Thou wouldst think it immovable.—These words are from Koran xxvii. 90, “Thou shalt see the mountains which thou wouldst think immovable, fleet as the fleeting of the clouds.”

On the deep.—Compare Mo‘allaḳah of Ṭarafeh, v. 5. It is there explained as the mass or bulk of the water.

Our cushion-saddle.— is the cushion placed on the back of the camel, under the saddle, to ease the motion. But accord­ing to Sherîshi and the commentator quoted by De Sacy, there is an allusion to the word , meaning a saint or favourite of God, since people say, “Such a man is a saint, he walks on the water:” it being the belief that the saints have such a power. For the definition of this word see Tâ‘rîfât.

Deemed his shadow to be heavy, etc.—i.e. considered his presence to be disagreeable. The is he who wearies you by his company, as in a prolonged visit. According to ‘Âyisheh it was on account of such persons that the revelation was made, (Koran xxxiii. 53), “When ye have eaten separate.” See note to Fourth Assembly, near the end. When Abû Hurayrah saw one of these he exclaimed “Allâhumma (O God), forgive him, and deliver us from him.” Also Jâlînûs (Galen) when asked why the weight of a bore’s company was more distressing than the weight of a burden made answer that the weight of the former was on the heart alone, while in bearing a material burden the heart was aided by the limbs. There is a disposition among Orientals to make Galen a sort of sage; compare one of the stories in the 4th chapter of the Gulistan. The above anec­dotes are from Sherîshi.

He praised God after sneezing, but no one blessed him.— This usage was once common in Europe as well as in the East. According to two Traditions the Prophet said, “If when one of you sneezes or eructs he utters the words ‘Praise be to God,’ he averts seventy diseases, the least of which is the juthâm (ele­phantiasis, that species of leprosy which causes the members to fall off; a more terrible disease than baraṣ).” He also said, “If one of you sneeze let him utter ‘Praise be to God,’ and let those who salute him in return say, ‘God have mercy on thee,’ and let him then say, , (make good your condition in religion and in the world by propitious aid and strengthening);” see Bayḍâwi on Koran xlvii. 2 and 6. It is related that when God created Adam of clay he ordered the human soul to enter his body. On this the dry clay changed at once into bones, flesh, nerves, and the other con­stituents of man’s body. Adam, awakening to life, sneezed, and immediately exclaimed, “Praise to God,” and Gabriel answered, “God have mercy on thee, Adam” (Ṭabari).

The help which comes to the wronged.—Koran xxii. 59. Those who only retaliate according to the injury received, will, if injured in return for the retaliation, be assisted by God.

The bye-paths of the serious and the gay.— are the tracks in a wadi, or mountain valley, through which winter torrents flow. The first who used the expression, “The tale has bye-paths,” that is, “there is something more to be told of it,” was Ḍabbat ibn Udd ibn Ṭâbikhah, a descendant of Moḍar. The history is given by Maydâni, Arab. Prov. I. 350. Ḍabbah had two sons, Sa‘d and Su‘ayd, and when one of his camels strayed during the night he sent them in search of her. Sa‘d found her, and when he brought her back at night the father saw a figure in the dark, and exclaimed, “Is it Sa‘d or Su‘ayd?” a saying that became proverbial, and is used in the sense of ‘Is it the one or the other?” as when Al Ḥajjâj asked Kotaybet ibn Muslim, on the latter marrying a wife, “Is it Sa‘d or Su‘ayd?” meaning, “Is it a handsome wife or an ugly one?” Arab. Prov. I. 601. Su‘ayd wandered in search of the camel, and fell in with Al Ḥârith ibn Ka‘b. The youth had on two mantles, and Ḥârith demanded them; when Su‘ayd would not part with them, Ḥârith killed him and took them. Sometime after Ḍabbah made the pilgrimage (pagan) to Mecca, and came to the fair of‘Okâẓ, where he met the murderer wearing his son’s two mantles. He recognized them and said, “Wilt thou tell where thou gottest these two?” Ḥârith answered, “I met a youth who wore them and I asked him for them, and when he would not give them I killed him and took them.” Ḍabbah said, “Was it with this sword of thine?” He said “Yes.” Said Ḍabbah, “Give it me to look at, for I think it is a sharp one.” Ḥârith gave it, and Ḍabbah, brandishing the weapon, exclaimed, “The tale has bye-paths,” meaning “There is something more in it than thou knowest.” Then at once he slew Ḥârith with it. And when it was said to him, “What, Ḍabbah, hast thou killed him in the sacred month?” he answered, “The sword has outstripped remonstrance,” which also became proverbial: Arab. Prov. I. 599. Ḥarîri’s meaning is that the conversation of the company flowed as one subject suggested another.

The pen of correspondence, etc.—It is necessary here to render the original somewhat freely. may be either an orator, choice of speech, or a wooer who wins hearts by his elegant diction. is the gatherer of firewood, who puts into his rope all that he can find, without selection; and is thus applied to one who uses the first phrase that comes to hand without taste or judgment. Compare the phrase, “One who gathers wood by night,” in Ḥarîri’s Preface.

Johayneh for information—There is discrepancy both as to the form of this name and the meaning. It is read not only as above, but also Jofayneh and Ḥofayneh, the former being on the authority of Al Aṣma‘î. See Arab. Prov. II. 71: “With Johayneh is the certain information.” According to one le­gend he was a wine-seller, in whose tavern two men had quar­reled. When a third party had endeavoured to separate them, one of the two had slain him. They were both arrested, and when the judge wished to learn which of the two was guilty, he said, “Bring Jofayneh, for he has the certain information.” According to Hishâm ibn al Kelbi, the story is as follows: Al Akhnas ibn al Ka‘b was a man of Johayneh, who for some act that he committed was obliged to flee from his people. He met with Ḥoṣayn ibn ‘Amr ibn Mo‘âwiat ibn Kilâb, or, as others say, another Ḥoṣayn of Ghaṭafân, who had also turned vagabond; and they agreed to rob together, even the men of their own tribes. The adventure which followed is too long to be narrated here: it will be found in Maydâni at the place cited. Suffice it to say that the man of Johayneh in the end slew his companion, and took all the booty. In returning home to his people, with the view of reconciling himself with them, he passed two sub-tribes of the sons of Ḳays, called Merâj and Anmâr, and a woman came forth who was seeking Ḥoṣayn. He asked who she was, and she answered, “I am Ṣakhrah, the wife of Ḥoṣayn.” He said, “I have killed him.” She said, “Thou liest; such an one as thou kills not such an one as he: if the tribe (or the men of it) were not away, thou durst not have spoken thus.” Then he went home and made up matters with his tribe, and came and stood where he might be heard, and declaimed the following verses:—

Of how many a lion, tawny, breaking the prey, the father of two cubs, whose dwelling is the thicket,

And of how many a rider, whom thou wouldest not despise if thine eyes were to light where he had fallen,

Have I cloven the topmost skull with my sword, that he has lain motionless on the plain;

And his wife has sorrowed for him, wailing in the night without rest;

Like Ṣakhrah, when she questioned Merâj and Anmâr, whose know­ledge was only guessing.

She asked each band of travellers concerning Ḥoṣayn, but at Johayneh is the certain information.

Now if any ask concerning him, know that I can tell him all clearly.

Johayneh is my tribe, a race of kings; when they seek lofty deeds they are not abased.

Sherîshi quotes these verses differently, and makes Ṣakhrah the sister of Ḥoṣayn. On hearing her inquiries Al Akhnas utters the verses. The names of the tribes are also given as Merâḥ and Jarm.

Loḳmân of wisdom.—Loḳmân the Wise, the contemporary of David, is to be distinguished from Loḳmân of ‘Âd, though some­times confounded with him even by Arabs. The two have been mentioned in a former note. Loḳmân the Wise is spoken of at Koran xxxi. 11. He was not a prophet, but he instructed his son An‘am, or Ashkam, or Mâthân in the worship of the one true God. The descriptions of him by the Arabs have a great resemblance to those of Æsop. He is represented as a black, very ugly in person, and a slave, and it is probable that the traditions concerning Æsop were, like the fables, attributed to this mythical sage, unless, indeed, we hold the legends con­cerning Æsop to be themselves late inventions, and borrowed from the East.