1,700. “The colour of the world”; i.e., presumably “green”; but blue and green are commonly confused in Persian, and we must bear in mind too that the sky is frequently alluded to as green.
1,701. i.e., brilliant prosperity attends him, as the sun attends the sky.
1,702. The flower is probably the heliotrope, which is esteemed for its fragrant odour. Its “round loaf” is its yellow stamens, which by a poetical fancy the Author conceives as coming from the sun, to which the flower constantly turns.
1,703. The epithet is applied in consideration of the similarity in colour between the earth and some sandal-wood. (See the next distich and the end of this story.)
1,704. A reference to the odours of early morning.
1,705. By “Chinese doll” is meant a beauty of Chinese Turkistan.
1,706. Kausar is supposed to be a river in Paradise.
1,707. By “shells”, i.e., oyster shells, are meant different parts of the sky. By “collyrium-coloured ocean”, i.e., black-coloured ocean, is meant the sky at night.
By “pearls” are meant stars.
By the “water-dragon” is meant darkness.
The sense of the distich is simply, “When the stars appeared in the dark sky.”
1,708. i.e., sweet and eloquent words from her lips.
1,709. i.e., the king.
1,710. See Note 1,459. “Saffron” means here an enlivening story.
1,711. “The Sun”; i.e., the king.
1,712. The word chāh means both “well” and “pit”. By “pit” is meant here danger.
1,713. Lit., “he drank the water of his mouth from (the water of) his heart”; i.e., he wept tears of blood and suffered affliction in his painful longing.
His longing was “affliction”, āb-i jigar, lit., “water of the liver or heart.”
1,714. i.e., he wept tears of blood from his heart until it was dried up.
1,715. A play upon the word āb, “water; lustre.” The word, however, in these two senses comes from two different roots.
“Stones” is an approximation to the double sense of “sang”, i.e., “precious stones,” and “rocks”, in both of which “water” may be said to be, in a way, prisoned.
1,716. i.e., the water or lustre of the rubies was no consolation in the absence of real water. Their uselessness in these circumstances would cause “water of the eyes”, i.e., “tears,” to flow.
1,717. i.e., as the stone or rock may prison the water, so that stony-hearted man kept to himself the water he had.
1,718. i.e., Bad behaved to him in accordance with the import of his name.
1,719. i.e., do not think you are clever enough to get water from stone or rocks; or, more particularly, real water from these precious stones.
1,720. “Asperse my name”; lit., “bear away the water or lustre of my face.”
1,721. “Hot fire”; i.e., “eyes,” in respect of their fiery glances and light. It should be remarked that the eyes were supposed to see by a light of their own.
1,722. See Notes 274, 1,201, 1,562, and 1,698.
1,723. He means probably that by depriving him of eyes he will be able to take all his property with safety to himself.
1,724. The rhetorical merit of the hemistich consists in bringing together khāk, “earth” (translated for clearness “clay”), and bād, “air” or “wind”.
1,725. Eyes are compared with narcissi.
1,726. The “crown”; presumably, the “head”. The “gems”; i.e., the “eyes”.
1,727. “Desert king”; lit., “lion.”
1,728. “Whose moles with Hindūs vied”; i.e., “whose moles were black.”
1,729. An allusion to the clearness and beauty of her skin.
1,730. i.e., she reduced the moon to a desperate condition by excelling it so much in beauty. At the same time, the “moon” may refer to her own “face”.
1,731. “Babylonian spells.” Babylon was famous for its magic. The term means here “her fascinating arts”.
1,732. “Life’s Stream”; i.e., “the Stream or Water of Life.” (See Notes 274, 1,201, 1,562, and 1,698.)
1,733. “That lamp of his eyes”; i.e., the Kurd’s daughter.
1,734. Lit., “to break his bile.” (See the next distich.)
1,735. The eyes are compared with the onyx.
1,736. See Notes 274, 1,201, 1,562, and 1,698.
1,737. Lit., “till she left no juice or essence in them,” i.e., in the leaves; but the mode of expression seems to denote the contrary of what is intended.
1,738. It was the custom to bind the eyes of the ox which threshed the corn.
1,739. i.e., when Good opened his eyes.
1,740. “The pearl-casket” means Good’s mouth, which he opened in eloquent speech.
1,741. i.e., he prostrated himself in devotion and thanksgiving to God.
1,742. i.e., the fire of love.
1,743. i.e., simply, “he wept,” his tears being likened to white blossoms.
1,744. Lit., “you have borne airs much from strangers.”
1,745. “Your brand”; i.e., the fact of my being in your service.
1,746. i.e., I ought not to suffer additional pain by incurring further obligations.
1,747. i.e., they were insane (with grief).
1,748. This is somewhat similar to the expression explained in Note 1,396.
1,749. The Kurd is referring to what he himself should not do.
1,750. i.e., the goodness of the Kurd’s daughter is too manifest to be concealed.