The story of Rumi is perhaps the only example in the history of literature of a writer, at first entirely devoted to prose, suddenly bursting forth into poetry in his middle age, and becoming the greatest mystical poet of all times. In 1261 Rumi begins the monumental work of writing the Mathnawi. Towards the end of the book, the author deals with Rumi's thought and provdes translations of those portions of the Mathnawi which had previously not been available in English.