He was unique in this age for his high lineage and his acquired and inherited accomplishments. After many years of such acquaintance as can exist between men at a distance from one another, I was so fortunate as to have a chance meeting with him in the neighbourhood of the town of Bārī* in the year in which the victorious army set out for the conquest of the fortress of Citor; but owing to the shortness of the time at our disposal our interview and conversation, in spite of the great desire which I had to prolong them, did not last an hour, and he went on and I returned, but when I first set eyes on him I became aware of the nobility of his character. Although, considering his dignity, this mention of him among a string of poets is scarcely gracious, yet, as he sometimes amused himself with poetry, this opening couplet is quoted as a memorial of him:—

“If, in the day of my grief for thee, I should choose to exer-
cise patience,
Since I have no choice in the matter say what I should do.”