1,551. i.e., do as the world does.
1,552. i.e., take plenty of time to deliberate, and then act forcibly and quickly.
1,553. Although the words dil, “heart,” and jigar, “liver,” together with the compounds into which they enter, are most commonly used in the same sense, they are not by any means synonymous. The heart is defined as an immaterial luminous essence by which man is distinguished from the lower animals. It may incline to the higher spirit, rūḥ, or to the carnal soul, nafs, and takes the position of the one to which it inclines. Though called by the philosopher nafs-i nāṭiqa, “the reasoning soul,” it is also the seat of affections. The liver, on the other hand, is nothing but the seat of affections, perhaps, when considered with reference to “heart”, of a grosser and more instinctive nature. It might have to do with organic sensations. It belongs naturally to the nafs, “the carnal soul,” but the latter may be raised to the position of “heart” when the passions are entirely subdued; i.e., when the nafs-i ammāra, the “domineering soul”, has passed through the position of nafs-i lavvāma, the “reproaching soul”, to that of nafs-i muṭma’ inna, the “subdued or tranquillized soul”.
1,554. An allusion to the leather cloth on which a criminal sat when about to be beheaded, and to the basin also used. At these executions sand was also scattered to absorb the blood.
1,555. Farhād, the name of the lover of Shīrīn who became the wife of Khusrau Parvīz, a king of Persia.
“Tomb of Farhād” is an allusion to the skulls and the danger of the enterprise.
“Palace of Shīrīn” is an allusion to the portrait and the beauty and grandeur of the princess of the castle.
(For Farhād and Shīrīn, see also Notes 1,135, 1,163, 1,165, and 1,234.)
1,556. Dar-basta is explained by Redhouse as “with entire possession of a house and right to close its door”, but here it must be used as an attribute of the house regarding which a person has such right.
1,557. Lit., “world of learning.”
1,558. Sīmurgh, the name of a fabulous bird supposed to have inhabited the Alburz Mountains. It was said to have miraculous power, and is celebrated in the Shāh-nāma as the foster-father of Zāl, Rustam’s father. In Ṣūfī phraseology (see especially ‘Aṭṭār’s Manṭiqu ’ṭ-Ṭair) it means the Divine Essence. (See also Notes 1,198 and 1,208.)
1,559. i.e., with all the tokens of perfection.
1,560. i.e., he approached him to do obeisance.
“As lily might”; in allusion to the finger-like petals of that flower.
1,561. “Like the rose”; in allusion probably to the outer circle of petals of the rose; or, if the wild rose be intended, to its circular form. In either case the calyx might be meant.
1,562. Khiẓr, “the surname of an ancient prophet reputed to have found and drunk of the Water of Life, and therefore to be immortal. He performs miracles, but disappears if suspected. He is confused with Elias and with St. George.” (Redhouse.) (See also Notes 274, 1,201, and 1,698.)
1,563. “A spiritual relationship”; i.e., most probably, he had recourse to astrology, which may be called spiritual in so far as the planets are called the spirits of the zodiacal signs. This spiritual relationship is explained by the following passage from the Encyclopædia of Islām:—
“The influence of the stars depends on their individual nature, and also on their position relatively to the earth or to the other stars; the events of the sublunary world and human vicissitudes are therefore subject always to the extremely complex and variable combinations of very numerous, very varied and very contradictory celestial influences. To know and to combine these influences is the astrologer’s very arduous task.”
One branch of magic indeed is also called “spiritual”, but I do not see that there is anything in it which can be called “relationship”, except that in some written charms mysterious combinations of numbers, together with figures, names, and words are used.
Astrology itself, however, was pronounced by Muḥammad to be a branch of magic.
1,564. i.e., there were necessarily crevices between the door and the wall, but these must be supposed to have been hidden by some outer covering.
1,565. This refers to the gap he made (see the last distich but seven), and to his finding the door.
1,566. i.e., as soon as dark night came on, as it were, to the moon considered as a litter.
1,567. i.e., she proceeded as rapidly as the wind.
1,568. i.e., found the castle-door.
1,569. i.e., when the sun rose.
1,570. i.e., when in the seven heavens, in which are six directions, Virgo disappeared and the sun rose.
The six directions are north, south, east, west, above, and below.
Nard is the Persian backgammon.
1,571. “The Great Kings,” Kayān; i.e., the kings of the Kayānian or second Persian dynasty.
1,572. As the pronoun shīn in the text refers most probably to the princess, the sense must be that the king prepared to further her business.
1,573. May be taken literally, but possibly means, spoke to him in flattering, eloquent terms.
1,574. The sense is that the hall could scarcely contain the foods provided.
1,575. i.e., they should test the prince.
1,576. “Ṭarāzian puppets”; i.e., beauties of Ṭarāz, that city being famous for the beauty of its inhabitants. (See Note 695.) The sense is that she might teach beauties of Ṭarāz grace and fascination.
1,577. Weights were made of stone.
1,578. i.e., to the princess, who was as a ruby in respect of her resplendent rosy cheekṣ.
1,579. The “sea” and the “sun” both mean “the prince”.
1,580. i.e., in a thousand hopes on the part of her relatives and those connected with her.
1,581. “A drop of milk” means metaphorically perhaps spiritual guidance.
1,582. A blue glass-bead being superstitiously thought to counteract the influence of the evil eye, which would be supposed to be particularly efficacious in the case of two perfect beings like the prince and princess.
1,583. “The sweetmeats of her marriage-feast.” The word used here is shakar-rīzī, “sugar-scattering,” and may possibly mean the same as the modern shīrīnī-khvarān, the distribution of sweetmeats at a betrothal. Considerable sums are spent upon these, and the distribution of them is regarded as an important part of the ceremony.
1,584. Canopus, which here means the prince, is a particularly bright star of the first magnitude in the constellation Argo, a Argus. (See also Note 536.)
1,585. i.e., the prince with the princess.
1,586. “Pomegranates”; i.e., her breasts. “Dates”; i.e., her lips.
1,587. “Black”; i.e., misfortune.
1,588. Lit., “since they drove his steed with redness,” “they” referring to the governing powers, or Fortune.
1,589. “The vital spirit”; i.e., the rūḥ-i ḥaivānī, the animal spirit, by which is understood the life, the seat of which is in the heart, and which moves in the veins with the pulsations of the body. (Hughes: A Dictionary of Islām.)
1,590. Lit., “the brain of the air was filled with perfume of red roses,” the perfume of red roses meaning the sweetness of her eloquent words.
1,591. “A musky veil”; i.e., a black veil.
1,592. “A rose-bud”; i.e., her mouth.
1,593. Lit., “sweet pastilles”; i.e., sweet and eloquent words. “The rose’s petals”; i.e., her lips.
1,594. i.e., to be reluctant to obey.
1,595. i.e., bear the trouble of listening.
1,596. Freely translated.
1,597. i.e., Māhān.
1,598. “Musky”; i.e., black.
1,599. i.e., the blackness of night succeeded the silvery whiteness of day.
1,600. A compliment to Māhān upon his importance.