In its heat.— is the ardour of the horse for the gallop, and thence the gallop itself.

Cast in his bucket among the buckets.—Ar. Prov. II. 436. See also notes to Fifteenth Assembly. Compare also Ar. Prov. II. 260.

Thinner than a reed.—Ḥarîri, in the Durrah (Anthol. Gram. Arabe p. 31, Texte Arabe) says that a reed is only called when it is cut for writing; so , which occurs a few lines back, means only the thread or string of a necklace.

The shears.—Sherîshi reminds us that Ḥarîri, in the Durrah, censures the use of , and , which, as they signify instruments that are made up of a double blade, should be used in the dual, as . Yet Sherîshi, though acknow­ledging that the dual is the more usual, and the preferable form, gives instances of the use of the singular. The shears are called dry because they are used but seldom, and lie rusty during the greater part of the year.

To lay low all he aimed at.— is said of one who strikes and kills the game on the spot; of one who strikes it so that it escapes, and lingers for some time. To eat the latter is forbidden, since it is held to come under the prohibitions of Koran ii. 168 and v. 4. There is also a Tradition of the Prophet, “Eat what thou hast struck so that it was killed at once, and leave what thou hast struck so that it lingered.”

Until the quivers were empty.—This metaphor for the exhaus­tion of a store of conversation has already occurred. According to some there is a difference between the two names for a quiver, and , the former being a large and wide quiver, with a cover to it, intended for the wooden arrows, called , which were used by the Persians; while the latter is of leather, made to hold the Arab arrows of reed, . Other names are , which occurs in Assembly Twelve, and is said to mean a quiver of wood or of skin; , which consists of two pieces of wood, joined together, and , which is a leathern bag for arrows.

Or the word ‘Silence’ were incumbent upon them.—The sense of these words in the original is obscure. The Commentator cited by De Sacy explains them by the passage in the Koran, “When the Koran is read listen to it and be silent,” vii. 203. The meaning in that case would be, “They were as speechless as if the duty of listening to the Koran were incumbent upon them.” But the phrase , Koran x. 96, means “those on whom the word of God is established and fixed that they should not believe” (Bayḍâwi). Also , Koran xxxvi. 6, has a similar meaning. The pas­sage in the text may therefore be rendered, “As if a sentence or judgment from God of silence had been established against them.

The term of grace.— is technically the term which must elapse before a repudiated wife can be sent away: Koran lxv. 1–6. is also used in speaking of the time which should elapse before she marries again. The meaning in the text is simply, “I have given you your full time.”

The tether of delay.— is the long rope by which animals are tied when grazing.

I will rub the spark.—In De Sacy’s Commentary it is said that to give to the sense of blame is a mistake; but I can­not but think that the ambiguity was present to Ḥarîri’s mind, who is fond of surprising the reader by such plays of language.

The light of cheerfulness.—The primitive meaning of is the foretokens or earnests of anything; and it is used in this sense in the reversed reading. Then it was applied to the streaks of light which the dawn makes in the night, and which are earnests of the coming morning. Hence in the text it signifies the bright gleams of a cheerful countenance.

Eloquence in speech is witchcraft to hearts.—This is taken from a traditional utterance of Moḥammed: “Some eloquence (or exposition) is as witchcraft.” The occasion on which it was spoken is given with the proverb. Arab. Prov. I. 1.

Self-restraint.— is defined in the Ta‘rîfât as the abstaining from what is doubtful for fear of falling into what is forbidden.

The ornament of rulers is hatred of defamers. — Moḥammed said, “He who defames his neighbour to the Prince injures his Prince, his neighbour, and himself.”

Excellence is in the hand of God; He gives it to whom he will.— These words are from Koran lvii. 29, where they are used as a rebuke to “the people of the Book” or of “writing,” that is the Jews and Christians, who possessed Scriptures, and despised the Prophet’s revelation. Ḥârith consoles himself for his in­feriority to Abû Zayd by reflecting that literary gifts are in the hands of God.

I do not take forfeit of my pupils: as I do from my unsuc­cessful competitors. As Ḥarîth was only a listener, not one of the contenders in the strife of eloquence, but an humble learner, Abû Zayd will not take a present from him.

Be Abû Zayd.—That is, I hope and believe that thou art Abû Zayd. The Prophet seeing Abû Therr al Ghafâri, at a distance, before he could well distinguish him, said, “Be Abû Therr,” that is, “I hope that thou art he,” or “God ordain that thou be he.”

He declared the Power of God and our return to Him.— or signifies he ejaculated (There is no strength and no power but in God). signifies he ejacu­lated (We belong to, or are in the hands of, God, and to Him we return). These are exclamations uttered at the befalling of calamity.

Time hath drawn his sword.—The metre of these verses is and they belong to the third which is and its first which is , the measure being It is to be noticed that each line ends with taken in a different sense.

Loose our loops: to rise up. See Sixteenth Assembly.

We went asunder like the bands of Saba.—The allusion here is to the most famous event in early Arab history, namely, to what is called , or the bursting of the dyke of Mârib, in Yemen, by which the reputed descendants of Saba were scattered to the extremities of Arabia, and into Syria, and Irak. The subject has been almost exhausted by Sylvestre de Sacy, in the masterly essay which is contained in Vol. xlviii. of the Mémoires de l’ Académie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres. To this work, and to the Arabic texts which the learned author has published with it, the student who desires full information on the subject is referred. It will be here necessary to give only such a brief narrative as will explain the allusion in the text. According to Arab tradition, there was in Yemen or South Western Arabia a large and fertile country inhabited by the descendants of Saba, . Mas‘ûdi describes it as distin­guished above all others for its rich fields, its gardens and its meadows, its buildings and canals, its fine trees and plentiful rivers. In this happy country, which was called the land of Saba, there was situated a great city called Mârib, which was the capital of its kings, a powerful race of monarchs, who had defeated all their enemies. But all this prosperity was artificial. The country had been originally uninhabitable, on account of the frequent inundations; since the torrents rushed down from the mountains, sweeping harvests and cattle before them. But Loḳmân, son of ‘Âd, he who is called “Loḳmân of the Vultures,” and who must not be confounded with Loḳmân al Ḥakîm, son of Bâ‘urâ, of the children of Âzar, who was sister’s son to Job, or, as others say, son of Job’s maternal aunt, and who was a witness of the power of God in giving David the skill to make coats of mail (Bayḍâwi on Koran xxxi. 11), became king of the country, after the destruction of the race of ‘Âd. For an account of “Loḳmân of the Vultures,” see Ṭabari, at the history of the prophet Hûd. This Loḳmân turned the channels of some of the rivers, and gave them an outlet to the sea; to restrain the rest, he constructed between two high mountains, at the mouth of a ravine into which the waters precipitated themselves, a strong dyke, which caused the floods to form a great basin or reservoir. In this dyke were openings through which the husbandmen drew off supplies of water for their fields, and the country of Mârib became fertile, populous, and rich. This prosperity endured for ages. Loḳmân himself is said to have lived three thousand five hundred years, having been granted by God a life equal in length to the lives of seven vultures, each of which lived five hundred years. His life only came to an end when the last vulture, which was named Lubad () died. At last the country came under the government of ‘Amr ibn ‘Âmir Muzayḳîyâ, or the Tearer, who was so called because he tore up, every evening, the , or pair of garments, which he had worn during the day; for his pride was such that he would not wear them again, or suffer another to wear them. A more probable derivation is that he or “tore away” the people from their settle­ments. This ‘Amr descended, according to Mas‘ûdi, from Saba, through Kahlân and Azd. He had a wife named Ẓarîfet al Khayr, who was a divineress of great skill, and who at her death left her Jinn, or familiar spirits, to Shiḳḳ and Saṭîḥ; as has been noticed already in the history of Shiḳḳ. In his time there arose a fear that the dyke would give way. ‘Amrân, brother of ‘Amr, who was also a diviner, received presages that the people would be scattered into distant coun­tries. Ẓarîfeh dreamed that a great cloud covered the country, out of which came thunderbolts that destroyed all they fell upon. She declaimed her dream to her husband in prophetic rhythm; and her frenzy was such that they held her fast till she grew calm. Afterwards, when her husband was absent and giving her cause for jealousy, she went to seek him, but three moles stood upright before her; a tortoise turned on its back in her path, and the trees were agitated without a wind. She forced her way into her husband’s presence, and in a prophetic frenzy declaimed, “By the light and the darkness; By the earth and the heaven; Surely each tree shall perish; And the waters shall return as in the times that are past.” “Who hath told thee that?” said ‘Amr. “The moles,” she answered in the same strain, “have shown me years of calamity, in which the son shall separate from the father.” In the end she bade ‘Amr go and examine the dyke, and if he found a rat making holes in it, be sure that the destruction would come to pass. He went, and found that it was so, and told what he had seen in some verses of the metre rejez. ‘Amr then determined to quit the country; but being desirous to obtain a good price for his property he devised a stratagem which would give him an excuse for selling it, without telling his people that it would soon be worthless. He made a feast, and contrived that he should be struck by a youth who was present. When he had received the blow he declared that he could never bear such an insult, and that he would dispose of all he had and depart. When he had arranged his affairs he revealed what was to happen, and a general emi­gration took place. God then sent great rains which burst the dyke, and ruined the country of Mârib. Such is the legend. Before proceeding to discuss the historical event on which it rests, it will be as well to cite the passage in the Koran concern­ing it, and the opinions of the commentators. At Sura xxxiv. 14, it is said, “Saba had in its dwelling a sign of our power; two gardens, right and left: we said Eat of the gift of your Lord, and be thankful to him: your country is a goodly one, and your Lord is forgiving. But they turned aside (from thankfulness) and we sent on them the Sayl al ‘Arim, and for their two gardens we gave them two with bitter fruit, and the tamarisk and scanty lotus.” In this passage is interpreted to be any bitter fruit, or to be the fruit of the kind of trees called . With respect to , it is interpreted by Bayḍâwi as “troublesome,” or “disastrous,” or as “a violent rain,” or “a rat,” the word “torrent” being put in annexion with ‘rat,’ because a rat bored through the dam which Bilḳîs had constructed for them, and by which she kept in the water, having left orifices according to the wants of the inhabitants; or else it is a high bank, founded as a dam; in which last case it is the plural of , which means heaped up stones; it is also said to be the name of the valley from which the torrent came. These discordant opinions con­duce to the belief that was a word of the language of Yemen, the meaning of which was not understood by Ḳoraysh. It is, however, the prevalent opinion among the learned that means a dyke, and to this the analogy of the Hebrew lends weight. In the song of Moses, Exodus xv. 8, it is said . For , a heap, see Cant. vii. 3; and Ruth iii. 7.