.

After an hour, we will be here. A friend, wrapped in ragged clothes, lay asleep on his shabby bed, snoring like thunder, resounding through the sky; the sound was more like the roar of stone mills than human snores.