The Pearl of the Diver.—This, the title of Al Ḥarîri’s gram­matical work, may perhaps better be given simply as “The Pearl,” being a phrase applied to the sea-pearl, which is brought up from the depths by the diver. Compare line 11 of the Ḳaṣîdeh of Omayyet ibn Abî ‘Â’ith in the Dîwân of the Huthalîyûn, p. 177, Kosegarten’s edition.

Rustem and Isfendiar and the Chosroes.—There are other indications that the ancient historical legends of the Persians were known to the Arabs at an early time. The Chosroes especially referred to would be the heroic monarch Kai-Khosru, who holds in the romance of Iran the position of Arthur or Charlemagne in that of Europe. His war with Afrasiab, king of Turan, and the adventures of the Pahlawans Rustem, Tûs, Guderz, Guiw, and others, form the grandest and most poetical section of the work of Firdousi. For the story of An Naḍr, see Sîrat ar Resûl, p. 191.

John Tzetzes.—The learned Byzantine refers in his Chiliads to the work of Lycophron, his own labours on it, and the mis­behaviour of a rival scholar. In his City Verse he relates:

<Greek>

Chiliades, viii. 483. From the sequel of the narrative it appears that the impostor did not go unpunished.