Al Ḥârith, son of Hammâm.—The use of this name and that of Abû Zayd, by the author, is explained by Sherîshi, who is confirmed by Ibn Khallikân, in his life of Ḥarîri. It is said that Ḥârith and Hammâm are the “truest,” that is the most justly applicable of names. A Tradition of Moḥam-med, concerning the naming of children, is recorded, in which it is said “The most acceptable names to God are ‘Abd Allah and ‘Abd-ar-Raḥmân; the truest are Al Ḥârith and Hammâm, and the most hateful Ḥarb and Murrah.” (Abû Murrah is a kinyeh for the devil). The reason for calling these names the “truest” is that there is no one who is not a Ḥârith, that is, who does not labour after gain for his living; and no one who is not a Hammâm, that is, who has not his anxieties. The names were accordingly adopted by Ḥarîri to signify a common ordi­nary mortal, in accordance with the precedent set by Badi‘ az Zemân. Under the name of Al Ḥârith, son of Hammâm, the author is supposed to have signified himself, and for this reason he makes Ḥârith a native of Basra. The name Abû Zayd is either the real name of a personage whom Ḥarîri had met with, or it is taken to signify an elderly man generally; Zayd being an ordinary name, and the Father of Zayd the ordinary father or elder. In confirmation of this view, it is noted that Abû Zayd is continually spoken of as advanced in years. The use of these allegorical names is common among Arabs, their own ordinary names having, generally, a meaning. An instance of such a des­criptive name is furnished by the philosophical romance of Abû Ja‘far ibn Ṭofayl, whose solitary hero bears the name of Ḥayy ibn Yaḳẓân, the Living, Son of the Awakened. It may be remarked that Ḥârith is the Greek Aretas: compare 2 Corin­thians xi. 32.

Ṣan‘â of Yemen.—Ṣan‘â is thus specified by the author to distinguish it from another place of the same name, near Damascus. Ṣan‘â the capital of Yemen, the seat of the Himya­ritic kings, called Tobba‘, and afterwards, for a time, of the Abys­sinian conquerors, was one of the most noted cities in the early times of Arab history, and preserved its importance as a seat of trade and manufacture in the days of Ḥarîri. A legend ascribes its foundation to Shem, son of Noah, who, after his father’s death, journeyed southward, until he came to the first climate, and found Yemen the most agreeable country, and the site of Ṣan‘â the most favoured district. He was led by the flight of a bird to the place where he laid the foundations of the Ghom-dân, or palace of San‘â. Descending to more historical times, we find it related that the Tabâbi‘ah established themselves succes­sively at Mareb, Ẓafâr and Ṣan‘â. The Ghomdân, the most magnificent edifice in ancient Arabia, was built, according to Kazwini (Caussin de Perceval—Essai sur l’histoire des Arabes) by Surahbîl, one of these ancient monarchs. It was an im­mense building, with four faces, one red, another white, a third yellow, and the fourth green. In the midst was an edifice of seven stories, each story forty cubits in height. The lowest formed a hall, entirely constructed of marble, and covered with a single slab of marble. At the four corners were figures of lions, hollow, so that when the wind entered their mouths, they made noises like roarings. This great city became afterwards the formidable rival of Mecca, and if the enterprise of its Abys­sinian master, Abrahet al Ashram, had succeeded, the worship of the Ka‘beh might have been destroyed, the Ḳoraysh subdued or scattered, and the advent of Islam prevented. The invasion of Abraheh took place about the time of the birth of Moḥammed, in what is called “the year of the Elephant.” Ṣan‘â was tem­porarily wrested from the power of Moḥammed by the rival prophet, Al Aswad, who was slain only two days before the former’s death. Little historical interest attached to Ṣan‘â in later times, but it continued to be the most populous and thriving town in Yemen. The Ghomdân and the temple which belonged to it were destroyed by the Khalif ‘Othmân. San‘â is said to be an Abyssinian term, meaning “pleasant” or “com­fortable,” and to have been substituted for the former name of the city.

When I mounted.—When I made it my monture, my usual conveyance. is the part between the hump and the neck. “When I made wandering my steed” is the idea intended.

Its depths.—, the main part or portion of a thing, as the sea, sand, or a fight; the deepest part thereof (Lane). Hence it is applied to the thick of the city, and its innermost parts.

Fray the tissue of my countenance.—This metaphor is often repeated in the Assemblies to describe the shame of beggary. He who begs is said to wear out the tender skin of his face, to harden it and dry up its moisture. Though alms-giving is enjoined on Moslems, and beggars are sufficiently numerous among them, yet mendicity is always spoken of as humiliating and disgraceful. The Prophet said, “If ye knew what was in beggary, not one of you would approach another to ask of him.” A poet exclaims:

The water of thy hand (its bounty), whether it be generous or niggardly,

Compensates not for the water of my face, which I spend in exchange for it.

The phrase here used occurs again in the Thirty-seventh Assembly, where, in some verses in praise of patience under misfortune, the author says:

The man of spirit, if his eye have a mote in it, hides the mote of his eyelids even from his eye-ball (conceals his poverty or pain);

And when the tissue of his garment is worn, he wears not out the two tissues of his cheeks.

De Sacy, in the commentary to the Thirty-seventh Assembly, quotes several passages on the shame of beggary.

A wide place of concourse.—Ḥarîri remarks in the Durrah that a meeting place is not called unless the company are in it. (De Sacy, Anthologie Grammaticale Arabe, p. 30, Arabic Text). It is much to be regretted that this work of Ḥarîri on the niceties of the language has not yet been printed. Judging from the portion given by De Sacy, it must be an invaluable companion to the Assemblies.

Cadences.— is applied originally to the cadence of a dove’s cooing, and then metaphorically to the parallelistic rhymed prose, the sound of which has a certain resemblance to it. Compare and .

To catch—Literally, to take a light or brand. This metaphor, derived from the custom of getting a light at a neighbour’s fire, is often repeated. From frequent use it came to have a special signification, so that iḳtibâs, in the language of scholars, is applied to the introduction into a composition of well-known phrases from another author, proverbial expressions, or words of the Koran, for the sake of ornament.

As he coursed.—For the meaning of , see Lane.

And the throat of his improvisation.—It is impossible to render into English the bold metaphor here used. The of the male camel is the faucial bag or inner part of the throat, which, when enraged or excited by any cause, he thrusts out of his mouth with a roaring noise, called . The noise of the she-camel, as also of the male camel when he does not thrust out this substance, is called . The is thus used figura­tively to signify the power of rapid and impetuous oratory. Ḥarîri uses the same metaphor in the Twenty-ninth Assembly to describe the flow of Abû Zayd’s speech (De Sacy’s edition, p. 354). In both cases he, no doubt, had in mind the proverb used by the Khalif ‘Ali, when he was asked why he had not made his oration longer, . The shiḳshiḳah roars and then is silent. (Arab. Prov. I. 673). The sermon of Abû Zayd is excellently imitated by Naṣîf al Yazaji in his Third Assembly.

Thyself, thy chief enemy.—A saying of the Prophet is, “Thy greatest enemy is not he who, if thou kill him, thou hast thy re­venge, or he who, if he kill thee, thou enterest into paradise; but thy greatest enemy is thyself in thy own body”. Al Aṣma‘î, on receiving from a man food on his journey, said to him, “God confound all thy enemies except thyself.”

Woe to him who seeks the world.—These verses are of the , the sixth metre of the fourth circle, or , which is formed by the primitive feet This circle contains the , and , the measure of the last being , twice in each verse. It must be observed that the in is a , corresponding to in the original measure of the circle, so that this part of the foot is not subject to . Though there are instances of the being used , that is, with its full measure, yet the general use is as here , with the and the regular (), the measure being Of , there enter into this metre the following—, and . Of the first there are instances in all three of the verses; becoming , and becoming . The in the rhyme is to be noticed. Sherîshi gives instances of it from other poets.