{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_55674/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_55674","id":"gutenberg_55674","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55674","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Medieval/Middle Ages","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Oriental literature -- Translations into English"],"text":"THE SACRED BOOKS AND\n EARLY LITERATURE OF\n THE EAST\n\n WITH HISTORICAL SURVEYS OF THE CHIEF\n WRITINGS OF EACH NATION\n\n _Translations, Bibliographies, etc., by the following\n Leading Orientalists_:\n\n IN AMERICA:\n MORRIS JASTROW, LL.D., Professor of Semitic Languages, University\n of Pennsylvania; JAMES H. BREASTED, LL.D., Professor of Egyptology,\n University of Chicago; CHARLES C. TORREY, D.D., Professor of Semitic\n Languages, Yale University; A. V. W. JACKSON, LL.D., Professor of\n Indo-Iranian, Columbia University; CHARLES R. LANMAN, LL.D., Professor\n of Sanskrit, Harvard University; REV. CHARLES F. AIKEN, S.T.D., Dean\n of the Faculty of Theology, Catholic University; FRIEDRICH HIRTH,\n LL.D., Professor of Chinese, Columbia University; REV. WILLIAM E.\n GRIFFIS, D.D., former Professor at the Imperial University, Tokio.\n\n IN EUROPE:\n E. A. W. BUDGE, F.S.A., Director of Egyptology in the British Museum;\n SIR GASTON MASPERO, D.C.L., Member of the Royal Institute of France;\n REV. A. H. SAYCE, LL.D., Professor of Comparative Philology, Oxford\n University; W. FLINDERS-PETRIE, LL.D., Professor of Egyptology,\n University College, London; STEPHEN LANGDON, Ph.D., Professor of\n Assyriology, Oxford University; SIR ERNEST SATOW, LL.D., G.C.M.G.\n British Minister to Japan; H. OLDENBERG, LL.D., Professor of Sanskrit,\n Kiel University; T. W. RHYS-DAVIDS, LL.D, Librarian of the Royal\n Asiatic Society; ARMINIUS VAMB\u00c9RY, LL.D, Professor of Oriental\n Languages, University of Budapest.\n\n IN ASIA:\n SIR M. COOMARA SWAMY, Legislative Council of Ceylon; ROMESH CHUNDER\n DUTT, C.I.E, Author of the History of Civilization in Ancient\n India; DARAB D. P. SANJANA, Educational Society of Bombay; VISCOUNT\n KENCHO SUYEMATSU LL.M, Japanese Minister of the Interior; SHEIK\n FAIZ-ULLAH-BHAI, Head Master of the Schools of Anjuman-i-Islam; RALPH\n T. GRIFFITH, President Benares College, India; JIVANJI JAMSHEDJI MODI,\n Fellow of Bombay University, Officier de l'Academie Fran\u00e7aise.\n\n _Under the editorship of a staff of specialists directed by_\n PROF. CHARLES F. HORNE, PH.D.\n\n PARKE, AUSTIN, AND LIPSCOMB, INC.\n NEW YORK LONDON\n\n\n This Volume is one of a complete set of the Sacred Books\n and Early Literature of the East, consisting of fourteen\n volumes. In Volume I of the series will be found a certificate\n as to the limitation of the edition and the registered\n number of this set.\n\n Copyright, 1917,\n Parke, Austin, and Lipscomb, Inc.\n\n\n[Illustration: THE SLAVE GIRL OF ABU ZAYD.\n\n \"_Behold I had a slave girl, elegant of shape,\n Smooth of cheek, patient to labor._\"\n AL HARIRI, The Eighth Assembly.]\n\n\n\n\n THE SACRED BOOKS AND\n EARLY LITERATURE OF\n THE EAST\n\n\n VOLUME VI\n\n MEDIEVAL ARABIC, MOORISH, AND TURKISH\n\n _In Translations by_\n E. J. W. GIBB of the Royal Asiatic Society; STANLEY LANE-POOLE,\n Litt.D., Professor of Arabic, Trinity College, Dublin; ARMINIUS\n VAMBERY, LL.D., Professor of Oriental Languages, University of\n Budapest; THOMAS CHENERY, M.A., Former Professor of Arabic at Oxford\n University; ERNEST RENAN, Former Professor of Hebrew, College of\n France; CLAUD FIELD, M.A.; and other authorities.\n\n _With brief Bibliographies\n by_ PROF. CHARLES C. TORREY, LL.D., and\n PROF. EDWARD H. JOHNS, Ph.D.\n\n\n _With an Historical Survey and Descriptions by_\n PROF. CHARLES F. HORNE, PH.D.\n\n PARKE, AUSTIN, AND LIPSCOMB, INC.\n NEW YORK LONDON\n\n\n\n\n\"_Let there be light._\"\u2014GENESIS 1, 3.\n\n\"_There never was a false god, nor was there ever\nreally a false religion, unless you call a child a\nfalse man._\"\u2014MAX M\u00dcLLER.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS OF VOLUME VI\n\n\nLITERATURES DESCENDED FROM THE ARABIC\n\n\n PAGE\n INTRODUCTION\u2014How the Teaching of Mohammed\n Spread into Many Lands and Created Many\n Literatures 1\n\n\n MEDIEVAL ARAB LITERATURE\n\n I.\u2014THE SUNAN,\n\n Or Holy Traditions of Mohammed (A.D. 850-890) 9\n\n II.\u2014EARLY HISTORY AND SCIENCE 33\n\n Masoudi's \"Golden Meadows\" (A.D. 956) 37\n\n _Legends of the Early Caliphs._\n\n Avicenna on \"Medicine\" (A.D. 1020) 90\n\n _The Chief Work of the Arabs' Chief Scientist._\n\n Al Biruni's \"Existing Monuments\" (A.D. 1040) 92\n\n _The First Effort at Scientific Study of the Past._\n\n III.\u2014PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION 97\n\n Al Ghazali's \"Rescuer from Error\" (A.D. 1106) 102\n\n _The Spiritual Autobiography of a Great\n Teacher._\n\n Zamakhshari's \"Kashshaf,\" or \"Discoverer of\n Truth\" (A.D. 1140) 134\n\n _The Boldest Commentary on the Koran._\n\n Zamakhshari's \"Golden Necklaces\" 138\n\n _Mohammedan Precepts of Morality._\n\n IV.\u2014ROMANCE 141\n\n The \"Assemblies\" of Al Hariri (A.D. 1122) 145\n\n _The Most Renowned Piece of Pure Literature\n in Arabic._\n\n V.\u2014THE POETS OF ARABIA 203\n\n\n MOORISH LITERATURE\n\n VI.\u2014SCIENCE AND HISTORY 235\n\n Averroes' \"Philosophy\" (A.D. 1195) 239\n\n Al Maqqari's \"Breath of Perfumes\" (A.D. 1628) 241\n\n VII.\u2014LOVE POETRY OF THE SPANISH MOORS 243\n\n\n TURKISH LITERATURE\n\n VIII.\u2014LEGENDS AND POETRY 257\n\n The Queen of Night, an Old Folk-lore Tale 262\n\n The Earliest Turkish Poem (A.D. 1332) 272\n\n Book of Alexander the Great (A.D. 1412) 273\n\n The Loves of Shirin (A.D. 1426) 275\n\n The Book of Mohammed (A.D. 1449) 277\n\n Poems by Turkish Sultans 280\n\n Turkish Poetesses 290\n\n The Great Turkish Poets 292\n\n IX.\u2014THE TRAVELS OF SIDI ALI REIS 327\n\n The \"Mirror of Countries\" (A.D. 1556) 332\n\n BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ARABIC LITERATURE 397\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME VI\n\n\n FACING PAGE\n\n The Slave Girl of Abu Zayd _Frontispiece_\n\n The Death of Abu Mustem 42\n\n The Song of Abu Al Salam 210\n\n The Queen of Night 264\n\n The Ancient Church of St. Sophia 320\n\n\n\n\nSACRED BOOKS AND EARLY LITERATURE\n\nOF\n\nTHE MEDIEVAL ARABS, MOORS, AND TURKS\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nHOW THE TEACHING OF MOHAMMED SPREAD INTO MANY LANDS AND CREATED MANY\nLITERATURES\n\n\nThe wide-spread Arabic empire and religion originated with Mohammed\nand was founded on his book, the Koran. That tremendously important\nwork, with the primitive Arabic literature of even earlier date, formed\nthe theme of our preceding volume. We have now to trace the Arabic\nliterature and thought which, with the expanding of the Mohammedan\nempire, spread over a large part of the Eastern world. Geographically\nthat empire reached from its Arabian center eastward through Babylonia\nand Persia into India, westward through all North Africa into Spain,\nsouthward through Egypt into the wilds of Central Africa, and northward\nthrough Asia Minor to all the Turkish possessions. Through much of this\nvast region, Arabic became the common speech, and books were written in\nits tongue. Even in our own day, Arabic continues as the language of a\nconsiderable part of Turkey in Asia, of Egypt, and of all North Africa.\n\nWe can scarcely, however, regard as a unit all the varying Mohammedan\nliteratures of these many lands. The Persians, for example, retained\ntheir own language and wrote in it a literature of Mohammedan religious\nspirit, so important that we shall devote to it a later separate\nvolume. Our present task, therefore, will confine itself to tracing\nthrough the Middle Ages the more strictly Arabian development. This\nincludes first, the spread of literature and thought among the Arabs\nthemselves, or among those people who completely adopted the Arabic\nfaith and speech. Second, it includes the literature of the Moors, or\nsemi-Arabic peoples, of North Africa and Spain. And third, it leads us\nto the Turks, the last Mohammedan conquerors, who took up and carried\non Arabic tradition, though in a language and spirit more Tartar than\nArabian.\n\nFor the purely Arabic development, that is for the literature and\nthought that sprang directly from Mohammed's teaching, we turn first to\nthe \"Sunan,\" or traditions about Mohammed. After the prophet's death in\nA.D. 632, and while his followers were spreading his teachings by force\nof arms, they talked much of the doings and sayings of their adored\nmaster. Then, long after his own writings had been gathered in the\nofficial form of the Koran, a similar collection was made of what might\nbe termed his unofficial teaching, that is of all his remembered words,\nthe ideas which he had not proclaimed as inspired by God, but had given\nforth in ordinary conversation between man and man. The details of his\nlife were also treasured. Thus sprang up the \"Sunan,\" from which we may\nlearn as much of Mohammed the man, and of the daily life and thought of\nhis people, as from the Koran we learn of Mohammed the poet and of the\npoetic spirit of Arabia.\n\nFor a long time the Arabs developed no other religious literature than\nthis. Of the third leader of their new faith, the Caliph Omar, there is\na well-known legend which may be untrue in fact but is intensely true\nto the fanatic spirit of the Caliph and his followers. It says that\nwhen Omar's armies conquered Egypt the scholars of Alexandria entreated\nhim to protect the books of their great library, the largest in the\nworld. Instead, Omar ordered the thousands of manuscripts to be used to\nfeed the fires of the public baths; and he based the destruction upon\nthis verdict: \"If these books disagree with the Koran they are evil; if\nthey agree they are unnecessary.\"\n\nThe Arabic literary spirit was thus compelled to cling to its old\npre-Mohammedan form. That is, it expressed itself only in brief\npersonal poems, in skilfully phrased epigrams, satiric couplets, or\n\"rubaiyat,\" called forth by a sudden occasion. A collection of the best\nknown of these poems, gathered from successive ages of gay and dashing\nsingers, is given at the close of our Arabic section.\n\nGradually, however, a change came over the victorious Arab race. The\nwarriors lost their intense religious inspiration. They fought among\nthemselves for place and power. The enormous wealth which they had\nconquered, with its resulting temptations to luxury and ease and empty\nvanity, weakened them, lured them from both the high moral strength\nwhich they had really attained, and from the fanatic frenzy of faith\nwhich had been their pride. They removed the capital of their empire\nfrom the holy cities of Arabia, first to Damascus and then to Bagdad,\nthe wonderful dream-city of splendor which they built upon the banks of\nthe ancient Tigris river.\n\nUnder these gorgeous Caliphs of Bagdad, such as Haroun al Raschid\nof \"Arabian Nights'\" fame, a civilization developed which Mohammed\nwould never have recognized as his own, which he would indeed have\nbeen the first to repudiate. Unrestrained power bred a callous\nindifference to the sufferings of its victims, and even a barbarous\ndelight in inflicting torture. The tyranny of the ruling classes bred\na corresponding falsity in their helpless but supple servitors. Truth,\nthe chief virtue in Mohammed's teaching, became unknown in human\nintercourse, except as a poetic ideal. From their priest-king down,\nthrough all the ranks of society, men talked much of the virtues, while\nsurrendering themselves almost wholly to the passions. One might of\ncourse speak cynically of mankind's having found this somewhat true in\nevery age, but seldom has the tragic contrast between the ideal and the\nactual been brought into such sharp and visible form as in the medieval\nworld of Bagdad.\n\nFrom this fertile though unhealthy soil a new literature sprang up,\ntypical of the time and place. Here were centered the wealth and\nleisure and most of what survived of the culture of ancient Asia and\nAfrica. So wit and learning journeyed there as well. At first the new\nliterature found voice mainly as history or biography, or as a rather\ncrude form of these collections of anecdotes purporting to give the\nvirtues and chief events in the lives of former caliphs. Among the\nwriters of these semi-biographic tales, by far the most noted and most\nnoteworthy is Masoudi (died A.D. 957). His huge work, the \"Golden\nMeadows,\" fills many volumes, from which we give the most attractive\nanecdotes. While such tales must not be taken as genuine history, they\nteach us very clearly the spirit of their age.\n\nAfter these loose histories, a more careful science developed. The real\nlearning of the Arab scholars of the eleventh and twelfth centuries\nfar outranked that of their European and Christian contemporaries. As\nyet the various fields of science were scarcely differentiated; the\nstudent took all knowledge for his province. The earliest Arab writer,\nwho may perhaps be regarded as a genuine historian, in contrast to the\nprevious romancers, was Al Biruni (973-1048), whose \"Chronology\" our\nvolume quotes. But Al Biruni was far more than an historian; he was a\nleading scientist of his day and also a geographer, his work on \"India\"\nbeing almost as celebrated as his \"Chronology.\" Of even greater fame\nin science than Al Biruni was Avicenna (980-1037), a sort of universal\ngenius, known first as a physician. To his works on medicine he\nafterward added religious tracts, poems, works on philosophy, on logic,\non physics, on mathematics, and on astronomy. He was also a statesman\nand a soldier, and he is said to have died of debauchery. He is famed\nas the most versatile and brilliant member of a versatile and brilliant\nrace.\n\nWith the increasing freedom of scientific thought and speech which\nAvicenna typifies, there sprang up among the Eastern Mohammedans a new\nreligious impulse. They began to examine more carefully the faith which\nthey had before accepted blindly. To this age therefore we owe the\nwritings of Al Ghazali (1049-1111), whom some of his own countrymen\nhave regarded as second only to Mohammed as a teacher of their\nreligion. Indeed, it was a common saying of his day that \"If there were\nstill prophets in the world Al Ghazali would be one.\"\n\nWestern scholars have, some of them, gone still further in their\nadmiration of Al Ghazali, declaring him to have been one of the\nworld's greatest thinkers, whom his Mohammedan contemporaries never\nsufficiently appreciated, and to whose high moral stature the\nMohammedan world has not even yet grown up. Among his writings the most\ninteresting and useful to modern readers is his \"Rescuer from Error,\"\na sort of spiritual autobiography, his account of his own growth in\nreligious faith. This striking book our volume gives in full.\n\nFrom Al Ghazali, or even from before his time, dates the great flow of\ncommentaries on the Koran. These half-philosophical, half-fanatical\ndiscussions would have seemed irreligious to the earliest Mohammedan\nage. The Koran had been originally accepted as perfect, and\ntherefore as completely clear. But now the analytic spirit of the\nSemite reasserted itself; and even as the Hebrews in their Biblical\ncommentaries weighed every \"and\" and \"but\" and every carelessly\nmade letter in their Holy Book, so now the Mohammedan \"mullahs,\" or\npriests, began to draw deductions from their law, to interpret and\nso develop it. Among these commentators two are chiefly celebrated.\nZamakhshari (1074-1143) was perhaps the most learned and the shrewdest,\nbut his ideas have seemed to his coreligionists a little too radical,\ntoo independent of Mohammed, daring almost to question the divine\ninspiration of the prophet. Therefore the work of Zamakhshari's more\nsubmissive successor of a century later, Al Baidawi, has gradually\nsuperseded the older book as the favorite exposition of the Koran. The\nWestern reader, however, will distinctly prefer the independence of\nZamakhshari.\n\nInto the lighter literature of the medieval Arabs we need not look too\nfar. They had their wholly unreligious and fantastic romances such as\nthe \"Arabian Nights.\" This famous work, however, draws largely upon\nPersian sources. Indeed, as our later Persian volume will emphasize,\nmost of the pure romance of later Arab literature is of Persian origin,\nand may best be studied in the Persian books. There is, however, an\nintermediate class of tale peculiarly Arabian. This is the mingling of\nromance with poetry and moral teachings, just as the earlier historians\nhad mingled it with history. Most celebrated in this peculiar class\nof semi-religious, semi-poetic romances is the work presented in this\nvolume, the \"Assemblies\" of Al Hariri (1054-1122). Just as Masoudi\nstands to his race for history, Al Biruni for geography, Avicenna for\nscience, Al Ghazali for philosophy, and Zamakhshari and Al Baidawi\nfor religious study, so does Al Hariri stand for literary skill, for\nbrilliancy and humor. His \"Assemblies\" is the Arabs' chief purely\nliterary achievement.\n\n\nMOORISH LITERATURE\n\nIn the year 1258 Bagdad was stormed and conquered by a Tartar general.\nIt is true that most of the ravaging Tartars finally adopted the\nreligion of the conquered, and so the region continued to obey in\nreligious matters a Mohammedan caliph; but the rule of the Arabs, which\nhad been long undermined by Persian influences, ended definitely with\nthe fall of Bagdad. From the time of that disaster we must look to\nother lands for the continuation of a semi-Arabic literature.\n\nChief of the secondary developments from the Arabian stock was the\nremarkable and justly celebrated civilization of the Moors in Spain.\nThe fame of medieval Arabic scholarship was carried to its climax by\nthese first Mohammedan invaders of Europe. In the first wild onrush\nof Arabian conquest most of Spain was captured in the year A.D. 712,\ncaptured by an army having leaders of pure Arab blood, but with\nfollowers mainly of the semi-Arabic, or Moorish, people of North\nAfrica. In the year 756 this Moorish kingdom in Spain broke completely\nfrom the Arabian Caliph and set up a priest-king of its own, a caliph\nwhose capital was at Cordova in Spain, and whose connection with the\nolder Arab world was only one of race and religion and not of empire.\nOur Hebraic volume has already spoken of the remarkable Hebrew writers\nand philosophers who flourished within the shelter of this Cordova\ncaliphate. The Arabs themselves were not less able than their Hebrew\nservitors.\n\nHere then, under the sunny skies of Southern Spain, far, far indeed\nfrom the first centers of Semitic civilization, was the last brilliant\nblossoming of distinctively Semitic thought. We have in our previous\nvolumes traced the growth of Semitic thought and of the Semitic\nreligious progress from their earliest home by the Euphrates river,\nwhere the Babylonian and the desert Arab warred in unrecognized\nbrotherhood of race. Now we are ready to glance briefly at them in\nSpain, the last strong kingdom they were to possess, and the last\nliterature of note which the Semites, except as scattered members of\nother communities, were to give the world.\n\nAmong the Arabic writers of Spain the most noted is the scientist and\nphilosopher, Averroes (1126-1198). To Mohammedans he is the religious\nthinker, who strove to harmonize their faith with the advancing science\nof a later day, and who opposed his practical, rational spirit to the\nmysticism of Al Ghazali. To the European world he is the celebrated\ncommentator on that greatest of philosophers, Aristotle. As the voice\nof Aristotle, Averroes thus became the leading teacher and philosopher\nof his day; he is the link which connects our present thought and\nscience with the first splendor of independent inquiry under the\nGreeks. The name of Aristotle, the chief scientific teacher of all the\nworld, is thus united forever with that of the great Arab teacher,\nAverroes.\n\nMoorish literature was also a shrine of poetry and romance, though\nmost of these lighter writings have only been preserved to us through\nthe Spanish tongue. Our own Washington Irving found in these Moorish\ntales an inspiration for his genius, and has turned many of them into\nEnglish. Others will be found included in our volume.\n\n\nTURKISH LITERATURE\n\nOf the Turkish literature we need speak but briefly. The Turks were not\nSemites, but a Tartar or East Asiatic stock who, after wandering into\nWestern Asia, accepted the Mohammedan faith about A.D. 1288. At the\nvery moment when the vast Mohammedan empire was crumbling to pieces,\nassailed by pagan Tartar hordes and crusading Christian armies from\nwithout, and withering from spiritual decadence within, the Turks took\nup the waning faith, and with the energy of new and younger converts\ncarried it onward to the military conquests which built up the Turkish\nEmpire.\n\nThis new empire soon included geographically most of the older Arab\nEmpire; but the Turks brought to their new faith only the dubious glory\nof victory in war. They added little, either to its thought or to its\nliterature. They were, in fact, a nation still semi-barbaric, strong\nin the natural virtues of faith and honesty and a rude kindliness, but\nwholly lacking in the subtlety and intellectual keenness which could\nhave advanced Mohammedan thought.\n\nHence we shall find in their literature, at first, only childish\ntales, echoes of the childhood of the world, magic stories close akin\nto those of our own fairyland. Then comes a native poetry, not rising\nto remarkable heights in any one great poet, but full of a warm human\nlove of romance and justice. Later we come to more thoughtful and\nelaborate writings, but these incline to deal with the practical world\nrather than with that of religion and speculative thought. So that\nwe close our Turkish section with what is perhaps the most valuable\npiece of early Turkish literature, a work of travel, the celebrated\nautobiography of Sidi Ali Reis.\n\n\n\n\nARABIC LITERATURE\n\n\n THE SUNAN\n\n THE DEEDS AND SAYINGS OF MOHAMMED AS PRESERVED BY\n HIS FOLLOWERS\n\n \"_The proof of a Mohammedan's sincerity is that he pays no\n heed to what is not his business._\"\n \u2014SUNAN OF ABU DA'UD.\n\n\n \"_The sayings [of the Sunan] are very numerous and very detailed;\n but how far they are genuine it is not easy to determine._\"\n \u2014STANLEY LANE-POOLE.\n\n\n \"_The first thing which God created was a pen, and he said to\n it, 'Write.'_\"\n \u2014THE SUNAN.\n\n\nTHE SUNAN\n\n(INTRODUCTION)\n\n\nThe Sunan, or \"traditions,\" of Mohammed are now gathered in six\nbooks, though two of these are more specifically called the Sahihs,\nor \"sincere books.\" These six works bear to Mohammedanism much the\nsame relation as the Four Gospels do to Christianity. That is to say,\nthey are the accounts of the prophet's life as handed down by his\ndisciples. Of course to the Mohammedans the Sunan are not the main\nsource of teaching. That is the Koran, which, as we have seen, is\nMohammed's own book, dictated by the prophet himself. Moreover, the\nSunan do not approach Mohammed with anything like the same accuracy\nand closeness with which the Gospels approach Jesus. The Sunan are\nslight and fragmentary traditions, gathered from every possible source\nat an interval of more than two centuries after their prophet's death.\nThey have, however, been accepted as holy books or \"canons\" of the\nMohammedan faith. Much of the Mohammedan religious law of to-day is\nfounded on them; and they are taught in all the schools and made the\nbasis of many a hair-splitting argument about right and wrong.\n\nUnlike the Christian religion, that of Mohammed sprang immediately\ninto world-wide power; hence no sooner was the prophet dead than every\ncompanion of the revered teacher, every listener who had ever heard him\nspeak, narrated to eager audiences each remembered trifle. Naturally\nthese became exaggerated in the telling. Moreover, when rival caliphs\nfought and slew one another, each claiming rightful heirship from the\nprophet, their followers would inevitably invent traditions to justify\neach leader's claim. Exaggeration, if not direct falsehood, soon\nbecame inextricably mixed with fact. When, later on, men tried to set\ntheir faith upon a firmer basis, they sought to sift these manifold\ntraditions and decide which were worthy of belief.\n\nThe first man who set down these sifted traditions in a book was Al\nBukhari. He traveled all over the Arab Empire to gather all the tales\nhe could, and he continued elaborating on his book, the first Sahih,\nuntil his death in A.D. 870. Al Bukhari himself tells us that in his\ntravels he gathered six hundred thousand tales about Mohammed. Of these\nhe admitted to his Sahih, as being most trustworthy, a little over\nseven thousand. The second Sahih, written by a follower of Al Bukhari,\nwas garnered from three hundred thousand tales.\n\nOf slightly later date than these two works were the four Sunan,\nfounded partly on the earlier books, but built upon a stricter critical\nanalysis of what should be accepted, and written after an even wider\ngathering of all the legends of the empire. Hence the Sunan include\nthe earlier books, and the entire collection is commonly spoken of by\nthe later name. When, however, we speak of these Sunan as a \"critical\"\nselection from the million legends, the modern reader must not think of\nthis as implying modern scientific criticism and analytical accuracy.\nEach tale was chiefly accepted on the ground that, in the series of men\nby whom it was said to have been handed down through the generations,\nall the men were known and all were of reputed trustworthiness.\n\nThat is to say, in an age already become notorious for its lack of\nveracity, a superficial confidence in individual veracity, extending\nback through many links for over two hundred years, was accepted as the\nultimate proof of truth.\n\nThe most widely read and quoted of the Sunan is that of Abu Da'ud, who\nsums up his own work by declaring that only four of all the thousands\nof religious rules he has gathered need be remembered by each man\nfor his own religious guidance. These four laws Abu Da'ud gives as\nfollows: \"Actions will be judged according to intentions. The proof of\na Moslem's sincerity is that he pays no heed to that which is not his\nbusiness. No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother\nthat which he desires for himself. That which is lawful is clear, and\nthat which is unlawful likewise, but there are certain doubtful things\nbetween the two, from which it is well to abstain.\"\n\n\nSELECTIONS FROM THE\n\nSUNAN\n\nOR, SAYINGS AND TRADITIONS OF MOHAMMED\n\n\nWhen God created the creation he wrote a book, which is near him upon\nthe sovran throne; and what is written in it is this: \"Verily my\ncompassion overcometh my wrath.\"\n\nSay not, if people do good to us, we will do good to them, and if\npeople oppress us, we will oppress them: but resolve that if people do\ngood to you, you will do good to them, and if they oppress you, oppress\nthem not again.\n\nGod saith: Whoso doth one good act, for him are ten rewards, and I also\ngive more to whomsoever I will; and whoso doth ill, its retaliation is\nequal to it, or else I forgive him; and he who seeketh to approach me\none cubit, I will seek to approach him two fathoms; and he who walketh\ntoward me, I will run toward him; and he who cometh before me with the\nearth full of sins, but joineth no partner to me, I will come before\nhim with an equal front of forgiveness.\n\nThere are seven people whom God will draw under his own shadow, on that\nday when there will be no other shadow: one a just king; another, who\nhath employed himself in devotion from his youth; the third, who fixeth\nhis heart on the mosque till he return to it; the fourth, two men whose\nfriendship is to please God, whether together or separate; the fifth, a\nman who remembereth God when he is alone, and weepeth; the sixth, a man\nwho is tempted by a rich and beautiful woman, and saith, Verily I fear\nGod; the seventh, a man who hath given alms and concealed it, so that\nhis left hand knoweth not what his right hand doeth.\n\nThe most excellent of all actions is to befriend any one on God's\naccount, and to be at enmity with whosoever is the enemy of God.\n\nVerily ye are in an age in which if ye abandon one-tenth of what is\nordered, ye will be ruined. After this a time will come when he who\nshall observe one-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.\n\n\n_Concerning Prayer_\n\nAngels come among you both night and day; then those of the night\nascend to heaven, and God asketh them how they left his creatures: they\nsay, We left them at prayer, and we found them at prayer.\n\nThe rewards for the prayers which are performed by people assembled\ntogether are double of those which are said at home.\n\nYe must not say your prayers at the rising or the setting of the sun:\nso when a limb of the sun appeareth, leave your prayers until her whole\norb is up: and when the sun beginneth to set, quit your prayers until\nthe whole orb hath disappeared; for, verily she riseth between the two\nhorns of the devil.\n\nNo neglect of duty is imputable during sleep; for neglect can only\ntake place when one is awake: therefore, when any of you forget your\nprayers, say them when ye recollect.\n\nWhen any one of you goeth to sleep, the devil tieth three knots upon\nhis neck; and saith over every knot, \"The night is long, sleep.\"\nTherefore, if a servant awake and remember God, it openeth one knot;\nand if he perform the ablution, it openeth another; and if he say\nprayers, it openeth the other; and he riseth in the morning in gladness\nand purity: otherwise he riseth in a lethargic state.\n\nWhen a Moslem performeth the ablution, it washeth from his face those\nfaults which he may have cast his eyes upon; and when he washeth\nhis hands, it removeth the faults they may have committed, and when\nhe washeth his feet, it dispelleth the faults toward which they may\nhave carried him: so that he will rise up in purity from the place of\nablution.\n\n\n_Of Charity_\n\nWhen God created the earth it began to shake and tremble; then God\ncreated mountains, and put them upon the earth, and the land became\nfirm and fixed; and the angels were astonished at the hardness of the\nhills, and said, \"O God, is there anything of thy creation harder than\nhills?\" and God said, \"Yes, water is harder than the hills, because it\nbreaketh them.\" Then the angel said, \"O Lord, is there anything of thy\ncreation harder than water?\" He said, \"Yes, wind overcometh water: it\ndoth agitate it and put it in motion.\" They said, \"O our Lord! is there\nanything of thy creation harder than wind?\" He said, \"Yes, the children\nof Adam giving alms: those who give with their right hand, and conceal\nfrom their left, overcome all.\"\n\nThe liberal man is near the pleasure of God and is near paradise, which\nhe shall enter into, and is near the hearts of men as a friend, and he\nis distant from hell; but the niggard is far from God's pleasure and\nfrom paradise, and far from the hearts of men, and near the fire; and\nverily a liberal ignorant man is more beloved by God than a niggardly\nworshiper.\n\nA man's giving in alms one piece of silver in his lifetime is better\nfor him than giving one hundred when about to die.\n\nThink not that any good act is contemptible, though it be but your\nbrother's coming to you with an open countenance and good humor.\n\nThere is alms for a man's every joint, every day in which the sun\nriseth; doing justice between two people is alms; and assisting a man\nupon his beast, and with his baggage, is alms; and pure words, for\nwhich are rewards; and answering a questioner with mildness is alms,\nand every step which is made toward prayer is alms, and removing that\nwhich is an inconvenience to man, such as stones and thorns, is alms.\n\nThe people of the Prophet's house killed a goat, and the Prophet said,\n\"What remaineth of it?\" They said, \"Nothing but the shoulder; for they\nhave sent the whole to the poor and neighbors, except a shoulder which\nremaineth.\" The Prophet said, \"Nay, it is the whole goat that remaineth\nexcept its shoulder: that remaineth which they have given away, the\nrewards of which will be eternal, and what remaineth in the house is\nfleeting.\"\n\nFeed the hungry, visit the sick, and free the captive if he be unjustly\nbound.\n\n\n_Of Fasting_\n\nA keeper of fasts, who doth not abandon lying and slandering, God\ncareth not about his leaving off eating and drinking.\n\nKeep fast and eat also, stay awake at night and sleep also, because\nverily there is a duty on you to your body, not to labor overmuch, so\nthat ye may not get ill and destroy yourselves; and verily there is a\nduty on you to your eyes, ye must sometimes sleep and give them rest;\nand verily there is a duty on you to your wife, and to your visitors\nand guests that come to see you; ye must talk to them; and nobody hath\nkept fast who fasted always; the fast of three days in every month is\nequal to constant fasting: then keep three days' fast in every month.\n\n\n_Of Reading the Koran_\n\nThe state of a Moslem who readeth the Koran is like the orange fruit,\nwhose smell and taste are pleasant; and that of a Moslem who doth not\nread the Koran is like a date which hath no smell, but a sweet taste;\nand the condition of any hypocrite who doth not read the Koran is\nlike the colocynth which hath no smell, but a bitter taste; and the\nhypocrite who readeth the Koran is like the sweet bazil, whose smell is\nsweet, but taste bitter.\n\nRead the Koran constantly; I sware by him in the hands of whose might\nis my life, verily the Koran runneth away faster than a camel which is\nnot tied by the leg.\n\n\n_Of Labor and Profit_\n\nVerily the best things which ye eat are those which ye earn yourselves\nor which your children earn.\n\nVerily it is better for one of you to take a rope and bring a bundle\nof wood upon his back and sell it, in which case God guardeth his\nhonor, than to beg of people, whether they give him or not; if they do\nnot give him, his reputation suffereth and he returneth disappointed;\nand if they give him, it is worse than that, for it layeth him under\nobligations.\n\nA man came to the Prophet, begging of him something, and the Prophet\nsaid, \"Have you nothing at home?\" He said, \"Yes, there is a large\ncarpet, with one part of which I cover myself, and spread the other,\nand there is a wooden cup in which I drink water.\" Then the Prophet\nsaid, \"Bring me the carpet and the cup.\" And the man brought them, and\nthe Prophet took them in his hand, and said, \"Who will buy them?\" A\nman said, \"I will take them at one silver piece.\" He said, \"Who will\ngive more?\" This he repeated twice or thrice. Another man said, \"I will\ntake them for two pieces of silver.\" Then the Prophet gave the carpet\nand cup to that man, and took the two pieces of silver, and gave them\nto the helper, and said, \"Buy food with one of these pieces, and give\nit to your family, that they may make it their sustenance for a few\ndays; and buy a hatchet with the other piece and bring it to me.\" And\nthe man brought it; and the Prophet put a handle to it with his own\nhands, and then said, \"Go, cut wood, and sell it, and let me not see\nyou for fifteen days.\" Then the man went cutting wood, and selling\nit; and he came to the Prophet, when verily he had got ten pieces of\nsilver, and he bought a garment with part of it, and food with part.\nThen the Prophet said, \"This cutting and selling of wood, and making\nyour livelihood by it, is better for you than coming on the day of\nresurrection with black marks on your face.\"\n\nActs of begging are scratches and wounds by which a man woundeth his\nown face; then he who wisheth to guard his face from scratches and\nwounds must not beg, unless that a man asketh from his prince, or in\nan affair in which there is no remedy.\n\nThe Prophet hath cursed ten persons on account of wine: one, the\nfirst extractor of the juice of the grape for others; the second, for\nhimself; the third, the drinker of it; the fourth, the bearer of it;\nthe fifth, the person to whom it is brought; the sixth, the waiter;\nthe seventh, the seller of it; the eighth, the eater of its price; the\nninth, the buyer of it; the tenth, that person who hath purchased it\nfor another.\n\nMerchants shall be raised up liars on the day of resurrection, except\nhe who abstaineth from that which is unlawful, and doth not swear\nfalsely, but speaketh true in the price of his goods.\n\nThe taker of interest and the giver of it, and the writer of its papers\nand the witness to it, are equal in crime.\n\nThe holder of a monopoly is a sinner and offender.\n\nThe bringers of grain to the city to sell at a cheap rate gain immense\nadvantage by it, and he who keepeth back grain in order to sell at a\nhigh rate is cursed.\n\nHe who desireth that God should redeem him from the sorrows and\ndifficulties of the day of resurrection must delay in calling on poor\ndebtors, or forgive the debt in part or whole.\n\nA martyr shall be pardoned every fault but debt.\n\nWhosoever has a thing with which to discharge a debt, and refuseth to\ndo it, it is right to dishonor and punish him.\n\nA bier was brought to the Prophet, to say prayers over it. He said,\n\"Hath he left any debts?\" They said, \"Yes.\" He said, \"Hath he left\nanything to discharge them?\" They said, \"No.\" The Prophet said, \"Say ye\nprayers over him; I shall not.\"\n\nGive the laborer his wage before his perspiration be dry.\n\n\n_Of Fighting for the Faith_\n\nWe came out with the Prophet, with a part of the army, and a man passed\nby a cavern in which were water and verdure, and he said in his heart,\n\"I shall stay here, and retire from the world.\" Then he asked the\nProphet's permission to live in the cavern; but he said, \"Verily I have\nnot been sent on the Jewish religion, nor the Christian, to quit the\ndelights of society; but I have been sent on the religion inclining to\ntruth, and that which is easy, wherein is no difficulty or austerity. I\nswear by God, in whose hand is my life, that marching about morning and\nevening to fight for religion is better than the world and everything\nthat is in it: and verily the standing of one of you in the line of\nbattle is better than supererogatory prayers performed in your house\nfor sixty years.\"\n\nWhen the Prophet sent an army out to fight, he would say, March in the\nname of God and by his aid and on the religion of the Messenger of\nGod. Kill not the old man who can not fight, nor young children nor\nwomen; and steal not the spoils of war, but put your spoils together;\nand quarrel not among yourselves, but be good to one another, for God\nloveth the doer of good.\n\n\n_Of Judgments_\n\nThe first judgment that God will pass on man at the day of resurrection\nwill be for murder.\n\nWhosoever throweth himself from the top of a mountain and killeth\nhimself is in hell fire forever; and whosoever killeth himself with\niron, his iron shall be in his hand, and he will stab his belly with it\nin hell fire everlastingly.\n\nNo judge must decide between two persons whilst he is angry.\n\nThere is no judge who hath decided between men, whether just or unjust,\nbut will come to God's court on the day of resurrection held by the\nneck by an angel; and the angel will raise his head toward the heavens\nand wait for God's orders; and if God ordereth to throw him into hell,\nthe angel will do it from a height of forty years' journey.\n\nVerily there will come on a just judge at the day of resurrection such\nfear and horror, that he will wish, Would to God that I had not decided\nbetween two persons in a trial for a single date.\n\n\n_Of Women and Slaves_\n\nThe world and all things in it are valuable, but the most valuable\nthing in the world is a virtuous woman.\n\nI have not left any calamity more hurtful to man than woman.\n\nA Moslem can not obtain (after righteousness) anything better than a\nwell-disposed, beautiful wife: such a wife as, when ordered by her\nhusband to do anything, obeyeth; and if her husband look at her, is\nhappy; and if her husband swear by her to do a thing, she doth it to\nmake his oath true; and if he be absent from her, she wisheth him well\nin her own person by guarding herself from inchastity, and taketh care\nof his property.\n\nVerily the best of women are those who are content with little.\n\nAdmonish your wives with kindness; for women were created out of a\ncrooked rib of Adam, therefore if ye wish to straighten it, ye will\nbreak it; and if ye let it alone, it will be always crooked.\n\nEvery woman who dieth, and her husband is pleased with her, shall enter\ninto paradise.\n\nThat which is lawful but disliked by God is divorce.\n\nA woman may be married by four qualifications: one, on account of\nher money; another, on account of the nobility of her pedigree;\nanother, on account of her beauty; a fourth, on account of her faith;\ntherefore look out for religious women, but if ye do it from any other\nconsideration, may your hands be rubbed in dirt.\n\nA widow shall not be married until she be consulted; nor shall a virgin\nbe married until her consent be asked, whose consent is by her silence.\n\nWhen the Prophet was informed that the people of Persia had made the\ndaughter of Chosroes their queen, he said, The tribe that constitutes a\nwoman its ruler will not find redemption.\n\nDo not prevent your women from coming to the mosque; but their homes\nare better for them.\n\nO assembly of women, give alms, although it be of your gold and silver\nornaments; for verily ye are mostly of hell on the day of resurrection.\n\nWhen ye return from a journey and enter your town at night, go not to\nyour houses, so that your wives may have time to comb their disheveled\nhair.\n\nGod has ordained that your brothers should be your slaves: therefore\nhim whom God hath ordained to be the slave of his brother, his brother\nmust give him of the food which he eateth himself, and of the clothes\nwherewith he clotheth himself, and not order him to do anything beyond\nhis power, and if he doth order such a work, he must himself assist him\nin doing it.\n\nHe who beateth his slave without fault, or slappeth him in the face,\nhis atonement for this is freeing him.\n\nA man who behaveth ill to his slave will not enter into paradise.\n\nForgive thy servant seventy times a day.\n\n\n_Of Dumb Animals_\n\nFear God in respect of animals: ride them when they are fit to be\nridden, and get off when they are tired.\n\nA man came before the Prophet with a carpet, and said, \"O Prophet! I\npassed through a wood, and heard the voices of the young of birds; and\nI took and put them into my carpet; and their mother came fluttering\nround my head, and I uncovered the young, and the mother fell down upon\nthem, then I wrapped them up in my carpet; and there are the young\nwhich I have.\" Then the Prophet said, \"Put them down.\" And when he did\nso, their mother joined them: and the Prophet said, \"Do you wonder at\nthe affection of the mother toward her young? I swear by him who hath\nsent me, verily God is more loving to his servants than the mother to\nthese young birds. Return them to the place from which ye took them,\nand let their mother be with them.\"\n\nVerily there are rewards for our doing good to dumb animals, and giving\nthem water to drink. An adulteress was forgiven who passed by a dog at\na well; for the dog was holding out his tongue from thirst, which was\nnear killing him; and the woman took off her hoot, and tied it to the\nend of her garment, and drew water for the dog, and gave him to drink;\nand she was forgiven for that act.\n\n\n_Of Hospitality_\n\nWhen a man cometh into his house and remembereth God and repeateth his\nname at eating his meals, the devil saith to his followers, \"Here is no\nplace for you to stay in to-night, nor is there any supper for you.\"\nAnd when a man cometh into his house without remembering God's name,\nthe devil saith to his followers, \"You have got a place to spend the\nnight in.\"\n\nWhosoever believeth in God and the day of resurrection must respect his\nguest, and the time of being kind to him is one day and one night, and\nthe period of entertaining him is three days, and after that, if he\ndoth it longer, he benefiteth him more. It is not right for a guest to\nstay in the house of the host so long as to inconvenience him.\n\nI heard this, that God is pure, and loveth purity; and God is liberal,\nand loveth liberality; God is munificent, and loveth munificence: then\nkeep the courts of your house clean, and do not be like Jews who do not\nclean the courts of their houses.\n\n\n_Of Government_\n\nGovernment is a trust from God, and verily government will be at the\nday of resurrection a cause of inquiry, unless he who hath taken it be\nworthy of it and have acted justly and done good.\n\nVerily a king is God's shadow upon the earth; and every one oppressed\nturneth to him: then when the king doeth justice, for him are rewards\nand gratitude from his subjects: but, if the king oppresseth, on him is\nhis sin, and for the oppressed resignation.\n\nThat is the best of men who disliketh power. Beware! ye are all\nguardians; and ye will be asked about your subjects: then the leader\nis the guardian of the subject, and he will be asked respecting the\nsubject; and a man is a shepherd to his own family, and will be asked\nhow they behaved, and his conduct to them; and a wife is guardian to\nher husband's house and children, and will be interrogated about them;\nand a slave is a shepherd to his master's property, and will be asked\nabout it, whether he took good care of it or not.\n\nThere is no prince who oppresseth the subject and dieth, but God\nforbiddeth paradise to him.\n\nIf a negro slave is appointed to rule over you, hear him, and obey him,\nthough his head should be like a dried grape.\n\nThere is no obedience due to sinful commands, nor to any other than\nwhat is lawful.\n\nO Prophet of God, if we have princes over us, wanting our rights, and\nwithholding our rights from us, then what do you order us? He said,\n\"Ye must hear them and obey their orders: it is on them to be just and\ngood, and on you to be obedient and submissive.\"\n\nHe is not strong or powerful who throws people down, but he is strong\nwho withholds himself from anger.\n\nWhen one of you getteth angry, he must sit down, and if his anger goeth\naway from sitting, so much the better; if not, let him lie down.\n\n\n_Of Vanities and Sundry Matters_\n\nThe angels are not with the company with which is a dog, nor with the\ncompany with which is a bell.\n\nA bell is the devil's musical instrument.\n\nThe angels do not enter a house in which is a dog, nor that in which\nthere are pictures.\n\nEvery painter is in hell fire; and God will appoint a person at the day\nof resurrection for every picture he shall have drawn, to punish him,\nand they will punish him in hell. Then if you must make pictures, make\nthem of trees and things without souls.\n\nWhosoever shall tell a dream, not having dreamed, shall be put to\nthe trouble at the day of resurrection of joining two barleycorns;\nand he can by no means do it; and he will be punished. And whosoever\nlisteneth to others' conversation, who dislike to be heard by him,\nand avoid him, boiling lead will be poured into his ears at the day\nof resurrection. And whosoever draweth a picture shall be punished by\nordering him to breathe a spirit into it, and this he can never do, and\nso he will be punished as long as God wills.\n\nO servants of God, use medicine: because God hath not created a pain\nwithout a remedy for it, to be the means of curing it, except age; for\nthat is a pain without a remedy.\n\nHe who is not loving to God's creatures and to his own children, God\nwill not be loving to him.\n\nThe truest words spoken by any poet are those of Lebid, who said, \"Know\nthat everything is vanity except God.\"\n\nVerily he who believeth fighteth with his sword and tongue: I swear by\nGod, verily abuse of infidels in verse is worse to them than arrows.\n\nMeekness and shame are two branches of faith, and vain talking and\nembellishing are two branches of hypocrisy.\n\nThe calamity of knowledge is forgetfulness, and to lose knowledge is\nthis, to speak of it to the unworthy.\n\nWho pursueth the road to knowledge, God will direct him to the road of\nparadise; and verily the angels spread their arms to receive him who\nseeketh after knowledge; and everything in heaven and earth will ask\ngrace for him; and verily the superiority of a learned man over a mere\nworshiper is like that of the full moon over all the stars.\n\nHearing is not like seeing: verily God acquainted Moses of his tribe's\nworshiping a calf, but he did not throw down the tables; but when Moses\nwent to his tribe, and saw with his eyes the calf they had made, he\nthrew down the tables and broke them.\n\nBe not extravagant in praising me, as the Christians are in praising\nJesus, Mary's Son, by calling him God, and the Son of God; I am only\nthe Lord's servant; then call me the servant of God, and his messenger.\n\nIt was asked, \"O Messenger of God, what relation is most worthy of\ndoing good to?\" He said, \"Your mother\"; this he repeated thrice:\n\"and after her your father, and after him your other relations by\npropinquity.\"\n\nGod's pleasure is in a father's pleasure, and God's displeasure is a\nfather's displeasure.\n\nVerily one of you is a mirror to his brother: Then if he see a vice in\nhis brother he must tell him to get rid of it.\n\nThe best person near God is the best among his friends; and the best of\nneighbors near God is the best person in his own neighborhood.\n\nDeliberation in undertaking is pleasing to God, and haste is pleasing\nto the devil.\n\nThe heart of the old is always young in two things: in love for the\nworld, and length of hope.\n\n\n_Of Death_\n\nWish not for death any one of you; either a doer of good works,\nfor peradventure he may increase them by an increase of life; or\nan offender, for perhaps he may obtain the forgiveness of God by\nrepentance.\n\nWhen the soul is taken from the body, the eyes follow it, and look\ntoward it: on this account the eyes remain open.\n\nWhen a believer is nearly dead, angels of mercy come, clothed in white\nsilk garments, and say to the soul of the dying man, \"Come out, O\nthou who art satisfied with God, and with whom he is satisfied; come\nout to rest, which is with God, and the sustenance of God's mercy and\ncompassion, and to the Lord, who is not angry.\" Then the soul cometh\nout like the smell of the best musk, so that verily it is handed from\none angel to another, till they bring it to the doors of the celestial\nregions. Then the angels say, \"What a wonderful, pleasant smell this is\nwhich is come to you from the earth!\" Then they bring it to the souls\nof the faithful, and they are very happy at its coming; more than ye\nare at the coming of one of your family after a long journey. And the\nsouls of the faithful ask it, \"What hath such a one done, and such a\none? how are they?\" and they mention the names of their friends who are\nleft in the world. And some of them say, \"Let it alone; do not ask it,\nbecause it was grieved in the world, and came from thence aggrieved;\nask it when it is at rest.\" Then the soul saith when it is at ease,\n\"Verily such a one about whom ye ask is dead.\" And as they do not see\nhim among themselves, they say to one another, \"Surely he was carried\nto his mother, which is hell fire.\"\n\nAnd verily when an infidel is near death, angels of punishment\ncome to him, clothed in sackcloth, and say to his soul, \"Come out,\nthou discontented, and with whom God is displeased; come to God's\npunishments.\" Then it cometh out with a disagreeable smell, worse than\nthe worst stench of a dead body, until they bring it upon the earth,\nand they say, \"What an extraordinarily bad smell this is\"; till they\nbring it to the souls of the infidels.\n\nA bier was passing, and the Prophet stood up for it; and we stood with\nhim and said, \"O Prophet! verily this bier is of a Jewish woman; we\nmust not respect it.\" Then the Prophet said, \"Verily death is dreadful:\ntherefore when ye see a bier, stand up.\"\n\nDo not abuse or speak ill of the dead, because they have arrived at\nwhat they sent before them; they have received the rewards of their\nactions; if the reward is good, you must not mention them as sinful;\nand if it is bad, perhaps they may be forgiven, but if not, your\nmentioning their badness is of no use.\n\nSit not upon graves, nor say your prayers fronting them.\n\nWhoso consoleth one in misfortune, for him is a reward equal to that of\nthe sufferer.\n\nWhoso comforteth a woman who has lost her child will be covered with a\ngarment in paradise.\n\nThe Prophet passed by graves in Medina, and turned his face toward\nthem, and said, \"Peace be to you, O people of the graves. God forgive\nus and you! Ye have passed on before us, and we are following you.\"\n\n\n_Of the State after Death_\n\nTo whomsoever God giveth wealth, and he doth not perform the charity\ndue from it, his wealth will be made into the shape of a serpent on\nthe day of resurrection, which shall not have any hair upon its head,\nand this is a sign of its poison and long life, and it hath two\nblack spots upon its eyes, and it will be twisted round his neck like\na chain on the day of resurrection; then the serpent will seize the\nman's jaw-bones, and will say, \"I am thy wealth, the charity for which\nthou didst not give, and I am thy treasure, from which thou didst not\nseparate any alms.\"\n\nThe Prophet asked us, \"Did any one of you dream?\" We said, \"No.\" He\nsaid, \"But I did. Two men came to me and took hold of my hands, and\ncarried me to a pure land: and behold, there was a man sitting and\nanother standing: the first had an iron hook in his hand, and was\nhooking the other in the lip, and split it to the back of the neck, and\nthen did the same with the other lip. While this was doing the first\nhealed, and the man kept on from one lip to the other. I said, 'What\nis this?' They said, 'Move on,' and we did so till we reached a man\nsleeping on his back, and another standing at his head with a stone in\nhis hand, with which he was breaking the other's head, and afterward\nrolled the stone about and then followed it, and had not yet returned,\nwhen the man's head was healed and well. Then he broke it again, and\nI said, 'What is this?' They said, 'Walk on'; and we walked, till we\ncame to a hole like an oven, with its top narrow and its bottom wide,\nand fire was burning under it, and there were naked men and women in\nit; and when the fire burned high the people mounted also, and when the\nfire subsided they subsided also. Then I said, 'What is this?' They\nsaid, 'Move on'; and we went on till we came to a river of blood, with\na man standing in the middle of it, and another man on the bank, with\nstones in his hands: and when the man in the river attempted to come\nout, the other threw stones in his face, and made him return. And I\nsaid, 'What is this'? They said, 'Advance'; and we moved forward, till\nwe arrived at a green garden, in which was a large tree, and an old man\nand children sitting on the roots of it, and near it was a man lighting\na fire. Then I was carried upon the tree, and put into a house which\nwas in the middle of it\u2014a better house I have never seen: and there\nwere old men, young men, women, and children. After that they brought\nme out of the house and carried me to the top of the tree, and put me\ninto a better house, where were old men and young men. And I said to my\ntwo conductors, 'Verily ye have shown me a great many things to-night,\nthen inform me of what I have seen.' They said, 'Yes: as to the man\nwhom you saw with split lips, he was a liar, and will be treated in\nthat way till the day of resurrection; and the person you saw getting\nhis head broken is a man whom God taught the Koran, and he did not\nrepeat it in the night, nor practise what is in it by day, and he will\nbe treated as you saw till the day of resurrection; and the people you\nsaw in the oven are adulterers; and those you saw in the river are\nreceivers of usury; and the old man you saw under the tree is Abraham;\nand the children around them are the children of men: and the person\nwho was lighting the fire was Malik, the keeper of hell; and the first\nhouse you entered was for the common believers; and as to the second\nhouse, it is for the martyrs: and we who conducted you are one of us\nGabriel, and the other Michael; then raise up your head'; and I did\nso, and saw above it as it were a cloud: and they said, 'That is your\ndwelling.' I said, 'Call it here, that I may enter it'; and they said,\n'Verily your life remaineth, but when you have completed it, you will\ncome into your house.'\"\n\nWhen God created paradise, he said to Gabriel, \"Go and look at it\";\nthen Gabriel went and looked at it and at the things which God had\nprepared for the people of it. After that Gabriel came and said, \"O my\nLord! I swear by thy glory no one will hear a description of paradise\nbut will be ambitious of entering it.\" After that God surrounded\nparadise with distress and troubles, and said, \"O Gabriel, go and look\nat paradise.\" And he went and looked, and then returned and said, \"O my\nLord, I fear that verily no one will enter it.\" And when God created\nhell fire he said to Gabriel, \"Go and take a look at it.\" And he went\nand looked at it, and returned and said, \"O my Lord, I swear by thy\nglory that no one who shall hear a description of hell fire will wish\nto enter it.\" Then God surrounded it with sins, desires, and vices;\nafter that he said to Gabriel, \"Go and look at hell fire,\" and he went\nand looked at it, and said, \"O my Lord, I swear by thy glory I am\nafraid that every one will enter hell, because sins are so sweet that\nthere is none but will incline to them.\"\n\nIf ye knew what I know of the condition of the resurrection and\nfuturity, verily ye would weep much and laugh little.\n\nThen I said, \"O messenger of God! shall we perish while the virtuous\nare among us?\" He said, Yes, when the wickedness shall be excessive,\nverily there will be tribes of my sects that will consider the wearing\nof silks and drinking liquor lawful, and will listen to the lute: and\nthere will be men with magnificent houses, and their milch-animals will\ncome to them in the evening, full of milk, and a man will come begging\na little and they will say, Come to-morrow. Then God will quickly\nsend a punishment upon them, and will change others into the shape of\nmonkeys and swine, unto the day of resurrection.\n\nVerily among the signs of the resurrection will be the taking away of\nknowledge from among men; and their being in great ignorance and much\nwickedness and much drinking of liquor, and diminution of men, and\nthere being many women; to such a degree that there will be fifty women\nto one man, and he will work for a livelihood for the women.\n\nHow can I be happy, when Israfil hath put the trumpet to his mouth\nto blow it, leaning his ear toward the true God for orders, and hath\nalready knit his brow, waiting in expectation of orders to blow it?\n\n\n_Of Destiny_\n\nThe hearts of men are at the disposal of God like unto one heart,\nand he turneth them about in any way that he pleaseth. O Director of\nhearts, turn our hearts to obey thee.\n\nThe first thing which God created was a pen, and he said to it,\n\"Write.\" It said, \"What shall I write?\" And God said, \"Write down the\nquantity of every separate thing to be created.\" And it wrote all that\nwas and all that will be to eternity.\n\nThere is not one among you whose sitting-place is not written by God,\nwhether in the fire or in paradise. The companions said, \"O Prophet!\nsince God hath appointed our place, may we confide in this and abandon\nour religious and moral duty?\" He said, \"No, because the happy will do\ngood works, and those who are of the miserable will do bad works.\"\n\nThe Prophet of God said that Adam and Moses (in the world of spirits)\nmaintained a debate before God, and Adam got the better of Moses; who\nsaid, \"Thou art that Adam whom God created by the power of his hands,\nand breathed into thee from his own spirit, and made the angels bow\nbefore thee, and gave thee an habitation in his own paradise: after\nthat thou threwest man upon the earth, from the fault which thou\ncommittedst.\" Adam said, \"Thou art that Moses whom God elected for his\nprophecy, and to converse with, and he gave to thee twelve tables, in\nwhich are explained everything, and God made thee his confidant, and\nthe bearer of his secrets: then how long was the Bible written before\nI was created?\" Moses said, \"Forty years.\" Then Adam said, \"Didst thou\nsee in the Bible that Adam disobeyed God?\" He said, \"Yes.\" Adam said,\n\"Dost thou then reproach me on a matter which God wrote in the Bible\nforty years before creating me?\"\n\nAyesha relates that the Prophet said to her, \"Do you know, O Ayesha!\nthe excellence of this night?\" (the fifteenth of Ramadan). I said,\n\"What is it, O Prophet?\" He said, \"One thing in this night is, that\nall the children of Adam to be born in the year are written down; and\nalso those who are to die in it, and all the actions of the children\nof Adam are carried up to heaven in this night; and their allowances\nare sent down.\" Then I said, \"O Prophet, do none enter Paradise except\nby God's mercy?\" He said, \"No, none enter except by God's favor\": this\nhe said thrice. I said, \"You, also, O Prophet! will you not enter into\nparadise, excepting by God's compassion?\" Then the Prophet put his hand\non his head, and said, \"I shall not enter, except God cover me with his\nmercy\": this he said thrice.\n\nA man asked the Prophet what was the mark whereby a man might know\nthe reality of his faith. He said, \"If thou derive pleasure from the\ngood which thou hast done, and be grieved for the evil which thou hast\ncommitted, thou art a true believer.\" The man said, \"What doth a fault\nreally consist in?\" He said, \"When anything pricketh thy conscience,\nforsake it.\"\n\nI am no more than man: when I order you anything with respect to\nreligion, receive it; and when I order you about the affairs of the\nworld, then I am nothing more than man.\n\n\n\n\nARABIC LITERATURE\n\n\nEARLY HISTORY AND SCIENCE\n\n \"_O Thou who diest not, have mercy on him who dies._\"\n THE GOLDEN MEADOWS OF MASOUDI.\n\n\n\n\nARABIC LITERATURE\n\n\nEARLY HISTORY AND SCIENCE\n\n(INTRODUCTION)\n\n\nAmong the early chronicles of the Arabs, as we have already stated, by\nfar the most celebrated is the many-volumed work of Masoudi, called,\nthe \"Book of Golden Meadows.\" It is a collection of interesting and\nsometimes scandalous anecdotes about anything and everything in the\npast, but chiefly about the earlier caliphs. These, with true Eastern\nsubtlety, Masoudi criticises where criticism will be safe, in order\nthat he may praise with a convincing air where he thinks praise will be\nespecially pleasing to the powerful of his own day. In other words, the\nauthor is an accomplished courtier as well as a witty and entertaining\nwriter. His book begins, as do all Arab books, with the formula, \"In\nthe name of the most merciful God,\" followed by the usual preface\npraising Mohammed and the author's own work, and explaining its origin.\nThen follow, chronologically arranged, the anecdotes of which we quote\nsome that refer to the best-known caliphs.\n\nMasoudi himself was of the genuine Arab blood, a man of prominence\ndescended from one of the comrades of Mohammed. He was born at Bagdad,\nbut was, like many of his countrymen, a wanderer. After visiting all\nlands, he finally selected Egypt as his dwelling-place, and there\ndied, probably in A.D. 957. Al Bukhari and other earlier travelers had\ncollected all the tales of the Prophet, so Masoudi devoted himself\nto gathering other legends. From the vast bulk of these he made a\nthirty-volume historical work, most of which has disappeared. He then\nselected from this the material for a briefer work, and then, by a\nthird process of distillation, gathered the best of his anecdotes into\nthe \"Golden Meadows.\"\n\nOf the more careful historians and genuine scientists who followed,\nAvicenna, from whose philosophical work we give an extract here, must\nassuredly be ranked the first.\n\n\n\n\nEARLY HISTORY AND SCIENCE\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF GOLDEN MEADOWS AND OF MINES OF PRECIOUS STONES\n\n\nIN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD, PITIFUL AND HELPFUL:\n\nLet us praise God, whose works we should study, and celebrate and\nglorify. May God grant his blessing and his peace to Mohammed, chief of\nthe prophets, and to all his holy posterity.\n\n\nTHE CALIPHATE OF ABU BEKR, THE TRUTHFUL\n\nAbu Bekr surpassed all the Mohammedans in his austerity, his frugality,\nand the simplicity of his life and outward appearance. During his rule\nhe wore but a single linen garment and a cloak. In this simple dress\nhe gave audience to the chiefs of the noblest Arab tribes and to the\nkings of Yemen. The latter appeared before him dressed in richest\nrobes, covered with gold embroideries and wearing splendid crowns. But\nat sight of the Caliph, shamed by his mingling of pious humility and\nearnest gravity, they followed his example and renounced their gorgeous\nattire.\n\n\nTHE CALIPHATE OF AL MANSUR, THE BUILDER OF BAGDAD\n\nAl Mansur, the third Caliph of the house of Abbas, succeeded his\nbrother Es-Saffah (\"'the blood-shedder\") A.D. 754. He was a prince of\ngreat prudence, integrity, and discretion; but these good qualities\nwere sullied by his extraordinary covetousness and occasional cruelty.\nHe patronized poets and learned men, and was endowed with a remarkable\nmemory. It is said that he could remember a poem after having only once\nheard it. He also had a slave who could commit to memory anything that\nhe had heard twice, and a slave-girl who could do the same with what\nshe had heard three times.\n\nOne day there came to him a poet bringing a congratulatory ode, and Al\nMansur said to him: \"If it appears that anybody knows it by heart, or\nthat any one composed it\u2014that is to say, that it was brought here by\nsome other person before thee\u2014will give thee no recompense for it; but\nif no one knows it, we will give thee the weight in money of that upon\nwhich it is written.\"\n\nSo the poet repeated his poem, and the Caliph at once committed it to\nmemory, although it contained a thousand lines. Then he said to the\npoet: \"Listen to it from me,\" and he recited it perfectly. Then he\nadded: \"And this slave, too, knows it by heart.\" This was the case, as\nhe had heard it twice, once from the poet and once from the Caliph.\nThen the Caliph said: \"And this slave-girl, who is concealed by the\ncurtain, she also recollects it.\" So she repeated every letter of it,\nand the poet went away unrewarded.\n\nAnother poet, El Asma\u00efy, was among the intimate friends and\ntable-companions of the Caliph. He composed some very difficult verses,\nand scratched them upon a fragment of a marble pillar, which he wrapped\nin a cloak and placed on the back of a camel. Then he disguised himself\nlike a foreign Arab, and fastened on a face-cloth, so that nothing was\nvisible but his eyes, and came to the Caliph and said: \"Verily I have\nlauded the Commander of the Faithful in a 'Kasidah'\" (ode).\n\nThen said Al Mansur: \"O brother of the Arabs! if the poem has been\nbrought by any one beside thee, we will give thee no recompense for it;\notherwise we will bestow on thee the weight in money of that upon which\nit is written.\" So El Asma\u00efy recited the Kasidah, which, as it was\nextraordinarily intricate and difficult, the Caliph could not commit to\nmemory. He looked toward the slave and the girl, but they had neither\nof them learned it. So he cried: \"O brother of the Arabs! bring hither\nthat whereon it is written, that we may give thee its weight.\"\n\nThen said the seeming Arab: \"O my Lord! of a truth I could find no\npaper to write it upon; but I had amongst the things left me at my\nfather's death a piece of a marble column which had been thrown aside\nas useless, so I scratched the Kasidah upon that.\"\n\nThen the Caliph had no help for it but to give him its weight in gold,\nand this nearly exhausted his treasury. The poet took it and departed.\n\nWhen he had gone away, the Caliph said: \"It forces itself upon my\nmind that this is El Asma\u00efy.\" So he commanded him to be brought back,\nand lo! it was El Asma\u00efy, who said: \"O Commander of the Faithful!\nverily the poets are poor and are fathers of families, and thou dost\ndebar them from receiving anything by the power of thy memory and the\nmemories of this slave and this slave-girl. But wert thou to bestow\nupon them what thou couldst easily spare, they might with it support\ntheir families, and it could not injure thee.\"\n\nOne day the poet Thalibi recited an ode in the presence of Al Mansur,\nhoping for a reward. When he had finished, the Caliph said to him:\n\"Will you have three hundred dinars from my treasury, or hear three\nwise sayings from my lips?\" \"Oh,\" said the poet, anxious to curry favor\nwith his master, \"durable wisdom is better than transitory treasure.\"\n\"Very well,\" said the Caliph, \"the first word of wisdom is: When your\ngarment is worn, don't sew on a new patch, for it looks badly.\" \"Alas!\nalas!\" wailed the poet, \"there go a hundred dinars at one blow.\" The\nCaliph smiled, and continued: \"The second piece of advice is: When you\nanoint your beard, don't anoint the bottom of it, lest you soil your\nclothes.\" \"Ah!\" sighed the poet, \"there go the second hundred.\" Again\nthe Caliph smiled, and continued: \"The third piece of advice-\u2014-\" \"O\nCaliph,\" cried the poet in an agony: \"keep the third piece of advice\nto yourself and let me have the last hundred dinars.\" Then the Caliph\nlaughed outright and ordered five hundred dinars to be paid him from\nthe treasury.\n\n\n_Al Mansur and Abu Muslim_\n\nAbu Muslim was one of the chief generals of Es-Saffah, Al Mansur's\nbrother and predecessor. On his accession Al Mansur became jealous of\nAbu Muslim's great power and influence, but sent him notwithstanding to\nput down a revolt raised by Abd Allah, the son of Ali. After several\nbattles, Abd Allah fled and took refuge in Bassorah, the whole of his\ncamp and treasure falling into the hands of Abu Muslim. Al Mansur sent\nYaktin bin Musa to take charge of the treasure. On appearing before Abu\nMuslim, Yaktin said to him: \"Peace be to thee, Emir!\" \"A murrain on\nthee, son of a prostitute!\" answered the general. \"They can use me to\nshed my blood, but not to guard a treasure.\" \"My lord,\" answered the\nmessenger, \"what has put such thoughts into your head?\" \"Has not thy\nmaster,\" answered Abu Muslim, \"sent thee to confiscate all the treasure\nwhich has come into my possession?\" \"May my wife be divorced forever,\"\nsaid the Caliph's agent, \"if he has not sent me simply and solely to\ncongratulate you upon your victory and success!\" On these words Abu\nMuslim embraced him and made him sit by his side. Notwithstanding this,\nhowever, when he had bidden him farewell, he said to his officers: \"By\nAllah! I know this man will divorce his wife, simply out of fidelity to\nhis master.\"\n\nWhen he had resolved to revolt against Al Mansur, Abu Muslim left\nMesopotamia, and set out for Khorassan; while on his part Al Mansur\nleft Anbar, and encamped near the city of Rumiyeh. From thence he sent\nthe following message to Abu Muslim: \"I wish to consult you on matters\nwhich can not be confided to a letter; come hither, and I shall not\ndetain you long.\" Abu Muslim read the letter, but would not go. Al\nMansur then sent to him Djerir, son of Yezid, the most accomplished\ndiplomatist of his time, who had already made the acquaintance of Abu\nMuslim in Khorassan.\n\nWhen Djerir came into Abu Muslim's presence, he addressed him as\nfollows: \"My lord, you have fought hitherto faithfully for the\nAbbassides (Al Mansur's family); why should you now turn against them?\nNo information has reached the Caliph which should inspire you with any\nsort of fear; you have really, in my belief, no reason to pursue this\nline of conduct.\" Abu Muslim was on the point of promising to return\nwith him, when one of his intimates pressed him not to do so. \"My\nfriend,\" the chief answered him, \"I can resist the suggestions of the\ndevil, but not those of a man like this.\" And in fact Djerir did not\ncease his persuasions till he had induced him to proceed to the Caliph.\n\nAbu Muslim had consulted astrologers, who told him that he was to\ndestroy a dynasty, create a dynasty,[1] and be slain in the land of Rum\n(Asia Minor). Al Mansur was then at Rumaiyat al-Madain, a place founded\nby one of the Persian kings, and Abu Muslim never suspected that he\nshould meet with his death there, as he fancied that it was Asia Minor\nwhich was meant by the oracle.\n\nOn entering into Al Mansur's presence, he met with a most favorable\nreception, and was then told to retire to his tent; but the Caliph only\nwaited a favorable opportunity to take him unawares. Abu Muslim then\nrode a number of times to visit Al Mansur, whose manner appeared less\ncordial than before. At last he went to the palace one day, and, being\ninformed that the Caliph was making his ablutions previously to his\nprayers, sat down in an antechamber. In the meanwhile Al Mansur had\nposted some persons behind a curtain near to the sofa where Abu Muslim\nwas sitting, with the orders not to appear till the Caliph clapped his\nhands. On this signal they were to strike off Abu Muslim's head.\n\nAl Mansur then took his seat on the throne, and Abu Muslim, being\nintroduced, made his salutation, which the Caliph returned. Al Mansur\nthen permitted him to sit, and, having commenced the conversation,\nproceeded to level sundry reproaches against him. \"Thou hast done\nthis,\" said he, \"and thou hast done that.\" \"Why does my lord speak so\nto me,\" replied Abu Muslim, \"after all my efforts and services?\" \"Son\nof a prostitute!\" exclaimed Al Mansur, \"thou owest thy success to our\nown good fortune. Had a negress slave been in thy place, she would\nhave done as much as thou! Was it not thou who soughtest to obtain in\nmarriage my aunt, Aasiya, pretending indeed that thou wast a descendant\nof Salit, the son of Abd Allah Ibn Abbas? Thou hast undertaken,\ninfamous wretch! to mount where thou canst not reach.\"\n\nOn this Abu Muslim seized him by the hand, which he kissed and pressed,\noffering excuses for his conduct; but Al Mansur shouted: \"May God\nnot spare me if I spare thee!\" He then clapped his hands, on which\nthe assassins rushed out upon Abu Muslim and cut him to pieces with\ntheir swords, Al Mansur exclaiming all the time: \"God cut your hands\noff, rascals! Strike!\" On receiving the first blow Abu Muslim said:\n\"Commander of the Faithful, spare me that I may be useful against thy\nenemies.\" The Caliph replied: \"May God never spare me if I do! Where\nhave I a greater enemy than thee?\"\n\nWhen Abu Muslim was slain, his body was rolled up in a carpet, and\nsoon after Al Mansur's general, Jafar Ibn Hanzala, entered. \"What\nthink you of Abu Muslim?\" the Caliph said to him. \"Commander of the\nFaithful,\" answered the other, \"if you have ever the misfortune to\npull a single hair out of his head, there is no resource for you but\nto kill him, and to kill him, and to kill him again.\" \"God has given\nthee understanding,\" replied Al Mansur: \"here he is in the carpet.\" On\nseeing him dead, Hanzala said: \"Commander of the Faithful, count this\nas the first day of your reign.\" Al Mansur then recited this verse: \"He\nthrew away his staff of travel, and found repose after a long journey.\"\nAfter this he turned toward the persons present, and recited these\nlines over the prostrate body:\n\n\"Thou didst pretend that our debt to thee could never be paid! Receive\nnow thy account in full, O Abu Mujrim.[2] Drink of that draught which\nthou didst so often serve to others a draught more bitter to the throat\nthan gall.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE DEATH OF ABU MUSTEM.\n\n_The Favorite Counsellor of the Caliph Al Mansur, slain for presuming\nto imitate the Caliph._]\n\n\n_Al Mansur and Ibn al Mukaffa_\n\nIbn al Mukaffa, the translator of the book \"Kalilah and Dimnah\" from\nPehlevi into Arabic, was one of the most learned men during the\nreign of Al Mansur, but suspected of Zendikism, or free-thinking. Al\nMansur is reported to have said: \"I never found a book on Zendikism\nwhich did not owe its origin to Ibn al Mukaffa.\" The latter used to be\na thorn in the side of Sofyan, the governor of Basra. As Sofyan had\na large nose, Ibn al Mukaffa used to say to him when he visited him:\n\"How are you both?\" meaning him and his nose. Sofyan once said: \"I had\nnever reason to repent keeping silence.\" And Ibn al Mukaffa replied:\n\"Dumbness becomes you; why should you repent of it?\"\n\nThese gibes rankled in Sofyan's mind, and ere long he had an\nopportunity of glutting his vengeance on Ibn al Mukaffa.\n\nAbdallah, the uncle of Al Mansur, had revolted against his nephew, and\naspired to the Caliphate; but being defeated by Abu Muslim, who had\nbeen sent against him at the head of an army, he took to flight, and\ndreading the vengeance of Al Mansur, lay concealed at the house of his\nbrothers, Sulaiman and Isa. These two then interceded for him with the\nCaliph, who consented to forgive what had passed; and it was decided\nthat a letter of pardon should be granted by Al Mansur.\n\nOn coming to Basra the two brothers told Ibn al Mukaffa, who was\nsecretary to Isa, to draw up the letter of pardon, and to word it\nin the strongest terms, so as to leave no pretext to Al Mansur for\nmaking an attempt against Abdallah's life. Ibn al Mukaffa obeyed their\ndirections, and drew up the letter in the most binding terms, inserting\nin it, among others, the following clause: \"And if at any time the\nCommander of the Faithful act perfidiously toward his uncle, Abdallah\nIbn Ali, his wives shall be divorced from him, his horses shall be\nconfiscated for the service of God in war, his slaves shall become\nfree, and the Moslems loosed from their allegiance to him.\" The other\nconditions of the deed were expressed in a manner equally strict. Al\nMansur, having read the paper, was highly displeased, and asked who\nwrote it. On being informed that it was Ibn al Mukaffa, his brother's\nsecretary, he sent a letter to Sofyan, the governor of Basra, ordering\nhim to put Ibn al Mukaffa to death. Sofyan was already filled with\nrancor against Ibn al Mukaffa, for the reasons mentioned above. He\nsummoned him, and, when he appeared, reminded him of his gibes. \"Emir!\"\nexclaimed Ibn al Mukaffa, \"I implore you in the name of God to spare\nmy life.\" \"May my mother be disgraced,\" replied Sofyan, \"if I do not\nkill thee in a manner such as none was ever killed in before.\" On this\nhe ordered an oven to be heated, and the limbs of Ibn al Mukaffa to be\ncut off, joint by joint; these he cast into the oven before his eyes,\nand he then threw him in bodily, and closed the oven on him, saying;\n\"It is not a crime in me to punish you thus, for you are a Zindik\n(free-thinker) who corrupted the people.\"\n\nSulaiman and Isa, having made inquiries about their secretary, were\ninformed that he had gone into the palace of Sofyan in good health\nand that he had not come out. They therefore cited Sofyan before Al\nMansur, and brought him with them in chains. Witnesses were produced,\nwho declared that they saw Ibn al Mukaffa enter Sofyan's palace, and\nthat he never came out after, and Al Mansur promised to examine into\nthe matter. He then said to them: \"Suppose that I put Sofyan to death\nin retaliation for the death of Ibn al Mukaffa, and that Ibn al Mukaffa\nhimself then came forth from that door\" (pointing to one which was\nbehind him) \"and spoke to you\u2014what should I do to you in that case? I\nshould put you to death in retaliation for the death of Sofyan.\" On\nthis the witnesses retraced their evidence, and Isa and Sulaiman ceased\nto speak of their secretary, knowing that he had been killed by order\nof Al Mansur, who, disregarding his promise, cast Abdallah Ibn Ali into\nprison.\n\nTerrible as was the wrath of Al Mansur when roused, there were not\nwanting on occasion those among his subjects who had the courage to\nrebuke him. Once the Caliph was addressing an audience at Damascus, and\nsaid: \"O ye people! it is incumbent on you to give praise to the Most\nHigh that he has sent me to reign over you. For verily since I began\nto reign over you, he has taken away the plague which had come amongst\nyou.\" But a certain Arab cried out to him: \"Of a truth Allah is too\nmerciful to give us both thee and the plague at one time!\" On another\noccasion the theologian Malik Ibn Anas relates the following: \"One day\nthe Caliph Mansur sent for me and my friend Ibn Taous, against whom he\nwas known to entertain a grudge. When we entered the presence-chamber,\nwe beheld the executioner with his sword drawn and the leather carpet\nspread, on which it was customary to behead criminals. The Caliph\nsigned to us to seat ourselves, and when we had done so he remained\na long time with his head bent in meditation. He then raised it, and\nturning to Ibn Taous, said: 'Recite me a saying of the Prophet, on whom\nbe peace.'\n\n\"Ibn Taous replied: 'The Prophet of God has said, \"The worst punished\ncriminals in the day of judgment will be those to whom God has\nentrusted authority and who have abused it.\"' The Caliph was silent,\nand there was a pause. I trembled, and drew my garments close round me,\nlest any of the blood of Ibn Taous, whom I expected to see instantly\nexecuted, should spurt upon them.\n\n\"Then the Caliph said to Ibn Taous: 'Hand me that ink-pot.' But he\nnever stirred. 'Why don't you hand it?' asked the Caliph. 'Because,'\nhe said, 'I fear you may write some wrong order, and I do not wish\nto share the responsibility.' 'Get up and go,' the Caliph growled.\n'Precisely what we were desiring,' answered Ibn Taous, of whose courage\nand coolness I from that day formed a high opinion.\"\n\nAnother bold rebuker of Al Mansur was the saint and mystic, Amr Ibn\nObaid, of whom it was said that he had been \"educated by the angels\nand brought up by the prophets.\" Before Al Mansur's elevation to the\nCaliphate, Amr Ibn Obaid had been his companion and intimate friend.\nWhen Mansur came to the throne Amr went one day into his presence, and\nwas told by him to draw near and sit down. The Caliph then asked to\nhear an exhortation from him. Amr addressed him an admonition, in which\nhe said, among other things: \"The power which thou now wieldest, had\nit remained in the hands of thy predecessors, would never have come to\nthee. Be warned, then, of that night which shall give birth to a day\nnever more to be followed by another night.\" When Amr rose to depart,\nAl Mansur said: \"We have ordered ten thousand pieces of silver to be\ngiven thee.\" \"I stand not in need thereof,\" replied Amr. \"By Allah,\nthou shalt take it!\" exclaimed the Caliph. \"By Allah, I shall not take\nit!\" answered the other.\n\nOn this Al Mansur's son, Al Mahdi, who happened to be present, said to\nAmr: \"The Commander of the Faithful swears that a thing shall be done,\nand yet thou art bold enough to swear that it shall not.\" \"Who is this\nyouth?\" said Amr, turning to Al Mansur. \"He is the declared successor\nto the Caliphate, my son, Al Mahdi,\" replied Mansur. \"Thou hast clothed\nhim in raiment,\" said Amr, \"which is not the raiment of the righteous,\nand thou hast given him a name[3] which he deserveth not, and thou hast\nsmoothed for him a path wherein the more profit the less heed.\"\n\nAl Mansur then asked him if there was anything he wished, and Amr made\nanswer: \"Send not for me, but wait till I come to thee.\" \"In that\ncase,\" said Mansur, \"thou wilt never meet me.\" \"That,\" replied Amr, \"is\nprecisely what I desire.\" He then withdrew, and Al Mansur looked after\nhim and said: \"All of you walk with stealthy steps; all of you are in\npursuit of prey\u2014all except Amr Ibn Obaid!\"\n\n\n_How Al Mansur Was Tricked_\n\nIt has before been mentioned that Al Mansur, disregarding the promise\nof pardon he had made to his uncle, Abdallah Ibn Ali, who had revolted\nagainst him, cast him into prison, where he remained a long time. When\nthe Caliph set out on the pilgrimage to Mecca, he committed Abdallah to\nthe care of Isa Ibn Musa, with private orders to put him to death. Isa,\nnot wishing to kill Abdallah, contented himself with concealing him,\nsending a message to the Caliph to say that he had been put to death.\nThis rumor spread about, and the Alides, the partisans of Abdallah,\npetitioned Al Mansur on the subject. The Caliph declared that he\nhad been committed to the care of Isa. The Alides then went to Isa,\nand hearing from him that Abdallah had been put to death, came again\nwith complaints to Al Mansur. The latter feigned to be in a rage, and\nexclaimed: \"Since Isa has killed my uncle without my authorizing him\nto do so, he shall perish in his turn.\" The Caliph secretly desired\nthat Isa should have perpetrated this murder, so that he might have a\nreasonable pretext for killing him, and thus ridding himself of two\nenemies at once.\n\nHe accordingly sent for Isa, and said, \"Is it true that you have killed\nmy uncle?\" \"Yes,\" replied Isa; \"you yourself ordered me to do so.\" \"I\nnever gave such an order!\" cried the Caliph. \"My lord, here is the\nletter you sent me.\" \"I never wrote it,\" said Mansur. Isa, seeing the\nmood the Caliph was in, and fearing for his own life, confessed at last\nthat the prisoner had been spared, and was in safe-keeping. The Caliph\nthen ordered him to hand Abdallah over to the keeping of Abou 'l Azhar,\nwhich was accordingly done, and Abdallah remained in prison till his\ndeath was decided on.\n\nWhen Abou 'l Azhar came to execute the sentence, he found Abdallah\nwith one of his female slaves. He strangled him first, but when he was\nproceeding to strangle the slave also, she cried out: \"Servant of God,\nI pray thee for another kind of death.\" \"It was the only time,\" Abou\n'l Azhar said, \"that I felt pity in carrying out a death-sentence.\nI turned away my eyes while I gave the order to kill her. She was\nstrangled and placed by the side of her master. I then had the house\ndemolished, and they remained buried in the ruins.\"\n\nAl Mansur visited Medina, and said to his chamberlain, Ar-Rabi, on\nentering the city: \"Find me some learned and intelligent person who\ncan point out to me the chief mansions of the place: it is now so\nlong since I saw the dwellings of my family.\" An intelligent youth\nwas discovered by Ar-Rabi, and presented to the Caliph. During their\nexcursion the guide did not make any observations unless asked by\nAl Mansur to do so, but he then proceeded with great precision and\neloquence to furnish every requisite information.\n\nAl Mansur was so highly pleased with him that he ordered him a\nconsiderable sum of money, but the payment was delayed so long that\nthe youth found himself under the necessity of asking for it. On being\nasked again to accompany Al Mansur, he fulfilled his object in the\nfollowing ingenious manner: As they passed by the house which belonged\nto Aatika, the granddaughter of Abu Sofyan, the young man said, \"This,\nO Commander of the Faithful, is the house of that Aatika to whom Ibn\nMuhammad al Ansari alluded in these lines:\n\n\"'Dwelling of Aatika! mansion which I avoid through dread of foes!\nalthough my heart be fixed on thee, I turn away and fly thee; but yet\nunconsciously I turn toward thee again.'\"\n\nThese words caused Al Mansur to reflect; and he said to himself that\nthe youth here must have some reason for giving information, contrary\nto his habit, without being asked for it. He therefore turned over\nthe leaves of the poem from which the verses were taken, passage by\npassage, till he came to the following line:\n\n\"We see that you do what you promise, but there are persons with\ndeceitful tongues who promise but never perform.\"\n\nHe immediately asked his chamberlain if he had given the youth what\nhad been awarded him, and was informed by him that a particular\ncircumstance, which he mentioned, had caused delay in the payment.\nThe Caliph then ordered Ar-Rabi to give him immediately the double\nof what had been promised. The youth had most ingeniously hinted the\ncircumstance, and Al Mansur showed great penetration in perceiving it.\n\n\n_Death of Al Mansur_\n\nAl Mansur was in the habit of saying: \"I was born in the month of Z'ul\nhajja, circumcised in it, attained the Caliphate in it, and I think I\nshall die in the same month.\" And so it befell. Fadl, son of Rabi,\nrelates the following: \"I accompanied Al Mansur in the journey during\nwhich he died. When we had arrived at one of the stages of the march he\nsent for me. I found him seated in his pavilion, with his face turned\ntoward the wall. He said to me: 'Have I not told you to prevent people\ncoming into this room and writing doleful sentences upon the wall?'\n'What do you mean, Prince?' I asked. 'Don't you see what is written on\nthe wall?'\n\n\"' \"Abu Jafar,[4] thou art about to die; thy years are fulfilled: the\nwill of God must be done.\n\n\"' \"Abu Jafar, can any astrologer bind the decrees of God, or art thou\nentirely blind?\"\n\n\"'Truly, Prince,' I replied, 'I can see no inscription on this wall:\nits surface is smooth and quite white.' 'Swear it, by God!' he said. I\ndid so. 'It is, then,' he replied, 'a warning given me to prepare for\nmy approaching demise. Let us hasten to reach the sacred territory,\nthat I may place myself under the protection of God, and ask pardon for\nthat wherein I have exceeded.'\n\n\"We continued our journey, during which the Caliph suffered great pain.\nWhen we arrived at the well of Maimun, I told him the name of the\nplace, and that we had reached the sacred territory. He said, 'God be\npraised!' and died the same day.\"\n\n\nTHE CALIPHATE OF AL MAHDI\n\nAl Mahdi, the third Caliph of the Abbasside dynasty, succeeded his\nfather, Abu Jafar al Mansur, A.D. 774. He was as prodigal as his father\nwas avaricious, and rapidly squandered his vast inheritance. Al Mansur\nhad appointed as his instructor, before he succeeded to the throne,\nSharki Ibn Kotami, who was learned in all the lore and traditions of\nthe Arabs. One evening Al Mahdi asked his preceptor to divert him with\nsome amusing anecdote. \"I obey, Prince. May God protect you,\" answered\nSharki. \"They relate that a certain King of Hirah had two courtiers\nwhom he loved equally with himself. They never quitted his society\nnight or day, in the palace or on a journey. He took no decision\nwithout consulting them, and his wishes coincided with theirs. Thus\nthey lived together a long time; but one evening the King, having drunk\nto excess, drew his sword from the sheath, and, rushing upon his two\nfriends, killed them; then he fell into a drunken slumber.\n\n\"The next morning, when told of what he had done, he cast himself\nupon the earth, biting it in his fury, weeping for his friends, and\nbewailing the loss of them. He fasted for some days, and swore that\nfor the rest of his life he would abstain from the beverage which had\ndeprived him of reason. Then he had them buried, and erected a shrine\nover their remains, to which he gave the title, 'El-Ghareiain' (The Two\nEffigies). He commanded, in addition, that no persons should pass this\nmonument without prostrating themselves.\n\n\"Now, like the laws of the Medes and Persians, every custom set up\nby a King of Hirah could not be changed, but became a hard-and-fast\ntradition, handed on from generation to generation. The command,\ntherefore, of the King was rigidly obeyed: his subjects, of low and\nhigh degree, never passed before the double tomb without prostrating\nthemselves. This usage gradually acquired the binding force of a\nreligious rite. The King had ordered that any one who refused to\nconform to it should be punished with death after expressing two\nwishes, which would be granted, no matter what they were.\n\n\"One day a fuller passed, bearing on his back a bundle of clothes and\na mallet. The guardians of the mausoleum ordered him to kneel down. He\nrefused. They threatened him with death. He persisted in his refusal.\nThey brought him before the King, whom they informed of the matter.\n'Why did you refuse to bow down?' asked the King. 'I did bow down,'\nanswered the man; 'they are lying.' 'No; you are the liar!' said the\nKing. 'Express two wishes; they shall be granted, and then you will\ndie.' 'Nothing, then, can save me from death after those men have\naccused me?' asked the fuller. 'Nothing.' 'Very well,' replied the\nfuller, 'here is my wish: I wish to strike the King on the head with\nthis mallet.' 'Fool!' answered the King. 'It were better worth your\nwhile to let me enrich those whom you leave behind you.' 'No,' said the\nfuller; 'I only wish to strike the King on the back of his head.'\n\n\"The King then addressed his ministers: 'What do you think,' he said\nto them, 'of the wish of this madman?' 'Your Majesty,' they answered,\n'you yourself have instituted this law: your Majesty knows better than\nany one that the violation of law is a shame, a calamity, a crime which\ninvolves damnation. Besides, after having violated one law, you will\nviolate a second, then a third; your successors will do the same, and\nall our laws will be profaned.' The King replied: 'Get this man to ask\nanything he likes; provided he lets me off, I am ready to grant all his\nrequests, even to the half of my kingdom.'\n\n\"They laid these proposals before the fuller, but in vain; he declared\nthat he had no other wish but to strike the King. The latter, seeing\nthat the man was thoroughly resolved, convoked a public assembly. The\nfuller was introduced. He took his mallet and struck the King on the\nback of the head so violent a blow that he fell from his throne and lay\nstretched on the ground unconscious. Subsequently he lay ill with fever\nfor six months, and was so severely injured that he could only drink a\ndrop at a time. At last he got well, recovered the use of his tongue\nand could eat and drink. He asked for news of the fuller. On being told\nthat he was in prison, he summoned him and said: 'There is still a wish\nremaining to you: express it, so that I may order your death according\nto law.'\n\n\"'Since it is absolutely necessary that I must die,' replied the\nfuller, 'I wish to strike you another blow on the head.' At these words\nthe King was seized with dismay and exclaimed that it was all over with\nhim. At last he said to the fuller: 'Wretch! renounce a claim which\nis profitless to you. What advantage have you reaped from your first\nwish? Ask for something else, and whatever it is, I will grant it.'\n'No, said the man, 'I only demand my right\u2014the right to strike you once\nmore.'\n\n\"The King again consulted his ministers, who answered that the best\nthing for him was to resign himself to death, in obedience to the law.\n'But,' said the King, 'if he strikes me again, I shall never be able to\ndrink any more; I know what I have already suffered.' 'We can not help\nthat, your Majesty,' answered the ministers.\n\n\"Finding himself in this extremity, the King said to the fuller:\n'Answer, fellow! that day when you were brought hither by the guardians\nof the mausoleum, did not I hear you declare that you had prostrated\nyourself and that they had slandered you?' 'Yes, I did say so,'\nanswered the fuller, 'but you would not believe me.' The King jumped\nfrom his seat, embraced the fuller, and exclaimed: 'I swear that you\nare more truthful than these rascals, and that they have lied at your\nexpense. I give you their place, and authorize you to inflict upon them\nthe punishment they have deserved.'\"\n\nAl Mahdi laughed heartily on hearing this story, complimented the\nnarrator, and rewarded him generously.\n\nThe following anecdotes are related by Faika, the daughter of Abd\nAllah: \"We were one day with the Caliph Al Mahdi, who had just returned\nfrom Anbar, to which he had made a pleasure excursion, when Ar-Kabi,\nthe chamberlain, came in, holding a piece of leather on which some\nwords were written in charcoal, and to which was attached a seal\ncomposed of clay mixed with ashes and bearing the impression of the\nCaliph's signet-ring. 'Commander of the Faithful,' said Ar-Kabi, 'I\nnever saw anything more extraordinary than this document; I received it\nfrom an Arab of the desert who was crying out: \"This is the Commander\nof the Faithful's letter! Show me where to find the man who is called\nAr-Rabi, for it is to him that he told me to deliver it!\"'\n\n\"Al Mahdi took the letter and laughed; he then said: 'It is true: this\nis my writing and this is my seal. Shall I relate how it happened?' To\nthis we replied: 'If it please the Commander of the Faithful.' Then he\nsaid: 'I went out to hunt yesterday evening when the shower was over.\nThe next morning a thick mist overwhelmed us, and I lost sight of my\ncompanions; I then suffered such cold, hunger, and thirst as God only\nknows, and I lost my way besides. At that moment came to my mind a form\nof prayer which my father, Al Mansur, had taught me, saying that his\nfather, Muhammad, had learned it from his grandfather, Ali, who had\nbeen taught it by his father, Abd Allah, the son of Abbas. It was this:\n\"In the name of God,\" and \"By the might of God! We have no power or\nforce but in God! I fly to God for protection! I confide in God: God\nsufficeth me! He protected, sufficeth, directeth, and healeth, from\nfire and flood, from the fall of house, and from evil death!\"\n\n\"'When I had uttered these words, God raised up a light before me,\nand I went toward it, and lo! I found this very Arab of the desert in\nhis tent, with a fire which he had been just lighting up. \"Arab of\nthe desert,\" said I, \"hast thou withal to treat a guest?\" \"Dismount!\"\nsaid he. Then I dismounted, and he said to his wife: \"Bring here\nthat barley\"; and she brought it. \"Grind it,\" said he; and she began\nto grind it. I then said to him: \"Give me a drink of water\"; and he\nbrought me a skin in which was a little milk mixed with water, and\nI drank thereof a drink such as I had never drunk before, it was so\nsweet! and he gave me one of his saddle-cloths, and I laid my head on\nit, and never did I sleep a sounder sleep.\n\n\"'On awaking, I saw him seize on a poor miserable sheep and kill it,\nwhen his wife said to him: \"Beware, wretched man! thou hast slain\nthyself and thy children; our nourishment came from this sheep, and yet\nthou hast killed it! What then have we to live upon?\" On this I said:\n\"Do not mind. Bring the sheep here\"; and I opened it with the knife I\nwore in my boot, and I took out the liver, and having split it open, I\nplaced it upon the fire and I ate thereof. I then said to him: \"Dost\nthou want anything? I shall give thee a written order for it.\" On this\nhe brought me that piece of leather, and I wrote on it with a bit of\nburnt wood which I picked up at his feet that very note. I then set\nthis seal on it, and told him to go and ask for one Ar-Rabi, to whom he\nwas to give it.' This note contained an order for five hundred thousand\ndirhems, and Al Mahdi exclaimed on hearing it: 'By Allah! I meant only\nfifty thousand, but since five hundred thousand are written in it, I\nshall not diminish the sum one single dirhem; and were there no more in\nthe treasury, he should have it. So give him beasts of burden, and let\nhim take it away.'\n\n\"In a very short time that Arab had numerous flocks of camels and\nsheep, and his dwelling became a halting-place for those who were going\non the pilgrimage, and it received the name of the 'Dwelling of the\nhost of Al Mahdi, the Commander of the Faithful.'\"\n\nOn another occasion it is recorded that Al Mahdi went out hunting, and\nhis horse ran away with him until he came to the hut of an Arab. And\nthe Caliph cried: \"O Arab! hast thou wherewith to feed a guest? \"The\nArab replied, \"Yes,\" and produced for him a barley loaf, which Al Mahdi\nate; then he brought some wine in a bottle, and gave him to drink. And\nwhen Al Mahdi had drunk it, he said \"O brother of the Arabs, dost thou\nknow who I am?\" \"No, by Allah,\" he replied. \"I am one of the personal\nattendants of the Commander of the Faithful,\" said Al Mahdi. \"May Allah\nprosper thee in thy situation!\" returned the Arab. Then he poured out a\nsecond glass, and when Al Mahdi had drunk it, he cried: \"O Arab, dost\nthou know who I am?\"\n\nHe answered: \"Thou hast stated that thou art one of the personal\nattendants of the Commander of the Faithful.\" \"No,\" said Al Mahdi, \"but\nI am one of the chief officers of the Commander of the Faithful.\" \"May\nthy country be enlarged and thy wishes fulfilled!\" exclaimed the Arab.\nThen he poured out a third glass for him, and when Al Mahdi had drained\nit, he said: \"O Arab! dost thou know who I am? \"The man replied:\n\"Thou hast made me believe thou art one of the chief officers of the\nCommander of the Faithful.\" \"Not so,\" said Al Mahdi, \"but I am the\nCommander of the Faithful himself.\"\n\nThen the Arab took the bottle and put it away and said: \"By Allah! wert\nthou to drink the fourth, thou wouldst declare thyself to be Mohammed\nthe Prophet of God!\"\n\nThen Al Mahdi laughed till he could laugh no more. And lo! the horsemen\nsurrounded them, and the Princes and nobles dismounted before him, and\nthe heart of the Arab stood still. But Al Mahdi said to him: \"Fear not!\nthou hast done no wrong.\" And he ordered a robe and a sum of money to\nbe given him.\n\n\n_Al Mahdi and His Vizier Yakub ibn Daud_\n\nWhen Al Mahdi's father, Al Mansur, died, he left in the treasury\nnine hundred million and sixty thousand dirhems ($112,507,500), and\nAbu Obaid Allah, the first Vizier of Al Mahdi, advised the Caliph to\nbe moderate in his expenses and to spare the public money. When Abu\nObaid Allah was deposed, his successor, Yakub ibn Daud, flattered the\ninclinations of the Caliph, and encouraged him to spend money, enjoy\nall sorts of pleasures, drink wine, and listen to music. By this means\nhe succeeded in obtaining the entire administration of the State. One\nof the poets of the time composed an ode containing the following lines:\n\n\"Family of Abbas! your Caliphate is ruined! If you seek for the Vicar\nof God, you will find him with a wine-flask on one side and a lute on\nthe other.\"\n\nAbu Haritha, the guardian of the treasure-chambers, seeing that they\nhad become empty, waited on Al Mahdi with the keys, and said: \"Since\nyou have spent all your treasures, what is the use of my keeping these\nkeys? Give orders that they be taken from me.\" Al Mahdi replied:\n\"Keep them still, for money will be coming in to you.\" He then\ndispatched messengers to all quarters in order to press the payment\nof the revenues, and in a very short time these sums arrived. They\nwere so abundant that Abu Haritha had enough to do in receiving them\nand verifying the amount. During three days he did not appear before\nAl Mahdi, who at length said: \"What is he about, that silly Bedouin\nArab?\" Being informed of the cause which kept him away, he sent for\nhim and said: \"What prevented your coming to see us?\" \"The arrival of\ncash,\" replied the other. \"How foolish it was in you,\" said Al Mahdi,\n\"to suppose that money would not come in to us!\" \"Commander of the\nFaithful,\" replied Abu Haritha, \"if some unforeseen event happened\nwhich could not be surmounted without the aid of money, we should not\nhave time to wait till you sent to have the cash brought in.\"\n\nIt is related that Al Mahdi made the pilgrimage one year, and passed by\na milestone on which he saw something written. He stopped to see what\nit was, and read the following line:\n\n\"O Mahdi! you would be truly excellent if you had not taken for a\nfavorite Yakub, the son of Daud.\"\n\nHe then said to a person who was with him: \"Write underneath that:\n'It shall still be so, in spite of the fellow who wrote that\u2014bad luck\nattend him!' \"On his return from the pilgrimage, he stopped at the same\nmilestone, because the verse had probably made an impression on his\nmind; and such, in fact, appears to have been the case, for very soon\nafter he let his vengeance fall on Yakub. Rumors unfavorable to this\nminister had greatly multiplied. His enemies had discovered a point by\nwhich he might be attacked, and they reminded the Caliph of his having\nseconded Ibn Abd Allah the Alide[5] in the revolt against Al Mansur.\n\nOne of Yakub's servants informed Al Mahdi that he had heard his master\nsay: \"The Caliph has built a pleasure-house, and spent on it fifty\nmillions of dirhems ($6,250,000) out of the public money.\" The fact was\nthat Al Mahdi had just founded the town of Isabad.\n\nAnother time Al Mahdi was about to execute some project when Yakub said\nto him: \"Commander of the Faithful, that is mere profusion.\" To this Al\nMahdi answered: \"Evil betide you! does not profusion befit persons of a\nnoble race?\"\n\nAt last Yakub got so tired of the post which he filled that he\nrequested of Al Mahdi permission to give it up, but that favor he\ncould not obtain. Al Mahdi then wished to try if he was still inclined\ntoward the party of the Alides, and sent for him, after taking his\nseat in a salon of which all the furniture was red. He himself had\non red clothes, and behind him stood a young female slave dressed in\nred; before him was a garden filled with roses of all sorts. \"Tell me,\nYakub,\" said he, \"what do you think of this salon of ours?\" The other\nreplied: \"It is the very perfection of beauty. May God permit the\nCommander of the Faithful to enjoy it long!\" \"Well,\" said Al Mahdi,\n\"all that it contains is yours, with this girl to crown your happiness,\nand, moreover, a sum of one hundred thousand dirhems\" ($12,500). Yakub\ninvoked God's blessing on the Caliph, who then said to him: \"I have\nsomething to ask of you.\" On this, Yakub stood up from his seat, and\nexclaimed: \"Commander of the Faithful, such words can only proceed from\nanger. May God protect me from your wrath.\" Al Mahdi replied: \"I wish\nyou to promise to do what I ask.\" Yakub answered: \"I hear, and shall\nobey.\" \"Swear by Allah,\" said the Caliph. He swore. \"Swear again by\nAllah.\" He swore. \"Swear again by Allah.\" He swore for the third time,\nand the Caliph then said to him: \"Lay your hand on my head and swear\nagain.\" Yakub did so.\n\nAl Mahdi, having thus obtained from him the firmest promise that could\nbe made, said: \"There is an Alide, and I wish you to deliver me from\nthe uneasiness which he causes me, and thus set my mind at rest. Here\nhe is; I give him up to you.\" He then delivered the Alide over to\nhim, and bestowed on him the girl, with all the furniture that was\nin the salon and the money. When the Alide was alone with him, he\nsaid: \"Yakub, beware lest you have my blood to answer for before God.\nI am descended from Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed, on whom God's\nblessings and favors always repose.\" To this Yakub replied: \"Tell me,\nsir, if there be good in you.\" The Alide answered: \"If you do good\nto me, I shall be grateful and pray for your happiness.\" \"Receive\nthe money,\" said Yakub, \"and take whatever road you like.\" \"Such a\nroad,\" said the Alide, naming it, \"is the safest.\" \"Depart with my good\nwishes,\" said Yakub.\n\nThe girl heard all this conversation, and told a servant of hers to go\nand relate it to Al Mahdi, and to say in her name: \"Such is the conduct\nof one whom in giving me to him you preferred to yourself; such is the\nreturn he makes you for your kindness.\" Al Mahdi immediately had the\nroad watched, so that the Alide was taken prisoner. He then sent for\nYakub, and said to him: \"What has become of that man?\" Yakub replied:\n\"I have delivered you from the uneasiness he gave you.\" \"Is he dead?\"\n\"He is.\" \"Swear by Allah.\" \"I swear by Allah.\" \"Lay your hand upon my\nhead.\" Yakub did so, and swore by his head. Al Mahdi then said to an\nattendant: \"Boy, bring out to us those who are in that room.\" The boy\nopened the door, and there the Alide was seen with the very money which\nYakub had given him.\n\nYakub was so much astounded that he was unable to utter a word. \"Your\nlife,\" said Al Mahdi, \"is justly forfeited, and it is in my power to\nshed your blood, but I will not. Shut him up in the _matbak_.\"[6]\n\nHe had him confined in that dungeon, and gave orders that no one should\never speak to him or to any other about him. Yakub remained there\nduring the rest of Al Mahdi's reign (over two years), and during the\nreign of Musa-al-Hadi, the son of Al Mahdi, and during five years and\nseven months of the reign of Haroun al Rashid.\n\n\n_Al Mahdi and the Poet Abu'l Atahiyah_\n\nSome historians relate that the poet Abu'l Atahiyah had conceived\na passion for Otbah, the slave of Khayzuran, the chief wife of the\nCaliph. This young girl complained to her mistress of the gossip to\nwhich this affair gave rise. One day Al Mahdi found her seated near her\nmistress in tears. He questioned her, and having discovered the cause\nof her grief, sent for Abu'l Atahiyah. When the poet came and stood\nbefore him, Al Mahdi said to him: \"You are the author of this verse\nconcerning Otbah: 'May God judge between me and my mistress, since she\nshows me nothing but disdain and reproach!'\" He then continued: \"What\nkindness has Otbah ever shown you that you have the right to complain\nof her disdainfulness?\"\n\n\"Sire,\" answered Abu'l Atahiyah, \"I am not the author of that verse,\nbut of these:\n\n \"'O my camel, carry me rapidly; be not beguiled by what thou deemest\n repose\u2014 Carry me to a Prince to whom God has given the gift of working\n miracles; A Prince who, when the wind rises, says, \"O wind, hast thou\n partaken of my benefits?\" Two crowns adorn his brow the crown of\n beauty and the diadem of humility.'\"\n\nAl Mahdi sat silent for some time, looking at the ground, which he\ntapped with his staff; then he lifted his head and continued: \"You have\nalso said:\n\n \"'What does my mistress think upon when she displays her charms and\n allurements? There is among the slaves of Princes a young girl who\n conceals beneath her veil Beauty itself.'\n\n\"How do you know what she conceals beneath her veil?\" the Caliph asked.\nAbu'l Atahiyah replied in the same flattering style:\n\n \"Royalty has come to do him obeisance, and trailing her robe\n majestically, She only is fit for him, as he for her.\"\n\nBut as the Caliph continued to ply him with questions Abu'l Atahiyah\nbecame embarrassed in his answers, and was condemned to expiate his\ntemerity by a flogging. He had just undergone his punishment when Otbah\nmet him in this piteous plight. The poet reproached her thus: \"Praise\nbe to thee, Otbah! It is because of thee that the Caliph has shed the\nblood of a man already dying of love.\" Tears started to Otbah's eyes;\nshe ran sobbing to her mistress, Khayzuran, and there met the Caliph.\nHe asked why she wept, and hearing she had seen the poet after his\nflagellation, consoled her; then he caused a sum of fifty thousand\ndirhems to be given to the former.\n\nAbu'l Atahiyah distributed them to all those whom he met in the palace.\nAl Mahdi, being informed of his generosity, asked him why he had thus\ndisposed of the money he had just received from the Caliph. The poet\nanswered: \"I did not wish to profit by what my love had won.\" Al Mahdi\nsent him fifty thousand more dirhems, making him swear not to employ\nthem in fresh benefactions.\n\nAnother historian relates that Abu'l Atahiyah, on a certain New Year's\nDay, presented Al Mahdi with a Chinese vase containing perfumes. On the\nvase were engraved these verses:\n\n \"My soul is attached to one of the good things of this world; the\n accomplishment of its desires depends on God and Al Mahdi, his Vicar.\n I despair of obtaining my object, but thy contempt of the world and\n all which it contains reanimates my hope.\"\n\nThe Caliph thought of giving him Otbah, when she said to him. \"Prince\nof the believers! would you, in spite of my privileges, my rights, and\nmy services, bestow me upon a pottery merchant\u2014a man who makes money\nout of his poetry?\" Al Mahdi then sent a message to the poet: \"As to\nOtbah, you will never obtain her, but I have ordered the vase you sent\nto be filled with money.\"\n\nSoon afterward Otbah, passing by, found the poet disputing with the\nclerks of the treasury, and maintaining that by \"money\" the Caliph\nmeant gold dinars, while they alleged that he only intended silver\ndirhems. \"If you really loved Otbah,\" she said to him, \"you would not\nthink of the difference between gold and silver.\"\n\n\n_Death of Al Mahdi_\n\nTabari, the historian, describes the death of Al Mahdi as taking place\nin the following tragic manner: Among his wives there were two for whom\nhe seems to have entertained an equal degree of affection; but as one\nof them seemed to the other to have the preference in his heart, the\nlatter, whose name was Hassanna, conceived a bitter jealousy against\nher rival, and determined to be avenged on her. In order to accomplish\nher purpose, she prepared a dish of confectionery, in which she mixed a\nmalignant poison, and sent it as an offering to her rival.\n\nAs the damsel who was dispatched upon the errand happened to pass\nbeneath one of the balconies of the palace, Al Mahdi, who was watching\nthe sunset, saw her. The confectionery, which was uncovered, attracting\nhis notice, he asked the messenger whither she was bound. She having\ninformed him, he took and ate heartily of it, saying: \"Hassanna will, I\nam sure, be better pleased that I should partake of her sweets than any\none else.\" In a few hours he was a corpse.\n\n\nTHE CALIPH HAROUN AL RASHID\n\nHaroun al Rashid became Caliph in the year A.D. 786, and he ranks among\nthe Caliphs who have been most distinguished by eloquence, learning,\nand generosity. During the whole of his reign he performed the\npilgrimage to Mecca or carried on war with the unbelievers nearly every\nyear. His daily prayers exceeded the number fixed by the law,[7] and he\nused to perform the pilgrimage on foot, an act which no previous Caliph\nhad done. When he went on pilgrimage he took with him a hundred learned\nmen and their sons, and when he did not perform it himself he sent\nthree hundred substitutes, whom he appareled richly, and whose expenses\nhe defrayed with generosity.\n\nHis conduct generally resembled that of the Caliph Mansur, but he did\nnot imitate the parsimony of the latter. He always repaid services done\nto him, and that without much delay. He was fond of poetry and poets,\nand patronized literary and learned men. Religious controversies were\nhateful to him. Eulogy he relished highly, especially eulogy by gifted\npoets, whom he richly rewarded.\n\nThe historian Asmai relates the following anecdote: One day the Caliph\ngave a feast in a magnificently decorated hall. During the feast he\nsent for the poet Abu'l Atahiyah, and commanded him to depict in verse\nthe gorgeous scene.\n\nThe poet began: \"Live, O Caliph, in the fulfilment of all thy desire,\nin the shelter of thy lofty palace!\"\n\n\"Very good!\" exclaimed Rashid. \"Let us hear the rest.\"\n\nThe poet continued: \"Each morn and eve be all thy servitors swift to\nexecute thy behests!\"\n\n\"Excellent!\" said the Caliph. \"Go on!\"\n\nThe poet replied: \"But when the death-rattle chokes thy breath thou\nwilt learn, alas! that all thy delights were a shadow.\"\n\nRashid burst into tears. Fadhl, the son of Yahya (Haroun's Vizier),\nseeing this, said to the poet: \"The Caliph sent for you to divert him,\nand you have plunged him into melancholy.\" \"Let him be,\" said Rashid;\n\"he saw us in a state of blindness, and tried to open our eyes.\"\n\nThis Prince treated learned men with great regard. Abou Moawia, one\nof the most learned men of his time, related that when he was sitting\none day at food with the Caliph, the latter poured water on his hands\nafter the meal, and said to him: \"Abou Moawia, do you know who has just\nwashed your hands?\" He answered: \"No.\" Rashid informed him that it was\nhimself. Abou Moawia replied: \"Prince, you doubtless act in this manner\nin order to do homage to learning.\" \"You speak truth,\" answered Rashid.\n\nIbrahim Mouseli relates the following story: \"Rashid one day summoned\nall his musicians. I and Meskin of Medina were among the performers.\nRashid had partaken freely of wine, and wished to hear performed an\nair which had suddenly occurred to his mind. The officer stationed\nbefore the curtain which concealed the Caliph told Ibn Jami to sing\nthis piece. The latter obeyed, but did not succeed in pleasing the\nCaliph. Each of the singers present attempted it, but were no more\nsuccessful than Ibn Jami. Then the officer, addressing Meskin, said:\n'The Commander of the Faithful orders you to sing this air if you can\ndo it properly.'\n\n\"Meskin commenced at once to sing, to the great surprise of the\naudience, who could not understand how a musician like him had the\ncourage to attempt, before us, an air which none of us had been able to\nrender to the satisfaction of the Caliph. As soon as he had finished I\nheard Rashid raise his voice and ask to hear it a second time. Meskin\nrecommenced with a skill and spirit which won him everybody's applause.\nThe Caliph congratulated and praised him to the skies; then he had the\ncurtain behind which he had been sitting drawn aside.\n\n\"'Prince of the believers,' then said Meskin to him, 'a strange story\nattaches to this piece'; and at the invitation of the Caliph he\nnarrated it in these words: 'I was formerly a slave of a member of\nthe family of Zobeir, and carried on the trade of a tailor. My master\nclaimed from me a tax of two dirhems daily, after paying which I was\nfree to do what I liked. I was passionately fond of singing. One day a\ndescendant of Ali, for whom I had just completed a tunic, paid me two\ndirhems for it, kept me to eat with him, and made me drink generously.\nAs I left him I met a negress carrying her pitcher on her shoulder, and\nsinging the song you have just heard. I was so delighted at it that,\nforgetting everything else, I said to her: \"By the Prophet, I adjure\nthee to teach me that air.\" \"By the Prophet,\" she answered, \"I will not\nteach it unless you pay me two dirhems.\"\n\n\"'Then, Prince of believers, I took out the two dirhems, with which I\nhad intended to pay my daily tax, and gave them to the negress. She,\nsetting her pitcher down, sat on the ground and, keeping time with her\nfingers on the pitcher, sang the piece, and repeated it till it was\nwell impressed on my memory.\n\n\"'I then proceeded to my master. As soon as he saw me he demanded his\ntwo dirhems, and I related my adventure to him. \"Scoundrel!\" he said.\n\"Have I not warned you that I will take no excuse, even if a farthing\nis missing?\" Saying this, he laid me on the ground and, with the utmost\nvigor of his arm, gave me fifty strokes of a rod, and, as an additional\ndisgrace, caused my head and chin to be shaved. Verily, O Prince, I\npassed a melancholy night. The severe punishment I had undergone made\nme forget the piece I had learned, and this was the saddest of all.\nIn the morning, wrapping my head in a cloak, I hid my large tailor's\nscissors in my sleeve, and directed my steps to the spot where I had\nmet the negress. I waited there in perplexity, not knowing her name nor\nher abode. All at once I saw her coming; the sight of her dispersed all\nmy cares. I approached her, and she said to me: \"By the Lord of the\nKaaba, you have forgotten the song!\" \"Yes, I have,\" I answered. I told\nher how my head and chin had been shaved, and offered her a reward if\nshe would sing her song again. \"By the Prophet,\" she answered, \"I will\nnot for less than two dirhems.\"\n\n\"'I took out my scissors and ran and pawned them for two dirhems, which\nI gave her. She put down her pitcher, and began to sing as she had\ndone the evening before; but as soon as she began, I said: \"Give me\nback the two dirhems; I don't need your song.\" \"By Allah,\" she said,\n\"you shall not see them again; don't think it.\" Then she added: \"I\nam certain that the four dirhems you have spent will be worth to you\nfour thousand dinars from the hand of the Caliph.\" Then she resumed\nher song, accompanying herself, as before, on her pitcher, and did not\ncease repeating it till I had got it by heart.\n\n\"'We separated. I returned to my master, but in a state of great\napprehension. When he saw me he demanded his daily due, while I\nstammered out excuses. \"Beast!\" he shouted, \"was not yesterday's\nlesson enough for you?\" \"I wish to speak to you frankly and without\nfalsehood,\" I answered. \"Yesterday's and to-day's dirhems went in\npayment for a song\"; and I began to sing it to him. \"What!\" he\nexclaimed, \"you have known an air like that for two days and told me\nnothing of it? May my wife be divorced if it is not true that I would\nhave let you go yesterday if you had sung it to me! Your head and chin\nhave been shaved\u2014I can not help that\u2014but I let you off your tax till\nyour hair grows again.\"'\n\n\"Hearing this recital, Rashid laughed heartily, and said to the\nmusician: 'I don't know which is better, your song or your story; I\nwill see in my turn that the forecast of the negress is verified.' So\nMeskin went out from the Caliph's presence richer by four thousand\ndinars.\"\n\n\n_The Barmecides, Viziers of Haroun al Rashid_\n\nOn attaining the Caliphate, Rashid conferred the Viziership on Yahya,\nson of Khaled, son of Barmek. Yahya had served him as secretary before\nhis accession to the throne, and this was the foundation of the\nmagnificence of the family of the Barmecides, whose commencement and\nwhose tragic fall we are about to narrate.\n\nThe family of the Barmecides had originally been Zoroastrians in\nreligion, but from the time of their embracing Islam they continued\nto be good Mussulmen. They were the crown and ornament of their age.\nTheir generosity passed into a proverb; adherents thronged to their\ncourt from every side, and multitudes centered their hopes on them.\nFortune showered upon them a prodigality of favors. Yahya and his sons\nwere like brilliant stars, vast oceans, impetuous torrents, beneficent\nshowers. Every kind of talent and learning was represented in their\ncourt, and men of worth received a hearty welcome there. The world\nwas revived under their administration, and the empire reached its\nculminating point of splendor. They were a refuge for the afflicted and\na haven for the distressed. The poet Abou-Nowas said of them:\n\n\"Since the world has lost you, O sons of Barmek, we no longer see the\nways crowded with travelers at sunrise and sunset.\"\n\nWe have an example of the generosity of the Barmecides in the following\nstory, related by Salih bin Muhran, one of the intimate attendants of\nHaroun al Rashid:\n\n\"One day Haroun sent for me, and when I arrived in his presence I saw\nthat he was vexed and perplexed, and full of thought, and very much\nenraged. When I stood still awhile he lifted up his head, and said: 'Go\nthis moment to Mansur Bin Ziyad, and before night thou must have from\nhim ten thousand thousand dirhems, and, if not, cut off his head and\nbring it to me; and if thou fail in this, I swear by the soul of Mahdi\nI will command thy head to be severed from thy body.' I said: 'May the\nlife of the Commander of the Faithful be prolonged! If he gives a part\nto-day, and sends somewhat more to-morrow on the condition that he\ngives me a pledge for the payment of the whole-\u2014-' He replied: 'No! If\nhe does not give thee to-day ten thousand thousand dirhems in coined\nmoney, bring me his head. What concern hast thou in this matter?' When\nhe said this I knew he was aiming at the life of Mansur, and I went out\nfrom him in great perplexity and distress, saying, 'O Lord, what has\ncome to me? It will be needful to slay Mansur, and he is one of the\nmost worthy and best-known men of Bagdad, and has a numerous following.'\n\n\"At length I went to the house of Mansur, and, taking him on one side,\ntold him the whole story as it had happened, and what my commands were.\nWhen he heard he wept aloud, and fell at my feet, saying: 'In truth the\nCommander of the Faithful seeks my life; for his courtiers and many\nothers know there is no such sum in my house. Nor could I in my whole\nlife bring together so much; how, then, can I do it in one day? But\ndo thou show me one favor, for God's sake-. take me to my house, that\nI may bid farewell to my children and followers and clansmen, and ask\nforgiveness of my offenses from my companions and acquaintances.'\n\n\"I took him to his house, as he desired, and when his family and chief\nfriends heard what had happened there was an outcry among them. They\nwept and bewailed so that jinns and men, and wild beasts and birds,\nwere sorrowful for them, and my heart burned to see them. At last he\nbrought out what money and valuables he had, amounting to two million\ndirhems, and gave it to me, saying: 'In days past, before Haroun al\nRashid was Caliph, I often vexed Yahya the Barmecide, and during this\npresent reign also he suffered much annoyance and persecution from\nme. But on a certain occasion he treated me with kindness, and put my\nhand in his, and I knew that he had forgiven my fault, and that there\nwas no feeling of revenge remaining in his heart; and afterward he\ndid me many kindnesses with the Caliph. If thou wilt deal kindly with\nme\u2014his house is at the head of the way\u2014take me there. It may be his\nheart will be touched for me; for all the members of his house are men\nof liberality, and they desire that even their enemy and ill-wisher\nmay take refuge with them, that they may help him in his distress and\nmisery.'\n\n\"I said: 'Thou speakest truly, and it will be a delight to myself to\ntake thee there. Come, let us go. By Allah the Most High, it must needs\nbe they will cause thee to rejoice.' When we arrived at the house of\nYahya, he had just finished the afternoon prayer, and was repeating\nthe _Tesbih_.[8] When he saw Mansur, and he had explained to him his\ndistress and misery, Yahya came up to me and inquired of me the state\nof the case, which I revealed to him. He comforted Mansur, and bade\nhim keep up his heart; 'For,' said he, 'I will not be wanting in doing\nall that is in my power to help thee.' At the same time he called his\ntreasurer, and said to him: 'Bring me all that is in the treasury.' The\ntreasurer brought all that he had of coined money and jewels, and the\namount was two hundred thousand dirhems.\n\n\"Then he wrote a letter to his eldest son, Fadhl, bidding him send\nwhat money he had, for that an unfortunate man was waiting for it.\nWhen Fadhl had read the note, he immediately sent two hundred thousand\ndirhems. Then he wrote a note to Jafar, his younger son, bidding him\nsend immediately all the money he had. He also sent three hundred\nthousand dirhems. Then he said to me: 'Take this money to the Commander\nof the Faithful, and represent to him that I will send to-morrow three\nmillion dirhems more into his treasury.' I replied: 'This is not in\nmy orders. To-day, by the hour of evening prayer, I must be in the\npresence of the Caliph with the gold or the head.'\n\n\"When Yahya heard this he sent for his slave Otbah, and bade her go to\nFatima, the sister of the Commander of the Faithful, and to explain\nthe case to her. When Otbah had told Fatima how the matter stood, that\nlady, who was a woman of much generosity, took off a collar set with\njewels which she had received from the Caliph, of which the value was\nestimated at two hundred thousand dinars of gold, and sent it to Yahya,\nasking besides a thousand pardons that she could do no more.\n\n\"When at last the ten million of dirhems was raised, Yahya delivered\nit all to porters, and sent it by me to the Caliph. It was near the\nsetting of the sun when I brought the money to Haroun al Rashid. When\nhe saw me, he cried: 'Hast thou brought Mansur?' I told him all that\nhad passed, whereupon he bade me send the money to the treasury and go\nfor Yahya. When I had placed the money in the treasury, I went to Yahya\nand told him that the Caliph had accepted the money, and wished to see\nhim. He broke out into exclamations of gladness when he heard this,\nand, calling for Mansur, he said: 'Take courage, for thou art saved\nfrom destruction. The Commander of the Faithful has just asked for me,\nand I will so contrive as to render him again favorably disposed toward\nthee.'\n\n\"Then Mansur's soul again returned to his body, and he thanked Yahya\nfervently. When Yahya arrived in the presence of the Caliph and saw his\nface averted, he was afraid; for he thought: 'Perchance he will reprove\nme for my want of respect in releasing Mansur.' So, after some time, he\nprayed for pardon of his offense, and conciliated the Caliph. Afterward\nhe said: 'Wilt thou tell me what was the crime of which Mansur was\nguilty?' The Caliph replied: 'His crime was his enmity against you and\nhis evil-speaking concerning you. For this reason I have long wished to\nstrike off his head. To-day I was so incensed that I commanded either\nthat he should pay this money or that his head should be cut off. But\nthou hast done as the generous always do.' Yahya said: 'May the life\nof the Commander of the Faithful be long! For if the Commander of the\nFaithful had said, \"The wealth of Yahya and his sons is of my gift, and\nthis necklace, too, of my sister's is a gift of mine. What has any one\nto do in this matter? Go and cut off Mansur's head,\" what could he have\ndone and what could I have done?'\n\n\"This speech pleased Haroun al Rashid, but he blamed Yahya because he\nhad asked for his sister's necklace, and sent it to the treasury to\nmeet the demand on Mansur. He also blamed his sister for giving away\nthe necklace. She replied: 'It would have been shame if I had not\nanswered the request of one who was in the place of a father to me.'\nThis reply pleased the Caliph, and he restored to Fatima the jeweled\ncollar, and Yahya and Mansur were again glad at heart.\"\n\n\n_The Fall of the Barmecides_\n\nHaroun al Rashid had such an extraordinary affection to Jafar the\nBarmecide that he could not bear to be one hour apart from him. Rashid\nloved his own sister Abbasah also with an extreme affection, and could\nnot bear to be long absent from her. She was a woman of extraordinary\nbeauty, and exceeded all in science and knowledge. Zobeidah, who was\nthe chief favorite of the Caliph, and all her dependents were opposed\nto Abbasah.\n\nOne day Rashid said to Jafar: \"Thou knowest how great is my affection\nto thee, and also how greatly I love my sister Abbasah, and that I can\nnot live without the company of either of you. I have thought of an\nexpedient whereby you may both accompany me in the same assembly\u2014that\na marriage take place between you. That will legalize your meeting and\nauthorize your beholding one another. But all this is on condition that\nyou never meet except I am a third in the party.\"\n\nWhen Jafar heard this, the world on all sides grew black with darkness\nto his eyes. Distressed and confounded, he fell at the feet of Rashid,\nand said: \"Commander of the Faithful, wilt thou slay me? From the time\nof Adam to our day no servant has been admitted to such confidence as\nthat he should marry with the family of his lords and benefactors;\nor if any one hath treacherously imagined such a thing, very shortly\nhe hath been reduced to nothingness, and all men have counted him\na bread-and-salt traitor. And what sin hath thy slave committed, O\nCommander of the Faithful, that thou shouldest seek after his blood?\nIs this the reward of all my services and devotion? And, besides, how\nshould I, the son of a Persian _Guebre_ (fire-worshiper), be allied to\nthe family of Hashem and the nephews of the Prophet\u2014may the mercy of\nGod be upon him and his family!\u2014and by what right can I aspire to such\na distinction? If my father and mother heard of this, they would mourn\nfor me, and my enemies would rejoice.\"\n\nSome days passed, and he neither ate nor drank, but all was of no\navail. He could not oppose the decrees of heaven and the ordainment of\nGod by remedy or contrivance. Unable to help himself, he submitted and\nconsented to a marriage on the terms before mentioned. When Yahya, the\nfather of Jafar and Fadhl, and his other brothers heard of this, they\nwere full of sorrow, and looked for the reversal of their fortune and\nthe downfall of their power.\n\nThese forebodings were soon justified. The cruel commands of Rashid\nto his favorite and his sister were disregarded, and Abbasah became a\nmother. The birth of the child, concealed for a time, was revealed to\nRashid by a revengeful slave-girl whom Abbasah had struck. The Caliph\nwas intensely wroth, but concealed his indignation for a time, though\nbetraying it at unguarded moments.\n\nAhmed Bin Muhammad Wasil, who was one of his confidential attendants,\nrelates as follows: \"One day I was standing before Rashid in his\nprivate apartment when no one besides was there. Perfumes were burning,\nand the place was filled with sweet odors. Haroun al Rashid lay down\nto rest, and wrapped his head in the skirt of his garment to keep his\neyes cool, when Jafar the Barmecide came in and told his business to\nthe Caliph, receiving in return a gracious answer, and retiring. In\nthose days the story of Abbasah and her union with Jafar was talked of\ncurrently among the people.\n\n\"When Jafar was gone Rashid lifted his head out of his skirt, and\nfrom his mouth came these words: 'O God, do thou so favor Jafar the\nBarmecide that he may kill me, or make me quickly powerful over him\nthat I may cut off his head from his body; for with anger and jealousy\nagainst him I am near to destruction.' These words he spoke to himself,\nbut they reached my ears, and I trembled within and without, and I said\nto myself: 'If the Commander of the Faithful knows that I have heard\nthis, he will not leave me alive.'\n\n\"Suddenly Haroun al Rashid lifted up his head from its covering, and\nsaid to me: 'Hast thou heard that which I said to myself just now?'\nI said: 'I have not heard it.' The Commander of the Faithful said:\n'There is no one but thyself here, and so truly as the censer is in thy\nhand, thou hast heard all. If thou care for thy life, keep this secret\nconcealed; and if not, I will strike off thy head.' I replied: 'May the\nlife of the Commander of the Faithful be long! I have not heard any of\nthese words.' And with this the Caliph was satisfied.\"\n\nIt was not long after this that the blow fell on the Barmecides. On\nhis return from one of his pilgrimages to Mecca, Rashid came by water\nfrom Hira to Anbar, on the River Euphrates. Here he invited the three\nbrothers Fadhl, Jafar, and Mousa, to his presence, and, having caressed\nthem with extraordinary cordiality, dismissed them once more to their\nquarters, with rich _khelats_, the customary robe of honor. The Caliph\nwithdrew to his apartments, and betook himself to his usual indulgence\nin wine. In a little time he sent one of his domestics to inquire if\nJafar was employed in the same way. Finding that such was not the case,\nRashid sent his attendant again to Jafar, urging him by the life of his\nmaster to imitate his example without further delay, for that his wine\nseemed deprived of all its zest until he knew that his faithful Jafar\npartook of the same enjoyment.\n\nJafar felt, however, unaccountably alarmed and averse to such a\ngratification, and, reluctantly withdrawing to his chamber, called for\nthe wine. It happened that he was attended by a favorite blind minstrel\nnamed Abou Zaccar, to whom, after a few goblets, he could not forbear\nfrom communicating his apprehensions. The minstrel treated them as\nmerely imaginary, urged his master to banish them from his thoughts,\nand to resume his usual cheerfulness. But Jafar declared that he found\nit impossible to dispel the uneasiness which seemed to haunt him. About\nthe hour of evening prayer another messenger arrived from Rashid with a\npresent of nuts and sweetmeats for Jafar, as a relish to his wine, from\nhis own table.\n\nWhen midnight came, Rashid called for Mesrour, his favorite domestic,\nand directed him to bring Jafar and strike off his head. Mesrour\nproceeded accordingly, and entering Jafar's apartment while Abou\nZaccar was singing some Arabic verses, stood suddenly at the head of\nJafar, who started involuntarily at his appearance. Mesrour told him\nthat he was summoned to attend the Caliph. Jafar entreated that he\nmight be permitted to withdraw for a moment, to speak to the women\nof his family. This last indulgence was withheld, Mesrour observing\nthat any instructions which he had to communicate might as well be\ndelivered where he was. This he was accordingly obliged to do, after\nwhich he accompanied Mesrour to his tent, on entering which the latter\nimmediately drew his sword. Jafar asked that the Caliph's instructions\nmight be explained to him, and when he heard them, cautioned Mesrour to\nbeware how he carried into execution an order which had evidently been\ngiven under the influence of wine, lest, when their sovereign should\nbe restored to himself, it might be followed by unavailing repentance\nand remorse. He further adjured Mesrour by the memory of their past\nfriendship that he would return to the Caliph's presence, and require\nhis final commands.\n\nMesrour yielded to these entreaties, and appeared before Rashid, whom\nhe found expecting his return. \"Is this the head of Jafar?\" demanded\nthe Caliph. \"Jafar is at the door, my lord,\" replied Mesrour, with\nsome trepidation. \"I wanted not Jafar,\" said the Caliph sternly;\n\"I wanted his head.\" This sealed the fate of the unhappy favorite.\nMesrour immediately withdrew, decapitated Jafar in the antechamber,\nand returned with his head, which he laid at the Caliph's feet. He was\nthen directed by Rashid to keep that head by him till he should receive\nfurther orders.\n\nIn the meantime he was enjoined to proceed without delay and apprehend\nYahya, his three sons, Fadhl, Muhammad, and Mousa, and his brother\nMuhammad. These commands were immediately carried into execution. The\nhead of Jafar was dispatched the next day, to be suspended to a gibbet\non the bridge of Bagdad, after which the Caliph continued his journey\nto Rakkah.\n\nStripped of all their wealth and honors, Yahya, his three sons, and his\nbrother Muhammad, languished in confinement, until the former perished\nin prison. At first they were allowed some liberty, but subsequently\nthey experienced alternatives of rigor and relaxation, according to the\nreports which reached Rashid concerning them. He then confiscated the\nproperty of every member of the family. It is said that Mesrour was\nsent by him to the prison, and that he told the jailor to bring Fadhl\nbefore him. When he was brought out, Mesrour addressed him thus: \"The\nCommander of the Faithful sends me to say that he ordered thee to make\na true statement of thy property, and that thou didst pretend to do so;\nbut he is assured that thou hast still great wealth in reserve, and his\norders to me are that, if thou dost not inform me where the money is,\nI am to give thee two hundred strokes of a whip. I should therefore\nadvise thee not to prefer thy riches to thyself.\"\n\nOn this Fadhl looked up at him and said: \"By Allah, I made no false\nstatements; and were the choice offered to me of being sent out of the\nworld or of receiving a single stroke of a whip, I should prefer the\nformer alternative\u2014_that_ the Commander of the Faithful well knoweth,\nand thou also knowest full well that we maintained our reputation at\nthe expense of our wealth. How, then, could we now shield our wealth at\nthe expense of our bodies? If thou hast really got any orders, let them\nbe executed.\"\n\nOn this Mesrour produced some whips, which he brought with him rolled\nup in a napkin, and ordered his servants to inflict on Al Fadhl two\nhundred stripes. They struck him with all their force, using no\nmoderation in their blows, so that they nearly killed him. There was\nin that place a man skilled in treating wounds, who was called in to\nattend Al Fadhl. When he saw him he observed that fifty strokes had\nbeen inflicted on him; and when the others declared that two hundred\nhad been given, he asserted that his back bore the traces of fifty, and\nnot more. He then told Al Fadhl that he must lie down on his back on a\nreed-mat, so that they might tread on his breast. Al Fadhl shuddered at\nthe proposal, but, having at length given his consent, they placed him\non his back. The operator then trod on him, after which he took him by\nthe arms and dragged him along the mat, by which means a great quantity\nof flesh was torn off the back. He then proceeded to dress the wounds,\nand continued his services regularly, till one day, when, on examining\nthem, he immediately prostrated himself in thanksgiving to God. They\nasked him what was the matter, and he replied that the patient was\nsaved, because new flesh was forming. He then said: \"Did I not say that\nhe had received fifty strokes? Well, by Allah! one thousand strokes\ncould not have left worse marks; but I merely said so that he might\ntake courage, and thus aid my efforts to cure him.\"\n\nAl Fadhl, on his recovery, borrowed ten thousand dirhems from a friend,\nand sent them to the doctor, who returned them. Thinking that he had\noffered too little, he borrowed ten thousand more; but the man refused\nthem, and said: \"I can not accept a fee for curing the greatest among\nthe generous. Were it even twenty thousand dinars, I should refuse\nthem.\" When this was told to Al Fadhl, he declared that such an act\nof generosity surpassed all that he himself had done during the whole\ncourse of his life.\n\nWhen Rashid had overthrown the family of the Barmecides, he endeavored\nto obliterate even their very name. He forbade the poets to compose\nelegies on their fall, and commanded that those who did so should\nbe punished. One day one of the soldiers of the guard, passing near\nsome ruined and abandoned buildings, perceived a man standing upright\nwith a paper in his hand. It contained a lament for the ruin of the\nBarmecides, which he was reciting with tears.\n\nThe soldier arrested him, and conducted him to the palace of Rashid. He\nrelated the whole matter to the Caliph, who caused the accused to be\nbrought before him. When he was convinced by the man's own confession\nof the truth of the accusation, he said to him: \"Did you not know that\nI have forbidden the utterance of any lament for the family of the\nBarmecides? Assuredly I will treat thee according to thy deserts.\"\n\"Prince,\" the accused answered, \"if thou wilt allow, I will relate my\nhistory. Afterward deal with me as thou pleasest.\"\n\nRashid having allowed him to speak, he went on: \"I was one of the petty\nofficials in the court of Yahya. One day he said to me: 'I must dine at\nyour house.' 'My lord,' I said to him, 'I am far too mean for such an\nhonor, and my house is not fit to receive you.' 'No,' replied Yahya,\n'I must come to you.' 'In that case,' I said, 'will you allow me some\ntime to make the proper arrangements and put my house in order?\u2014and\nafterward do as you like.'\n\n\"He then wished to know how much time I wanted. At first I asked for a\nyear. This appeared to him too much; I therefore asked for some months.\nHe consented, and I immediately began to prepare everything necessary\nfor his reception. When all the preparations were complete I sent to\ninform Yahya, who said he would come on the morrow. On the next day,\naccordingly, he came, with his two sons Jafar and Fadhl and a few of\nhis most intimate friends. Scarcely had he dismounted than he addressed\nme by name, and said: 'Make haste and get me something to eat, for I\nam hungry.' Fadhl told me that his father was especially fond of roast\nfowl; accordingly I brought some, and when Yahya had eaten he rose and\nbegan to walk about the house, and asked me to show him all over it.\n'My lord,' I said, 'you have just been over it: there is no more.'\n'Certainly there is more,' he replied.\n\n\"It was in vain that I assured him, in the name of God, that that was\nall I had: he had a mason sent for, and told him to make a hole in\nthe wall. The mason began to do so. I said to Yahya: 'My Lord, is it\npermissible to make a hole into one's neighbor's house when God has\ncommanded us to respect our neighbors' rights?' 'Never mind,' said\nhe. And when the mason had made a sufficiently wide entrance, he went\nthrough, with his sons.\n\n\"I followed them, and we came into a delicious garden, well planted and\nwatered by fountains. In this garden were pavilions and halls adorned\nwith all kinds of marbles and tapestry; on all sides were numbers of\nbeautiful slaves of both sexes. Yahya then said to me: This house and\nall that you see is yours.' I hastened to kiss his hands and to pray\nGod to bless him, and then I learned that from the very day he had told\nme that he was coming to my house he had bought the ground adjacent to\nit, and caused a beautiful mansion to be constructed, furnished, and\nadorned, without my knowing anything of it. I saw indeed that building\nwas going on, but I thought it was some work being carried on by one of\nmy neighbors.\n\n\"Yahya then, addressing his son Jafar, said to him: 'Well, here is a\nhouse, with attendants, but how is he to keep it up?' 'I will make over\nto him such and such a farm, with its revenues,' answered Jafar, 'and\nsign a contract with him to that effect.' 'Very good,' said Yahya,\nturning to his other son, Fadhl; 'but till he receives those revenues,\nhow is he to meet current expenses?' 'I will give him ten thousand\npieces of gold,' answered Fadhl, 'and have them conveyed to his house.'\n'Be quick, then,' said Yahya, 'and fulfil your promises without delay.'\nThis they both did, so that I found myself rich of a sudden and living\na life of ease. Thus, O Commander of the Faithful, I have never failed\non all fitting occasions to rehearse their praises and to pray for\nthem, in order to discharge my debt of gratitude, but never shall I be\nable to do so completely. If thou choosest, slay me for doing that.\"\n\nRashid was moved at this recital, and let him go. He also gave a\ngeneral permission to the poets to bewail the tragic end of the\nBarmecides. A pathetic anecdote relating to their fall is recorded by\nMuhammad, son of Abdur Bahman the Hashimite.\n\n\"Having gone to visit my mother on the day of the Feast of Sacrifice,\nI found her talking with an old woman of venerable appearance, but\nmeanly clad. My mother asked if I knew her, and I answered, 'No.' She\nreplied: 'It is Abbadab, the mother of Jafar Bin Yahya.' I turned\nto her and saluted her with respect. After some time I said to her:\n'Madam, what is the strangest thing you have seen?' 'My friend,' she\nreplied, 'there was once a time when this same festival saw me escorted\nby four hundred slaves, and still I thought that my son was not\nsufficiently grateful to me. To-day the feast has returned, and all I\nwish for is two sheepskins\u2014one to lie down on and one to cover me.'\n\n\"I gave her,\" adds the narrator, \"five hundred dirhems, and she nearly\ndied of joy. She did not cease her visits till the day death separated\nus.\"\n\nAfter the destruction of this family, the affairs of Rashid fell into\nirretrievable confusion. Treason, revolt, and rebellion assailed him in\ndifferent parts of the empire. He himself became a prey to disease, and\nwas tortured by unavailing remorse. If any one blamed the Barmecides\nin his presence he would say: \"Cease to blame them or fill the void.\"\nSo great was the disaffection aroused by his treatment of them that he\nremoved the seat of government from Bagdad to Rakkah, on the Euphrates.\n\nYahya, the father of Jafar and Fadhl, died in prison, A.D. 805. On his\nbody was found a paper containing these words: \"The accuser has gone\non before to the tribunal, and the accused shall follow soon. The Cadi\nwill be that just Judge who never errs and who needs no witnesses.\"\nThis, being reported to Rashid, deepened his gloom, which began to\nwear the appearance of madness. One morning his physician, finding\nhim greatly discomposed, inquired the reason. Rashid replied: \"I will\ndescribe to thee what presented itself to my imagination. Methought I\nsaw an arm suddenly extend itself from beneath my pillow, holding in\nthe palm of the hand a quantity of red earth, while a voice addressed\nme in the following words: 'Haroun, behold this handful of earth; it is\nthat in which they are about to bury thee.' I demanded to know where I\nwas about to find my grave, and the voice replied: 'At Tus.' The arm\ndisappeared and I awoke.\"\n\nShortly after this Rashid, though suffering from the disease which was\nto end his life, set out to put down a rebellion in Transoxiana. When\none of the captured rebel leaders was brought into his presence, he\nordered him to be cut to pieces limb by limb on the spot.\n\nWhen the execution was over Rashid fell into a swoon, and, on\nrecovering himself, asked his physician if he did not recollect the\ndream which had occurred to him at Rakkah, for they were now in the\nneighborhood of Tus. He also desired his chamberlain Mesrour to bring\nhim a sample of the native earth of the country. When Mesrour returned\nwith his naked arm extended, Rashid immediately exclaimed: \"Behold the\narm and the earth, precisely as they appeared in my dream!\"\n\nThe Caliph died at midnight the following Saturday, March 23, A.D. 809.\n\n\nTHE CALIPH AL MAMOUN\n\nWhen Haroun al Rashid died he left the empire to his sons Emin and\nMamoun, giving the former Irak and Syria, and the latter Khorassan and\nPersia. Emin had the title of Caliph, to which Mamoun was to succeed.\nWar broke out between the brothers; Emin fled from Bagdad, but was\ncaptured and slain, and his head sent to Mamoun in Khorassan, who wept\nat the sight of it. He had, however, previously, when his general Tahir\nsent to him requesting to know what to do with Emin in case he caught\nhim, sent to the general a shirt with no opening in it for the head.\nBy this Tahir knew that he wished Emin to be put to death, and acted\naccordingly.\n\nThe Caliph, however, bore a grudge against Tahir for the death of his\nbrother, as was shown by the following circumstance: Tahir went one\nday to ask some favor from Al Mamoun; the latter granted it, and then\nwept till his eyes were bathed in tears. \"Commander of the Faithful,\"\nsaid Tahir, \"why do you weep? May God never cause you to shed a tear!\nThe universe obeys you, and you have obtained your utmost wishes.\" \"I\nweep not,\" replied the Caliph, \"from any humiliation which may have\nbefallen me, neither do I weep from grief, but my mind is never free\nfrom cares.\"\n\nThese words gave great uneasiness to Tahir, and, on retiring, he said\nto Husain, the eunuch who waited at the door of the Caliph's private\napartment: \"I wish you to ask the Commander of the Faithful why he wept\non seeing me.\" On reaching home Tahir sent Husain one hundred thousand\ndirhems. Some time afterward, when Al Mamoun was alone and in a good\nhumor, Husain said to him: \"Why did you weep when Tahir came to see\nyou?\" \"What is that to you?\" replied the Prince. \"It made me sad to\nsee you weep,\" answered the eunuch. \"I shall tell you the reason,\" the\nCaliph said; \"but if you ever allow it to pass your lips, I shall have\nyour head taken off.\" \"O my master,\" the eunuch replied, \"did I ever\ndisclose any of your secrets?\" \"I was thinking of my brother Emin,\"\nsaid the Caliph, \"and of the misfortune which befell him, so that I was\nnearly choked with weeping; but Tahir shall not escape me! I shall make\nhim feel what he will not like.\"\n\nHusain related this to Tahir, who immediately rode off to the Vizier\nAbi Khalid, and said to him: \"I am not parsimonious in my gratitude,\nand a service rendered to me is never lost; contrive to have me removed\naway from Al Mamoun.\" \"I shall,\" replied Abi Khalid. \"Come to me\nto-morrow morning.\" He then rode off to Al Mamoun, and said: \"I was\nnot able to sleep last night.\" \"Why so?\" asked the Caliph. \"Because\nyou have entrusted Ghassan with the government of Khorassan, and his\nfriends are very few, and I fear that ruin awaits him.\" \"And whom do\nyou think a proper person for it?\" said Al Mamoun. \"Tahir,\" replied Abi\nKhalid. \"He is ambitious,\" observed the Caliph. \"I will answer for his\nconduct,\" said the other.\n\nAl Mamoun then sent for Tahir, and named him governor of Khorassan\non the spot; he made him also a present of an eunuch, to whom he had\njust given orders to poison his new master if he remarked anything\nsuspicious in his conduct. When Tahir was solidly established in his\ngovernment he ceased mentioning Al Mamoun's name in the public prayers\nas the reigning Caliph. A dispatch was immediately sent off by express\nto inform Al Mamoun of the circumstance, and the next morning Tahir\nwas found dead in his bed. It is said that the eunuch administered the\npoison to him in some sauce.\n\nAl Mamoun placed his two sons under the tuition of Al Farra, so that\nthey might be instructed in grammar. One day Al Farra rose to leave\nthe house, and the two young princes hastened to bring his shoes. They\nstruggled between themselves for the honor of offering them to him,\nand they finally agreed that each of them should present him with one\nslipper. As Al Mamoun had secret agents who informed him of everything\nthat passed, he learned what had taken place, and caused Al Farra to be\nbrought before him.\n\nWhen he entered, the Caliph said to him: \"Who is the most honored of\nmen?\" Al Farra answered: \"I know not any one more honored than the\nCommander of the Faithful.\" \"Nay,\" replied Al Mamoun, \"it is he who\narose to go out, and the two designated successors of the Commander of\nthe Faithful contended for the honor of presenting him his slippers,\nand at length agreed that each of them should offer him one.\"\n\nAl Farra answered: \"Commander of the Faithful, I should have prevented\nthem from doing so had I not been apprehensive of discouraging their\nminds in the pursuit of that excellence to which they ardently aspire.\nWe know by tradition that Ibn Abbas held the stirrups of Hasan and\nHusain, when they were getting on horseback after paying him a visit.\nOne of those who were present said to him: 'How is it that you hold the\nstirrups of these striplings, you who are their elder?' To which he\nreplied: 'Ignorant man! No one can appreciate the merit of people of\nmerit except a man of merit.'\"\n\nAl Mamoun then said to him: \"Had you prevented them, I should have\ndeclared you in fault. That which they have done is no debasement\nof their dignity; on the contrary, it exalts their merit. No man,\nthough great in rank, can be dispensed from three obligations: he must\nrespect his sovereign, venerate his father, and honor his preceptor.\nAs a reward for their conduct, I bestow upon them twenty thousand\ndinars ($50,000), and on you for the good education you give them, ten\nthousand dirhems\" ($2,500).\n\nWhen Al Mamoun was still in Khorassan, a revolt was raised against\nhim in Bagdad by his uncle, Ibrahim, the son of Mahdi. This prince\nhad great talent as a singer, and was a skilful performer on musical\ninstruments. Being of a dark complexion, which he inherited from his\nmother, Shikla, who was a negress, and of a large frame of body, he\nreceived the name of At-Tinnin (the Dragon). He was proclaimed Caliph\nat Bagdad during the absence of Al Mamoun. The cause which led the\npeople to renounce Al Mamoun and choose Ibrahim was that the former\nhad chosen as his successor one of the descendants of Ali, and in\ndoing so had ordered the public to cease wearing black, which was the\ndistinctive color of the Abbassides, the reigning family, and to put on\ngreen, the color of the family of Ali and their partizans.\n\nOn Mamoun's entry into Bagdad, Ibrahim fled disguised as a woman.\nHe was, however, detected and arrested by one of the negro police.\nWhen he was before Al Mamoun, who addressed him in ironic terms, he\nreplied: \"Prince of the believers, my crime gives you the right of\nretaliation, but 'forgiveness is near neighbor to piety.'[9] God has\nplaced you above all those who are generous, as he has placed me above\nall criminals in the magnitude of my crime. If you punish me you will\nbe just; if you pardon me you will be great.\" \"Then I pardon you,\" said\nMamoun, and prostrated himself in prayer.\n\nHe commanded, however, that Ibrahim should continue to wear the\n_burqa_, or long female veil in which he had fled, so that people might\nsee in what disguise he had been arrested; he ordered also that he\nshould be exposed to view in the palace courtyard; then he committed\nhim to police supervision, and finally, after some days of detention,\nset him free.\n\nThe following anecdote was related by Ibrahim regarding the time when\nhe was in hiding with a price set on his head: \"I went out one day at\nthe hour of noon without knowing whither I was going. I found myself in\na narrow street, which ended in a _cul-de-sac_, and noticed a negro\nstanding in front of the door of a house. I went straight to him, and\nasked if he could afford me shelter for a short time. He consented, and\nbade me enter. The hall was adorned with mats and leather cushions.\nThen he left me alone, closed the door, and departed. A suspicion\nflashed across my mind; this man knew that a price was set on my head,\nand had gone to denounce me.\n\n\"While I was revolving these gloomy thoughts, he returned with a\nservant bearing a tray loaded with victuals. 'May my life be a\nsacrifice for you,' he said. 'I am a barber, and therefore I have not\ntouched any of these things with my hand; do me the honor to partake of\nthem.' Hunger pressed me; I rose and obeyed. 'What about some wine?'\nhe asked. 'I do not detest it,' I replied. He brought some, and then\nsaid again: 'May my life be your ransom! Will you allow me to sit near\nyou and drink to your health?' I consented. After having emptied three\ncups, he opened a cupboard and took out a lute. 'Sir,' he said, 'it\ndoes not behoove a man of my low degree to beg you to sing, but your\nkindness prompts me to do so; if you deign to consent it will be a\ngreat honor for your slave.'\n\n\"'How do you know that I am a good singer?' I asked him. 'By Allah!'\nhe answered, with an air of astonishment, 'your reputation is too\ngreat for me not to know it: you are Ibrahim, the son of Mahdi, and a\nreward of a hundred thousand dirhems is promised by Al Mamoun to the\nman who will find you.' At these words I took the lute, and was about\nto commence, when he added: 'Sir, would you be so kind as first to sing\nthe piece which I shall choose?' When I consented he chose three airs\nin which I had no rival. Then I said to him: 'You know me, I admit;\nbut where did you learn to know these three airs?' 'I have been,' he\nanswered, 'in the service of Ishak, son of Ibrahim Mausili,[10] and I\nhave often heard him speak of the great singers and the airs in which\nthey excelled; but who could have guessed that I would hear you myself\nand in my own house?'\n\n\"I sang to him accordingly, and remained some time in his company,\ncharmed with his agreeable manners. At nightfall I took leave of him. I\nhad brought with me a purse full of gold pieces; I offered it to him,\npromising him a greater reward some day. This is strange,' he said; 'it\nis rather I who should offer you all I possess, and implore you to do\nme the honor to accept it. Only respect has restrained me from doing\nso.' He refused, accordingly, to receive anything from me; but he went\nout with me and put me on the road to the place whither I wished to go.\nThen he went off, and I have never seen him since.\"\n\n\n_Al Mamoun and Ibrahim, the Son of Mahdi_\n\nOne day ten inhabitants of Basra were denounced to Al Mamoun as\nheretics who held the doctrine of Manes (Manich\u00e6ans) and the two\nprinciples of light and darkness. He ordered them to be brought into\nhis presence. A parasite, who saw them being taken, said to himself:\n\"Here are folk who are going off for a jollification.\" He slipped in\namong them, and accompanied them without perceiving who they were\ntill they reached the boat in which their guards made them embark.\n\"Doubtless this is a pleasure party!\" he exclaimed, and went on board\nwith them. Soon, however, the guards brought chains and fettered the\nwhole band, including the parasite, who said to himself: \"My greediness\nhas ended by making me a prisoner.\" Then he addressed the seniors of\nthe band: \"Pardon me,\" he said; \"may I ask who you are?\" \"Tell us,\nrather, who _you_ are,\" they answered, \"and whether we may reckon you\namong our brothers.\" \"God knows I scarcely know you,\" he replied. \"As\nfor me, to tell the truth, I am a professional parasite. When I left\nmy home this morning I happened to fall in with you. Struck with your\nagreeable appearance and good manners, I said to myself: 'Here are some\nwell-to-do people going to enjoy themselves.' Consequently I joined\nyour company, and took my place beside you as though I were one of you.\nWhen we reached the boat, which was provided with carpets and cushions,\nand I saw all these bags and well-filled baskets, I thought: 'They are\ngoing for an outing in some park or pleasure-ground; this is a lucky\nday for me.'\n\n\"I was still congratulating myself when the guards came and fettered\nyou, and me with you. I now feel quite bewildered; tell me, therefore,\nwhat it is all about.\" These words amused the prisoners, and made them\nsmile. They replied: \"Now that you are on the list of the suspected,\nand are chained, know that we are Manich\u00e6ans who have been denounced\nto Mamoun, and are being taken to him. He will ask us who we are, will\nquestion us concerning our belief, and will exhort us to repent and\nto abjure our religion, proposing various tests to us; he will, for\nexample, show us an image of Manes, commanding us to spit upon it and\nto renounce him; he will command us to sacrifice a pheasant. Whoever\nwill do so will save his life; whoever refuses will be put to death.\nWhen you are called and put to the test you will say who you are and\nwhat your belief is, according as you feel prompted. But did you not\nsay you were a parasite? Now, such people have an ample store of\nanecdotes and stories; shorten our journey, then, by recounting some.\"\n\nAs soon as they arrived at Bagdad the prisoners were conducted into the\npresence of Mamoun. He called each in turn as his name was on the list;\nhe asked each concerning his sect, and urged them to renounce Manes,\nshowing them his image, and commanding them to spit on it. As they\nrefused, he had them handed over one by one to the executioner.\n\nAt last the parasite's turn came. But as the ten prisoners had been\ndone with and the list was exhausted, Mamoun asked the guards who he\nwas. \"Truly, we know nothing about him,\" they answered. \"We found him\namong them and brought him hither.\" \"Who are you?\" the Caliph asked\nhim. \"Prince of the believers,\" he said, \"may my wife be divorced if I\nunderstand what they are talking about! I am only a poor parasite.\" And\nhe told him his whole story from beginning to end.\n\nThe Caliph was much amused, and ordered the image of Manes to be\npresented to him; the parasite cursed and renounced the heretic\nheartily. Al Mamoun, however, was about to punish him for his temerity\nand impudence, when Ibrahim, the son of Mahdi, who was present, said:\n\"Sire, let this man off, and I will relate to you a kind of Bohemian\nadventure, of which I was the hero.\" The Caliph assented, and Ibrahim\ncontinued:\n\n\"Prince of the believers, I had gone out one day, and was roving at\nrandom through the streets of Bagdad, when I came to the porch of a\nlofty mansion, whence issued a delicious odor of spices and dressed\nmeats, by which I was strongly attracted. I addressed a passer-by, and\nasked to whom the house belonged. 'To a linen-merchant,' he answered.\n'What is his name?' I asked. 'Such a one, son of such a one,' was his\nreply. I lifted my eyes to the house. Through the lattice-work which\ncovered one of the windows I saw appear such a beautiful hand and wrist\nas I had never seen before. The charm of this apparition made me forget\nthe enticing odors, and I stood there troubled and perplexed. Finally,\nI asked the man, who had remained standing near, if the master of the\nhouse ever gave entertainments. 'Yes, I think he is giving one to-day,'\nhe answered; 'but his guests are merchants, staid and sober people like\nhimself.'\n\n\"We were thus engaged in talk when two persons of well-to-do appearance\ncame down the street toward us. 'There are his two guests,' the man\nsaid to me. 'What are their names and their fathers' names?' I asked.\nHe informed me, and I accosted them immediately, saying: 'May my\nlife be your sacrifice; your host is waiting impatiently for you.' I\nescorted them to the door as if I belonged to the house; they went in,\nand I followed. The master of the house perceived me, and, supposing\nthat I had been brought by his friends, received me graciously, and\nplaced me in the seat of honor. Then the meal was brought; it was well\nserved, and we did honor to the dishes, whose savor excelled their\nodor. When the food had been removed and we had washed our hands,\nour host led us into another hall richly adorned. He redoubled his\npoliteness toward me, and specially addressed his conversation to me.\nThe two guests believed me to be an intimate friend of his, while the\nhost treated me in this fashion because he believed I had been brought\nby his two friends.\n\n\"We had already emptied several cups when a young female slave came\nforward, as graceful as a willow-branch, and saluted us without\ntimidity. She was offered a cushion to sit upon, and a lute was brought\nto her, which she tuned with a skill which struck me. She then sang an\nair in a most enchanting fashion; so great was the skill and art with\nwhich she sang that I could not suppress a feeling of jealousy. 'Young\ngirl,' I said to her, 'you have still a good deal to learn.' These\nwords irritated her; she threw down the lute, and exclaimed to the\nhost: 'Since when do you admit to your intimacy such vexatious guests?'\n\n\"I repented of my remark when I saw the others look at me askance. 'Is\nthere a lute here?' I asked. 'Yes,' was the reply. They brought me one,\nwhich I tuned to my liking, and then sang. I had hardly finished when\nthe young slave cast herself at my feet, and, embracing them, said:\n'Sir, pardon me in the name of heaven; I have never heard that air sung\nso exquisitely.' Her master and those present followed her example\nin praising me; cheerfulness was restored, and the cups circulated\nrapidly. I sang again, and the enthusiasm of my hearers was roused to\nsuch a pitch that I thought they would take leave of their senses. I\nwaited awhile to let them recover themselves; then, taking my lute\nagain, I sang for the third time. 'By Allah!' cried the slave, 'that is\nwhat deserves to be called singing!'\n\n\"The others, however, were beginning to feel the effects of the wine;\nthe master of the house, who had a stronger head than his guests,\nentrusted them to the care of his own servants and of theirs, and had\nthem conveyed home. I remained alone with him. After we had emptied\nsome more cups, he said to me: 'Truly, sir, I consider the past days\nof my life, in which I did not know you, wasted. Kindly inform me\nwho you are.' He pressed me so much that at last I told him my name.\nImmediately he rose, kissed my hand, and said: 'I should have been\nsurprised, sir, had any one of a rank inferior to your own possessed\nsuch skill. To think one of the royal house was with me all the time,\nand I knew it not!' Being pressed by him to tell my story and what had\nattracted me to his house, I told him how I had stopped when I smelt\nthe odor of the food, and described the hand and wrist I had seen at\nthe window.\n\n\"He straightway called one of his female slaves and said: 'Go and\ntell So-and-so to come down.' He had all the slaves in succession\nbrought before me. After having examined their hands, I said: 'No! the\npossessor of the hand I saw is not among them.' 'By Allah!' said my\nhost, 'there are only my mother and my sister left! I will send for\nthem.' Such generosity and kindness of heart surprised me. I said to\nhim: 'May my life be your sacrifice! Before calling your mother, call\nyour sister; it is probably she of whom I am in search.' 'Very well,'\nhe said, and sent for her.\n\n\"As soon as I set eyes on her hand and wrist I cried: 'It is she, my\ndear host, it is she!' Without losing a moment, he ordered his servants\nto bring together ten respectable elderly men from the neighborhood.\nThey came; he then sent for a sum of twenty thousand dirhems in two\nbags, and, addressing the ten men, said: 'I take you to witness that\nI give my sister here in marriage to Ibrahim, son of Mahdi, and that\nI bestow upon her a dowry of twenty thousand dirhems.' His sister and\nI both gave our agreement to the marriage, after which I gave one of\nthe bags of money to my young wife, and distributed the other among\nthe witnesses, saying: 'Excuse me, but this is all I have by me at\npresent.' They accepted my present and retired.\n\n\"My host then proposed to prepare in his own house an apartment for us.\nSuch generosity and kindness made me feel quite embarrassed. I said\nthat I only desired a litter to convey my wife. He readily agreed, and\nsent along with it so magnificent a trousseau that it entirely fills\none of my houses.\"\n\nMamoun was astonished at the generosity of the merchant. He granted\nhis freedom and a rich present to the parasite, and ordered Ibrahim to\npresent his father-in-law at court. The latter became one of the most\nintimate courtiers and companions of the Caliph.\n\n\n_The Death of Al Mamoun_\n\nDuring Al Mamoun's last campaign against the Greek Emperor he arrived\nat the River Qushairah, and encamped on its banks. Charmed by the\nclearness and purity of its waters, and by the beauty and fertility\nof the surrounding country, he had a kind of arbor constructed by the\nbanks of the stream, intending to rest there some days. So clear was\nthe water that the inscription on a coin lying at the bottom could be\nclearly read; but it was so cold that it was impossible for any one to\nbathe in it.\n\nAll at once a fish, about a fathom in length and flashing like an ingot\nof silver, appeared in the water. The Caliph promised a reward to any\none who would capture it; an attendant went down, caught the fish and\nregained the shore, but as he approached the spot where Al Mamoun was\nsitting, the fish slipped from his grasp, fell into the water, and\nsank like a stone to the bottom. Some of the water was splashed on the\nCaliph's neck, chest, and arms, and wetted his clothes. The attendant\nwent down again, recaptured the fish, and placed it, wriggling, in\na napkin before the Caliph. Just as he had ordered it to be fried,\nAl Mamoun felt a sudden shiver, and could not move from the place.\nIn vain he was covered with rugs and skins; he trembled like a leaf,\nand exclaimed: \"I am cold! I am cold!\" He was carried into his tent,\ncovered with clothes, and a fire was lit, but he continued to complain\nof cold. When the fish had been cooked it was brought to him, but he\ncould neither taste nor touch it, so great was his suffering.\n\nAs he grew rapidly worse, his brother Mutasim questioned Bakhteshou\nand Ibn Masouyieh, his physicians, on his condition, and whether they\ncould do him any good. Ibn Masouyieh took one of the patient's hands\nand Bakhteshou the other, and felt his pulse together; the irregular\npulsations heralded his dissolution. Just then Al Mamoun awoke out of\nhis stupor; he opened his eyes, and caused some of the natives of the\nplace to be sent for, and questioned them regarding the stream and the\nlocality. When asked regarding the meaning of the name \"Qushairah\"\nthey replied that it signified \"Stretch out thy feet\" (_i.e._, \"die\").\nAl Mamoun then inquired the Arabic name of the country, and was told\n\"Rakkah.\" Now, the horoscope drawn at the moment of his birth announced\nthat he would die in a place of that name; therefore he had always\navoided residing in the city of Rakkah, fearing to die there. When he\nheard the answer given by these people, he felt sure that this was the\nplace predicted by his horoscope. Feeling himself becoming worse, he\ncommanded that he should be carried outside his tent in order to survey\nhis camp and his army once more. It was now night-time. As his gaze\nwandered over the long lines of the camp and the lights twinkling into\nthe distance, he cried: \"O thou whose reign will never end, have mercy\non him whose reign is now ending.\" He was then carried back to his bed.\nMutasim, seeing that he was sinking, commanded some one to whisper in\nhis ear the confession of the Mohammedan faith (\"There is no God but\nGod, and Mohammed is the Apostle of God\"). As the attendant was about\nto speak, in order that Al Mamoun might repeat the words after him,\nIbn Masouyieh said to him: \"Do not speak, for truly he could not now\ndistinguish between God and Manes.\" The dying man opened his eyes\u2014they\nseemed extraordinarily large, and shone with a wonderful luster; his\nhands clutched at the doctor; he tried to speak to him, but could not;\nthen his eyes turned toward heaven and filled with tears; finally his\ntongue was loosened, and he spoke: \"O thou who diest not, have mercy\non him who dies,\" and he expired immediately. His body was carried to\nTarsus and buried there.\n\n\nON MEDICINE\n\n(BY AVICENNA)\n\n\nMedicine considers the human body as to the means by which it is cured\nand by which it is driven away from health. The knowledge of anything,\nsince all things have causes, is not acquired or complete unless it\nis known by its causes. Therefore in medicine we ought to know the\ncauses of sickness and health. And because health and sickness and\ntheir causes are sometimes manifest, and sometimes hidden and not to be\ncomprehended except by the study of symptoms, we must also study the\nsymptoms of health and disease. Now it is established in the sciences\nthat no knowledge is acquired save through the study of its causes and\nbeginnings, if it has had causes and beginnings; nor completed except\nby knowledge of its accidents and accompanying essentials. Of these\ncauses there are four kinds: material, efficient, formal, and final.\n\nMaterial causes, on which health and sickness depend, are\u2014the affected\nmember, which is the immediate subject, and the humors; and in these\nare the elements. And these two are subjects that, according to their\nmixing together, alter. In the composition and alteration of the\nsubstance which is thus composed, a certain unity is attained.\n\nEfficient causes are the causes changing and preserving the conditions\nof the human body; as airs, and what are united with them; and\nevacuation and retention; and districts and cities, and habitable\nplaces, and what are united with them; and changes in age and\ndiversities in it, and in races and arts and manners, and bodily and\nanimate movings and restings, and sleepings and wakings on account of\nthem; and in things which befall the human body when they touch it, and\nare either in accordance or at variance with nature.\n\nFormal causes are physical constitutions, and combinations and virtues\nwhich result from them.\n\nPinal causes are operations. And in the science of operations lies the\nscience of virtues, as we have set forth. These are the subjects of\nthe doctrine of medicine; whence one inquires concerning the disease\nand curing of the human body. One ought to attain perfection in this\nresearch; namely, how health may be preserved and sickness cured. And\nthe causes of this kind are rules in eating and drinking, and the\nchoice of air, and the measure of exercise and rest; and doctoring with\nmedicines and doctoring with the hands. All this with physicians is\naccording to three species: the well, the sick, and the medium of whom\nwe have spoken.\n\n\nTHE EXISTING MONUMENTS\n\nOR \"CHRONOLOGY\" OF AL BIRUNI\n\nIN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL\n\n\nPraise be to God who is high above all things, and blessings be on\nMohammed, the elected, the best of all created beings, and on his\nfamily, the guides of righteousness and truth.\n\nOne of the exquisite plans in God's management of the affairs of his\ncreation, one of the glorious benefits which he has bestowed upon\nthe entirety of his creatures, is that categorical decree of his,\nnot to leave in his world any period without a just guide, whom he\nconstitutes as a protector for his creatures, with whom to take refuge\nin unfortunate and sorrowful cases and accidents, and upon whom to\ndevolve their affairs, when they seem indissolubly perplexed, so that\nthe order of the world should rest upon\u2014and its existence be supported\nby\u2014his genius. And this decree (that the affairs of mankind should be\ngoverned by a prophet) has been settled upon them as a religious duty,\nand has been linked together with the obedience toward God, and the\nobedience toward his prophet, through which alone a reward in future\nlife may be obtained\u2014in accordance with the word of him, who is truth\nand justice\u2014and his word is judgment and decree, \"O ye believers, obey\nGod, and obey the prophets, and those among yourselves who are invested\nwith the command.\"\n\nERA OF THE CREATION.\u2014The first and most famous of the beginnings of\nantiquity is the fact of the creation of mankind. But among those\nwho have a book of divine revelation, such as the Jews, Christians,\nMagians, and their various sects, there exists such a difference of\nopinion as to the nature of this fact, and as to the question how to\ndate from it, the like of which is not allowable for eras. Everything,\nthe knowledge of which is connected with creation and with the history\nof bygone generations, is mixed up with falsifications and myths,\nbecause it belongs to a far remote age; because a long interval\nseparates us therefrom, and because the student is incapable of keeping\nit in memory, and of fixing it (so as to preserve it from confusion).\nGod says: \"Have they not got the stories about those who were before\nthem gone but God knows them.\" (Surah ix, 71.) Therefore it is becoming\nnot to admit any account of a similar subject, if it is not attested\nby a book, the correctness of which is relied upon, or by a tradition,\nfor which the conditions of authenticity, according to the prevalent\nopinion, furnish grounds of proof.\n\nIf we now first consider this era, we find a considerable divergence of\nopinion regarding it among these nations. For the Persians and Magians\nthink that the duration of the world is 12,000 years, corresponding\nto the number of signs in the zodiac and of the months; and that\nZoroaster, the founder of their law, thought that of those there had\npassed, till the time of his appearance, 3,000 years, intercalated with\nthe day-quarters, for he himself had made their computation, and had\ntaken into account that defect, which had accrued to them on account\nof the day-quarters, till the time when they were intercalated and\nmade to agree with real time. From his appearance to the beginning of\nthe Aera Alexandri, they count 258 years; therefore they count from\nthe beginning of the world to Alexander 3,258 years. However, if we\ncompute the years from the creation of Gayomarth, whom they hold to\nbe the first man, and sum up the years of the reign of each of his\nsuccessors\u2014for the rule of Iran remained with his descendants without\ninterruption\u2014this number is, for the time till Alexander, the sum\ntotal of 3,354 years. So the specification of the single items of the\naddition does not agree with the sum total.\n\nA section of the Persians is of the opinion that those past 3,000\nyears which we have mentioned are to be counted from the creation\nof Gayomarth; because, before that, already six thousand years had\nelapsed\u2014a time during which the celestial globe stood motionless, the\nnatures (of created beings) did not interchange, the elements did not\nmix\u2014during which there was no growth, and no decay, and the earth was\nnot cultivated. Thereupon, when the celestial globe was set a-going,\nthe first man came into existence on the equator, so that part of him\nin longitudinal direction was on the north, and part south of the line.\nThe animals were reproduced, and mankind commenced to reproduce their\nown species and to multiply; the atoms of the elements mixed, so as to\ngive rise to growth and decay; the earth was cultivated, and the world\nwas arranged in conformity with fixed forms.\n\nThe Jews and Christians differ widely on this subject; for, according\nto the doctrine of the Jews, the time between Adam and Alexander is\n3,448 years, whilst, according to the Christian doctrine it is 5,180\nyears. The Christians reproach the Jews with having diminished the\nnumber of years with the view of making the appearance of Jesus fall\ninto the fourth millennium in the middle of the seven millennia, which\nare, according to their view, the time of the duration of the world, so\nas not to coincide with that time at which, as the prophets after Moses\nhad prophesied, the birth of Jesus from a pure virgin at the end of\ntime, was to take place.\n\nERA OF THE DELUGE.\u2014The next following era is the era of the great\ndeluge, in which everything perished at the time of Noah. Here, too,\nthere is such a difference of opinions, and such a confusion, that you\nhave no chance of deciding as to the correctness of the matter, and do\nnot even feel inclined to investigate thoroughly its historical truth.\nThe reason is, in the first instance, the difference regarding the\nperiod between the Aera Adami and the Deluge, which we have mentioned\nalready; and secondly, that difference, which we shall have to mention,\nregarding the period between the Deluge and the Aera Alexandri. For the\nJews derive from the Torah, and the following books, for this latter\nperiod 1,792 years, whilst the Christians derive from _their_ Torah for\nthe same period 2,938 years.\n\nThe Persians, and the great mass of the Magians, deny the Deluge\naltogether; they believe that the rule of the world has remained with\nthem without any interruption ever since Gayomarth Gilshah, who was,\naccording to them, the first man. In denying the Deluge, the Indians,\nChinese, and the various nations of the East, concur with them. Some,\nhowever, of the Persians admit the fact of the Deluge, but they\ndescribe it in a different way from what it is described in the books\nof the prophets. They say, a partial deluge occurred in Syria and the\nWest at the time of Tahmurath, but it did not extend over the whole\nof the then civilized world, and only a few nations were drowned in\nit; it did not extend beyond the peak of Hulwan, and did not reach the\nempires of the East. Further, they relate, that the inhabitants of the\nWest, when they were warned by their sages, constructed buildings of\nthe kind of the two pyramids that have been built in Egypt, saying: \"If\nthe disaster comes from heaven, we shall go into them; if it comes from\nthe earth, we shall ascend above them.\" People are of opinion that the\ntraces of the water of the Deluge, and the efforts of the waves, are\nstill visible on these two pyramids half-way up, above which the water\ndid not rise. Another report says, that Joseph had made them a magazine\nwhere he deposited the bread and victuals for the years of drought.\n\nIt is related that Tahmurath on receiving the warning of the Deluge\u2014231\nyears before the Deluge\u2014ordered his people to select a place of good\nair and soil in his realm. Now they did not find a place that answered\nbetter to this description than Ispahan. Thereupon, he ordered all\nscientific books to be preserved for posterity and to be buried in a\npart of that place least exposed to obnoxious influences. In favor of\nthis report we may state that in our time in Jay, the city of Ispahan,\nthere have been discovered hills, which, on being excavated, disclosed\nhouses, filled with many loads of that tree-bark with which arrows and\nshields are covered, and which is called Tuz, bearing inscriptions, of\nwhich no one was able to say what they are and what they mean.\n\nThese discrepancies in their reports inspire doubts in the student,\nand make him inclined to believe what is related in some books, that\nGayomarth was not the first man, but that he was Gomer ben Yaphet ben\nNoah, that he was a prince to whom a long life was given, that he\nsettled on the Mount Dumbawand, where he founded an empire, and that\nfinally his power became very great, whilst mankind was still living in\nelementary conditions, similar to those at the time of creation and of\nthe first stage of the development of the world. Then he, and some of\nhis children, took control of the guidance of the world. Toward the end\nof his life, he became tyrannical, and called himself Adam, saying: \"If\nanybody calls me by another name than this, I shall cut off his head.\"\n\n\n\n\nARABIC LITERATURE\n\nPHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION\n\nAL GHAZALI'S \"RESCUER FROM ERROR\"\n\n\n \"_If all the other books of Islam were destroyed, the loss would be\n small if but Al Ghazali's work were preserved._\"\n MOHAMMEDAN PROVERB.\n\n \"_The variety of doctrines and sects which divide men are like a deep\n ocean strewed with shipwrecks, from which very few escape._\"\n AL GHAZALI IN \"THE RESCUER FROM ERROR.\"\n\n \"_Al Ghazali is the greatest, certainly the most sympathetic,\n figure in the history of Islam._\"\n PROF. D. B. MACDONALD\n\n\nPHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION\n\n(INTRODUCTION)\n\n\nWhen we move with Al Ghazali or Zamakhshari through the deeply\nsearching paths of Arab philosophy, we feel that we are following the\nguidance of men whom modern thought has in no way outgrown. They lacked\nmuch of our scientific knowledge, but none of our reasoning powers.\nAl Ghazali has sounded all philosophy's profundities of thought, and\nZamakhshari has soared to theology's highest peak of adoration.\n\nAl Ghazali (1049-1111), as we have already said, is often ranked next\nto Mohammed as a teacher and uplifter of his Arab brethren. He was a\nnative of Khorassan, named Abu Hamid Mohammed. Arab custom, however,\nseldom designates a noted man by his birth-name. He is most often\nhonored with the distinctive prefix \"Al,\" which means \"The,\" much\nas we use the word as a superlative. Thus just as Holy Writ speaks\nof The Nazarine, so Al Ghazali probably means \"The Man of Ghazali,\"\nthe village of his birth, though the name may also be derived from\nhis father's trade in _gazzel_ (thread), and so may mean \"The Thread\nMerchant.\" As a youth Al Ghazali studied much and traveled widely; and\nhis wanderings led, as did those of most men in his day, to Bagdad.\nHere he became famed as the foremost philosophic teacher of the age.\nBut his own philosophy did not satisfy him. Withdrawing from his\nofficial position on the ground of ill-health, he wandered over the\nworld for eleven years, seeking true wisdom. He felt at last that he\nhad found it in the ecstasy of religious faith; and then, resuming\nhis public teaching, he led an earnest reform in Mohammedanism,\nbringing his people to look more deeply and nobly upon their faith. So\nconvincing were his appeals and explanations that his people called\nhim \"The Decisive Argument for the Faith.\"\n\nAl Ghazali's own search for truth is told in his remarkable little\nbook here given in full, \"The Rescuer from Error,\" in which the\nRescuer is Mohammed with his Koran. Al Ghazali wrote many other works,\nreligious and philosophical, but none which have so profoundly touched\nmodern readers as this simple, earnest account of himself. It is a\n\"confession\" worthy to rank with the \"Confessions of Saint Augustine,\"\nor any greatest work of its own type. Al Ghazali soon afterward\nwithdrew from public life, hoping to teach men more by his books than\nby spoken words, and he died in seclusion in his native home.\n\nGreat as was the influence of Al Ghazali, he was scarcely a typical\nMohammedan teacher. He was, as his book will show, an independent\nthinker who reached his firm religious faith only after seeking\nthrough all systems of philosophy. He had tasted of the emptiness of\nmaterialism, and had faced the black shadows of despair. Of far other\ntype was Zamakhshari, the most renowned of commentators on the Koran.\nHe seems never to have doubted the divinity of the holy book. He spent\nyears in studying it, and while he used keen intelligence in weighing\nits every word, and even shocked his narrower coreligionists by the\nfreedom of his criticism, yet it was always criticism based on the\nassumption that of course the Koran was right, and that the only danger\nlay in that men might blunder in interpreting its meaning. He therefore\ncalled his celebrated commentary the \"Kashshaf,\" or \"Discoverer of\nTruth.\"\n\nWe give here the noted opening of this work. The main attack upon the\nauthor by the orthodox Mohammedans of a later age was because the\ncommentary began with the words, \"Praise be to God who created the\nKoran,\" whereas the orthodox regarded the book as always existent with\nGod, so that instead of \"created\" they would have had the writer say\nthat God \"revealed\" the Koran.\n\nZamakhshari (1070-1143) was born and died in Khiva in Turkestan. He\nwas, however, another of the many youths eager for knowledge who took\nadvantage of the wide-spread dominion of the Arab caliphs to travel far\nthrough the East. He journeyed indeed through such hardships that he\nlost a leg, frozen in a snowstorm; and he dwelt so long in Mecca, the\nholy city, that he was called the \"neighbor of God.\" It was from such\nearnest men as Zamakhshari and Al Ghazali, the \"neighbor of God\" and\nthe \"Decisive Argument,\" that the Mohammedan religion learned its final\nform, and the reader will be ignoring the real and manifest energy and\nintellect of these great men if he dismisses their religion lightly as\na teaching easily to be disproved or childishly defective.\n\n\n\n\nPHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION\n\nTHE RESCUER FROM ERROR\n\nIN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD\n\n\nQuoth the Imam Ghazali:\n\nGlory be to God, whose praise should precede every writing and every\nspeech! May the blessings of God rest on Mohammed, his Prophet and\nhis Apostle, on his family and companions, by whose guidance error is\nescaped!\n\nYou have asked me, O brother in the faith, to expound the aim and\nthe mysteries of religious sciences, the boundaries and depths\nof theological doctrines. You wish to know my experiences while\ndisentangling truth lost in the medley of sects and divergencies\nof thought, and how I have dared to climb from the low levels of\ntraditional belief to the topmost summit of assurance. You desire to\nlearn what I have borrowed, first of all from scholastic theology; and\nsecondly from the method of the Ta'limites, who, in seeking truth, rest\nupon the authority of a leader; and why, thirdly, I have been led to\nreject philosophic systems; and finally, what I have accepted of the\ndoctrine of the Sufis, and the sum total of truth which I have gathered\nin studying every variety of opinion. You ask me why, after resigning\nat Bagdad a teaching post which attracted a number of hearers, I have,\nlong afterward, accepted a similar one at Nishapur. Convinced as I am\nof the sincerity which prompts your inquiries, I proceed to answer\nthem, invoking the help and protection of God.\n\nKnow then, my brothers (may God direct you in the right way), that the\ndiversity in beliefs and religions, and the variety of doctrines and\nsects which divide men, are like a deep ocean strewn with shipwrecks,\nfrom which very few escape safe and sound. Each sect, it is true,\nbelieves itself in possession of the truth and of salvation, \"each\nparty,\" as the Koran saith, \"rejoices in its own creed\"; but as the\nchief of the apostles, whose word is always truthful, has told us, \"My\npeople will be divided into more than seventy sects, of whom only one\nwill be saved.\" This prediction, like all others of the Prophet, must\nbe fulfilled.\n\nFrom the period of adolescence, that is to say, previous to reaching\nmy twentieth year to the present time when I have passed my fiftieth,\nI have ventured into this vast ocean; I have fearlessly sounded its\ndepths, and like a resolute diver, I have penetrated its darkness and\ndared its dangers and abysses. I have interrogated the beliefs of\neach sect and scrutinized the mysteries of each doctrine, in order\nto disentangle truth from error and orthodoxy from heresy. I have\nnever met one who maintained the hidden meaning of the Koran without\ninvestigating the nature of his belief, nor a partizan of its exterior\nsense without inquiring into the results of his doctrine. There is\nno philosopher whose system I have not fathomed, nor theologian the\nintricacies of whose doctrine I have not followed out.\n\nSufism has no secrets into which I have not penetrated; the devout\nadorer of Deity has revealed to me the aim of his austerities; the\natheist has not been able to conceal from me the real reason of his\nunbelief. The thirst for knowledge was innate in me from an early age;\nit was like a second nature implanted by God, without any will on my\npart. No sooner had I emerged from boyhood than I had already broken\nthe fetters of tradition and freed myself from hereditary beliefs.\n\nHaving noticed how easily the children of Christians become Christians,\nand the children of Moslems embrace Islam, and remembering also the\ntraditional saying ascribed to the Prophet, \"Every child has in him\nthe germ of Islam, then his parents make him Jew, Christian, or\nZoroastrian,\" I was moved by a keen desire to learn what was this\ninnate disposition in the child, the nature of the accidental beliefs\nimposed on him by the authority of his parents and his masters,\nand finally the unreasoned convictions which he derives from their\ninstructions.\n\nStruck with the contradictions which I encountered in endeavoring to\ndisentangle the truth and falsehood of these opinions, I was led to\nmake the following reflection: \"The search after truth being the aim\nwhich I propose to myself, I ought in the first place to ascertain\nwhat are the bases of certitude.\" In the next place I recognized that\ncertitude is the clear and complete knowledge of things, such knowledge\nas leaves no room for doubt nor possibility of error and conjecture, so\nthat there remains no room in the mind for error to find an entrance.\nIn such a case it is necessary that the mind, fortified against all\npossibility of going astray, should embrace such a strong conviction\nthat, if, for example, any one possessing the power of changing a stone\ninto gold, or a stick into a serpent, should seek to shake the bases\nof this certitude, it would remain firm and immovable. Suppose, for\ninstance, a man should come and say to me, who am firmly convinced that\nten is more than three, \"No; on the contrary, three is more than ten,\nand, to prove it, I change this rod into a serpent,\" and supposing\nthat he actually did so, I should remain none the less convinced of\nthe falsity of his assertion, and although his miracle might arouse my\nastonishment, it would not instil any doubt into my belief.\n\nI then understood that all forms of knowledge which do not unite\nthese conditions (imperviousness to doubt, etc.) do not deserve any\nconfidence, because they are not beyond the reach of doubt, and what is\nnot impregnable to doubt can not constitute certitude.\n\n\n_The Subterfuges of the Sophists_\n\nI then examined what knowledge I possessed, and discovered that in\nnone of it, with the exception of sense-perceptions and necessary\nprinciples, did I enjoy that degree of certitude which I have just\ndescribed. I then sadly reflected as follows: \"We can not hope to find\ntruth except in matters which carry their evidence in themselves\u2014that\nis to say, in sense-perceptions and necessary principles; we must\ntherefore establish these on a firm basis. Is my absolute confidence\nin sense-perceptions and on the infallibility of necessary principles\nanalogous to the confidence which I formerly possessed in matters\nbelieved on the authority of others? Is it only analogous to the\nreliance most people place on their organs of vision, or is it\nrigorously true without admixture of illusion or doubt?\"\n\nI then set myself earnestly to examine the notions we derive from the\nevidence of the senses and from sight in order to see if they could be\ncalled in question. The result of a careful examination was that my\nconfidence in them was shaken. Our sight, for instance, perhaps the\nbest practised of all our senses, observes a shadow, and finding it\napparently stationary pronounces it devoid of movement. Observation\nand experience, however, show subsequently that a shadow moves not\nsuddenly, it is true, but gradually and imperceptibly, so that it is\nnever really motionless.\n\nAgain, the eye sees a star and believes it as large as a piece of gold,\nbut mathematical calculations prove, on the contrary, that it is larger\nthan the earth. These notions, and all others which the senses declare\ntrue, are subsequently contradicted and convicted of falsity in an\nirrefragable manner by the verdict of reason.\n\nThen I reflected in myself: \"Since I can not trust to the evidence\nof my senses, I must rely only on intellectual notions based on\nfundamental principles, such as the following axioms: 'Ten is more\nthan three. Affirmation and negation can not coexist together. A thing\ncan not both be created and also existent from eternity, living and\nannihilated simultaneously, at once necessary and impossible.'\" To this\nthe notions I derived from my senses made the following objections:\n\"Who can guarantee you that you can trust to the evidence of reason\nmore than to that of the senses? You believed in our testimony till it\nwas contradicted by the verdict of reason, otherwise you would have\ncontinued to believe it to this day. Well, perhaps, there is above\nreason another judge who, if he appeared, would convict reason of\nfalsehood, just as reason has confuted us. And if such a third arbiter\nis not yet apparent, it does not follow that he does not exist.\"\n\nTo this argument I remained some time without reply; a reflection drawn\nfrom the phenomena of sleep deepened my doubt. \"Do you not see,\" I\nreflected, \"that while asleep you assume your dreams to be indisputably\nreal? Once awake, you recognize them for what they are\u2014baseless\nchimeras. Who can assure you, then, of the reliability of notions\nwhich, when awake, you derive from the senses and from reason? In\nrelation to your present state they may be real; but it is possible\nalso that you may enter upon another state of being which will bear the\nsame relation to your present state as this does to your condition when\nasleep. In that new sphere you will recognize that the conclusions of\nreason are only chimeras.\"\n\nThis possible condition is, perhaps, that which the Sufis call\n\"ecstasy\" (_hal_), that is to say, according to them, a state in which,\nabsorbed in themselves and in the suspension of sense-perceptions, they\nhave visions beyond the reach of intellect. Perhaps also Death is that\nstate, according to that saying of the prince of prophets: \"Men are\nasleep; when they die, they wake.\" Our present life in relation to the\nfuture is perhaps only a dream, and man, once dead, will see things in\ndirect opposition to those now before his eyes; he will then understand\nthat word of the Koran, \"To-day we have removed the veil from thine\neyes and thy sight is keen.\"\n\nSuch thoughts as these threatened to shake my reason, and I sought to\nfind an escape from them. But how? In order to disentangle the knot\nof this difficulty, a proof was necessary. Now a proof must be based\non primary assumptions, and it was precisely these of which I was in\ndoubt. This unhappy state lasted about two months, during which I\nwas, not, it is true, explicitly or by profession, but morally and\nessentially, a thorough-going skeptic.\n\nGod at last deigned to heal me of this mental malady; my mind recovered\nsanity and equilibrium, the primary assumptions of reason recovered\nwith me all their stringency and force. I owed my deliverance, not\nto a concatenation of proofs and arguments, but to the light which\nGod caused to penetrate into my heart\u2014the light which illuminates the\nthreshold of all knowledge. To suppose that certitude can be only based\nupon formal arguments is to limit the boundless mercy of God. Some one\nasked the Prophet the explanation of this passage in the Divine Book:\n\"God opens to Islam the heart of him whom he chooses to direct.\" \"That\nis spoken,\" replied the Prophet, \"of the light which God sheds in the\nheart.\" \"And how can man recognize that light?\" he was asked. \"By his\ndetachment from this world of illusion and by a secret drawing toward\nthe eternal world,\" the Prophet replied.\n\nOn another occasion he said: \"God has created his creatures in\ndarkness, and then has shed upon them his light.\" It is by the help\nof this light that the search for truth must be carried on. As by\nhis mercy this light descends from time to time among men, we must\nceaselessly be on the watch for it. This is also corroborated by\nanother saying of the Apostle: \"God sends upon you, at certain times,\nbreathings of his grace; be prepared for them.\"\n\nMy object in this account is to make others understand with what\nearnestness we should search for truth, since it leads to results we\nnever dreamed of. Primary assumptions have not got to be sought for,\nsince they are always present to our minds; if we engage in such a\nsearch, we only find them persistently elude our grasp. But those who\npush their investigation beyond ordinary limits are safe from the\nsuspicion of negligence in pursuing what is within their reach.\n\n\n_The Different Kinds of Seekers after Truth_\n\nWhen God in the abundance of his mercy had healed me of this malady, I\nascertained that those who are engaged in the search for truth may be\ndivided into three groups.\n\nI. Scholastic theologians, who profess to follow theory and speculation.\n\nII. The philosophers, who profess to rely upon formal logic.\n\nIII. The Sufis, who call themselves the elect of God and possessors of\nintuition and knowledge of the truth by means of ecstasy.\n\n\"The truth,\" I said to myself, \"must be found among these three classes\nof men who devote themselves to the search for it. If it escapes them,\none must give up all hope of attaining it. Having once surrendered\nblind belief, it is impossible to return to it, for the essence of such\nbelief is to be unconscious of itself. As soon as this unconsciousness\nceases it is shattered like a glass whose fragments can not be again\nreunited except by being cast again into the furnace and refashioned.\"\nDetermined to follow these paths and to search out these systems to\nthe bottom, I proceeded with my investigations in the following order:\nScholastic theology; philosophical systems; and, finally Sufism.\n\n\n_The Aim of Scholastic Theology and Its Results_\n\nCommencing with theological science, I carefully studied and meditated\nupon it. I read the writings of the authorities in this department and\nmyself composed several treatises. I recognized that this science,\nwhile sufficing its own requirements, could not assist me in arriving\nat the desired goal. In short, its object is to preserve the purity\nof orthodox beliefs from all heretical innovation. God, by means of\nhis apostle, has revealed to his creatures a belief which is true as\nregards their temporal and eternal interests; the chief articles of it\nare laid down in the Koran and in the traditions. Subsequently, Satan\nsuggested to innovators principles contrary to those of orthodoxy; they\nlistened greedily to his suggestions, and the purity of the faith was\nmenaced. God then raised up a school of theologians and inspired them\nwith the desire to defend orthodoxy by means of a system of proofs\nadapted to unveil the devices of the heretics and to foil the attacks\nwhich they made on the doctrines established by tradition.\n\nSuch is the origin of scholastic theology. Many of its adepts, worthy\nof their high calling, valiantly defended the orthodox faith by proving\nthe reality of prophecy and the falsity of heretical innovations.\nBut, in order to do so, they had to rely upon a certain number of\npremises, which they accepted in common with their adversaries, and\nwhich authority and universal consent or simply the Koran and the\ntraditions obliged them to accept. Their principal effort was to expose\nthe self-contradictions of their opponents and to confute them by\nmeans of the premises which they had professed to accept. Now a method\nof argumentation like this has little value for one who only admits\nself-evident truths. Scholastic theology could not consequently satisfy\nme nor heal the malady from which I suffered.\n\nIt is true that in its later development theology was not content to\ndefend dogma; it betook itself to the study of first principles, of\nsubstances, accidents and the laws which govern them; but through\nwant of a thoroughly scientific basis, it could not advance far in\nits researches, nor succeed in dispelling entirely the overhanging\nobscurity which springs from diversities of belief.\n\nI do not, however, deny that it has had a more satisfactory result for\nothers; on the contrary, I admit that it has; but it is by introducing\nthe principle of authority in matters which are not self-evident.\nMoreover, my object is to explain my own mental attitude and not to\ndispute with those who have found healing for themselves. Remedies vary\naccording to the nature of the disease; those which benefit some may\ninjure others.\n\n\nPHILOSOPHY.\u2014How far it is open to censure or not\u2014On what points its\nadherents may be considered believers or unbelievers, orthodox or\nheretical\u2014What they have borrowed from the true doctrine to render\ntheir chimerical theories acceptable\u2014Why the minds of men swerve from\nthe truth\u2014What criteria are available wherewith to separate the pure\ngold from the alloy in their systems.\n\nI proceeded from the study of scholastic theology to that of\nphilosophy. It was plain to me that, in order to discover where the\nprofessors of any branch of knowledge have erred, one must make a\nprofound study of that science; must equal, nay surpass, those who\nknow most of it, so as to penetrate into secrets of it unknown to\nthem. Only by this method can they be completely answered, and of this\nmethod I can find no trace in the theologians of Islam. In theological\nwritings devoted to the refutation of philosophy I have only found\na tangled mass of phrases full of contradictions and mistakes, and\nincapable of deceiving, I will not say a critical mind, but even the\ncommon crowd. Convinced that to dream of refuting a doctrine before\nhaving thoroughly comprehended it was like shooting at an object in the\ndark, I devoted myself zealously to the study of philosophy; but in\nbooks only and without the aid of a teacher. I gave up to this work all\nthe leisure remaining from teaching and from composing works on law.\nThere were then attending my lectures three hundred of the students of\nBagdad. With the help of God, these studies, carried on in secret, so\nto speak, put me in a condition to thoroughly comprehend philosophical\nsystems within a space of two years. I then spent about a year in\nmeditating on these systems after having thoroughly understood them. I\nturned them over and over in my mind till they were thoroughly clear\nof all obscurity. In this manner I acquired a complete knowledge of\nall their subterfuges and subtleties, of what was truth and what was\nillusion in them.\n\nI now proceed to give a _r\u00e9sum\u00e9_ of these doctrines. I ascertained that\nthey were divided into different varieties, and that their adherents\nmight be ranged under diverse heads. All, in spite of their diversity,\nare marked with the stamp of infidelity and irreligion, although there\nis a considerable difference between the ancient and modern, between\nthe first and last of these philosophers, according as they have missed\nor approximated to the truth in a greater or less degree.\n\n\n_Concerning the Philosophical Sects and the Stigma of Infidelity Which\nAttaches to Them All_\n\nThe philosophical systems, in spite of their number and variety, may be\nreduced to three: (1) the Materialists; (2) the Naturalists; (3) the\nTheists.\n\n(1) _The Materialists._ They reject an intelligent and omnipotent\nCreator and disposer of the universe. In their view the world exists\nfrom all eternity and had no author. The animal comes from semen and\nsemen from the animal; so it had always been and will always be; those\nwho maintain this doctrine are atheists.\n\n(2) _The Naturalists._ These devote themselves to the study of nature\nand of the marvelous phenomena of the animal and vegetable world.\nHaving carefully analyzed animal organs with the help of anatomy,\nstruck with the wonders of God's work and with the wisdom therein\nrevealed, they are forced to admit the existence of a wise Creator\nwho knows the end and purpose of everything. And certainly no one can\nstudy anatomy and the wonderful mechanism of living things without\nbeing obliged to confess the profound wisdom of him who has framed\nthe bodies of animals and especially of man. But carried away by\ntheir natural researches they believed that the existence of a being\nabsolutely depended upon the proper equilibrium of its organism.\nAccording to them, as the latter perishes and is destroyed, so is the\nthinking faculty which is bound up with it; and as they assert that the\nrestoration of a thing once destroyed to existence is unthinkable, they\ndeny the immortality of the soul. Consequently they deny heaven, hell,\nresurrection, and judgment. Acknowledging neither a recompense for good\ndeeds nor a punishment for evil ones, they fling off all authority and\nplunge into sensual pleasures with the avidity of brutes. These also\nought to be called atheists, for the true faith depends not only on the\nacknowledgment of God, but of his Apostle and of the day of judgment.\nAnd although they acknowledge God and his attributes, they deny a\njudgment to come.\n\n(3) Next come the _Theists_. Among them should be reckoned Socrates,\nwho was the teacher of Plato as Plato was of Aristotle. This latter\ndrew up for his disciples the rules of logic, organized the sciences,\nelucidated what was formerly obscure, and expounded what had not been\nunderstood. This school refuted the systems of the two others, _i.e._,\nthe Materialists and Naturalists; but in exposing their mistaken and\nperverse beliefs, they made use of arguments which they should not.\n\"God suffices to protect the faithful in war\" (Koran, xxxiii. 25).\n\nAristotle also contended with success against the theories of Plato,\nSocrates, and the theists who had preceded him, and separated himself\nentirely from them; but he could not eliminate from his doctrine the\nstains of infidelity and heresy which disfigure the teaching of his\npredecessors. We should therefore consider them all as unbelievers,\nas well as the so-called Mussulman philosophers, such as Ibn Sina\n(Avicenna) and Farabi, who have adopted their systems.\n\nLet us, however, acknowledge that among Mussulman philosophers none\nhas better interpreted the doctrine of Aristotle than the latter. What\nothers have handed down as his teaching is full of error, confusion,\nand obscurity adapted to disconcert the reader. The unintelligible\ncan neither be accepted nor rejected. The philosophy of Aristotle,\nall serious knowledge of which we owe to the translation of these two\nlearned men, may be divided into three portions: the first contains\nmatter justly chargeable with impiety, the second is tainted with\nheresy, and the third we are obliged to reject absolutely. We proceed\nto details:\n\n\n_Divisions of the Philosophic Sciences_\n\nThese sciences, in relation to the aim we have set before us, may be\ndivided into six sections: (1) Mathematics; (2) Logic; (3) Physics; (4)\nMetaphysics; (5) Politics; (6) Moral Philosophy.\n\n(1) _Mathematics._ Mathematics comprises the knowledge of calculation,\ngeometry, and cosmography: it has no connection with the religious\nsciences, and proves nothing for or against religion; it rests on a\nfoundation of proofs which, once known and understood, can not be\nrefuted. Mathematics tend, however, to produce two bad results.\n\nThe first is this: Whoever studies this science admires the subtlety\nand clearness of its proofs. His confidence in philosophy increases,\nand he thinks that all its departments are capable of the same\nclearness and solidity of proof as mathematics. But when he hears\npeople speak of the unbelief and impiety of mathematicians, of their\nprofessed disregard for the Divine Law, which is notorious, it is true\nthat, out of regard for authority, he echoes these accusations, but he\nsays to himself at the same time that, if there was truth in religion,\nit would not have escaped those who have displayed so much keenness of\nintellect in the study of mathematics.\n\nNext, when he becomes aware of the unbelief and rejection of religion\non the part of these learned men, he concludes that to reject religion\nis reasonable. How many of such men gone astray I have met whose sole\nargument was that just mentioned. And supposing one puts to them\nthe following objection: \"It does not follow that a man who excels\nin one branch of knowledge excels in all others, nor that he should\nbe equally versed in jurisprudence, theology, and medicine. It is\npossible to be entirely ignorant of metaphysics, and yet to be an\nexcellent grammarian. There are past masters in every science who are\nentirely ignorant of other branches of knowledge. The arguments of the\nancient philosophers are rigidly demonstrative in mathematics and only\nconjectural in religious questions. In order to ascertain this one must\nproceed to a thorough examination of the matter.\" Supposing, I say, one\nmakes the above objection to these \"apes of unbelief,\" they find it\ndistasteful. Falling a prey to their passions, to a besotted vanity,\nand the wish to pass for learned men, they persist in maintaining the\npre-eminence of mathematicians in all branches of knowledge. This is a\nserious evil, and for this reason those who study mathematics should be\nchecked from going too far in their researches. For though far removed\nas it may be from the things of religion, this study, serving as it\ndoes as an introduction to the philosophic systems, casts over religion\nits malign influence. It is rarely that a man devotes himself to it\nwithout robbing himself of his faith and casting off the restraints of\nreligion.\n\nThe second evil comes from the sincere but ignorant Mussulman who\nthinks the best way to defend religion is by rejecting all the exact\nsciences. Accusing their professors of being astray, he rejects their\ntheories of the eclipses of the sun and moon, and condemns them in\nthe name of religion. These accusations are carried far and wide, they\nreach the ears of the philosopher who knows that these theories rest\non infallible proofs; far from losing confidence in them, he believes,\non the contrary, that Islam has ignorance and the denial of scientific\nproofs for its basis, and his devotion to philosophy increases with his\nhatred to religion.\n\nIt is therefore a great injury to religion to suppose that the defense\nof Islam involves the condemnation of the exact sciences. The religious\nlaw contains nothing which approves them or condemns them, and in\ntheir turn they make no attack on religion. The words of the Prophet,\n\"The sun and the moon are two signs of the power of God; they are not\neclipsed for the birth or the death of any one; when you see these\nsigns take refuge in prayer and invoke the name of God\"\u2014these words,\nI say, do not in any way condemn the astronomical calculations which\ndefine the orbits of these two bodies, their conjunction and opposition\naccording to particular laws. But as for the so-called tradition,\n\"When God reveals himself in anything, he abases himself thereto,\" it\nis unauthentic, and not found in any trustworthy collection of the\ntraditions.\n\nSuch is the bearing and the possible danger of mathematics.\n\n(2) _Logic._ This science, in the same manner, contains nothing for\nor against religion. Its object is the study of different kinds of\nproofs and syllogisms, the conditions which should hold between the\npremises of a proposition, the way to combine them, the rules of a\ngood definition, and the art of formulating it. For knowledge consists\nof conceptions which spring from a definition or of convictions which\narise from proofs. There is therefore nothing censurable in this\nscience, and it is laid under contribution by theologians as well as by\nphilosophers. The only difference is that the latter use a particular\nset of technical formul\u00e6 and that they push their divisions and\nsubdivisions further.\n\nIt may be asked, What, then, this has to do with the grave questions\nof religion, and on what ground opposition should be offered to the\nmethods of logic? The objector, it will be said, can only inspire the\nlogician with an unfavorable opinion of the intelligence and faith of\nhis adversary, since the latter's faith seems to be based upon such\nobjections. But, it must be admitted, logic _is_ liable to abuse.\nLogicians demand in reasoning certain conditions which lead to absolute\ncertainty, but when they touch on religious questions they can no\nlonger postulate these conditions, and ought therefore to relax their\nhabitual rigor. It happens, accordingly, that a student who is enamored\nof the evidential methods of logic, hearing his teachers accused of\nirreligion, believes that this irreligion reposes on proofs as strong\nas those of logic, and immediately, without attempting the study of\nmetaphysics, shares their mistake. This is a serious disadvantage\narising from the study of logic.\n\n(3) _Physics._ The object of this science is the study of the bodies\nwhich compose the universe: the sky and the stars, and, here below,\nsimple elements such as air, earth, water, fire, and compound\nbodies\u2014animals, plants, and minerals; the reasons of their changes,\ndevelopments, and intermixture. By the nature of its researches it is\nclosely connected with the study of medicine, the object of which is\nthe human body, its principal and secondary organs, and the law which\ngoverns their changes. Religion having no fault to find with medical\nscience, can not justly do so with physical, except on some special,\nmatters which we have mentioned in the work entitled, \"The Destruction\nof the Philosophers.\" Besides these primary questions, there are some\nsubordinate ones depending on them, on which physical science is open\nto objection. But all physical science rests, as we believe, on the\nfollowing principle: Nature is entirely subject to God; incapable of\nacting by itself, it is an instrument in the hand of the Creator; sun,\nmoon, stars, and elements are subject to God and can produce nothing\nof themselves. In a word, nothing in nature can act spontaneously and\napart from God.\n\n(4) _Metaphysics._ This is the fruitful breeding-ground of the errors\nof philosophers. Here they can no longer satisfy the laws of rigorous\nargumentation such as logic demands, and this is what explains the\ndisputes which arise between them in the study of metaphysics. The\nsystem most closely akin to the system of the Mohammedan doctors is\nthat of Aristotle as expounded to us by Farabi and Avicenna. The sum\ntotal of their errors can be reduced to twenty propositions: three of\nthem are irreligious, and the other seventeen heretical. It was in\norder to combat their system that we wrote the work, \"Destruction of\nthe Philosophers.\" The three propositions in which they are opposed to\nall the doctrines of Islam are the following:\n\n(_a_) Bodies do not rise again; spirits alone will be rewarded or\npunished; future punishments will be therefore spiritual and not\nphysical. They are right in admitting spiritual punishments, for there\nwill be such; but they are wrong in rejecting physical punishments, and\ncontradicting in this manner the assertions of the Divine Law.\n\n(_b_) \"God takes cognizance of universals, not of specials.\" This is\nmanifestly irreligious. The Koran asserts truly, \"Not an atom's weight\nin heaven or earth can escape his knowledge\" (x. 62).\n\n(_c_) They maintain that the universe exists from all eternity and will\nnever end.\n\nNone of these propositions has ever been admitted by Moslems.\n\nBesides this, they deny that God has attributes, and maintain that\nhe knows by his essence only and not by means of any attribute\naccessory to his essence. In this point they approach the doctrine\nof the Mutazilites, doctrines which we are not obliged to condemn\nas irreligious. On the contrary, in our work entitled, \"Criteria of\nthe Differences Which Divide Islam from Atheism,\" we have proved the\nwrongness of those who accuse of irreligion everything which is opposed\nto their way of looking at things.\n\n(5) _Political Science._ The professors of this confine themselves to\ndrawing up the rules which regulate temporal matters and the royal\npower. They have borrowed their theories on this point from the books\nwhich God has revealed to his prophets and from the sentences of\nancient sages, gathered by tradition.\n\n(6) _Moral Philosophy._ The professors of this occupy themselves with\ndefining the attributes and qualities of the soul, grouping them\naccording to genus and species, and pointing out the way to moderate\nand control them. They have borrowed this system from the Sufis. These\ndevout men, who are always engaged in invoking the name of God, in\ncombating concupiscence and following the way of God by renouncing the\npleasures of this world, have received, while in a state of ecstasy,\nrevelations regarding the qualities of the soul, its defects and its\nevil inclinations. These revelations they have published, and the\nphilosophers making use of them have introduced them into their own\nsystems in order to embellish and give currency to their falsehoods. In\nthe times of the philosophers, as at every other period, there existed\nsome of these fervent mystics. God does not deprive this world of them,\nfor they are its sustainers, and they draw down to it the blessings\nof heaven according to the tradition: \"It is by them that you obtain\nrain; it is by them that you receive your subsistence.\" Such were \"the\nCompanions of the Cave,\" who lived in ancient times, as related by the\nKoran (xviii.). Now this mixture of moral and philosophic doctrine\nwith the words of the Prophet and those of the Sufis gives rise to two\ndangers, one for the upholder of those doctrines, the other for their\nopponent.\n\nThe danger for their opponent is serious. A narrow-minded man, finding\nin their writings moral philosophy mixed with unsupported theories,\nbelieves that he ought to entirely reject them and to condemn those\nwho profess them. Having only heard them from their mouth he does not\nhesitate in his ignorance to declare them false because those who teach\nthem are in error. It is as if some one was to reject the profession\nof faith made by Christians, \"There is only one God and Jesus is his\nprophet,\" simply because it proceeds from Christians and without\ninquiring whether it is the profession of this creed or the denial of\nMohammed's prophetic mission which makes Christians infidels. Now,\nif they are only infidels because of their rejection of our Prophet,\nwe are not entitled to reject those of their doctrines which do not\nwear the stamp of infidelity. In a word, truth does not cease to be\ntrue because it is found among them. Such, however, is the tendency of\nweak minds: they judge the truth according to its professors instead\nof judging its professors by the standard of the truth. But a liberal\nspirit will take as its guide this maxim of the prince of believers,\nAli the son of Abu Talib: \"Do not seek for the truth by means of men;\nfind first the truth and then you will recognize those who follow it.\"\nThis is the procedure followed by a wise man. Once in possession of\nthe truth he examines the basis of various doctrines which come before\nhim, and when he has found them true, he accepts them without troubling\nhimself whether the person who teaches them is sincere or a deceiver.\nMuch rather, remembering how gold is buried in the bowels of the earth,\nhe endeavors to disengage the truth from the mass of errors in which\nit is engulfed. The skilled coin-assayer plunges without hesitation\nhis hand into the purse of the coiner of false money, and relying on\nexperience, separates good coins from bad. It is the ignorant rustic,\nand not the experienced assayer, who will ask why we should have\nanything to do with a false coiner. The unskilled swimmer must be kept\naway from the seashore, not the expert in diving. The child, not the\ncharmer, must be forbidden to handle serpents.\n\nAs a matter of fact, men have such a good opinion of themselves,\nof their mental superiority and intellectual depth; they believe\nthemselves so skilled in discerning the true from the false, the path\nof safety from those of error, that they should be forbidden as much as\npossible the perusal of philosophic writings, for though they sometimes\nescape the danger just pointed out, they can not avoid that which we\nare about to indicate.\n\nSome of the maxims found in my works regarding the mysteries of\nreligion have met with objectors of an inferior rank in science, whose\nintellectual penetration is insufficient to fathom such depths. They\nassert that these maxims are borrowed from the ancient philosophers,\nwhereas the truth is that they are the fruit of my own meditations,\nbut as the proverb says, \"Sandal follows the impress of sandal.\"[11]\nSome of them are found in our books of religious law, but the greater\npart are derived from the writings of the Sufis.\n\nBut even if they were borrowed exclusively from the doctrines of the\nphilosophers, is it right to reject an opinion when it is reasonable\nin itself, supported by solid proofs, and contradicting neither the\nKoran nor the traditions? If we adopt this method and reject every\ntruth which has chanced to have been proclaimed by an impostor, how\nmany truths we should have to reject! How many verses of the Koran\nand traditions of the prophets and Sufi discourses and maxims of\nsages we must close our ears to because the author of the \"Treatise\nof the Brothers of Purity\" has inserted them in his writings in order\nto further his cause, and in order to lead minds gradually astray in\nthe paths of error! The consequence of this procedure would be that\nimpostors would snatch truths out of our hands in order to embellish\ntheir own works. The wise man, at least, should not make common cause\nwith the bigot blinded by ignorance.\n\nHoney does not become impure because it may happen to have been\nplaced in the glass which the surgeon uses for cupping purposes. The\nimpurity of blood is due, not to its contact with this glass, but to a\npeculiarity inherent in its own nature; this peculiarity, not existing\nin honey, can not be communicated to it by its being placed in the\ncupping-glass; it is therefore wrong to regard it as impure. Such is,\nhowever, the whimsical way of looking at things found in nearly all\nmen. Every word proceeding from an authority which they approve is\naccepted by them, even were it false; every word proceeding from one\nwhom they suspect is rejected, even were it true. In every case they\njudge of the truth according to its professors and not of men according\nto the truth which they profess, a _ne plus ultra_ of error. Such is\nthe peril in which philosophy involves its opponents.\n\nThe second danger threatens those who accept the opinions of the\nphilosophers. When, for instance, we read the \"Treatise of the\nBrothers of Purity,\" and other works of the same kind, we find in\nthem sentences spoken by the Prophet and quotations from the Sufis.\nWe approve these works; we give them our confidence; and we finish by\naccepting the errors which they contain, because of the good opinion\nof them with which they have inspired us at the outset. Thus, by\ninsensible degrees, we are led astray. In view of this danger the\nreading of philosophic writings so full of vain and delusive utopias\nshould be forbidden, just as the slippery banks of a river are\nforbidden to one who knows not how to swim. The perusal of these false\nteachings must be prevented just as one prevents children from touching\nserpents. A snake-charmer himself will abstain from touching snakes\nin the presence of his young child, because he knows that the child,\nbelieving himself as clever as his father, will not fail to imitate\nhim; and in order to lend more weight to his prohibition the charmer\nwill not touch a serpent under the eyes of his son.\n\nSuch should be the conduct of a learned man who is also wise. But the\nsnake-charmer, after having taken the serpent and separated the venom\nfrom the antidote, having put the latter on one side and destroyed the\nvenom, ought not to withhold the antidote from those who need it. In\nthe same way the skilled coin-assayer, after having put his hand in\nthe bag of the false coiner, taken out the good coins and thrown away\nthe bad ones, ought not to refuse the good to those who need and ask\nfor it. Such should be the conduct of the learned man. If the patient\nfeels a certain dislike of the antidote because he knows that it is\ntaken from a snake whose body is the receptacle of poison, he should be\ndisabused of this fallacy.\n\nIf a beggar hesitates to take a piece of gold which he knows comes from\nthe purse of a false coiner, he should be told that his hesitation is a\npure mistake which would deprive him of the advantage which he seeks.\nIt should be proved to him that the contact of the good coins with the\nbad does not injure the former and does not improve the latter. In the\nsame way the contact of truth with falsehood does not change truth into\nfalsehood, any more than it changes falsehood into truth.\n\nThus much, then, we have to say regarding the inconveniences and\ndangers which spring from the study of philosophy.\n\n\n_Sufism_\n\nWhen I had finished my examination of these doctrines I applied myself\nto the study of Sufism. I saw that in order to understand it thoroughly\none must combine theory with practise. The aim which the Sufis set\nbefore them is as follows: To free the soul from the tyrannical yoke\nof the passions, to deliver it from its wrong inclinations and evil\ninstincts, in order that in the purified heart there should only remain\nroom for God and for the invocation of his holy name.\n\nAs it was more easy to learn their doctrine than to practise it, I\nstudied first of all those of their books which contain it: \"The\nNourishment of Hearts,\" by Abu Talib of Mecca, the works of Hareth el\nMuhasibi, and the fragments which still remain of Junaid, Shibli, Abu\nYezid Bustami, and other leaders (whose souls may God sanctify). I\nacquired a thorough knowledge of their researches, and I learned all\nthat was possible to learn of their methods by study and oral teaching.\nIt became clear to me that the last stage could not be reached by mere\ninstruction, but only by transport, ecstasy, and the transformation of\nthe moral being.\n\nTo define health and satiety, to penetrate their causes and conditions,\nis quite another thing from being well and satisfied. To define\ndrunkenness, to know that it is caused by vapors which rise from the\nstomach and cloud the seat of intelligence, is quite a different\nthing to being drunk. The drunken man has no idea of the nature of\ndrunkenness, just because he is drunk and not in a condition to\nunderstand anything, while the doctor, not being under the influence of\ndrunkenness, knows its character and laws. Or if the doctor fall ill,\nhe has a theoretical knowledge of the health of which he is deprived.\n\nIn the same way there is a considerable difference between knowing\nrenouncement, comprehending its conditions and causes, and practising\nrenouncement and detachment from the things of this world. I saw that\nSufism consists in experiences rather than in definitions, and that\nwhat I was lacking belonged to the domain, not of instruction, but of\necstasy and initiation.\n\nThe researches to which I had devoted myself, the path which I had\ntraversed in studying religious and speculative branches of knowledge,\nhad given me a firm faith in three things\u2014God, Inspiration, and\nthe Last Judgment. These three fundamental articles of belief were\nconfirmed in me, not merely by definite arguments, but by a chain of\ncauses, circumstances, and proofs which it is impossible to recount. I\nsaw that one can only hope for salvation by devotion and the conquest\nof one's passions, a procedure which presupposes renouncement and\ndetachment from this world of falsehood in order to turn toward\neternity and meditation on God. Finally, I saw that the only condition\nof success was to sacrifice honors and riches and to sever the ties and\nattachments of worldly life.\n\nComing seriously to consider my state, I found myself bound down on all\nsides by these trammels. Examining my actions, the most fair-seeming\nof which were my lecturing and professorial occupations, I found to\nmy surprise that I was engrossed in several studies of little value,\nand profitless as regards my salvation. I probed the motives of my\nteaching and found that, in place of being sincerely consecrated to\nGod, it was only actuated by a vain desire of honor and reputation.\nI perceived that I was on the edge of an abyss, and that without an\nimmediate conversion I should be doomed to eternal fire. In these\nreflections I spent a long time. Still a prey to uncertainty, one day I\ndecided to leave Bagdad and to give up everything; the next day I gave\nup my resolution. I advanced one step and immediately relapsed. In the\nmorning I was sincerely resolved only to occupy myself with the future\nlife; in the evening a crowd of carnal thoughts assailed and dispersed\nmy resolutions. On the one side the world kept me bound to my post in\nthe chains of covetousness, on the other side the voice of religion\ncried to me, \"Up! Up! Thy life is nearing its end, and thou hast a long\njourney to make. All thy pretended knowledge is naught but falsehood\nand fantasy. If thou dost not think now of thy salvation, when wilt\nthou think of it? If thou dost not break thy chains to-day, when wilt\nthou break them?\" Then my resolve was strengthened, I wished to give\nup all and flee; but the Tempter, returning to the attack, said, \"You\nare suffering from a transitory feeling; don't give way to it, for it\nwill soon pass. If you obey it, if you give up this fine position, this\nhonorable post exempt from trouble and rivalry, this seat of authority\nsafe from attack, you will regret it later on without being able to\nrecover it.\"\n\nThus I remained, torn asunder by the opposite forces of earthly\npassions and religious aspirations, for about six months from the month\nRajab of the year A.D. 1096. At the close of them my will yielded and I\ngave myself up to destiny. God caused an impediment to chain my tongue\nand prevented me from lecturing. Vainly I desired, in the interest of\nmy pupils, to go on with my teaching, but my mouth became dumb. The\nsilence to which I was condemned cast me into a violent despair; my\nstomach became weak; I lost all appetite; I could neither swallow a\nmorsel of bread nor drink a drop of water.\n\nThe enfeeblement of my physical powers was such that the doctors,\ndespairing of saving me, said, \"The mischief is in the heart, and has\ncommunicated itself to the whole organism; there is no hope unless the\ncause of his grievous sadness be arrested.\"\n\nFinally, conscious of my weakness and the prostration of my soul,\nI took refuge in God as a man at the end of himself and without\nresources. \"He who hears the wretched when they cry\" (Koran, xxvii.\n63) deigned to hear me; He made easy to me the sacrifice of honors,\nwealth, and family. I gave out publicly that I intended to make the\npilgrimage to Mecca, while I secretly resolved to go to Syria, not\nwishing that the Caliph (may God magnify him) or my friends should know\nmy intention of settling in that country. I made all kinds of clever\nexcuses for leaving Bagdad with the fixed intention of not returning\nthither. The Imams of Irak criticized me with one accord. Not one of\nthem could admit that this sacrifice had a religious motive, because\nthey considered my position as the highest attainable in the religious\ncommunity. \"Behold how far their knowledge goes!\" (Koran, liii. 31).\nAll kinds of explanations of my conduct were forthcoming. Those who\nwere outside the limits of Irak attributed it to the fear with which\nthe Government inspired me. Those who were on the spot and saw how the\nauthorities wished to detain me, their displeasure at my resolution\nand my refusal of their request, said to themselves, \"It is a calamity\nwhich one can only impute to a fate which has befallen the Faithful and\nLearning!\"\n\nAt last I left Bagdad, giving up all my fortune. Only, as lands and\nproperty in Irak can afford an endowment for pious purposes, I obtained\na legal authorization to preserve as much as was necessary for my\nsupport and that of my children; for there is surely nothing more\nlawful in the world than that a learned man should provide sufficient\nto support his family. I then betook myself to Syria, where I remained\nfor two years, which I devoted to retirement, meditation, and devout\nexercises. I only thought of self-improvement and discipline and of\npurification of the heart by prayer in going through the forms of\ndevotion which the Sufis had taught me. I used to live a solitary life\nin the Mosque of Damascus, and was in the habit of spending my days on\nthe minaret after closing the door behind me.\n\nFrom thence I proceeded to Jerusalem, and every day secluded myself in\nthe Sanctuary of the Rock.[12] After that I felt a desire to accomplish\nthe pilgrimage, and to receive a full effusion of grace by visiting\nMecca, Medina, and the tomb of the Prophet. After visiting the shrine\nof the Friend of God (Abraham), I went to the Hedjaz. Finally, the\nlongings of my heart and the prayers of my children brought me back to\nmy country, although I was so firmly resolved at first never to revisit\nit. At any rate I meant, if I did return, to live there solitary and\nin religious meditation; but events, family cares, and vicissitudes of\nlife changed my resolutions and troubled my meditative calm. However\nirregular the intervals which I could give to devotional ecstasy, my\nconfidence in it did not diminish; and the more I was diverted by\nhindrances, the more steadfastly I returned to it.\n\nTen years passed in this manner. During my successive periods of\nmeditation there were revealed to me things impossible to recount. All\nthat I shall say for the edification of the reader is this: I learned\nfrom a sure source that the Sufis are the true pioneers on the path\nof God; that there is nothing more beautiful than their life, nor\nmore praiseworthy than their rule of conduct, nor purer than their\nmorality. The intelligence of thinkers, the wisdom of philosophers,\nthe knowledge of the most learned doctors of the law would in vain\ncombine their efforts in order to modify or improve their doctrine and\nmorals; it would be impossible. With the Sufis, repose and movement,\nexterior or interior, are illumined with the light which proceeds from\nthe Central Radiance of Inspiration. And what other light could shine\non the face of the earth? In a word, what can one criticize in them? To\npurge the heart of all that does not belong to God is the first step\nin their cathartic method. The drawing up of the heart by prayer is\nthe key-stone of it, as the cry \"_Allahu Akbar_\" (God is great) is the\nkey-stone of prayer, and the last stage is the being lost in God. I say\nthe last stage, with reference to what may be reached by an effort of\nwill; but, to tell the truth, it is only the first stage in the life of\ncontemplation, the vestibule by which the initiated enter.\n\nFrom the time that they set out on this path, revelations commence\nfor them. They come to see in the waking state angels and souls of\nprophets; they hear their voices and wise counsels. By means of this\ncontemplation of heavenly forms and images they rise by degrees\nto heights which human language can not reach, which one can not\neven indicate without falling into great and inevitable errors. The\ndegree of proximity to Deity which they attain is regarded by some\nas intermixture of being (_haloul_), by others as identification\n(_ittihad_), by others as intimate union (_wasl_). But all these\nexpressions are wrong, as we have explained in our work entitled, \"The\nChief Aim.\" Those who have reached that stage should confine themselves\nto repeating the verse\u2014\n\n What I experience I shall not try to say;\n Call me happy, but ask me no more.\n\nIn short, he who does not arrive at the intuition of these truths by\nmeans of ecstasy, knows only the _name_ of inspiration. The miracles\nwrought by the saints are, in fact, merely the earliest forms of\nprophetic manifestation. Such was the state of the Apostle of God,\nwhen, before receiving his commission, he retired to Mount Hira to give\nhimself up to such intensity of prayer and meditation that the Arabs\nsaid: \"Mohammed is become enamored of God.\"\n\nThis state, then, can be revealed to the initiated in ecstasy, and\nto him who is incapable of ecstasy, by obedience and attention, on\ncondition that he frequents the society of Sufis till he arrives, so\nto speak, at an imitative initiation. Such is the faith which one can\nobtain by remaining among them, and intercourse with them is never\npainful.\n\nBut even when we are deprived of the advantage of their society, we\ncan comprehend the possibility of this state (revelation by means of\necstasy) by a chain of manifest proofs. We have explained this in the\ntreatise entitled \"Marvels of the Heart,\" which forms part of our\nwork, \"The Revival of the Religious Sciences.\" The certitude derived\nfrom proofs is called \"knowledge\"; passing into the state we describe\nis called \"transport\"; believing the experience of others and oral\ntransmission is \"faith.\" Such are the three degrees of knowledge, as it\nis written, \"The Lord will raise to different ranks those among you who\nhave believed and those who have received knowledge from him\" (Koran,\nlviii. 12).\n\nBut behind those who believe comes a crowd of ignorant people who deny\nthe reality of Sufism, hear discourses on it with incredulous irony,\nand treat as charlatans those who profess it. To this ignorant crowd\nthe verse applies: \"There are those among them who come to listen\nto thee, and when they leave thee, ask of those who have received\nknowledge, 'What has he just said?' These are they whose hearts God has\nsealed up with blindness and who only follow their passions.\" Among\nthe number of convictions which I owe to the practise of the Sufi rule\nis the knowledge of the true nature of inspiration. This knowledge is\nof such great importance that I proceed to expound it in detail.\n\n\n_The Reality of Inspiration: Its Importance for the Human Race_\n\nThe substance of man at the moment of its creation is a simple monad,\ndevoid of knowledge of the worlds subject to the Creator, worlds whose\ninfinite number is only known to him, as the Koran says: \"Only thy Lord\nknoweth the number of his armies.\"\n\nMan arrives at this knowledge by the aid of his perceptions; each of\nhis senses is given him that he may comprehend the world of created\nthings, and by the term \"world\" we understand the different species\nof creatures. The first sense revealed to man is touch, by means of\nwhich he perceives a certain group of qualities\u2014heat, cold, moist, dry.\nThe sense of touch does not perceive colors and forms, which are for\nit as though they did not exist. Next comes the sense of sight, which\nmakes him acquainted with colors and forms; that is to say, with that\nwhich occupies the highest rank in the world of sensation. The sense of\nhearing succeeds, and then the senses of smell and taste.\n\nWhen the human being can elevate himself above the world of sense,\ntoward the age of seven, he receives the faculty of discrimination; he\nenters then upon a new phase of existence and can experience, thanks to\nthis faculty, impressions, superior to those of the senses, which do\nnot occur in the sphere of sensation.\n\nHe then passes to another phase and receives reason, by which he\ndiscerns things necessary, possible, and impossible; in a word, all\nthe notions which he could not combine in the former stages of his\nexistence. But beyond reason and at a higher level by a new faculty of\nvision is bestowed upon him, by which he perceives invisible things,\nthe secrets of the future and other concepts as inaccessible to reason\nas the concepts of reason are inaccessible to mere discrimination\nand what is perceived by discrimination to the senses. Just as the\nman possessed only of discrimination rejects and denies the notions\nacquired by reason, so do certain rationalists reject and deny the\nnotion of inspiration. It is a proof of their profound ignorance; for,\ninstead of argument, they merely deny inspiration as a sphere unknown\nand possessing no real existence. In the same way, a man blind from\nbirth, who knows neither by experience nor by information what colors\nand forms are, neither knows nor understands them when some one speaks\nof them to him for the first time.\n\nGod, wishing to render intelligible to men the idea of inspiration, has\ngiven them a kind of glimpse of it in sleep. In fact, man perceives\nwhile asleep the things of the invisible world either clearly manifest\nor under the veil of allegory to be subsequently lifted by divination.\nIf, however, one was to say to a person who had never himself\nexperienced these dreams that, in a state of lethargy resembling death\nand during the complete suspension of sight, hearing, and all the\nsenses, a man can see the things of the invisible world, this person\nwould exclaim, and seek to prove the impossibility of these visions\nby some such argument as the following: \"The sensitive faculties are\nthe causes of perception. Now, if one can perceive certain things when\none is in full possession of these faculties, how much more is their\nperception impossible when these faculties are suspended.\"\n\nThe falsity of such an argument is shown by evidence and experience.\nFor in the same way as reason constitutes a particular phase of\nexistence in which intellectual concepts are perceived which are hidden\nfrom the senses, similarly, inspiration is a special state in which the\ninner eye discovers, revealed by a celestial light, mysteries out of\nthe reach of reason. The doubts which are raised regarding inspiration\nrelate (1) to its possibility, (2) to its real and actual existence,\n(3) to its manifestation in this or that person.\n\nTo prove the possibility of inspiration is to prove that it belongs\nto a category of branches of knowledge which can not be attained by\nreason. It is the same with medical science and astronomy. He who\nstudies them is obliged to recognize that they are derived solely from\nthe revelation and special grace of God. Some astronomical phenomena\nonly occur once in a thousand years; how then can we know them by\nexperience?\n\nWe may say the same of inspiration, which is one of the branches of\nintuitional knowledge. Further, the perception of things which are\nbeyond the attainment of reason is only one of the features peculiar\nto inspiration, which possesses a great number of others. The\ncharacteristic which we have mentioned is only, as it were, a drop of\nwater in the ocean, and we have mentioned it because people experience\nwhat is analogous to it in dreams and in the sciences of medicine\nand astronomy. These branches of knowledge belong to the domain of\nprophetic miracles, and reason can not attain to them.\n\nAs to the other characteristics of inspiration, they are only revealed\nto adepts in Sufism and in a state of ecstatic transport. The little\nthat we know of the nature of inspiration we owe to the kind of\nlikeness to it which we find in sleep; without that we should be\nincapable of comprehending it, and consequently of believing in it, for\nconviction results from comprehension. The process of initiation into\nSufism exhibits this likeness to inspiration from the first. There is\nin it a kind of ecstasy proportioned to the condition of the person\ninitiated, and a degree of certitude and conviction which can not be\nattained by reason. This single fact is sufficient to make us believe\nin inspiration.\n\nWe now come to deal with doubts relative to the inspiration of a\nparticular prophet. We shall not arrive at certitude on this point\nexcept by ascertaining, either by ocular evidence or by reliable\ntradition, the facts relating to that prophet. When we have ascertained\nthe real nature of inspiration and proceed to the serious study of the\nKoran and the traditions, we shall then know certainly that Mohammed is\nthe greatest of prophets. After that we should fortify our conviction\nby verifying the truth of his preaching and the salutary effect which\nit has upon the soul. We should verify in experience the truth of\nsentences such as the following: \"He who makes his conduct accord with\nhis knowledge receives from God more knowledge\"; or this, \"God delivers\nto the oppressor him who favors injustice\"; or again, \"Whosoever when\nrising in the morning has only one anxiety (to please God), God will\npreserve him from all anxiety in this world and the next.\"\n\nWhen we have verified these sayings in experience thousands of times,\nwe shall be in possession of a certitude on which doubt can obtain no\nhold. Such is the path we must traverse in order to realize the truth\nof inspiration. It is not a question of finding out whether a rod has\nbeen changed into a serpent, or whether the moon has been split in\ntwo.[13] If we regard miracles in isolation, without their countless\nattendant circumstances, we shall be liable to confound them with magic\nand falsehood, or to regard them as a means of leading men astray, as\nit is written, \"God misleads and directs as he chooses\" (Koran, xxxv.\n9); we shall find ourselves involved in all the difficulties which\nthe question of miracles raises. If, for instance, we believe that\neloquence of style is a proof of inspiration, it is possible that an\neloquent style composed with this object may inspire us with a false\nbelief in the inspiration of him who wields it. The supernatural should\nbe only one of the constituents which go to form our belief, without\nour placing too much reliance on this or that detail. We should rather\nresemble a person who, learning a fact from a group of people, can\nnot point to this or that particular man as his informant, and who,\nnot distinguishing between them, can not explain precisely how his\nconviction regarding the fact has been formed.\n\nSuch are the characteristics of scientific certitude. As to the\ntransport which permits men to see the truth and, so to speak, to\nhandle it, it is only known to the Sufis. What I have just said\nregarding the true nature of inspiration is sufficient for the aim\nwhich I have proposed to myself. I may return to the subject later, if\nnecessary.\n\nI pass now to the causes of the decay of faith and show the means\nof bringing back those who have erred and of preserving them from\nthe dangers which threaten them. To those who doubt because they are\ntinctured with the doctrine of the Ta'limites, my treatise entitled,\n\"The Just Balance,\" affords a sufficient guide; therefore it is\nunnecessary to return to the subject here.\n\nAs to the vain theories of the Ibahat, I have grouped them in seven\nclasses, and explained them in the work entitled, \"Alchemy of\nHappiness.\" For those whose faith has been undermined by philosophy,\nso far that they deny the reality of inspiration, we have proved the\ntruth and necessity of it, seeking our proofs in the hidden properties\nof medicines and of the heavenly bodies. It is for them that we have\nwritten this treatise, and the reason for our seeking for proofs in the\nsciences of medicine and of astronomy is because these sciences belong\nto the domain of philosophy. All those branches of knowledge which our\nopponents boast of\u2014astronomy, medicine, physics, and divination\u2014provide\nus with arguments in favor of the Prophet.\n\nAs to those who, professing a lip-faith in the Prophet, adulterate\nreligion with philosophy, they really deny inspiration, since in their\nview the Prophet is only a sage whom a superior destiny has appointed\nas guide to men, and this view belies the true nature of inspiration.\nTo believe in the Prophet is to admit that there is above intelligence\na sphere in which are revealed to the inner vision truths beyond the\ngrasp of intelligence, just as things seen are not apprehended by\nthe sense of hearing, nor things understood by that of touch. If our\nopponent denies the existence of such a higher region, we can prove to\nhim, not only its possibility, but its actuality. If, on the contrary,\nhe admits its existence, he recognizes at the same time that there are\nin that sphere things which reason can not grasp; nay, which reason\nrejects as false and absurd. Suppose, for instance, that the fact of\ndreams occurring in sleep were not so common and notorious as it is,\nour wise men would not fail to repudiate the assertion that the secrets\nof the invisible world can be revealed while the senses are, so to\nspeak, suspended.\n\nAgain, if it were to be said to one of them, \"Is it possible that\nthere is in the world a thing as small as a grain, which being carried\ninto a city can destroy it and afterward destroy itself so that\nnothing remains either of the city or of itself?\" \"Certainly,\" he\nwould exclaim, \"it is impossible and ridiculous.\" Such, however, is\nthe effect of fire, which would certainly be disputed by one who had\nnot witnessed it with his own eyes. Now, the refusal to believe in the\nmysteries of the other life is of the same kind.\n\nAs to the fourth cause of the spread of unbelief\u2014the decay of faith\nowing to the bad example set by learned men\u2014there are three ways of\nchecking it.\n\n(1) One can answer thus: \"The learned man whom you accuse of disobeying\nthe divine law knows that he disobeys, as you do when you drink wine or\nexact usury or allow yourself in evil-speaking, lying, and slander. You\nknow your sin and yield to it, not through ignorance, but because you\nare mastered by concupiscence. The same is the case with the learned\nman. How many believe in doctors who do not abstain from fruit and cold\nwater when strictly forbidden them by a doctor! That does not prove\nthat those things are not dangerous, or that their faith in the doctor\nwas not solidly established. Similar errors on the part of learned men\nare to be imputed solely to their weakness.\"\n\n(2) Or again, one may say to a simple and ignorant man: \"The learned\nman reckons upon his knowledge as a viaticum for the next life. He\nbelieves that his knowledge will save him and plead in his favor, and\nthat his intellectual superiority will entitle him to indulgence;\nlastly, that if his knowledge increases his responsibility, it may also\nentitle him to a higher degree of consideration. All that is possible;\nand even if the learned man has neglected practise, he can at any rate\nproduce proofs of his knowledge. But you, poor, witless one, if, like\nhim, you neglect practise, destitute as you are of knowledge, you will\nperish without anything to plead in your favor.\"\n\n(3) Or one may answer, and this reason is the true one: \"The truly\nlearned man only sins through carelessness, and does not remain in\na state of impenitence. For real knowledge shows sin to be a deadly\npoison, and the other world to be superior to this. Convinced of this\ntruth, man ought not to exchange the precious for the vile. But the\nknowledge of which we speak is not derived from sources accessible to\nhuman diligence, and that is why progress in mere worldly knowledge\nrenders the sinner more hardened in his revolt against God.\"\n\nTrue knowledge, on the contrary, inspires in him who is initiate in it\nmore fear and more reverence, and raises a barrier of defense between\nhim and sin. He may slip and stumble, it is true, as is inevitable\nwith one encompassed by human infirmity, but these slips and stumbles\nwill not weaken his faith. The true Moslem succumbs occasionally to\ntemptation, but he repents and will not persevere obstinately in the\npath of error.\n\nI pray God the Omnipotent to place us in the ranks of his chosen, among\nthe number of those whom he directs in the path of safety, in whom\nhe inspires fervor lest they forget him; whom he cleanses from all\ndefilement, that nothing may remain in them except himself; yea, of\nthose whom he indwells completely, that they may adore none beside him.\n\nEND OF THE RESCUES FROM ERROR\n\n\nTHE DISCOVERER OF TRUTH\n\nZAMAKHSHARI'S COMMENTARY ON THE KORAN\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nIN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD, KIND AND PITYING\n\nPraise to God, who has sent from heaven the Koran, in the form of an\naddress of which the words are coherent and arranged in order, and\nwho has sent it in continuous chapters according to the demands of\nnecessity; who has willed that it should begin by expressing the praise\ndue to God, and end by recounting his power and protection; who has\nincluded in it two kinds of revelations, the one obscure, the other\nperfectly clear; who has divided the Koran into Suras, and the Suras\ninto verses, and has distinguished the different parts by divisions and\nconclusions: qualifications which apply only to that which has been\ncreated, and produced without a model, and could only be the attributes\nof things which have had a beginning and recognize an author of whom\nthey are the work. Praise to him who has reserved to himself alone the\nprivilege of priority and eternity, and who has given to everything\nsave himself the characteristic of having been created.\n\nPraise to him who has created the Koran, the sense of which is a light\nto guide the spirit, the demonstrations of which are clear; like an\ninspiration which blazons forth its proof and authentic title; like\na lecture written in the Arabic language, and free from all faults,\nwhich is the key to open the treasures of all spiritual and temporal\nblessings, and which confirms and witnesses the truth of all the Holy\nBooks which have preceded it; like a miracle which, alone among all\nmiracles, has existed during all the passage of the centuries, and a\nbook which, alone among all books, will be repeated in every language\nand in every place.\n\nBy this book, he has shut the mouths of the most nobly born Arabs, in\nthat they are challenged to produce something to be compared with it,\nhe has rendered mute the most eloquent orators in that he has defied\nthem to imitate it. Amongst those who possess the greatest command of\nthe language in all its purity, no one has the enterprise to compose\nanything which equals it, or even approaches it. No one of those who\nare distinguished for their eloquence has dared to compete with him in\na single chapter equal to the shortest Sura included in the Koran. Yet\nthe orators of the land are more numerous than the pebbles of the Batha\nvalley and more plentiful than the grains of sand in the desert of\nDahna. The blood of patriotism has not boiled in their veins, and zeal\nfor the honor of their cause has not moved them to the undertaking,\nalthough they are known to be naturally inclined to disputes and\nquarrels, and ready to embrace with ardor and without moderation every\nopportunity for rivalry and hostility; although when roused to fight\nfor the defense of their reputation, they are quick to face the gravest\ndangers, and will plunge themselves into every excess to obtain the\nobject of their desires. If any one opposes their title to glory or\nprevails against them, they oppose him in great numbers; if any one in\ntheir hearing boasts of a glorious deed, they respond with a multitude\nof glorious deeds.\n\nGod has employed against them two kinds of weapons, first the written\nlaw, then the sword; but they have not challenged him to combat nor\nattempted to cope with the sword, although the drawn sword is no more\nthan a trifling weapon, fitted only for badinage, if the strength of\nauthentic truth is not joined to the victorious point. Certainly, if\nthey have in no way put up even a semblance of resistance to the truth\nwhich has been presented to them, it is simply because they know well\nthat the sea, released from its boundaries, would envelop and overflow\nany mere well made by human hands; and the sun, by the brightness of\nits fire, eclipses the light of all the stars.\n\nMay the favors of God shine on the most worthy of those who have\nreceived revelations, on the friend of God, Abu'l-Kasem Mohammed,\nson of Abd-Allah, son of Abd-Almotalleb, son of Haschem, whose\nstandard is raised amongst the descendants of Lowaiy; who has been\nfortified by constant protection and assisted by wisdom, whose visage\nradiates glory, and who shines with all the signs of nobility; on the\nillustrious Prophet whose name has been inscribed in the Law and the\nGospel! May blessings fall also upon his sainted descendants, on those\nsuccessors to his authority who have with him the ties which are born\nof marriage!\n\nIt is well known that, in the profundities of science and the\nprinciples of the arts, there is little difference between the learned\nof different classes. Those who practise the various arts are equal,\nor nearly equal. If one professor outdistances another, it is only\nby a few steps; and if one artist outstrips another, it is only by a\nshort distance. But where one sees a true difference among the classes,\nwhere they make every effort to surpass each other, where there is true\nemulation and rivalry, there one finds real inferiors and superiors,\nof the sort that there is among those who pursue the same career from\nincomprehensible distances, distances so great that one alone balances\na thousand others. There are, in the sciences as in the arts, the\nbeauties of certain delicate points; there are subtle thoughts which\narouse the wisdom of reflective spirits, profound, hidden secrets\ncovered with veils which very few men, even among those of the most\ndistinguished talent, can lift, secrets which can only be discovered\nand brought to light by those who among men of merit are like the pearl\nplaced in the center of the necklace, and like the stone which is set\nin the gold of the ring. Ordinary men have not the eyes to create such\nexcellences, and are as though chained to their seats by a servile\ndesire to imitate, and can not even flatter themselves that any one\nwill trim the hair from their foreheads[14] and give them freedom.\n\nOf all the sciences, that which abounds in the most difficulties,\nwhich demands the greatest effort in spirit, which offers the largest\nnumber of problems capable of fatiguing the strongest intellect, I mean\nthose extraordinary subtleties from which it is difficult to extricate\noneself, which are locked as if in vaults, whose thread is cut and\ndifficult to regain\u2014that science is the interpreting of the Koran.\nIt is a science for which, as has been said by Djahed in his work\nentitled, \"Composition of the Koran,\" no savants are fitted, and to\nwhich they devote their lives without hope of complete success.\n\nI have often noticed that my confr\u00e8res in religion, men who hold the\nforemost rank among the disciples of the true faith and law, men\nexceptionally proficient in the knowledge of the language of the Arabs\nand in the fundamental dogmas of religion, have been enthusiastic in\nexpressing their satisfaction and admiration every time that, consulted\nby them for the interpretation of some passage of the Koran, I have\nexplained their difficulty and disclosed to them the truth which was\nhidden from them. They expressed a keen desire for me to write a work\ntreating on the subject in all its phases. At last they joined in\nbegging me to dictate to them a commentary which should unveil all the\nmysteries of the Holy Book, and help them to understand the different\nexplanations and opinions. I excused myself from doing as they desired,\nbut they continually renewed their pleading; and, to conquer my\nresistance, they employed the mediation of the chief religious men,\nand the most learned among those who professed doctrines of justice\nand unity. I realized that it was obligatory upon me to defer to their\ndesires, so that I came to consider such a work as a personal duty\nand task; but that which finally brought me to consent was that I\nsaw our age to be in a state of decay, and the men of our time to be\ndegenerating. I realized that far from being able to raise themselves\nto worthy heights in the two sciences of thought and exposition, they\nwere not even capable of attaining to those weaker means which serve as\ninstruments in the interpretation of the Koran. I therefore resolved to\nwrite this book that it might be for them The Discoverer of Truth.\n\n\nGOLDEN NECKLACES\n\nOR\n\nTHE MAXIMS OF ZAMAKHSHAHI\n\n\nI\n\nWhen you go to the mosque, walk with reverence; and when you pray, fill\nyour heart with humility. Think of the power of the glorious King,\nand do not forget what is written concerning the temptations of the\ndevil. Consider before what all-powerful sovereign you kneel, and what\ndeceitful enemy you have to combat. Verily, no one can maintain himself\non a firm foundation in this difficult world, except it be the man who\nis loyal to noble principles and fortified by his profession of faith;\nthe faithful who sighs in fear of chastisement, contrite, repentant,\neager in the pursuit of reward, who spurs his horse into the arena of\nobedience, and disciplines his spirit in the practise of submission.\n\n\nII\n\nDid I say to you that our country is destined to mourning? That will\nbecome true when an unjust sovereign rules. Tyranny is heavier than\nthe horse's hoofs, more destructive than the unchained torrents, more\ndeadly than the poisoned winds of Yemen, more devastating than the\nplague. Tyranny prevents prayers rising to heaven and prevents the\nblessings of heaven from falling upon the earth. Flee far from the\nabode of this menace, even if you are one of the highest nobles of the\nland, the most illustrious because of your wealth and your children.\nFear lest the birds of ruin fatten on the land, and earthquakes or\nlightnings destroy its inhabitants.\n\n\nIII\n\nDo not pride yourself on the nobility of your birth, for that belongs\nto your father; join to your hereditary virtues those which you have\nacquired recently. By this union you will be truly noble. Do not feel\nelated over the nobility of your father, if you can not draw pride from\nthat which is in yourself; for the glory of your ancestors is vain if\nyou have not a personal glory. There is the same difference between the\nfame of your ancestors and your own fame that there is between your\nfood of yesterday and of to-day; for the feast that has passed can not\ncalm the hunger of to-day, and still less can it provide for the days\nwhich follow.\n\n\n\n\nARABIC LITERATURE\n\nTHE \"ASSEMBLIES\" OF AL HARIRI\n\n\n \"_The richness of the style is even more wonderful than the delicate\n web of the stories._\"\n CLEMENT HUART.\n\n \"_I composed fifty assemblies, comprising the serious in language\n and the lively, the delicate and the dignified, the brilliancies\n of eloquence and its pearls, the beauties of scholarship and its\n rarities._\"\n AL HARIRI.\n\n\nTHE \"ASSEMBLIES\" OF AL HARIRI\n\n(INTRODUCTION)\n\n\nThe work of Al Hariri may well stand as our best example of typical\nArab prose. With regard to religious writing, a few thoughtful\nMohammedans, as we have seen, might travel, and seek new light, and\nmeditate profoundly; but the great mass of the people were merely\nblindly fanatic. Mohammed was the prophet of God, and any one who\nfailed to shout this with the rest of the world, was to be killed.\nPopular interest went but little further. But when you turned to the\nart of stringing words together, every true Arab was immediately\nattentive. There was an Arab proverb that God had given genius, or true\ncreative ability, to three things, the brain of the Frank, the hand of\nthe Chinaman, and the tongue of the Arab.\n\nTo our own more sober literary sense the clever twists of phrase\nand sound in which these people took such pride, seem but the outer\ngarment of thought, more apt to confuse than to reveal its deeper\nmeaning. Yet what the Arabs admire, they admire; and they find it to\nperfection in Al Hariri's \"Assemblies.\" No mere translation can convey\nits intricacies of sound and sense. Only such an artistic word-juggler\nas Al Hariri himself could convey the impression of the original. And\nAl Hariri himself labored long on each brief \"Assembly,\" polishing\nand repolishing, before he submitted each tale to the judgment of his\nkeenly critical listeners.\n\nThe name \"Assemblies\" he gave to his work because each tale pictures\nan assembly of people. The form is highly artificial, for, while the\nauthor represents himself as accidentally stumbling upon each assembly,\nyet each proves ultimately to consist of a gathering of people\nlistening with admiration to the brilliant words and clever rascalities\nof the same old beggar, Abu Zayd. The trick played by Abu Zayd is\nusually slight, the chief interest from the Arab view-point depending\non the beggar's witty words and especially upon his supposedly\nextemporaneous verse.\n\nNeither should the reader pass unnoticed the moral side of Hariri's\nwork. He quite definitely thinks of himself as a teacher, and\nstudies to make each \"Assembly\" a worthy guide to righteousness. His\n\"Assemblies\" number fifty in all, but the earlier ones are generally\naccepted as the best, the eleventh and twelfth being particularly noted\nfor their excellence, after which the collection seems slightly to\ndecline.\n\nOf course Al Hariri was by no means alone in composing this sort of\ntale. Similar \"Assemblies\" had preceded his; many more were to follow.\nIn short we touch here upon the \"popular literature\" of the Arabs, the\ncollection of short stories which were to blossom into the \"Arabian\nNights\"\u2014though in the later tales of this character we find less of\nverse and more of story, in short less of the Arab and more of the\nincreasing Persian influence.\n\n\nTHE \"ASSEMBLIES\" OF AL HARIRI\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nIN THE NAME OF GOD THE MERCIFUL, MOST MERCIFUL\n\nThus saith the excellent, the incomparable, Abu Mohammed al Kasim\nibn 'Ali ibn Mohammed ibn 'Othman Al Hariri of Basrah (God cool his\nresting-place).\n\nO God, we praise thee for what perspicuity thou hast taught, and\nwhat enunciation thou hast inspired; as we praise thee for what\nbounty thou hast enlarged, what mercy thou hast diffused: And we take\nrefuge with thee from the vehemence of fluency and the immoderation\nof talkativeness, as we take refuge with thee from the vice of\ninarticulateness and the shame of hesitation. And by thee we seek to\nbe kept from temptation through the flattery of the praiser and the\nconnivance of the favor, as we seek to be kept from exposure to the\ndefaming of the slanderer and the betrayal of the informer. And we ask\npardon of thee if our desires carry us into the region of ambiguities,\nas we ask pardon if our steps advance to the domain of errors. And we\nask of thee succor which shall lead us aright, and a heart turning with\njustice, and a tongue adorned with truth, and a speech strengthened\nwith demonstration, and accuracy that shall keep us from mistake, and\nresolution that shall conquer caprice, and perception by which we may\nestimate duly: And that thou wilt help us by thy guidance to conceive,\nand enable us by thy assistance to express; that thou wilt guard us\nfrom error in narration, and turn us from unseemliness in jesting; that\nwe may be secure from slanders of the tongue; that we may be free from\nthe ill of tinseled speech; that we walk not in the road of sin, nor\nstand in the place of repentance; that we be not pursued by suit or\ncensure, nor need to flee from hastiness to excuse. O God, fulfil to us\nthis wish; give us to attain to this desire: put us not forth of thy\nlarge shadow, make us not a morsel for the devourer. For now we stretch\nforth to thee the hand of entreaty; we are thorough in humiliation\nto thee and abasement. And we call down thy abundant grace and thy\nbounty that is over all, with humbleness of seeking and with the\nventure of hope. Also approaching thee through the merits of Mohammed,\nlord of men, the intercessor whose intercession shall be received at\nthe congregation of judgment. By whom thou hast set the seal to the\nprophets, and whose degree thou hast exalted to the highest heaven;\nwhom thou hast described in thy clear-speaking Book, and hast said\n(and thou art the most truthful of sayers): \"It is the word of a noble\nenvoy, of him who is mighty in the presence of the Lord of the throne,\nhaving authority, obeyed, yea, faithful.\" O God, send thy blessing on\nhim and his house who guide aright, and his companions who built up the\nfaith; and make us followers of his guidance and theirs, and profit us\nall by the loving of him and them: for thou art Almighty, and one meet\nto answer prayer.\n\nAnd now: In a meeting devoted to that learning whose breeze has stilled\nin this age, whose lights are nigh gone out, there ran a mention of\nthe Assemblies which had been invented by Badi'az Zeman, the sage of\nHamadan (God show him mercy); in which he had referred the composition\nto Abu'l Fath of Alexandria and the relation of 'Isa, son of Hisham.\nAnd both these are persons obscure, not known; vague, not to be\nrecognized. Then suggested to me one whose suggestion is as a decree,\nand obedience to whom is as a prize, that I should compose Assemblies,\nfollowing in them the method of Badi' (although the lame steed attains\nnot to outrun like the stout one). Then I reminded him of what is said\nconcerning him who joins even two words, or strings together one or\ntwo verses: and deprecated this position in which the understanding is\nbewildered, and the fancy misses aim, and the depth of the intelligence\nis probed, and a man's real value is made manifest: and in which one\nis forced to be as a wood-gatherer by night, or as he who musters\nfootmen and horsemen together: considering, too, that the voluble\nman is seldom secure or pardoned if he trips. But when he consented\nnot to forbearance, and freed me not from his demand, I assented to\nhis invitation with the assenting of the obedient, and displayed in\naccording with him all my endeavor; and composed, in spite of what\nI suffered from frozen genius, and dimmed intelligence, and failing\njudgment, and afflicting cares, fifty Assemblies, comprising what is\nserious in language and lively, what is delicate in expression and\ndignified; the brilliancies of eloquence and its pearls, and beauties\nof scholarship and its rarities: besides what I have adorned them with\nof verses of the Koran and goodly metonymies, and studded them with of\nArab proverbs, and scholarly elegancies, and grammatical riddles, and\ndecisions dependent on the meaning of words, and original addresses,\nand ornate orations, and tear-moving exhortations, and amusing jests:\nall of which I have indited as by the tongue of Abu Zayd of Seruj,\nwhile I have attributed the relating of them to Al Harith, son of\nHammam, of Basra. And whenever I change the pasture I have no purpose\nbut to inspirit the reader, and to increase the number of those who\nshall seek my book. And of the poetry of others I have introduced\nnothing but two single verses, on which I have based the fabric of the\nAssembly of Holwan; and two others, in a couplet, which I have inserted\nat the conclusion of the Assembly of Kerej. And, as for the rest, my\nown mind is the father of its virginity, the author of its sweet and\nits bitter. Yet I acknowledge withal that Badi' (God show him mercy) is\na mighty passer of goals, a worker of wonders; and that he who essays\nafter him to the composition of an Assembly, even though he be gifted\nwith the eloquence of Kodameh, does but scoop up of his overflow, and\ntravels that path only by his guidance. And excellently said one:\n\n If before it mourned, I had mourned my love for Su'da, then should I\n have healed my soul, nor had afterward to repent.\n\n But it mourned before me, and its mourning excited mine, and I said,\n \"The superiority is to the one that is first.\"\n\nNow I hope I shall not be, in respect of the playful style that\nI display, and the source that I repair to, like the beast that\nscratched up its death with its hoof, or he who cut off his nose with\nhis own hand; so as to be joined to those who are \"most of all losers\nin their works, whose course on earth has been in vain, while they\ncount that they have done fair deeds.\" Since I know that although\nhe who is intelligent and liberal will connive at me, and he who is\nfriendly and partial may defend me, I can hardly escape from the\nsimpleton who is ignorant, or the spiteful man who feigns ignorance;\nwho will detract from me on account of this composition, and will give\nout that it is among the things forbidden of the law. But yet, whoever\nscans matters with the eye of intelligence, and makes good his insight\ninto principles, will rank these Assemblies in the order of useful\nwritings, and class them with the fables that relate to brutes and\nlifeless objects. Now none was ever heard of whose hearing shrank from\nsuch tales, or who held as sinful those who related them at ordinary\ntimes. Moreover, since deeds depend on intentions, and in these lies\nthe effectiveness of religious obligations, what fault is there in\none who composes stories for instruction, not for display, and whose\npurpose in them is the education and not the fablings? Nay, is he not\nin the position of one who assents to doctrine, and \"guides to the\nright path\"?\n\n Yet am I content if I may carry my caprice, and then be quit of it,\n without any debt against me or to me.\n\nAnd of God I seek to be helped in what I purpose, and to be kept from\nthat which makes defective, and to be led to that which leads aright.\nFor there is no refuge but to him, and no seeking of succor but in him,\nand no prospering but from him, and no sanctuary but he. On him I rely,\nand to him I have recourse.\n\n\nTHE FIRST ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF SAN'A\")[15]\n\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: When I mounted the hump of exile,\nand misery removed me from my fellows, the shocks of the time cast me\nto San'a of Yemen. And I entered it with wallets empty, manifest in my\nneed; I had not a meal; I found not in my sack a mouthful. Then began\nI to traverse its ways like one crazed, and to roam in its depths as\nroams the thirsting bird. And wherever ranged my glances, wherever\nran my goings at morn or even, I sought some generous man before whom\nI might fray the tissue of my countenance, to whom I might be open\nconcerning my need; or one well bred, whose aspect might dispel my\npain, whose anecdote might relieve my thirsting. Until the close of my\ncircuit brought me, and the overture of courtesy guided me, to a wide\nplace of concourse, in which was a throng and a wailing. Then I entered\nthe thicket of the crowd to explore what was drawing forth tears. And\nI saw in the middle of the ring a person slender of make; upon him was\nthe equipment of pilgrimage, and he had the voice of lamentation. And\nhe was studding cadences with the jewels of his wording, and striking\nhearings with the reproofs of his admonition. And now the medley of\nthe crowds had surrounded him, as the halo surrounds the moon, or the\nshell the fruit. So I crept toward him, that I might catch of his\nprofitable sayings, and gather up of his gems. And I heard him say, as\nhe coursed along in his career, and the throat of his improvisation\nmade utterance:\n\nO thou reckless in petulance, trailing the garment of vanity! O thou\nheadstrong in follies, turning aside to idle tales! How long wilt thou\npersevere in thine error, and eat sweetly of the pasture of thy wrong?\nHow far wilt thou be extreme in thy pride, and not abstain from thy\nwantonness? Thou provokest by thy rebellion the Master of thy forelock;\nin the foulness of thy behaving thou goest boldly against the Knower\nof thy secret. Thou hidest thyself from thy neighbor, but thou art\nin the sight of thy Watcher; thou concealest from thy slave, but no\nhidden thing is hidden from thy Ruler. Thinkest thou that thy state\nwill profit thee when thy departure draweth near? or that thy wealth\nwill deliver thee when thy deeds destroy thee? or that thy repentance\nwill suffice for thee when thy foot slippeth? or that thy kindred will\nlean to thee in the day that thy judgment-place gathereth thee? How is\nit thou hast not walked in the high-road of guidance, and hastened the\ntreatment of thy disease, and blunted the edge of thine iniquity, and\nrestrained thyself\u2014thy chief enemy? Is not death thy doom? What then is\nthy preparation? Is not gray hair thy warning? What then is thy excuse?\nAnd in the grave's niche thy sleeping-place? What dost thou say? And\nto God thy going? and who shall be thy defender? Oft hath the time\nawakened thee, but thou hast set thyself to slumber; and admonition\nhath drawn thee, but thou hast strained against it; and warnings have\nbeen manifest to thee, but thou hast made thyself blind; and truth hath\nbeen established to thee, but thou hast disputed it; and death hath bid\nthee remember, but thou hast sought to forget; and it hath been in thy\npower to impart of good, but thou hast not imparted. Thou preferrest\nmoney which thou mayest hoard before piety which thou mayest keep in\nmind: thou choosest a castle thou mayest rear rather than bounty thou\nmayest confer. Thou inclinest from the guide from whom thou mightest\nget guidance, to the pelf thou mayest gain as a gift; thou lettest\nthe love of the raiment thou covetest overcome the recompense thou\nmightest earn. The rubies of gifts cling to thy heart more than the\nseasons of prayer; and the heightening of dowries is preferred with\nthee to continuance in almsgivings. The dishes of many meats are more\ndesired to thee than the leaves of doctrines; the jesting of comrades\nis more cheerful to thee than the reading of the Koran. Thou commandest\nto righteousness, but violatest its sanctuary; thou forbiddest from\ndeceit, but refrainest not thyself: thou turnest men from oppression,\nand then thou drawest near to it; thou fearest mankind, but God is more\nworthy that thou shouldest fear him. Then he recited:\n\n Woe to him who seeks the world, and turns to it his careering:\n\n And recovers not from his greediness for it, and the excess of his\n love.\n\n Oh, if he were wise, but a drop of what he seeks would content him.\n\nThen he laid his dust, and let his spittle subside; and put his bottle\non his arm, and his staff under his armpit. And when the company gazed\non his uprising, and saw that he equipped himself to move away from\nthe midst, each of them put his hand into his bosom, and filled for\nhim a bucket from his stream: and said, \"Use this for thy spending,\nor divide it among thy friends.\" And he received it with half-closed\neyes, and turned away from them, giving thanks; and began to take\nleave of whoever would escort him, that his road might be hidden from\nthem; and to dismiss whoever would follow him, that his dwelling might\nbe unknown. Said Al Harith, son of Hammam: Now I went after him,\nconcealing from him my person; and followed on his track from where\nhe could not see me; until he came to a cave, and slipped into it\nsuddenly. So I waited for him till he put off his sandals and washed\nhis feet, and then I ran in upon him; and found him sitting opposite an\nattendant, at some white bread and a roast kid, and over against them\nwas a jar of date-wine. And I said to him, \"Sirrah, was that thy story,\nand is this thy reality? \"But he puffed the puff of heat and went near\nto burst with rage; and ceased not to stare at me till I thought he\nwould leap upon me. But when his fire was allayed, and his flame hid\nitself, he recited:\n\n I don the black robe to seek my meal, and I fix my hook in the hardest\n prey:\n\n And of my preaching I make a noose, and steal with it against the\n chaser and the chased.\n\n Fortune has forced me to make way even to the lion of the thicket by\n the subtlety of my beguiling.\n\n Yet do I not fear its change, nor does my loin quiver at it:\n\n Nor does a covetous mind lead me to water at any well that will soil\n my honor.\n\n Now if Fortune were just in its decree it would not empower the\n worthless with authority.\n\nThen he said to me, \"Come and eat; or, if thou wilt, rise and tell.\"\nBut I turned to his attendant, and said, \"I conjure thee, by him\nthrough whom harm is deprecated, that thou tell me who is this.\" He\nsaid, \"This is Abu Zayd, of Seruj, the light of foreigners, the crown\nof the learned.\" Then I turned back to whence I came, and was extreme\nin wonder at what I saw.\n\n\nTHE SECOND ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF HOLWAN\")[16]\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: Ever since my amulets were doffed\nand my turbans were donned, I was eager to visit learning's seat and\nto jade to it the camels of seeking, that through it I might cleave\nto what would be my ornament among men, my rain-cloud in thirst.\nAnd through the excess of my longing to kindle at it, and my desire\nto robe myself in its raiment, I discussed with every one, great and\nsmall, and sought my draught both of the rain-flood and the dew, and\nsolaced myself with hope and desire. Now when I descended at Holwan,\nand had already tried the brethren, and tested their values, and proved\nwhat was worthless or fine, I found there Abu Zayd of Seruj, shifting\namong the varieties of pedigree, beating about in various courses of\ngain-getting; for at one time he claimed to be of the race of Sasan,\nand at another he made himself kin to the princes of Ghassan; and\nnow he sallied forth in the vesture of poets; and anon he put on the\npride of nobles. And yet with all this diversifying of his condition,\nand this display of contradiction, he is adorned with grace and\ninformation, and courtesy and knowledge, and astonishing eloquence,\nand obedient improvisation, and excelling accomplishments, and a\nfoot that mounts the hills of the sciences. Now, through his goodly\nattainments he is associated with in spite of his faults; and through\nthe largeness of his information there is a fondness for the sight of\nhim; and through the blandishment of his fair-speaking men are loath\nto oppose him; and through the sweetness of his address he is helped\nto his desire. Then I clung to his skirts for the sake of his peculiar\naccomplishments, and valued highly his affection by reason of his\nprecious qualities.\n\n With him I wiped away my cares, and beheld my fortune displayed to me,\n open of face, gleaming with light.\n\n I looked upon his nearness to me as kinship, his abiding as wealth,\n his aspect as a full draught, his life as rain.\n\nThus we remained a long season; he produced for me daily some\npleasantness, and drove some doubt from my heart, until the hand\nof want mixed for him the cup of parting, and the lack of a meal\nurged him to abandon Irak; and the failures of supply cast him into\ndesert regions, and the waving of the banner of distress ranged him\nin the line of travelers; and he sharpened for departure the edge of\ndetermination, and journeyed away, drawing my heart with his leading\ncord.\n\n After he was gone none pleased me who kept by me, none filled me with\n affection by urging me to intimacy.\n\n Since he strayed away none has appeared to me his like in excellence;\n no friend has gotten the equal of his qualities.\n\nSo he was hidden from me a season: I knew not his lair; I found none\nto tell of him; but when I had returned from my wandering to the place\nwhere my branch had sprouted, I was once present in the town library,\nwhich is the council-hall of scholars, the meeting-place of residents\nand strangers: Then there entered one with a thick beard and a squalid\naspect, and he saluted those who sat, and took seat in the last rows\nof the people. Then began he to produce what was in his wallet, and to\nastonish those present by the sagacity of his judgment. And he said to\nthe man who was next him, \"What is the book into which thou lookest?\"\nHe said, \"The poems of Abu 'Obadeh; him of whose excellence men bear\nwitness.\" He said, \"In what thou hast seen hast thou hit on any fine\nthing which thou admirest?\" He said, \"Yes; the line,\n\n As though she smiled from strung pearls or hailstones, or\n camomile-flowers.\n\nFor it is original in the use of similitude which it contains.\" He said\nto him, \"Here is a wonder! here is a lack of taste, Sir, thou hast\ntaken for fat what is only swollen; thou hast blown on that which is no\nfuel: where art thou in comparison with the rare verse which unites the\nsimilitudes of the teeth?\n\n My life a ransom for those teeth whose beauty charms, and which a\n purity adorns sufficing thee for all other.\n\n She parts her lips from fresh pearls, and from hail-stones, and from\n camomile-flowers, and from the palm-shoot, and from bubbles.\n\nThen each one approved the couplet and admired it, and bade him repeat\nit and dictate it. And he was asked, \"Whose is this verse, and is its\nauthor living or dead?\" He said, \"By Allah, right is most worthy to be\nfollowed, and truth is most fitting to be listened to: Know, friends,\nthat it is his who talks with you to-day.\" Said Al Harith: Now it was\nas though the company doubted of his fathering, and were unwilling to\ngive credit to his claim. And he perceived what had fallen into their\nthoughts, and was aware of their inward unbelief; and was afraid that\nblame might chance to him, or ill-fame reach him; so he quoted from\nthe Koran, \"Some suspicions are a sin.\" Then he said, \"O ye reciters\nof verse, physicians of sickly phrase!\u2014Truly the purity of the gem\nis shown by the testing, and the hand of truth rends the cloak of\ndoubt.\u2014Now it was said aforetime that by trial is a man honored or\ncontemned. So come! I now expose my hidden store to the proving, I\noffer my saddle-bag for comparison.\" Then hastened one who was there\nand said: \"I know a verse such that there is no weaving on its beam,\nsuch that no genius can supply one after its image. Now, if thou wish\nto draw our hearts to thee, compose after this style:\n\n She rained pearls from the daffodil, and watered the rose, and bit\n upon the _'unnab_ with hail-stone.\n\nAnd it was but the glance of an eye, or less, before he recited rarely:\n\n I asked her when she met me to put off her crimson veil, and to endow\n my hearing with the sweetest of tidings:\n\n And she removed the ruddy light which covered the brightness of her\n moon, and she dropped pearls from a perfumed ring.\n\nThen all present were astonished at his readiness, and acknowledged his\nhonesty. And when he perceived that they approved his diction, and were\nhastening into the path of honoring him, he looked down the twinkling\nof an eye; then he said, \"Here are two other verses for you\"; and\nrecited:\n\n She came on the day when departure afflicted, in black robes, biting\n her fingers like one regretful, confounded:\n\n And night lowered on her morn, and a branch supported them both, and\n she bit into crystal with pearls.\n\nThen did the company set high his value, and deem that his steady rain\nwas a plenteous one; and they made pleasant their converse with him,\nand gave him goodly clothing. Said the teller of this story: Now when\nI saw the blazing of his firebrand, and the gleam of his unveiled\nbrightness, I fixed a long look to guess at him, and made my eye to\nstray over his countenance. And lo! he was our Shaykh of Seruj; but\nnow his dark night was moon-lit. Then I congratulated myself on his\ncoming thither, and hastened to kiss his hand: and said to him, \"What\nhas changed thy appearance, so that I could not recognize thee? what\nhas made thy beard gray, so that I knew not thy countenance?\" And he\nindited and said:\n\n The stroke of calamities makes us hoary, and fortune to men is a\n changer.\n\n If it yields to-day to any, to-morrow it overcomes him.\n\n Trust not the gleam of its lightning, for it is a deceitful gleam.\n\n But be patient if it hounds calamities against thee, and drives them\n on.\n\n For there is no disgrace on the pure gold when it is turned about in\n the fire.\n\nThen he rose and departed from his place, and carried away our hearts\nwith him.\n\n\nTHE THIRD ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF KAYLAH\")[17]\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: I was set with some comrades in\na company wherein he that made appeal was never bootless, and the\nrubbing of the fire-shafts never failed, and the flame of contention\nnever blazed. And while we were catching from each other the cues of\nrecitations, and betaking ourselves to novelties of anecdote, behold\nthere stood by us one on whom was a worn garment, and in whose walk\nwas a limp. And he said, O ye best of treasures, joys of your kindred:\nHealth to you this morning; may ye enjoy your morning draught. Look\non one who was erewhile master of guest-room and largess, wealth and\nbounty, land and villages, dishes and feasting. But the frowning of\ncalamities ceased not from him, and the warrings of sorrows, and\nthe fire-flakes of the malice of the envious, and the succession of\ndark befallings, until the court was empty, and the yard was bare,\nand the fountain sank, and the dwelling was desolate, and the hall\nwas void, and the chamber stone-strewed. And fortune shifted so that\nthe household wailed; and the stalls were vacant, so that the rival\nhad compassion; and the cattle and the goods they perished, so that\nthe envious and malignant pitied. And to such a pass did we come,\nthrough assailing fortune and prostrating need, that we were shod with\nsoreness, and fed on choking, and filled our bellies with ache, and\nwrapped our entrails upon hunger, and anointed our eyes with watching,\nand made pits our home, and deemed thorns a smooth bed, and came to\nforget our saddles, and thought destroying death to be sweet, and the\nordained day to be tardy. And now is there any one generous to heal,\nbountiful to bestow? For by him who made me to spring from Kaylah,\nsurely I am now a brother of penury, I have not a night's victual.\n\nSaid Al Harith, son of Hammam: Now I pitied his distresses, and\ninclined to the eliciting of his rhymes. So I drew forth for him a\ndenar, and said to him, to prove him, \"If thou praise it in verse it\nis thine, full surely.\" And he betook himself to recite on the spot,\nborrowing nothing:\n\n How noble is that yellow one, whose yellowness is pure,\n Which traverses the regions, and whose journeying is afar.\n Told abroad are its fame and repute:\n Its lines are set as the secret sign of wealth;\n Its march is coupled with the success of endeavors;\n Its bright look is loved by mankind;\n As though its ore had been molten of their hearts.\n By its aid whoever has gotten it in his purse assails boldly,\n Though kindred be perished, or tardy to help.\n Oh charming are its purity and brightness;\n Charming are its sufficiency and help.\n How many a ruler is there whose rule has been perfected by it!\n How many a sumptuous one is there whose grief, but for it,\n would be endless!\n How many a host of cares has one charge of it put to flight!\n How many a full moon has a sum of it brought down!\n How many a one burning with rage, whose coal is flaming,\n Has it been secretly whispered to, and then his anger has softened.\n How many a prisoner, whom his kin had yielded,\n Has it delivered, so that his gladness has been unmingled,\n Now by the Truth of the Lord whose creation brought it forth,\n Were it not for his fear, I should say its power is supreme.\n\nThen he stretched forth his hand after his recitation, and said, \"The\nhonorable man performs what he promises, and the rain-cloud pours if\nit has thundered.\" So I threw him the denar, and said, \"Take it; no\ngrudging goes with it.\" And he put it in his mouth and said, \"God bless\nit.\" Then he girt up his skirts for departure, after that he had paid\nhis thanks. But there arose in me, through his pleasantry, a giddiness\nof desire which made me ready to incur indebtedness. So I bared another\ndenar, and said, \"Does it suit thee to blame this, and then gather it?\"\nAnd he recited impromptu, and sang with speed:\n\n Ruin on it for a deceiver and insincere,\n The yellow one with two faces like a hypocrite!\n It shows forth with two qualities to the eye of him that looks on it,\n The adornment of the loved one, the color of the lover.\n Affection for it, think they who judge truly,\n Tempts men to commit that which shall anger their Maker.\n But for it no thief's right hand were cut off;\n Nor would tyranny be displayed by the impious;\n Nor would the niggard shrink from the night-farer;\n Nor would the delayed claimant mourn the delay of him that withholds;\n Nor would men call to God from the envious who casts at them.\n Moreover, the worst quality that it possesses\n Is that it helps thee not in straits,\n Save by fleeing from thee like a runaway slave.\n Well done he who casts it away from a hill-top,\n And who, when it whispers to him with the whispering of a lover,\n Says to it in the words of the truth-speaking, the veracious,\n \"I have no mind for intimacy with thee\u2014begone!\"\n\nThen said I to him, \"How abundant is thy shower!\" He said, \"Agreement\nbinds strongest.\" So I tossed him the second denar and said,\n\"Consecrate them both with the Twice-read Chapter.\" He cast it into\nhis mouth and joined it with its twin, and turned away blessing his\nmorning's walk, praising the assembly and its bounty. Said Al Harith,\nson of Hammam: Now my heart whispered me that he was Abu Zayd, and\nthat his going lame was for a trick; so I called him back and said to\nhim, \"Thou art recognized by thy eloquence, so straighten thy walk.\"\nHe said, \"If thou be the son of Hammam, be thou greeted with honor\nand live long among the honorable.\" I said, \"I am Harith; but what is\nthy condition amid all thy fortunes.\" He said, \"I change between two\nconditions, distress and ease; and I veer with two winds, the tempest\nand the breeze.\" I said, \"And how hast thou pretended lameness? the\nlike of thee plays not buffoon.\" Then his cheerfulness, which had shone\nforth, waned; but he recited as he moved away:\n\n I have feigned to be lame, not from love of lameness, but that I may\n knock at the gate of relief.\n\n For my cord is thrown on my neck, and I go as one who ranges freely.\n\n Now if men blame me I say, \"Excuse me: sure there is no guilt on the\n lame.\"\n\n\nTHE FOURTH ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF DAMIETTA\")[18]\n\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: I journeyed to Damietta in a year\nof much coming and going, and in those days was I glanced after for\nmy affluence, desired in friendship: I trained the bordered robes of\nwealth and looked upon the features of joy. And I was traveling with\ncompanions who had broken the staff of dissension, who were suckled\non the milk-flows of concord, so that they showed like the teeth of\na comb in uniformity, and like one soul in agreement of desires; but\nwe coursed on withal apace, and not one of us but had saddled a fleet\nshe-camel; and if we alighted at a station or went aside to a spring,\nwe snatched the halt and lengthened not the staying.\n\nNow it happened that we were urging our camels on a night youthful\nin prime, raven-locked of complexion; and we journeyed until the\nnight-season had put off its prime, and the morning had wiped away\nthe dye of the dark; but when we wearied of the march and inclined to\ndrowsiness, we came upon a ground with dew-moistened hillocks, and a\nfaint east breeze: and we chose it as a resting-place for the white\ncamels, an abode for the night-halt. Now when the caravan had descended\nthere, and the groan and the roar of the beasts were still, I heard a\nloud-voiced man say to his talk-fellow in the camp, \"What is the rule\nof thy conduct with thy people and neighbors?\" The other answered, I am\nduteous to my neighbor though he wrong me; and give my fellowship even\nto the violent; and bear with a partner though he disorder my affairs;\nand love my friend even though he drench me with a tepid draught; and\nprefer my well-wisher above my brother; and fulfil to my comrade even\nthough he requite me not with a tenth; and think little of much if it\nbe of my guest; and whelm my companion with my kindness; and put my\ntalk-fellow in the place of my prince; and hold my intimate to be as my\nchief; and commit my gifts to my acquaintance; and confer my comforts\non my associate; and soften my speech to him that hates me; and\ncontinue to ask after him that disregards me; and am pleased with but\nthe crumbs of my due; and am content with but the least portion of my\nreward; and complain not of wrong even when I am wronged; and revenge\nnot, even though a viper sting me.\n\nThen said his companion to him, Alas! my boy, only he who clings\nshould be clung to; only he who is valuable should be prized. As\nfor me I give only to him who will requite; I distinguish not the\ninsolent by my regard; nor will I be of pure affection to one who\nrefuses me fair-dealing; nor treat as a brother one who would undo my\ntethering-rope; nor aid one who would baulk my hopes; nor care for one\nwho would cut my cords; nor be courteous to him who ignores my value;\nnor give my leading rope to one who breaks my covenant; nor be free\nof my love to my adversaries; nor lay aside my menace to the hostile;\nnor plant my benefits on the land of my enemies; nor be willing to\nimpart to him who rejoices at my ills; nor show my regard to him who\nwill exult at my death; nor favor with my gifts any but my friends; nor\ncall to the curing of my sickness any but those who love me; nor confer\nmy friendship on him who will not stop my breach; nor make my purpose\nsincere to him who wishes my decease; nor be earnest in prayer for him\nwho will not fill my wallet; nor pour out my praise on him who empties\nmy jar. For who has adjudged that I should be lavish and thou shouldest\nhoard, that I should be soft and thou rough, that I should melt and\nthou freeze, that I should blaze and thou smolder? No, by Allah, but\nlet us balance in speech as coin, and match in deed as sandals, that\neach to each we may be safe from fraud and free from hatred. For\nelse, why should I give thee full water and thou stint me? why should\nI hear with thee and thou contemn me? why should I gain for thee and\nthou wound me? why should I advance to thee and thou repel me? For how\nshould fair-dealing be attracted by injury? how can the sun rise clear\nwith cloud? And when did love follow docilely after wrong? and what man\nof honor consents to a state of abasement? For excellently said thy\nfather:\n\n Whoso attaches his affection to me, I repay him as one who builds on\n his foundation:\n\n And I mete to a friend as he metes to me, according to the fulness of\n his meting or its defect.\n\n I make him not a loser! for the worst of men is he whose to-day falls\n short of his yesterday.\n\n Whoever seeks fruit of me gets only the fruit of his own planting.\n\n I seek not to defraud, but I will not come off with the bargain of one\n who is weak in his reason.\n\n I hold not truth binding on me toward a man who holds it not binding\n on himself.\n\n There may be some one insincere in love who fancies that I am true in\n my friendship for him, while he is false;\n\n And knows not in his ignorance that I pay my creditor his debt after\n its kind.\n\n Sunder, with the sundering of hate, from one who would make thee a\n fool, and hold him as one entombed in his grave.\n\n And toward him in whose intercourse there is aught doubtful put on the\n garb of one who shrinks from his intimacy.\n\n And hope not for affection from any who sees that thou art in want of\n his money.\n\nSaid Al Harith, son of Hammam: Now, when I had gathered what passed\nbetween them, I longed to know them in person. And when the sun shone\nforth, and robed the sky with light, I went forth before the camels\nhad risen, and with an earliness beyond the earliness of the crow, and\nbegan to follow the direction of that night-voice, and to examine the\nfaces with a searching glance: until I caught sight of Abu Zayd and\nhis son talking together, and upon them were two worn mantles. Then\nI knew that they were my two talkers of the night, the authors of my\nrecitation. So I approached them as one enamored of their refinement,\npitying their shabbiness; and offered them a removal to my lodging,\nand the disposal of my much and my little; and began to tell abroad\ntheir worth among the travelers, and to shake for them the fruited\nbranches; until they were whelmed with gifts, and taken as friends.\nNow we were in a night-camp, whence we could discern the build of the\nvillages, and spy the fires of hospitality. And when Abu Zayd saw that\nhis purse was full, and his distress removed, he said to me, \"Truly my\nbody is dirty, and my filth has caked: Wilt thou permit me to go to\na village, and bathe, and fulfil this urgent need?\" I said, \"If thou\nwilt; but quick! return!\" He said, \"Thou shalt find me appear again to\nthee, quicker than the glancing of thine eye.\" Then he coursed away,\nas courses the good steed in the training-ground, and said to his son,\n\"Haste! haste!\" And we imagined not that he was deceiving, or seeking\nto escape. So we stayed and watched for him as men watch for the new\nmoons of feasts, and made search for him by spies and scouts, until the\nsunlight was weak with age, and the wasted bank of the day had nigh\ncrumbled in. Then, when the term of waiting had been prolonged, and the\nsun showed in faded garb, I said to my companions, \"We have gone to the\nextreme in delay, and have been long in the setting forth; so that we\nhave lost time, and it is plain that the man was lying. Now, therefore,\nprepare for the journey, and turn not aside to the greenness of\ndung-heaps.\" Then I rose to equip my camel and lade for the departure;\nand found that Abu Zayd had written on the pack-saddle:\n\n Oh thou, who wast to me an arm and a helper, above all mankind!\n\n Reckon not that I have left thee through impatience or ingratitude:\n\n For since I was born I have been of those who \"when they have eaten\n separate.\"\n\nSaid Al Harith: Then I made the company read the words of the Koran\nthat were on the pack-saddle, so that he who had blamed him might\nexcuse him. And they admired his witticism, but commanded themselves\nfrom his mischief. Then we set forth, nor could we learn whose company\nhe had gotten in our place.\n\n\nTHE FIFTH ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF KUFA\")[19]\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: I was conversing at Kufa, in a\nnight whose complexion was of a two-fold hue, whose moon was as an\namulet of silver, with companions who had been nourished on the milk of\neloquence, who might draw the train of oblivion over Sahban. Each was a\nman to remember from, and not to guard against; each was one whom his\nfriend would incline to, and not avoid. And the night talk fascinated\nus until the moon had set, and the watching overcame us. Now when\nnight's unmingled dark had spread its awning, and there was naught but\nnodding among us, we heard from the gate the faint sound of a wayfarer,\nrousing the dogs; then followed the knock of one bidding to open. We\nsaid, \"Who is it that comes in the dark night?\" Then the traveler\nanswered:\n\n O people of the mansion, be ye guarded from ill!\n Meet not harm as long as ye live!\n Lo! the night which glooms has driven\n To your abode one disheveled, dust-laden,\n A brother of journeying, that has been lengthened, extended,\n Till he has become bent and yellow\n Like the new moon of the horizon when it smiles.\n And now he approaches your courtyard, begging boldly,\n And repairs to you before all people else,\n To seek from you food and a lodging.\n Ye have in him a guest contented, ingenuous,\n One pleased with all, whether sweet or bitter,\n One who will withdraw from you, publishing your bounty.\n\nSaid Al Harith, son of Hammam: Now when we were caught by the sweetness\nof his utterance, and knew what was behind his lightning, we hastened\nto open the gate, and met him with welcome; and said to the boy \"Quick,\nquick! bring what is ready!\" Then said our guest, \"Now, by him who has\nset me down at your abode, I will not roll my tongue over your food,\nunless ye pledge me that ye will not make me a burden, that ye will\nnot, for my sake, task yourselves with a meal. For sometimes a morsel\naches the eater, and forbids him his repasts. And the worst of guests\nis he who imposes trouble and annoys his host, and especially with a\nharm that affects the body and tends to sickness. For, by that proverb,\nwhich is widely current, 'The best Slippers are those that are clearly\nseen,' is only meant that supper-time should be hastened, and eating\nby night, which dims the sight, avoided. Unless, by Allah, the fire\nof hunger kindle and stand in the way of sleep.\" Said Al Harith: Now\nit was as though he had got sight of our desire, and so had shot with\nthe bow of our conviction. Accordingly we gratified him by agreeing\nto the condition, and commended him for his easy temper. And when the\nboy brought what was to be had, and lighted the candle in the midst of\nus, I looked close at him, and lo! it was Abu Zayd. So I said to my\ncompany, \"Joy to you of the guest who has come! Nay, but the spoil is\nlightly won! For if the moon of Sirius has gone down, truly the moon of\npoetry has risen: Or if the full moon of the Lion has waned, the full\nmoon of eloquence shines forth.\" Then ran through them the wine-glow\nof joy, and sleep flew away from their eye-corners. And they refused\nthe rest which they had purposed, and returned to the spreading out of\npleasantry, after they had folded it. But Abu Zayd kept intent upon\nplying his hands; however, when what was before him might be removed,\nI said to him, \"Present us with one of the rare stories from thy night\ntalkings, or some wonder from among the wonders of thy journeys.\"\nHe said, \"Of wonders I have met with such as no seers have seen, no\ntellers have told. But among the most wondrous was that which I beheld\nto-night, a little before my visit to you and my coming to your gate.\"\nThen we bade him tell us of this new thing which he had seen in the\nfield of his night-faring. He said, Truly the hurlings of exile have\nthrown me to this land: And I was in hunger and distress, with a scrip\nlike the heart of the mother of Moses. Now, as soon as the dark had\nsettled, I arose, in spite of all my footsoreness, to seek a host or to\ngain a loaf. Then the driver hunger, and Fate, which is by-named the\nFather of Wonders, urged me on, till I stood at the door of a house,\nand spoke, improvising:\n\n Hail people of this dwelling,\n May ye live in the ease of a plenteous life!\n What have ye for a son of the road, one crushed to the sand,\n Worn with journeys, stumbling in the night-dark night,\n Aching in entrails, which enclose naught but hunger?\n For two days he has not tasted the savor of a meal:\n In your land there is no refuge for him.\n And already the van of the drooping darkness has gloomed;\n And through bewilderment he is in restlessness.\n Now in this abode is there any one, sweet of spring,\n Who will say to me, \"Throw away thy staff and enter:\n Rejoice in a cheerful welcome and a ready meal?\"\n\nThen came forth to me a lad in a tunic, and answered:\n\n Now by the sanctity of the Shaykh who ordained hospitality,\n And founded the House of Pilgrimage in the Mother of cities,\n We have naught for the night-farer when he visits us\n But conversation and a lodging in our hall.\n For how should he entertain whom hinders from sleepfulness\n Hunger which peels his bones when it assails him?\n Now what thinkest thou of my tale? what thinkest thou?\n\nI said, \"What shall I do with an empty house, and a host the ally of\npenury? But tell me, youth, what is thy name, for thy understanding\nhas charmed me.\" He said, \"My name is Zayd, and my birth-place Fayd:\nand I came to this city yesterday with my mother's kindred of the Benu\n'Abs.\" I said to him, \"Show me further, so mayest thou live and be\nraised when thou fallest!\" He said, \"My mother Barrah told me (and she\nis like her name, 'pious') that she married in the year of the foray on\nMawan a man of the nobles of Seruj and Ghassan; but when he was aware\nof her pregnancy (for he was a crafty bird, it is said) he made off\nfrom her by stealth, and away he has stayed, nor is it known whether\nhe is alive and to be looked for, or whether he has been laid in the\nlonely tomb.\" Said Abu Zayd, \"Now I knew by sure signs that he was my\nchild; but the emptiness of my hand turned me from making known to\nhim, so I parted from him with heart crushed and tears unsealed. And\nnow, ye men of understanding, have ye heard aught more wondrous than\nthis wonder?\" We said, \"No, by him who has knowledge of the Book.\" He\nsaid, \"Record it among the wonders of chance; bid it abide forever in\nthe hearts of scrolls; for nothing like it has been told abroad in the\nworld.\" Then he bade bring the ink-flask, and its snake-like reeds, and\nwe wrote the story elegantly as he worded it; after which we sought to\ndraw from him his wish about receiving his boy. He said, \"If my purse\nwere heavy, then to take charge of my son would be light.\" We said,\n\"If a _nisab_ of money would suffice thee, we will collect it for thee\nat once.\" He said, \"And how should a _nisab_ not content me? would any\nbut a madman despise such a sum?\" Said the narrator, Then each of us\nundertook a share of it, and wrote for him an order for it. Whereupon\nhe gave thanks for the kindness, and exhausted the plenteousness of\npraise; until we thought his speech long, or our merit little. And\nthen he spread out such a bright mantle of talk as might shame the\nstuffs of Yemen, until the dawn appeared and the light-bearing morn\nwent forth. So we spent a night of which the mixed hues had departed,\nuntil its hind-locks grew gray in the dawn; and whose lucky stars\nwere sovereign until its branch budded into light. But when the limb\nof the sun peeped forth, he leaped up as leaps the gazelle, and said,\n\"Rise up, that we may take hold on the gifts and draw payment of the\nchecks: for the clefts of my heart are widening through yearning after\nmy child.\" So I went with him, hand in hand, to make easy his success.\nBut as soon as he had secured the coin in his purse the marks of his\njoy flashed forth, and he said, \"Be thou rewarded for the steps of thy\nfeet! be God my substitute toward thee!\" I said, \"I wish to follow\nthee that I may behold thy noble child, and speak with him that he\nmay answer eloquently.\" Then looked he at me as looks the deceiver on\nthe deceived, and laughed till his eyeballs gushed with tears; and he\nrecited:\n\n O thou who didst fancy the mirage to be water when I quoted to thee\n what I quoted!\n\n I thought not that my guile would be hidden, or that it would be\n doubtful what I meant.\n\n By Allah, I have no Barrah for a spouse; I have no son from whom to\n take a by-name.\n\n Nothing is mine but divers kinds of magic, in which I am original and\n copy no one:\n\n They are such as Al Asma'i tells not of in what he has told; such as\n Al Komayt never wove.\n\n These I use when I will to reach whatever my hand would pluck:\n\n And were I to abandon them, changed would be my state, nor should I\n gain what I now gain.\n\n So allow my excuse; nay, pardon me, if I have done wrong or crime.\n\nThen he took leave of me and passed away, and set coals of the _ghada_\nin my breast.\n\n\nTHE SIXTH ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF MERAGHAH,\" OR \"THE DIVERSIFIED\")[20]\n\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: I was present in the Court of\nSupervision at Meraghah when the talk ran of eloquence. Then agreed\nall who were there of the knights of the pen, and the lords of genius,\nthat there remained no one who could select his diction, or use himself\nfreely in it as he willed: and that since the men of old were gone,\nthere was none now left who could originate a brilliant method, or\nopen a virgin style. And that even one marvelous among the writers\nof this age, and holding in his grasp the cords of eloquence, is but\na dependent on the ancients, even though he possess the fluency of\nSahban Wa'il. Now there was in the assembly an elderly man, sitting on\nthe outskirts, in the places of the attendants: and as often as the\ncompany overran in their career, and scattered fruit, good and bad,\nfrom their store, the side-glance of his eye and the up-turning of\nhis nose showed that he was one silent to spring, one crouching who\nwould extend his stride: that he was a twanger of the bow who shapes\nhis arrows, one who sits in wait desiring the conflict. But when the\nquivers were empty, and quiet returned; when the storms had fallen, and\nthe disputer was stayed, he turned to the company and said, Ye have\nuttered a grievous thing; ye have wandered much from the way: for ye\nhave magnified moldering bones; ye have been excessive in your leaning\nto those who are gone; ye have contemned your generation, among whom\nye were born, and with whom your friendships are established. Have ye\nforgotten, ye skilful in testing, ye sages of loosing and binding,\nhow much new springs have given forth; how the colt has surpassed the\nfull-grown steed; in refined expressions, and delightful metaphors,\nand ornate addresses, and admired cadences? And, if any one here will\nlook diligently, is there in the ancients aught but ideas whose paths\nare worn, whose ranges are restricted; which have been handed down from\nthem through the priority of their birth, not from any superiority in\nhim who draws first at the well over him who comes after? Now truly\nknow I one who, when he composes, colors richly; and when he expresses,\nembellishes; and when he is lengthy, finds golden thoughts; and when he\nis brief, baffles his imitator; and when he improvises, astonishes; and\nwhen he creates, cuts the envious.\n\nThen said to him the President of the Court, the Eye of those Eyes:\n\"Who is it that strikes on this rock, that is the hero of these\nqualities?\" He said, \"It is the adversary of this thy skirmish, the\npartner of thy disputation: Now, if thou wilt, rein a good steed, call\nforth one who will answer, so shalt thou see a wonder.\" He said to\nhim, \"Stranger, the chough in our land is not taken for an eagle, and\nwith us it is easy to discern between silver and shingle. Rare is he\nwho exposes himself to the conflict, and then escapes the mortal hurt;\nor who stirs up the dust of trial, and then catches not the mote of\ncontempt. So offer not thy honor to shame, turn not from the counsel\nof the counselor.\" He answered, \"Each man knows best the mark of his\narrow, and be sure the night shall disclose its morn.\"\n\nThen whispered the company as to how his well should be fathomed, and\nhis proving undertaken. Said one of them, \"Leave him to my share, that\nI may pelt him with the stone of my story; for it is the tightest of\nknots, the touchstone of testing.\" Then they invested him with the\ncommand in this business as the Rebels invested Abu Na'ameh. Whereupon\nhe turned to the elder and said, Know that I am attached to this\nGovernor and maintain my condition by ornamental eloquence. Now, in\nmy country, I could rely for the straightening of my crookedness on\nthe sufficiency of my means, coupled with the smallness of my family.\nBut when my back was weighted, and my thin rain failed, I repaired to\nhim from my home with hope, and besought him to restore my comeliness\nand my competence. And he looked pleasantly on my coming, and was\ngracious, and served me morn and even. But when I sought permission\nfrom him to depart to my abode, on the shoulder of cheerfulness, he\nsaid, \"I have determined that I will not provide thee with supplies,\nI will bring together for thee no scattered means, unless, before thy\ndeparture, thou compose an address, setting in it an exposition of thy\nstate; such, that the letters of one of every two words shall all have\ndots, while the letters of the other shall not be pointed at all.\" And\nnow have I waited for my eloquence a twelvemonth, but it has returned\nme not a word; and I have roused my wit for a year, but only my\nsluggishness has increased. And I have sought aid among the gathering\nof the scribes, but each of them has frowned and drawn back. Now, if\nthou hast disclosed thy character with accuracy, _Come with a sign if\nthou be of the truthful._\n\nThen answered the elder, \"Thou hast put a good steed to the pace; thou\nhast sought water at a full stream; thou hast given the bow to him\nwho fashioned it; thou hast lodged in the house him who built it.\"\nAnd he thought a while till he had let his flow of wit collect, his\nmilch-camel fill her udder: and then he said: Wool thy ink-flask, and\ntake thy implements and write:\n\n\"Generosity (may God establish the host of thy successes) adorns; but\nmeanness (may fortune cast down the eyelid of thy enviers) dishonors;\nthe noble rewards, but the base disappoints; the princely entertains,\nbut the niggard frights away; the liberal nourishes, but the churl\npains; giving relieves, but deferring torments; blessing protects,\nand praise purifies; the honorable repays, for repudiation abases; the\nrejection of him who should be respected is error; a denial to the\nsons of hope is outrage; and none is miserly but the fool, and none is\nfoolish but the miser; and none hoards but the wretched; for the pious\nclenches not his palms.\n\n\"But thy promise ceases not to fulfil; thy sentiments cease not to\nrelieve; nor thy clemency to indulge; nor thy new moon to illumine; nor\nthy bounty to enrich; nor thy enemies to praise thee; nor thy blade\nto destroy; nor thy princeship to build up; nor thy suitor to gain;\nnor thy praiser to win; nor thy kindness to succor; nor thy heaven to\nrain; nor thy milk-flow to abound; nor thy refusal to be rare. Now he\nwho hopes in thee is an old man like a shadow, one to whom nothing\nremains. He seeks thee with a persuasion whose eagerness leaps onward;\nhe praises thee in choice phrases, which merit their dowries. His\ndemand is a light one, his claims are clear; his praise is striven\nfor, his blame is shunned. And behind him is a household whom misery\nhas touched, whom wrong has stripped, whom squalor involves. And he is\never in tears that come at call, and trouble that melts him, and care\nthat is as a guest, and growing sadness: on account of hope that has\ndisappointed him, and loss that has made him hoary, and the enemy that\nhas fixed tooth in him, and the quiet that is gone. And yet his love\nhas not swerved, that there should be anger at him; nor is his wood\nrotten, that he should be lopped away; nor has his breast spit foulness\nthat he should be shaken off; nor has his intercourse been froward\nthat he should be hated. Now thy honor admits not the rejection of his\nclaim, so whiten his hope by the lightening of his distress: then will\nhe publish thy praise throughout the world. So mayest thou live to\navert misfortune, and to bestow wealth; to heal grief and to care for\nthe aged: attended by affluence and fresh joyousness; as long as the\nhall of the rich is visited, or the delusion of the selfish is feared.\nAnd so Peace.\"\n\nNow when he had ceased from the dictation of his address, and showed\nforth his prowess in the strife of eloquence, the company gratified him\nboth by word and deed, and made large to him their courtesy and their\nbounty. Then was he asked from what tribe was his origin, and in what\nvalley was his lair; and he answered:\n\n Ghassan is my noble kindred, and Seruj my ancient land:\n\n There my home was like the sun in splendor and mighty rank;\n\n And my dwelling was as paradise in sweetness and pleasantness and\n worth.\n\n Oh, excellent were the life I led there and the plenteous delights,\n\n In the day that I drew my broidered robe in its meadow, sharp of\n purpose,\n\n I walked proudly in the mantle of youth and looked upon goodly\n pleasures;\n\n Fearing not the visitations of time and its evil haps.\n\n Now if grief could kill, surely I should perish from my abiding griefs;\n\n Or if past life could be redeemed my good heart's blood should redeem\n it.\n\n For death is better for a man than to live the life of a beast.\n\n When the ring of subjection leads him to mighty trouble and outrage,\n\n And he sees lions whom the paws of assailing hyenas seize.\n\n But the fault is in the time: but for its ill luck character would not\n miss its place:\n\n If the time were upright, then would the conditions of men be upright\n in it.\n\nAfter this his story reached the Governor, who filled his mouth with\npearls, and bade him join himself to his followers, and preside\nover his court of public writing. But the gifts sufficed him, and\nunwillingness restrained him from office. Said the narrator: Now I\nhad recognized the wood of his tree before the ripening of his fruit:\nAnd I had nigh roused the people to the loftiness of his worth before\nthat his full moon shone forth. But he hinted to me by a twinkle of\nhis eyelid that I should not bare his sword from its sheath. And when\nhe was going forth, full of purse, and parting from us, having gotten\nvictory, I escorted him, performing the duty of respect, and chiding\nhim for his refusal of office. But he turned away with a smile and\nrecited with a chant:\n\n Sure to traverse the lands in poverty is dearer to me than rank:\n\n For in rulers there is caprice and fault-finding, oh what\n fault-finding!\n\n There is none of them who completes his good work, or who builds up\n where has laid foundation.\n\n So let not the glare of the mirage beguile thee; undertake not that\n which is doubtful:\n\n For how many a dreamer has his dream made joyful; but fear has come\n upon him when he waked.\n\n\nTHE SEVENTH ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF BARAK'ID\")[21]\n\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: I had determined on journeying\nfrom Barak'id; but now I noted the signs of the coming feast, and I\ndisliked to set forth from the city until I had witnessed there the day\nof adornment. So when it came on with its rites, bounden or of free\nwill, and brought up its horsemen and footmen, I followed the tradition\nin new apparel, and went forth with the people to keep festival. Now\nwhen the congregation of the prayer-court was gathered and ranged,\nand the crowding took men's breath, there appeared an old man in a\npair of cloaks, and his eyes were closed: and he bore on his arm what\nwas like a horse-bag, and had for a guide an old woman like a goblin.\nThen he stopped, as stops one tottering to sink, and greeted with the\ngreeting of him whose voice is feeble. And when he had made an end of\nhis salutation he circled his five fingers in his wallet, and brought\nforth scraps of paper that had been written on with colors of dyes in\nthe season of leisure, and gave them to his old beldame, bidding her to\ndetect each simple one. So whenever she perceived of any that his hand\nwas moist in bounty, she cast one of the papers before him. Said Al\nHarith: Now cursed fate allotted to me a scrap whereon was written:\n\n Sure I have become crushed with pains and fears;\n Tried by the proud one, the crafty, the assailer,\n By the traitor among my brethren, who hates me for my need,\n By jading from those who work to undo my toils.\n How oft do I burn through spites and penury and wandering;\n How oft do I tramp in shabby garb, thought of by none.\n Oh, would that fortune when it wronged me had slain my babes!\n For were not my cubs torments to me and ills,\n I would not have addressed my hopes to kin or lord:\n Nor would I draw my skirts along the track of abasement.\n For my garret would be more seemly for me, and my rags more honorable.\n Now is there a generous man who will see that the lightening of my\n loads must be by a denar;\n Or will quench the heat of my anxiety by a shirt and trousers?\n\nSaid Al Harith, son of Hammam: Now when I had looked on the garb of\nthe verses, I longed for a knowledge of him who wove it, the broiderer\nof its pattern. And my thought whispered to me that the way to him was\nthrough the old woman, and advised me that a fee to an informer is\nlawful. So I watched her, and she was wending through the rows, row by\nrow, begging a dole of the hands, hand by hand. But not at all did the\ntrouble prosper her; no purse shed aught upon her palm. Wherefore when\nher soliciting was baffled, and her circuit wearied her, she commended\nherself to God with the \"Return,\" and addressed herself to collect\nthe scraps of paper. But the devil made her forget the scrap that I\nheld, and she turned not aside to my spot: but went back to the old man\nweeping at the denial, complaining of the oppression of the time. And\nhe said, \"In God's hands I am, to God I commit my case; there is no\nstrength or power but by God,\" then he recited:\n\n There remains not any pure, not any sincere; not a spring, not a\n helper:\n\n But of baseness there is one level; not any is trusty, not any of\n worth.\n\nThen said he to her, \"Cheer thy soul and promise it good; collect the\npapers and count them.\" She said, \"Truly I counted them when I asked\nthem back, and I found that one of them the hand of loss had seized.\"\nHe said, \"Perdition on thee, wretch; shall we be hindered, alas, both\nof the prey and the net, both of the brand and the wick? Surely this\nis a new handful to the load.\" Then did the old woman hasten back,\nretracing her path to seek her scroll; and when she drew near to me\nI put with the paper a dirhem and a mite, and said to her, \"If thou\nhast a fondness for the polished, the engraved (and I pointed to the\ndirhem), show me the secret, the obscure; but if thou willest not to\nexplain, take then the mite and begone.\" Then she inclined to the\ngetting of that whole full moon, the bright-faced, the large. So she\nsaid, \"Quit contention and ask what thou wilt.\" Whereupon I asked\nher of the old man and his country, of the poem, and of him who wove\nits mantle. She said, \"Truly, the old man is of the people of Seruj,\nand he it was who broidered that woven poem.\" Then she snatched the\ndirhem with the snatch of a hawk, and shot away as shoots the darting\narrow. But it troubled my heart that perchance it was Abu Zayd who\nwas indicated, and my grief kindled at his mishap with his eyes. And\nI should have preferred to have gone suddenly on him and talked to\nhim, that I might test the quality of my discernment upon him. But\nI was unable to come to him save by treading on the necks of the\ncongregation, a thing forbidden in the law; and, moreover, I was\nunwilling that people should be annoyed by me, or that blame should\narrive to me. So I cleaved to my place, but made his form the fetter of\nmy sight, until the sermon was ended, and to leap to him was lawful.\nThen I went briskly to him and examined him in spite of the closing\nof his eyelids. And, lo! my shrewdness was as the shrewdness of Ibn\n'Abbas, and my discernment as the discernment of Iyas. So at once I\nmade myself known, and presented him with one of my tunics, and bade\nhim to my bread. And he was joyful at my bounty and recognition, and\nacceded to the call to my loaves; and he set forth, and my hand was\nhis leading cord, my shadow his conductor; and the old woman was the\nthird prop of the pot; yes, by the Watcher from whom no secret is\nhidden! Now, when he had taken seat in my nest, and I had set before\nhim what hasty meal was in my power, he said, \"Harith, is there with us\na third?\" I said, \"There is none but the old woman.\" He said, \"From her\nno secret is withheld.\" Then he opened his eyes and stared round with\nthe twin balls, and, lo! the two lights of his face kindled like the\nFarkadan. And I was joyful at the safety of his sight, but marveled at\nthe strangeness of his ways. Nor did quiet possess me, nor did patience\nfit with me, until I asked him, \"What led thee to feign blindness;\nthou, with thy journeying in desolate places, and thy traversing of\nwildernesses, and thy pushing into far lands?\" But he made show as if\nhis mouth were full, and kept as though busied with his meal, until,\nwhen he had fulfilled his need, he sharpened his look upon me and\nrecited:\n\n Since Time (and he is the father of mankind) makes himself blind to\n the right in his purposes and aims,\n\n I too have assumed blindness, so as to be called a brother of it. What\n wonder that one should match himself with his father!\n\nThen said he to me, \"Rise, and go to the closet, and fetch me alkali\nthat may clear the eye, and clean the hand, and soften the skin, and\nperfume the breath, and brace the gums, and strengthen the stomach: and\nlet it be clean of box, fragrant of odor, new of pounding, delicate\nof powdering; so that one touching it shall count it to be eye-paint,\nand one smelling it shall fancy it to be camphor. And join with it\na toothpick choice in material, delightful in use, goodly in shape,\nthat invites to the repast: and let it have the slimness of a lover,\nand the polish of a sword, and the sharpness of the lance of war, and\nthe pliancy of a green bough.\" Said Al Harith: Then I rose to do what\nhe bade that I might rid him of the trace of his food; and thought\nnot that he purposed to deceive by sending me into the closet; nor\nsuspected that he was mocking of his messenger when he called for the\nalkali and toothpick. But when I returned with what was asked for, in\nless than the drawing of a breath, I found that the hall was empty, and\nthat the old man and woman had sped away. Then was I extreme in anger\nat his deceit, and I pressed on his track in search of him; but he was\nas one who is sunk in the sea, or has been borne aloft to the clouds of\nheaven.\n\n\nTHE EIGHTH ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF MA'AKRAH\")[22]\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: Among the wonders of time, I saw\nthat two suitors came before the Kadi of Ma'arrat an No'man. From the\none of them the two excellencies of life had departed, while the other\nwas as a bough of the ben tree. And the old man said: God strengthen\nthe judge, as by him he strengthens whoever seeks judgment. Behold I\nhad a slave girl, elegant of shape, smooth of cheek, patient to labor;\nat one time she ambled like a good steed, at another she slept quietly\nin her bed: even in July thou wouldst feel her touch to be cool. She\nhad understanding and discretion, sharpness and wit, a hand with\nfingers, but a mouth without teeth: yet did she pique as with tongue of\nsnake, and saunter in training robe; and she was displayed in blackness\nand whiteness; and she drank, but not from cisterns. She was now\ntruth-telling, now beguiling; now hiding, now peeping forth; yet fitted\nfor employment, obedient in poverty and in wealth: if thou didst spurn\nshe showed affection, but if thou didst put her from thee, she remained\nquietly apart. Generally would she serve thee, and be courteous to\nthee, though sometimes she might be froward to thee and pain thee, and\ntrouble thee. Now this youth asked her service of me for a purpose of\nhis own, and I made her his servant, without reward, on the condition\nthat he should enjoy the use of her, but not burden her with more than\nshe could bear. But he forced on her too hard a work, and exacted of\nher long labor; then returned her to me broken in health, offering a\ncompensation which I accept not.\n\nThen said the youth: Sure the old man is more truthful than the Kata:\nbut as for my hurting her it fell out by mistake. And now have I\npledged to him in payment of his damage, a slave[23] of mine, of equal\nbirth as regards either kin, tracing his lineage to Al Kayn, free from\nstain and disgrace, whose place was the apple of his master's eye. He\nshowed forth kindness, and called up admiration; he nourished mankind,\nand set guard on his tongue. If he was placed in power he was generous,\nif he marked aught for his own he was noble with it; if he was supplied\nhe gave of his supply, and when he was asked for more he added. He\nstayed not in the house, and rarely visited his wives, save two by two.\nHe was generous with his possession, he was lofty in his bounty; he\nkept with his spouse although she was not of his own clay; and there\nwas pleasure in his comeliness, although he was not desired for his\neffeminacy.\n\nThen said to them the Kadi, \"Now either explain or depart.\" Then\npressed forward the lad, and said:\n\n He lent me a needle to darn my rags, which use has worn and blackened;\n\n And its eye broke in my hand by chance, as I drew the thread through\n it.\n\n But the old man would not forgive me the paying for it when he saw\n that it was spoiled;\n\n But said, \"Give me a needle like it, or a price, after thou hast\n mended it.\"\n\n And he keeps my _kohl_-pencil by him as a pledge: oh, the shame that\n he has gotten by so doing:\n\n For my eye is dry through giving him this pledge; my hand fails to\n ransom its anointer.\n\n Now by this statement fathom the depth of my misery and pity one\n unused to bear it.\n\nThen turned the Kadi to the old man, and said, \"Come, speak without\nglozing,\" and he said:\n\n I swear by the holy place of sacrifice, and the devout whom the slope\n of Mina brings together;\n\n If the time had been my helper, thou wouldst not have seen me taking\n in pledge the pencil which he has pledged to me.\n\n Nor would I bring myself to seek a substitute for a needle that he had\n spoiled; no, nor the price of it.\n\n But the bow of calamities shoots at me with deadly arrows from here\n and there:\n\n And to know my condition is to know his; misery, and distress, and\n exile, and sickness.\n\n Fortune has put us on a level: I am his like in misery, and he is as I.\n\n He can not ransom his pencil now that it lies pledged in my hand:\n\n And, through the narrowness of my own means, it is not within my\n bounds to forgive him for his offending.\n\n Now this is my tale and his: so look upon us, and judge between us,\n and pity us.\n\nNow when the Kadi had learned their stories, and was aware of their\npenury and their distinction, he took out for them a denar from\nunder his prayer-cushion, and said, \"With this end and decide your\ncontention.\" But the old man caught it before the youth, and claimed\nthe whole of it in earnest, not in jest, saying to the youth, \"Half is\nmine as my share of the bounty, and thy share is mine, in payment for\nmy needle: nor do I swerve from justice, so come and take thy pencil.\"\nNow there fell on the youth, at the words of the old man, a sadness at\nwhich the heart of the Kadi grew sullen, stirring its sorrow for the\nlost denar. Yet did he cheer the concern of the youth and his anguish\nby a few dirhems which he doled to him. Then he said to the two, \"Avoid\ntransactions, and put away disputes, and come not before me with\nwranglings, for I have no purse of fine-money for you.\" And they rose\nto go out from him, rejoicing at his gift, fluent in his praise. But as\nfor the Kadi, his ill-humor subsided not after his stone had dripped;\nhis sad look cleared not away after his rock had oozed. But when he\nrecovered from his fit he turned to his attendants, and said, \"My\nperception is imbued with the thought, and my guess announces to me,\nthat these are practisers of craft, not suitors in a claim: but what\nis the way to fathom them, and to draw forth their secret?\" Then said\nto him the Knowing One of his assemblage, the Light of his following:\n\"Surely the discovery of what they hide must be through themselves.\"\nSo he bade an attendant follow them and bring them back; and when they\nstood before him he said to them, \"Tell me truly your camel's age: so\nshall ye be secure from the consequence of your deceit.\" Then did the\nlad shrink back and ask for pardon; but the old man stepped forward and\nsaid:\n\n I am the Seruji and this is my son; and the cub at the proving is like\n the lion.\n\n Now never has his hand nor mine done wrong in matter of needle or\n pencil:\n\n But only fortune, the harming, the hostile, has brought us to this,\n that we came forth to beg\n\n Of each one whose palm is moist, whose spring is sweet; of each whose\n palm is close, whose hand is fettered;\n\n By every art, and with every aim: by earnest, if it prosper, and if\n not, by jest.\n\n That we may draw forth a drop for our thirsty lot, and consume our\n life in wretched victual.\n\n And afterward Death is on the watch for us: if he fall not on us\n to-day he will fall to-morrow.\n\nThen said the Kadi to him, \"Oh rare! how admirable are the breathings\nof thy mouth; well done! should I say of thee, were it not for the\nguile that is in thee. Now know that I am of those that warn thee, and\nwill beware of thee. So act not again deceitfully with judges, but\nfear the might of those who bear rule. For not every minister will\nexcuse, and not at every season will speech be listened to.\" Then the\nold man promised to follow his counsel, and to abstain from disguising\nhis character. And he departed from the Kadi's presence, while the\nguile beamed from his forehead. Said Al Harith, son of Hammam: Now I\nnever saw aught more wonderful than these things in the changes of my\njourneys, nor read aught like them in the records of books.\n\n\nTHE NINTH ASSEMBLY,\n\n(CALLED \"OF ALEXANDRIA\")[24]\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: The liveliness of youth and the\ndesire of gain sped me on until I had traversed all that is between\nFarghanah and Ghanah. And I dived into depths to gather fruits, and\nplunged into perils to reach my needs. Now I had caught from the lips\nof the learned, and understood from the commandments of the wise, that\nit behooves the well-bred, the sagacious, when he enters a strange\ncity, to conciliate its Kadi and possess himself of his favor: that\nhis back may be strengthened in litigation, that he may be secure in a\nstrange land from the wrong of the powerful. So I took this doctrine\nas my guide and made it the leading-cord to my advantages. And I\nentered not a city, I went not into a lair, but I mingled myself with\nits judge as water is mingled with wine, and strengthened myself by\nhis patronage as bodies are strengthened by souls. Now while I was\nin presence of the judge of Alexandria one cold evening, and he had\nbrought out the alms-money to divide it among the needy, behold there\nentered an ill-looking old man whom a young matron dragged along.\nAnd she said: God strengthen the Kadi and through him make concord\nto be lasting: know that I am a woman of stock the most noble, of\nroot the most pure, of mother's and father's kin the most honorable:\nmy character is moderation, my disposition is contentment; my nature\nis to be a goodly help-meet; between me and my neighbors is a wide\ndifference. Now whenever there wooed me any who had built up honor or\nwere lords of wealth my father silenced and chid them and misliked\ntheir suit and their gift: making plea that he had covenanted with God\nMost High that he would not ally himself save with the master of a\nhandicraft. Then did Providence destine for my calamity and pain that\nthis deceiver should present himself in my father's hall; and swear\namong his people that he fulfilled his condition: asserting that long\ntime he had strung pearl to pearl and sold them for great price. Then\nwas my father deceived by the gilding of his falsehood, and married me\nto him before proving his condition. And when he had drawn me forth\nfrom my covert, and carried me away from my people, and removed me to\nhis habitation, and brought me under his bond, I found him slothful, a\nsluggard; I discovered him to be a lie-a-bed, a slumberer. Now I had\ncome to him with apparel and goodly show, with furniture and affluence.\nBut he ceased not to sell it in a losing market and to squander the\nprice in greedy feeding, until he had altogether destroyed whatever\nwas mine, and spent my property on his need. So when he had made to me\nto forget the taste of rest and left my house cleaner than my hand's\npalm, I said to him, \"Sir, know that there is no concealment after\ndistress, no perfume after the wedding. Rise up then to gain something\nby thy trade, to gather the fruit of thy skill.\" But he declared that\nhis trade had been struck with slackness through the violence that was\nabroad in the earth. Also I have a boy by him, thin as a toothpick:\nneither of us gets a fill by him, and through hunger our weeping to him\nceases not. So I have brought him to thee and set him before thee, that\nthou mayest test the substance of his assertion, and decide between us\nas God shall show thee.\n\nThen turned the Kadi to him and said: \"Thou hast heard thy wife's\nstory; now testify of thyself: else will I discover thy deceit and bid\nthy imprisonment.\" But he looked down as looks the serpent; then girt\nup his garment for a long strife, and said:\n\n Hear my story, for it is a wonder; there is laughter in its tale, and\n there is wailing.\n\n I am a man on whose qualities there is no blame, neither is there\n suspicion on his glory.\n\n Seruj is my home where I was born, and my stock is Ghassan when I\n trace my lineage:\n\n And study is my business; to dive deep in learning is my pursuit; and,\n oh! how excellent a seeking.\n\n And my capital is the magic of speech, out of which are molded both\n verse and prose.\n\n I dive into the deep of eloquence, and from it I choose the pearls and\n select them:\n\n I cull of speech the ripe fruit and the new; while another gathers but\n firing of the wood:\n\n I take the phrase of silver, and when I have molded it men say that it\n is gold.\n\n Now formerly I drew forth wealth by the learning I had gotten; I\n milked by it:\n\n And my foot's sole in its dignity mounted to ranges above which were\n no higher steps.\n\n Oft were the presents brought in pomp to my dwelling, but I accepted\n not every one who gave.\n\n But to-day learning is the chattel of slackest sale in the market of\n him on whom hope depends.\n\n The honor of its sons is not respected; neither are relationship and\n alliance with them regarded.\n\n It is as though they were corpses in their courtyards, from whose\n stench men withdraw and turn aside.\n\n Now my heart is confounded through my trial by the times; strange is\n their changing.\n\n The stretch of my arm is straitened through the straitness of my\n hand's means; cares and grief assail me.\n\n And my fortune, the blameworthy, has led me to the paths of that which\n honor deems base.\n\n For I sold until there remained to me not a mat nor household goods to\n which I might turn.\n\n So I indebted myself until I had burdened my neck by the carrying of a\n debt such that ruin had been lighter.\n\n Then five days I wrapped my entrails upon hunger; but when the hunger\n scorched me,\n\n I could see no goods except her outfit, in the selling of which I\n might go about and bestir myself.\n\n So I went about with it; but my soul was loathing, and my eye tearful,\n and my heart saddened.\n\n But when I made free with it, I passed not the bound of her consent,\n that her wrath should rise against me.\n\n And if what angers her be her fancying that it was my fingers that\n should make gain by stringing;\n\n Or that when I purposed to woo her I tinseled my speech that my need\n might prosper:\n\n I swear by him to whose Ka'beh the companies journey when the fleet\n camels speed them onward,\n\n That deceit toward chaste ladies is not of my nature, nor are glozing\n and lying my badge.\n\n Since I was reared naught has attached to my hand save the swiftly\n moving reeds and the books:\n\n For it is my wit that strings necklaces, not my hand; what is strung\n is my poetry, and not chaplets.\n\n And this is the craft I meant as that by which I gathered and gained.\n\n So give ear to my explaining, as thou hast given ear to her; and show\n respect to neither, but judge as is due.\n\nNow when he had completed the structure of his story and perfected his\nrecitation, the Kadi turned to the young woman, being heart-struck at\nthe verses, and said, now that it is settled among all judges and those\nwho bear authority that the race of the generous is perished, and that\nthe times incline to the niggardly. Now I imagine that thy husband is\ntruthful in his speech, free from blame. For lo! he has acknowledged\nthe debt to thee, and spoken the clear truth; he has given proof that\nhe can string verses, and it is plain that he is bared to the bone.\nNow to vex him who shows excuse is baseness, to imprison the destitute\nis a sin: to conceal poverty is self-denial, to await relief with\npatience is devotion. So return to thy chamber and pardon the master of\nthy virginity: refrain from thy sharpness of tongue and submit to the\nwill of thy Lord. Then in the almsgiving he assigned them a portion,\nand of the dirhems he gave them a pinch; and said to them, \"Beguile\nyourselves with this drop, moisten yourselves with this driblet: and\nendure against the fraud and the trouble of the time, for 'it may be\nthat God will bring victory or some ordinance from himself.'\" Then they\narose to go, and on the old man was the joy of one loosed from the\nbond, and the exulting of one who is in affluence after need.\n\nSaid the narrator: Now I knew that he was Abu Zayd in the hour that his\nson peeped forth and his spouse reviled him: and I went near to declare\nhis versatility and the fruiting of his divers branches. But then I was\nafraid that the Kadi would hit on his falsehood and the lacking of his\ntongue, and not see fit, when he knew him, to train him to his bounty.\nSo I forebore from speech with the forbearing of one who doubts, and I\nfolded up mention of him as the roll is folded over the writing: save\nthat when he had departed and had come whither he was to come, I said,\n\"If there were one who would set out on his track, he might bring us\nthe kernel of his story, and what tissues he is spreading forth.\" Then\nthe Kadi sent one of his trusty ones after him and bade him to spy\nout of his tidings. But he delayed not to return bounding in, and to\ncome back loudly laughing. Said the Kadi to him, \"Well, Abu Maryam!\"\nHe said, \"I have seen a wonder; I have heard what gives me a thrill.\"\nSaid the Kadi to him, \"What hast thou seen, and what is it thou hast\nlearned?\" He said, \"Since the old man went forth he has not ceased to\nclap with his hands and to caper with his feet and to sing with the\nfull of his cheeks:\n\n I was near falling into trouble through an impudent jade;\n And should have gone to prison but for the Kadi of Alexandria.\"\n\nThen the Kadi laughed till his hat fell off, and his composure was\nlost: but when he returned to gravity and had followed excess by prayer\nfor pardon, he said, \"O God, by the sanctity of thy most honored\nservants, forbid that I should imprison men of letters.\" Then said he\nto that trusty one, \"Hither with him!\" and he set forth earnest in the\nsearch; but returned after a while, telling that the man was gone.\nThen said the Kadi, \"Know that if he had been here he should have had\nno cause to fear, for I would have imparted to him as he deserves; I\nwould have shown him that _the latter state is better for him than the\nformer_.\" Said Al Harith, son of Hammam, Now, when I saw the leaning of\nthe Kadi toward him, and that yet the fruit of the Kadi's notice was\nlost to him, there came on me the repentance of Al Farazdak when he put\naway Nawar, or of Al Kosa'i when the daylight appeared.\n\n\nTHE TENTH ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF RAHBAH\")[25]\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: The summoning of desire called me\nto Rahbah, the city of Malik, son of Towk, and I obeyed it, mounted on\na fleet camel, and unsheathing an active purpose. Now when I had cast\nmy anchors there, and fastened my ropes, and had gone forth from the\nbath after shaving my head, I saw a boy cast in the mold of comeliness,\nand clothed by beauty in the garb of perfection; and an old man was\nholding on to his sleeve, asserting that he had slain his son; but the\nboy denied knowledge of him and was horror-struck at his suspicion;\nand the contention between them scattered its sparks, and the crowding\nupon them was made up of good and bad. Now after their quarreling had\nbeen excessive, they agreed to refer to the Governor of the town; so\nthey hastened to his court with the speed of Sulayk in his career; and\nwhen they were there the old man renewed his charge and claimed help.\nSo the Governor made the boy speak, for the boy had already fascinated\nhim by the graces of his bright brow, and cloven his understanding by\nthe disposition of his forelocks. And the boy said, \"It is the lie of\na great liar against one who is no blood-shedder, and the slander of\na knave against one who is not an assassin.\" Then said the Governor\nto the old man, \"If two just Moslems testify for thee, well; if not,\ndemand of him the oath.\" Said the old man, \"Surely he struck him down\nremote from men, and shed his blood when alone; and how can I have a\nwitness, when on the spot there was no beholder? But empower me to\ndictate an oath that it may appear to thee whether he speaks true or\nlies.\" He said to him, \"Thou hast authority for that; thou with thy\nvehement grief for thy slain son.\" Then said the old man to the boy:\n\"Say, I swear by him who hath adorned foreheads with forelocks, and\neyes with their black and white, and eyebrows with separation, and\nsmiling teeth with regularity, and eyelids with languor, and noses\nwith straightness, and cheeks with flame, and mouths with purity, and\nfingers with softness, and waists with slenderness, that I have not\nkilled thy son by negligence, nor of wilfulness, nor made his head a\nsheath to my sword; if it be otherwise, may God strike my eyelid with\nsoreness, and my cheek with freckles, and my forelocks with dropping,\nand my palm-shoot with greenness, and my rose with the ox-eye, and my\nmusk with a foul steam, and my full moon with waning, and my silver\nwith tarnishing, and my rays with the dark.\"\n\nThen said the boy, \"The scorching of affliction be my lot rather than\nto take such an oath! let me yield to vengeance rather than swear as\nno one has ever sworn!\" But the old man would naught but make him\nswallow the oath which he had framed for him, and the draughts which\nhe had bittered. And the dispute ceased not to blaze between them, and\nthe road of concord to be rugged. Now the boy, while thus resisting,\ncaptivated the Governor by his motions, and made him covet that he\nshould belong to him; until love subdued his heart and fixed in his\nbreast; and the passion which enslaved him, and the desire which he\nhad imagined tempted him to liberate the boy and then get possession\nof him, to free him from the noose of the old man, and then catch him\nhimself. So he said to the old man, \"Hast thou a mind for that which\nis more seemly in the stronger and nearer to god-fearing?\" He said,\n\"Whither art thou pointing that I should follow and not delay?\" He\nsaid, \"I think it well that thou cease from altercation and be content\nwith a hundred denars, on condition that I take on myself part of it,\nand collect the rest as may be.\" Said the old man, \"I refuse not; but\nlet there be no failure to thy promise.\" Then the Governor paid him\ndown twenty and assigned among his attendants the making up of fifty.\nBut the robe of evening grew dim, and from this cause the rain of\ncollection was cut short. Then he said, \"Take what is ready and leave\ndisputing; and on me be it to-morrow to accomplish that the rest be\ndoled to thee and reach thee.\" Said the old man, \"I will do this on the\ncondition that I keep close to him to-night, that the pupil of my eye\nguard him, until when on the dawning of the morn he has made up what\nremains of the sum of reconciliation, shell may get clear of chick, and\nhe may go guiltless as the wolf went guiltless of the blood of the son\nof Jacob.\" Then said to him the Governor, \"I think that thou dost not\nimpose what is immoderate or ask what is excessive.\"\n\nSaid Al Harith, son of Hammam: Now when I perceived that the pleadings\nof the old man were as the pleadings of Ibn Surayj, I knew him to be\nthe Glory of the Serujis: and I delayed until the stars of the darkness\nglittered, and the knots of the crowd dispersed: and then I sought the\nGovernor's courtyard; and lo! the old man guarding the youth. And I\nadjured him by God to say whether he was Abu Zayd: he said, \"Yes, by\nhim who hath permitted the chase.\" I said, \"Who is this boy, after\nwhom the understanding darts?\" He said, \"In kin he is my chick, and in\nmaking gain my springe.\" I said, \"Wilt thou not be satisfied with the\ngraces of his make, and spare the Governor temptation by his forelock?\"\nHe said, \"Were it not that his forehead put forth its ringlets, I\nshould not have snatched the fifty.\" Then he said, \"Pass the night near\nme that we may quench the fire of grief, and give enjoyment its turn\nafter separation. For I have resolved to slip away at dawn, and to burn\nthe Governor's heart with the flame of regret.\" Said Al Harith, Then I\nspent the night with him in conversation more pleasant than a garden\nof flowers, or a woodland of trees: until when the Wolf's Tail lighted\nthe horizon, and the brightening of the daybreak came on in its time,\nhe mounted the back of the highway, and left the Governor to taste\nburning torment. And he committed to me, in the hour of his departure\na paper firmly closed, and said, \"Hand it to the Governor when he has\nbeen bereft of composure, when he has convinced himself of our flight.\"\nBut I broke the seal as one who would free himself from a letter of\nMutelemmis, and behold there was written in it:\n\n Tell the Governor whom I have left, after my departure, repenting,\n grieving, biting his hands,\n\n That the old man has stolen his money and the young one his heart; and\n he is scorched in the flame of a double regret.\n\n He was generous with his coin when love blinded his eye, and he has\n ended with losing either.\n\n Calm thy grief, O afflicted, for it profits not to seek the traces\n after the substance is gone.\n\n But if what has befallen thee is terrible to thee as the ill-fate of\n Al Hosayn is terrible to the Moslems;\n\n Yet hast thou gotten in exchange for it understanding and caution; and\n the wise man, the prudent, wishes for these.\n\n So henceforth resist desires, and know that the chasing of gazelles is\n not easy;\n\n No, nor does every bird enter the springe, even though it be\n surrounded by silver.\n\n And how many a one who seeks to make a prey becomes a prey himself,\n and meets with naught but the shoes of Honayn!\n\n Now consider well, and forecast not every thundercloud: many a\n thundercloud may have in it the bolts of death:\n\n And cast down thine eye, that thou mayest rest from a passion by which\n thou wouldest clothe thyself with the garment of infamy and disgrace.\n\n For the trouble of man is the following of the soul's desire; and the\n seed of desire is the longing look of the eye.\n\nSaid the narrator, But I tore the paper piecemeal, and cared not\nwhether he blamed or pardoned me.\n\n\nTHE ELEVENTH ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF SAWEH\")[26]\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: I was aware of hardness of heart\nwhile I sojourned at Saweh. So I betook myself to the Tradition handed\ndown, that its cure is by visiting the tombs. And when I had reached\nthe mansion of the dead, the storehouse of moldering remains, I saw\nan assemblage over a grave that had been dug, and a corpse that was\nbeing buried. So I drew aside to them, meditating on the end of man,\nand calling to mind those of my people who were gone. And when they\nhad sepulchered the dead, and the crying of Alas! was over, an old man\nstood forth on high, from a hillock, leaning on a staff. And he had\nveiled his face with his cloak, and disguised his form for craftiness.\nAnd he said: _Let those who work, work for an end like this._ Now take\nthought, O yet negligent and gird yourselves, ye slothful, and look\nwell, ye observers. How is it with you that the burying of your fellows\ngrieves you not, and that the pouring in of the mold frightens you\nnot; that ye heed not the visitations of misfortune; that ye prepare\nnot for the going down to your graves; that ye are not moved to tears\nat the eye that weeps; that ye take not warning at the death-message\nwhen it is heard; that ye are not affrighted when an intimate is lost;\nthat ye are not saddened when the mourning assembly is gathered? One of\nyou follows home the dead man's bier, but his heart is set toward his\nhouse; and he is present at the burying of his kinsman, but his thought\nis of securing his portion. He leaves his loved friend with the worms,\nthen retires alone with his pipes and lutes. Ye have sorrowed over your\nriches, if but a grain were notched away, yet have ye been forgetful\nof the cutting off of your friends: and ye have been cast down at the\nbefalling of adversity, but have made little of the perishing of your\nkindred. Ye have laughed at a funeral as ye laughed not in the hour\nof dancing; ye have walked wantonly behind biers, as ye walked not\nin the day that ye grasped gifts. Ye have turned from the recital of\nthe mourning women to the preparing of banquets; and from the anguish\nof the bereaved to daintiness in feastings. Ye care not for him who\nmolders, and ye move not the thought of death in your mind. So that it\nis as if ye were joined to Death by clientship, or had gotten security\nfrom Time, or were confident of your own safety, or had made sure of a\npeace with the Destroyer of delights. No! it is an ill thing that ye\nimagine. Again, no! surely ye shall learn. Then he recited:\n\n O thou who claimest understanding; how long, O brother of delusion,\n wilt thou marshal sin and blame, and err exceeding error?\n\n Is not the shame plain to thee? doth not hoariness warn thee? (and in\n its counsel there is no doubtfulness); nor hath thy hearing become\n deaf.\n\n Is not Death calling thee? doth he not make thee hear his voice? dost\n thou not fear thy passing away, so as to be wary and anxious?\n\n How long wilt thou be bewildered in carelessness, and walk proudly in\n vanity, and go eagerly to diversion, as if death were not for all?\n\n Till when will last thy swerving, and thy delaying to mend habits that\n unite in thee vices whose every sort shall be collected in thee?\n\n If thou anger thy Master thou art not disquieted at it; but if thy\n scheme be bootless thou burnest with vexation.\n\n If the graving of the yellow one gleam to thee thou art joyful; but if\n the bier pass by thee thou feignest grief, and there is no grief.\n\n Thou resistest him who counseleth righteousness; thou art hard in\n understanding; thou swervest aside: but thou followest the guiding of\n him who deceiveth, who lieth, who defameth.\n\n Thou walkest in the desire of thy soul; thou schemest after money; but\n thou forgettest the darkness of the grave, and rememberest not what is\n there.\n\n But if true happiness had looked upon thee, thy own look would not\n have led thee amiss; nor wouldest thou be saddened when the preaching\n wipeth away griefs.\n\n Thou shalt weep blood, not tears, when thou perceivest that no company\n can protect thee in the Court of Assembling; no kinsman of mother or\n father.\n\n It is as though I could see thee when thou goest down to the vault and\n divest deep; when thy kinsmen have committed thee to a place narrower\n than a needle's eye.\n\n There is the body stretched out that the worms may devour it, until\n the coffin-wood is bored through and the bones molder.\n\n And afterward there is no escape from that review of souls: since\n Sirat is prepared; its bridge is stretched over the fire to every one\n who cometh thither.\n\n And how many a guide shall go astray! and how many a great one shall\n be vile! and how many a learned one shall slip and say, \"The business\n surpasseth.\"\n\n Therefore hasten, O simple one, to that by which the bitter is made\n sweet; for thy life is now near to decay and thou hast not withdrawn\n thyself from blame.\n\n And rely not on fortune though it be soft, though it be gay: for so\n wilt thou be found like one deceived by a viper that spitteth venom.\n\n And lower thyself from thy loftiness; for death is meeting thee and\n reaching at thy collar; and he is one who shrinketh not back when he\n hath purposed.\n\n And avoid proud turning away of the cheek if fortune have prospered\n thee: bridle thy speech if it would run astray; for how happy is he\n who bridleth it!\n\n And relieve the brother of sorrow, and believe him when he speaketh\n and mend thy ragged conduct; for he hath prospered who mendeth it.\n\n And plume him whose plumage hath fallen in calamity great or small;\n and sorrow not at the loss, and be not covetous in amassing.\n\n And resist thy base nature, and accustom thy hand to liberality, and\n listen not to blame for it, and keep thy hand from hoarding.\n\n And make provision of good for thy soul, and leave that which will\n bring on ill, and prepare the ship for thy journey, and dread the deep\n of the sea.\n\n Thus have I given my precepts, friends, and shown as one who showeth\n clearly: and happy the man who walketh by my doctrines and maketh them\n his example.\n\nThen he drew back his sleeve from an arm strong of sinew, on which he\nhad fastened the splints of deceit not of fracture; presenting himself\nto beg in the garb of impudence: and by it he beguiled those people\nuntil his sleeve was brimmed and full; then he came down from the\nhillock merry at the gift. Said the narrator: But I pulled him from\nbehind by the hem of his cloak; and he turned to me submissively, and\nfaced me, saluting me: and lo! it was our old Abu Zayd, in his very\nself, and in all his deceit: and I said to him,\n\n How many, Abu Zayd, will be the varieties of thy cunning to drive the\n prey to thy net? and wilt thou not care who censures?\n\nAnd he answered without shame and without hesitation:\n\n Look well, and leave thy blaming; for, tell me, hast thou ever known\n a time when a man would not win of the world when the game was in his\n hands?\n\nThen I said to him: Away with thee, Old Shaykh of Hell, laden with\ninfamy! For there is nothing like thee for the fairness of thy seeming\nand the foulness of thy purpose; except silvered dung or a whited\nsewer. Then we parted; and I went away to the right, and he went away\nto the left; and I set myself to the quarter of the south, and he set\nhimself to the quarter of the north.\n\n\nTHE TWELFTH ASSEMBLY\n\n(CALLED \"OF DAMASCUS\")[27]\n\nAl Harith, son of Hammam, related: I journeyed from Irak to the Ghutah;\nand then was I master of haltered steeds and envied wealth. Freedom\nof arm called me to diversion, fulness of store led me to pride. And\nwhen I had reached the place after toil of soul, after making lean my\ncamel, I found it such as tongues describe it; and in it was whatever\nsouls long for or eyes delight in. So I thanked the bounty of travel\nand ran a heat with pleasure: and began there to break the seals of\ndesires and gather the clusters of delights, until some travelers were\nmaking ready for the journey to Irak, and I had so recovered from\nmy drowning, that regret visited me in calling to mind my home and\nlonging after my fold. Then I struck the tents of exile and saddled\nthe steeds of return. And when the company had equipped themselves and\nagreement was completed, we shrank from setting forth without taking\nwith us a guard. And we sought one from every tribe and used a thousand\ndevices to obtain him. But to find him in the clans failed, so that we\nthought he was not among the living. And for the want of such a one the\nresolves of the travelers were bewildered, and they assembled at the\ngate of Jayrun to take counsel. And they ceased not tying and untying,\nand plaiting and twining, until suggestion was exhausted and the hoper\ndespaired. But opposite them was a person whose demeanor was as the\ndemeanor of the youthful, and his garb as the garb of monks, and in his\nhand was the rosary of women, and in his eyes the mark of giddiness\nfrom watchings. And he had fastened his gaze on the assemblage and\nsharpened his ear to steal a hearing. And when it was the time of their\nturning homeward and their secret was manifest to him, he said to them,\n\"O people, let your care relieve itself, let your mind be tranquil;\nfor I will guard you with that which shall put off your fear and show\nitself in accord with you.\" Said the narrator: Then we asked him to\nshow us concerning his safe conduct, and promised him a higher wage for\nit than for an embassy. And he declared it to be some words which he\nhad been taught in a dream, whereby to guard himself from the malice\nof mankind. Then began one to steal a look at another, and to move his\neyes between glances sideward and downward. So that it was plain to him\nthat we thought meanly of his story, and conceived it to be futile.\nWhereupon he said, How is it that ye take my earnest for jest, and\ntreat my gold as dross? Now, by Allah, oft have I gone through fearful\ntracts and entered among deadly dangers: and with this I have needed\nnot the companying of a guard or to take with me a quiver. Besides, I\nwill remove what gives you doubt, I will draw away the distrust that\nhas come on you, in that I will consent with you in the desert and\naccompany you on the Semaweh. Then, if my promise has spoken you true,\ndo ye renew my weal and prosper my fortune: but if my mouth has lied to\nyou, then rend my skin and pour out my blood.\n\nSaid Al Harith, son of Hammam: Then we were inspired to believe\nhis vision and take as true what he had related; so we ceased from\ndisputing with him and cast lots for carrying him. And at his word we\ncut the loops of hindrance, and put away fear of harm or stay; and\nwhen the pack-saddles were fastened on and the setting forth was near,\nwe sought to learn from him the magic words that we might make them a\nlasting safeguard. He said: \"Let each of you repeat the Mother of the\nKoran as often as day or night comes on; then let him say with lowly\ntongue and humble voice: O God! O thou who givest life to the moldering\ndead! O thou who avertest harms! O thou who guardest from terrors! O\nthou generous in rewarding! O thou the refuge of suppliants! O thou the\nLord of pardon and protection! Send thy blessing on Mohammed, the Seal\nof thy prophets, the Bringer of thy messages, and on the Lights of his\nkindred, the Keys of his victory; and give me refuge, O God, from the\nmischiefs of devils and the assaults of princes; from the vexing of the\nwrongers, and from suffering through the tyrannous; from the enmity\nof transgressors, and from the transgression of enemies; from the\nconquest of conquerors, from the spoiling of spoilers, from the crafts\nof the crafty, from the treacheries of the treacherous; and deliver\nme, O God, from the wrongfulness of neighbors and the neighborhood\nof the wrongful; and keep from me the hands of the harmful; bring me\nforth from the darkness of the oppressors; place me by thy mercy among\nthy servants who do aright. O God, keep me in my own land and in my\njourneying, in my exile and my coming homeward, in my foraging and\nmy return from it, in my trafficking and my success from it, in my\nadventuring and my withdrawing from it. And guard me in myself and my\nproperty, in my honor and my goods, in my family and my means, in my\nhousehold and my dwelling, in my strength and my fortune, in my riches\nand my death. Bring not on me reverse; make not the invader lord over\nme, but give me from thyself helping power. O God, watch over me with\nthy eye and thy aid, distinguish me by thy safeguard and thy bounty,\nbefriend me with thy election and thy good, and consign me not to\nthe keeping of any but thee. But grant to me health that weareth not\naway, and allot to me comfort that perisheth not; and free me from the\nterrors of misfortune, and shelter me with the coverings of thy boons;\nmake not the talons of enemies to prevail against me, for thou art he\nthat heareth prayer.\"\n\nThen he looked down, and he turned not a glance, he answered not a\nword: so that we said, \"A fear has confounded him or a stupor struck\nhim dumb.\" Then he raised his head and drew his breath, and said, \"I\nswear by the heaven with its constellations, and the earth with its\nplains, and the pouring flood, and the blazing sun, and the sounding\nsea, and the wind and the dust-storm, that this is the most sure of\ncharms, one that will best suffice you for the wearers of the helmet.\nHe who repeats it at the smiling of the dawn has no alarm of danger to\nthe red of eve; and he who whispers it to the vanguard of the dark is\nsafe the night long from plunder.\"\n\nSaid the narrator: So we learned it till we knew it thoroughly, and\nrehearsed it together that we might not forget it. Then we set forth,\nurging the beasts by prayers, not by the song of drivers; and guarding\nthe loads by words, not by warriors. And our companion frequented us\nevening and morning, but required not of us our promises: till when\nwe spied the house-tops of 'Anah, he said to us, \"Now, your help,\nyour help!\" Then we set before him the exposed and the hidden, and\nshowed him the corded and the sealed, and said to him, \"Decide as thou\nwilt, for thou wilt find among us none but will consent.\" But nothing\nenlivened him but the light, the adorning; nothing was comely in his\neye but the coin. So of those he loaded on his burden, and rose up\nwith enough to repair his poverty. Then he dodged us as dodges the\ncut-purse, and slipped away from us as slips quicksilver. And his\ndeparture saddened us, his shooting away astonished us: and we ceased\nnot to seek him in every assembly, and to ask news of him from each\nthat might mislead or guide. Until it was said, \"Since he entered\n'Anah he has not quitted the tavern.\" Then the foulness of this report\nset me on to test it, and to walk in a path to which I belonged not.\nSo I went by night to the wine-hall in disguised habit; and there was\nthe old man in a gay-colored dress amid casks and wine-vats; and about\nhim were cup-bearers surpassing in beauty, and lights that glittered,\nand the myrtle and the jasmine, and the pipe and the lute. And at one\ntime he bade broach the wine-casks, and at another he called the lutes\nto give utterance; and now he inhaled the perfumes, and now he courted\nthe gazelles. But when I had thus stumbled on his hypocrisy, and the\ndiffering of his to-day from his yesterday, I said to him, Woe to thee,\naccursed! hast thou forgotten the day at the Jayrun? But he laughed\nheartily, and then indited charmingly:\n\n I cling to journeying, I cross deserts, I loathe pride that I may cull\n joy:\n\n And I plunge into floods, and tame steeds that I may draw the trains\n of pleasure and delight.\n\n And I throw away staidness, and sell my land, for the sipping of wine,\n for the quaffing of cups.\n\n And were it not for longing after the drinking of wine my mouth would\n not utter its elegancies;\n\n Nor would my craft have lured the travelers to the land of Irak,\n through my carrying of rosaries.\n\n Now be not angry, nor cry aloud, nor chide, for my excuse is plain:\n\n And wonder not at an old man who settles himself in a well-filled\n house by a wine-cask that is brimming.\n\n For truly wine strengthens the bones and heals sickness and drives\n away grief.\n\n And the purest of joy is when the grave man throws off the veils of\n shame and flings them aside:\n\n And the sweetest of passion is when the love-crazed ceases from the\n concealing of his love, and shows it openly.\n\n Then avow thy love and cool thy heart: or else the fire-staff of thy\n grief will rub a spark on it;\n\n And heal thy wounds, and draw out thy cares by the daughter of the\n vine, her the desired:\n\n And assign to thy evening draught a cup-bearer who will stir the\n torment of desire when she gazes;\n\n And a singer who will raise such a voice that the mountains of iron\n shall thrill at it when she chants.\n\n And rebel against the adviser who will not permit thee to approach a\n beauty when she consents.\n\n And range in thy cunning even to perverseness; and care not what is\n said of thee, and catch what suits thee:\n\n And leave thy father if he refuse thee, and spread thy nets and hunt\n who comes by thee.\n\n But be sincere with thy friend, and avoid the niggardly, and bestow\n kindness, and be constant in gifts;\n\n And take refuge in repentance before thy departure; for whoso knocks\n at the door of the Merciful causes it to open.\n\nThen I said to him, \"O rare thy recitation, but fie on thy misconduct!\nNow, by Allah, tell me from what thicket is thy root, for thy puzzle\nvexes me.\" He said I love not to disclose myself; yet I will intimate\nit:\n\n I am the novelty of the time, the wonder of nations;\n\n I am the wily one, who plays his wiles among Arabs and foreigners;\n\n But not the less a brother of need, whom fortune vexes and wrongs,\n\n And the father of children who lie out like meat on the tray:\n\n Now the brother of want, who has a household, is not blamed if he be\n wily.\n\nSaid the narrator: Then I knew that it was Abu Zayd, the man of\nill-fame and disgrace, he that blackens the face of his hoariness. And\nthe greatness of his contumacy offended me, and the foulness of the\npath of his resorting: so I said to him with the tongue of indignation\nand the confidence of acquaintance: \"Is it not time, old man, that\nthou withdraw from debauchery?\" But he was angry, and growled, and his\ncountenance changed, and he thought a while: and then he said, \"It\nis a night for merriment, not for rebuke, an occasion for drinking\nwine, not for contention; so leave speaking thy thought until we meet\nto-morrow.\" Then I left him, through fear of his drunken humor, not\nthrough dependence on his promise; and I passed my night clothed in the\nmourning of repentance, at having advanced the steps of my foot to the\ndaughter of the vine, not of grace. And I made a vow to God Almighty\nthat I would never again enter the tavern of a liquor-seller, even\nthat I might be endowed with the dominion of Bagdad; and that I would\nnot look upon the vats of wine, even that the season of youth might be\nrestored to me. Then we saddled the white camels in the last darkness\nof night, and left together Abu Zayd and Iblis.\n\n\n\n\nARABIC LITERATURE\n\nTHE POETS OF ARABIA\n\n\n \"_Mortal joys, however pure,\n Soon their turbid source betray;\n Mortal bliss, however sure,\n Soon must totter and decay._\"\n THE CALIPH RAHDI.\n\n\nTHE POETS OF ARABIA\n\n(INTRODUCTION)\n\n\nArabic poetry, as explained in introducing the \"Assemblies\" of Al\nHariri, is based largely on harmonies of sound and striking turns of\nphrasing. Hence most of the poems are brief; and a poet's fame depended\nupon a few brilliant couplets rather than on any sustained melody or\nlong-continued flight of noble thought. One distinguished philosophical\npoem of some length is the well-known \"Lament of the Vizier Abu\nIsmael.\" This we give in full at the conclusion of this section; but\nmainly we must illustrate the finest flowering of Arabic verse by\nselecting specimens of characteristic brevity.\n\nMany of the Arab caliphs inclined to the gaieties of life rather than\nto their religious duties, and kept many poets around them. Indeed some\nof the caliphs themselves were poets: The Caliph Walid composed music\nas well as verse; and was hailed by his immediate companions as a great\nartist. His neglect of religion, however, was so reckless as to rouse\nthe resentment of his people, and he lost his throne and life.\n\nMost noted of all the Arab poets was Mutanabbi (905-965). His fantastic\nimagery and extravagant refinements of language were held by his\nadmirers to be the very perfection of literature. More than forty\ncommentaries were written to explain the subtleties of his verse. Such,\nindeed, was the intensity of Mutanabbi's poetic ecstasy that he fancied\nhimself a prophet and began to preach a new religion, until a term in\nprison persuaded him to cling to the accepted form of Mohammedanism.\nIn one well-known passage ridiculed by the great French critic, Huart,\nMutanabbi says of an advancing army that it was so vast\n\n \"The warriors marched hidden in their dust;\n They saw only with their ears.\"\n\nThe commentators explain, perhaps unnecessarily, that this means that\nthe warriors' senses were confused by all the tumult, so that while\nthey thought they saw, in reality they only heard the clamor of the\nmarchers around them. In translation, Mutanabbi's verses lose all\nvalue. Deprived of their Arabic melody they seem mere bombast and\nabsurdity. This, in fact, is the general charge which must be made\nagainst the later Arabic poetry. It too often degenerated into empty\nsound.\n\n\nTHE POETS OF ARABIA\n\n\nTHE SONG OF MAISUNA[28]\n\n(WIFE OF THE CALIPH MOWIAH)\n\n The russet suit of camel's hair,\n With spirits light, and eye serene,\n Is dearer to my bosom far\n Than all the trappings of a queen.\n\n The humble tent and murmuring breeze\n That whistles thro' its fluttering wall,\n My unaspiring fancy please\n Better than towers and splendid halls.\n\n Th' attendant colts that bounding fly\n And frolic by the litter's side,\n Are dearer in Maisuna's eye\n Than gorgeous mules in all their pride.\n\n The watch-dog's voice that bays whene'er\n A stranger seeks his master's cot,\n Sounds sweeter in Maisuna's ear\n Than yonder trumpet's long-drawn note.\n\n The rustic youth unspoilt by art,\n Son of my kindred, poor but free,\n Will ever to Maisuna's heart\n Be dearer, pamper'd fool, than thee.\n\n\nTO MY FATHER[29]\n\n(BY THE CALIPH YAZID)\n\n Must then my failings from the shaft\n Of anger ne'er escape?\n And dost thou storm because I've quaff'd\n The water of the grape?\n\n That I can thus from wine be driv'n\n Thou surely ne'er canst think\u2014\n Another reason thou hast giv'n\n Why I resolve to drink.\n\n 'Twas sweet the flowing cup to seize,\n 'Tis sweet thy rage to see;\n And first I drink myself to please;\n And next\u2014to anger thee.\n\n\nON FATALISM[30]\n\n(BY THE HOLY IMAN SHAFAY)\n\n Not always wealth, not always force\n A splendid destiny commands;\n The lordly vulture gnaws the corse\n That rots upon yon barren sands.\n\n Nor want, nor weakness still conspires\n To bind us to a sordid state;\n The fly that with a touch expires\n Sips honey from the royal plate.\n\n\nTO THE CALIPH HAROUN AL RASHID[31]\n\n(BY PRINCE IBRAHIM BEN ADHAM)\n\n Religion's gems can ne'er adorn\n The flimsy robe by pleasure worn;\n Its feeble texture soon would tear,\n And give those jewels to the air.\n\n Thrice happy they who seek th' abode\n Of peace and pleasure in their God!\n Who spurn the world, its joys despise,\n And grasp at bliss beyond the skies.\n\n\nLINES TO HAROUN AND YAHIA[32]\n\n(BY THE MUSICIAN, ISAAC AL MOUSELI)\n\n Th' affrighted sun ere while he fled,\n And hid his radiant face in night;\n A cheerless gloom the world o'erspread\u2014\n But Haroun came and all was bright.\n\n Again the sun shoots forth his rays,\n Nature is decked in beauty's robe\u2014\n For mighty Haroun's scepter sways,\n And Yahia's arm sustains the globe.\n\n\nTHE RUIN OF THE BARMECIDES[33]\n\n No, Barmec Time hath never shown\n So sad a change of wayward fate;\n Nor sorrowing mortals ever known\n A grief so true, a loss so great.\n\n Spouse of the world! Thy soothing breast\n Did balm to every woe afford;\n And now no more by thee caressed,\n The widowed world bewails her lord.\n\n\nTO TAHER BEN HOSIEN[34]\n\n A pair of right hands and a single dim eye\n Must form not a man, but a monster, they cry:\n Change a hand to an eye, good Taher, if you can,\n And a monster perhaps may be chang'd to man.\n\n\n[Illustration: THE SONG OF ABU AL SALAM.\n\n \"Think not that we will take the cup\n From any hand but thine.\"\n]\n\nTO MY MISTRESS[35]\n\n(BY ABU TAMMAM HABIB)\n\n Ungenerous and mistaken maid,\n To scorn me thus because I'm poor!\n Canst thou a liberal hand upbraid\n For dealing round some worthless ore?\n\n To spare 's the wish of little souls,\n The great but gather to bestow;\n Yon current down the mountain rolls,\n And stagnates in the swamp below.\n\n\nTO A FEMALE CUP-BEARER[36]\n\n(BY ABU AL SALAM)\n\n Come, Leila, fill the goblet up,\n Beach round the rosy wine,\n Think not that we will take the cup\n From any hand but thine.\n\n A draught like this 'twere vain to seek,\n No grape can such supply;\n It steals its tint from Leila's cheek,\n Its brightness from her eye.\n\n\nMASHDUD ON THE MONKS OF KHABBET[37]\n\n Tenants of yon hallowed fane!\n Let me your devotions share,\n There increasing raptures reign\u2014\n None are ever sober there.\n\n Crowded gardens, festive bowers\n Ne'er shall claim a thought of mine;\n You can give in Khabbet's towers\u2014\n Purer joys and brighter wine.\n\n Though your pallid faces prove\n How you nightly vigils keep,\n 'Tis but that you ever love\n Flowing goblets more than sleep.\n\n Though your eye-balls dim and sunk\n Stream in penitential guise,\n 'Tis but that the wine you've drunk\n Bubbles over from your eyes.\n\n\nRAKEEK TO HIS FEMALE COMPANIONS\n\n Though the peevish tongues upbraid,\n Though the brows of wisdom scowl,\n Fair ones here on roses laid,\n Careless will we quaff the bowl.\n\n Let the cup, with nectar crowned,\n Through the grove its beams display,\n It can shed a luster round,\n Brighter than the torch of day.\n\n Let it pass from hand to hand,\n Circling still with ceaseless flight,\n Till the streaks of gray expand\n O'er the fleeting robe of night.\n\n As night flits, she does but cry,\n \"Seize the moments that remain\"\u2014\n Thus our joys with yours shall vie,\n Tenants of yon hallowed fane!\n\n\nDIALOGUE BY RAIS\n\n\n_Rais_\n\n Maid of sorrow, tell us why\n Sad and drooping hangs thy head?\n Is it grief that bids thee sigh?\n Is it sleep that flies thy bed?\n\n\n_Lady_\n\n Ah! I mourn no fancied wound,\n Pangs too true this heart have wrung,\n Since the snakes which curl around\n Selim's brows my bosom stung.\n\n Destined now to keener woes,\n I must see the youth depart,\n He must go, and as he goes\n Bend at once my bursting heart.\n\n Slumber may desert my bed,\n 'Tis not slumber's charms I seek\u2014\n 'Tis the robe of beauty spread\n O'er my Selim's rosy cheek.\n\n\nTO A LADY WEEPING[38]\n\n(BY EBN ALRUMI)\n\n When I beheld thy blue eyes shine\n Through the bright drop that pity drew,\n I saw beneath those tears of thine\n A blue-ey'd violet bathed in dew.\n\n The violet ever scents the gale,\n Its hues adorn the fairest wreath,\n But sweetest through a dewy veil\n Its colors glow, its odors breathe.\n\n And thus thy charms in brightness rise\u2014\n When wit and pleasure round thee play,\n When mirth sits smiling in thine eyes,\n Who but admires their sprightly ray?\n But when through pity's flood they gleam,\n Who but must love their softened beam?\n\n\nON A VALETUDINARIAN\n\n(BY EBN ALRUMI)\n\n So careful is Isa, and anxious to last,\n So afraid of himself is he grown,\n He swears through two nostrils the breath goes too fast,\n And he's trying to breathe through but one.\n\n\nON A MISER\n\n(BY EBN ALRUMI)\n\n \"Hang her, a thoughtless, wasteful fool,\n She scatters corn where'er she goes\"\u2014\n Quoth Hassan, angry at his mule,\n That dropped a dinner to the crows.\n\n\nTO CASSIM OBIO ALLAH[39]\n\n(BY ALI IBN AHMED)\n\n Poor Cassim! thou art doomed to mourn\n By destiny's decree;\n Whatever happens it must turn\n To misery for thee.\n\n Two sons hadst thou, the one thy pride,\n The other was thy pest;\n Ah, why did cruel death decide\n To snatch away the best?\n\n No wonder thou shouldst droop with woe,\n Of such a child bereft;\n But now thy tears must doubly flow,\n For, ah! the other's left.\n\n\nA FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY[40]\n\n When born, in tears we saw thee drowned,\n While thine assembled friends around,\n With smiles their joy confessed;\n So live, that at thy parting hour,\n They may the flood of sorrow pour,\n And thou in smiles be dressed!\n\n\nTO A CAT\n\n(BY IBN ALALAF ALNAHARWANY)\n\n Poor puss is gone! 'Tis fate's decree\u2014\n Yet I must still her loss deplore,\n For dearer than a child was she,\n And ne'er shall I behold her more.\n\n With many a sad presaging tear\n This morn I saw her steal away,\n While she went on without a fear\n Except that she should miss her prey.\n\n I saw her to the dove-house climb,\n With cautious feet and slow she stept\n Resolved to balance loss of time\n By eating faster than she crept.\n\n Her subtle foes were on the watch,\n And marked her course, with fury fraught,\n And while she hoped the birds to catch,\n An arrow's point the huntress caught.\n\n In fancy she had got them all,\n And drunk their blood and sucked their breath;\n Alas! she only got a fall,\n And only drank the draught of death.\n\n Why, why was pigeons' flesh so nice,\n That thoughtless cats should love it thus?\n Hadst thou but lived on rats and mice,\n Thou hadst been living still, poor puss.\n\n Curst be the taste, howe'er refined,\n That prompts us for such joys to wish,\n And curst the dainty where we find\n Destruction lurking in the dish.\n\n\nFIRE\n\n_A Riddle_\n\n The loftiest cedars I can eat,\n Yet neither paunch nor mouth have I,\n I storm whene'er you give me meat,\n Whene'er you give me drink I die.\n\n\nTO A LADY BLUSHING[41]\n\n(BY THE CALIPH RADHI BILLAH)\n\n Leila, whene'er I gaze on thee\n My altered cheek turns pale,\n While upon thine, sweet maid, I see\n A deep'ning blush prevail.\n\n Leila, shall I the cause impart\n Why such a change takes place?\n The crimson stream deserts my heart,\n To mantle on thy face.\n\n\nON THE VICISSITUDES OF LIFE\n\n(BY THE CALIPH RADHI BILLAH)\n\n Mortal joys, however pure,\n Soon their turbid source betray;\n Mortal bliss, however sure,\n Soon must totter and decay.\n\n Ye who now, with footsteps keen,\n Range through hope's delusive field,\n Tell us what the smiling scene\n To your ardent grasp can yield?\n\n Other youths have oft before\n Deemed their joys would never fade,\n Till themselves were seen no more\n Swept into oblivion's shade.\n\n Who, with health and pleasure gay,\n E'er his fragile state could know,\n Were not age and pain to say\n Man is but the child of woe?\n\n\nTO A DOVE\n\n(BY SERAGE ALWARAK)\n\n The dove to ease an aching breast,\n In piteous murmurs vents her cares;\n Like me she sorrows, for opprest,\n Like me, a load of grief she bears.\n\n Her plaints are heard in every wood,\n While I would fain conceal my woes;\n But vain's my wish, the briny flood,\n The more I strive, the faster flows.\n\n Sure, gentle bird, my drooping heart\n Divides the pangs of love with thine,\n And plaintive murm'rings are thy part,\n And silent grief and tears are mine.\n\n\nON A THUNDER-STORM\n\n(BY IBRAHIM BEN KHIRET ABOU ISAAC)\n\n Bright smiled the morn, till o'er its head\n The clouds in thicken'd foldings spread\n A robe of sable hue;\n Then, gathering round day's golden king,\n They stretched their wide o'ershadowing wing,\n And hid him from our view.\n\n The rain his absent beams deplored,\n And, soften'd into weeping, poured\n Its tears in many a flood;\n The lightning laughed with horrid glare;\n The thunder growled, in rage; the air\n In silent sorrow stood.\n\n\nTO MY FAVORITE MISTRESS\n\n(BY SAIF ADDAULET, SULTAN OF ALEPPO)\n\n I saw their jealous eyeballs roll,\n I saw them mark each glance of mine,\n I saw thy terrors, and my soul\n Shared ev'ry pang that tortured thine.\n\n In vain to wean my constant heart,\n Or quench my glowing flame, they strove;\n Each deep-laid scheme, each envious art,\n But waked my fears for her I love.\n\n 'Twas this compelled the stern decree,\n That forced thee to those distant towers,\n And left me naught but love for thee,\n To cheer my solitary hours.\n\n Yet let not Abla sink deprest,\n Nor separation's pangs deplore;\n We meet not\u2014'tis to meet more blest;\n We parted\u2014'tis to part no more.\n\n\nCRUCIFIXION OF EBN BAKIAH\n\n(BY ABU HASSAN ALANBARY)\n\n Whate'er thy fate, in life and death,\n hou'rt doomed above us still to rise,\n Whilst at a distance far beneath\n We view thee with admiring eyes.\n\n The gazing crowds still round thee throng,\n Still to thy well-known voice repair,\n As when erewhile thy hallow'd tongue\n Poured in the mosque the solemn prayer.\n\n Still, generous Vizier, we survey\n Thine arms extended o'er our head,\n As lately, in the festive day,\n When they were stretched thy gifts to shed.\n\n Earth's narrow boundaries strove in vain\n To limit thy aspiring mind,\n And now we see thy dust disdain\n Within her breast to be confin'd.\n\n The earth's too small for one so great,\n Another mansion thou shalt have\u2014\n The clouds shall be thy winding sheet,\n The spacious vault of heaven thy grave.\n\n\nCAPRICES OF FORTUNE[42]\n\n(BY SHEMS ALMAALI CABUS)\n\n Why should I blush that Fortune's frown\n Dooms me life's humble paths to tread?\n To live unheeded, and unknown?\n To sink forgotten to the dead?\n\n 'Tis not the good, the wise, the brave,\n That surest shine, or highest rise;\n The feather sports upon the wave,\n The pearl in ocean's cavern lies.\n\n Each lesser star that studs the sphere\n Sparkles with undiminish'd light;\n Dark and eclipsed alone appear\n The lord of day, the queen of night.\n\n\nON LIFE\n\n Like sheep, we're doomed to travel o'er\n The fated track to all assigned,\n These follow those that went before,\n And leave the world to those behind.\n\n As the flock seeks the pasturing shade,\n Man presses to the future day,\n While death, amidst the tufted glade,\n Like the dun robber,[43] waits his prey.\n\n\nEXTEMPORE VERSES[44]\n\n(BY EBN ALRAMACRAM)\n\n Lowering as Barkaidy's face\n The wintry night came in,\n Cold as the music of his bass,\n And lengthened as his chin.\n\n Sleep from my aching eyes had fled,\n And kept as far apart,\n As sense from Ebn Fahdi's head,\n Or virtue from his heart.\n\n The dubious paths my footsteps balked,\n I slipp'd along the sod,\n As if on Jaber's faith I'd walked,\n Or on his truth had trod.\n\n At length the rising King of day\n Burst on the gloomy wood,\n Like Carawash's eye, whose ray\n Dispenses every good.\n\n\nON THE DEATH OF A SON[45]\n\n(BY ALI BEN MOHAMMED ALTAHMANY)\n\n Tyrant of man! Imperious Fate!\n I bow before thy dread decree,\n Nor hope in this uncertain state\n To find a seat secure from thee.\n\n Life is a dark, tumultuous stream,\n With many a care and sorrow foul,\n Yet thoughtless mortals vainly deem\n That it can yield a limpid bowl.\n\n Think not that stream will backward flow,\n Or cease its destined course to keep;\n As soon the blazing spark shall glow\n Beneath the surface of the deep.\n\n Believe not Fate at thy command\n Will grant a meed she never gave;\n As soon the airy tower shall stand,\n That's built upon a passing wave.\n\n Life is a sleep of threescore years,\n Death bids us wake and hail the light,\n And man, with all his hopes and fears,\n Is but a phantom of the night.\n\n\nON MODERATION IN OUR PLEASURES[46]\n\n(BY ABU ALCASSIM EBN TABATABA)\n\n How oft does passion's grasp destroy\n The pleasure that it strives to gain?\n How soon the thoughtless course of joy\n Is doomed to terminate in pain?\n\n When prudence would thy steps delay,\n She but restrains to make thee blest;\n Whate'er from joy she lops away,\n But heightens and secures the rest.\n\n Wouldst thou a trembling flame expand,\n That hastens in the lamp to die?\n With careful touch, with sparing hand,\n The feeding stream of life supply.\n\n But if thy flask profusely sheds\n A rushing torrent o'er the blaze,\n Swift round the sinking flame it spreads,\n And kills the fire it fain would raise.\n\n\nTHE VALE OF BOZAA[47]\n\n(BY AHMED BEN YUSEF ALMENAZY)\n\n The intertwining boughs for thee\n Have wove, sweet dell, a verdant vest,\n And thou in turn shalt give to me\n A verdant couch upon thy breast.\n\n To shield me from day's fervid glare\n Thine oaks their fostering arms extend,\n As anxious o'er her infant care\n I've seen a watchful mother bend.\n\n A brighter cup, a sweeter draught,\n I gather from that rill of thine,\n Than maddening drunkards ever quaff'd,\n Than all the treasures of the vine.\n\n So smooth the pebbles on its shore,\n That not a maid can thither stray,\n But counts her strings of jewels o'er,\n And thinks the pearls have slipped away.\n\n\nTO ADVERSITY[48]\n\n(BY ABU MENBAA CARAWASH)\n\n Hail, chastening friend Adversity! 'Tis thine\n The mental ore to temper and refine,\n To cast in virtue's mold the yielding heart,\n And honor's polish to the mind impart.\n Without thy wakening touch, thy plastic aid,\n I'd lain the shapeless mass that nature made;\n But formed, great artist, by thy magic hand,\n I gleam a sword to conquer and command.\n\n\nON THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF PRIDE AND TRUE GLORY[49]\n\n(BY ABU ALOLA)\n\n Think not, Abdallah, pride and fame\n Can ever travel hand in hand;\n With breast opposed, and adverse aim,\n On the same narrow path they stand.\n\n Thus youth and age together meet,\n And life's divided moments share;\n This can't advance till that retreat,\n What's here increased is lessened there.\n\n And thus the falling shades of night\n Still struggle with the lucid ray,\n And e'er they stretch their gloomy flight\n Must win the lengthened space from day.\n\n\nTHE DEATH OF NEDHAM ALMOLK\n\n(BY SHEBAL ADDAULET)\n\n Thy virtues famed through every land,\n Thy spotless life, in age and youth,\n Prove thee a pearl, by nature's hand,\n Formed out of purity and truth.\n\n Too long its beams of Orient light\n Upon a thankless world were shed;\n Allah has now revenged the slight,\n And called it to its native bed.\n\n\nTO A LADY\n\n No, Abla, no\u2014when Selim tells\n Of many an unknown grace that dwells\n In Abla's face and mien,\n When he describes the sense refined,\n That lights thine eye and fills thy mind,\n By thee alone unseen.\n\n 'Tis not that drunk with love he sees\n Ideal charms, which only please\n Through passion's partial veil,\n 'Tis not that flattery's glozing tongue\n Hath basely framed an idle song,\n But truth that breathed the tale.\n\n Thine eyes unaided ne'er could trace\n Each opening charm, each varied grace,\n That round thy person plays;\n Some must remain concealed from thee,\n For Selim's watchful eye to see,\n For Selim's tongue to praise.\n\n One polished mirror can declare\n That eye so bright, that face so fair,\n That cheek which shames the rose;\n But how thy mantle waves behind,\n How float thy tresses on the wind,\n Another only shows.\n\n\nAN EPIGRAM[50]\n\n Whoever has recourse to thee\n Can hope for health no more,\n He's launched into perdition's sea,\n A sea without a shore.\n\n Where'er admission thou canst gain,\n Where'er thy phiz can pierce,\n At once the Doctor they retain,\n The mourners and the hearse.\n\n\nON A LITTLE MAN WITH A VERY LARGE BEARD\n\n(BY ISAAC BEN KHALIF)\n\n How can thy chin that burden bear?\n Is it all gravity to shock?\n Is it to make the people stare?\n And be thyself a laughing stock?\n\n When I behold thy little feet\n After thy beard obsequious run,\n I always fancy that I meet\n Some father followed by his son.\n\n A man like thee scarce e'er appeared\u2014\n A beard like thine\u2014where shall we find it?\n Surely thou cherishest thy beard\n In hopes to hide thyself behind it.\n\n\nTHE LAMENT OF THE VIZIER ABU ISMAEL[51]\n\n No kind supporting hand I meet,\n But Fortitude shall stay my feet;\n No borrowed splendors round me shine,\n But Virtue's luster all is mine;\n A Fame unsullied still I boast,\n Obscured, concealed, but never lost\u2014\n The same bright orb that led the day\n Pours from the West his mellowed ray.\n\n Zaura, farewell! No more I see\n Within thy walls, a home for me;\n Deserted, spurned, aside I'm tossed,\n As an old sword whose scabbard's lost:\n Around thy walls I seek in vain\n Some bosom that will soothe my pain\u2014\n No friend is near to breathe relief,\n Or brother to partake my grief.\n For many a melancholy day\n Through desert vales I've wound my way;\n The faithful beast, whose back I press,\n In groans laments her lord's distress;\n In every quivering of my spear\n A sympathetic sigh I hear;\n The camel bending with his load,\n And struggling through the thorny road,\n 'Midst the fatigues that bear him down,\n In Hassan's woes forgets his own;\n Yet cruel friends my wand'rings chide,\n My sufferings slight, my toils deride.\n\n Once wealth, I own, engrossed each thought,\n There was a moment when I sought\n The glitt'ring stores Ambition claims\n To feed the wants his fancy frames;\n But now 'tis past\u2014the changing day\n Has snatched my high-built hopes away,\n And bade this wish my labors close\u2014\n Give me not riches, but repose.\n 'Tis he\u2014that mien my friend declares,\n That stature, like the lance he bears;\n I see that breast which ne'er contained\n A thought by fear or folly stained,\n Whose powers can every change obey,\n In business grave, in trifles gay,\n And, formed each varying taste to please,\n Can mingle dignity with ease.\n\n What, though with magic influence, sleep,\n O'er every closing eyelid creep:\n Though drunk with its oblivious wine\n Our comrades on their bales recline,\n My Selim's trance I sure can break\u2014\n Selim, 'tis I, 'tis I who speak.\n Dangers on every side impend,\n And sleep'st thou, careless of thy friend?\n Thou sleep'st while every star on high,\n Beholds me with a wakeful eye\u2014\n Thou changest, ere the changeful night\n Hath streak'd her fleeting robe with white.\n\n 'Tis love that hurries me along\u2014\n I'm deaf to fear's repressive song\u2014\n The rocks of Idham I'll ascend,\n Though adverse darts each path defend,\n And hostile sabers glitter there,\n To guard the tresses of the fair.\n\n Come, Selim, let us pierce the grove,\n While night befriends, to seek my love.\n The clouds of fragrance as they rise\n Shall mark the place where Abla lies.\n Around her tent my jealous foes,\n Like lions, spread their watchful rows;\n Amidst their bands, her bow'r appears\n Embosomed in a wood of spears\u2014\n A wood still nourished by the dews,\n Which smiles, and softest looks diffuse.\n Thrice happy youths! who midst yon shades\n Sweet converse hold with Idham's maids,\n What bliss, to view them gild the hours,\n And brighten wit and fancy's powers,\n While every foible they disclose\n New transport gives, new graces shows.\n 'Tis theirs to raise with conscious art\n The flames of love in every heart;\n 'Tis yours to raise with festive glee\n The flames of hospitality:\n Smit by their glances lovers lie,\n And helpless sink and hopeless die;\n While slain by you the stately steed\n To crown the feast, is doomed to bleed,\n To crown the feast, where copious flows\n The sparkling juice that soothes your woes,\n That lulls each care and heals each wound,\n As the enliv'ning bowl goes round.\n Amidst those vales my eager feet\n Shall trace my Abla's dear retreat,\n A gale of health may hover there,\n To breathe some solace to my care.\n I fear not love\u2014I bless the dart\n Sent in a glance to pierce the heart:\n With willing breast the sword I hail\n That wounds me through an half-closed veil:\n Though lions howling round the shade,\n My footsteps haunt, my walks invade,\n No fears shall drive me from the grove,\n If Abla listen to my love.\n\n Ah, Selim! shall the spells of ease\n Thy friendship chain, thine ardor freeze!\n Wilt thou enchanted thus, decline\n Each gen'rous thought, each bold design?\n Then far from men some cell prepare;\n Or build a mansion in the air\u2014\n But yield to us, ambition's tide,\n Who fearless on its waves can ride;\n Enough for thee if thou receive\n The scattered spray the billows leave.\n\n Contempt and want the wretch await\n Who slumbers in an abject state\u2014\n 'Midst rushing crowds, by toil and pain\n The meed of Honor we must gain;\n At Honor's call, the camel hastes\n Through trackless wilds and dreary wastes,\n Till in the glorious race she find\n The fleetest coursers left behind:\n By toils like these alone, he cries,\n Th' adventurous youths to greatness rise;\n If bloated indolence were fame,\n And pompous ease our noblest aim,\n The orb that regulates the day\n Would ne'er from Aries' mansion stray.\n\n I've bent at Fortune's shrine too long\u2014\n Too oft she heard my suppliant tongue\u2014\n Too oft has mocked my idle prayers,\n While fools and knaves engrossed her cares,\n Awake for them, asleep to me,\n Heedless of worth she scorned each plea.\n Ah! had her eyes more just surveyed\n The diff'rent claims which each displayed,\n Those eyes from partial fondness free\n Had slept to them, and waked for me.\n But, 'midst my sorrows and my toils,\n Hope ever soothed my breast with smiles;\n The hand removed each gathering ill,\n And oped life's closing prospects still.\n Yet spite of all her friendly art\n The specious scene ne'er gained my heart;\n I loved it not although the day\n Met my approach, and cheered my way;\n I loath it now the hours retreat,\n And fly me with reverted feet.\n\n My soul from every tarnish free\n May boldly vaunt her purity,\n But ah, how keen, however bright,\n The saber glitter to the sight,\n Its splendor's lost, its polish vain,\n Till some bold hand the steel sustain.\n\n Why have my days been stretched by fate,\n To see the vile and vicious great\u2014\n While I, who led the race so long,\n Am last and meanest of the throng?\n Ah, why has death so long delayed\n To wrap me in his friendly shade,\n Left me to wander thus alone,\n When all my heart held dear is gone!\n\n But let me check these fretful sighs\u2014\n Well may the base above me rise,\n When yonder planets as they run\n Mount in the sky above the sun.\n Resigned I bow to Fate's decree,\n Nor hope his laws will change for me;\n Each shifting scene, each varying hour,\n But proves the ruthless tyrant's power.\n\n But though with ills unnumbered curst,\n We owe to faithless man the worst;\n For man can smile with specious art,\n And plant a dagger in the heart.\n He only's fitted for the strife\n Which fills the boist'rous paths of life,\n Who, as he treads the crowded scenes,\n Upon no kindred bosom leans.\n Too long my foolish heart had deemed\n Mankind as virtuous as they seemed;\n The spell is broke, their faults are bare,\n And now I see them as they are;\n Truth from each tainted breast has flown,\n And falsehood marks them all her own.\n Incredulous I listen now\n To every tongue, and every vow,\n For still there yawns a gulf between\n Those honeyed words, and what they mean;\n With honest pride elate, I see\n The sons of falsehood shrink from me,\n As from the right line's even way\n The biassed curves deflecting stray\u2014\n But what avails it to complain?\n With souls like theirs reproof is vain;\n If honor e'er such bosoms share\n The saber's point must fix it there.\n\n But why exhaust life's rapid bowl,\n And suck the dregs with sorrow foul,\n When long ere this my mouth has drained\n Whatever zest the cup contained?\n Why should we mount upon the wave,\n And ocean's yawning horrows brave,\n When we may swallow from the flask\n Whate'er the wants of mortals ask?\n Contentment's realms no fears invade,\n No cares annoy, no sorrows shade,\n There placed secure, in peace we rest,\n Nor aught demand to make us blest.\n While pleasure's gay fantastic bower,\n The splendid pageant of an hour,\n Like yonder meteor in the skies,\n Flits with a breath no more to rise.\n\n As through life's various walks we're led,\n May prudence hover o'er our head!\n May she our words, our actions guide,\n Our faults correct, our secrets hide!\n May she, where'er our footsteps stray,\n Direct our paths, and clear the way!\n\n Till, every scene of tumult past,\n She bring us to repose at last,\n Teach us to love that peaceful shore,\n And roam through folly's wilds no more!\n\n\n\n\nMOORISH LITERATURE\n\n\nSCIENCE AND HISTORY AMONG THE MOORS\n\n \"_The religion sacred to philosophers is to study that which is, for\n the most sublime worship one can render to God is the recognition and\n knowledge of his works._\"\n \u2014AVERROES.\n\n\nMOORISH LITERATURE\n\n\nSCIENCE AND HISTORY\n\n(INTRODUCTION)\n\n\nThe name \"Moor\" is used loosely to describe all those peoples who\nsprang from the mingling of the Berber, or Hamitic, stock of North\nAfrica, with the Arabs or Semitic stock who swept over the region in\nthe Mohammedan conquest. The chief achievement of this mixed or Moorish\nrace was the establishment of their brilliant kingdom and independent\ncaliphate in Spain. Under the most powerful of these Spanish caliphs,\nAhderrahman III. (A.D. 912-961), their capital Cordova had six hundred\nmosques, including its still celebrated chief mosque, the most\nbeautiful building of that age in Europe. The Moorish kingdom of Spain\nhad then seventeen universities and over seventy large libraries. It\nwas the most cultured land of Europe, the goal of scholars from less\npeaceful and less learned Christendom.\n\nThe Moorish kingdom in the course of the twelfth century broke\nup into many tiny States. These soon fought among themselves and\nplunged each other into a common ruin. African Moors, of far more\nignorant and fanatic type, came to aid their Spanish brethren; and\nunder the pressure of these barbarians, culture rapidly declined.\nThe universities were broken up. The great scholar Averroes, who had\nbeen the pride of his nation, was accused of heresy. His teachings\nwere found not sufficiently subservient to the Koran; and finally, in\n1195, he was driven into exile. This event, or Averroes' death soon\nafterward, may be reckoned as marking the downfall of the Moorish\nleadership in science and philosophy.\n\nIn our volume we give some of Averroes' most celebrated commentaries,\nas typifying the culmination of Moorish culture. We give also, as\nits opening note, the speech with which Tarik, the first conqueror\nof Spain, in the year A.D. 711 led his army to cross the Straits of\nGibraltar and began the attack upon the earlier Christian inhabitants.\nThis speech does not, however, preserve the actual words of Tarik;\nit only presents the tradition of them as preserved by the Moorish\nhistorian Al Maggari, who wrote in Africa long after the last of\nthe Moors had been driven out of Spain. In Al Maggari's day the\nolder Arabic traditions of exact service had quite faded. The Moors\nhad become poets and dreamers instead of scientists and critical\nhistorians. The very name of Al Maggari's history may be accepted as\ntypifying its character. He called it \"Breath of Perfumes.\"\n\n\n\n\nSCIENCE AND HISTORY\n\n\nPHILOSOPHIC THOUGHTS\n\n(BY AVERROES)\n\nThe first to preach the resurrection were the prophets of Israel\nafter Moses, then the Evangelical Christians, then the Sabians, whose\nreligion has been called by Ibn-Hazm the oldest in the world. The\nreason so many founders of religion established this dogma was because\nthey supposed this belief would moralize men and induce them to be\nvirtuous in their own interests. I do not quarrel with Al Ghazali or\nMotecallemin for saying that the soul is immortal, but I object to the\nidea that the soul is a mere accident, and that a man can take again\nthe body which has fallen into decay. No, he may take another, similar\nto the first, but that which has been dead can not return to life.\nThese two bodies are only one, viewed as a species, but they are two\nin number. Aristotle has said in the last lines of his \"Generation and\nCorruption\": \"A body once corrupted can never become the same again;\nit can never return as an individual whole, but it can return to the\nspecific variety of which it is a part. When air separates from water\nor water separates from air, each of these substances can not become\nagain the thing it was, but must return to its own species.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nHow have we come to adopt these tales of the creation? Through habit.\nJust as a man inured to poison can take it with impunity, so a man\nused to them from childhood can accept the most unbelievable opinions.\nTherefore the opinions of the masses are only formed through habit. The\npeople believe that which they hear incessantly repeated. And that is\nwhy the power of religion is so much stronger than that of philosophy,\nfor it is not accustomed to hearing the opposite of its belief, a\nthing which happens very often to philosophy: So one sees frequently,\nnowadays, men who, having entered suddenly into the study of the\nspeculative sciences, lose the religious beliefs which they have only\nheld through habit, and become _zendihs_ (infidels).\n\nThe religion sacred to philosophers is to study that which _is_, for\nthe most sublime worship one can render to God is the recognition and\nknowledge of his works, which leads us to know him, himself, in all his\n_reality_. In the eyes of God that is the noblest action, while the\nvilest action is to tax with error and presumption those who practise\nthis worship, higher than any other, who adore him by this religion,\nthe best of all religions.\n\nAmong the most dangerous of these fictions concerning a future life are\nthose which counsel virtue as a means of arriving at happiness. In that\ncase virtue is no longer worth anything, since one only abstains from\nvoluptuousness in the hope of being doubly repaid in the future. The\nbrave will only seek death to evade a worse evil. The good will only\nrespect the belongings of others in order to acquire twice as much.\n\nWine is forbidden because it excites wickedness and quarrels; but I am\npreserved from those excesses by wisdom: I take it only to sharpen my\nwits.[52]\n\nThat renegade philosopher, Al Ghazali, has gathered up all he learned\nfrom the writings of the philosophers, and has turned against them the\narms he borrowed from them.\n\nAs for us, the philosophers, at the risk of exposing ourselves to the\nrage of the persecutors of philosophy, which was our mother, we will,\nwhen the time is ripe, uncover the poison hidden in Al Ghazali's book.\n\n * * * * *\n\nOur social state does not bring out all the resources and possibilities\nthere are in women; it would seem that they are only destined to bear\nand rear children, and this state of servitude has destroyed in them\nthe capability for larger things. That is why one never sees, with us,\na woman possessed of the moral virtues\u2014their lives pass like those of\nflowers, and they are a burden upon their husbands. From this comes\nalso the misery which devours our cities, for there are twice as many\nwomen there as men, but the former are not permitted to work for their\nown support.\n\n * * * * *\n\nMy father aided in rescuing from prison Ibn Badja, who was accused of\nheresy. My father does not understand that his own son will one day be\nregarded as a far worse heretic.\n\nGod alone knows if I am one; but it is absolutely certain that it\nwas only the intrigues of my enemies which led to my condemnation.\nI thought only of editing Aristotle and establishing accord between\nreligion and philosophy.\n\n\nTARIK'S ADDRESS TO HIS SOLDIERS\n\n(FROM THE HISTORY OF AL MAGGARI)\n\nWhen Tarik had been informed of the approach of the enemy, he rose in\nthe midst of his companions and, after having glorified God in the\nhighest, he spoke to his soldiers thus:\n\n\"Oh my warriors, whither would you flee? Behind you is the sea, before\nyou, the enemy. You have left now only the hope of your courage and\nyour constancy. Remember that in this country you are more unfortunate\nthan the orphan seated at the table of the avaricious master. Your\nenemy is before you, protected by an innumerable army; he has men in\nabundance, but you, as your only aid, have your own swords, and, as\nyour only chance for life, such chance as you can snatch from the\nhands of your enemy. If the absolute want to which you are reduced is\nprolonged ever so little, if you delay to seize immediate success,\nyour good fortune will vanish, and your enemies, whom your very\npresence has filled with fear, will take courage. Put far from you the\ndisgrace from which you flee in dreams, and attack this monarch who\nhas left his strongly fortified city to meet you. Here is a splendid\nopportunity to defeat him, if you will consent to expose yourselves\nfreely to death. Do not believe that I desire to incite you to face\ndangers which I shall refuse to share with you. In the attack I myself\nwill be in the fore, where the chance of life is always least.\n\n\"Remember that if you suffer a few moments in patience, you will\nafterward enjoy supreme delight. Do not imagine that your fate can\nbe separated from mine, and rest assured that if you fall, I shall\nperish with you, or avenge you. You have heard that in this country\nthere are a large number of ravishingly beautiful Greek maidens, their\ngraceful forms are draped in sumptuous gowns on which gleam pearls,\ncoral, and purest gold, and they live in the palaces of royal kings.\nThe Commander of True Believers, Alwalid, son of Abdalmelik, has chosen\nyou for this attack from among all his Arab warriors; and he promises\nthat you shall become his comrades and shall hold the rank of kings in\nthis country. Such is his confidence in your intrepidity. The one fruit\nwhich he desires to obtain from your bravery is that the word of God\nshall be exalted in this country, and that the true religion shall be\nestablished here. The spoils will belong to yourselves.\n\n\"Remember that I place myself in the front of this glorious charge\nwhich I exhort you to make. At the moment when the two armies meet hand\nto hand, you will see me, never doubt it, seeking out this Roderick,\ntyrant of his people, challenging him to combat, if God is willing.\nIf I perish after this, I will have had at least the satisfaction of\ndelivering you, and you will easily find among you an experienced\nhero, to whom you can confidently give the task of directing you. But\nshould I fall before I reach to Roderick, redouble your ardor, force\nyourselves to the attack and achieve the conquest of this country, in\ndepriving him of life. With him dead, his soldiers will no longer defy\nyou.\"\n\n\n\n\nMOORISH LITERATURE\n\n\nPOETRY OF THE SPANISH MOORS\n\n \"_Fortune, that whilom owned my sway,\n And bowed obsequious to my nod,\n Now sees me destined to obey,\n And bend beneath oppression's rod._\"\n PRINCE MOHAMMED BEN ABAD.\n\n\nPOETRY OF THE SPANISH MOORS\n\n(INTRODUCTION)\n\n\nWhile the scientific leadership of the Moors faded with the breaking\nof their military unity in the twelfth century, they still retained in\nsome of their smaller kingdoms, and especially in that of Granada, a\nhigh degree of culture. The love of beauty and the spirit of romance\nwere strong among all the Spanish Moors; and so their poetry continued\nlong after science failed them. Poetry indeed became their main\nexpression. Granada, the last of all their Spanish kingdoms, did not\nfall before the advancing Christians until 1492. Then, as our histories\nhave so often told, Ferdinand and Isabella, the Christian rulers\nof Spain, conducted a holy war for the destruction of Granada. Its\nlast fortress surrendered, and its people withdrew to Africa. There,\naccording to a characteristically dreamy legend, they still retain the\nkeys of their mansions in Granada, treasuring them up for the day of\ntheir triumphant return.\n\nOf the Moorish poetry which survived the fall of Granada, much was\npreserved by the Spaniards themselves and in the Spanish language. The\nvictors knew how to value the spirit of the vanquished; and ballads\nof Moorish origin, telling of Moorish loves, long remained popular in\nSpain. The authors of most of these have been forgotten. The text of\nsome of the best known of them is given here.\n\n\nMOORISH POETRY\n\n\nVERSES TO MY DAUGHTERS[53]\n\n (BY PRINCE MOHAMMED BEN ABAD)\n\n With jocund heart and cheerful brow\n I used to hail the festal morn\u2014\n How must Mohammed greet it now?\u2014\n A prisoner helpless and forlorn.\n\n While these dear maids in beauty's bloom,\n With want opprest, with rags o'erspread,\n By sordid labors at the loom\n Must earn a poor, precarious bread.\n\n Those feet that never touched the ground,\n Till musk or camphor strewed the way,\n Now bare and swoll'n with many a wound,\n Must struggle through the miry clay.\n\n Those radiant cheeks are veiled in woe,\n A shower descends from every eye,\n And not a starting tear can flow,\n That wakes not an attending sigh.\n\n Fortune, that whilom owned my sway,\n And bowed obsequious to my nod,\n Now sees me destined to obey,\n And bend beneath oppression's rod.\n\n Ye mortals with success elate,\n Who bask in hope's delusive beam,\n Attentive view Mohammed's fate,\n And own that bliss is but a dream.\n\n\nSERENADE TO MY SLEEPING MISTRESS[54]\n\n (BY ALI BEN ABAD)\n\n Sure Harut's[55] potent spells were breathed\n Upon that magic sword, thine eye;\n For if it wounds us thus while sheathed,\n When drawn, 'tis vain its edge to fly.\n\n How canst thou doom me, cruel fair,\n Plunged in the hell[56] of scorn to groan?\n No idol e'er this heart could share,\n This heart has worshiped thee alone.\n\n\nTHE INCONSISTENT[57]\n\n When I sent you my melons, you cried out with scorn,\n They ought to be heavy and wrinkled and yellow;\n When I offered myself, whom those graces adorn,\n You flouted, and called me an ugly old fellow.\n\n\nTHE BULLFIGHT OF GAZUL[58]\n\n King Almanzor of Granada, he hath bid the trumpet sound,\n He hath summoned all the Moorish lords, from the hills and plains\n around;\n From _vega_ and _sierra_, from Betis and Xenil,\n They have come with helm and cuirass of gold and twisted steel.\n\n 'Tis the holy Baptist's feast they hold in royalty and state,\n And they have closed the spacious lists beside the Alhambra's gate;\n In gowns of black and silver laced, within the tented ring,\n Eight Moors to fight the bull are placed in presence of the King.\n\n Eight Moorish lords of valor tried, with stalwart arm and true,\n The onset of the beasts abide, as they come rushing through;\n The deeds they've done, the spoils they've won, fill all with hope\n and trust,\n Yet ere high in heaven appears the sun they all have bit the dust.\n\n Then sounds the trumpet clearly, then clangs the loud tambour,\n Make room, make room for Gazul\u2014throw wide, throw wide the door;\n Blow, blow the trumpet clearer still, more loudly strike the drum,\n The _Alcayd\u00e9_ of Algava to fight the bull doth come.\n\n And first before the King he passed, with reverence stooping low,\n And next he bowed him to the Queen, and the _Infantas_ all a-row;\n Then to his lady's grace he turned, and she to him did throw\n A scarf from out her balcony, 'twas whiter than the snow.\n\n With the life-blood of the slaughtered lords all slippery is the sand,\n Yet proudly in the center hath Gazul ta'en his stand;\n And ladies look with heaving breast, and lords with anxious eye,\n But firmly he extends his arm\u2014his look is calm and high.\n\n Three bulls against the knight are loosed, and two come roaring on,\n He rises high in stirrup, forth stretching his _rej\u00f3n_;\n Each furious beast upon the breast he deals him such a blow\n He blindly totters and gives back, across the sand to go.\n\n \"Turn, Gazul, turn!\" the people cry\u2014the third comes up behind,\n Low to the sand his head holds he, his nostrils snuff the wind;\n The mountaineers that lead the steers, without stand whispering low,\n \"Now thinks this proud _alcayd\u00e9_ to stun Harpado so?\"\n\n From Guadiana comes he not, he comes not from Xenil,\n From Gaudalarif of the plain, or Barves of the hill;\n But where from out the forest burst Xarama's waters clear,\n Beneath the oak-trees was he nursed, this proud and stately steer.\n\n Dark is his hide on either side, but the blood within doth boil,\n And the dun hide glows, as if on fire, as he paws to the turmoil.\n His eyes are jet, and they are set in crystal rings of snow;\n But now they stare with one red glare of brass upon the foe.\n\n Upon the forehead of the bull the horns stand close and near,\n From out the broad and wrinkled skull, like daggers they appear;\n His neck is massy, like the trunk of some old knotted tree,\n Whereon the monster's shaggy mane, like billows curled, ye see.\n\n His legs are short, his hams are thick, his hoofs are black as night,\n Like a strong flail he holds his tail in fierceness of his might;\n Like something molten out of iron, or hewn from forth the rock,\n Harpado of Xarama stands, to bide the _alcayd\u00e9's_ shock.\n\n Now stops the drum\u2014close, close they come\u2014thrice meet, and thrice\n give back;\n The white foam of Harpado lies on the charger's breast of black\u2014\n The white foam of the charger on Harpado's front of dun\u2014\n Once more advance upon his lance\u2014once more, thou fearless one!\n\n Once more, once more;\u2014in dust and gore to ruin must thou reel\u2014\n In vain, in vain thou tearest the sand with furious heel\u2014\n In vain, in vain, thou noble beast, I see, I see thee stagger,\n Now keen and cold thy neck must hold the stern _alcayd\u00e9's_ dagger!\n\n They have slipped a noose around his feet, six horses are brought in,\n And away they drag Harpado with a loud and joyful din.\n Now stoop thee, lady, from thy stand, and the ring of price bestow\n Upon Gazul of Algava, that hath laid Harpado low.\n\n\nTHE ZEGRI'S BRIDE[59]\n\n Of all the blood of Zegri, the chief is Lisaro,\n To wield _rej\u00f3n_ like him is none, or javelin to throw;\n From the place of his dominion, he ere the dawn doth go,\n From Alcala de Henares, he rides in weed of woe.\n\n He rides not now as he was wont, when ye have seen him speed\n To the field of gay Toledo, to fling his lusty reed;\n No gambeson of silk is on, nor rich embroidery\n Of gold-wrought robe or turban\u2014nor jeweled _tahali_.\n\n No amethyst nor garnet is shining on his brow,\n No crimson sleeve, which damsels weave at Tunis, decks him now;\n The belt is black, the hilt is dim, but the sheathed blade is bright;\n They have housened his barb in a murky garb, but yet her hoofs are\n light.\n\n Four horsemen good, of the Zegri blood, with Lisaro go out;\n No flashing spear may tell them near, but yet their shafts are stout;\n In darkness and in swiftness rides every armed knight\u2014\n The foam on the rein ye may see it plain, but nothing else is white.\n\n Young Lisaro, as on they go, his bonnet doffeth he,\n Between its folds a sprig it holds of a dark and glossy tree;\n That sprig of bay, were it away, right heavy heart had he\u2014\n Fair Zayda to her Zegri gave that token privily.\n\n And ever as they rode, he looked upon his lady's boon.\n \"God knows,\" quoth he, \"what fate may be\u2014I may be slaughtered soon;\n Thou still art mine, though scarce the sign of hope that bloomed\n whilere,\n But in my grave I yet shall have my Zayda's token dear.\"\n\n Young Lisaro was musing so, when onward on the path,\n He well could see them riding slow; then pricked he in his wrath.\n The raging sire, the kinsmen of Zayda's hateful house,\n Fought well that day, yet in the fray the Zegri won his spouse.\n\n\nZARA'S EARRINGS\n\n \"My earrings! my earrings! they've dropped into the well,\n And what to say to Mu\u00e7a, I can not, can not tell.\"\n 'Twas thus, Granada's fountain by, spoke Albuharez' daughter\n \"The well is deep, far down they lie, beneath the cold blue water\u2014\n To me did Mu\u00e7a give them, when he spake his sad farewell,\n And what to say when he comes back, alas! I can not tell.\n\n \"My earrings! my earrings! they were pearls in silver set,\n That when my Moor was far away, I ne'er should him forget,\n That I ne'er to other tongue should list, nor smile on other's tale,\n But remember he my lips had kissed, pure as those earrings pale\u2014\n When he comes back, and hears that I have dropped them in the well,\n Oh, what will Mu\u00e7a think of me, I can not, can not tell.\n\n \"My earrings! my earrings! he'll say they should have been,\n Not of pearl and of silver, but of gold and glittering sheen,\n Of jasper and of onyx, and of diamond shining clear,\n Changing to the changing light, with radiance insincere\u2014\n That changeful mind unchanging gems are not befitting well\u2014\n Thus will he think\u2014and what to say, alas! I can not tell.\n\n \"He'll think when I to market went, I loitered by the way;\n He'll think a willing ear I lent to all the lads might say;\n He'll think some other lover's hand, among my tresses noosed,\n From the ears where he had placed them, my rings of pearl unloosed;\n He'll think, when I was sporting so beside this marble well,\n My pearls fell in\u2014and what to say, alas! I can not tell.\n\n \"He'll say, I am a woman, and we are all the same;\n He'll say I loved when he was here to whisper of his flame\u2014\n But when he went to Tunis my virgin troth had broken,\n And thought no more of Mu\u00e7a, and care not for his token.\n My earrings! my earrings! O luckless, luckless well,\n For what to say to Mu\u00e7a, alas! I can not tell.\n\n \"I'll tell the truth to Mu\u00e7a, and I hope he will believe\u2014\n That I thought of him at morning, and thought of him at eve;\n That, musing on my lover, when down the sun was gone,\n His earrings in my hand I held, by the fountain all alone;\n And that my mind was o'er the sea, when from my hand they fell,\n And that deep his love lies in my heart, as they lie in the well.\"\n\n\nTHE LAMENTATION FOR CELIN\n\n At the gate of old Granada, when all its bolts are barred,\n At twilight at the Vega gate there is a trampling heard;\n There is a trampling heard, as of horses treading slow,\n And a weeping voice of women, and a heavy sound of woe.\n \"What tower is fallen, what star is set, what chief come these\n bewailing?\"\n \"A tower is fallen, a star is set. Alas! alas for Celin!\"\n\n Three times they knock, three times they cry, and wide the doors\n they throw;\n Dejectedly they enter, and mournfully they go;\n In gloomy lines they mustering stand beneath the hollow porch,\n Each horseman grasping in his hand a black and flaming torch;\n Wet is each eye as they go by, and all around is wailing,\n For all have heard the misery. \"Alas! alas for Celin!\"\u2014\n\n Him yesterday a Moor did slay, of Bencerraje's blood,\n 'Twas at the solemn jousting, around the nobles stood;\n The nobles of the land were by, and ladies bright and fair\n Looked from their latticed windows, the haughty sight to share;\n But now the nobles all lament, the ladies are bewailing,\n For he was Granada's darling knight. \"Alas! alas for Celin!\"\n\n Before him ride his vassals, in order two by two,\n With ashes on their turbans spread, most pitiful to view;\n Behind him his four sisters, each wrapped in sable veil,\n Between the tambour's dismal strokes take up their doleful tale;\n When stops the muffled drum, ye hear their brotherless bewailing,\n And all the people, far and near, cry\u2014\"Alas! alas for Celin!\"\n\n Oh! lovely lies he on the bier, above the purple pall,\n The flower of all Granada's youth, the loveliest of them all;\n His dark, dark eyes are closed, his rosy lip is pale,\n The crust of blood lies black and dim upon his burnished mail,\n And evermore the hoarse tambour breaks in upon their wailing,\n Its sound is like no earthly sound\u2014\"Alas! alas for Celin!\"\n\n The Moorish maid at the lattice stands, the Moor stands at his door,\n One maid is wringing of her hands, and one is weeping sore\u2014\n Down to the dust men bow their heads, and ashes black they strew\n Upon their broidered garments of crimson, green, and blue\u2014\n Before each gate the bier stands still, then bursts the loud bewailing,\n From door and lattice, high and low\u2014\"Alas! alas for Celin!\"\n\n An old, old woman cometh forth, when she hears the people cry;\n Her hair is white as silver, like horn her glazed eye.\n 'Twas she that nursed him at her breast, that nursed him long ago;\n She knows not whom they all lament, but soon she well shall know.\n With one deep shriek she through doth break, when her ears receive\n their wailing\u2014\n \"Let me kiss my Celin ere I die\u2014Alas! alas for Celin!\"\n\n\n\n\nTURKISH LITERATURE\n\n\nLEGEND AND POETRY AMONG THE TURKS\n\n \"_Once upon a time._\"\n THE OLD, OLD BEGINNING.\n\n\n _While still I live, 'tis well that I should mirth and glee enjoy._\"\n SULTAN MURAD II.\n\n\nLEGEND AND POETRY AMONG THE TURKS\n\n(INTRODUCTION)\n\n\nTurkish literature, as pointed out in our general introduction, is of\na less advanced character than that of most of the Semitic literatures\nfrom which it is sprung. An epigrammatic summary of the Turkish\ncharacter has said that every fourth word of Turkish is Arabic, every\nthird idea Persian, and every second impulse Mohammedan. This, while\nnot seeming to leave much of the original Turk, is perhaps not an\nunfair estimate of the extent of the Turks' indebtedness to the earlier\nraces and religion upon which their civilization is built.\n\nThe Ottoman Turks, that is, the Turks who founded the present Turkish\nEmpire, were a Tartar or Turanian tribe from Central Asia who adopted\nthe Mohammedan faith and began their conquest of the Mohammedan world\nabout the year 1300. They then possessed legends or childish tales of\ntheir own which still survive; and these are still told among the mass\nof the people with simple faith. One or two of these are given here, to\nshow the natural human character of the race.\n\nThe Turks next turned, in literature, to poetry. Persian Mohammedan\npoetry was then at its best; and the Turks imitated, but scarcely\nimproved upon, its forms. So great, indeed, became the Turkish\nadmiration for poetry that almost every Turkish Sultan, from the year\nfourteen hundred down to the present, has written poetry. Our book\ngives a series, by themselves, of the best of these royal poems.\n\nTurkish poetry has chiefly followed the Arabic fashion of expending\nitself upon language rather than upon thought. We are told that when\nthe first Turkish epic poet Ahmedi presented to Sultan Bajazet's son\nhis long epic history of Alexander the Great, the prince rebuked the\npoet's years of labor, saying that one tiny, perfectly polished poem\nwould have been worth more than all the epic. Hence it is chiefly to\nthe polishing of tiny poems that the poetic genius of the Turks has\nbeen applied. They have a favorite form called the \"gazel,\" which might\nbe likened to our English sonnet, except that the gazel is by far more\nintricate. It is, in fact, compared by the Turks to a flower with its\npetals constantly overlapping, forming a circle, and ending at the\npoint where they began. In rhyme, for instance, the gazel opens with\na rhyming couplet, and then through the whole poem the second line of\neach couplet repeats this opening rhyme.\n\nWe have tried to give the chief Turkish poets in somewhat chronological\norder, beginning with their first poet Ashiq, who died in 1332 and\nwhose very name is forgotten, since _ashiq_ means merely \"the lover.\"\nIn other words, Turkish poetry begins with the passion of an unknown\nlover, not apparently for woman, but for life and God. The collected\npoems of Ashiq are called a _divan_, the usual Persian and Turkish\nword for such collections; but very little of the _divan_ of Ashiq has\nsurvived.\n\nAmong Turkish epic poets, the earliest is Ahmedi (died 1412), who wrote\nthe Book of Alexander the Great. The first romantic song is that of\nSheykhi (1426) on the loves of the maiden Shirin. The first religious\nepic is that of Yaziji-Oglu (1449), called the \"Book of Mohammed.\"\nThese, then, were the early singers. Of poets accounted of the highest\nrank, the earliest was Nejati (1508). Lamii was the scholar poet, a\ndervish or monk who delved into the older Persian literature and drew\nhis themes perhaps from ancient Zoroastrian tales. He is usually named\nas the second greatest of Turkish poets. Gazali, Fuzuli, and Nabi were\nalso noted singers of the sixteenth century, which was the great age of\nthe Turkish Empire, both in literature and in military glory.\n\nOf the two poetesses on our list, Mihri has been called the Turkish\nSappho. Yet as the life of a Turkish woman of rank is carefully\nsecluded, no scandal ever attached to her personal life. Her poems are\nmere dreams of fancy. Zeyneb was equally honored, a lady of high rank\nand a student of the Persian and Arabic poets.\n\nAll other singers, however, are accounted by the Turks inferior to the\ngreat lyric poet Baqi (1526-1600). Baqi was at first a saddler, but\nhe studied law and rose to the highest legal position of the empire.\nPoetry was the avocation of the great lawyer's leisure, and it won him\nthe admiring friendship of the four successive Sultans who reigned\nduring his life. The very name Baqi means \"that which lasts,\" or \"the\nenduring,\" so it has been frequently punned upon. The poet himself used\na seal with a Persian couplet,\n\n \"Fleeting is the world, and without faith\n God alone endures (or, Baqi alone is god); all else is fleeting\"\n\n\nOLD TURKISH TALES\n\nTHE QUEEN OF NIGHT\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old man who had three daughters. All\nof them were beautiful, but the youngest, whose name was Rosa, was\nnot only more lovely, but also more amiable and more intelligent than\nthe others. Jealous and envious exceedingly were the two sisters when\nthey found that the fame of Rosa's beauty was greater than the fame of\ntheirs. They, however, refused to believe that Rosa was really more\nlovely than they were, and they resolved to ask the Sun's opinion on\nthe subject.\n\nSo, one day at dawn, the sisters stood at their open window and cried,\n\"Sun, shining Sun, who wanderest all over the world, say who is the\nmost beautiful among our father's daughters?\"\n\nThe Sun replied, \"I am beautiful, and you are both beautiful; but your\nyoungest sister is the most beautiful of all.\"\n\nWhen the two girls heard this, they were beside themselves with anger\nand spite, and determined to get rid of the sister who so outshone\nthem. Saying nothing to her of what the Sun had told them, they on the\nfollowing day invited Rosa to accompany them to the wood to gather a\nsalad of wild herbs for their father's dinner. The unsuspecting Rosa\nat once complied, took her basket, and set out with her sisters, who\nled her to a spot she had never before visited, a long way from her\nfather's house, and surrounded on all sides by forest. When they were\narrived, the eldest sister said,\n\n\"Do thou, Rosa, gather all the herbs that are here; we will go a little\nfarther on, and when we have filled our baskets we will return.\"\n\nThe wicked girls, however, went straight home, abandoning Rosa to her\nfate. When some hours had passed, and she found that they did not\nreturn, she feared that she might, while seeking for the herbs, have\nwandered from the spot where her sisters had left her. Too innocent to\nsuspect them of the wicked treachery of which they had been guilty,\nshe only blamed herself for her carelessness, and wept bitterly at the\nthought of remaining all night alone in the wild and lonely wood.\n\nAfter a time the sun set, the twilight came and passed, and darkness\nfell. The birds ceased their songs, and the silence of the forest was\nbroken only by the flutter of a bat or great gray moth, the melancholy\nhoot of an owl, and the faint little rustle made by the other flying\nand creeping things that come forth with the stars. Seated on a great\ntree-trunk, Rosa wept more and more bitterly as the darkness deepened,\nand no one came to her aid. Hours passed, the air grew chilly; and\nfaint with hunger and cold, she was about to lay herself down to die,\nwhen suddenly a brilliant light, like the sparkling of many stars,\nshot through the wood and advanced toward the spot where she sat. It\nwas the Queen of Night, who, attended by all her court, was returning\nto her palace after her usual journey, for it was now near dawn. Rosa,\ndazzled and frightened, covered her face with her hands, and wept more\nbitterly than ever. Attracted by the sound of her sobbing, the Radiant\nLady approached the weeping girl, and in a kind and gentle voice asked\nhow she came to be there. Rosa looked up, and, reassured by the benign\ncountenance of the Queen of Night, told her story.\n\n\"Come then and live with me, dear girl; I will be your mother, and you\nshall be my daughter,\" said the Queen, who knew perfectly well how it\nhad all happened.\n\nGladly the poor girl accompanied the Queen to her palace, and being,\nas we know, as amiable and intelligent as she was beautiful, her\nprotectress soon became very fond of her, and did everything in her\npower to make her adopted daughter happy. She gave Rosa the keys of\nall her treasures, made her the mistress of her palace, and let her do\nwhatever she pleased.\n\nBut let us now leave this lucky girl with the Queen of Night for a\nlittle while, and return to her sisters. Though they fully believed she\nmust either have perished of hunger or been devoured by wild beasts,\nthey after a time, to make quite certain, went again to their window\nand cried,\n\n\"Sun, shining Sun, who wanderest all over the world, tell us who is the\nmost beautiful of our father's daughters?\"\n\nThe Sun replied as before, \"I am beautiful, and you are both beautiful;\nbut your youngest sister is the most beautiful of all.\"\n\n\"But Rosa has long been dead!\"\n\n\"No,\" replied the Sun, \"Rosa still lives, and she is in the palace of\nthe Queen of Night.\"\n\nWhen the sisters heard this, their rage and spite knew no bounds. Long\nthey consulted together as to the best means of bringing about her\ndeath; and finally these wicked girls decided to obtain from a witch of\ntheir acquaintance an enchanted kerchief which would make the person\nwearing it appear to be dead.\n\nWell, they set out, and presently arrived at the palace at an hour\nwhen they knew that the Queen of Night would be absent and they might\nfind their sister alone. Rosa was delighted to see them, for though\nthey had often been unkind to her, she loved her sisters very dearly,\nand welcoming them warmly, she offered them everything she had, and\npressed them to remain. They, on their part, pretended to be overjoyed\nat finding again the sister they had mourned as lost, and congratulated\nher on her good fortune. When they had eaten and drunk of the good\nthings she set before them, and were about to take their departure, the\neldest sister produced from her basket the enchanted kerchief.\n\n\"Here, dear Rosa,\" said she, \"is a little present which we should\nlike you to wear for our sakes. Let me pin it round your shoulders.\nGood-bye, dear!\" she added, kissing her affectionately on both cheeks,\n\"we will come and see you again before long and bring our father with\nus.\"\n\n\"Do, dear sisters, and tell my dear father that I will go to see him as\nsoon as my kind protectress may give me leave.\"\n\nRosa watched her sisters from the window till they were out of\nsight, and then turned to the embroidery-frame which she had laid aside\non their arrival. She had not, however, made many stitches, before a\nfeeling of faintness came over her; and letting her work slip from her\nhands, she fell back on the sofa and lost consciousness. When the Queen\nof Night came home, she went first, as was her wont, to the chamber of\nher dear adopted daughter, and finding her thus, she said, as she bent\nover the maiden and kissed her beautiful mouth, \"She has tired herself,\npoor child, over that embroidery-frame; she is so industrious.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT.]\n\nBut the beautiful lips were cold and white, and the maiden neither\nbreathed nor stirred. Distracted with grief, the Queen of Night began\nto unfasten Rosa's dress in order to ascertain whether her death had\nbeen caused by the bite of some poisonous reptile, and while doing so,\nshe observed that the kerchief on her shoulders was not one that her\ndaughter was in the habit of wearing. When she had unpinned and taken\nit off, Rosa heaved a deep sigh, opened her eyes, and seeing the Queen\nbending over her, smiled and stretched out her arms to her dear mother,\nsaying,\n\n\"I must have slept a long time! Oh, I remember!\" she added, \"I was\nfeeling faint and giddy and lay down, and, I suppose, fell asleep\nimmediately, for I don't recollect anything else.\"\n\n\"But where did you get this?\" asked the Queen, picking up the kerchief\nfrom the floor. \"I don't remember having given it to you.\"\n\n\"Oh, I have not told you that I had a great pleasure yesterday. My\nsisters, who had thought me forever lost, found out where I was and\ncame to see me, bringing this kerchief as a present. Is it not pretty?\"\n\nThese words told the Queen of Night the secret of the whole matter;\nbut, not wishing to distress her daughter by acquainting her with her\nsisters' cruel perfidy, she only replied, \"Yes, very pretty. Will you\ngive it to me, Rosa? I should like to have it for myself.\"\n\nRosa was naturally only too pleased to be able to give her kind\nprotectress something in return for all her favors; and she also\npromised her, though not without tears, never again to receive any\nvisitors, not even her sisters, when she was left by herself in the\npalace.\n\nThese wicked creatures in a little while again stood at their window\nand cried, \"Sun, shining Sun, who wanderest the world over, say, is\nthere now any one more beautiful than we are?\"\n\nBut the Sun only replied as before, \"I am beautiful; you, too, are\nbeautiful; but Rosa is the most beautiful of all!\"\n\nThe sisters looked at each other in dismay. \"The kerchief has then\nfailed,\" said the elder to the younger. \"We must try some other method\nof getting rid of her.\"\n\nSo the wretches went to the same old witch who had given them the\nmagic kerchief, and got from her an enchanted sugar-plum. When at\nnightfall they again knocked at the door of the palace, the porter\ninformed them that his mistress was absent, and had given orders that\nthe palace-gates were not to be opened until her return. They, however,\nsaw Rosa at her window, and pretending to be greatly distressed at\ntheir exclusion, asked her at least to accept from them the delicious\nsugar-plum which they had brought for her.\n\n\"Let down a basket,\" said the eldest; \"I will put the sugar-plum\ninside, and you can draw it up.\"\n\nRosa did so, and drew up the sweetmeat.\n\n\"Taste it at once,\" cried the second sister, \"and if you like it, we\nwill bring you more of the same kind.\"\n\nThe poor girl, suspecting no evil, put the sugar-plum into her mouth;\nbut scarcely had she tasted it, than she fell back as if dead; and her\nsisters, seeing this, hurried away home.\n\nWhen the Queen returned and again found her favorite lifeless, she was\nboth grieved and angry. All her servants, however, when questioned,\nassured her that no one had entered the palace during her absence,\nand that Rosa's sisters had only been allowed to speak to her from a\ndistance as she stood at her high window. In the hope of bringing her\nto life again, as on the previous occasion, the Queen of Night searched\nevery fold of the maiden's dress, but in vain; she could not discover\nthe fatal charm.\n\n\"Perhaps,\" said she to herself, as she sat and gazed on the lifeless\nfeatures of her adopted daughter, \"what I can not discover, chance may,\nand I could never bring myself to bury her, dead though she seems to\nbe.\"\n\nSo the grieving Queen sent for a cunning workman, who made at her\norders a coffer of silver; and after dressing Rosa in her most\nbeautiful clothes and jewels, she laid her in it, closed the lid,\nfastened the coffer on the back of a splendid horse, and let him loose\nto wander at will.\n\nThe horse, following his fancy, carried his fair burden in a few\nhours' time into a neighboring country, the ruler of which was the\nhandsomest man of his time; and this King, being that day out hunting\nwith his court, happened to catch sight of the horse. Attracted by its\nbeauty and fleetness, and by the strange shining burden it bore on\nits saddle, he approached, and seeing the animal to be masterless, he\nbade his people seize and lead it to the palace. The silver coffer the\nKing caused to be carried into his bed-chamber, and there he opened\nit. Imagine, if you can, his surprise on seeing within the form of a\nbeautiful maiden. Though apparently lifeless, she was more lovely than\nany living woman he had ever beheld, and his heart became filled with\nsuch ardent love for her that he would sit for hours together gazing\nupon her beautiful features, neglecting duties and pleasures alike; and\nwhen his ministers came and prayed him to accompany them to the council\nchamber, he only said,\n\n\"Go, I pray you, and do justice in my name.\"\n\nDays passed, his gentlemen tried to tempt him out hunting, but again he\nonly replied,\n\n\"Do you go without me.\"\n\nThe royal cooks vied with one another in preparing the most delicious\ndishes for his table; but these he hardly tasted, nor did he even\nappear to notice what he was eating. When this state of things had\ncontinued for some days the ministers became alarmed, and sent a\nmessenger to inform the Queen-Mother, who was away at her country\npalace. She came with all speed, and was much distressed to find her\nson so dispirited and melancholy. To all her anxious inquiries,\nhowever, he only replied that he was quite well, but preferred to\nremain alone in his bed-chamber. The Queen had, of course, already\nheard from the courtiers the story of the riderless horse and the\nsilver chest; and she rightly guessed that her son had been bewitched\nby what he had found in it, and determined to discover what this might\nbe.\n\nSo the very next day, while the King was at dinner with his vizier, his\nmother went to his chamber\u2014for she had a master-key that would open all\nthe doors in the palace\u2014and there, extended on the divan, she saw the\nsilver chest. Going hastily up to it, she raised the lid which the King\nhad closed before leaving. At first she could only gaze in astonishment\nat the wonderful beauty of the maiden lying within; but her admiration\npresently changed to anger when she thought of her son; and seizing\npoor Rosa by her long hair, she dragged her out of the coffer and shook\nher violently, saying,\n\n\"You wicked dead thing! Why are you not decently buried instead of\nwandering about casting spells on Princes?\" But as the Queen shook\nher the enchanted sugar-plum was jerked out of Rosa's mouth, and she\nimmediately came to life again, and gazed around her in bewilderment.\nAnd as she opened her large, lovely eyes, the Queen's anger passed\naway, and she embraced and kissed Rosa tenderly, weeping with delight\nthe while. The poor girl was so astonished by the strangeness of\neverything around her, that it was some minutes before she could ask:\n\n\"Where am I, noble lady, and where is my dear mother?\"\n\n\"I know not, my child, but I will be your mother. For you shall marry\nmy son, the King, who is dying for love of you.\"\n\nAs she spoke, footsteps were heard at the door, and the King entered.\nImagine, if you can, his amazement and joy at finding, seated on the\ndivan by his mother's side, the maiden he loved so dearly, restored\nto life, and twenty times lovelier than before. Not to make too long\na story of it, the King took her by the hand, and asked her to be his\nwife. And when Rosa heard of his love for her, and saw how handsome\nand noble he was, she could not but love him in return. So they were\nmarried with great splendor, and there were feasts for the poor, and\nfountains running honey and wine, and rejoicings for everybody.\n\nWell, the King and Rosa lived very happily together for some time; but\nher troubles were not over, for her wicked sisters had not yet done\ntheir worst to her. They had for long feared to go near the palace\nagain, and nearly a year passed before they learned what had been the\nresult of their last visit. One day, however, in order to make quite\nsure that Rosa was dead, they once more stood at their window, and\ncried,\n\n\"Sun, shining Sun, who wanderest all over the earth, tell us if thou\nhast, since our youngest sister died, seen any maiden fairer than we?\"\n\nBut the Sun only replied as before, \"I am beautiful; you, too, are both\nbeautiful; but your youngest sister is the fairest of all.\"\n\n\"But Rosa is dead!\"\n\n\"No, Rosa lives, and she is the wife of the King of the neighboring\ncountry.\"\n\nWell, if these wicked women could not bear that their sister should be\nconsidered fairer than they, still less could they allow her to be a\nQueen. So, disguised as two old women, they set off at once for Rosa's\npalace. When they arrived in the royal city, great rejoicings were\ngoing on because a baby prince had just been born.\n\n\"That is good news,\" said the elder to the younger when she heard this,\n\"for now we will be the nurses.\" So they went to the Queen-Mother\nand gave themselves out to be wonderfully clever nurses from the\nneighboring country who had nursed the princes there; and the\nQueen-Mother, deceived by their story, put them in charge of her\ndaughter-in-law and the baby. On the pretext of keeping the young Queen\nand her child free from evil spells, the make-believe nurses sent away\nall the other attendants from her apartments; and when they were left\nalone with their sister, they stack into her head an enchanted pin.\n\nShe was immediately changed into a bird, and flew away out of the\nwindow; and her eldest sister laid herself down on her bed in her place.\n\nWhen the King came in to see his wife, he could hardly believe his\neyes. This could not be his wife. The false Queen, guessing his\nthoughts, said,\n\n\"You find me changed, dear husband? It is because I have been so ill.\"\n\nThe King, however, pretended not to have observed anything, but his\nheart froze within him as he looked on the object of this pretended\ntransformation.\n\nIt was his custom to breakfast alone every day in the garden; and one\nday while he was sadly musing there, a pretty bird flew down, perched\non a branch overhead, and said, \"Tell me, my lord, have the King, and\nthe Queen-Mother, and the little Prince slept well?\"\n\nThe King smiled and nodded, and the bird continued, \"May they ever\nsleep sweetly. But may she whom they call the young Queen sleep the\nsleep that knows no waking, and may all things over which I fly wither\naway!\"\n\nThis said, the bird spread its wings, and wherever it passed, the grass\nand flowers withered, and the place became a desert. The gardeners, in\ndespair, asked the King if they might not kill the bird which caused\nthe mischief; but he forbade them, on pain of death, to do it any\ninjury.\n\nAfterward the bird came every day while he was at breakfast in the\ngarden; and the kind voice of the Prince soon made it so tame and\nfearless that it would perch on his knee and eat from his hand. This\nfamiliarity enabled the Prince to observe the bird's plumage more\nclosely, and one day he caught sight of the pin in its head. Surprised\nat this, he ventured to withdraw it, when the bird disappeared, and\nhis own dear wife stood again by his side. When he had recovered a\nlittle from the joy and surprise caused by this strange event, and had\nwelcomed his wife back, he asked her to tell how it had all happened.\nAnd Rosa, whose eyes were now fully opened to the malice and wickedness\nof her sisters, told him all she knew of her own adventures.\n\nWhen the Prince had learned the evil deeds of his sisters-in-law, he\nbade his guards bring these wretches before him, and condemned them\nboth to a death suitable to their crimes. In vain did Rosa entreat\nhim to pardon them. The King was inexorable. But when, at sunset, the\ncriminals were being led away to execution, the Queen of Night appeared\non the scene, followed by all her train; and touched by the distress\nof her adopted daughter, she prevailed upon the King to change the\nsentence he had pronounced. The two evil-doers were then offered the\nchoice of dying a violent death, or living to witness their sister's\nhappiness while deprived of the power of ever again being able to\ninjure her.\n\nThey chose the latter fate; and it was not long before they both died\nof spite and jealousy.\n\n\nLEGEND AND POETRY AMONG THE TURKS\n\n\nTHE DIVAN OF THE LOVER\n\nTHE EARLIEST TURKISH POEM\n\n All the universe, one mighty sign, is shown;\n God hath myriads of creative acts unknown:\n None hath seen them, of the races jinn and men,\n None hath news brought from that realm far off from ken.\n Never shall thy mind or reason reach that strand,\n Nor can tongue the King's name utter of that land.\n Since 'tis his each nothingness with life to vest,\n Trouble is there ne'er at all to his behest.\n Eighteen thousand worlds, from end to end,\n Do not with him one atom's worth transcend.\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT\n\n (BY AHMEDI)\n\n Up and sing! O _'anga_-natured nightingale!\n High in every business doth thy worth prevail:\n Sing! for good the words are that from thee proceed;\n Whatsoever thou dost say is prized indeed.\n Then, since words to utter thee so well doth suit,\n Pity were it surely if thy tongue were mute.\n Blow a blast in utt'rance that the Trusted One,\n When he hears, ten thousand times may cry: \"Well done!\"\n Up and sing! O bird most holy! up and sing!\n Unto us a story fair and beauteous bring.\n Let not opportunity slip by, silent there;\n Unto us the beauty of each word declare.\n Seldom opportunities like this with thee lie;\n Sing then, for th' occasion now is thine, so hie!\n Lose not opportunities that thy hand doth find,\n For some day full suddenly Death thy tongue shall bind.\n Of how many singers, eloquent of words,\n Bound have Death and Doom the tongues fast in their cords!\n Lose not, then, th' occasion, but to joy look now,\n For one day thy station 'neath earth seek must thou.\n While the tongue yet floweth, now thy words collect;\n Them as Meaning's taper 'midst the feast erect,\n That thy words, remaining long time after thee,\n To the listeners' hearing shall thy record be.\n Thy mementoes lustrous biding here behind,\n Through them they'll recall thee, O my soul, to mind.\n Those who've left mementoes ne'er have died in truth;\n Those who've left no traces ne'er have lived in sooth.\n Surely with this object didst thou come to earth,\n That to mind should ever be recalled thy worth.\n \"May I die not!\" say'st thou, one of noble race?\n Strive, then, that thou leavest here a name of grace.\n\n * * * * *\n\n Once unto his Vizier quoth the crowned King:\n \"Thou, who in my world-realm knowest everything!\n With my sword I've conquered many and many a shore;\n Still I sigh right sorely: 'Ah! to conquer more!'\n Great desire is with me realms to overthrow;\n Through this cause I comfort ne'er a moment know.\n Is there yet a country whither we may wend,\n Where as yet our mighty sway doth not extend,\n That we may it conquer, conquer it outright?\n Ours shall be the whole earth\u2014ours it shall be quite.\"\n Then, when heard the Vizier what the King did say,\n Quoth he: \"Realm-o'erthrowing Monarch, live for aye!\n May the Mighty Ruler set thy crown on high,\n That thy throne may ever all assaults defy!\n May thy life's rose-garden never fade away!\n May thy glory's orchard never see decay!\n Thou'st the Peopled Quarter ta'en from end to end;\n All of its inhabitants slaves before thee bend.\n There's on earth no city, neither any land,\n That is not, O Monarch, under thy command.\n In the Peopled Quarter Seven Climes are known,\n And o'er all of these thy sway extends alone!\"\n\n\n * * * * *\n\n\nTHE LOVES OF SHIRIN\n\n (BY SHEYKHI)\n\n The spot at which did King Khusrev Perviz light\n Was e'en the ruined dwelling of that moon bright.\n Whilst wand'ring on, he comes upon that parterre,\n As on he strolls, it opes before his eyes fair.\n Among the trees a night-hued courser stands bound\n (On Heaven's charger's breast were envy's scars found).\n As softly moved he, sudden on his sight gleamed\n A moon that in the water shining bright beamed.\n O what a moon! a sun o'er earth that light rains\u2014\n Triumphant, happy, blest he who her shade gains.\n She'd made the pool a casket for her frame fair,\n And all about that casket spread her dark hair.\n Her hand did yonder curling serpents back throw\u2014\n The dawn 'tis, and thereof we never tired grow.\n He saw the water round about her ear play;\n In rings upon her shoulders her dark locks lay.\n When yon heart-winning moon before the King beamed,\n The King became the sun\u2014in him Love's fire gleamed.\n The tears e'en like to water from his eyes rolled;\n Was't strange, when did a Watery Sign the Moon hold?\n No power was left him, neither sport nor pleasure;\n He bit his finger, wildered beyond measure.\n Unconscious of his gaze, the jasmine-breasted\u2014\n The hyacinths o'er the narcissi rested.\n When shone her day-face, from that musky cloud bare,\n Her eyes oped Shirin and beheld the King there.\n Within that fountain, through dismay and shamed fright,\n She trembled as on water doth the moonlight.\n Than this no other refuge could yon moon find\n That she should round about her her own locks bind.\n The moon yet beameth through the hair, the dark night,\n With tresses how could be concealed the sun bright!\n To hide her from him, round her she her hair flung,\n And thus as veil her night before her day hung.\n\n * * * * *\n\n When Ferhad bound to fair Shirin his heart's core,\n From out his breast Love many a bitter wail tore.\n On tablet of his life graved, shown was Shirin;\n Of all else emptied, filled alone with Shirin.\n As loathed he the companionship of mankind,\n In wild beasts 'midst the hills did he his friends find.\n His guide was Pain; his boon companion, Grief's throe;\n His comrade, Sorrow; and his closest friend, Woe.\n Thus wand'ring on, he knew not day from dark night;\n For many days he onward strayed in sad plight.\n Although before his face a wall of stone rise,\n Until he strikes against it, blind his two eyes.\n Through yearning for his love he from the world fled;\n From out his soul into his body Death sped.\n Because he knew that when the earthly frame goes,\n Eternal, Everlasting Being love shows,\n He fervent longed to be from fleshly bonds free,\n That then his life in very truth might Life see.\n In sooth, till dies the body, Life is ne'er found,\n Nor with the love of life the Loved One e'er found.\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF MOHAMMED\n\n (BY YAZIJI-OGLU)\n\nTHE CREATION OF PARADISE\n\n Hither come, O seeker after Truth! if joy thou wouldest share,\n Enter on the Mystic Pathway, follow it, then joy thou'lt share.\n Harken now what God (exalted high his name!) from naught hath formed.\n Eden's bower he hath created; Light, its lamp, he did prepare;\n Loftiest its sites, and best and fairest are its blest abodes;\n Midst of each a hall of pearls\u2014not ivory nor teak-wood rare.\n Each pavilion he from seventy ruddy rubies raised aloft\u2014\n Dwellings these in which the dwellers sit secure from fear or care.\n Bound within each courtyard seventy splendid houses he hath ranged,\n Formed of emeralds green\u2014houses these no fault of form that bear.\n There, within each house, are seventy pearl and gem-incrusted thrones;\n He upon each throne hath stretched out seventy couches broidered fair;\n Sits on every couch a maiden of the bourne of loveliness:\n Moons their foreheads, days their faces, each a jeweled crown doth\n wear;\n Wine their rubies, soft their eyes, their eyebrows troublous,\n causing woe:\n All-enchanting, Paradise pays tribute to their witching air.\n Sudden did they see the faces of those damsels dark of eye,\n Blinded sun and moon were, and Life's Stream grew bitter then and\n there.\n Thou wouldst deem that each was formed of rubies, corals, and of\n pearls;\n Question there is none, for God thus in the Koran doth declare.\n Tables seventy, fraught with bounties, he in every house hath placed,\n And on every tray hath spread out seventy sorts of varied fare.\n All these glories, all these honors, all these blessings of delight,\n All these wondrous mercies surely for his sake he did prepare:\n Through his love unto Mohammed, he the universe hath framed;\n Happy, for his sake, the naked and the hungry enter there.\n O Thou Perfectness of Potence! O Thou God of Awful Might!\n O Thou Majesty of Glory! O Thou King of Perfect Eight!\n\n Since he Eden's heaven created, all is there complete and whole,\n So that naught is lacking; nothing he created needs repair.\n Yonder, for his righteous servants, things so fair hath he devised,\n That no eye hath e'er beheld them; ope thy soul's eye, on them stare.\n Never have his servants heard them, neither can their hearts conceive;\n Reach unto their comprehension shall this understanding ne'er.\n There that God a station lofty, of the loftiest, hath reared,\n That unclouded station he the name Vesila caused to bear,\n That to his Belov\u00e8d yonder station a dear home may be,\n Thence ordained is Heaven's order free from every grief and care.\n In its courtyard's riven center, planted he the Tuba-Tree;\n That a tree which hangeth downward, high aloft its roots are there:\n Thus its radiance all the Heavens lighteth up from end to end,\n Flooding every tent and palace, every lane and every square.\n Such a tree the Tuba, that the Gracious One hath in its sap\n Hidden whatsoe'er there be of gifts and presents good and fair;\n Forth therefrom crowns, thrones, and jewels, yea, and steeds and\n coursers come,\n Golden leaves and clearest crystals, wines most pure beyond compare.\n For his sake there into being hath he called the Tuba-Tree,\n That from Ebu-Qasim's hand might every one receive his share.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\nPOEMS BY TURKISH RULERS\n\n\nRUBA'I\n\n Cupbearer, bring, bring here again my yester even's wine;\n My harp and rebec bring, them bid address this heart of mine:\n While still I live, 'tis meet that I should mirth and glee enjoy;\n The day shall come when none may e'en my resting-place\n divine.\u2014_Sultan Murad II._ (reigned 1421-1451).\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Souls are fluttered when the morning breezes through thy tresses stray;\n Waving cypresses are wildered when thy motions they survey.\n Since with witchcraft thou hast whetted keen the lancet of thy glance,\n All my veins are bleeding inward through my longing and dismay.\n \"Why across thy cheek disordered float thy tresses?\" asked I her.\n \"It is Rum-Eyli; there high-starred heroes gallop,\" did she say.\n Thought I, though I spake not: \"In thy quarter, through thy tint and\n scent,\n Wretched and head-giddy, wand'ring, those who hope hope not for stray.\"\n \"Whence the anger in thy glances, O sweet love?\" I said; then she:\n \"Silence! surely if I shed blood, I the ensigns should display.\"\n Even as thou sighest, 'Avni, shower thine eyes tears fast as rain,\n Like as follow hard the thunder-roll the floods in dread array.\n\n \u2014_Sultan Mohammed II._ (1451-1481).\n\n\nFRAGMENT OF GAZEL\n\n Torn and pierced my heart has been by thy scorn and tyranny's blade;\n Rent by the scissors of grief for thee is the robe that my patience\n arrayed.\n Like the _mihrab_ of the Kaaba, as shrine where in worship to turn,\n Thy ward would an angel take, if thy footprint there he surveyed.\n They are pearls, O mine eye! thou sheddest her day-bright face before;\n Not a tear is left\u2014these all are dried by the beams by her cheek\n displayed.\n\n \u2014_Mohammed II._\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n To obey, Eight hard for Allah, is my aim and my desire;\n 'Tis but zeal for Faith, for Islam, that my ardor doth inspire.\n Through the grace of Allah, and th' assistance of the Band Unseen,\n Is my earnest hope the Infidels to crush with ruin dire.\n On the Saints and on the Prophets surely doth my trust repose;\n Through the love of God, to triumph and to conquest I aspire.\n What if I with soul and gold strive here to wage the Holy War?\n Praise is God's! ten thousand sighs for battle in my breast suspire.\n O Mohammed! through the chosen Ahmed Mukhtar's glorious aid,\n Hope I that my might may triumph over Islam's foes acquire!\n\n \u2014_Mohammed II._\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Ah, thine eyes lay waste the heart, they 'gainst the soul bare\n daggers dread;\n See how sanguinary gleam they\u2014blood aye upon blood they\n shed.\n Come, the picture of thy down bear unto this my scorched\n breast\u2014\n It is customary fresh greens over the broiled flesh to spread.\n Said I: \"O Life! since thy lip is life, to me vouchsafe a\n kiss.\"\n Smiling rose-like, \"Surely, surely, by my life,\" she answered.\n As I weep sore, of my stained eyebrow and my tears of\n blood,\n \"'Tis the rainbow o'er the shower stretched,\" were by all beholders\n said.\n While within my heart thine eye's shaft, send not to my\n breast despair;\n Idol mine! guest after guest must not to one same house be\n led.\n Through its grieving for thy hyacinth down, thus feeble\n grown\n Is the basil, that the gardeners nightly o'er it water shed.\n Quoth I: \"O Life! do not shun Jem, he a pilgrim here\n hath come\";\n \"Though a pilgrim, yet his life doth on a child's face hang,\"\n she said.\n\n \u2014_Prince Jem_ (1481).\n\n\nFRAGMENT\n\n Lo! there the torrent, dashing 'gainst the rocks, doth wildly roll;\n The whole wide realm of Space and Being ruth hath on my soul.\n Through bitterness of grief and woe the morn hath rent its robe;\n See! O in dawning's place, the sky weeps blood, without control!\n Tears shedding, o'er the mountain-tops the clouds of heaven pass;\n Hear, deep the bursting thunder sobs and moans through stress of dole.\n\n \u2014_Prince Jem._\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n From Istambol's throne a mighty host to Iran guided I;\n Sunken deep in blood of shame I made the Golden Heads to lie.\n Glad the Slave, my resolution, lord of Egypt's realm became:\n Thus I raised my royal banner e'en as the Nine Heavens high.\n From the kingdom fair of 'Iraq to Hijaz these tidings sped,\n When I played the harp of Heavenly Aid at feast of victory.\n Through my saber Transoxania drowned was in a sea of blood;\n Emptied I of kuhl of Isfahan the adversary's eye.\n Flowed adown a River Amu from each foeman's every hair\u2014\n Rolled the sweat of terror's fever\u2014if I happed him to espy.\n Bishop-mated was the King of India by my Queenly troops,\n When I played the Chess of empire on the Board of sov'reignty.\n O Selimi, in thy name was struck the coinage of the world,\n When in crucible of Love Divine, like gold, that melted I.\n\n \u2014_Sultan Selim I._ (1512-1520).\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n My pain for thee balm in my sight resembles;\n Thy face's beam the clear moonlight resembles.\n Thy black hair spread across thy cheeks, the roses,\n O Liege, the garden's basil quite resembles.\n Beside thy lip oped wide its mouth, the rosebud;\n For shame it blushed, it blood outright resembles.\n Thy mouth, a casket fair of pearls and rubies,\n Thy teeth, pearls, thy lip coral bright resembles.\n Their diver I, each morning and each even;\n My weeping, Liege, the ocean's might resembles.\n Lest he seduce thee, this my dread and terror,\n That rival who Iblis in spite resembles.\n Around the taper bright, thy cheek, Muhibbi\n Turns, and the moth in his sad plight resembles.\n\n \u2014_Sultan Soleiman, the Magnificent_ (1520-1566).\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n If 'tis state thou seekest like the world-adorning sun's array,\n Lowly e'en as water rub thy face in earth's dust every day.\n Fair to see, but short enduring is this picture bright, the world;\n 'Tis a proverb: Fleeting like the realm of dreams is earth's display.\n Through the needle of its eyelash never hath the heart's thread past;\n Like unto the Lord Messiah bide I half-road on the way.\n Athlete of the Universe through self-reliance grows the Heart,\n With the ball, the Sphere\u2014Time, Fortune\u2014like an apple doth it play.\n Mukhlisi, thy frame was formed from but one drop, yet, wonder great!\n When thou verses sing'st, thy spirit like the ocean swells, they say.\n\n \u2014_Prince Mustafa._\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Ta'en my sense and soul have those thy Leyli locks, thy glance's spell,\n Me, their Mejnun, 'midst of love's wild dreary desert they impel,\n Since mine eyes have seen the beauty of the Joseph of thy grace,\n Sense and heart have fall'n and lingered in thy chin's sweet\n dimple-well.\n Heart and soul of mine are broken through my passion for thy lips;\n From the hand of patience struck they honor's glass, to earth it fen.\n The mirage, thy lips, O sweetheart, that doth like to water show;\n For, through longing, making thirsty, vainly they my life dispel.\n Since Selimi hath the pearls, thy teeth, been praising, sense and heart\n Have his head and soul abandoned, plunging 'neath love's ocean-swell.\n\n \u2014_Sultan Selim II._ (1566-1574).\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Thy veil raise, shake from cheeks those locks of thine then;\n Unclouded beauty's sun and moon bid shine then.\n But one glance from those soft and drooping eyes throw,\n The heart through joy to drunkenness consign then.\n Were I thy lip to suck, 'twould heal the sick heart;\n Be kind, an answer give, Physician mine, then.\n Beware lest evil glance thy beauty's rose smite,\n From ill-eyed rival careful it confine then.\n O heart, this is Life's Water 'midst of darkness,\n In night's gloom hidden, drink the ruby wine then.\n My love's down grows upon her rosy-hued cheek,\n A book write on the woes it does enshrine then.\n Thy wine-hued lip, O love, grant to Selimi\u2014\n And by thy parting's shaft my tears make wine then.\n\n \u2014_Sultan Selim II._\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Soon as I beheld thee, mazed and wildered grew my sad heart;\n How shall I my love disclose to thee who tyrant dread art?\n How shall I hold straight upon my road, when yonder Torment\n Smitten hath my breast with deadly wounds by her eyelash dart?\n Face, a rose; and mouth, a rosebud; form, a slender sapling\u2014\n How shall I not be the slave of Princess such as thou art?\n Ne'er hath heart a beauty seen like her of graceful figure;\n Joyous would I for yon charmer's eyebrow with my life part.\n Farisi, what can I do but love that peerless beauty?\n Ah! this aged Sphere hath made me lover of yon sweetheart.\n\n \u2014_Sultan Osman II._ (1617-1623).\n\n\nTO SULTAN MURAD IV.\n\n Round us foes throng, host to aid us here in sad plight, is there none?\n In the cause of God to combat, chief of tried might, is there none?\n None who will checkmate the foe, Castle to Castle, face to face\n In the battle who will Queen-like guide the brave Knight, is there\n none?\n Midst a fearful whirlpool we are fallen helpless, send us aid!\n Us to rescue, a strong swimmer in our friends' sight, is there none?\n Midst the fight to be our comrade, head to give or heads to take,\n On the field of earth a hero of renown bright, is there none?\n Know we not wherefore in turning off our woes ye thus delay;\n Day of Reckoning, aye, and question of the poor's plight, is there\n none?\n With us 'midst the foeman's flaming streams of scorching fire to\n plunge,\n Salamander with experience of Fate dight, is there none?\n This our letter, to the court of Sultan Murad, quick to bear,\n Pigeon, rapid as the storm-wind in its swift flight, is there none?\n\n \u2014_Hafiz Pacha._\n\n\nIN REPLY TO THE PRECEDING\n\n To relieve Bagdad, O Hafiz, man of tried might, is there none?\n Aid from us thou seek'st, then with thee host of fame bright, is\n there none?\n \"I'm the Queen the foe who'll checkmate,\" thus it was that thou\n didst say;\n Room for action now against him with the brave Knight, is there none?\n Though we know thou hast no rival in vainglorious, empty boasts,\n Yet to take dread vengeance on thee, say, a Judge right, is there none?\n While thou layest claim to manhood, whence this cowardice of thine?\n Thou art frightened, yet beside thee fearing no fight, is there none?\n Heedless of thy duty thou, the Rafizis have ta'en Bagdad;\n Shall not God thy foe be? Day of Reckoning, sure, right, is there none?\n They have wrecked Ebu-Hanifa's city through thy lack of care;\n Oh, in thee of Islam's and the Prophet's zeal, light, is there none?\n God, who favored us, whilst yet we knew not, with the Sultanate,\n Shall again accord Bagdad, decreed of God's might, is there none?\n Thou hast brought on Islam's army direful ruin with thy bribes;\n Have we not heard how thou say'st, \"Word of this foul blight, is\n there none?\"\n With the aid of God, fell vengeance on the enemy to take,\n By me skilled and aged, vizier, pious, zeal-dight, is there none?\n Now shall I appoint commander a vizier of high emprise,\n Will not Khizar and the Prophet aid him? guide right, is there none?\n Is it that thou dost the whole world void and empty now conceive?\n Of the Seven Climes, Muradi, King of high might, is there none?\n\n \u2014_Sultan Murad IV._ (1623-1640).\n\n\nLUGAZ\n\n There's an o'erhanging castle in which there flows a main,\n And there within that castle a fish its home hath ta'en;\n The fish within its mouth doth hold a shining gem,\n Which wastes the fish as long as it therein doth remain.\n This puzzle to the poets is offered by Murad;\n Let him reply who office or place desires to gain.\n\n \u2014_Sultan Murad IV._\n\n\nMUNAJAT\n\n Allah! Lord who liv'st for aye! O Sole! O King of Glory's Bay!\n Monarch who ne'er shalt pass away! show thou to us thy bounties fair.\n In early morning shall our cry, our wail, mount to thy Throne on high:\n \"Error and sin our wont,\" we sigh: show thou to us thy bounties fair.\n If cometh not from thee thy grace, evil shall all our works deface;\n O Lord of Being and of Space! show thou to us thy bounties fair.\n Creator of security! to thy Beloved greetings be!\n These fair words are in sincerity: show thou to us thy bounties fair\n Iqbali sinn\u00e8d hath indeed, yet unto him thy grace concede;\n Eternal, Answerer in need! show thou to us thy bounties fair.\n\n \u2014_Sultan Mustafa II._ (1695-1703).\n\n\nTURKISH POETESSES\n\n\nA GAZEL BY ZEYNEB\n\n Cast off thy veil, and heaven and earth in dazzling light array!\n As radiant Paradise, this poor demented world display!\n Move thou thy lips, make play the ripples light of Kevser's pool!\n Let loose thy scented locks, and odors sweet through earth convey!\n A musky warrant by thy down was traced, and zephyr charged:\n \"Speed, with this scent subdue the realms of China and Cathay!\"\n O heart! should not thy portion be the Water bright of Life,\n A thousand times mayst thou pursue Iskender's darksome way.\n O Zeyneb, woman's love of earthly show leave thou behind;\n Go manly forth, with single heart, forsake adornment gay!\n\n\nA GAZEL BY MIHRI\n\n Once from sleep I oped my eyes, I raised my head, when full in sight\n There before me stood a moon-faced beauty, lovely, shining, bright.\n Thought I: \"In th' ascendant's now my star, or I my fate have reached,\n For within my chamber sure is risen Jupiter this night.\"\n Radiance from his beauty streaming saw I, though to outward view\n (While himself a Moslem) he in garb of infidel is dight.\n Though I oped my eyes or closed them, still the form was ever there;\n Thus I fancied to myself: \"A fairy this or angel bright?\"\n Till the Resurrection ne'er shall Mihri gain the Stream of Life;\n Yet in Night's deep gloom Iskender gleamed before her wond'ring sight.\n\n\nA GAZEL BY MIHRI\n\n Faithful and kind a friend I hoped that thou wouldst prove to me;\n Who would have thought so cruel and fierce a tyrant in thee to see?\n Thou who the newly oped rose art of the Garden of Paradise,\n That every thorn and thistle thou lov'st\u2014how can it fitting be?\n I curse thee not, but of God Most High, Our Lord, I make this prayer\u2014\n That thou may'st love a pitiless one in tyranny like to thee.\n In such a plight am I now, alack! that the curser saith to his foe:\n \"Be thy fortune dark and thy portion black, even as those of Mihri!\"\n\n\nPOEMS OF NEJATI\n\n\nFROM HIS SPRING QASIDA\n\n The early springtide now hath made earth smiling bright again,\n E'en as doth union with his mistress soothe the lover's pain.\n They say: \"'Tis now the goblet's turn, the time of mirth 'tis now\";\n Beware that to the winds thou castest not this hour in vain.\n Theriaca within their ruby pots the tulips lay:\n See in the mead the running streamlet's glistening, snake-like train.\n Onward, beneath some cypress-tree's loved foot its face to rub,\n With turn and turn, and singing sweet, the brook goes through the\n plain.\n Lord! may this happy union of felicity and earth,\n Like turn of sun of Love, or Jesu's life, standfast remain!\n May glee and mirth, e'en as desired, continuous abide\n Like to a mighty Key-Khusrev's, or Jemshid's, glorious reign!\n\n * * * * *\n\n Sultan Mohammed! Murad's son! the Pride of Princes all;\n He, the Darius, who to all earth's kings doth crowns ordain!\n Monarch of stars! whose flag's the sun, whose stirrup is the moon!\n Prince dread as Doom, and strong as Fate, and bounteous as main!\n\n\nFROM HIS QASIDA ON THE ACCESSION OF SULTAN BAYEZID II.\n\n One eve, when had the Sun before her radiant beauty bright\n Let down the veil of ambergris, the musky locks of night;\n (Off had the royal hawk, the Sun, flown from the Orient's hand,\n And lighted in the West; flocked after him the crows in flight;)\n To catch the gloomy raven, Night, the fowler skilled, the Sphere,\n Had shaped the new-moon like the claw of eagle, sharp to smite;\n In pity at the doleful sight of sunset's crimson blood,\n Its veil across the heaven's eye had drawn the dusky Night.\n\n * * * * *\n\n Sultan of Rome! Khusrev of the Horizons! Bayezid!\n King of the Epoch! Sovereign! and Center of all Eight!\n The tablet of his heart doth all th' affairs of earth disclose;\n And eloquent as page of book the words he doth indite.\n O Shah! I'm he who, 'midst th' assembly where thy praise is sung,\n Will, rebec-like, a thousand notes upon one cord recite.\n 'Tis meet perfection through thy name to my poor words should come,\n As to rose-water perfume sweet is brought by sunbeam's light.\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Truth this: a lasting home hath yielded ne'er earth's spreading plain;\n Scarce e'en an inn where may the caravan for rest remain.\n Though every leaf of every tree is verily a book,\n For those who understanding lack doth earth no leaf contain.\n E'en though the Loved One be from thee as far as East from West,\n \"Bagdad to lovers is not far,\" O heart, then strive and strain.\n One moment opened were her ebriate, strife-causing eyne,\n By us as scimitars, not merely daggers, were they ta'en.\n Yearneth Nejati for the court of thy fair Paradise,\n Though this a wish which he while here on earth can ne'er attain.\n\n\nRUBA'IS\n\n O Handkerchief! I send thee\u2014off to yonder maid of grace;\n Around thee I my eyelashes will make the fringe of lace;\n I will the black point of my eye ruh up to paint therewith;\n To yon coquettish beauty go\u2014go look thou in her face.\n\n O Handkerchief! the loved one's hand take, kiss her lip so sweet,\n Her chin, which mocks at apple and at orange, kissing greet;\n If sudden any dust should light upon her blessed heart,\n Fall down before her, kiss her sandal's sole, beneath her feet.\n\n A sample of my tears of blood thou, Handkerchief, wilt show,\n Through these within a moment would a thousand crimson grow;\n Thou'lt be in company with her, while I am sad with grief;\n To me no longer life may be, if things continue so.\n\n\nPOEMS OF LAMI'I\n\n\nON AUTUMN\n\n O sad heart, come, distraction's hour is now high,\n The air's cool, 'midst the elds to sit the time nigh.\n The Sun hath to the Balance, Joseph-like, past,\n The year's Zuleykha hath her gold hoard wide cast.\n By winds bronzed, like the Sun, the quince's face glows;\n Its Pleiads-clusters, hanging forth, the vine shows.\n In saffron flow'rets have the meads themselves dight;\n The trees, all scorched, to gold have turned, and shine bright.\n The gilded leaves in showers falling to earth gleam;\n With goldfish filled doth glisten brightly each stream.\n Ablaze each tree, and blent are all in one glare,\n And therefore charged with glistening fire the still air.\n Amidst the yellow foliage perched the black crows\u2014\n As tulip, saffron-hued, that spotted cup shows.\n A yellow-plumaged bird now every tree stands,\n Which shakes itself and feathers sheds on all hands.\n Each vine-leaf paints its face, bride-like, with gold ink;\n The brook doth silver anklets round the vine link.\n The plane-tree hath its hands, with henna, red-dyed,\n And stands there of the parterre's court the fair bride.\n The erst green tree now like the starry sky shows,\n And hurling meteors at the fiend, Earth, stones throws.\n\n\nON SPRING\n\n From the pleasure, joy, and rapture of this hour,\n In its frame to hold its soul earth scarce hath power.\n Pent its collar, like the dawning, hath the rose;\n From its heart the nightingale sighs forth its woes.\n Dance the juniper and cypress like the sphere;\n Filled with melody through joy all lands appear.\n Gently sing the running brooks in murmurs soft;\n While the birds with tuneful voices soar aloft.\n Play the green and tender branches with delight,\n And they shed with one accord gold, silver, bright.\n Like to couriers fleet, the zephyrs speed away,\n Resting ne'er a moment either night or day.\n In that raid the rosebud filled with gold its hoard,\n And the tulip with fresh musk its casket stored.\n There the moon a purse of silver coin did seize;\n Filled with ambergris its skirt the morning breeze;\n Won the sun a golden disk of ruby dye,\n And with glistening pearls its pocket filled the sky:\n Those who poor were fruit and foliage attained;\n All the people of the land some trophy gained.\n\n\nROSE TIME\n\n O heart, come, wail, as nightingale thy woes show;\n 'Tis Pleasure's moment this, come, then, as rose blow.\n In burning notes make thou thy tuneful song rise;\n These iron hearts soft render with thy sad sighs.\n Within thy soul place not, like tulip, dark brand;\n When opportunity doth come, then firm stand.\n From earth take justice ere yet are these times left,\n And ere yet from the soul's harp is breath's song reft.\n They call thee\u2014view the joys that sense would yield thee;\n But, ere thou canst say \"Hie!\" the bird is flown, see.\n Give ear, rose-like, because in truth the night-bird\n From break of dawn its bitter wail hath made heard.\n Their chorus all around the gleeful birds raise;\n The streamlets sing, the nightingale the flute plays.\n The jasmines with their fresh leaves tambourines ply;\n The streams, hard pressed, raise up their glistening foam high\n Of junipers and cypresses two ranks 'tween,\n The zephyr sports and dances o'er the flower-green.\n The streamlets 'midst the vineyard hide-and-seek play\n The flowerlets with, among the verdant leaves gay.\n Away the morning's breeze the jasmine's crown tears,\n As pearls most costly scatters it the plucked hairs.\n The leader of the play's the breeze of swift pace;\n Like children, each the other all the flowers chase.\n With green leaves dressed, the trees each other's hands take;\n The flowers and nightingales each other's robes shake.\n Like pigeon, there, before the gale that soft blows,\n Doth turn in many a somersault the young rose.\n As blaze up with gay flowerlets all the red plains,\n The wind each passes, and the vineyard next gains.\n The clouds, pearl-raining, from the meteors sparks seize;\n And flowers are all around strewn by the dawn-breeze.\n The waters, eddying, in circles bright play,\n Like shining swords the green leaves toss about they.\n With bated breath the Judas-trees there stand by;\n And each for other running brook and breeze sigh.\n The gales tag with the basil play in high glee;\n To dance with cypress gives its hand the plane-tree.\n The soft winds have adorned the wanton bough fair,\n The leader of the frolics 'midst the parterre.\n The narcisse toward the almond-tree its glance throws;\n With vineyard-love the pink upbraids the dog-rose.\n The water's mirror clear doth as the Sphere gleam;\n Its stars, the flowers, reflected, fair and bright beam.\n The meads are skies; their stars, the drops of dew, glow;\n The jasmine is the moon; the stream, the halo.\n In short, each spot as resurrection-plane seems;\n None who beholds of everlasting pain dreams.\n Those who it view, and ponder well with thought's eye,\n It's strange, if they be mazed and wildered thereby?\n Up! breeze-like, Lami'i, thy hermitage leave!\n The roses' days in sooth no time for fasts give!\n\n\nPOEMS OF GAZALI\n\n\nFROM AN ELEGY ON ISKENDER CHELEBI\n\n High honored once was the noble Iskender;\n O heart, from his destiny warning obtain.\n Ah! do thou see what at length hath befall'n him!\n What all this glory and panoply gain!\n Drinking the poison of doom, ne'er a remnant\n Of sweetness's taste in his mouth did remain.\n Retrograde, sank down his star, erst ascendant,\n From perfect conjunction, alas, did it wane.\n Dust on the face of his honor aye stainless\n Strewn hath the blast of betrayal profane.\n The Lofty Decree for his high exaltation\n Did Equity's Court, all unlooked for, ordain;\n Forthwith to the Regions of Eden they bore him,\n They raised him from earth's abject baseness and stain.\n Circling and soaring, he went on his journey,\n From the land of his exile to Home back again.\n Neck-bounden he stood as a slave at the palace,\n Freed is he now from affliction's hard chain.\n Joyous he flew on his journey to Heaven,\n Rescued forever from earth gross and vain.\n In life or in death from him never, ay, never\n Was honor most lofty, most glorious, ta'en!\n\n\nFRAGMENT\n\n Come is the autumn of my life, alas, it thus should pass away!\n I have not reached the dawn of joy, to sorrow's night there is no day.\n Time after time the image of her cheek falls on my tear-filled eye;\n Ah! no pretension to esteem can shadows in the water lay!\n Oh! whither will these winds of Fate impel the frail bark of the heart?\n Nor bound nor shore confining girds Time's dreary ocean of dismay!\n\n\nPOEMS OF FUZULI\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n O breeze, thou'rt kind, of balm to those whom pangs affright, thou\n news hast brought,\n To wounded frame of life, to life of life's delight thou news hast\n brought.\n Thou'st seen the mourning nightingale's despair in sorrow's autumn\n drear,\n Like springtide days, of smiling roseleaf fresh and bright, thou news\n hast brought.\n If I should say thy words are heaven-inspired, in truth, blaspheme I\n not;\n Of Faith, whilst unbelief doth earth hold fast and tight, thou news\n hast brought.\n They say the loved one comes to soothe the hearts of all her lovers\n true;\n If that the case, to yon fair maid of lovers' plight thou news hast\n brought.\n Of rebel demon thou hast cut the hope Suleiman's throne to gain;\n That in the sea secure doth lie his Ring of might, thou news hast\n brought.\n Fuzuli, through the parting night, alas, how dark my fortune grew!\n Like zephyr of the dawn, of shining sun's fair light thou news hast\n brought.\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n O thou Perfect Being, Source whence wisdom's mysteries arise;\n Things, the issue of thine essence, show wherein thy nature lies.\n Manifester of all wisdom, thou art he whose pen of might\n Hath with rays of stars illumined yonder gleaming page, the skies.\n That a happy star, indeed, the essence clear of whose bright self\n Truly knoweth how the blessings from thy word that flow to prize.\n But a jewel flawed am faulty I: alas, forever stands\n Blank the page of my heart's journal from thought of thy writing wise.\n In the journal of my actions Evil's lines are black indeed;\n When I think of Day of Gathering's terrors, blood flows from my eyes.\n Gathering of my tears will form a torrent on the Reckoning Day,\n If the pearls, my tears, rejecting, he but view them to despise:\n Pearls my tears are, O Fuzuli, from the ocean deep of love;\n But they're pearls these, oh! most surely, that the Love of Allah buys!\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Is't strange if beauties' hearts turn blood through envy of thy\n cheek most fair?\n For that which stone to ruby turns is but the radiant sunlight's\n glare.\n Or strange is't if thine eyelash conquer all the stony-hearted\n ones?\n For meet an ebon shaft like that a barb of adamant should bear!\n Thy cheek's sun-love hath on the hard, hard hearts of fairy beauties\n fall'n,\n And many a steely-eyed one hath received thy bright reflection fair.\n The casket, thy sweet mouth, doth hold spellbound the _huri_-faced\n ones all;\n The virtue of Suleiman's Ring was that fays thereto fealty sware.\n Is't strange if, seeing thee, they rub their faces lowly midst the\n dust?\n That down to Adam bowed the angel throng doth the Koran declare!\n On many and many a heart of stone have fall'n the pangs of love for\n thee!\n A fire that lies in stone concealed is thy heart-burning love's\n dread glare!\n Within her ward, with garments rent, on all sides rosy-cheeked ones\n stray;\n Fuzuli, through those radiant hues, that quarter beams a garden fair.\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n From the turning of the Sphere my luck hath seen reverse and woe;\n Blood I've drunk, for from my banquet wine arose and forth did go.\n With the flame, my burning sighs, I've lit the wand'ring wildered\n heart;\n I'm a fire, doth not all that which turns about me roasted glow?\n With thy rubies wine contended\u2014oh! how it hath lost its wits!\n Need 'tis yon ill-mannered wretch's company that we forego.\n Yonder moon saw not my burning's flame upon the parting day\u2014\n How can e'er the sun about the taper all night burning know?\n Every eye that all around tears scatters, thinking of thy shaft,\n Is an oyster-shell that causeth rain-drops into pearls to grow.\n Forms my sighing's smoke a cloud that veils the bright cheek of the\n moon;\n Ah! that yon fair moon will ne'er the veil from off her beauty throw!\n Ne'er hath ceased the rival e'en within her ward to vex me sore;\n How say they, Fuzuli, \"There's in Paradise nor grief nor woe\"?\n\n\nMUSEDDES\n\n A stately Cypress yesterday her shade threw o'er my head;\n Her form was heart-ensnaring, heart-delighting her light tread;\n When speaking, sudden opened she her smiling rubies red,\n There a pistachio I beheld that drops of candy shed.\n \"This casket can it be a mouth? Ah! deign!\" I said; said she:\n \"Nay, nay, 'tis balm to cure thy hidden smart; aye, truly thine!\"\n Down o'er her crescents she had pressed the turban she did wear,\n By which, from many broken hearts, sighs raised she of despair;\n She loosed her tresses\u2014hid within the cloud her moon so fair,\n And o'er her visage I beheld the curls of her black hair.\n \"Those curling locks, say, are they then a chain?\" I said; said she:\n \"That round my cheek, a noose to take thy heart; aye, truly thine!\"\n\n The taper bright, her cheek, illumined day's lamp in the sky;\n The rose's branch was bent before her figure, cypress-high;\n She, cypress-like, her foot set down upon the fount, my eye,\n But many a thorn did pierce her foot she suffered pain thereby.\n \"What thorn unto the roseleaf-foot gives pain?\" I said; said she:\n \"The lash of thy wet eye doth it impart; aye, truly thine!\"\n Promenading, to the garden did that jasmine-cheeked one go;\n With many a bright adornment in the early springtide's glow;\n The hyacinths their musky locks did o'er the roses throw;\n That Picture had tattooed her lovely feet rose-red to show.\n \"The tulip's hue whence doth the dog-rose gain?\" I said; said she:\n \"From Hood of thine shed 'neath my glance's dart; aye, truly thine!\"\n\n To earth within her ward my tears in torrents rolled apace;\n The accents of her ruby lips my soul crazed by their grace;\n My heart was taken in the snare her musky locks did trace,\n That very moment when my eyes fell on her curls and face.\n \"Doth Scorpio the bright Moon's House contain?\" I said; said she:\n \"Fear! threatening this Conjunction dread, thy part; aye, truly\n thine!\"\n\n Her hair with ambergris perfumed was waving o'er her cheek,\n On many grieving, passioned souls it cruel woe did wreak;\n Her graceful form and many charms my wildered heart made weak;\n The eye beheld her figure fair, then heart and soul did seek.\n \"Ah! what bright thing this cypress of the plain?\" I said; said she:\n \"'Tis that which thy fixed gaze beholds apart; aye, truly thine!\"\n\n When their veil her tulip and dog-rose had let down yesterday,\n The morning breeze tore off that screen which o'er these flow'rets lay;\n Came forth that Envy of the sun in garden fair to stray,\n Like lustrous pearls the dewdrops shone, a bright and glistening spray.\n \"Pearls, say, are these, aye pearls from 'Aden's main?\" I said;\n said she:\n \"Tears, these, of poor Fuzuli, sad of heart; aye, truly thine!\"\n\n\nMUKHAMMES\n\n Attar within vase of crystal, such thy fair form silken-gowned;\n And thy breast is gleaming water, where the bubbles clear abound;\n Thou so bright none who may gaze upon thee on the earth is found;\n Bold wert thou to cast the veil off, standing forth with garland\n crowned:\n Not a doubt but woe and ruin all the wide world must confound!\n\n Lures the heart thy gilded palace, points it to thy lips the way;\n Eagerly the ear doth listen for the words thy rubies say;\n Near thy hair the comb remaineth, I despairing far away;\n Bites the comb, each curling ringlet, when it through thy locks\n doth stray:\n Jealous at its sight, my heart's thread agonized goes curling round.\n\n Ah! her face the rose, her shift rose-hued, her trousers red their\n shade;\n With its flame burns us the fiery garb in which thou are arrayed.\n Ne'er was born of Adam's children one like thee, O cruel maid!\n Moon and Sun, in beauty's circle, at thy fairness stand dismayed:\n Seems it thou the Sun for mother and the Moon for sire hast owned.\n\n Captive bound in thy red fillet, grieve I through thy musky hair;\n Prone I 'neath those golden anklets which thy silvern limbs do wear;\n Think not I am like thy fillet, empty of thy grace, O fair!\n Rather to the golden chain, which hangs thy cheek round, me compare:\n In my sad heart pangs a thousand from thy glance's shafts are found.\n\n Eyes with antimony darkened, hands with henna crimson dyed;\n Through these beauties vain and wanton like to thee was ne'er a bride.\n Bows of poplar green, thy painted brows; thy glances shafts provide.\n Poor Fuzuli for thine eyes and eyebrows aye hath longing cried:\n That the bird from bow and arrow flees not, well may all astound.\n\n\nFROM LEYLI AND MEJNUN\n\n Yield not the soul to pang of Love, for Love's the soul's fierce glow;\n That Love's the torment of the soul doth all the wide world know.\n Seek not for gain from fancy wild of pang of Love at all;\n For all that comes from fancy wild of Love's pang is griefs throe.\n Each curving eyebrow is a blood-stained saber thee to slay;\n Each dusky curl, a deadly venomed snake to work thee woe.\n Lovely, indeed, the forms of moon-like maidens are to see\u2014\n Lovely to see, but ah! the end doth bitter anguish show.\n From this I know full well that torment dire in love abides,\n That all who lovers are, engrossed with sighs, rove to and fro.\n Call not to mind the pupils of the black-eyed damsels bright,\n With thought, \"I'm man\"; be not deceived, 'tis blood they drink,\n I trow.\n E'en if Fuzuli should declare, \"In fair ones there is troth,\"\n Be not deceived\u2014\"A poet's words are falsehoods all men know.\"\n\n\nMEJNUN ADDRESSES NEVFIL\n\n Quoth Mejnun: \"O sole friend of true plight!\n With counsel many have tried me to guide right;\n Many with wisdom gifted have advice shown,\n But yet this fiend hath been by no one o'erthrown;\n Much gold has on the earth been strewn round,\n But yet this Stone of Alchemist by none's found.\n Collyrium I know that doth increase light,\n What use though is it if the eye doth lack sight?\n I know that greatest kindliness in thee lies,\n What use, though, when my fate doth ever dark rise?\n Upon my gloomy fortune I no faith lay,\n Impossible my hope appeareth alway.\n Ah! though in this thou shouldest ever hard toil,\n The end at length will surely all thy plans foil.\n No kindliness to me my closest friends show;\n Who is a friend to him whom he doth deem foe?\n I know my fortune evil is and woe-fraught;\n The search for solace is to me, save pain, naught.\n There is a gazel that doth well my lot show,\n Which constant I repeat where'er my steps go.\"\n\n\nMEJNUN'S GAZEL\n\n From whomsoe'er I've sought for troth but bitterest disdain I've seen;\n Whome'er within this faithless world I've trusted, all most vain\n I've seen.\n To whomsoe'er I've told my woes, in hope to find some balm therefor,\n Than e'en myself o'erwhelmed and sunk in deeper, sadder pain I've seen.\n From out mine aching heart no one hath driven cruel grief away,\n That those my friends of pleasure's hour affection did but feign\n I've seen.\n Although I've clutched its mantle, life hath turned away its face\n from me;\n And though I faith from mirror hoped, there persecuted swain I've seen.\n At gate of hope I set my foot, bewilderment held forth its hand,\n Alas! whene'er hope's thread I've seized, in hand the serpent's train\n I've seen.\n A hundred times the Sphere hath shown to me my darksome fortune's star;\n Whene'er my horoscope I've cast, but blackest, deepest stain I've seen.\n Fuzuli, blush not then, should I from mankind turn my face away;\n For why? From all to whom I've looked, but reason sad too plain I've\n seen.\n\n\nZEYD'S VISION\n\n His grief and mourning Zeyd renewed alway,\n From bitter wailing ceased he not, he wept aye.\n That faithful, loving, ever-constant friend dear.\n One night, when was the rise of the True Dawn near,\n Feeling that in his wasted frame no strength stayed,\n Had gone, and down upon that grave himself laid.\n There, in his sleep, he saw a wondrous fair sight,\n A lovely garden, and two beauties, moon-bright;\n Through transport rapturous, their cheeks with light glow;\n Far distant now, all fear of anguish, pain, woe;\n With happiness and ecstasy and joy blest,\n From rivals' persecutions these have found rest;\n A thousand angel-forms to each fair beauty,\n With single heart, perform the servant's duty.\n He, wondering, question made: \"What Moons so bright these?\n What lofty, honored Sovereigns of might these?\n What garden, most exalted, is this parterre?\n What throng so bright and beautiful, the throng there?\"\n They answer gave: \"Lo! Eden's shining bowers these;\n That radiant throng, the Heaven-born Youths and Houris;\n These two resplendent forms, bright as the fair moon,\n These are the ever-faithful\u2014Leyli, Mejnun!\n Since pure within the vale of love they sojourned,\n And kept that purity till they to dust turned,\n Are Eden's everlasting bowers their home now,\n To them the Houris and the Youths as slaves bow:\n Since these, while on the earth, all woe resigned met,\n And patience aye before them in each grief set,\n When forth they fled from this false, faithless world's bound,\n From all those pangs and sorrows they release found!\"\n\n\nPOEMS OF NABI\n\n\nMUKHAMMES\n\n Alas! nor dew nor smiling rose within this mead is mine;\n Within this market-place nor trade nor coin for need is mine;\n Nor more nor less; nor power nor strength for act or deed is mine;\n Nor might nor eminence; nor balm the cure to speed is mine.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n Being's the bounty of the Lord; and Life, the gift Divine;\n The Breath, the present of his love; and Speech his Grace's sign;\n The Body is the pile of God; the Soul, his Breath benign;\n The Powers thereof, his Glory's trust; the Senses, his design.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n No work, no business of my own within this mart have I;\n All Being is of him alone\u2014no life apart have I;\n No choice of entering this world, or hence of start have I;\n To cry, \"I am! I am!\" in truth, no power of heart have I.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n The Earth the carpet is of Power; the Sphere, the tent of Might;\n The Stars, both fixed and wandering, are Glory's lamps of light;\n The World's the issue of the grace of Mercy's treasures bright;\n With forms of beings is the page of Wisdom's volume dight.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n Being is but a loan to us, and Life in trust we hold:\n In slaves a claim to Power's pretension arrogant and bold;\n The servant's part is by submission and obedience told;\n Should He, \"My slave,\" address to me, 'twere favors manifold.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n I'm poor and empty-handed, but grace free is of the Lord;\n Nonentity's my attribute: to Be is of the Lord;\n For Being or Non-being's rise, decree is of the Lord;\n The surging of the Seen and Unseen's sea is of the Lord.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n Of gifts from table of his Bounty is my daily bread;\n My breath is from the Breath of God's benignant Mercy fed;\n My portion from the favors of Almighty Power is shed;\n And my provision is from Providence's kitchen spread.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n I can not, unallotted, take my share from wet or dry;\n From land or from the ocean, from earth or from the sky;\n The silver or the gold will come, by Providence laid by;\n I can not grasp aught other than my fortune doth supply.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n Creation's Pen the lines of billows of events hath traced;\n Th' illumined scroll of the Two Worlds, Creation's Pencil graced;\n Their garments upon earth and sky, Creation's woof hath placed;\n Men's forms are pictures in Creation's great Shah-Nama traced.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n I can not make the morning eve, or the dark night the day;\n I can not turn the air to fire, or dust to water's spray;\n I can not bid the Sphere stand still, or mountain region stray;\n I can not Autumn turn by will of mine to lovely May.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n From out of Nothingness his mighty Power made me appear;\n Whilst in the womb I lay, saw he to all I need for here;\n With kindness concealed and manifest did he me rear;\n With me he drew a curtain o'er Distinction's beauty dear.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n God's Revelation is Discernment's Eye, if't oped remain;\n The picturings of worlds are all things changing aye amain;\n The showing of the Hidden Treasure is this raging main,\n This work, this business of the Lord, this Majesty made plain.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n Now void, now full, are Possibility's storehouses vast;\n This glass-lined world's the mirror where Lights Twain their phases\n cast;\n The blinded thing\u2014in scattering strange fruits its hours are past;\n Ruined hath this old Vineyard been by autumn's sullen blast.\n Oh, that I knew what here I am, that which indeed is mine!\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Ne'er a corner for the plaintive bulbul's nest remaineth now;\n Ne'er a palm-tree 'neath whose kindly shade is rest remaineth now.\n Day and night some balm I've sought for, to relieve my wounded heart;\n Ne'er a cure within the heavens' turquoise chest remaineth now.\n From its source, through every country, searched have I, but all in\n vain\u2014\n Ne'er a single drop, in mercy's fountain blest, remaineth now.\n Empty earthen pots are reckoned one with jewels rich and rare;\n Ne'er a scale in value's mart the worth to test remaineth now.\n 'Neath the earth may now the needy hide themselves, Nabi, away;\n Ne'er a turret on the fort of interest remaineth now.\n\n\nPOEMS OF BAQI\n\n\nA QAISDA ON SULTAN SULEIMAN\n\n One night when all the battlements Heaven's castle doth display,\n Illumed and decked were, with the shining lamps, the stars' array,\n Amidst the host of gleaming stars the Moon lit up his torch;\n Athwart the field of Heaven with radiance beamed the Milky Way.\n The Secretary of the Spheres had ta'en his meteor-pen,\n That writer of his signature whom men and jinns obey.\n There, at the banquet of the sky, had Venus struck her lyre,\n In mirth and happiness, delighted, joyed and smiling gay.\n Taking the keynote for her tune 'neath in the vaulted sphere,\n The tambourinist Sun her visage bright had hid away.\n Armed with a brand of gleaming gold had leapt into the plain\n The Swordsman of the sky's expanse, of heaven's field of fray.\n To give direction to the weighty matters of the earth\n Had Jupiter, the wise, lit up reflection's taper's ray.\n There raised aloft old Saturn high upon the Seventh Sphere\n Sitting like Indian elephant-conductor on did stray.\n \"What means this decking of the universe?\" I wond'ring said;\n When, lo! with meditation's gaze e'en whilst I it survey,\n Casting its beams on every side, o'er all earth rose the Sun,\n O'er the horizons, e'en as Seal of Suleiman's display.\n The eye of understanding looked upon this wondrous sight;\n At length the soul's ear learned the secret hid in this which lay:\n What is it that hath decked earth's hall with splendors such as this,\n Saving the might and fortune of the King who earth doth sway?\n He who sits high upon the throne above all crowned kings,\n The Hero of the battlefield of dread Keyani fray,\n Jemshid of happiness and joy, Darius of the fight,\n Khusrev of right and clemency, Iskender of his day!\n\n Lord of the East and West! King whom the kings of earth obey!\n Prince of the Epoch! Sultan Suleiman! Triumphant Aye!\n\n Meet 'tis before the steed of yonder Monarch of the realms\n Of right and equity, should march earth's rulers' bright array.\n Rebelled one 'gainst his word, secure he'd bind him in his bonds,\n E'en like the dappled pard, the sky, chained with the Milky Way.\n Lord of the land of graciousness and bounty, on whose board\n Of favors, spread is all the wealth that sea and mine display;\n Longs the perfumer, Early Spring, for th' odor of his grace;\n Need hath the merchant, Autumn, of his bounteous hand alway.\n Through tyrant's hard oppression no one groaneth in his reign,\n And though may wail the flute and lute, the law they disobey.\n Beside thy justice, tyranny's the code of Key-Qubad;\n Beside thy wrath, but mildness Qahraman's most deadly fray.\n Thy scimitar's the gleaming guide empires to overthrow,\n No foe of Islam can abide before thy saber's ray.\n Saw it thy wrath, through dread of thee would trembling seize the pine;\n The falling stars a chain around the heaven's neck would lay.\n Amidst thy sea-like armies vast, thy flags and standards fair,\n The sails are which the ship of splendid triumph doth display.\n Thrust it its beak into the Sphere, 'twould seize it as a grain,\n The _'anqa_ strong, thy power, to which 'twere but a seed-like prey.\n In past eternity the hand, thy might, it struck with bat,\n That time is this time, for the Sky's Ball spins upon its way.\n Within the rosy garden of thy praise the bird, the heart,\n Singeth this soul-bestowing, smooth-as-water-running lay.\n\n If yonder mouth be not the soul, O heart-enslaver gay,\n Then wherefore is it like the soul, hid from our eyes away?\n Since in the casket of our mind thy ruby's picture lies,\n The mine is now no fitting home for gem of lustrous ray.\n Thy tresses fall across thy cheek in many a twisting curl,\n \"To dance to Hijaz have the Shamis tucked their skirts,\" we'd say.\n Let both the youthful pine and cypress view thy motions fair;\n The gardener now to rear the willow need no more assay.\n The dark and cloudy-brained of men thine eyebrows black depict,\n While those of keen, discerning wit thy glistening teeth portray.\n Before thy cheek the rose and jasmine bowed in _sujud_,\n The cypress to thy figure in _qiyam_ did homage pay.\n The heart's throne is the seat of that great monarch, love for thee;\n The soul, the secret court, where doth thy ruby's picture stay.\n The radiance of thy beauty bright hath filled earth like the sun,\n The hall, \"Be! and it is,\" resounds with love of thee for aye.\n The cries of those on plain of earth have risen to the skies,\n The shouts of those who dwell above have found to earth their way.\n Nor can the nightingale with songs as sweet as Baqi's sing,\n Nor happy as thy star can beam the garden's bright array.\n The mead, the world, blooms through thy beauty's rose, like Irem's\n bower;\n On every side are nightingales of sweet, melodious lay.\n Now let us pray at Allah's court: \"May this for aye endure,\n The might and glory of this prospered King's resplendent sway;\n Until the lamp, the world-illuming sun, at break of dawn,\n A silver candelabrum on the circling skies display,\n Oh! may the Ruler of the world with skirt of aid and grace\n Protect the taper of his life from blast of doom, we pray!\"\n Glory's the comrade; Fortune, the cup-bearer at our feast;\n The beaker is the Sphere; the bowl, the Steel of gold-inlay!\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n 'Tis love's wild sea, my sighs' fierce wind doth lash those waves my\n tears uprear;\n My head, the bark of sad despite; mine eyebrows twain, the anchors\n here.\n Mine unkempt hair, the den of yonder tiger dread, the fair one's love;\n My head, dismay and sorrow's realm's deserted mountain region drear.\n At whatsoever feast I drain the cup thy rubies' mem'ry to,\n Amidst all those who grace that feast, except the dregs, I've no\n friend near.\n Thou know'st, O Light of my poor eyes, with _tutya_ mixed are gems\n full bright,\n What then if weep on thy path's dust mine eyes that scatter pearls\n most clear!\n The Sphere, old hag, with witchcraft's spell hath parted me from my\n fond love,\n O Baqi, see, by God, how vile a trick yon jade hath played me here!\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Years trodden under foot have I lain on that path of thine;\n Thy musky locks are noose-like cast, around my feet to twine.\n O Princess mine! boast not thyself through loveliness of face,\n For that, alas, is but a sun which must full soon decline!\n The loved one's stature tall, her form as fair as juniper,\n Bright 'midst the rosy bowers of grace a slender tree doth shine.\n Her figure, fair-proportioned as my poesy sublime,\n Her slender waist is like its subtle thought\u2014hard to divine.\n Then yearn not, Baqi, for the load of love's misfortune dire;\n For that to bear mayhap thy soul no power doth enshrine.\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n With her graceful-moving form, a Cypress jasmine-faced is she?\n Or in Eden's bower a branch upon the Lote or Tuba-tree?\n That thy blood-stained shaft which rankles in my wounded breast,\n my love,\n In the rosebud hid a lovely rose-leaf, sweetheart, can it be?\n To the dead of pain of anguish doth its draught fresh life impart;\n O cupbearer, is the red wine Jesu's breath? tell, tell to me!\n Are they teeth those in thy mouth, or on the rosebud drops of dew?\n Are they sparkling stars, or are they gleaming pearls, that there\n I see?\n Through the many woes thou wreakest upon Baqi, sick of heart,\n Is't thy will to slay him, or is it but sweet disdain in thee?\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Before thy form, the box-tree's lissom figure dwarfed would show;\n Those locks of thine the pride of ambergris would overthrow.\n Who, seeing thy cheek's glow, recalls the ruby is deceived;\n He who hath drunken deep of wine inebriate doth grow.\n Should she move forth with figure like the juniper in grace,\n The garden's cypress to the loved one's form must bend right low.\n Beware, give not the mirror bright to yonder paynim maid,\n Lest she idolater become, when there her face doth show.\n Baqi, doth he not drink the wine of obligation's grape,\n Who drunken with A-lestu's cup's overwhelming draught doth go?\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Thy cheek, like limpid water, clear doth gleam;\n Thy pouting mouth a bubble round doth seem.\n The radiance of thy cheek's sun on the heart\n Like moonlight on the water's face doth beam.\n The heart's page, through the tracings of thy down,\n A volume all illumined one would deem.\n That fair Moon's sunny love the earth have burned,\n It warm as rays of summer sun doth stream.\n At woful sorrow's feast my bloodshot eyes,\n Two beakers of red wine would one esteem.\n Baqi, her mole dark-hued like ambergris,\n A fragrant musk-pod all the world would deem.\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n All sick the heart with love for her, sad at the feast of woe;\n Bent form, the harp; low wail, the flute; heart's blood for wine\n doth flow.\n Prone lies the frame her path's dust 'neath, in union's stream the eye,\n In air the mind, the soul 'midst separation's fiery glow.\n Oh, ever shall it be my lot, zone-like, thy waist to clasp!\n 'Twixt us, O love, the dagger blade of severance doth show!\n Thou art the Queen of earth, thy cheeks are Towers of might, this day,\n Before thy Horse, like Pawns, the Kings of grace and beauty go.\n Him hinder not, beside thee let him creep, O Shade-like stay!\n Baqi, thy servant, O my Queen, before thee lieth low.\n\n\nON AUTUMN\n\n Lo, ne'er a trace or sign of springtide's beauty doth remain;\n Fall'n 'midst the garden lie the leaves, now all their glory vain.\n Bleak stand the orchard trees, all clad in tattered dervish rags;\n Dark Autumn's blast hath torn away the hands from off the plane.\n From each hill-side they come and cast their gold low at the feet,\n Of garden trees, as hoped the streams from these some boon to gain.\n Stay not within the parterre, let it tremble with its shame:\n Bare every shrub, this day doth naught of leaf or fruit retain.\n Baqi, within the garden lies full many a fallen leaf;\n Low lying there, it seems they 'gainst the winds of Fate complain.\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n Tulip-cheeked ones over rosy field and plain stray all around;\n Mead and garden cross they, looking wistful each way, all around.\n These the lovers true of radiant faces, aye, but who the fair?\n Lissom Cypress, thou it is whom eager seek they all around.\n Band on band Woe's legions camped before the City of the Heart,\n There, together league, sat Sorrow, Pain, Strife, Dismay, all around.\n From my weeping flows the river of my tears on every side,\n Like an ocean 'tis again, a sea that casts spray all around.\n Forth through all the Seven Climates have the words of Baqi gone;\n This refulgent verse recited shall be alway, all around.\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n From thine own beauty's radiant sun doth light flow;\n How lustrously doth now the crystal glass show!\n Thy friend's the beaker, and the cup's thy comrade;\n Like to the dregs why dost thou me aside throw?\n Hearts longing for thy beauty can resist not;\n Hold, none can bear the dazzling vision's bright glow!\n United now the lover, and now parted;\n This world is sometimes pleasure and sometimes woe.\n Bound in the spell of thy locks' chain is Baqi,\n Mad he, my Liege, and to the mad they grace show.\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n The goblet as affliction's Khusrev's bright Keyani crown doth shine;\n And surely doth the wine-jar love's King's Khusrevani hoard enshrine.\n Whene'er the feast recalls Jemshid, down from its eyes the red blood\n rolls;\n The rosy-tinted wine its tears, the beakers its blood-weeping eyne.\n At parting's banquet should the cup, the heart, with blood brim o'er\n were't strange?\n A bowl that, to the fair we'll drain, a goblet filled full high with\n wine.\n O Moon, if by thy door one day the foe should sudden me o'ertake\u2014\n A woe by Heaven decreed, a fate to which I must myself resign!\n The fume of beauty's and of grace's censer is thy cheek's sweet mole,\n The smoke thereof thy musky locks that spreading fragrant curl and\n twine;\n Thy cheek rose-hued doth light its taper at the moon that shines\n most bright,\n Its candlestick at grace's feast is yonder collar fair of thine.\n Of love and passion is the lustrous sheen of Baqi's verse the cause;\n As Life's Stream brightly this doth shine; but that, th' Eternal\n Life Divine.\n\n\n [Illustration: THE ANCIENT CHURCH OF ST. SOPHIA.\n\n _The former Christian Cathedral of Ancient Constantinople, now\n converted into the chief Mohammedan Mosque._ \u00a9 UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD,\n N.Y.]\n\n\nGAZEL\n\n When the sheets have yonder Torment to their bosom ta'en to rest,\n Think I, \"Hides the night-adorning Moon within the cloudlet's breast.\"\n In the dawning, O thou turtle, mourn not with those senseless plaints;\n In the bosom of some stately cypress thou'rt a nightly guest.\n Why thou weepest from the heavens, never can I think, O dew;\n Every night some lovely rose's bosom fair thou enterest.\n Hath the pearl seen in the story of thy teeth its tale of shame,\n Since the sea hath hid the album of the shell within its breast?\n Longing for thy cheeks, hath Baqi all his bosom marked with scars,\n Like as though he'd cast of rose-leaves fresh a handful o'er his chest.\n\n\nELEGY ON SULTAN SULEIMAN I.\n\n O thou! foot-bounden in the mesh of fame and glory's snare!\n Till when shall last the lust of faithless earth's pursuits and care?\n At that first moment, which of life's fair springtide is the last,\n 'Tis need the tulip cheek the tint of autumn leaf should wear;\n 'Tis need that thy last home should be, e'en like the dregs', the dust;\n 'Tis need the stone from hand of Fate should be joy's beaker's share.\n He is a man indeed whose heart is as a mirror clear;\n Man art thou? why then doth thy breast the tiger's fierceness bear?\n In understanding's eye how long shall heedless slumber bide?\n Will not war's Lion-Monarch's fate suffice to make thee ware?\n He, Prince of Fortune's Cavaliers! he to whose charger bold,\n Whene'er he caracoled or pranced, cramped was earth's tourney square!\n He, to the luster of whose sword the Magyar bowed his head!\n He, the dread gleaming of whose brand the Frank can well declare!\n Like tender rose-leaf, gently laid he in the dust his face,\n And Earth, the Treasurer, him placed like jewel in his case.\n\n In truth, he was the radiance of rank high and glory great,\n A Shah, Iskender-diademed, of Dara's armied state;\n Before the dust beneath his feet the Sphere bent low its head;\n Earth's shrine of adoration was his royal pavilion's gate.\n The smallest of his gifts the meanest beggar made a prince;\n Exceeding bounteous, exceeding kind a Potentate!\n The court of glory of his kingly majesty most high\n Was aye the center where would hopes of sage and poet wait.\n Although he yielded to Eternal Destiny's command,\n A King was he in might as Doom and puissant as Fate!\n Weary and worn by this sad, changeful Sphere, deem not thou him:\n Near God to be, did he his rank and glory abdicate.\n What wonder if our eyes no more life and the world behold!\n His beauty fair, as sun and moon, did earth irradiate!\n If folk upon the bright sun look, with tears are filled their eyes;\n For seeing it, doth yon moon-face before their minds arise!\n\n Now let the cloud blood drop on drop weep, and its form bend low!\n And let the Judas-tree anew in blossoms gore-hued blow!\n With this sad anguish let the stars' eyes rain down bitter tears!\n And let the smoke from hearts on fire the heavens all darkened show!\n Their azure garments let the skies change into deepest black!\n Let the whole world attire itself in robes of princely woe!\n In breasts of fairies and of men still let the flame burn on\u2014\n Of parting from the blest King Suleiman the fiery glow!\n His home above the highest heaven's ramparts he hath made;\n This world was all unworthy of his majesty, I trow.\n The bird, his soul, hath, _huma_-like, aloft flown to the skies,\n And naught remaineth save a few bones on the earth below.\n The speeding Horseman of the plain of Time and Space was he;\n Fortune and Fame aye as his friends and bridle-guides did go.\n The wayward courser, cruel Fate, was wild and fierce of pace,\n And fell to earth the Shade of God the Lord's benignant Grace.\n\n Through grief for thee, bereft of rest and tearful e'en as I,\n Sore weeping let the cloud of spring go wand'ring through the sky!\n And let the wailing of the birds of dawn the whole world fill!\n Be roses torn! and let the nightingale distressful cry!\n Their hyacinths as weeds of woe displaying, let them weep\n Down o'er their skirts their flowing tears let pour\u2014the mountains high!\n The odor of thy kindliness recalling, tulip-like,\n Within the Tartar musk-deer's heart let fire of anguish lie!\n Through yearning for thee let the rose its ear lay on the path,\n And, narcisse-like, till the last day the watchman's calling ply!\n Although the pearl-diffusing eye to oceans turned the world,\n Ne'er into being should there come a pearl with thee to vie!\n O heart! this hour 'tis thou that sympathizer art with me;\n Come, let us like the flute bewail, and moan, and plaintive sigh!\n The notes of mourning and of dole aloud let us rehearse;\n And let all those who grieve be moved by this our seven-fold verse.\n\n Will earth's King ne'er awake from sleep?\u2014broke hath the dawn of day:\n Will ne'er he move forth from his tent, adorned as heaven's display?\n Long have our eyes dwelt on the road, and yet no news hath come\n From yonder land, the threshold of his majesty's array:\n The color of his cheek hath paled, dry-lipped he lieth there,\n E'en like that rose which from the vase of flowers hath fall'n away.\n Goes now the Khusrev of the skies behind the cloudy veil,\n For shame, remembering thy love and kindness, one would say.\n My prayer is ever, \"May the babes, his tears, go 'neath the sod,\n Or old or young be he who weeps not thee in sad dismay.\"\n With flame of parting from thee let the sun burn and consume;\n And o'er the wastes through grief let darkness of the clouds hold sway.\n Thy talents and thy feats let it recall and weep in blood,\n Yea, let thy saber from its sheath plunge in the darksome clay.\n Its collar, through its grief and anguish, let the reed-pen tear!\n And let the earth its vestment rend through sorrow and despair!\n\n Thy saber made the foe the anguish dire of wounds to drain;\n Their tongues are silenced, none who dares to gainsay doth remain.\n The youthful cypress, head-exalted, looked upon thy lance,\n And ne'er its lissom twigs their haughty airs displayed again.\n Where'er thy stately charger placed his hoof, from far and near\n Flocked nobles, all upon thy path their lives to offer fain.\n In desert of mortality the bird, desire, rests ne'er;\n Thy sword in cause of God did lives as sacrifice ordain.\n As sweeps a scimitar, across earth's face on every side,\n Of iron-girded heroes of the world thou threw'st a chain.\n Thou took'st a thousand idol temples, turn\u00e8dst all to mosques;\n Where jangled bells thou mad'st be sung the Call to Prayers' strain.\n At length is struck the signal drum, and thou hast journeyed hence;\n Lo! thy first resting-place is Eden's flowery, verdant plain.\n Praise is to God! for he in the Two Worlds hath blessed thee,\n And caused thy glorious name, Hero and Martyr both to be.\n\n Baqi, the beauty of the King, the heart's delight, behold!\n The mirror of the work of God, the Lord of Eight, behold!\n The dear old man hath passed away from th' Egypt sad, the world;\n The youthful Prince, alert and fair as Joseph bright, behold!\n The Sun hath risen, and the Dawning gray hath touched its bourne;\n The lovely face of yon Khusrev, whose soul is light, behold!\n This chase now to the grave hath sent the Behram of the Age;\n Go, at his threshold serve, King Erdeshir aright, behold!\n The blast of Fate to all the winds hath blown Suleiman's throne;\n Sultan Selim Khan on Iskender's couch of might, behold!\n The Tiger of the mount of war to rest in sleep hath gone;\n The Lion who doth now keep watch on glory's height, behold!\n The Peacock fair of Eden's mead hath soared to Heaven's parterre;\n The luster of the _huma_ of high, happy flight, behold!\n Eternal may the glory of the heaven-high Khusrev dwell!\n Blessings be on the Monarch's soul and spirit\u2014and farewell!\n\n\n\n\n TURKISH LITERATURE\n\n\n\n\n THE MIRROR OF COUNTRIES\n\n OR\n\n THE ADVENTURES OF SIDI ALI REIS\n\n \"_We roam the waters far and wide,\n And bring confusion to our enemies;\n Revenge and hatred is our motto._\"\n TURKISH SEA SONG OF SIDI.\n\n\nTHE MIRROR OF COUNTRIES\n\n(INTRODUCTION BY PROFESSOR ARMINIUS VAMBERY)\n\n\nThe book of the Turkish Admiral Sidi Ali Reis, entitled \"_Mirat ul\nMemalik_\" (the Mirror of Countries), is in many ways interesting. In\nthe first place, on account of the personality of the author, in whom\nwe see a man of many varied accomplishments; a genuine type of the\nIslamitic culture of his time, and a representative of that class of\nofficial and military dignitaries to whose influence it is chiefly due\nthat the Ottoman Empire, extending over three continents, attained to\nthat eminent height of culture which it occupied during the reign of\nSuleiman the Great. Sidi Ali is the descendant of an illustrious family\nconnected with the arsenal at Galata, in whom love for the sea seems to\nhave been hereditary, and hence, as the Turkish publisher points out in\nhis preface, Sidi Ali, being thoroughly acquainted with the nautical\nscience of his day, excels as author on maritime subjects.\n\nAs a man of general culture, he was in harmony with the prevailing\nnotions of his time, as mathematician, astronomer, and geographer; and\nalso as poet, theologian, and in all branches of general literature;\nsometimes wielding his pen in writing lyrical or occasional verses,\nat other times entering into keen controversial disputes upon certain\nKoran theses or burning schismatic questions.\n\nBesides all this he was a warrior, proving himself as undaunted in\nfighting the elements as in close combat with the Portuguese, who in\npoint of accoutrement had far the advantage over him. But what stands\nout above all these accomplishments is his glowing patriotism and\nhis unwavering faith in the power and the greatness of the Ottoman\nEmpire. He boasts that he never ceases to hope to see Gujarat and Ormuz\njoined to the Ottoman realm; his one desire is to see his Padishah\nruler of the world, and wherever he goes and whatever he sees, Rum\n(Turkey) always remains in his eyes the most beautiful, the richest,\nand the most cultured land of the whole world. The Turkish Admiral has,\nmoreover, a singularly happy way of expressing himself on this subject\nof his preference for his own Padishah and his native land; and this\nrequired no small amount of courage and tact where he had to face proud\nHumayun or Thamasp, no less conceited than the former.\n\nWith regard to the things which he saw and heard in non-Mussulman\ncircles and districts in India, his accounts are poor compared with the\ndescriptions of Ibn Batuta and other Moslem travelers. Sidi Ali has had\nhardly any intercourse with Hindus, and his route lay almost entirely\nthrough districts where the ruling caste, with whom he principally\nhad to deal, were adherents to the Mohammedan faith. It does appear\nsomewhat strange that he had such unbounded reverence for the Sultan of\nTurkey, and upheld him as the legitimate Caliph, although the caliphate\nhad only fallen into the hands of the Ottoman rulers a few years\npreviously with the overthrow of Tuman Bey by Selim II; and this seems\nthe more strange, as Asia is so tenaciously conservative that even to\nthis day the Turkish claim to the caliphate is a disputed point.\n\nThe authoritative and executive power of Turkey, formerly the terror of\nthe Christian world, could not fail to exercise its influence upon the\nMoslem lands of Asia and their unstable governments, torn and harassed\nas they were by internal strife and petty wars, while the sultans of\nTurkey basked, not only in the glory of spiritual preferment, but also\nin that of temporal superiority. The picture which our author draws\nof the government of India and the East is certainly a very sad one.\nCivil wars and mutinies against the rulers of the land are every-day\noccurrences; the roads swarm with highwaymen, and even during the reign\nof the much-extolled Humayun, all intercourse with other lands was\nfraught with every imaginable kind of danger. Their rulers all suffer\nfrom a peculiar form of conceit, like the ruler of Bokhara, \"who asked\nme, pointing to a ragged, motley crowd of ruffians, whether the army of\nthe Sultan of Turkey were not exactly like this.\" Humayun, Thamasp, and\neven Borak Khan of Bokhara, all delighted in drawing parallels between\nthemselves and Sultan Suleiman.\n\nOne thing, however, in the account of the Turkish Admiral is certainly\nsurprising, namely the few facts by which he illustrates the Sultan's\npolicy in Moslem Asia. We have always been under the impression\nthat the Turks, during the era of their supreme power and universal\nsway, directed their attention more toward the Christian lands of\nthe West, than toward the Moslem lands of the East, and that as a\nmatter of fact their campaigns were nothing short of marauding raids,\nand empty conquests, while they might have utilized the many means\nat their disposal and the high prestige in which they stood toward\nthe consolidation of their power in Asia, which would have been\ncomparatively easy. This reproach is neither unfounded nor unmerited,\nfor although the finest of the Ottoman rulers, Sultan Selim, did direct\nhis attention chiefly toward the East, as proved by his campaigns\nagainst Persia and Egypt, most of his predecessors and successors have\noccupied themselves solely in making war in the West. Asia, which\noffered little to tempt the mercenary janissaries, was meanwhile left\npretty well to its own devices, without any fixed form or plan of\ngovernment. But, as in this narrative the threads of the policy pursued\nby those sultans, one by one, come to light, we are struck with the\nfact that, after all, they were not quite so short-sighted as we gave\nthem credit for, and that now and again they have given a thought to\nthe bringing about of a better state of things.\n\n\nTHE MIRROR OF COUNTRIES\n\nOR\n\nTHE ADVENTURES OF SIDI ALI REIS\n\nI\n\nWhen Sultan Suleiman had taken up his winter residence in Aleppo, I,\nthe author of these pages, was appointed to the Admiralship of the\nEgyptian fleet, and received instructions to fetch back to Egypt the\nships (15 galleys), which some time ago had been sent to Basrah on\nthe Persian Gulf. But, \"Man proposes, God disposes.\" I was unable to\ncarry out my mission, and as I realized the impossibility of returning\nby water, I resolved to go back to Turkey by the overland route,\naccompanied by a few tried and faithful Egyptian soldiers. I traveled\nthrough Gujarat, Hind, Sind, Balkh, Zabulistan, Bedakhshan, Khotlan,\nTuran, and Iran, _i.e._, through Transoxania, Khorassan, Kharezm,\nand Deskti-Kiptchak; and as I could not proceed any farther in that\ndirection, I went by Meshed and the two Iraks, Kazwin and Hamadan, on\nto Bagdad.\n\nOur travels ended, my companions and fellow-adventurers persuaded\nme to write down our experiences, and the dangers through which we\nhad passed, an accurate account of which it is almost impossible to\ngive; also to tell of the cities and the many wonderful sights we had\nseen, and of the holy shrines we had visited. And so this little book\nsees the light; in it I have tried to relate, in simple and plain\nlanguage, the troubles and difficulties, the suffering and the distress\nwhich beset our path, up to the time that we reached Constantinople.\nConsidering the matter it contains this book ought to have been\nentitled, \"A tale of woe,\" but with a view to the scene of action I\nhave called it \"Mirror of Countries,\" and as such I commend it to the\nreader's kind attention.\n\n\nII\n\nTHE BEGINNING OF THE STORY\n\nWhen the illustrious Padishah was holding his court at Aleppo, in\nRamazan of the year 960 (1552), I was commanded to join the army.\n\nI celebrated Ramzam-Bairam in attendance on his Majesty, later on,\nhowever, I went to Sidi-Ghazi, made a pilgrimage in Konia to the tomb\nof Molla-i-Rumi, and visited the shrines of the Sultan ul-Ulema, and\nShemsi Tebrizi, and of the Sheik Sadr-ed-din-Koniavi; at Kassarie I\nmade a pilgrimage to the graves of the Sheiks Awhad-ed-din Kirmani,\nBurham-ed-din, Baha-ed-din Zade, Ibrahim Akserayi, and Davud Kaissari.\nReturned to Haleb (Aleppo), I visited the graves of Daud, Zakeriah, and\nBalkiah, as also those of Saad and Said, companions of the Prophet. The\nKurban-Bairam I spent again in attendance on the Sultan.\n\nI must here mention that Piri Bey, the late Admiral of the Egyptian\nfleet, had, some time previous to this, been dispatched with about 30\nships (galleys and galleons) from Suez, through the Red Sea, touching\nJedda and Yemen, and through the straits of Bab-i-Mandeb, past Aden\nand along the coast of Shahar.[60] Through fogs and foul weather his\nfleet became dispersed, some ships were lost, and with the remainder\nhe proceeded from Oman to Muscat, took the fortress and made all the\ninhabitants prisoners; he also made an incursion into the islands of\nOrmuz and Barkhat, after which he returned to Muscat. There he learned\nfrom the captive infidel captain that the Christian (Portuguese) fleet\nwas on its way, that therefore any further delay was inadvisable, as\nin case it arrived he would not be able to leave the harbor at all.\nAs a matter of fact it was already too late to save all the ships; he\ntherefore took only three, and with these just managed to make his\nescape before the arrival of the Portuguese. One of his galleys was\nwrecked near Bahrein, so he brought only two vessels back to Egypt. As\nfor the remainder of the fleet at Basrah, Kubad Pasha had offered the\ncommand of it to the Chief Officer, but he had declined, and returned\nto Egypt by land.\n\nWhen this became known in Constantinople the command of the fleet had\nbeen given to Murad Bey, formerly Sanjakbey of Catif, then residing\nin Basrah. He was ordered to leave two ships, five galleys, and one\ngalleon at Basrah, and with the rest, _i.e._, 15 galleys (one galley\nhad been burned in Basrah) and two boats, he was to return to Egypt.\nMurad Bey did start as arranged, but opposite Ormuz he came upon\nthe infidel (Portuguese) fleet, a terrible battle followed in which\nSuleiman Reis, Rejeb Reis, and several of the men, died a martyr's\ndeath. Many more were wounded and the ships terribly battered by the\ncannon-balls. At last, night put a stop to the fight. One boat was\nwrecked off the Persian coast, part of the crew escaped, the rest were\ntaken prisoners by the infidels, and the boat itself captured.\n\nWhen all this sad news reached the capital, toward the end of Zilhija\nof the said year 960 (1552), the author of these pages was appointed\nAdmiral of the Egyptian fleet.\n\nI, humble Sidi Ali bin Husein, also known as Kiatibi-Rumi (the writer\nof the West, _i.e._, of Turkey), most gladly accepted the post. I had\nalways been very fond of the sea, had taken part in the expedition\nagainst Rhodes under the Sultan (Suleiman), and had since had a share\nin almost all engagements, both by land and by sea. I had fought under\nKhaireddin Pasha, Sinan Pasha, and other captains, and had cruised\nabout on the Western (Mediterranean) sea, so that I knew every nook\nand corner of it. I had written several books on astronomy, nautical\nscience, and other matters bearing upon navigation. My father and\ngrandfather, since the conquest of Constantinople, had had charge\nof the arsenal[61] at Galata; they had both been eminent in their\nprofession, and their skill had come down to me as an heirloom.\n\nThe post now entrusted to me was much to my taste, and I started from\nAleppo for Basrah, on the first of Moharram of the year 961 (7 Dec.\n1553). I crossed the Euphrates at Biredjik and when in Reka (_i.e._,\nOrfah), I undertook a pilgrimage to the tomb of Abraham, having visited\non the way between Nisebin and Mossul the holy graves of the prophets\nYunis and Djerdjis and of the sheiks Mohammed Garabili, Feth Mosuli,\nand Kazib-elban-Mosuli. On the way to Bagdad I made a little detour\nfrom Tekrit to Samira, and visited the graves of Iman Ali-el-Hadi and\nIman Haman Askeri, after which I came past the towns of Ashik[62] and\nMaashuk, and through Harbi, past the castle of Semke, on to Bagdad.\nWe crossed the Tigris near Djisr and, after visiting the graves of\nthe saints there, I continued my journey past the fortress of Teir,\nto Bire, and crossing the Euphrates near the little town of Masib, I\nreached Kerbela (Azwie), where I made a pilgrimage to the graves of\nthe martyrs Hasan and Husein. Turning into the steppe near Shefata, I\nreached Nedjef (Haira) on the second day, and visited the graves of\nAdam, Noah, Shimun, and Ali, and from there proceeded to Kufa, where I\nsaw the mosque with the pulpit under which the prophets of the house\nof Ali are buried, and the tombs of Kamber and Duldul. Arrived at the\nfortress of Hasinia, I visited the grave of the prophet Zilkefl, the\nson of Aaron, and in Hilla I made pilgrimages to the graves of Iman\nMohammed Mehdi and Iman Akil, brother of Ali, and also visited there\nthe mosque of Shem. Again crossing the Euphrates (this time by a\nbridge), I resumed my journey to Bagdad and went from there by ship to\nBasrah. On the way we touched Medain, saw the grave of Selmas Faris,\nadmired Tak Kesri and the castle of Shah Zenan, and went past Imare\nBugazi, on the road of Vasit to Zekya, past the strongholds of Adjul\nand Misra to Sadi-es Sueiba and on to Basrah, where I arrived toward\nthe end of Safar of the said year (beginning of February, 1554).\n\n\nIII\n\nABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN BASRAH\n\nOn the day after my arrival I had an interview with Mustafa Pasha, who,\nafter seeing my credentials, made over to me the 15 galleys which were\nneeding a great deal of repair. As far as could be, they were put in\norder, calked and provided with guns, which, however, were not to be\nhad in sufficient quantity either from the stores there or from Ormuz.\nA water-supply had also to be arranged for, and as it was yet five\nmonths before the time of the monsoon,[63] I had plenty of leisure to\nvisit the mosque of Ali and the graves of Hasan Basri, Talha, Zobeir,\nUns-bin-Malik, Abdurrahman-bin-Anf, and several martyrs and companions\nof the Prophet. One night I dreamed that I lost my sword, and as I\nremembered that a similar thing had happened to Sheik Muhieddin and\nhad resulted in a defeat, I became greatly alarmed, and, just as I was\nabout to pray to the Almighty for the victory of the Islam arms, I\nawoke. I kept this dream a secret, but it troubled me for a long time,\nand when later on Mustafa Pasha sent a detachment of soldiers to take\nthe island of Huweiza (in which expedition I took part with five of my\ngalleys), and the undertaking resulted in our losing about a hundred\nmen all through the fickleness of the Egyptian troops, I fully believed\nthis to be the fulfilment of my dream. But alas! there was more to\nfollow\u2014for:\n\n What is decreed must come to pass,\n No matter, whether you are joyful or anxious.\n\nWhen at last the time of the monsoon came, the Pasha sent a trusty\nsailor with a frigate to Ormuz, to explore the neighborhood. After\ncruising about for a month he returned with the news that, except for\nfour boats, there was no sign of any ships of the infidels in those\nwaters. The troops therefore embarked and we started for Egypt.\n\n\nIV\n\nWHAT TOOK PLACE IN THE SEA OF ORMUZ\n\nOn the first of Shawal we left the harbor of Basrah, accompanied, as\nfar as Ormuz, by the frigate of Sherifi Pasha. We visited on the way\nfrom Mehzari the grave of Khidr, and proceeding along the coast of\nDuspul (Dizful), and Shushter in Charik, I made pilgrimages to the\ngraves of Imam Mohammed, Hanifi, and other saints.\n\nFrom the harbor in the province of Shiraz we visited Rishehr (Bushir)\nand after reconnoitering the coasts and unable to get any clue as\nto the whereabouts of the enemy by means of the _Tshekleva_,[64] I\nproceeded to Katif, situated near Lahsa[65] and Hadjar on the Arabian\ncoast. Unable to learn anything there, I went on to Bahrein, where I\ninterviewed the commander of the place, Reis Murad. But neither could\nhe give me any information about the fleet of the infidels. There is a\ncurious custom at Bahrein. The sailors, provided with a leather sack,\ndive down into the sea and bring the fresh water from the bottom for\nReis Murad's use. This water is particularly pleasant and cold in the\nspring time, and Reis Murad gave me some. God's power is boundless!\nThis custom is the origin of the proverb: \"_Maradj ul bahreia\njaltakian_,\" and hence also the name \"Bahrein.\"\n\nNext we came to Kis, _i.e._, old Ormuz, and Barhata, and several other\nsmall islands in the Green Sea, _i.e._, the waters of Ormuz, but\nnowhere could we get any news of the fleet. So we dismissed the vessel,\nwhich Mustafa Pasha had sent as an escort, with the message that Ormuz\nwas safely passed. We proceeded by the coasts of Djilgar and Djadi,\npast the towns of Keimzar or Leime, and forty days after our departure,\n_i.e._, on the tenth of Ramazan, in the forenoon, we suddenly saw\ncoming toward us the Christian fleet, consisting of four large\nships, three galleons, six Portuguese guard ships, and twelve galleys\n(_Kalita_), 25 vessels in all. I immediately ordered the canopy to be\ntaken down, the anchor weighed, the guns put in readiness, and then,\ntrusting to the help of the Almighty, we fastened the _filandra_[66] to\nthe mainmast, the flags were unfurled, and, full of courage and calling\nupon Allah, we commenced to fight. The volley from the guns and cannon\nwas tremendous, and with God's help we sank and utterly destroyed one\nof the enemy's galleons.\n\nNever before within the annals of history has such a battle been\nfought, and words fail me to describe it.\n\nThe battle continued till sunset, and only then the Admiral of the\ninfidel fleet began to show some signs of fear. He ordered the\nsignal-gun to fire a retreat, and the fleet turned in the direction of\nOrmuz.\n\nWith the help of Allah, and under the lucky star of the Padishah,\nthe enemies of Islam had been defeated. Night came at last; we were\nbecalmed for awhile, then the wind rose, the sails were set and as\nthe shore was near ... until daybreak. The next day we continued our\nprevious course. On the day after we passed Khorfakan,[67] where we\ntook in water, and soon after reached Oman, or rather Sohar.[68] Thus\nwe cruised about for nearly 17 days. When on the sixth of Ramazan,\n_i.e._, the day of Kadr-Ghedjesi, a night in the month of Ramazan,\nwe arrived in the vicinity of Maskat and Kalhat,[69] we saw in the\nmorning, issuing from the harbor of Maskat, 12 large boats and 22\n_gurabs_, 34 vessels in all, commanded by Captain Kuya,[70] the son of\nthe Governor. They carried a large number of troops.\n\nThe boats and galleons obscured the horizon with their mizzen sails\n(_Magistra_)[71] and _Peneta_ (small sails) all set; the guard-ships\nspread their round sails (_Chember-yelken_), and, gay with hunting,\nthey advanced toward us. Full of confidence in God's protection we\nawaited them. Their boats attacked our galleys; the battle raged,\ncannon and guns, arrows and swords made terrible slaughter on both\nsides. The _Badjoalushka_ penetrated the boats and the _Shaikas_[72]\nand tore large holes in their hulls, while our galleys were riddled\nthrough by the javelins (_Darda_)[73] thrown down upon us from\nthe enemy's turrets, which gave them the appearance of bristling\nporcupines; and they showered down upon us....\n\nThe stones which they threw at us created quite a whirlpool as they\nfell into the sea.\n\nOne of our galleys was set on fire by a bomb, but strange to say the\nboat from which it issued shared the like fate. God is merciful!\nFive of our galleys and as many of the enemy's boats were sunk and\nutterly wrecked, one of theirs went to the bottom with all sails set.\nIn a word, there was great loss on both sides; our rowers were now\ninsufficient in number to manage the oars, while running against the\ncurrent, and to fire the cannon. We were compelled to drop anchor (at\nthe stern) and to continue to fight as best we might. The boats had\nalso to be abandoned.\n\nAlemshah Reis, Kara Mustafa, and Kalfat Memi, captains of some of the\nfoundered ships, and Derzi Mustafa Bey, the Serdar of the volunteers,\nwith the remainder of the Egyptian soldiers and 200 carpenters, had\nlanded on the Arabian shore, and as the rowers were Arabs they had been\nhospitably treated by the Arabs of Nedjd.\n\nThe ships (_gurabs_) of the infidel fleet had likewise taken on board\nthe crews of their sunken vessels, and as there were Arabs amongst\nthem, they also had found shelter on the Arabian coast. God is our\nwitness. Even in the war between Khaiveddin Pasha and Andreas Doria no\nsuch naval action as this has ever taken place.\n\nWhen night came, and we were approaching the bay of Ormuz, the wind\nbegan to rise. The boats had already cast two _Lenguvurta_, _i.e._,\nlarge anchors,[74] the _Lushtas_ were tightly secured, and, towing\nthe conquered _gurabs_ along, we neared the shore while the galleys,\ndragging their anchors, followed. However, we were not allowed to touch\nthe shore, and had to set sail again. During that night we drifted\naway from the Arabian coast into the open sea, and finally reached the\ncoasts of Djash,[75] in the province of Kerman. This is a long coast,\nbut we could find no harbor, and we roamed about for two days before we\ncame to Kichi Mekran.[76]\n\nAs the evening was far advanced we could not land immediately, but\nhad to spend another night at sea. In the morning a dry wind carried\noff many of the crew, and at last, after unheard-of troubles and\ndifficulties, we approached the harbor of Sheba.[77]\n\nHere we came upon a _Notak_, _i.e._, a brigantine (pirate-ship), laden\nwith spoils, and when the watchman sighted us they hailed us. We told\nthem that we were Mussulmans, whereupon their captain came on board\nour vessel; he kindly supplied us with water, for we had not a drop\nleft, and thus our exhausted soldiers were invigorated. This was on\nBairam day, and for us, as we had now got water, a double feast-day.\nEscorted by the said captain we entered the harbor of Guador.[78] The\npeople there were Beluchistanis and their chief was Malik Djelaleddin,\nthe son of Malik Dinar. The Governor of Guador came on board our ship\nand assured us of his unalterable devotion to our glorious Padishah.\nHe promised that henceforth, if at any time our fleet should come to\nOrmuz, he would undertake to send 50 or 60 boats to supply us with\nprovisions, and in every possible way to be of service to us. We wrote\na letter to the native Prince Djelaleddin to ask for a pilot, upon\nwhich a first-class pilot was sent us, with the assurance that he was\nthoroughly trustworthy and entirely devoted to the interests of our\nPadishah.\n\n\nV\n\nWHAT WE SUFFERED IN THE INDIAN OCEAN\n\nGod is merciful! With a favorable wind we left the port of Guador and\nagain steered for Yemen. We had been at sea for several days, and had\narrived nearly opposite to Zofar[79] and Shar, when suddenly from the\nwest arose a great storm known as _fil Tofani_.[80] We were driven\nback, but were unable to set the sails, not even the _trinquetla_\n(stormsail). The tempest raged with increasing fury. As compared to\nthese awful tempests the foul weather in the western seas is mere\nchild's play, and their towering billows are as drops of water compared\nto those of the Indian sea. Night and day were both alike, and because\nof the frailty of our craft all ballast had to be thrown overboard.\nIn this frightful predicament our only consolation was our unwavering\ntrust in the power of the Almighty. For ten days the storm raged\ncontinuously and the rain came down in torrents. We never once saw the\nblue sky.\n\nI did all I could to encourage and cheer my companions, and advised\nthem above all things to be brave, and never to doubt but that all\nwould end well. A welcome diversion occurred in the appearance of a\nfish about the size of two galley lengths, or more perhaps, which the\npilot declared to be a good omen.\n\nThe tide being very strong here and the ebb slow, we had an opportunity\nof seeing many sea-monsters in the neighborhood of the bay of Djugd,\nsea-horses, large sea-serpents, turtles in great quantities, and eels.\n\nThe color of the water suddenly changed to pure white, and at sight\nof it the pilot broke forth into loud lamentations; he declared we\nwere approaching whirlpools and eddies. These are no myth here; it is\ngenerally believed that they are only found on the coasts of Abyssinia\nand in the neighborhood of Sind in the bay of Djugd, and hardly ever a\nship has been known to escape their fury. So, at least, we are told in\nnautical books. We took frequent soundings, and when we struck a depth\nof five Kuladj (arm-lengths) the mizzensails (_Orta Yelken_) were set,\nthe bowspreat[81] ... and ... heeling over to the left side, and flying\nthe commander's flag, we drifted about all night and all day until at\nlast, in God's mercy, the water rose, the storm somewhat abated, and\nthe ship veered right round.\n\nThe next morning we slackened speed and drew in the sails. A stalwart\ncabin boy (or sailor) was tied to the _Djondu_, whereby the post at the\nfoot of the mizzenmast was weighted down, and the sailrope slightly\nraised. Taking a survey of our surroundings we caught sight of an\nidol-temple on the coast of Djamber. The sails were drawn in a little\nmore; we passed Formyan and Menglir,[82] and directing our course\ntoward Somenat,[83] we passed by that place also. Finally we came to\nDiv,[84] but for fear of the unbelievers which dwell there we further\ndrew in our sails and continued on our course with _serderma_.\n\nMeanwhile, the wind had risen again, and as the men had no control over\nthe rudder, large handles had to be affixed with long double ropes\nfastened to them. Each rope was taken hold of by four men, and so with\ngreat exertion they managed to control the rudder.\n\nNo one could keep on his feet on deck, so of course it was impossible\nto walk across. The noise of the ... and the ... was deafening; we\ncould not hear our own voices. The only means of communication with the\nsailors was by inarticulate words, and neither captain nor boatswain\ncould for a single instant leave his post. The ammunition was secured\nin the storeroom, and after cutting the ... from the ... we continued\nour way.\n\nIt was truly a terrible day, but at last we reached Gujarat in India,\nwhich part of it, however, we knew not, when the pilot suddenly\nexclaimed: \"On your guard! a whirlpool in front!\" Quickly the anchors\nwere lowered, but the ship was dragged down with great force and\nnearly submerged. The rowers had left their seats, the panic-stricken\ncrew threw off their clothes, and, clinging some to casks and some to\njacks, had taken leave of one another. I also stripped entirely, gave\nmy slaves their liberty, and vowed to give 100 florins to the poor of\nMecca.\n\nPresently one of the anchors broke from its crook and another at the\n_podjuz_; two more were lost, the ship gave a terrible jerk\u2014and in\nanother instant we were clear of the breakers. The pilot declared\nthat had we been wrecked off Fisht-Kidsur, a place between Diu and\nDaman;[85] nothing could have saved us. Once more the sails were set,\nand we decided to make for the infidel coast; but after duly taking\nnote of tide and current, and having made a careful study of the\nchart, I came to the conclusion that we could not be very far off\nthe mainland. I consulted the horoscope in the Koran, and this also\ncounseled patience. So we commenced to examine the hold of the ship and\nfound that the storeroom was submerged, in some places up to the walls,\nin some places higher still. We had shipped much water, and all hands\nset to work at once to bale it out. In one or two places the bottom had\nto be ripped up to find the outlet so as to reduce the water.\n\nToward afternoon the weather had cleared a little, and we found\nourselves about two miles off the port of Daman, in Gujarat in India.\nThe other ships had already arrived, but some of the galleys were\nwaterlogged not far from the shore, and they had thrown overboard oars,\nboats, and casks, all of which wreckage eventually was borne ashore by\nthe rapidly rising tide. We were obliged to lie to for another five\ndays and five nights, exposed to a strong spring-tide, accompanied by\nfloods of rain; for we were now in the Badzad,[86] or rainy season of\nIndia, and there was nothing for it but to submit to our fate. During\nall this time we never once saw the sun by day, nor the stars by night;\nwe could neither use our clock nor our compass, and all on board\nanticipated the worst. It seems a miracle that of the three ships lying\nthere, thrown on their sides, the whole crew eventually got safely to\nland.\n\n\nVI\n\nWHAT HAPPENED IN THE PROVINCE OF GUJARAT\n\nAfter five days, in God's mercy, the wind somewhat abated. All that\nwas saved of the wreckage, cannon and other armament we left with the\nGovernor of Daman, Malik Esed, who, since the time of Sultan Ahmed,\nthe ruler of Gujarat, had held office there. In the harbor were some\n_Djonk's_[87] _i.e._, monsoon ships belonging to Samiri, the ruler of\nCalcutta. The captains came on board our ship and assured us of the\ndevotion of their chief to the Padishah. They brought us a letter which\nsaid that Samiri was waging war day and night against the Portuguese\ninfidels, and that he was expecting the arrival of an Imperial fleet\nfrom Egypt under the guidance of the pilot Ali, which was to put the\nPortuguese to flight. Malik Esed, the Governor, gave me to understand\nthat the fleet of the infidels was on its way, that it behooved us to\navoid it and, if possible, to reach the fortress of Surat. This news\nfrightened the crew. Some of them immediately took service under Melik\nEsed, and some went ashore in the boats and proceeded by land to Surat.\n\nI remained on board with a few faithful of the men, and after procuring\na _Dindjuy_,[88] or pilot-boat, for each vessel, we set out for\nthe harbor of Surat. After great difficulties we reached the open.\nPresently the Kutwal,[89] Aga Hamsa, hailed us with a letter from\nUmad-el-mulk, the Grand Vizier of Sultan Ahmed, who informed us that\nthere were large numbers of infidels about, and that Daman being a free\nport we had better be careful. He would allow us to come to Surat if we\nliked, as we were now in most perilous waters. This was exactly what we\nwanted to do, so we struggled on for five days longer, sailing at the\nflow, riding at anchor at the ebb of the tide, until at last we reached\nthe harbor of Surat, fully three months after our departure from Basrah.\n\nGreat was the joy of the Mohammedans at Surat when they saw us come;\nthey hailed us as their deliverers (_Khidr_), and said: \"You have come\nto Gujarat in troublous times; never since the days of Noah has there\nbeen a flood like unto this last, but neither is it within the memory\nof man that a ship from Rum (Turkey) has landed on these coasts. We\nfervently hoped that God in his mercy would soon send an Ottoman fleet\nto Gujarat, to save this land for the Ottoman Empire and to deliver us\nfrom the Indian unbelievers.\"\n\nThe cause of the disturbances was this: After the death of Sultan\nBahadur, the ruler of Gujarat, one of his relatives, a youth of twelve\nyears old, had succeeded to the throne. The army had acknowledged\nhim, but one of the nobles, Nasir-ul-Mulk, had refused to take the\noath of allegiance, and had raised the banner of sovereignty on\nhis own behalf.[90] He had many adherents, took the stronghold of\nBurudj,[91] left a sufficient garrison to keep it, proceeded himself\nto another town, and then called in the aid of the Governor of the\ninfidels (Portuguese) at Goa, promising that in return for his services\nthe harbors on the coast of Gujarat, _viz._, Daman, Surat, Burudj,\nKetbaye, Sumenat, Minglur, and Furmeyan, should be thrown open to the\nPortuguese, while he would retire to the land of the interior.\n\nSultan Ahmed had immediately collected an army to go to Burudj, and\nwhen informed of our arrival he took from our troops 200 gunners and\nother men, and advanced toward Burudj.\n\nOn the third day we who were left behind were attacked by the infidel\ncaptains of Goa, Diu, Shiyul, Besai, and the _Provador_;[92] five in\nall, commanding 7 large galleons and 80 _gurabs_. We went ashore,\npitched our tents, and threw up entrenchments; for two whole months\nwe were busy preparing for battle. But the tyrant Nasir-ul-Mulk, who\nhad joined with the infidels, had hired murderers to kill me; they\nwere, however, discovered by the guard and fled. Again another time\nhe tried to poison my food, but, being warned by the Kutwal of Surat,\nthis attempt to take my life also failed. Meanwhile Sultan Ahmed had\ntaken the stronghold of Burudj and sent two of his officers, Khudavend\nand Djihanghir, with elephants and troops to Surat, while he proceeded\nto Ahmedabad, where a youth, called Ahmed, a relation of Sultan Ahmed,\nhad in the meantime raised a revolt. A battle followed, in which the\nusurper was wounded, Hasan Khan, one of his adherents, killed, and\nhis army put to flight. Sultan Ahmed reascended his throne, and, as\nNasir-ul-Mulk died of vexation over his misfortunes, peace was once\nmore restored in Gujarat.\n\nWhen the infidels heard of this they sent an envoy to Khudavend Khan\nto say that they did not mind so much about Surat, but that their\nhostility was chiefly directed toward the Admiral of Egypt, _viz._,\nmy humble person. They demanded that I should be given up to them,\nbut were refused; and my soldiers would have killed the envoy, but I\nreminded them that we were on foreign soil and must commit no rash\ndeeds.\n\nIt so happened that a runaway infidel gunner from one of my ships had\nenlisted on the ship of the envoy, and, knowing a good deal about our\naffairs, he had undertaken to prevent our departure after the holiday\nof Kurban. No sooner had this come to the knowledge of my men, than\nthey attacked the envoy's ship and captured the infidel, who was\nexecuted on the spot, greatly to the alarm of the envoy.\n\nThere is in Gujarat a tree of the palm tribe, called _tari agadji_\n(millet-tree). From its branches cups are suspended, and when the cut\nend of a branch is placed into one of these vessels a sweet liquid,\nsomething of the nature of arrack, flows out in a continuous stream;\nand this fluid, by exposure to the heat of the sun, presently changes\ninto a most wonderful wine. Therefore at the foot of all such trees\ndrinking-booths have been placed, which are a great attraction to the\nsoldiers.\n\nSome of my men, having indulged in the forbidden drink, determined\nto kill their Serdar. One of these profligates, Yagmur by name,\none evening after sunset surprised Hussain Aga, the Serdar of the\nCircassians. A few comrades rushed to his assistance, there was some\nfighting and two young men were wounded, and one, Hadji Memi, was\nkilled. Then the soldiers pressed round, and implored me to punish the\nevil-doers, but I again reminded them that we were on foreign soil, in\nthe land of a foreign Padishah, and that our laws had no force here.\n\"What,\" they cried, \"the laws of our Padishah hold good everywhere.\nYou are our Admiral, judge according to our law, and we will be the\nexecutioners!\" Thereupon I pronounced judgment according to the law of\nthe Koran, which says: \"Eye for eye, life for life, nose for nose, ear\nfor ear,\" etc.\n\nThe man was executed, and peace restored. When the nobles of the Begs\nheard of the occurrence they took the lesson to heart, and the envoy\nimmediately hired a conveyance and went to Sultan Ahmed.\n\nBut my troops were getting dissatisfied. In Surat, Khudavend Khan had\nbeen paying them from 50 to 60 paras per day, and in Burudj, Adil Khan\nhad done the same. At last their pent-up feelings burst forth and they\nargued as follows: \"It is now nearly two years since we have received\nany pay, our goods are lost, and the ships dismantled; the hulks are\nold, and our return to Egypt is practically made impossible.\" The end\nwas that the greater part of them took service in Gujarat.\n\nThe deserted ships, with all their tools and implements, were given\nover to Khudavend Khan, under condition that he should immediately\nremit to the Sublime Porte the price agreed upon for the sale.\n\nAfter receiving a confirmatory note to this effect, both from Khudavend\nKhan and Adil Khan, I started on my journey to Ahmedabad[93] in\nthe beginning of Muharram of the year 962 (end of November 1552),\naccompanied by Mustafa Aga, the Ketkhuda (chief officer) of the\nEgyptian Janissaries, and Ali Aga, the captain of the gunners (both of\nwhich had remained faithful to their Padishah), and with about 50 men.\n\nA few days took us from Burudj to Belodra,[94] and from there we\nproceeded to Champanir.[95]\n\nOn our way we saw some very curious trees, whose crowns reached up to\nthe sky, and the branches swarmed with bats of such extraordinary size\nthat their wings on the stretch measured 40 inches across. The most\ncurious part about the trees, however, was that the roots hung down\nfrom the branches and, when touching the ground, planted themselves\nand produced new trees. Thus from one tree, from ten to twenty new\nones sprung up. The name of this tree is the Tobi tree,[96] and more\nthan a thousand people can find shelter under its shade. Besides these\nwe saw several _Zokum_ trees.[97] Parrots were very plentiful, and as\nfor the monkeys, thousands of them made their appearance in our camp\nevery evening. They carried their young in their arms, made the most\nridiculous grimaces, and strongly brought to our minds the stories of\nDjihan Shah, according to whom these animals live in a community but\nacknowledge no head among them. At nightfall they always retired to\ntheir own place.\n\nAfter a great many vicissitudes we at last arrived in Mahmudabad,[98]\nand after a journey of 50 days in Ahmedabad the capital of Gujarat.\nThere I visited the Sultan, his Grand Vizier Imad-ul-Mulk, and other\ndignitaries. The Sultan, to whom I presented my credentials, was\npleased to receive me most graciously and he assured me of his devotion\nto our glorious Padishah. He gave me a horse, a team of camels,[99] and\nmoney for the journey.\n\nAt Cherkes, in the vicinity of Ahmedabad, is the grave of Sheik Ahmed\nMagrebi, which I visited. One day, being at the house of Imad-ul-Mulk,\nI met the infidel envoy, and our host addressed him in this way, \"We\nhave need of the Sultan of Turkey. Our ships touch the ports of his\nEmpire, and if we were not free to do so, it would be bad for us.\nMoreover, he is the Padishah of the Islamitic world, and it is not\nseemly that we should be expected to deliver up his Admiral to you.\"\nI became very angry at this speech and cried: \"Hold, thou cursed\ntongue! Thou foundest me with a shattered fleet, but I swear by God\nAlmighty thou shalt see ere long not only Ormuz, but Goa itself, yield\nbefore the victorious arms of the great Padishah!\"[100] To which the\nunbeliever made the following answer: \"Henceforth not so much as a bird\nwill be able to leave the ports of India.\" I replied: \"One need not\nnecessarily go by water, there is a land route also.\" He was silent\nafter that, and the subject was dropped.\n\nA few days after this Sultan Ahmed offered me the command of the\nProvince of Burudj, with a very large income, but I refused, saying\nthat I would not stay if he gave me the whole of the land. One night in\nmy dream I saw the Khalifa Murteza Ali. I had a piece of paper before\nme with Ali's seal upon it. With this seal, the seal of God to help me,\naway with all fear, for in its strength all foreign waters were mine to\ncommand.\n\nNext morning I told my dream to my companions and all were glad with\nme. I asked for permission to depart, and the ruler granted my request\nout of respect for our Padishah.\n\nAmongst the learned[101] of this land of Banians[102] there is a tribe\nwhich they call the \"Bats,\" whose business it is to escort merchants or\ntravelers from one land into another, and for a very small remuneration\nthey guarantee their perfect safety. Should the Rajputs,[103] _i.e._,\nthe mounted troops of the land, attack the caravan, the Bats point\ntheir daggers at their own breast, and threaten to kill themselves\nif they should presume to do the slightest harm to the travelers\nentrusted to their care. And out of respect for the Bats, the Rajputs\ngenerally desist from their evil purpose, and the travelers proceed\non their way unmolested. Occasionally, however, the Bats carry out\ntheir threat, otherwise it would have no force. But if such a thing\ndoes happen, if a caravan is attacked and the suicide of the Bats\nbecomes necessary, this is considered a terrible calamity, and the\nsuperstition of the people demands that the offenders be put to death,\nand not only the offenders themselves but the chief of the Rajputs\ndeems it necessary to kill their sons and daughters also; in fact, to\nexterminate the whole of their race. The Mohammedans of Ahmedabad had\ngiven us two such Bats as an escort, and so, about the middle of Safar\nof the said year, we started on our overland journey to Turkey.\n\nIn five days we reached Patna,[104] traveling in carriages, and visited\nthe grave of Sheik Nizam the _Pir_ (spiritual chief) of Patna. Here\nShir Khan and his brother Musa Khan had collected an army, to fight\nBehluj Khan, the ruler of Radanpoor.[105] For fear of our siding with\ntheir enemies, the people tried to retain us, and would not allow us to\nproceed on our journey until the battle should be over. We showed them,\nhowever, that we had not come to render either party any assistance,\nbut that we only wanted to continue our journey in peace, and had a\npass from their ruler to that effect. Then at last they let us go, and\nafter five days we came to Radanpoor, where I was presented to Mahmud\nKhan, but he treated me very rudely, and insisted on forcibly detaining\nthree of my companions before he would consent to our departure.\n\nOn the way we met some friendly Rajputs; their Beg was of great service\nto us, and gave me a letter of protection (free pass). The camels were\nhired, and after dismissing the Bats which the people of Ahmedabad had\nsent with us, we continued our journey.\n\n\nVII\n\nWHAT BEFELL US IN THE PROVINCE OF SIND\n\n\nLeaving on the first of Rebiul-Evvel we came, after a ten days'\njourney, to Parker,[106] a town of the Rajputs. Here we were surprised\nby the infidels, but thanks to the letter of protection and a few\npresents, we were let free; quite anticipating further dangers,\nhowever, we were on our guard when next day a band of hostile Rajputs\ncommenced a free fight with us. Immediately I ordered all the camels to\nbe let down on their knees so as to form a ring round us, and then the\nfiring began on all sides. The infidels, not prepared for this, sent us\nword that \"they had not come to fight, but to exact the passage money,\"\nto which I made reply: \"We are not merchants and carry nothing but\nmedicines and _Mohurs_[107] on which we have already paid duty; but if\nthere be anything further to pay we are quite prepared to do so.\" This\nhad the desired effect; they let us pass, and for about ten days we\nwandered through deserts and sandy places, until we reached Wanga,[108]\nthe frontier town of Sind. Here we hired fresh camels, and in five days\nwe came to Djoona[109] and Baghi-Feth. The throne of Sind was then\noccupied by Shah Husein Mirza. He had reigned for 40 years, but during\nthe last 5 years he had become invalided and unable to mount his horse,\nso now he only went about on board his ship in the river Sihun.[110]\n\nAt that time Isa Terkhan, the commander of the capital of Sind, called\nTata,[111] had put to death a number of able officers belonging to\nShah Husein, after which he had captured the treasure, stored in\nthe fortress of Nasrabad, and divided it amongst his men, and then\nproclaimed himself as Humayun Shah. (It says literally that he had this\ntitle inserted in the Friday-prayers and ordered the _Nakara_[112] to\nbe played.) Thereupon Shah Husein had nominated his adopted brother\nSultan Mahmud as commander of the land troops, and he himself with\n400 ships had set out against the rebels. Hearing of my arrival he\nreceived me with great honor. It was then the beginning of the month of\nRabia-al-Sani. He gave me festive apparel[113] and conferred upon us\nthe title of a God-sent army;[114] he offered me, besides all this, the\ngovernorship of Bender-Lahuri or Duyuli-Sindi. Of course I refused this\noffer, but when I requested permission to continue my journey I was\ngiven to understand that I should not be allowed to do so until after\nthe successful termination of the campaign. He also wrote a letter to\nour glorious Padishah, explaining matters; in a word he did not rest\nuntil he had quite cleared us from being mixed up in this war with Isa\nKhan. The Mohammedans pleaded in vain that our arms could bring no evil\nupon them,[115] for, said they, \"Are we not all of one nation, and are\nnot many of our sons and brethren in the rebel army?\" And this was\nperfectly true. I had an interview with Sheik Abdul Vahab and received\nhis blessing; I also visited the graves of the Sheiks Djemali and Miri.\n\nThe campaign lasted a month, earthworks were thrown up and cannon\nraised thereon, but as Tata lies on an island and their shot did not\nreach so far, the fortress could not be taken. Nevertheless there was\ngreat loss of life on both sides. At last a compromise was decided\nupon. Mir Isa relinquished his adherence to Humayun Padishah, returned\nto his allegiance to Husein Mirza, and sent his son Mir Salih with\npresents of submission. On the other hand, Husein Mirza gave the\nremainder of the treasure, which Mir Isa had divided amongst his\ntroops, to Mir Salih. Isa was reinstated in his former rank, and Mirza\nsent him a formal acceptance of his allegiance by the hand of the\nVizier Molla Yari. He also sent him a Nakara by Tugbeghi, the chief\nstandard-bearer, and released from prison the ten rebels from the\ntribes of Argun and Tarkhan,[116] which had sided with Mir Isa, from\nhis side, had sent back the wife of Husein Shah, called Hadji Begum,\nand in the first days of Djemadi-ul-evvel, Sultan Mahmud returned by\nland, and Shah Husein by water, to the city of Bakar. On the tenth day\nafter his wife had rejoined him, Shah Husein died, and it was supposed\nthat she had poisoned him.\n\nDirectly after his father's death, Sultan Mahmud divided the property\nin three parts. One part was for the wife of the deceased, and another\npart he sent to Mir Isa by a Khodja. The body was taken to Tata; he\nlent me one of his own ships, and providing himself with horses,\ncamels, and other necessaries, returned by land to Bakar. While the\nbody of Mirza, with his wife and an escort of 50 ships, was on its way\nto Tata, the soldiers attacked the remaining vessels and plundered\nthem. The sailors took flight, and we, the passengers, were compelled\nto take command of the ships. Beset on all sides by the Djagatais\n(Central Asians), we relinquished our firearms, and barely escaped with\nour lives. At last, after struggling for ten days against the stream,\nwe made our way to Nasirpur.[117] This town had been plundered by the\nRajah, _i.e._, the Bey of the Rajputs.\n\nWe were greeted with the news that Mir Isa, with 10,000 valiant\nsoldiers, was pursuing Sultan Mahmud, and that his son, Mir Salih, with\n80 ships, was close behind us. This was very perplexing but I decided\nat once to turn back. We prayed long together, and then started on\nour return to Tata. Three days later we passed Mir Salih in the river.\nI went on board his ship with a few small presents, and he asked me\nwhere we were going. I said, \"We are going to your father,\" whereupon\nhe told me to go back with him. I said, \"We have no sailors on board,\"\nso he gave me fifteen of his crew; and thus compelled to turn back, we\nhad another weary ten days to get through. One day I chanced upon Mir\nIsa in a small town of Sind. Here I also found the former partizans\nof the late Mirza, who were tired of fighting and desired peace. Isa\nreceived me with great honor, forgave me the past, and allowed me to\nremain a few days, saying that he intended shortly to send his son Mir\nSalih to Humayun Padishah, and that I might as well travel under his\nescort, for, he added, \"Sultan Mahmud will never allow thee to pass\nBakar; he is a son of Ferrukh Mirza and wants to become Padishah.\" This\nproposal, however, did not suit me, and I insisted upon continuing my\njourney forthwith, suggesting that he should give us back the ships\nlately taken from us, and also to send a messenger in advance, for with\nGod's help he, Sultan Mahmud, would probably have to submit to the\nPadishah (Humayun), and thus peace be restored. Isa agreed to this, and\ngave me seven ships with their complement of sailors. He wrote to the\nPadishah to assure him of his unalterable loyalty, and so we went on\nour way. We were struck with the enormous size of the fish (alligators)\nsporting in the river, as also with the numbers of tigers on the banks.\nIt was necessary to keep up a perpetual warfare with the people of\nSemtche and Matchi, through whose territory our course lay, and thus\nwe reached Siyawan,[118] and shortly after we came to Bukkur by the\nway of Patri[119] and Dible. Here I fell in with Sultan Mahmud and his\nVizier Molla Yari. I offered a small gift to the former, who thereupon\nexpressed his willingness to submit himself to Humayun, and also to\nmake peace with Mir Isa.\n\nI composed a chronogram on the death of Husein Mirza and presented\nSultan Mahmud with two gazels,[120] after which I requested permission\nto continue my journey. This was granted, but as the route past\nKandahar was made unsafe by the inroads[121] of Sultan Bahadur, a son\nof Sultan Haidar, the Ozbeg, and as the season of the Semum (hot winds)\nhad now commenced, the Sultan offered to give me an escort by the way\nof Lahore, warning me to be on my guard against the Djats, a hostile\ntribe which had its abode there. But whichever route I chose I should\nhave to wait a while yet, and as a matter of fact I waited for a whole\nmonth. One night in my dream I saw my mother, who told me that she had\nseen her highness Fatima in a dream, and had learned from her the glad\nnews, that I should soon be coming home, safe and sound.\n\nWhen next morning I told this dream to my companions they were full of\ngood courage. Sultan Mahmud, when he heard of it, at once consented to\nmy departure. He gave me a beautiful horse, a team of camels, a large\nand a small tent,[122] and money for the journey. He also provided\nme with a letter of recommendation to Humayun, and an escort of 250\nmounted camel-drivers, from Sind. Thus we departed about the middle of\nShaaban, and reached the fortress of May in five days, traveling by\nthe way of Sultanpoor.[123] As the Djats were very troublesome, we did\nnot take the route of Djenghelistan (the forest), but preferred to go\nthrough the steppe. On the second day we came to the spring, but found\nno water, and many of my companions nearly succumbed with heat and\nthirst. I gave them some _Teriak_ (opium), of the very best quality,\nand on the second day they were recovered. After this experience we\ndeemed it advisable to leave the desert and to return to Mav, for the\nproverb says truly, \"A stranger is an ignorant man.\" In the steppe we\nsaw ants as large as sparrows.\n\nOur escort from Sind was afraid of the wood, and I had to inspire my\nown people with fresh courage. I placed 10 gunners in front, 10 in the\ncenter, and 10 in the rear of our caravan, and thus, trusting in God's\nprotection, we commenced the journey. The people from Sind also took\ncourage after this, and went with us.\n\nThus, after manifold dangers, we came after ten days to Utchi,[124] or\nAutchi, where I visited Sheik Ibrahim and received his blessing. I also\nmade a pilgrimage to the graves of the Sheiks Djemali and Djelali. In\nthe beginning of Ramazan we resumed our journey and came to the river\nKara, or Kere,[125] which we crossed by means of a raft. The people of\nSind gave us permission to proceed as far as the Machvara,[126] and\nthis river was crossed by boats. On the other side we found 500 Djats\nawaiting us, but our firearms frightened them and they did not attack.\nWe advanced unmolested, and reached the town of Multan on the fifteenth\nof Ramazan.\n\n\nVIII\n\nMY EXPERIENCES IN HINDUSTAN\n\nIn Multan I only visited the graves of the Sheiks Baha Bahaeddin,\nZekeria, Rukneddin, and Sadreddin. I received a blessing from Sheik\nMohammed Radjva, and, after receiving permission to continue my\njourney from Sultan Mirmiram Mirza Hasan, we proceeded toward Lahore.\nIn Sadkere I visited Sheik Hamid, received his blessing, and in the\nfirst days of the Month Shawwal we came to Lahore. The political state\nof the country was as follows: After the death of Selim Shah a son of\nShir Khan, the former Sovereign of Hindustan, Iskender Khan, had come\nto the throne. When the Padishah Humayun heard this he immediately\nleft Kabul and marched his army to India, took Lahore, and fought\nIskender Khan near Sahrand. He won the battle and took 400 elephants,\nbesides several cannon and 400 chariots. Iskender Khan escaped to the\nfortress of Mankut, and Humayun sent Shah Abul-Maali with a detachment\nof soldiers after him. Humayun himself proceeded to his residence at\nDelhi and dispatched his officers to different places. The Ozbeg,\nIskender Khan, he sent to Agra, and others to Firuzshah Senbel,[127]\nBayana, and Karwitch. War raged on all sides, and when I arrived at\nLahore the Governor, Mirza Shah, would not let me continue my journey\nuntil I had seen the Padishah (Humayun). After sending the latter\nword of my arrival, he received orders to send me forthwith to Delhi.\nMeanwhile a whole month had been wasted, but finally we were sent off\nwith an escort. The river Sultanpoor was crossed in boats and after\na journey of 20 days we arrived, toward the end of Dulkaada, by the\nroute of Firuzshah[128] in the capital of India, called Delhi. As soon\nas Humayun heard of our arrival he sent the Khanikhanan[129] and other\nsuperior officers with 400 elephants and some thousand men to meet\nus, and, out of respect and regard for our glorious Padishah, we were\naccorded a brilliant reception. That same day the Khanikhanan prepared\na great banquet in our honor; and as it is the custom in India to\ngive audience in the evening, I was that night introduced with much\npomp and ceremony into the Imperial hall. After my presentation I\noffered the Emperor a small gift, and a chronogram upon the conquest\nof India, also two gazels, all of which pleased the Padishah greatly.\nForthwith I begged for permission to continue my journey, but this\nwas not granted. Instead of that I was offered a _Kulur_[130] and the\ngovernorship over the district of Kharcha. I refused, and again begged\nto be allowed to go, but for only answer I was told that I must at\nleast remain for one year, to which I replied: \"By special command of\nmy glorious Padishah I went by sea to fight the miserable unbelievers.\nCaught in a terrible hurricane, I was wrecked off the coast of India;\nbut it is now my plain duty to return to render an account to my\nPadishah, and it is to be hoped that Gujarat will soon be delivered\nout of the hands of the Unbelievers.\" Upon this Humayun suggested the\nsending of an envoy to Constantinople, to save my going, but this\nI could not agree to, for it would give the impression that I had\npurposely arranged it so. I persisted in my entreaties, and he finally\nconsented, adding, however: \"We are now close upon the three months\nof continuous _Birshegal_,[131] (_i.e._, the rainy season). The roads\nare flooded[132] and impassable, remain therefore till the weather\nimproves. Meanwhile calculate solar and lunar eclipses, their degree of\nlatitude, and their exact date in the calendar. Assist our astrologers\nin studying the course of the sun, and instruct us concerning the\npoints of the equator. When all this is done, and the weather should\nimprove before the three months are over, then thou shalt go hence.\"\n\nAll this was said solemnly and decisively. I had no alternative, but\nmust submit to my fate. I took no rest, however, but labored on night\nand day. At last I had accomplished the astronomical observations,\nand about the same time Agra fell into the hands of the Padishah. I\nimmediately wrote a chronogram for the occasion, which found much\nfavor. One day, during an audience, the conversation turned upon\nSultan Mahmud of Bukkur, and I suggested that some official contract\n(_Ahdnameh_, _i.e._, \"agreement\") should be made with him, to which\nHumayun agreed. The document was drawn up, and the Emperor dipping\nhis fist in saffron pressed it upon the paper, this being the\n_Tughra_,[133] or Imperial signature. Thereupon the document was sent\nto Sultan Mahmud.\n\nThe Sultan was much pleased, and both he and his Vizier Molla Yari\nexpressed their thanks for my intervention in a private letter, which I\nshowed to his Majesty, who had entrusted me with the transaction.\n\nThis incident furnished the material for a gazel, with which the\nSovereign was so delighted that he called me a second Mir Ali\nShir.[134] I modestly declined the epithet, saying that it would be\npresumption on my part to accept such praise, that, on the contrary, I\nshould consider myself fully rewarded to be allowed to gather up the\ngleanings after him. Whereupon the Sovereign remarked: \"If for one\nmore year thou perfectest thyself in this kind of poetry thou wilt\naltogether supplant Mir Ali Shir in the affections of the people of the\nDjagatais.\" In a word, Humayun loaded me with marks of his favor. One\nday I was talking to Khoshhal, the Imperial archer, and the Sovereign's\nspecial confidant; a superb youth. He used to take part in the poetical\ndiscussions, and provided me with material for two gazels, which soon\nbecame popular all over India and were in everybody's mouth. The\nsame good fortune attended my acquaintance with the Afetabedji,[135]\nAbdurrahman Bey, a courtier who also rejoiced in the confidence and\naffection of the monarch, and was his constant companion in private\nlife. He also entered the poetical contest, and I composed two gazels\nupon him.\n\nIn a word, poetical discussions were the order of the day, and I was\nconstantly in the presence of the Emperor. One day he asked me whether\nTurkey was larger than India, and I said: \"If by Turkey your Majesty\nmeans Rum proper, _i.e._, the province of Siwas,[136] then India is\ndecidedly the larger, but if by Turkey you mean all the lands subject\nto the ruler of Rum, India is not by a tenth part as large.\" \"I mean\nthe entire Empire,\" replied Humayun. \"Then,\" I said, \"it appears to\nme, your Majesty, that the seven regions over which Iskender (_i.e._,\nAlexander the Great) had dominion, were identical with the present\nEmpire of the Padishah of Turkey. History records the life and the\nreign of Iskender, but it is not reasonable to suppose that he actually\nvisited and personally ruled these seven regions, for the inhabited\nworld (the fourth part of the present inhabited world) is 180 degrees\nlongitude and from the equator about 60 degrees latitude. Its area,\naccording to astronomical calculations, covers 1,668,670 _fersahhes_.\nIt is therefore an utter impossibility for any man to visit and\ngovern all these lands in person. Perhaps he only owned a portion of\neach of these regions (_Iklim_), in the same way as the Padishah of\nTurkey does.\" \"But has the ruler of Turkey possessions in all these\nregions?\" asked Humayun. \"Yes, certainly,\" I replied, \"the first is\nYemen, the second Mecca, the third Egypt, the fourth Aleppo, the fifth\nConstantinople, the sixth Kaffa, and the seventh Ofen and Vienna.[137]\nIn each of these regions the Padishah of Turkey appoints his Beglerbeg\nand Kadi, who rule and govern in his name. Moreover, I was told in\nGujarat, by the merchants Khodja Bashi and Kara Hasan (God alone knows\nwhether their story is true), that when the Turkish merchants in China\ndesired to insert the name of their Sovereign in the Bairam prayers on\nBairamday, they brought the request before the Khakan of China, stating\nthat their Sovereign was Padishah of Mecca, Medina, and the Kibla\n(Direction of the prayer), and therefore entitled to have his name\ninserted in the Bairam prayers. The Khakan, although an unbeliever, had\ninsight enough to see the justice of their request, which he granted\nforthwith; he even went so far as to clothe the Khatib[138] in a robe\nof honor and to make him ride on an elephant through the city. Ever\nsince that time the name of the Padishah of Turkey has been included\nin the Bairam prayers, and to whom, I ask, has such honor ever before\nbeen vouchsafed?\" The Sovereign (Humayun), turning to his nobles, said:\n\"Surely the only man worthy to bear the title of Padishah is the ruler\nof Turkey, he alone and no one else in all the world.\"\n\nAnother time we were talking about the Khan of the Crimea, and I\nremarked that he also held his office under the Padishah of Turkey.\n\"But,\" said Humayun, \"if that be so, how, then, has he the right of\nthe _Khutbe_?\" \"It is a well-known fact,\" I replied, \"that my Padishah\nalone has the power to grant the right of _Khutbe_ and of coinage.\"\nThis statement seemed to satisfy everybody and we prayed together for\nthe welfare of my Sovereign.\n\nOne day the Emperor planned a little excursion on horseback to visit\nthe graves of the holy Sheiks of Lahore, and I accompanied him. We\nvisited the graves of Shah Kutbeddin, the Pir of Delhi, of Sheik Nizam\nWeli, Sheik Ferid Shekr-Ghendj, Mir Khosru Dehlevi, and Mir Husein\nDehlevi. When the conversation turned upon the poetical works of Mir\nKhosru I quoted some of his best poems, and under their influence I\nconceived a most telling distich. I turned to the Emperor, saying, \"It\nwould be presumption on my part to measure my powers against those of\nMir Khosru,[139] but he has inspired me, and I would fain recite my\ncouplet before your Majesty.\" \"Let us hear it,\" said Humayun, and I\nrecited the following:\n\n \"Truly great is only he who can be content with his daily bread.\n For happier is he than all the kings of the earth.\"\n\n\"By God,\" cried the monarch, \"this is truly sublime!\"\n\nIt is not so much my object here to make mention of my poetic\neffusions, but rather to show up Humayun's appreciation of poetry.\n\nOn another occasion I called upon Shahin Bey, the keeper of the\nImperial Seal, and asked him to use his influence to obtain permission\nfor me to depart. In order not to come empty-handed I brought him\ntwo gazels, and begged him urgently to intercede for me. Shahin Bey\npromised to do his best, and one day he actually brought me the glad\nnews that my petition had been granted, but that I was expected to\noffer my request formally in verse. The rainy season was now at an end;\nI wrote to the monarch, enclosing two gazels, which had the desired\neffect, for I received not only permission to leave, but also presents\nand letters of safe conduct.\n\nAll was ready for the start. Humayun had given audience on Friday\nevening, when, upon leaving his castle of pleasure, the Muezzin\nannounced the Ezan just as he was descending the staircase. It was his\nwont, wherever he heard the summons, to bow the knee in holy reverence.\nHe did so now, but unfortunately fell down several steps, and received\ngreat injuries to his head and arm. Truly the proverb rightly says,\n\"There is no guarding against fate.\"\n\nEverything was confusion in the palace, but for two days they kept the\nmatter secret. It was announced to the outer world that the Sovereign\nwas in good health, and alms were distributed amongst the poor. On\nthe third day, however, that was on the Monday, he died of his\nwounds.[140] Well may the Koran say, \"We come from God and to him do we\nreturn.\"\n\nHis son Djelaleddin Ekber was at the time away on a journey to\nvisit Shah Ebul Maali, accompanied by the Khanikhanan.[141] He was\nimmediately informed of the sad event. Meanwhile the Khans and Sultans\nwere in the greatest consternation; they did not know how to act. I\ntried to encourage them and told them how at the death of Sultan Selim\nthe situation was saved by the wisdom of Piri Pasha, who managed to\nprevent the news of his death from being noised abroad. I suggested\nthat, by taking similar measures, they might keep the Sovereign's death\na secret until the Prince should return. This advice was followed. The\ndivan (council of State) met as usual, the nobles were summoned, and\na public announcement was made that the Emperor intended to visit his\ncountry-seat, and would go there on horseback. Soon after, however,\nit was announced that on account of the unfavorable weather the trip\nhad to be abandoned. On the next day a public audience was announced,\nbut as the astrologers did not prophesy favorably for it, this also\nhad to be given up. All this, however, somewhat alarmed the army, and\non the Tuesday it was thought advisable to give them a sight of their\nmonarch. A man called Molla Bi, who bore a striking resemblance to\nthe late Emperor, only somewhat slighter of stature, was arrayed in\nthe imperial robes and placed on a throne specially erected for the\npurpose in the large entrance hall. His face and eyes were veiled. The\nChamberlain Khoshhal Bey stood behind, and the first Secretary in front\nof him, while many officers and dignitaries, as well as the people from\nthe riverside, on seeing their Sovereign, made joyful obeisance to the\nsound of festive music. The physicians were handsomely rewarded, and\nthe recovery of the monarch was universally credited.\n\nI took leave of all the grandees, and with the news of the Emperor's\nrecovery I reached Lahore about the middle of the month Rebiul Evvel.\nThis was on a Thursday. Traveling by the way of Sani-Pata, Pani-Pata,\nKirnat, and Tani Sera, I came to Samani,[142] where I communicated the\nnews to the Governor that the Padishah (Humayun) was giving audiences,\nand that he was in good health.[143] From there I went by the road\nof Sahrandi to Matchuvara[144] and Bachuvara,[145] and crossing the\nSultanpoor by boat I returned to Lahore by a forced march. Meanwhile\nPrince Djelaleddin Ekber had ascended the throne, and in Lahore and\nmany other places his name was inserted in the Friday prayers. Mirza\nShah, the Governor of Lahore, however, would not permit me to leave,\nfor he professed to have received orders from the new Emperor that\nno one was to be allowed to go to Kabul and Kandahar. The only way\ntherefore was to go back to the Emperor (Ekber), and accordingly I went\nas far as Kelnor, where I met Djelaleddin Ekber and the Khanikhanan\njust opposite the fortress of Mankit.[146]\n\nI was informed through Molla Pir Mehemmed,[147] the Khodja of Bairam\nKhan, that during the interregnum I should remain where I was, and\nthat in a short time he would appoint me to some post either in Hind\nor Sind, whichever I preferred. I hastened to produce my _ferman_,\ngiven to me by the late Padishah, presenting him at the same time with\na chronogram on the death of his father. My verses pleased the Mirza\nand, after examining the _ferman_ of his father, he gave me leave to\ncontinue my journey, stipulating, however, that I should travel in\ncompany with the four Begs, which he was about to send with troops to\nKabul.\n\nEbul Maali,[148] who meanwhile had been taken prisoner, was confined in\nthe castle of Lahore. In return for my chronogram I received a lakh for\ntraveling expenses, and began to prepare for my journey with the four\nBegs.\n\nAmongst the many strange and wonderful things I saw in India I must\nmake mention of a few. The unbelievers are called in Gujarat \"Banian,\"\nand in India \"Hindu.\" They do not belong to the Ehli-Kitab,[149] and\nbelieve in fate (_kademi-alem_). When a man dies his body is burned\nby the riverside. If the deceased leaves a wife past child-bearing\nshe is not burned; if, however, she is not past that age she is\nunconditionally burned. If a wife of her own free will offers herself\nto be burned, the relations celebrate the occasion with great\nrejoicings. Should the Mohammedans interfere and forcibly prevent the\nself-sacrifice, fate decrees that their king must die, and no other be\nraised. For this reason, officers of the Padishah are always present on\nsuch occasions, to prevent any act of violence.[150]\n\nAnother curious custom is the use of tame gazelles in hunting. A noose\nis lightly thrown over their antlers, and then they are driven to mix\nwith the wild gazelles. Like seeks like, and the latter soon make up\nto their tame companions, bringing their heads in close proximity to\nthose of the others. The noose which is round the antlers of the tame\nanimal falls over the head of the other and pulls it down. The more it\nstruggles the more it gets entangled, and can not possibly escape. This\nmethod is in use all over India.\n\nBuffaloes are very plentiful in the steppes. They are hunted with\nelephants. Turrets are placed on the elephant's back, in which several\nmen are hidden. Thus they traverse the plain, and as soon as the\nelephant comes up with the buffalo he attacks him with his teeth and\nholds him till the hunters get off his back and capture him. Wild oxen\n(_Gaukutas_)[151] are hunted in a similar manner, but they are much\nstronger than other animals of their kind, and their tongue is supposed\nto have such force that they can kill a man with it. The Emperor\nHumayun once told me a story to the effect that one of these wild oxen,\nhaving overtaken a man, flayed him with his tongue from head to foot.\nThe Emperor vouched for the truth of this story with an oath. The best\n_kutas_ are found in the land of Bahr-itch, perhaps that accounts for\ntheir being called _Bahri-Kutas_ (which means sea-_kutas_), although\nthey belong unquestionably to the terrestrial animals. I might go on\nenumerating many more interesting and curious things to be seen in\nIndia, but it would keep me too long.\n\nAbout the middle of Rebiul Evvel we left for Kabul. We crossed the\nRiver Lahore in ships, and came presently to another large stream,\nwhich had to be crossed. Finding no ships at hand, we built a raft of\nbarrels and chairs and so managed to reach the other side. Next we\ncame to Bahara, where another river had to be crossed, this time in\nships. When I told the Governor (Khodja) of this place what Ekber had\ncommanded, he exclaimed, \"God be merciful! As the Padishah was dead we\nhave not collected the taxes, the people still owe them. I will send\nround, collect the moneys and hand them over to you.\"[152] Mir Babu's\nand the other Begs who were of the company consulted together and\ndecided that as Shah Abul Maali had escaped from his prison in Lahore,\nand might possibly have taken refuge with his brother Kihmerd Bey in\nKabul, it would not be safe for them to delay, but they suggested that\nI should wait till the tribute-money was collected, and follow them as\nsoon as I could.\n\nBut I argued that the roads were unsafe and dangerous and that it\nwould be much better to keep all together. I acted on the principle\nthat \"The contented mind shall be satisfied and the covetous man\nshall be humbled.\" So I relinquished my claim upon the tribute-money\nand continued my journey with the others. After crossing the rivers\nKhoshab[153] and Nilab[154] in ships, I set foot upon the shore of\nBakhtar.[155]\n\n\nXI\n\nOUR EXPERIENCE IN BAKHTAR-ZEMIN (KABULISTAN)\n\nIn the beginning of the month Djemaziul-Evvel we left the river Nilab\nand turned toward Kabul. For fear of the Afghans under Adam Khan, we\nmade a quick march through the night, and at daybreak we arrived at\nthe foot of the mountain. So far the Afghans had not seen us, but by\nthe time we had reached the top there were thousands of them gathered\ntogether. We seized our guns, and with God's help managed to get out\nof their way, and came to the town of Pershuer, _i.e._, Peshawur.\nSoon after, we crossed the Khaiber Pass, and reached Djushai. In the\nmountains we saw two rhinoceroses (_Kerkedans_),[156] each the size\nof a small elephant; they have a horn on their nose about two inches\nlong. In Abyssinia these animals are much more plentiful.\n\nPresently we reached Laghman,[157] and after a very toilsome journey\nthrough Hezareland,[158] we entered Kabulistan and its capital Kabul.\nHere I visited the two sons of Humayun, Mehemmed Hekim Mirza and\nPerrukk Fal Mirza; I also saw Mun'im Khan, and, after presenting the\n_ferman_ from Humayun, I was treated with much honor. Kabul itself\nis a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains covered with snow, and\npleasure-gardens with running brooks. Pleasure and merriment prevailed\neverywhere, feasting and banqueting were the order of the day. In every\ncorner were gaily dressed, slender _Lulis_[159] enticing one with music\nand song to join the merry crowd; the populace, in fact, seemed to have\nno thought for anything but for pleasure and enjoyment.\n\n\"Who would long for houris and the Paradise whose good fortune has\nbrought him amongst the _Lulis_ of Kabul?\"\n\nWe, however, had no time for such frivolities, our only aim and object\nwas to reach home as soon as possible. Mun'im Khan remarked that the\nroads were snowed up, that the Hindu Kush could not possibly be passed,\nand that it would be far better for us to wait a few days in Kabul;\nbut I quickly replied that men could overcome mountains, if they had\nthe mind to do so. Thereupon the Governor commanded Mir Nezri, the\nChief of the Perashi and Peshai, to accompany me, and his men were\nto conduct our horses and goods safely across the mountain pass. We\nleft accordingly in the beginning of Djemazi ul Evvel and came to\nKarabag,[160] and from there to Tcharikar and Pervane or Mervan.\n\nThis was Nezri's native country. He collected his men, and they took\nus across to the other side of the mountain. It was a very difficult\npassage, but we accomplished it that day, and spent the night in a\nvillage at the foot of the pass.\n\n\nXII\n\nTHE CONDITION OF BADAKHSHAN AND KHATLAN\n\nEarly in the month of Redjeb we came to the city of Anderab, and\njourneyed from there through Badakhshan to Talikan, where I had an\ninterview with Suleiman Shah[161] and his son Ibrahim Mirza. On the\nday of our arrival the Mirza had met us, and received me in his\npleasure-garden; I offered him some presents and a gazel. The Mirza,\nwho understood poetry, entered into a poetical competition with me, and\nintroduced me next day to his father, to whom I also offered gifts and\na gazel. The Sovereign also showed me much attention and loaded me with\nsigns of his favor. There was hostility between Pir Mohammed Khan, the\nruler of Balkh, and Borak Khan, the ruler of Transoxania, and the roads\nwere made unsafe, the more so as Pir Mohammed's younger brother had\nraised a revolt in Kunduz, Kavadian, and Termed, which districts were\nnow in great tumult. They advised me therefore to travel by the way of\nBadakhshan and Khatlan,[162] and both Suleiman and his son presented\nme with horses and garments of honor, besides giving me a letter\nof recommendation to Djihanghir Ali, the ruler of Khatlan, who had\nmarried his younger sister; and so I journeyed to Kishm, the capital of\nBadakhshan.[163] I saw the Sovereign's pleasure-garden, and Humayun's\ngarden Duabe, and proceeded from Kalai Zafar[164] to Rustak, and from\nthere to Bender Semti.[165] I approached Dalli, in Khatlan, from the\nKashgar (eastern) side, and made a pilgrimage to the grave of Seid\nAli Hamadani, and from there I went to Kulaba,[166] where I met with\nDjihanghir Ali Khan, and after presenting my letter of recommendation\nhe gave me an escort of 50 men to conduct me to Charsui, where I\ncrossed the Pul-i-Senghin[167] (stone bridge), and dismissed the men\nwho had escorted us.\n\n\nXIII\n\nEVENTS IN TURAN (TRANSOXANIA)\n\nOn the day that I crossed the bridge I first set foot on Transoxanian\nsoil. After a day's rest I proceeded to Bazar No (New-Market), and\nfrom there to a little place called Tchiharshembe, where I visited the\ngrave of the Khodja Yaakub Tcharkhi. Then on to Tchaganian, _i.e._,\nHissar-i-Shadman.[168] I visited Timur Sultan, the Kagalga[169] of the\nOzbeg rulers, and passed Mount Senghirdek,[170] where it always rains\nand a considerable stream is formed at the foot of the mountain,\nand I marveled at the wonderful works of God. The next station was\nSehri-Sebz, _i.e._, Kesh, where I met Hashim Sultan, who gave me\npermission to continue my journey to Samarkand. With great difficulty\nwe got across the mountain[171] situated between the two last-named\nplaces; we touched the little town of Mazar, and in the beginning of\nShaaban we reached Samarkand, which is a perfect paradise. Here I saw\nBorak Khan[172] (more correctly called Noruz Ahmed), who, in return\nfor my humble offerings, gave me a horse and garments of honor. It was\nthis same Borak Khan to whom his Majesty the Padishah had sent cannon\nand guns by the hand of Sheiks Abdullatif and Dadash. At the time of\nmy arrival Abdullatif Khan, the rider of Samarkand, was dead,[173] and\nBorak had taken his place. Pir Mohammed Khan, in Balkh, and Burhan Seid\nKhan,[174] in Bokhara, declared their independence, and Borak's first\nbusiness was to settle this matter. He began by taking Samarkand and\nproceeded to Shehri-Sebz, where a great battle was fought, in which\nthe Ketkhuda (overseer) of the Osman soldiers fell. He then took the\nstronghold and marched to Bokhara, which place he laid siege to. Seid\nBurhan, the ruler of Bokhara, made peace with Borak, relinquished\nthe place to him, and retired to Karakul, where the brother of Pir\nMohammed Khan then reigned. He, however, gave up the place to Seid\nBurhan. When Borak Khan entered Samarkand, the Aga of the Osmans[175]\nhad just started with a few men on their way to Turkey, having taken\nthe way of Tashkend and Turkestan. Ahmed Tchaush was also on the point\nof returning to Turkey by the way of Bokhara and Kharezm, for part\nof the Janissaries had enlisted under Seid Burhan, and the remainder\njoined his son. About 150 remained faithful to Borak Khan. When he had\ncommunicated all this to me, he added: \"I am now as a liar before his\nMajesty the Sultan of Turkey, for I can do nothing, but if thou wilt\nhelp me, something may yet be done.\" He offered me the government of a\nProvince, but I said that with such a small army nothing could be done,\nmoreover that, without the consent of my Padishah, I could not stir\nin the matter. He thereupon proposed to send an envoy to the Sublime\nPorte to explain the situation. As a matter of fact he had already\ndecided to send Sadr Alem, a descendant of Khodja Ahmed Jesewi,[176]\nand gave him a letter, in which he expressed his willingness in the\nfuture to satisfy every wish of the Sultan. He discharged me, however.\nDuring my stay in Samarkand I made a pilgrimage to the grave of the\nprophet Daniel, to the place of the Khidr (Elias), to the cloak and\nto the wooden shoes of the Prophet, and also to the Koran, written by\nAli himself.[177] Besides these places I visited the graves of the\nfollowing sheiks and sages: the author of Hidayet, Ebu Mansur Matridi;\nShah-Zinde, Khodja Abdullah, Khodja Abdi-birun, Khodja Abdi-derum,\nthe Tchopanata, and the Kazizade of Rum, and the grave of the 444,000\nTransoxanian sages.\n\nBut to return to Borak Khan. One day, while talking together, he asked\nme which of all the cities I had visited pleased me most. I replied\nwith the following stanza:\n\n \"Far from home no one longs for Paradise.\n For in his eyes his native town is superior even to Bagdad.\"\n\n\"Thou hast spoken well,\" said the Khan.\n\nNow as regards the embassage to Constantinople, Sadr Alem proposed\nto go by Turkestan, but when he was told that the Nogai tribe of the\nMangit committed violence upon travelers, and that the roads swarmed\nwith robbers and highwaymen, who gave no quarter to Mussulmans,[178]\nbut plundered and ill-treated any that came in their way, he decided to\ntravel through Bokhara.\n\nUnfortunately, just then the news came that Seid Burhan had again\ndeclared war with Borak Khan, and that the latter's son Kharezm\nShah had been attacked. Borak Khan advised me thereupon to remain\nat Ghidjduvan until the return of the envoy. If no hostilities took\nplace we might travel by that way, but otherwise we were to wait until\nhe sent some one to conduct us safely through Bokhara. To this I\nagreed. On the fifth of Ramazan we started, touched Kala and Kermineh,\ncrossed the river of Samarkand[179] at Duabe, and so arrived at\nGhidjduvan,[180] where I visited the grave of Khodja Abdul Khalik.\n\nAs the Mirza was not here, and no news concerning him could be\nobtained, we went on to Pul Rabat. Meanwhile the troops of Prince\nKharezm Shah had prepared for battle. Suddenly Khan Ali Bey, the\nPrince's tutor, accosted us with the question whither we were going.\nWhen I replied: \"To Bokhara,\" he said: \"Seid Burhan, the ruler of\nBokhara, threatens to attack Prince Kharezm Shah, and we pray thee\nto help us.\" \"How now!\" I cried, \"we help no man; Borak Khan has\nnot requested us to do so; on the contrary, he has charged us to\ngo to Ghidjduvan, and there to await the return of the envoy.\" So\nwe continued on our way. As we approached Minar (Spire) about 100\nredcoats (_Ala tehapan_)[181] rushed down upon us, crying: \"In the\nname of the Mirza, turn back,\" and at the same time they struck one of\nmy companions. Immediately we prepared to fight, when a Seid sprang\nforward and commanded the Ozbegs to stop. Both sides held back, and\nthe Seid announced that the Mirza sent us greeting and desired us not\nto proceed any farther, but to look on from a distance. So we were\ncompelled to turn back. With ten of my companions I had an interview\nwith the Mirza, who renewed his request that we should help him; but I\nrefused again, whereupon ten guns were forcibly taken from us and we\nwere commanded to remain mere spectators. The Prince's bearing was very\nhaughty before he had sighted the enemy, for as the proverb says:\n\n \"Our own fist is always of iron,\n Until we receive the first box on the ear.\"\n\nBut no sooner had Seid Burhan appeared in sight, from the opposite\ndirection, than the Prince retreated across the bridge to the Rabat\n(Karvanserai). I went on with six companions, which I left behind\nme in the court of the kiosk. Seid Burhan advanced with 1,000\nKizil-Ayaks,[182] _i.e._, young men from Bokhara, and 40 Turkish\narchers, therefore well equipped for war. In a moment he defeated\nthe Prince, who, being wounded by a bullet, took flight, leaving his\ncolors, musical and other military instruments behind him on the\nbattle-field. Of my three companions which fled with the Prince, one\nwas wounded by a lance and died soon after, and while the others\nretreated with the Ozbegs into the Rabat where they were attacked by\nSeid Burhan, I went on to meet the army to inquire after the Mirza,\nleaving my horse in charge of two men. I heard that he was quartered\nclose to the Rabat, and asked to be conducted into his presence, and\njust as I was crossing the bridge, attended by a few men, some villain\nwounded me with an arrow. This was the signal for a general attack;\nswords were raised on all sides, and I was very near losing my life.\n\nFortunately the attack had been witnessed by the Osmans serving under\nthe Khan; they had recognized me and came to my rescue, calling out:\n\"This man is the guest of our Prince, what then is the meaning of\nthis?\" The Ozbeghi (commander of 10 men) immediately stopped the attack\nand apprized the Khan of what had taken place, whereupon the latter, a\nglorious youth, hastened to me, embraced me, and begged my forgiveness,\nfor it was by accident, he said, that I had become mixed up in the\nbattle and I had been attacked on the principle of the proverb which\nsays: \"Wet and dry burn together.\" He commissioned two officers to\nconduct us over the bridge, during which transport two more of my\npeople were attacked and received sword wounds. I lost on this occasion\na beautiful led-horse, all my cooking apparatus, one pack-horse, and 10\nsaddle-horses, which were stolen by the soldiers. With much difficulty\nI got across the bridge, and, while I was resting at a little distance,\nthe Khan, to please me, ordered the Turkish soldiers stationed in the\nRabat to hand the place over to me, as we were innocent and free from\nall reproach. As I approached the place I called out: \"Stop fighting;\nI am here, and the Khan will pardon you for my sake.\" Thus the Rabat\nfell into my hands and with it some of the lost horses, but many of\nthe firearms were irrevocably lost. My two men, who had been taken\nprisoner in the fight, had escaped, and so we proceeded to the town,\nwhich we reached that night. Seid Burhan spoke thus to me: \"Be thou\nmy guide in this and in the next world; this land shall henceforth\nbelong to thy Padishah, thou shalt rule in Bokhara and I will retire to\nKarakol.\" \"Not so,\" was my reply, \"if thou gavedst me the whole land of\nTransoxania I could not stay here. Know, O Khan! that I shall report\nbefore the Sublime Porte the injustice which has been done to thee,\nand my glorious Padishah will be gracious unto thee, and possibly\nthe government of these provinces will be entrusted to thy care.\"\nThese words pleased the Khan; he gave a banquet in my honor and showed\nme much kindness, and during the fortnight which I spent in Bokhara\nhe visited me every day in the pleasure-garden which served as my\nresidence. I composed a gazel in his honor, which highly delighted him\nand led to many poetical discussions. When at last I desired permission\nto continue my journey, he demanded of me that I should give him our\niron guns in exchange for his brass ones. He pressed me so hard that\nI was compelled to give in, and received 40 brass muskets in return\nfor all the iron ones which we had left. I also had to exchange my\nled-horse for a gelding, besides giving him two precious books.\n\nMeanwhile the envoy from Borak Khan had arrived, who apologized to me\nfor his son (Kharezm Shah), and made peace with Seid Burhan through the\nmediation of the Ghidjduvani Abdul Sultan. Thus peace and security were\nonce more restored.\n\nI delayed in Bokhara to make pilgrimages to the graves of Bahaeddin\nNakishbendi, Kazi Khan, Tchar Bekir, Khodja Ebn Hifz Kebir, Sadr esh\nSheriat, Tadj esh Sheriat, Seid Mir Kelal (the spiritual head of\nBaha-eddin), Sultan Ismail the Samanide, Eyub and Sarakhsi, and after\nthat I journeyed to Kharezm.\n\nOur way led first to Karakol, then to Farab, where we crossed the Oxus\nin ships, and early in the month Shavval I touched Iranian soil, namely\nKhorassan. The first town I stopped at was Tchardjui,[183] where I\nvisited the grave of Khodja Meshed, a brother of Imam Ali Musa.[184]\nThen we took the road through the wilderness[185] to Kharezm. By day\nand by night we had to wage war against lions;[186] it was not safe\nfor one man to go alone to draw water; but at last, after ten days of\nunutterable weariness, we reached Hezaresp,[187] and from there in five\ndays, Khiva, where I visited the grave of Pehlevan Mahmud Pir.\n\n\nXIV\n\nOUR EXPERIENCES IN KHAREZM AND DESHTI-KIPCHAK\n\nToward the end of Shavval we left Khiva, and in five days we came to\nKharezm, where I made the acquaintance of Dost Mohammed Khan and his\nbrother Esh-Sultan.[188] I visited the graves of Sheik Nedjmeddin\nKubera, Sheik Ali Rametin, Sheik Khalweti Yan, Imam Mohammed Bari'i,\nSahib Kuduri, Djar Ullah Ulama, Molla Husein Kharezmi (the expounder of\nthe Koran), Seid Ata, and Hekim Ata.\n\nWhen it was brought to my knowledge that the holy Sheik Abdullatif\nhad died in the city of Vezir, I could not rest until I had made a\npilgrimage to his grave in company with a few friends. As this saint\nhad been, moreover, my spiritual adviser in Sufism, I recited the whole\nKoran over his grave, to insure for him everlasting peace and bliss\nin Paradise. We also cooked a _pilaf_ (a rice dish) and I prepared a\nchronogram in commemoration of his death.\n\nHaving received letters of commendation to the Manghit chiefs, from\nHadji Mohammed Sultan, Timur Sultan, and Mahmud Sultan, the three sons\nof Agatai Khan, I returned to Kharezm, where Sheik Sadr Alem, the envoy\nof Borak Khan, had meanwhile also arrived. Our party consisted besides\nourselves of the wife of Sheik Husein of Kharezm (daughter of Makhdum\nAazam), the Sheik's son, and a few Moslems; we traveled in carriages.\nMost of the company wore clothes of sheepskin and they wanted us to\ndo the same, for they said, the Manghit[189] are worse even than the\nOzbegs, and when they see strangers they invariably take them for\nRussians,[190] which is synonymous to saying, they attack them. Thus we\nwere compelled to don the outlandish garb (sheepskin), for, as I said\nto encourage my people: \"A wise man follows the ways of the world and\nmakes no trouble of it.\"\n\nThus equipped we started in the first days of Zilkaada. For more than a\nmonth we wandered about in the Deshti Kipchak[191] (Kirghiz steppe). It\nwas late in the autumn, and at that time of the year not a bird, not a\nwild ass (_Onagre_) can be seen, for there is not a vestige of verdure,\nnot a drop of water to be found. It was one interminable wilderness;\none desert steppe. At last we came to a place called Sham, and shortly\nafter to Saraidjik,[192] where we met some Hadjis and three of the\nMoslems which had been discharged at Samarkand. These latter were quite\nnaked, and at sight of us they cried: \"Whither go ye? Astrakhan is\ntaken by the Russians, Ahmed Tchaush has fought in battle with them,\nand our Aga has been plundered by the troops of Arslan Mirza. The way\nis blocked, be warned and go back.\" In vain I quoted the lines:\n\n \"We are but poor beggars, what harm can befall us?\n For ten armed men can not rob one who has nothing.\"\n\nThe rest of the company, especially the merchants, were not of my\nopinion; they proposed to delay a few days in Kharezm and await events,\nfor:\n\n\"Speed is from the devil and patience is from God.\"\n\nThe envoy and the other Moslems were of the same mind, and so I\nreluctantly retraced my steps to Kharezm. The envoy returned to\nSamarkand, but all the rest remained in Kharezm, and when Dost Mohammed\nKhan, the ruler of Khiva, inquired of me by which route I now proposed\nto travel, I replied, \"I will go by the way of Meshhed in Khorassan\nto Irak Adjemi, and from there to Bagdad.\" Thereupon the Khan said:\n\"Remain here with us. In the spring the Manghits seek their pastures,\npossibly the Russians may also quit the land by that time, and,\nremember, the way to Bagdad is long.\"\n\nBut I could not agree to this, and in support of my argument I quoted\nthe proverb: \"To the lover Bagdad is not far distant\"; so at last the\nKhan had to give in. He agreed to my departure, gave me a beautiful\nhorse, and to my companions he gave the carriage in which we had\ntraveled up to here.\n\nAs regards our route my first plan was to travel by the way of the\nCaspian Sea and Shirvan, but my companions did not like this, because\nthe Mussulman army which had lately broken up from Kaffa[193] had\nbecome involved in a bloody war with Abdullah Khan, who would not\npermit any Turks to pass that way. Next we made inquiries about the\nroads of Circassia, past Demir-Kapu, but we heard that the Circassians\nhad raised a revolt. There remained therefore only the way of Khorassan\nand Irak, and concerning these districts we learned that the Persian\nKing was in perfect harmony with our glorious Padishah,[194] but that\nthe Bey of Kizilbash (the Shiite officer) would probably prevent us\nfrom obtaining admittance to the Shah. I thought to myself, \"Where God\ndoes not slay, man's attempts are but futile\"; moreover, \"they who fear\ndeath should not venture on travels\"; so after duly consulting the\nhoroscope,[195] and having made quite sure that there was no other way\nopen to us, I decided to travel through Persia. The camels were hired\nand all was ready; I went to take leave of Dost Mohammed, the ruler of\nKhiva, who remarked casually that it was quite impossible for us to\ntravel with firearms through the enemy's land. Thereupon we gave half\nof our arms to the Khan, and the other half to his younger brother Esh\nSultan. We received a letter of commendation to Ali Sultan, a brother\nof Tin Sultan, and being well stocked with provisions and large skins\nfor water, and trusting in God, we started on our journey to Kharezm in\nthe beginning of the month Zilhidje.\n\n\nXV\n\nOUR FATE IN KHORASSAN\n\nBy divine grace we got safely across the Oxus[196] and encamped on the\nopposite shore, awaiting the arrival of the rest of our party. While\nthere, the wife of Sheik Husein sent me a message to say that she had\na dream in which she had seen her father, the holy Makhdum Aazam, who\nhad come from Vezir to Kharezm in company with another holy sage.\nArrived in the town he had thus addressed the people, who welcomed him\njoyfully: \"Mir Sidi Ali has read the Koran over my grave in Vezir, and\nhe has supplicated for my patronage. I have therefore come to help\nhim and to lead him safely through Khorassan.\" This message filled me\nwith joy. I struck camp next morning and the day following we arrived\nin Dorum;[197] we passed through, unmolested by Mahmud Sultan, and\nproceeded to Bagwai,[198] which place we also passed, without being\nhindered by Pulad Sultan, and came to Nesa.[199] Here I found Ali\nSultan, former Governor of Merw, and brother of Tin Sultan, to whom\nI offered my letter of commendation from Esh Sultan, and was allowed\nfree passage, for everybody in these parts is devoted to his Majesty\nour Padishah. Thus we came to Bawerd (Abiwerd)[200] and Tus, where I\nvisited the graves of Imam Mohammed Hanifi and of the poet Firdusi; and\non the first of Muharram of the year 964 I reached Meshhed-i-Khorassan,\nwhere I immediately made a pilgrimage to the grave of Imam Ali Musa\nRiza, the prince of Khorassan.\n\nWhen at sea, during the great storm some time ago, I had vowed to give\na _Tumen_ to the Imam; now I fulfilled my vow, and paid a _Tumen_ to\nMutawali (the overseer of the Mosque and Mausoleum) and I also paid\na _Tumen_ to the Seid. In Meshhed I found Ibrahim Mirza, the son of\nBehram Mirza, who occupied the throne there; also Suleiman Mirza, the\nson of Shah, and his Vekil (representative) called Kokche Khalipha, who\nentertained me at a banquet.\n\nIn the course of our conversation, these gentlemen naturally wished\nto draw me into an argument upon the succession and sanctity of the\nCaliphs Ali, Ebubekr, Omar, and Osman; but I acted upon the principle\nthat silence is the best answer to give a fool, and I was silent. They\npressed me, however, and I told them the story of Khodja Nasreddin,\nwho was once asked to read the Koran in the Mosque, to which he had\nreplied, \"this is not the place.\" \"And now,\" I said, \"I have not come\nhither to argue with you, and I refuse to be questioned.\" It was with\ngreat difficulty that I at last rid myself of them.[201]\n\nOne of the guests, unfortunately, was a miscreant, of the name of Ghazi\nBey; he gave vent to his wrath in these words: \"It is not seemly to\nsend such people as these to the Shah. How do we know that they may\nnot kill the men we give them as an escort, and then take flight? Very\npossibly they belong to the Ottomans that were sent to Borak Khan, or\nperhaps they are the bearers of a secret correspondence, and it might\nbe advisable to search them.\"\n\nThe Mirza (Ibrahim) approved of this plan, and the next morning 200 men\nin armor (_kurdji_) surrounded the _kervanserai_ and took us prisoners.\nAs the proverb says: \"Those who can not be caught by fair means will be\nby foul play.\"\n\nWe were each of us put in charge of one of the guards; I was taken to\nthe apartment of the Kokehe Khalipha, with my two attendants. My horses\nwere given in another man's charge, and my other effects were entrusted\nto Mutawali's keeping. They made us undress, and as it was winter we\nsuffered much from the cold. The next day the Mirza took from me all my\nofficial papers and sundry letters which I had received from different\nprinces, and had them all put into a bag and sealed.\n\nWhen my companions saw this they trembled for their lives, but I\ncomforted them with the sayings, \"He who falls through no mistake of\nhis will not shed tears,\" and \"Since fate has not forgotten to bring\nthee into this world, it will not forget to take thee out of it,\" and\nfurther, \"Patience is the key to the final goal.\"\n\nSo we calmly resigned ourselves to our fate. A little later on all\nwere put in chains, except myself; but I was strictly guarded by five\nmen. This action of the Mirza troubled me not a little, and although I\ntried to make light of it, my heart was very heavy. I wrote a gazel to\ncomfort myself, and with the inspiring thoughts suggested by it fresh\nin mind, I fell asleep, and being in a semiconscious state, a divine\ninspiration in the form of a _Murabba_[202] was vouchsafed to me, which\nI sent to Mutawali. This composition caused great excitement among the\nnobility of the place. About the same time one of the attendants of the\nImam declared (whether it was true or feigned I can not say) that in\nhis dream he had seen the Caliph Ali, who had charged him to go and set\nMir Sidi Ali free. The news of this dream spread rapidly through the\ntown and stirred up the people, whose sympathies were now all turned in\nmy favor.\n\nMutawali and Seid went to the Mirza and said: \"This man came on a\npilgrimage to visit the shrine of the Imam. He is under a vow and\ndesires to go to the Shah. As the Shah is on friendly terms with the\nPadishah of Turkey it is not right that we should in any way trouble\nthis pilgrim now in the Ashura[203] days. If the man be a traitor, it\nis sure to come to light, for as the Koran says, 'A traitor is known by\nhis countenance,' and there need be no further question of suspicion.\"\nThese words of the wise man and of Seid did not lose their effect upon\nthe Mirza. From my side I pointed out to him the unreliableness of the\ninformation upon which he had acted, and in order further to enlist\nhis sympathies in my favor I sent him three poems, after which, partly\nfor fear of the Shah, and partly regretting his rash deed, he gave us\nour liberty on the tenth of Ashura. He loaded me with presents and\ngave another banquet in my honor. He also restored to us our horses\nand our clothes; but many of my other possessions I never recovered.\nFour valuable books were taken, and the whole of my correspondence was\nconveyed by his armour-bearer, Ali Bey, and a Yassaul to the Shah in a\nsealed bag, the transport being effected on a barrow about the middle\nof Muharram of the said year. Traveling in the same caravan with us\nwas one of the wives of the Shah and one of the wives of Behram Mirza,\nwho were both returning from a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Imam. I\nmade their acquaintance, and they treated us kindly. By my advice my\ncompanions comported themselves with due courtesy and modesty toward\nthe retinue of these ladies, mindful of the saying: \"The peace of two\nworlds depends on two things only, courtesy to friends and flattery to\nfoes.\"\n\nArrived in Mshabur I visited the graves of Imamzade Mohammed Mahruk,\nand of Sheik Attar (_ferideddin_). Here I also met with Aga Kemal,\nthe Vekil of Khorassan, who, however, did not interfere with us. In\nSebzevar we met with a little hostility, but acting on the principle\nthat \"Barking dogs bite not,\" we soon got free from these firebrands\nand continued on our way.\n\n\nXVI\n\nOUR VICISSITUDES IN IRAK-ADJEM\n\nArrived in the Province of Irak we skirted the Demavend range,\ntraveling from Mazendran to Bestam, where we visited the graves of\nMohammed Aftah, Sheik Bayazid Bestami, and Sheik Ebulhasan Harkani. The\nnext day we reached Damgan.\n\nThat night one of our company called Ramazan the pious, and known as\n_Boluk Bashi_,[204] had a dream. Bayazid Bestami with 40 Dervishes\nhad appeared unto him and had spoken thus: \"Let us pray for the safe\nreturn of Mir Sidi Ali.\" The Sheik, moreover, had written a passport\nand sealed it, \"that we might not be molested by the way.\"\u2014This was\nhis dream, and when I heard of it I rejoiced greatly and thanked God\nfor his mercy vouchsafed; for this message (from the dead) virtually\nsaved my life. After visiting the grave of Imam Djafar in Damgan, we\nproceeded to Semnan, where we visited the grave of Sheik Ala-ed-Dowleh\nSemnani. In this place they tried to draw us into sectarian\ncontroversies, but I restrained my comrades, and reminded them of the\nHadis, which says: \"_Ustur zahbak, zahabek in mazhabak_,\" _i.e._, \"hide\nthy gold, thine opinions, and thy faith\"; and I argued with them,\nsaying, \"Not one of you has traveled more than I have, and experience\nhas made me wise. A wise man does not heed the words of the vulgar and\nthe ignorant.\"\n\nThey saw the wisdom of my words, and acted upon my advice.\n\nBefore long we came to Rei,[205] where I made pilgrimages to the\ngraves of Imam Abdul Azim, and of Bibi Shehrbanu, the consort of Imam\nHusein. Here I also met Mohammed Khudabend, a son of the Shah's, and\nthe _Kurdji-bashi_[206] Sevindek Aga. Their presence was accounted for\nin this way: Some time ago the Shah had sent Ismail Mirza from Kazvin\nto Herat, and had now recalled him to Kazvin. The reason of this was\nthat certain things which had happened during his rule had come to\nlight, and by command of the Shah one of the nobles of Kazvin had been\nexecuted, and in like manner, also by order of the Shah, some followers\nof Ismail had been put to death. After this the Shah commanded Prince\nMohammed Khudabend to appear before him, and the _Kurdji-bashi_ was\nsent to fetch him. I was very pleased to meet the Prince, who assured\nme of the unwavering devotion of the Shah to our glorious Padishah.\n\nJourneying from Rei it took us a month and a half (to the end of Safar)\nbefore we reached Kazvin, the capital of Irak.[207]\n\nUpon the Shah being told of our arrival we were none of us allowed to\nenter the city, but had to take up our quarters in Sebzeghiran, one of\nthe neighboring villages, under the protection of Mohammed Bey, the\n_Divan Bey_[208] of the Great Vizier Maasum Bey. Presently the _Ishik\nAgasi_[209] arrived, who took down our names, and the number of our\nhorses, and gave his people private instructions to watch us strictly\nat night, until further orders.\n\nWe were told that the Shah was very angry that we had been allowed to\nleave Meshhed without any further inquiry, and that in consequence of\nthis Kokche Khalipha and Mir Munshi (first secretary) had been deprived\nof office. Following up this information, the Kapchadji, Ali Bey, came\nto us by order of Yassaul Pir Ali, and said: \"The people here have evil\nintentions, if you have any ready money about you, give it to me to\nkeep, and if Providence deliver you out of this plight, I will return\nit; if on the other hand evil should befall you it is better that your\nriches should fall in the hands of friends than of foes.\"\n\nBut I replied: \"People who have wandered so long in foreign parts carry\nno cash about them, and they who fear death do not venture so far from\nhome. I believe in the words of the Koran: 'He who is appointed to die\ncan not delay the hour, and without God's permission no man can slay.'\"\n\nIt so happened that the Shah had by this time examined the letters\nwhich had been conveyed to him in a sealed bag, and the ladies who had\ntraveled with us bore witness that we were poor and harmless folk.\nMoreover, I had sent the Shah a quatrian which had found much favor, so\nhe set us free. The Shah commanded his Vekil,[210] Maasum Bey, to offer\nme a banquet, after which he would himself entertain me. Maasum Bey\nwas also commissioned to give me the glad news, that I was free to go\nwhere I liked, and, as an envoy was shortly to be sent to the Sublime\nPorte, I might, if I liked, travel by the way of Azerbaidjan, _i.e._,\nby Tebriz and Van. Thereupon I requested that my desire might be made\nknown to the Shah. I said, \"We are not prepared to meet the hardships\nof the Van road in the winter time, and we beg to be allowed to travel\nby the way of Bagdad\"; which request he graciously granted.\n\nOn the second day we were invited by the Shah to a banquet, and I\npresented my humble offerings. During the feast we conversed upon\npoetical and other subjects, and the Shah remarked to his courtiers:\n\"These men do not look like intriguers; they are only pilgrims and\nreligious fanatics\"\u2014and on the strength of this verdict Kokche Khalipha\nand Mir Munshi were reinstated in their office. I received a horse and\ntwo changes of robes, a bale of silk, and several other things; the\ntwo Serdars received each two robes of honor, and my five traveling\ncompanions, each one. Altogether the Shah behaved handsomely to us and\nshowed a marked respect for the person of his Majesty the Padishah.\n\nOne day I was invited to a banquet in the large music-hall, all the\nBeys of the royal family being present. To give some idea of the\nmagnificence here displayed I will only mention that from five hundred\nto one thousand _Tumens_[211] had been spent on the decoration of the\nhall. There were some hundreds of velvet and silken brocaded carpets,\npainted and embroidered in figurative designs; quantities of luxurious\ncushions and exquisitely artistic tents, canopies, and sunshades.\n\nYuzbashi Hasan Bey, one of the Shah's confidants, turned to me and\nsaid: \"Is not this indeed a treasure-house?\" \"It is,\" I replied, \"yet\nthe wealth of kings is not measured by their gold and silver but by\ntheir military power.\" This remark silenced him; he did not return to\nthe subject.\n\nAs the envoy had already started for Tebriz I was detained for another\nmonth, during which time the Shah showed me much attention, and I spent\na good deal of my time in his presence. One day he ventured the remark:\n\"Why were those 300 Janissaries sent from Turkey to assist Borak Khan?\"\nI answered that these had not been sent to strengthen Borak Khan's\nforces, but merely as an escort to the late Sheik Abdullatif, because\nit was a well-known fact that the Circassians[212] had killed Baba\nSheik, a son of the holy Ahmed Jesewi, on the road from Astrakhan,\nand that that route was therefore made unsafe. If the Padishah had\nintended to send military help, not three hundred, but some thousands\nof Janissaries, would have gone to Bokhara.\n\nAnother time I was drawn into a religious dispute with Mir Ibrahim\nSefevi, one of the Shah's relatives and a sage. The conversation ran as\nfollows:\n\n IBRAHIM: \"Why do the learned men of Turkey call us unbelievers?\"\n\n I: \"It is said that the followers of the Prophet have been insulted by\n your countrymen, and according to the statutes of our religion he who\n insults his superiors is an unbeliever.\"\n\n IBRAHIM: \"That is what Imam Aazam (Ebn Hanifa) says, but according to\n Imam Shafi this belongs to the pardonable offenses.\"\n\n I: \"I understand that it is customary with you to accuse Ayesha, the\n wife of the Prophet (may God have mercy upon her), of immorality,\n and as this throws a stigma on the Prophet's name, it is synonymous\n to blasphemy. The people who can do this are in a state of apostasy,\n and their life is forfeited. Their goods can be confiscated and their\n men put in prison. Any one persisting in this unbelief is subject to\n imprisonment, but if they renounce they may, without their wives, with\n or without marriage....\"\n\n IBRAHIM: \"I must contradict this. In our eyes also, any one who\n accuses Ayesha of immorality is an unbeliever and a blasphemer and\n contradicts the Koran; because in the Sacred Book God Almighty\n testifies to the virtue of Ayesha. But all the same we can not love\n her because she set herself against Ali.\"\n\n I: \"How do you explain it that although the Hadis declares that the\n Ulemas are on a level with the prophets of the people of Israel,\n it nevertheless frequently happens that offensive language is used\n against the former?\"\n\n IBRAHIM: \"Does the name Ulema not include our Ulemas also?\"\n\n I: \"In a facetious way it includes all Ulemas, but beyond this it is\n a well-known fact that it is said of them: 'The flesh of the Ulema is\n poisonous, their odor is sickening, and to eat them is death'; and if\n in spite of this men will insult them, they must pay the penalty both\n in this world and in the next.\"\n\nTo this he could make no reply, and I turned the conversation into\nanother channel.\n\nThe Shah once said to me, \"Tell me, since thou hast traveled so much,\nwhich of the cities thou hast visited pleases thee best.\" And I\nreplied: \"I have indeed seen most of the cities of this world, but I\nhave found none to compare with Stamboul and Galata.\"\n\nThe Shah allowed this to pass, and continued: \"At how many _Tumens_\ndost thou estimate the combined income of the Beys and Beylerbeys of\nTurkey?\" to which I replied: \"The Beys and Beylerbeys of Turkey receive\npayment according to their rank, but they enjoy besides this generally\na private income. Other princes remunerate their officers in proportion\nto the pay of the regiment which they command, but if the pay of the\nBeys and other officers in the service of the Emperor of Turkey were\nto be based upon this foundation, it would run not into _Tumens_, nor\nyet Lakhs,[213] but into _Kulurs_. To give you an example: The payments\nmade to the Beylerbeys of Rumelia, Anatolia, Egypt, Hungary (Budin,\n_i.e._, Ofen), Diarbekir, Bagdad, Yemen, and Algiers, are, each in\nthemselves, as much as any other prince would lay out on the whole\nof his army. This proportion holds good for all the other Beylerbeys\nalso, and is in strict accordance with the superior standing of our\ngovernment. Quite a different system is adopted for the troops under\nKhans and Sultans, for there is always an element of uncertainty there;\nbut in Turkey the army belongs to the Padishah. All Beylerbeys and\nofficers are his servants, and an Imperial command is law and can not\nbe trifled with.\"[214]\n\nOn this same occasion some of the officers asked whether the documents\nwhich had been taken from me by Ibrahim Mirza in Meshhed had ever been\nplaced before the Shah. This question was answered in the affirmative,\nbut I did not like to pursue the subject, mindful of the saying:\n\"When evil slumbers, cursed be he who arouses it\"\u2014and I turned the\nconversation into another channel.\n\nI preferred to plead my cause with another gazel, which the Shah\ngraciously accepted, and which finally led to the desired result. We\nreceived permission to leave. He wrote a letter expressive of his\nunalterable respect and devotion to his Majesty the Padishah, gave me\nmore presents, and commanded Nazr Bey, a brother of Yuzbashi Hasan Bey,\nto accompany me on the journey.\n\nWhile in Kazvin I made a pilgrimage to the grave of Imam Shahzade\nHusein, and in the beginning of Rebiul Evvel I started on my journey to\nBagdad.\n\nNear to Sultani, we passed Abhar, and I stopped to visit the grave of\nPir Hasan, the son of Akhi Avran, then on to Kirkan, where I visited\nthe grave of Mohammed Demtiz[215], a son of Khodja Ahmed Jesewi, and\nfrom there to Derghezin and Hamadan, in which latter place the graves\nof Ain-ul-Kuzat and Pir Ebulalay, the armor-bearers of the Prophet,\nwere visited. At Saadabad, our next station, I was met by the governor,\nwho treated me with marked attention.\n\nThen we took our way by Mount Elvend and Nihavend (in Suristan) to\nBisutun, where I visited the grave of Kiazim, and in the village\nWeis-ul-karn, the grave of the saint of that name. We then proceeded\nto Kasri-Shirin and through Kurdistan to the fortress Zendjir. While\nthere we were much interested in watching a _Huma_ bird[216] high up\nin the sky. This is supposed to be a good omen, and we were therefore\nwell pleased. Some enlarged upon the good fortune presaged by his\nappearance, others spoke of the curious properties of the bird, of whom\nSa'di sings:\n\n \"The _Huma_ is distinguished from all other birds,\n In that he lives on bones, yet is not a bird of prey.\"\n\nIt is a known fact that this bird feeds exclusively on bones. The\nlegend says that the _Huma_, before demolishing a bone, carries it up\nhigh in the air, and then drops it, with the result that it breaks into\nmany pieces. He then swoops down upon these, divides them into equal\nportions, and devours them. This is the origin of the saying, when\nPersian officials, through extortion, obtain more than they can well\ndigest: \"They should follow the example of the _Huma_ bird and divide\ntheir spoils into smaller, equal portions.\"\n\nHere, at Zendjir, I dismissed Nazr Bey, whom the Shah had given me as\nan escort, and after crossing the great river Tokuz Olum[217] we came\nto Ban (or Sheri Ban). Toward the end of the same month of Kebiul Sani\nwe reached Bagdad, where we were most hospitably received by Khizr\nPasha. We did not delay, however, but hurried on to Turkey.\n\n\nXVII\n\nTHE REST OF OUR ADVENTURES\n\nIn the beginning of Djemazi-ul Evvel we crossed the Tigris in ships,\nand after revisiting the sacred graves there we journeyed on. Past\nKasri, Semke, and Harbi we came to Tekrit and Mossul, and by the old\nroad of Mossul and Djizre to Nisibin. From there by Diarbekir and\nMardin we reached Amed, where I saw Iskender Pasha, who received me\nmost graciously. In the course of conversation I told him some of our\nadventures, to which he listened with much interest, and exclaimed:\n\"You have gone through more than even Tamum Dari has done, and as for\nall the marvelous things which you have seen, they are beyond the\ndreams of even Balkiah and Djihan Shah.\"\n\nQuestioned upon the different sovereigns and armies of the countries I\nhad visited, I said: \"In all the world there is no country like Turkey,\nno sovereign like our Padishah, and no army like the Turkish. From East\nto West the fame of the Ottoman troops has spread. For victory follows\ntheir banner wherever they go. May God keep Turkey in wealth and\nprosperity until the last day shall dawn. May he preserve our Padishah\nin health and happiness and our troops ever victorious. Amen!\"\n\nWhen asked whether our name was known in those remote parts, I\nanswered. \"Certainly, more than you would think.\"\n\nIn the further course of conversation I learned that a report of my\ndeath had reached the Porte, and that therefore the post of Egyptian\nAdmiral had been given to Kurdzade, the Sandjak-bey of Rhodus. I\nthought to myself: \"Long live my Padishah, I shall easily obtain\nanother office\"; and I comforted myself with poetic effusions. Of\ncourse I trusted in God Almighty, nevertheless I was always thinking\nabout the conquest of Ormuz and Gujarat, and I argued thus to myself:\n\"These fantastic dreams have so filled thy brain, that thou art being\ndrawn down to the earth by them; the spirit of wandering is so strong\nin thee that thou canst not give thy body rest until it shall return to\ndust.\"\n\nI resumed my journey to Turkey, in the hope soon to set eyes again on\nConstantinople. Arrived in Arghini I visited the grave of the prophet\nZilkefl; from there by Kharput to Malatia and the grave of Seid Ghazi\nSultan, a native of that place, and shortly after I reached Siwas, the\nfirst station on Turkish territory. Ali Pasha received me there with\nmarked distinction; I delayed a short time to visit the grave of Abdul\nWahab Ghazi, and to call upon Ali Baba, who gave me his blessing.\n\nAfter this I continued my journey to Stamboul, across the plain of Ken\nto Kara Hissar Behram Shah, and through Bozauk to Hadji Bektash, where\nI made pilgrimages to the graves of the saints of that place, and to\nBalam Sultan; then on to Kirshehr and the graves of Hadji Avran and\nAashik Pasha, past Ayas Varsak to Angora, crossing the Kizil Irmak\n(Halys) by the bridge of Chashneghir.[218] I visited the grave of Hadji\nBairam Sultan and his children, and the Khidr, and had a friendly\ninterview with Djenabi Pasha. From Beybazari we came to Boli, touched\nModurn, and on to Kunik, where is the grave of Sheik Shemseddin; next\nwe came to Tarakli Yenidje and Keive, with the bridge over the Sakaria\nriver, past Agadj-Deniz, on to Sabandja and Iznikmid[219] and the grave\nof Nebi Khodja. From there our way led past Ghekivize and Skutari,\nwhere I crossed the Bosphorus, and reached Constantinople in safety.\n\nGod be praised, who led me safely through manifold dangers, and brought\nme back to this most beautiful country of all the earth. Four years\nhave passed away; years of much sorrow and misery, of many privations\nand perplexities; but now in this year 964 (1556), in the beginning of\nRedjeb, I have once more returned to my own people, my relations, and\nmy friends. Glory and praise be to God the Giver of all good things!\n\nHis Majesty the Padishah happened to be at Adrianople, and on the\nsecond day after my return I traveled thither, to pay him homage.\nI had the good fortune to be most graciously received by his\nImperial Majesty. The high Viziers, and especially Vizier Rustem\nPasha, loaded me with kindnesses. I was appointed to join the Corps\nof the _Muteferrika_ (officers in attendance on the Sultan) with\na daily income of sixty _aktche_. And the _Kethhuda_ (intendant),\nwho had accompanied me on my travels, had his salary increased with\neight _aktche_, and was appointed Muteferrika for Egypt. One of the\nBoluk-Bashi (_Chef d'Escadron_) received eight _aktche_ and my other\ntraveling companions each six _aktche_ above their ordinary pay. One\nof these latter was nominated to the post of Egyptian _Tchaush_, and\nthe others joined the volunteers. They received their pay for the\nfour years they had been away, payment being made out of the Egyptian\ntreasury.\n\nToward the end of Rajab his Majesty the Sultan returned to\nConstantinople, and on the day that he entered the Konak of Tchataldja\nI was appointed Defterdar of Diarbekir.[220] Thus in his gracious\nkindness his Majesty had pleased and satisfied us all.\n\nHe who wishes to profit by this narrative let him remember that not in\nvain aspirations after greatness, but in a quiet and contented mind\nlieth the secret of the true strength which perisheth not. But if in\nGod's providence he should be driven from home, and forced to wander\nforth in the unknown, and perchance be caught in the turbulent waves of\nthe sea of adversity, let him still always keep in mind that love for\none's native land is next to one's faith. Let him never cease to long\nfor the day that he shall see his native shores again, and always cling\nloyally to his Padishah.\n\nHe who doeth this shall not perish abroad; God will grant him his\ndesire both in this world and in the next, and he shall rejoice in the\nesteem and affection of his fellow-countrymen.\n\n * * * * *\n\nI completed this narrative in Galata in the month Shaaban of the year\n964 (1556), and the transcript of it was accomplished in the month\nSafar of the year 965 (1557).\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHIES\n\n\nMEDIEVAL ARABIC\n\nSome of the general works recommended for the early Arabic history and\nliterature are also of value for this volume. The general theme is\ncovered by:\n\n R. A. NICHOLSON, \"A Literary History of the Arabs\" (New York,\n Scribners, 1907).\n\n F. F. ARBUTHNOT, \"Arabic Authors\" (London, 1890).\n\nFor the legends of Mohammed, read:\n\n WILLIAM MUIR, \"Life of Mahomet\" (new edition, Edinburgh, 1912).\n\n D. S. MARGOLIOUTH, \"Mohammed and the Rise of Islam\" (London, 1905).\n\n STANLEY LANE-POOLE, \"Speeches and Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammed\"\n (London, 1882).\n\n A. N. MATTHEWS (translator), \"Mishcat ul-Masabih, a Collection of\n Traditions Regarding Muhammed\" (Calcutta, 1810).\n\n WM. MURRAY, \"Abulfeda's Life of Mohammed\" (Elgin).\n\nFor history and biography, consult:\n\n BARON MACGUCKIN DE SLANE, \"Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary\"\n (Paris, 1842-1871), four volumes.\n\n PHILIP K. HITTI, \"Al Baladhuri's History of the Mohammedan Conquest\"\n (Columbia University, New York, 1916).\n\n \"Albiruni's Chronology.\"\n\nFor romance the list is almost endless. It includes:\n\n E. W. LANE, \"The Thousand and One Nights\" (London), three volumes.\n\n JOHN PAYNE, \"The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night\" (London,\n 1884), nine volumes.\n\n SIR RICHARD BURTON, \"Plain and Literal Translation of the Thousand\n Nights\" (London, 1885), ten volumes.\n\n SIR RICHARD BURTON, \"Supplementary Nights\" (London, 1887), six volumes.\n\n J. VON HAMMER, \"New Arabian Nights\" (London).\n\n T. HAMILTON, \"Antar, a Bedoueen Romance\" (London, 1820), four volumes.\n\n T. CHENERY and F. STEINGASS, \"The Assemblies of Al-Hariri\" (London,\n 1898), two volumes.\n\n W. J. PRENDERGAST, \"The Maquamat of Al-Hamadhani\" (Madras, 1915).\n\n C. FIELD, \"Tales of the Caliphs\" (New York, 1909).\n\nFor philosophic themes, consult:\n\n T. J. DE BOER, \"History of Philosophy in Islam\" (London, 1903).\n\n D. B. MACDONALD, \"Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence, etc.\"\n (Scribners, New York, 1903).\n\n J. L. BURCKHARDT, \"Arabic Proverbs\" (London, 1830).\n\nAnd most important of all for general information is the new and\nauthoritative\n\n \"Encyclop\u00e6dia of Islam,\" edited by Houtsma, Arnold, and Schaade.\n\n\nTURKISH LITERATURE\n\nFor the general conditions and history of Turkey, read:\n\n SIR EDWIN PEARS, \"Turkey and Its People\" (London, 1911).\n\n L. C. GARNETT, \"Turkish Life in Town and Country\" (Putnam, New York,\n 1911).\n\n SIR CHAS. ELIOT, \"Turkey in Europe\" (London, 2d edition, 1908).\n\n R. P. DAVEY, \"The Sultan and His Subjects\" (London, revised edition,\n 1907).\n\n S. LANE-POOLE, \"The Story of Turkey\" (New York, 1897).\n\n S. LANE-POOLE, \"The Mohammedan Dynasties\" (London, 1903).\n\n E. A. FREEMAN, \"The Ottoman Power in Europe\" (Macmillan).\n\n H. A. GIBBONS, \"Foundation of the Ottoman Empire\" (New York, 1916).\n\nFor the literature itself, read:\n\n J. W. REDHOUSE, \"History, System, etc., of Turkish Poetry.\"\n\n E. J. W. GIBB, \"Ottoman Poems\" (London, 1882).\n\n E. J. W. GIBB, \"History of Ottoman Poetry\" (London, 1902).\n\n CHAS. WELLS, \"Turkish Chrestomathy\" (London, 1891).\n\n ALLAN RAMSAY, \"Tales from Turkey\" (London, 1914).\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] Abu Muslim had been the chief means of transferring the\nCaliphate from the Omeyyads to the family of Abbas.\n\n[2] \"Father of a villain\": a play upon the name Abu Muslim.\n\n[3] _Al Mahdi_, _i.e._, \"the rightly directed.\"\n\n[4] The Caliph's full name was Abu Jafar Al Mansur.\n\n[5] _I.e._, descendant of Ali.\n\n[6] An underground dungeon.\n\n[7] Five.\n\n[8] Praise of God.\n\n[9] Koran, ii., 238.\n\n[10] A famous musician of the period.\n\n[11] _I.e._, \"There is nothing new under the sun.\"\n\n[12] In the Mosque of Omar.\n\n[13] A miracle ascribed to Mohammed.\n\n[14] This was the technical sign for freeing a slave.\n\n[15] In this Assembly Al Harith arrives in the town of San'a in Yemen,\nin great poverty; and, while seeking relief, encounters a crowd, which\nis gathered about a preacher. The discourse is a stern warning against\nself-indulgence, and an exhortation to repentance. Harith, wishing\nto learn who the preacher is, follows him to a cave, and there finds\nhim enjoying himself with good food, and even with wine. He begins\nto rebuke him, but the preacher, throwing off disguise, extemporizes\nsome lines, confessing that his preaching was only a device to obtain\ncharity. Harith asks the attendant the name of the preacher, and is\ntold that he is Abu Zayd, of Seruj.\n\n[16] In this Assembly the author displays more than his usual\nrhetorical subtlety, and while there is none more admired by those\nwhose taste has been formed on Eastern models, there is none which\nappears more extravagant to the European student. Alliterations,\nverbal caprices, far-fetched expressions, and the conceits which were\nusual among poets of the age, so abound, that we may almost imagine\nthe author to be desirous of satirizing what he professes to imitate.\nThe subject is as follows: Harith in his passion for the society of\nliterary persons makes his way to Holwan, a town in Irak, on the\nmountains east of Bagdad, and a resort of the higher classes from the\nheat of the capital. Here he meets with Abu Zayd, who is pursuing his\ncalling of improvisatore and mendicant under various disguises, and\nenjoys for a long time his company and literary guidance. Abu Zayd,\nhowever, disappears, and Harith returns to his native place, Basra,\nwhere after a time he again meets Abu Zayd in the public library,\namong a crowd of dilettanti who are discussing the beauties of the\npopular poets. The admiration of one is especially excited by a line\nin which the teeth of a lady are compared to pearls and hailstones,\nand the white petals of a flower; and Abu Zayd instantly produces a\nnumber of comparisons in the same style, which give him a high place\nin the esteem of those present, when they are assured that he is\nreally the author of them. They reward him, and the Assembly concludes\nby his reciting to Harith, who had recognized him, some lines on the\nfickleness of fortune.\n\n[17] Harith is in a circle of scholars, when a lame man makes his\nappearance, and after saluting them describes his former affluence\nand present penury in a very poetical and figurative style. Harith,\nperceiving his genius, and pitying his distress, offers him a denar\non condition that he will improvise some lines in praise of it. This\nthe lame man at once does, and on Harith offering him another denar\non condition of his blaming it, he recites another composition in\ndispraise of money. Harith then recognizes in the lame man Abu Zayd,\nand rebukes him for his imposture. Abu Zayd defends himself in some new\nverses. The opening address of Abu Zayd is in imitation of a style said\nto be common among the Arabs of the desert.\n\n[18] Harith is journeying in a caravan to Damietta, and during one of\nthe night-halts he hears two men conversing on duty toward a neighbor.\nThe younger being asked for his opinion, replies in a spirit of\ncharity and generosity, upon which the other rebukes him, and sets\nforth the fitting conduct of a man to his neighbor in accordance with\nthe teachings of selfishness and worldly wisdom. These addresses,\nespecially that of the elder man, are expressed in a highly rhetorical\ndiction, which captivates the literary Harith, and the next morning\nhe looks for them, and discovers them to be Abu Zayd and his son. He\ninvites them to his own quarters, introduces them to his friends, and\nprocures for them valuable presents. Abu Zayd then asks permission\nto go to a neighboring village and take a bath, promising to return\nspeedily. They consent, and he goes off with his son. After waiting\nthe greater part of the day they find that he has deceived them, and\nprepare to continue their journey; Harith, when making ready his camel,\nfinds some lines written on the saddle, which allude to a precept in\nthe Koran in favor of separating after a meal. The plays on words in\nthis Assembly are exceedingly ingenious and elaborate, and the opening\ndescription has much poetical beauty.\n\n[19] The following Assembly, remarkable for the poetical beauty of its\nlanguage, and the delicacy of its versification, describes an adventure\nin which Abu Zayd obtains a sum of money from a company of generous\nscholars. Harith is engaged with some friends in a night conversation\nat Kufa, one of the chief seats of Arabian learning, when a stranger\nknocks at the door, and addresses the inmates in verses describing\nhis want and weariness, his excellent disposition, and his gratitude\nfor the favors he may receive. Struck with his poetical powers the\ncompany admit him, and give him a supper. The lamp being brought,\nHarith discovers that the guest is Abu Zayd, and informs the company\nof his merits. They then ask him for a story, and he relates that he\nhad that evening met with a long-lost son, whom he would be glad to\ntake charge of, did not his poverty hinder him. As he had taken care\nto mention in the narrative that he was of the royal race of Ghassan,\nthe company are moved by his misfortunes, and at once raise a large sum\nof money to enable him to support his boy. Abu Zayd delights them with\nhis conversation, but as soon as daylight appears he calls away Harith,\nto assist him in cashing the checks or orders which he had received.\nThe simple Harith, who had been delighted with the verses which the\nfather had put into the mouth of his son, desires to see so eloquent a\nyouth; upon which Abu Zayd laughs heartily, tells his friend, in some\nexquisite verses, that such a desire is the following of a mirage, that\nhe, Abu Zayd, had neither wife nor son, and that the story was only a\ntrick to obtain money. He then departs, leaving Harith mortified at the\nadventure.\n\n[20] This Assembly is the first of a remarkable series of compositions\nwhich, though they may be set down by Europeans as merely examples\nof laborious trifling, are highly esteemed by the Orientals as works\nof ingenuity and scholarship, and have found in every succeeding age\nnumerous imitators. The incident is that Harith, being once on a visit\nto Meraghah, in Azerbijan, the northwest province of the present\nPersian monarchy, found a number of literary men lamenting the decline\nof learning, and depreciating all contemporary authors in comparison\nwith their predecessors. Sitting in a humble place in the outskirts of\nthe company was an elderly man, who showed by his glances and scornful\ngestures that he did not value highly the opinions of these critics.\nWhen they paused in their fault-finding he took up the conversation,\nand declared that one person, at least, of the present age was capable\nof rivaling any who had gone before in scholarship and the arts of\ncomposition. He is asked who is this genius, and answers that it is\nhimself. The company are skeptical, but as the stranger persists in\nasserting his great ability, they determine to test him, and one of\nthem proposes to him a most difficult task. He tells the company that\nhe is a professional writer attached to the Governor, who, though a man\nof generosity, had declared that he would help him no further, till he\nhad composed an address in which the alternate words should consist\nentirely of pointed and unpointed letters; that is, that the first,\nthird, fifth words, and so forth, should consist of letters without\na point, while the second, fourth, sixth, and so forth, should have\nonly pointed letters. He adds that he had been striving a whole year\nto produce such a composition, or to find some one who could produce\nit. The stranger, on hearing this, accepts the task with alacrity, and\ninstantly dictates an address in praise of the Governor, fulfilling the\nconditions that had been imposed.\n\n[21] This Assembly is well known to students. Harith is at Barka'id.\nThe feast at the end of Ramadan is approaching, and being desirous of\njoining in this solemnity he goes to the public prayer in his best\nattire. When the congregation has formed itself into rows, after the\nmanner of Moslem worship, he espies an old man with his eyes closed,\naccompanied by an old woman. The man takes out of a bag a number of\npapers curiously written or illuminated in variously colored inks; and\nthe old woman, going through the rows, presents them to those whom\nshe guesses from their appearance to be charitably disposed. One of\nthem falls to the lot of Harith, who finds on it some strange verses\nfull of alliterations and plays on words. He keeps it, and when the\nold woman, being disappointed in her appeal, returns to reclaim it, he\noffers her a dirhem on the condition that she will tell him the name of\nthe author. She informs him that the old man had composed the verses,\nand that he was a native of Seruj. Harith then guesses that he must be\nAbu Zayd, and is much concerned to find that he has become blind. When\nthe prayer is over he goes up to him and discovers that he is indeed\nAbu Zayd, whereupon he presents him with a garment and invites him to\nhis house. No sooner are they in private than Abu Zayd opens his eyes,\nwhich are perfectly sound, and Harith discovers that his pretended\nblindness was a trick to excite pity.\n\n[22] This Assembly, like several others that will be met with in the\ncourse of the work, is so essentially Arabic as almost to forbid\nintelligible translation. Two suitors, an old man and a youth, appear\nbefore the Kadi of Ma'arrah. The former narrates to the Kadi that he\nhad possessed a beautiful and attractive, yet obedient and active,\nslave girl; that the youth had borrowed her, treated her roughly, and\nthen returned her in an infirm state. The youth admits the charge,\nbut declares that he had offered sufficient compensation; and then\ncomplains that the old man detained as a pledge a male slave of his,\nwho was of good origin and qualities, and highly serviceable to his\nmaster. The Kadi perceives from the style of these addresses that the\nlanguage is enigmatical, and bids the litigants speak plainly. The\nyouth then improvises some verses to explain that by a slave girl\nthe old man meant a needle which the youth had borrowed, and the\neye of which he had broken by accident as he was drawing the thread\nthrough it; the male slave which the old man detained was a pencil, or\n_stylus_, for the application of _kohl_, the dark pigment with which\nOrientals anoint the eyelid to heighten by contrast the luster of the\neye. The old man in his turn admits the truth of this, but pleads in\nmournful verse his poverty and his inability to bear the loss even\nof a needle. The chief feature in the composition is the enigmatical\ndescription of the needle and pencil, which depends on the double\nmeanings of the words and phrases contained in it. Some of these are so\nsubtle that even the native commentators are undecided about them; and\nwe may assume that the _double-entente_ of passages like this was among\nthe lessons which Hariri is said to have taught to his pupils.\n\n[23] The meaning of this passage, when applied to a _kohl_ pencil, is\nas follows: I had a _kohl_ pencil, the same at both ends, tracing its\norigin to the cutler, free from rust and defect; often brought near\nthe apple of the eye; it conferred beauty and produced admiration; it\nfed the pupil of the eye with ointment, but went not near the tongue;\nwhen it was blackened with the ointment it was liberal of it, when it\nmarked the eye it beautified it; when it was supplied with ointment it\nsupplied the eye with it, and when more was required it added more.\nIt remained not always in its case, and seldom anointed except two\neyes at a time; it gave plentifully of the _kohl_ that was on it, and\nwas lifted up to the eye for the purpose; it was constantly attached\nto the _kohl_-case, although the two might be of a different material\n(that is, the pencil might be of gold and the case of glass or silver);\nthough it was used for adorning, it was not of a soft substance but of\nmetal.\n\n[24] This is one of the two Assemblies of Hariri which have been\ntranslated and annotated by De Sacy in his Chrestomathy. Harith in his\nwanderings comes to Alexandria, and, in accordance with his custom,\nmakes the acquaintance of the Kadi, who, as appears in the sequel, is\na good-natured and benevolent man. One evening, in winter, the Kadi is\ndistributing the public alms, when an ill-looking old man is brought\nin by a young and handsome woman who accuses him of having married her\non false pretenses. She declares that he had deceived her father by\ngiving out that he had an excellent trade as a pearl-merchant; that he\nhad been incautiously accepted, and that now, when it was too late,\nshe had discovered that he had no business at all. Moreover, he had\ntaken all her dress and furniture, piece by piece, and sold it to keep\nhimself in idleness, leaving her and her child to starve. The Kadi is\nindignant, and threatens to send the husband to prison, unless he can\nclear himself of the charge. The defendant is in no way disconcerted,\nbut at once improvises some elegant verses, in which he admits his\npoverty, and that he had sold his wife's effects, but denies that he\nhad deceived her in calling himself a \"pearl-stringer,\" for the pearls\nwhich he meant were the pearls of thought, by stringing which into\nelegant poems he had been accustomed to make a large income from the\nliberality of the rich and noble. Now, however, times were changed;\nwar and trouble had come upon the earth, and a race of niggards had\nsucceeded the generous patrons of the old days. The Kadi accepts the\nexcuse, bids the woman submit herself to her husband, and gives them\nsome of the alms-money; on receiving which the old man triumphantly\ncarries off his wife.\n\n[25] In this Assembly Abu Zayd is found making gain by his usual\nquestionable arts. At Rahbah, on the Euphrates, Harith beholds a crowd\nfollowing an elderly man who is dragging along a handsome youth. The\nformer accuses the boy of having killed his son, and it is agreed to\ngo before the Governor. The purpose of the elder, who proves in the\nend to be Abu Zayd, is simply to induce the Governor to buy off so\nhandsome a youth from punishment, with the view of taking him into his\nown household. When they are in court the old man makes his charge,\nand as he has no witnesses the boy is allowed to clear himself by an\noath. But the old man dictates an oath in which he enumerates all the\nbeauties of the boy, and invokes destruction on them if truth be not\nspoken. The boy refuses to swear by such an oath; and the Governor,\nwho desires to take him out of the power of the old man, then makes\nup a purse to satisfy the prosecutor. A hundred denars are promised;\nbut as the whole can not be collected at once the old man says that he\nwill not give up the boy, but will watch him all night. The Governor\nconsents, and soon the two are left together in the courtyard. Harith\nthen accosts Abu Zayd, and asks who is the boy. Abu Zayd replies, that\nhe is his son, and his assistant in his tricks; and that they intend to\nmake their escape early in the morning, and leave the Governor to his\ndisappointment.\n\n[26] This and the following Assembly are justly reckoned among the\nmasterpieces of the author. To pass suddenly from the most solemn\nsubjects to pleasantry, to place in the mouth of a clever impostor the\nmost serious warnings that can be addressed to mankind, may be morally\nobjectionable; but in the Moslem world, where religion is mixed up\nwith all the concerns of life, and pious discourse and phrases abound,\nit excites little repugnance. The design of the author in the present\ncomposition was to produce an elaborate sermon in rhymed prose and in\nverse, and his genius takes a higher flight than usual. The incident on\nwhich the Assembly is founded is simple. Harith, in a fit of religious\nzeal, betakes himself to the public burial-ground of the city of Saweh,\nfor the purpose of contemplation. He finds a funeral in progress, and\nwhen it is over, an old man, with his face muffled in a cloak, takes\nhis stand on a hillock, and pours forth a discourse on the certainty of\ndeath and judgment; rebuking his hearers for their worldly selfishness,\nand warning them that wealth and power are of little avail against\nthe general leveler. He then rises into poetry and declaims a piece\nwhich is one of the noblest productions of Arabic literature. In lofty\nmorality, in religious fervor, in beauty of language, in power and\ngrace of meter, this magnificent hymn is unsurpassed.\n\n[27] Harith, being in affluence, crosses from Irak to Damascus to\nenjoy the luxury of that city. After he has had his fill of pleasure\nhe bethinks himself of returning homeward, and joins a caravan that is\nabout to cross the Semaweh, the desert which lies between Syria and\nthe Euphrates. The travelers are ready to depart, but are delayed by\ntheir inability to find an escort, which they think indispensable for\ntheir protection against robbers. While they are consulting they are\nwatched by a dervish, who at last announces to them that he has the\nmeans of keeping them safe from harm; and, on their inquiring further,\ntells them that his safeguard is a magic form of words revealed to him\nin a dream. They are at first incredulous, but at length consent to\ntake him with them, and to use his incantation. He then repeats it,\nand it proves to be a prayer full of assonances and rhymes, beseeching\nthe general protection of the Almighty. They all learn it by heart and\nthen set forth, repeating it twice a day on their journey. As they are\nnot molested on the road they judge the charm to have been successful;\nand when they come in sight of 'Anah, the first town on the other side\nof the desert, they reward him richly with what he likes best, gold\nand jewels. When he has taken all he can get, he makes his escape, and\nthe next thing they hear of him is that he is drinking in the taverns\nof 'Anah, a city celebrated for its wine. Harith, shocked at this\nenormity in a pious dervish, determines to seek him out, and soon finds\nhim reveling amid wine and music in the guest-chamber of a wine-shop.\nHe taxes him with his wickedness, and then the old man improvises a\nBacchanalian chant, which is one of the finest pieces in Hariri's work.\nIn form this poem resembles that which is introduced into the last\nAssembly, though the meter is more light and lively, as Hariri, no\ndoubt, desired to display his genius by the contrast. This Assembly is\none of the most admired productions of the author, who has lavished on\nit all the resources of his marvelous rhetoric.\n\n[28] Maisuna was a daughter of the tribe of Calab; a tribe, according\nto Abulfeda, remarkable both for the purity of dialect spoken in it,\nand for the number of poets it had produced. She was married, whilst\nvery young, to the Caliph Mowiah. But this exalted situation by no\nmeans suited the disposition of Maisuna, and amidst all the pomp and\nsplendor of Damascus, she languished for the simple pleasures of her\nnative desert.\n\n[29] Yazid succeeded Mowiah in the Caliphate A.H. 60; and in most\nrespects showed himself to be of a very different disposition from\nhis predecessor. He was naturally cruel, avaricious, and debauched;\nbut instead of concealing his vices from the eyes of his subjects,\nhe seemed to make a parade of those actions which he knew no good\nMussulman could look upon without horror; he drank wine in public, he\ncaressed his dogs, and was waited upon by his eunuchs in sight of the\nwhole court.\n\n[30] Shafay, the founder of one of the four orthodox sects into which\nthe Mohammedans are divided, was a disciple of Malek Ben Ans, and\nmaster to Ahmed Ebn Hanbal; each of whom, like himself, founded a sect\nwhich is still denominated from the name of its author. The fourth sect\nis that of Abou Hanifah.\n\n[31] The author of this poem was a hermit of Syria, equally celebrated\nfor his talents and piety. He was son to a prince of Khorassan, and\nborn about the ninety-seventh year of the Hegira. This poem was\naddressed to the Caliph upon his undertaking a pilgrimage to Mecca.\n\n[32] Isaac Al Mouseli is considered by the Orientals as the most\ncelebrated musician that ever flourished in the world. He was born in\nPersia, but having resided almost entirely at Mousel, he is generally\nsupposed to have been a native of that place.\n\n[33] The family of Barmec was one of the most illustrious in the East.\nThey were descended from the ancient kings of Persia, and possessed\nimmense property in various countries; they derived still more\nconsequence from the favor which they enjoyed at the court of Bagdad,\nwhere, for many years, they filled the highest offices of the State\nwith universal approbation.\n\n[34] Taher Ben Hosien was ambidexter and one-eyed and, strange to say,\nthe most celebrated general of his time.\n\n[35] Abu Tammam is noted as the first collector of the works of earlier\npoets. He gathered these in a valuable anthology. He was born near\nDamascus A.D. 807, and educated in Egypt; but the principal part of his\nlife was spent at Bagdad, under the patronage of the Abasside Caliphs.\n\n[36] Abu Al Salam was a poet more remarkable for abilities than\nmorality. We may form an idea of the nature of his compositions from\nthe nickname he acquired amongst his contemporaries of \"Cock of the\nEvil Genii.\"\n\n[37] The three following songs were written by Mashdud, Rakeek, and\nRais, three of the most celebrated improvisators in Bagdad, at an\nentertainment given by Abou Isy.\n\n[38] Ebn Alrumi is reckoned by the Arabian writers as one of the most\nexcellent of all their poets. He was by birth a Syrian, and passed the\ngreatest part of his time at Emessa.\n\n[39] Ali Ibn Ahmed distinguished himself in prose as well as poetry,\nand a historical work of considerable reputation, of which he was the\nauthor, is still extant. But he principally excelled in satire, and\nso fond was he of indulging this dangerous talent that no one escaped\nhis lash; if he could only bring out a sarcasm, it was matter of\nindifference to him whether an enemy or a brother smarted under its\nseverity. He died at Bagdad A.D. 898.\n\n[40] The thought contained in these lines appears so natural and so\nobvious, that one wonders it did not occur to all who have attempted to\nwrite upon a birthday or a death.\n\n[41] Radhi Billah, son to Moctader, was the twentieth Caliph of the\nhouse of Abbas, and the last of these princes who possessed any\nsubstantial power.\n\n[42] History can show few princes so amiable and few so unfortunate\nas Shems Almaali Cabus. He is described as possessed of almost every\nvirtue and every accomplishment: his piety, justice, generosity, and\nhumanity are universally celebrated; nor was he less conspicuous\nfor intellectual powers; his genius was at once penetrating, solid,\nand brilliant, and he distinguished himself equally as an orator, a\nphilosopher, and a poet.\n\n[43] The wolf.\n\n[44] The occasion of the following composition is thus related by\nAbulfeda. Carawash, Sultan of Mousel, being one wintry evening engaged\nin a party of pleasure along with Barkaidy, Ebn Fahdi, Abou Jaber, and\nthe improvisatore poet, Ebn Alramacram, resolved to divert himself\nat the expense of his companions. He therefore ordered the poet to\ngive a specimen of his talents, which at the same time should convey\na satire upon the three courtiers, and a compliment to himself. Ebn\nAlramacram took his subject from the stormy appearance of the night,\nand immediately produced these verses.\n\n[45] Ali ben Mohammed was a native of that part of Arabia called Hejaz;\nand was celebrated not only as a poet, but as a politician.\n\n[46] Tabataba deduced his pedigree from Ali Ben Abu Taleb, and Fatima,\nthe daughter of Mohammed. He was born at Ispahan, but passed the\nprincipal part of his life in Egypt, where he was appointed chief of\nthe sheriffs, _i.e._, the descendants of the Prophet, a dignity held\nin the highest veneration by every Mussulman. He died in the year of\nthe Hegira 418, with the reputation of being one of the most excellent\npoets of his time.\n\n[47] Ben Yusef for many years acted as vizier to Abu Nasser, Sultan\nof Diarbeker. His political talents are much praised, and he is\nparticularly celebrated for the address he displayed while upon an\nembassy to the Greek Emperor at Constantinople. Yusef's poetry must be\nlooked upon merely as a _jeu d'esprit_ suggested by the beauties of the\nvale of Bozaa, as he passed through it.\n\n[48] The life of this prince was checkered with various adventures;\nhe was perpetually engaged in contests either with the neighboring\nsovereigns, or the princes of his own family. After many struggles\nhe was obliged to submit to his brother, Abu Camel, who immediately\nordered him to be seized, and conveyed to a place of security.\n\n[49] Abu Alola is esteemed as one of the most excellent of the\nArabian poets. He was born blind, but this did not deter him from the\npursuit of literature. Abu Alola died at Maara in the year 1049, aged\neighty-six.\n\n[50] Written to Abu Alchair Selamu, an Egyptian physician. The author\nwas a physician of Antioch.\n\n[51] Abu Ismael was a native of Ispahan. He devoted himself to the\nservice of the Seljuk Sultans of Persia, and enjoyed the confidence\nof Malec Shah, and his son and grandson, Mohammed and Massoud, by the\nlast of whom he was raised to the dignity of vizier. Massoud, however,\nwas not long in a condition to afford Abu Ismael any protection, for,\nbeing attacked by his brother Mahmoud, he was defeated, and driven\nfrom Mousel, and upon the fall of his master the vizier was seized and\nthrown into prison, and at length sentenced to be put to death.\n\n[52] It is unfortunate that both the philosopher and his opponents\nshould have advanced the same argument in defense of themselves\u2014namely,\ntheir own wisdom. The Arab philosophers were, amongst their kind,\nsomething like the _libertins_ of the seventeenth century in France.\n\"Often,\" says Al Ghazali, \"I have seen one read the Koran, assist at\nreligious ceremonies and prayers, and praise religion aloud. When I\nasked him, 'If you consider prophetism as false, why do you pray!' he\nresponded, 'It is an exercise of the body, a custom of the country,\na method of having your life saved.' Yet he did not cease from\ndrinking wine, and delivering himself to all sorts of abominations and\nimpieties.\"\n\n[53] Seville was one of those small sovereignties into which Spain had\nbeen divided after the extinction of the house of Ommiah. It did not\nlong retain its independence, and the only prince who ever presided\nover it as a separate kingdom seems to have been Mohammed ben Abad, the\nauthor of these verses. For thirty-three years he reigned over Seville\nand the neighboring districts with considerable reputation, but being\nattacked by Joseph, son to the Emperor of Morocco, at the head of a\nnumerous army of Africans, was defeated, taken prisoner, and thrown\ninto a dungeon, where he died in the year A.D. 1087.\n\n[54] This author was by birth an African; but having passed over to\nSpain, he was much patronized by Mohammed, Sultan of Seville. After the\nfall of his master, Ben Abad returned to Africa, and died at Tangier,\nA.D. 1087.\n\n[55] A wicked angel who is permitted to tempt mankind by teaching them\nmagic; see the legend respecting him in the Koran.\n\n[56] The poet here alludes to the punishments denounced in the Koran\nagainst those who worship a plurality of Gods: \"Their couch shall be in\nhell, and over them shall be coverings of fire.\"\n\n[57] Written to a lady upon her refusal of a present of melons, and her\nrejection of the addresses of an admirer.\n\n[58] Gazul is the name of one of the Moorish heroes who figure in\nthe \"_Historia de las Guerras Civiles de Granada_.\" The ballad is\none of very many in which the dexterity of the Moorish cavaliers in\nthe bullfight is described. The reader will observe that the shape,\nactivity, and resolution of the unhappy animal destined to furnish the\namusement of the spectators are enlarged upon, just as the qualities of\na modern race-horse might be among ourselves: nor is the bull without\nhis name. The day of the Baptist is a festival among the Mussulmans, as\nwell as among Christians.\n\n[59] The reader can not need to be reminded of the fatal effects which\nwere produced by the feuds subsisting between the two great families,\nor rather races, of the Zegris and the Abencerrages of Granada. This\nballad is also from the \"_Guerras Civiles_.\"\n\n[60] Shahar is the name of the coast-line between Oman and Aden.\n\n[61] The word here used is the old and correct one, _Dar-es-sena_ (\"the\nhouse of technics\"), from which word the present _Tersane_, _i.e._,\n\"Arsenal,\" has originated.\n\n[62] Ashik is now a ruin opposite Samira.\n\n[63] _Mowsim Zemani_, literally, \"the time of the season.\" From the\nArabic word _Mowsim_ the English \"monsoon\" has originated.\n\n[64] A small vessel, worked by sails and oars, for the carrying of\nfreights, also called _Sacol\u00e9ve_.\n\n[65] Lahsa and Katif, islands in the Persian Gulf, which, together\nwith Ormuz, Bahrein, and Kalhata, were famous in the Middle Ages, as\nstaple-towns for the commerce between Persia and India.\n\n[66] _Filandra_, a small ensign hoisted on the top of the mainmast.\n\n[67] Khorfakan, a place on the east coast of Oman, between Ras Dibba\nand Fedzna.\n\n[68] Sohar, also on the east coast of Oman.\n\n[69] This is the same as \"Calatu,\" mentioned by Marco Polo, see\n\"Travels of Marco Polo,\" by Col. H. Yule, Vol. II, p. 381.\n\n[70] Kuya appears to be really the name of the town Goa, the\nheadquarters of the Portuguese in India.\n\n[71] According to Bianchi, \"_voile d'artimon_.\" The following passage\nis owing partly to the defective text, partly to the strange naval\ntechnical expressions, unclear and unintelligible.\n\n[72] _Shaika_, a Kirghiz boat.\n\n[73] Compare the Hungarian _d'arda_, _i.e._, \"spear,\" \"lance.\"\n\n[74] Of this expression only the word _longa_ (_lenga_) can be\nidentified with the Italian.\n\n[75] A harbor-town in Persia, in the vicinity of Beluchistan.\n\n[76] _Rectius_: Kidj-Mekran (Marco Polo's Kesmacoran), as Yule rightly\nobserves, situated on the coast of that part of Kerman, then belonging\nto India. See \"Travels of Marco Polo.\"\n\n[77] On our modern maps given as Shabar, which is the name of the bay\nas well as of the place.\n\n[78] Guador, on the west coast of Beluchistan, belonging to the Indian\nEmpire.\n\n[79] Zofar, or Dhofar, to the east of Shar. In the Middle Ages there\nwas a city of that name, as mentioned by Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta.\n\n[80] Literally, \"Elephant's flood.\"\n\n[81] Here follow some nautical expressions which I do not understand.\n\n[82] Perhaps meant for Manglaus, Menglaur, in the District of Sahranpur.\n\n[83] Somenat Somnath, a town in the south of the peninsula of\nKathiawar, also the name of the District.\n\n[84] More correctly Diu, an island belonging to the Portuguese in West\nIndia, separated from Kathiawar by a narrow stroke of land, with about\n13,000 inhabitants, and politically under Goa. (See \"Imperial Gazetteer\nof India,\" IV., p. 305.)\n\n[85] Daman, a Portuguese possession in the bay of Cambay, with about\n50,000 inhabitants; was pillaged first in the year 1531, and retaken in\n1553.\n\n[86] Compare the Persian _badzed_, \"whirlwind,\" \"tempest\"; more\ncorrectly \"gust of wind,\" from _Bad_, \"wind,\" and _Zeden_, \"to strike.\"\n\n[87] In the text _Djonk_, \"a large ship,\" used principally in China.\nFirst mentioned by the Monk Odorico di Pordenone in 1331.\n\n[88] Compare \"dingy,\" \"dinghy.\" Literally, the name of a ship or large\nboat, on the coast of Mekran; the word is also known in English, but it\noriginates from Beluchistan. Correctly speaking, it means a pilot-ship.\n\n[89] _Kotwal, kutwal_, \"commander of a fortress,\" also \"policeman\". Of\nTurkish origin, from the word kut, \"to guard,\" \"to watch\"; would be\nmore correctly, _kuteol_, meaning \"guardian.\"\n\n[90] _Cheter Kaldirmak_ means, literally, \"to raise the sunshade\"\n(umbrella), this being the symbol of sovereignty in India.\n\n[91] More correctly Broatsh, a place northwest of Surat, in the\nprovince of Gujarat, on the right bank of the Nerbudda. This place has\nfrom time immemorial belonged to the Moslem rulers of Ahmedabad, and\nhas twice been pillaged by the Portuguese (in 1536 and 1546).\n\n[92] In the text, _Provador_, meaning \"Admiral.\"\n\n[93] Ahmedabad, the chief town of the Province of that name, 310 miles\nnorth of Bombay.\n\n[94] More correctly Balotra, a town in Jodpur (Radjhputana).\n\n[95] Champanir, a mountain fortress in Gujarat, in the Province of\nPendj-Mahal, 250 miles northeast of Bombay.\n\n[96] Compare Tuba-tree, with the Sidra-trees of the Mohammedan paradise.\n\n[97] _Zokum_, a tree which, according to the Koran, grows only in hell.\nIts fruit resembles the plantain and serves as food for the condemned.\n\n[98] At present there is only a place of that name known in Oudh, but\nnot in Gujarat.\n\n[99] _Bir Katar deve_, \"a team of camels.\" _Katar_, \"team,\" means \"ten\ncamels.\"\n\n[100] Very characteristic is the piece of poetry here introduced. It is\nprobably a Turkish sea-song of that time. It says:\n\n \"We roam the waters far and wide,\n And bring confusion upon our enemies;\n Revenge and hatred is our motto,\n For we are Khairreddin's troops.\"\n\n(Khairreddin Pasha was Suleiman's renowned Admiral, known in Europe as\nBarbarossa.)\n\n[101] In the text _Bami_ may possibly be a slip of the pen and intended\nfor \"Brahmin.\"\n\n[102] _Banians_, \"Indian merchants,\" more especially from the Province\nof Gujarat, who from time immemorial have traded with the harbor-towns\nof Arabia.\n\n[103] _Rajput_, a warlike race, probably descended from the ural-Altaic\nrace.\n\n[104] This can not be the town of that name in Bengal, as this lies\nmore to the south and could not be reached from Ahmedabad in five days.\n\n[105] Radhanpur, the capital of the district of that name in the\nPresidency of Bombay.\n\n[106] More correctly Parkar or Nagar-Parkar, the name of a district and\na place in the Presidency of Bombay.\n\n[107] _Muhre_, \"a stone,\" which, so says the legend, is found in the\nhead of the serpent and the dragon, and possesses miraculous power.\nMany Dervishes carry one of these stones in their girdle to trade upon\nthe superstition of the ignorant people.\n\n[108] As a town, Wanga is unknown to me, unless it be intended for\nWanna, in the district of Cathiawar in the Presidency of Bombay.\n\n[109] More correctly Junaghar, the name of a Province and town in\nCathiawar, Presidency of Bombay.\n\n[110] The Indus.\n\n[111] Tatta (Thats, or Nagar Thats), in the District of Karachi.\n\n[112] _Nakara_, \"a band of music,\" was formerly considered in Central\nAsia as a sign of sovereignty.\n\n[113] _Serpay vermek_, \"to distribute festive apparel,\" is a great mark\nof distinction in Central Asia, but as the expression is unknown in\nTurkey the author has had to circumscribe it.\n\n[114] \"He gave us the name of: a mystic army,\"\n\n[115] Literally, \"there should be no dragonstone, _i.e._, sorcery, in\nyour guns.\"\n\n[116] Argun and Tarkhan are two Turkish tribes in Central Asia, direct\ndescendants of the Transoxanian warriors, which came with Baber to\nIndia.\n\n[117] Now Nasirabad, the name of several places in Sind.\n\n[118] Perhaps meant for Sehivan in Naushar on the Indus.\n\n[119] Patri, now a station on the railway-line to Bombay, Baroda, and\nCentral India; also the name of a small State belonging to Kathiawar.\n\n[120] Our author, according to the spirit of the age, was not only\na brave warrior and sailor, but also a poet, using the East-Turkish\nDialect (Djagatai). His muse has no special features, and with regard\nto his choice of words they betray a strong tendency toward the Osmanli\ndialect. It is nevertheless interesting to note in how short a time he\nmastered this dialect and that, more than 100 years after Baber, the\nDjagatai tongue maintained itself as the court-and-book-language in\nIndia. In our translation we necessarily omit these poetic effusions as\nirrelevant.\n\n[121] Literally, \"wandering.\"\n\n[122] In the text _Kheime_ we _shamiane_, the latter being more a kind\nof large sunshade.\n\n[123] As there are several places called Sultanpoor and Mav, the\nstations here mentioned are difficult to identify on the map.\n\n[124] Utch, a small place on the left bank of the Pendtjend, a\ntributary of the Indus.\n\n[125] On modern maps of India it is marked as Gharra, by which name the\nSutlej is also known.\n\n[126] On the way from Utch to Multan there is a river called Trimba.\nBut I have not anywhere come upon a river called Machvara.\n\n[127] Sambal, a place in the District of Muradabad, in the northeast of\nIndia.\n\n[128] Also called Firuzpoor, in Punjab.\n\n[129] _I.e._, Khan of the Khans, like the Mirimiran of the Persians,\nand the Beglerbeghi of the Turks.\n\n[130] Correctly, _Kurur_, that is, 10,000,000 rupees, equivalent to\nabout $5,000,000.\n\n[131] _Birshegal_, probably a Hindustani word.\n\n[132] In the text _Kish_, _i.e._, \"winter,\" also \"bad weather,\" \"rainy\nseason.\" Compare _Kish Kiamet_, _i.e._, \"very foul weather.\"\n\n[133] Opinions differ as to the exact nature of the _Tughra_ (signature\nof Turkish rulers: more correctly, _tora_, meaning \"decree\"). Some say\nthat it is merely a flourish, others hold that it is the impression of\nthe hand. In Central Asia, Turkish monarchs used to dip their hand in\nblood, hence the expression _al-tamga_, \"red seal.\" The descendants of\nBaber first introduced into India the use of the yellow dye, saffron.\n\n[134] Mir Ali Shir, the greatest poet of the Turks in Central Asia, was\nborn, according to Khondemir, in the year 844 (1440) and died in H. 906\n(1500). He wrote under the name of _Newai_. His compositions, which are\nunquestionably superior to any other East Turkish productions, enjoy to\nthis day great popularity amongst the Turks of the interior of Asia.\n\n[135] _Afetabe_, \"water-basin,\" and _Afetabedji_, \"he who holds the\nwater-basin\"; a high court dignity in Central Asia, and later on also\namong the Moguls in India. The former Khans of Khokand had received the\ntitle of Afetabedji from the Sultan of Turkey.\n\n[136] Our author means by Siwas the old seat of the Osmans, but in\nIndia and in Central Asia, _Rum_ is generally understood to stand for\nthe West, and more particularly for the Ottoman Empire.\n\n[137] As the Turks never conquered Vienna, this is a mere boast on the\npart of the Turkish Admiral. Possibly, in the Far East the news of\nthe conquest of Vienna may have found credence, for the campaigns of\nSuleiman against Vienna fall about this time.\n\n[138] Khatib is the name of the Mollah who on Fridays says the\n_Khutbe_, or Friday prayer, in which the names of the Caliph and of the\nlocal ruler are inserted.\n\n[139] Mir Khosru Dehlevi (_i.e._, from Delhi), one of the greatest\npoets of India, born 1253, died 1324. He wrote in Persian, which\nlanguage had been introduced into India with the spread of Islam.\n\n[140] Elphinstone in the \"History of India\" relates his death as\nfollows: \"He had been walking on the terrace of his library, and was\ndescending the stairs (which in such situations are narrow steps on\nthe outside of the building and only guarded by an ornamental parapet\nabout a foot high). Hearing the call to prayers from the minarets, he\nstopped, as is usual on such occasions, repeated the creed, and sat\ndown on the steps till the crier had done. He then endeavored to rise,\nsupporting himself on his staff; the staff slipped on the polished\nmarble of the steps, and the King fell headlong over the parapet. He\nwas stunned at the time and, although he soon recovered his senses,\nthe injury he had received was beyond cure. On the fourth day after\nhis accident he expired in the forty-ninth year of his age and the\ntwenty-sixth of his reign, including the 16 years of his banishment\nfrom his capital.\"\n\n[141] This is meant for Bairam Khan, the faithful follower of Humayun,\nand, later on, the Atabek (tutor) of Ekber.\n\n[142] On modern English maps of India, these names are given as Sonpat,\nPanipat, Karnal, Tanesar, and Samani, in the same order on the way from\nDelhi to Lahore.\n\n[143] Very striking is the want of reserve wherewith this lie is spread\nto serve a political purpose.\n\n[144] Matchivara, a town in Punjab in Ludiana.\n\n[145] Perhaps Bachrewan, a town in the province of Oudh.\n\n[146] A stronghold built by Selim Shah on the boundary mountains of\nSewalik, against the Sakkars.\n\n[147] Elphinstone, \"History of India,\" calls this man Pir Mohammed, the\nteacher or tutor of Ekber, while our author calls him Khodja Bairam\nKhan.\n\n[148] Ebul Maali, a Said from Kashgar, who had entered the service of\nHumayun in 1551. He had rebelled against Ekber and had taken possession\nof Kabul, where he was afterward defeated and imprisoned in Lahore. He\ndied in 1563.\n\n[149] Literally, \"Believers in the Book\"; these, therefore, have none\nof the four Sacred Books, viz., Koran, Tevrat, Gospels, and Psalms.\nConsequently they are heathen.\n\n[150] The burning of widows (Suttee) has in recent times been put a\nstop to by the English, and it is very characteristic that the Moguls\nhad, long before that time, endeavored to check the custom.\n\n[151] Also called _khutaz_ and _kudaz_, a kind of horned cattle. Their\ntail is used as an ornament to hang round the horse's neck.\n\n[152] It appears from this passage that the Emperor's guests only\nreceived the gifts allotted to them when on their return journey; had,\nin fact, to collect them from the authorities of the districts through\nwhich they passed.\n\n[153] Khoshab, the name of a town in Punjab, situated on the river\nDjehlam, and not the name of the river itself, as our author states.\n\n[154] Nilab, \"blue water,\" can not possibly be the river Kabul.\n\n[155] Bakhtar-Zemin, or Bakhtarland, _i.e._, Bactria.\n\n[156] Generally translated by \"rhinoceros.\" Baber (1356) makes mention\nof this animal under the name of _gherek_, and he describes it as being\nabout the size of a buffalo.\n\n[157] Perhaps more correctly Lughman, east of Kabul.\n\n[158] Hezare is the name of the mountainous region, northeast of\nPeshawur; also the name of an Iranian Mongol tribe, dwelling between\nHerat and Kabul.\n\n[159] _Luli_ is, in Central Asia, the name given to the Gipsies,\nto which tribe the dancing and singing damsels and the prostitutes\ngenerally belonged. This used also to be the case in Turkey; compare\n_Tchenghi_, \"musician,\" \"dancing girl,\" and _Tchingane_, \"Gipsy.\"\n\n[160] Kara-bag (black garden), marked on the maps merely as Bag\n(garden). Tcliarikar lies north of Kabul, and Pervane lies in the\nsame direction as the pass of that name at the foot of the Hindu\nKush. Our author did not take the route now generally used, across\nthe Dendanshiken (tooth-breaker), but the other, which lies more to\nthe east, and which was the one followed by Baber. This is one of the\nPervan passes, which, starting from the place of that same name, leads\nto Badjgah, and from there into the valley of Enderab.\n\n[161] Suleiman Shah was the son of Khan Mirza the Wise, a cousin\nof Baber's. He had usurped the throne of Bedakhshan in 1508, and\nwas afterward established by Humayun as ruler over the whole of the\nUpper-Oxus territory.\n\n[162] From the political condition already referred to, it is quite\nevident why our author chose this very difficult, roundabout route past\nBadakhshan, the same route which was taken by Sheibani Khan, Baber's\nadversary, during his campaign against Khosru Shah. Part of ancient\nKhatlan, also called Khotl, is now included in the Province of Kulab.\n\n[163] Feizabad is now the capital of Badakhshan. It was Suleiman Shah,\nwho made Kishm his residence.\n\n[164] Kalai Zafar (castle of victory) is situated on the Kotchke, a\ntributary of the Oxus.\n\n[165] Now Semti, on the left side of the Pendje.\n\n[166] Now Kulab (1,810 feet above the sea), situated on a tributary of\nthe Oxus.\n\n[167] Neither Charsui nor Pul-i-Senghin are to be found on any modern\nmap, but as the author identifies Hissar with Chaganian, _i.e._, places\nthe former in the dominion of the latter province, we may take it that\nthe Kafirnihan river was then the boundary-line of Transoxania.\n\n[168] Hissar, situated at the confluence of the Ilek and the\nKhanka-Derya, formerly known as Hissar-i-Shadman.\n\n[169] Probably an ancient title, which, in its present form, is not\nmentioned in any lexicons or vocabularies.\n\n[170] Senghirdek is mentioned on the modern maps of Central Asia,\nbetween Sehri-Sebz and Sari-Asiya (Yellow Mill), as the name of a\nstream and of a place, but not as the name of a mountain. _Sengghirdek_\nmeans \"a stone tent.\"\n\n[171] This must be Mount Karatepe (Black Hill), (5181 feet).\n\n[172] Borak Khan, a son of Mahmud Khan, who was defeated by Sheibani.\nHe was a native of the steppes in the northeast of Transoxania, and,\nfavored by the bad government of Burhan Khan, he and his horsemen,\nconsisting of Kirghises and Kalmuks, invaded the land, and took\npossession of the capital, Samarkand. He died in the year 1555. The\nincidents connected with his reign, which our author mentions, are the\nmore valuable to us as we find no mention of them anywhere else.\n\n[173] He died in the year 1551.\n\n[174] Called by abbreviation Burhan Khan, an uncle of Obeidullah. He\nreigned only a short time, and died in 1556.\n\n[175] Aga of the Osmans was the title of a commander of the Janissaries\nwhich Sultan Suleiman had sent from Constantinople to Samarkand to\nsupport the authority of the Eastern Turks. Our author, therefore, came\nhere unexpectedly in contact with his countrymen.\n\n[176] Khodja Ahmed Jesewi, the patron saint of Turkestan, whose grave\nin Aulia Ata is to this day eagerly visited by pilgrims.\n\n[177] When in Samarkand I could learn nothing about the cloak and the\n_Naalin_ (wooden shoes) of the Prophet, but the copy of the Koran here\nreferred to was extant in the Mausoleum of Timur. This latter, however,\nalthough a very old manuscript in Kufi letters, has not descended from\nCaliph Ali, nor yet from Caliph Osman; it has been brought to Turkestan\nby the descendants of Khodja Ahrar, and from Samarkand the Russians\ntook it to St. Petersburg.\n\n[178] Consequently they belonged at that time still to the Shaman\nfaith, an interesting fact and easily explained when we consider that,\nat the time of Timur, both Kirghizes and Turkomans are described as\nheathen.\n\n[179] Its name is Zerefshan, or Kohik.\n\n[180] Ghidjduvan, the most northerly town of the Khanate on the Wafkend\nriver.\n\n[181] May stand for colored coat, and merely indicates the\ndistinguishing color of the regiment.\n\n[182] Literally, \"Red feet,\" meaning people that go barefoot, hence the\nexpressions, \"vagabond,\" and \"vagrant.\"\n\n[183] Tchardjui (more correctly Tchihar-djui, meaning \"four brooks,\"\nafter four tributaries of the Oxus which are there) was at that time\nPersian territory, and came only to be reckoned to Bokhara after the\nseizure of Abdullah Khan.\n\n[184] Name of the Shiite saint in Meshed.\n\n[185] Consequently the left side of the river.\n\n[186] Curious it seems that 300 years ago lions were so plentiful in\nthose parts, while in modern times there has been no sign of them in\nthe steppes of Turkestan.\n\n[187] In the text called Hezarus, by mistake.\n\n[188] Dost Mohammed Khan, or simply Dost, who was then the ruler of\nKharezm, and his brother Esh-Sultan, were both sons of Budjuga Khan.\nTheir rival to the throne was Hadjim Khan, who conquered both in turn\nand put them to death.\n\n[189] The tribe of the Manghit, now belonging to the settled population\nof Khiwa, seems at that time still to have led a nomadic life,\ninhabiting the steppe between the Aral and the Caspian Sea, now the\nhome of the Kirghizes.\n\n[190] The Nomads of Central Asia feared the Russians, for three years\nbefore that time (1554) Czar Ivan Wassilyewich had conquered Astrakhan.\n\n[191] By Deshti-Kipchak, _i.e._, the steppe of the Kipchaks, Oriental\nwriters understand the steppe situated between Kharezm and the Volga\nterritory. Ibn Batuta likewise accomplished the distance between\nKharezm (now Urghendj) and Saraidjik in 30 days.\n\n[192] Saraidjik, small palace on the bank of the Ural, about one hour's\ndistance from the Caspian Sea. Jenkinson in 1558 found the place still\nintact, but Pallas in the past century found only extensive ruins to\nindicate the place.\n\n[193] Ancient Theodosia in the Crimea.\n\n[194] At that time the King of Persia was Thamasp Shah, and it so\nhappened that he was on friendly terms with Sultan Suleiman, for about\nthis time a gorgeous ambassy was sent by the ruler of the Ottoman\nEmpire to Kazvin, as recorded by Rauzat es Sefa in the Seventh Book.\n\n[195] _Istikhare_, \"horoscope,\" is consulted by opening the Koran at\nhazard and the passage at which it opens gives the answer. Another\nway is by the throwing of dice, or by seizing the rosary (_Tesbih_)\nat hazard, when the even or uneven number of the beads decides the\nquestion.\n\n[196] This passage is of special geographical interest. As our author\ncame from Kharezm, on the left shore of the Oxus, and crossed the\nriver on his way to Khorassan, he refers here undoubtedly to the old\ncourse of this river, mentioned by Abulgazi. As the Oxus, in its\ncourse down-stream from Tchardjui, reveals several old river-beds,\nthe direction here indicated by Sidi Ali must be one of the two\ncourses which ran either from Hezaresp or from Khanka in southwesterly\ndirection into the Caspian Sea. Most likely it was the latter branch,\nas it was at that time the more important of the two, and, according to\nAbulgazi, culture had reached a considerable height along its shores.\n\n[197] This is Derum, frequently mentioned by Abulgazi, as situated on\nthe old road from Kharezm to Khorassan.\n\n[198] Bagwai, on the same road, but is now no longer marked on the map.\n\n[199] Nesa, frequently mentioned in the Middle Ages, situated in the\nnorth of Persia. Its ruins have been visited by many modern travelers\nin the neighborhood of Ashkabad.\n\n[200] Abiwerd is more correct; it is the modern Kahka, a station on the\nTrans-Caspian line.\n\n[201] Curiously enough, the same custom still prevails in Persia,\nfor when I visited this land three hundred years later, disguised as\nan Osmanli, I had much to suffer from the indiscretion of the Shiite\nfanatics. By night and by day, on the march and at rest, it was always\nthis same vexed question of the succession, which had to be discussed.\n\n[202] _Murabba_, \"quatrain,\" a poem consisting of four-line verses.\n\n[203] Ashura days, the first ten days of the month Muharram, which,\nespecially in the Shiite part of Persia, were kept as holy days.\n\n[204] _Boluk-Bashi_, a degree of rank amongst the Janissaries;\nliterally, \"captain of a division.\"\n\n[205] In the immediate vicinity of Teheran.\n\n[206] _Kurdji-bashi_, \"chief armor-bearer.\"\n\n[207] This surely must mean a month and a half after entering\nPersia, for the distance from Rei (Teheran) to Kazvin can easily be\naccomplished in two or three days. Kazvin was at that time the capital\nof Persia.\n\n[208] _Divan Bey_, \"first secretary.\"\n\n[209] _Ishik Agasi_, \"chief porter,\" a sort of master of ceremonies.\n\n[210] Literally, \"representative\"; at the court of the Shah it is also\nthe title of the overseer over the culinary department.\n\n[211] _Tumen_ means \"ducat\" in Persian, but as the word is here used in\nthe dative it would appear that something has been omitted.\n\n[212] The Circassians were at that time not yet Mohammedans, for they\nwere converted later on by Ferrukh Pasha.\n\nIt appears from this passage that the Pilgrims' route from Central Asia\nto Mecca led in those days past Astrakhan, _i.e._, by Kharezm and the\nlower Volga, and from there across the Caucasus via Constantinople to\nArabia, about the same as in modern times, when pilgrims travel by the\nTrans-Caspian line, via Batum Baku and Constantinople to Mecca.\n\n[213] Lakh, about $500,000, a sum only used in India.\n\n[214] Our author refers here to the Feudal system still in use in\nCentral Asia at the time that I was there, and he rightly criticizes\nthe limited power of the rulers, which is the necessary result of it.\nIn Persia the relation between the Khans and the Shah was based upon\nthis principle till quite within modern times. The Sultans of Turkey,\nwhen at the zenith of their power, were absolute sovereigns of their\nland. But at the commencement of the decline the same relationship was\nestablished there, as we see from the conduct of the Derebeys.\n\n[215] _Demtiz_ means \"some one possessing strong, _i.e._, active or\npowerful _dem_ or _nefes_ (breath).\"\n\n[216] _Huma_, name of a mythical bird, a kind of Phoenix, which, as\nthe legend says, lives in the air and never touches the earth, and\nis held to be a good omen. Thus, for instance, any one who has been\novershadowed by this bird is destined to be a ruler. Hence the word\n_Humayun_, _i.e._, \"Imperial,\" an epithet applied to royal persons.\n\n[217] _Tokuz Olum_, signifying \"nine fords\" (if _Olum_ be taken for the\nTurkoman word of the same meaning), is not known as the name of a great\nriver, because, besides the Tigris, there are no large rivers in the\nneighborhood of Bagdad.\n\n[218] _Chashneghir_, _i.e._, \"cup-bearer,\" probably the name of the\nbuilder.\n\n[219] Iznikmid, now Ismid, has better preserved the ancient Greek name.\n\n[220] _Timar Defterdarlighi_, _i.e._, superintendent of the finances of\nthe army.\n\n * * * * *\n\nTranscriber's Notes\n\nObvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations\nin hyphenation spelling, punctuation, hyphenation and accents remain\nunchanged.\n\nItalics are represented thus _italic_,.\n\nON page 338 section IV of THE MIRROR OF COUNTRIES OF THE ADVENTURES OF\nSIDI ALI Reis \u201c12 large boats and 22 _gurabs_, 32 vessels in all,\u201d has\nbeen corrected to 34 vessels.","title":"The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East, Volume 6 (of 14): Medieval Arabic, Moorish, and Turkish","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":124762}