The Bráhman said, ‘They have related that in the country of Hindústán there was a Jackal, by name Farísah,476 who had averted his face from the world, and had turned his back on its vain affairs. He lived among his fellows and those of his own race, but he abstained from eating flesh and spilling blood and hurting animals.
His comrades commenced a wrangle with him, and began a dispute, the tendency of which was towards strife and contest, and said, ‘We do not feel satisfied with this disposition of thine, and we blame thy judgment in this procedure. Inasmuch as thou dost not turn away from our intercourse, thou oughtest to agree with our habits and character, and since thou dost not snatch away the skirt of consentaneousness from our society, thou shouldest not withdraw thy head from the collar of coincidence. Moreover, to pass precious life in prohibition, and to keep thyself incarcerated in the prison of austerity, is of little utility. Besides, it is right to demand what is due as thy portion of the enjoyments of the world, that thou mayest have thy share of the drink, ‘And forget not thy portion in this world.’476a Nor is it right to relinquish eating and drinking which form an essential support of life, in order that thou mayest comply with the command, ‘Eat and drink;’476b and thou shouldest know well the fact that yesterday cannot be recalled, and it befits us not to make sure of gaining the morrow. What is the use, then, of losing to-day? and of foregoing the enjoyment of [present] pleasures?
The Jackal replied, ‘Since ye know that yesterday is past, and will return no more, and that a sensible man does not rely on the morrow, lay up something to-day in store, that may serve as provision for the [final] journey.
And the world, full as it is of faults, has at least this one merit, that it is, as they have called it, the seed-ground of the final state, and the seed that thou sowest therein, the same thou wilt reap in the resurrection; [as it is said], ‘To-day is the sowing and to-morrow is the harvest.’
It behoves a man of sense therefore to expend all his energies in securing a recompense in the final state, and this he may do by the performance of alms and pious works; and he should set his heart on enduring happiness and eternal delights, and this is to be brought about by forsaking the affairs of this deceitful world and fleeting abode.
To-day that ye have the power and canst do so, gallop the steed of abstinence in the plain of holy warfare, and store up for sickness the fruits of health, and acquire interest from the capital of youth for the flagging market of old age, and from the advantages of life prepare provisions for the journey through the desert of annihilation and extinction. A sage has said, ‘Today ye have the power and lack the knowledge, and to-morrow ye will have the knowledge and lack the power,’ [according to the text] ‘Alas! that I have been negligent in my duty to God.’477
Worldly enjoyment, like the lightning’s flash, is unenduring, and its sufferings, too, like the dark shadow of a cloud, have no continuance. One ought not, then, to become attached to the gain of its good things, nor to grieve at the hardship of its trials.
The sum of the matter is, that to devote the heart to attachment to this cell of misery appears to be far removed from nobility of mind; and to erect an edifice in the channel of the torrent of annihilation seems inconsistent with perfect foresight. [Thus it is said] ‘Pass over it and do not build it:’ this hired mansion and place, soon to be abandoned,
The other animals replied, ‘O Farísah! bid us not abandon the enjoyments of the world, for it is a world excellent for the purpose for which it was created, which was that we might reap advantage from it, and enjoy the fruition of its delights. And the recondite saying, ‘And we provided good things for their sustenance,’478 is a proof of this assertion.’ Farísah replied, ‘The real excellence of the world consists in its being the implement478a by which a wise man obtains a good name and enduring mention; and by the means of which he acquires provision for the journey to that place to which all must return; so that, in accordance with the saying, ‘Honest wealth is a good thing,’ riches become the cause of his happy end, not the means of his punishment and disgrace. And ye, if ye desire happiness in this world, give ear to these words; and, for the sake of pleasant food, the gratification of which does not extend beyond the gullet, do not think it permissible to destroy an animal, and be content with what ye can get without molesting or paining others, and do not exceed such a quantity as will suffice for the sustenance of the frame and the support of the body. Nor require of me to conform to you in that which is contrary to law and reason. For my mere association with you does not lead to harm, but my participation in blameable actions would be the cause of my being punished; and if ye mean to annoy me by these vexatious importunities, give me leave rather to abandon your society, and betake myself to the corner of retirement.
When Farísah’s companions saw that his foot was firmly planted on the carpet of abstinence and piety, they were convinced, and became ashamed of having spoken these words, and loosed the tongue of apology to excuse themselves. As for Farísah, he in a short time attained such eminence in piety and virtue that the recluses of that country were in the habit of imploring spiritual succor from his soul; and those who were hastening over the tract of religious improvement continually besought the aid of the favor of his directing glance. After a short interval the fame of his austerities and uprightness was diffused through the environs of that region, and the celebrity of his devotion and religious life penetrated the adjoining parts of that territory. Now, hard by the place where Farísah lived, there was a jungle, abounding in streams and springs of water, and trees of various kinds. In the midst of it was a meadow, such that the garden of Iram from envy of its freshness withdrew its face beneath the veil of concealment, and the invigorating influence of its cool northern breezes bestowed immortal life on the fainting heart.
And in that spot many wild animals and beasts of prey had collected, and by reason of the amplitude of the expanse and the delightfulness of the air various beasts and reptiles reposed there, and their king was a lion, terrible and dreadful, a monster, frightful and awe-inspiring.
The whole body of the inhabitants of that jungle were constrained to obey him and passed their time under the protection of his majesty, and in the asylum of his awe. They called him Kámjúí,479 and under this title his fame had spread through all parts of that country. One day, Kámjúí was conversing on divers subjects with his grandees, and had opened the road of various discourse. In the midst of the conversation the story of Farísah was introduced, and such were the encomiums of his perfect virtue and blameless life that from all quarters reached the ears of the monarch, that he wished with heart and soul for his society.
In short, as the desire of Kámjúí to converse with Farísah passed all bounds, he sent some one to require his attendance; and Farísah, on his part, in obedience to the imperial command, presented himself in the world-sheltering court. The king having received him with the prescribed forms of respect, bestowed on him the honor of a seat in the high assembly, and tested his real condition in various points of devotion and spiritual knowledge. To be brief, he found that Farísah was a boundless sea in developing virtuous excellencies and high accomplishments, and saw that he was a gem-scattering treasure in the knowledge of the particulars of perfect truth. Again, he made trial of him in the matter of subtlety and in the transaction of important business, and in eloquence of speech and justness of deliberation; and found the coin of his condition of full value on the touchstone of acceptance.
Kámjúí was pleased with his society, and cultivated an intimacy with him. After some days he called him to a private audience, and said, ‘O Farísah! my realm is of wide extent, and the transactions of it are vast, and they brought to my royal hearing the tidings of thy piety and abstinence, and I
And now that I have seen thee, what I see exceeds what I heard; and hearing proves inferior to the sight.
I will now place confidence in thee, and entrust to thee the affairs of government and finance, so that thy rank being elevated by my patronage, thou wilt be admitted into the class of my special and intimate favorites, and wilt be distinguished through the blessings of my condescension and the happiness of my favor, from thy fellows and brethren, yea, even from all thy contemporaries, by the honor of my selection and the excellence of thy dignity.
Farísah replied, ‘It behoves kings that for state-affairs they should select proper helpers and becoming assistants; and, moreover, it is requisite for them not to force an employment upon any one against his consent. For when they by compulsion thrust480 office upon a person, who is unable to execute it rightly, and is incompetent to the proper discharge of its duties, the disastrous result thereof recoils upon the king, and the sin of the disobedience of the functionary comes back upon the ruler.
Now the drift of this discourse is, that I am averse to affairs of state, and possess no knowledge nor experience in them. And thou art a king of great majesty and a monarch of high dignity; and in thy service are many wild animals and beasts of prey, endued with strength and ability, and noted for their qualities of uprightness and honesty, and who are anxiously looking out for such employment. If thou wilt be pleased to bestow on them thy favor and regard, they will keep the royal mind at ease from all anxiety as to the management of affairs of importance, and will be pleased and benefited by the presents and offerings which they will obtain for undertaking office.’ Kámjúí answered, ‘What advantage hast thou from thus rejecting my offer? and what profit dost thou see in repelling my proposals? And for my part, I will assuredly not excuse thee, and with thy will or against it will hang the chain of undertaking this affair on the neck of thy care.
Farísah said, ‘The business of the king should devolve on two kinds of men. Of these, one is the acute, uncompromising person, who with extreme energy and boldness, pursues his object; and having succeeded by craft and subtlety, does not become a butt for the arrow of opposition. The second, is a careless and weak-minded individual, who has become habituated to degradation, and who cares not for dishonor, and disregards the loss of reputation and character.481 Now such a person is not exposed to envy, nor does any one oppose or strive with him. And I am not of these two classes. I am not swayed by cupidity, so as to play the traitor; nor have I a low disposition so as to endure patiently the load of infamy.
The king must abandon this idea, and excuse me from undertaking the burthen of this task; for it is now a long time since I have sewed up the eye of pert cupidity with the needle of contentment; and have consumed with the flashing fires of abstinence, the vain ware of avarice, which is subject to so many wants. And should the king contaminate me again with worldly matters, the same thing will befall me which befell the Flies who had settled in the vessel of honey.’ The Lion asked, ‘How was that?’
Farísah said, ‘They have related that one day a pure-minded faḳír, whose step was firm in the path of spirituality, was passing along the bázár. A poor man,482 a confectioner, who had a fellow-feeling for the indigent,482a requested the holy man that he would rest for a moment at his door. The spiritually gifted faḳír, to gratify him, took his seat there; and the master sweetmeat-maker, by way of imploring a blessing, filled a cup with honey and set it before the darvesh. The Flies (according to their custom of rushing upon sweet things, and of not suffering themselves to be driven away, however much one may try to get rid of them,
all at once settled in swarms on the cup of honey. Some alighted on the side of the cup, and a few threw themselves into it. The confectioner seeing that the attacks of the Flies went beyond all bounds, flourished a fan for driving away insects; those that were at the side of the cup, easily took wing and went off; while the feet of those who had seated themselves within, having stuck in the honey, when they tried to fly, their wings became smeared with the honey, and they fell into the snare of destruction. The pious darvesh was greatly amused, and began to utter wild cries of delight. After the sea of the shekh’s mind grew calm, and the waves of the ocean of ecstacy and rapture had abated, the confectioner said, ‘O holy man! I have not withheld from thee material sweetmeats, and do thou not withhold from me that spiritual matter which was disclosed482b in thy recent transports.
The shekh replied, ‘They represented to me in this cup of honey the vile world, and the greedy and covetous competitors for it, and a secret and inspired voice said to me, ‘Know that this cup is the world, and this honey its dainties; and these flies those that pursue them. And those that sit on the side are the contented faḳírs, who are satisfied with a small morsel from the table of the world; and the others, which are inside the cup, are the greedy and covetous, whose conceit is, that as they are inside they will get the greater share; but they are ignorant of the import of the saying, ‘Food is allotted.’ However, when ’Izráil waves the fan of departure, those that are on the side fly away easily and return to their nest ‘in the assembly of truth, in the presence of a most potent king;’483 while those that are seated inside, the more they struggle, get their feet the deeper entangled, and remain in the strait, ‘Afterwards we rendered him the vilest of the vile,’483a and the issue of their affairs terminates in eternal misery and ruin.
And this story has been adduced in order that the king may not besmear the wings and feathers of my happy state with the honey of the world. It may be that when the time for demanding restitution of my spirit arrives, I may be able to travel easily the road to the final state.
Kámjúí replied, ‘If any one keeps his eyes fixed on what is right, and standing firm on the path of equity omits no particle of justice, and protects the oppressed from the sparks of the injuries of the tyrannical, and listens with a pleased heart and smiling countenance to the words of the afflicted, assuredly in this world his fortunes will be honored with permanency, and in the next he will attain to the exaltation of high dignity and blessedness.’ Farísah said, ‘If in officiating under kings all obligations are fulfilled, the perfume of final salvation may then reach the nostrils; but in this world the state of a courtier cannot possibly be permanent or unchanging, nor can his office continue for a long time fixed and secure; for as soon as one has been exalted by being granted nearer access to the king, even friends begin to view him with estranged looks, and foes, too, make his life a target for the arrow of calamity. And when a party coalesce, in hostility to him, of course he cannot be safe, nor can he live tranquilly. Nay, though he should set his foot on the top of the planet Saturn, he will not secure his head.’ The Lion answered, ‘Since thou hast obtained my favor, do not plunge thyself into imaginary dangers, for the sincerity of my good opinion is a bar to the mischievous plots of slanderous enemies. With a single chastisement I will close up the path of their machinations, and convey thee to the utmost limit of good cheer and safety.
Farísah rejoined, ‘If the king’s intention in thus raising me and bringing me into notice, is to do me a benefit, it would be more suitable to his imperial kindness and condescension and his infinite justice and impartiality to leave me to go about safe and at my ease in this desert; and of all the good things of this world to content myself with water and herbs, and so keep aloof from the injury of the envy and malice of friend and foe. And this is certain that a short life in peace, and happiness, and freedom from care, and health, is better than a long one in fear and dread, and mental fatigue and labor.
Kámjúí responded, ‘Thou must put far from thy thoughts the irritating doubts of fear, and allocating thyself with me, must take on thy responsibility the administration of affairs.’ Farísah replied, ‘If the case is so, and all my deprecation and rejection are unavailing, I must have a letter of immunity, that when high and low rise up against me,—the former in the hope of getting my post, and the latter through fear of their sinking lower,—the king may not be alienated from me by their whisperings, and may think it right to ponder and weigh their insinuations, and may fulfil all that is proper in examining484 into my case, and the mischievous accusations of those who seek to do me hurt.
The Lion made a covenant with him, and gave him a promise, and then delivered to his charge his effects and treasures; and distinguished him above all his retainers and attendants by unbounded favor. He deliberated too on affairs of importance with him alone, and revealed the state-secrets to none but him. Every day the Lion’s confidence in him increased, and his intimacy with the lion, and the esteem in which the latter held him augmented, until their friendship reached the utmost limit possible, and their union was thoroughly cemented. Farísah was not absent one moment from attending on the lion, nor could Kámjúí rest an instant without his society.
This state of things became irksome to the favorites of the Lion, and a body of the Pillars of the State came to an agreement hostile to Farísah, and bound themselves by a promise of acting consentaneously in opposition to him. They passed whole days in devising his ruin, and whole nights in compassing his removal. At last all unanimously resolved to accuse him of treason, in order that the mind of Kámjúí, which never swerved from the path of justice and uprightness, might be estranged from him, and that the Lion’s belief in his honesty, which quality he conceived to be perfectly manifested in him, might be shaken. ‘Thereupon’ (thought they) ‘great openings may be obtained, and endeavours may be used for humbling and overthrowing him.
They then suborned an individual to steal a portion of flesh which they had set apart for the Lion’s breakfast, and hide it in Farísah’s cell.
the nobles and ministers formed rank in attendance, and the notables and officials presented themselves at the court of the king. Farísah had gone on some business of the utmost importance in some other direction. The Lion was waiting for his return, and uttered not a word except in praise of his ability and understanding and knowledge.
The time for the Lion’s meal arrived, and his savage appetite being excited, he was overpowered with the violence of his hunger. The more they sought for the flesh which was apportioned to the king, the less they found it. The Lion was exceedingly enraged, and at this crisis Farísah was absent and his enemies present. When they perceived that the fire of the Lion’s hunger was joined to the heat of his wrath, they began their mischievous tricks; and finding the oven of his fury hot, they shut in their unleavened bread. One of them said, ‘There is no alternative but we must acquaint the king, and represent all we know as to his majesty’s advantage or detriment, though it may not suit certain persons.’ Kámjúí, his attention being thus drawn, said, ‘It behoves loyal attendants and attached retainers at no time to neglect the duty of giving advice, and in recognition of the obligations they are under for favors received, to report at fitting times what they know and can tell.
Report what thou hast heard, and say what thou hast seen.’ One of those traitrous slanderers and ill-judging sycophants replied, ‘They have informed me that Farísah conveyed that flesh towards his own house.’ Another, in a doubtful way, interposed with a remark intended to answer a different purpose than the apparent one,486 and said, ‘I cannot believe this, for he is an inoffensive and trustworthy animal.’ Another, commencing craftily, exclaimed, ‘We must be cautious in this matter, for everyone has his friends and enemies, and through interested motives they assert things which are not the fact, and we cannot quickly know men’s characters, nor can we be easily informed of men’s secrets.’ Another, interposing with greater boldness, said, ‘Such is the case, and intelligence of secrets and acquaintance with men’s minds are not readily acquired. But if the flesh be found in his house, whatever is rumored of his treason among high and low, and small and great, will be true.’ At this crisis, Kámjúí lost the reins of self-control, and exclaimed, ‘What do men say with regard to him? and how do they establish his treason?’ One of those present, who was in league with the adverse faction, said, ‘O king! the report of his perfidy and deceit has been widely diffused among the inhabitants of this jungle, and if he be a traitor he will never carry his life out safe from this whirlpool, and the disastrous results of his treason will quickly reach him.’ Another of the interested ones loosed the tongue of mischief, and said, ‘A number of persons did certainly always spread this report of him, but I hesitated to credit it. Now that I hear this history, it has almost come to pass that the gloom of my doubt is exchanged for the light of certainty.’ Another added, ‘His frauds and deceit before, too, were not hidden from me, and I have such a one and such a one as witness that the affairs of this pretended saint would end in disgrace, and that some grave offence and enormous crime would be perpetrated by him. On this head they have said,
Another said, ‘It is strange that, notwithstanding pretensions to religious poverty and pure-mindedness, and the ascetic’s garb and good intentions, a person should not be ashamed to adopt perfidy; and strange, too, if this couplet is not inscribed by the tongue of his condition on the page of discourse,
Another, joining in the conversation, in a plausible manner, said, ‘This pure and abstemious person, during these many days, used to weep, and externally pretended to regard the administration of public affairs as a calamity, and misery, and misfortune, and trouble; and if, in spite of all this, his perfidy is proved, there will be room for astonishment.’ Another said, ‘When in such a trifle as this, viz., the portion set apart for the king’s breakfast, he could shew his greediness, one may guess what bribes he will have taken in affairs of vital importance, and what enormous sums he must have squandered from the king’s treasury.
When the nobles found the plain of effrontery clear, they began to gallop the steed of abuse, and raised in the expanse of the heart of Kámjúí, the dust of suspicion and doubt. The ministers, too, turning the reins of discourse towards calumny and wicked slander, impressed in the mind of the king some envious and hypocritical remarks.487a One of them said, ‘If this thing turns out true, it will not be simple deceit, but plain proof of ingratitude and treason to his benefactor; and, undoubtedly, by this audacious act he will have thrown contempt on the king, and set aside the imperial honor and dignity.’ Another adopted the language of advice and admonition, and said, ‘O friends! blacken not the writing of your own proceedings by these fatuous words, and in accordance with the saying, ‘Would any of you desire to eat the flesh of his dead brother?’487b do not bite the flesh of your brother with the tooth of reproach. For it may be that the story of his treason is false, and ye will all become criminal and guilty. If the king will at once issue his command that they search his house, the dust of doubt will be removed from the path of truth. For if the flesh be in his dwelling, it will be a clear proof of the truth of these words, and the suspicions of high and low will terminate in conviction. But if it be a palpable calumny, and the lost flesh is not found in his cell, all must loose their tongues in asking forgiveness for their fault, and entreat Farísah to pardon them.’ Another said, ‘We must make haste if these prudent measures are to be adopted, for his spies surround us on all sides. Every moment he will get intelligence of what is going on, and will neglect no measures that may be required to remedy the matter.’ At the conclusion of the debate one of the privy councillors of the king boldly came forward and said, ‘What is the advantage of investigating this affair, and what is the use of inquiry into this matter? For even, if the crime of that corrupt traitor should be clearly proved, he will by hypocritical and false pretences turn away the mind of the king from inflicting retribution, and will employ some astonishing device, by which he will throw doubt upon all in spite of their certainty in this matter.
In short, at this crisis, when the Lion was hungry and furious, they said so much after this fashion, that his heart was penetrated with a feeling of aversion to Farísah, and in accordance with the saying, ‘Whoever listens, doubts,’ various thoughts passed through his mind, and he gave orders to summon Farísah to his presence. That hapless one, unaware of the impression made by the wiles of his enemies, began his return, and as the skirt of his honesty was pure from the stain of this false accusation, he came boldly into the presence of Kámjúí. The Lion asked, ‘What hast thou done with the flesh I committed to thy charge yesterday?’ Farísah replied, ‘I conveyed it to the kitchen, that they might bring it to the king at breakfast-time.’ The cook, too, was one of the conspirators. He came forward to deny [what Farísah had said;] and asserted most pertinaciously, ‘I know nothing about the circumstance, and thou gavest no flesh to me.’ The Lion then sent a party of commissioners, who searched Farísah’s abode for the flesh; and, as they had hid it themselves, they soon brought it to light and took it to the Lion. Farísah perceived that his enemies had effected their purpose, and that they had found their opportunity and accomplished an affair, the threads of the counsel of which they had been long weaving. He said to himself,
And of the number of the vazírs was a wolf, who to that moment had not uttered a word of reproach, and who reckoned himself among the just, and made as though he would not take a step without certain and convincing proof, nor meddle with the matter till he had full cognizance of all the circumstances, and vaunted his friendship for Farísah, and made a strenuous show of protecting him. When these things had taken place he advanced, and, in declaration of his opinion, said, ‘O King! the fault of this villain has been found out, and the guilt of this dishonorable wretch has come to light. The king’s advisable course is that the command for his punishment should be carried into execution with all possible despatch; for, if this be overlooked, other criminals will doubtless be freed from dread of chastisement, and will wax more audacious every moment.
The Lion commanded them to remove the Jackal, and plunged into a long and deep meditation. Meanwhile a lynx, who was one of the special favorites of the king, began to say, ‘I am astonished at the luminous mind of the king—from the radiance of which the sun acquires its power of diffusing light, and under the defence of which the taper of heaven’s dormitory illuminates its face,—as to how the acts of this traitor, and the perfidy of this paltry cheat, have been hid from it, and how unobservant the king has been of the impurity of his foul mind, and the deceitfulness of his wily nature, and why the king delays his execution, notwithstanding such an enormous crime, and such a shameful action, and disturbs with the straw and rubbish of reflection the stream of punishment, by the drops of which the tree of justice is refreshed and invigorated.’ Kámjúí, roused by these words, said, ‘What hast thou to say?’ The lynx replied, ‘O king! sages have said, ‘He, whose administration is good, his rule will endure;’ the regulations of a needful severity are the cause of a government’s continuance. Whoever draws not out the sword of punishment from the sheath of vengeance cannot repel the arrow of mischief with the shield of defence; and he who does not hack to pieces the foundation of injustice with the axe of wrath will not be able to plant the seedling of his wishes in the flower-garden of life.
And whoever seeks the king’s welfare must inflict punishment on the guilty, nor shew him favor though he be the friend of his heart and the beloved of his soul. As the Sulṭán of Baghdád, for the public weal, inflicted punishment on his own beloved mistress.’ Kámjúí said, ‘How was that?’
The lynx represented, ‘They have related that in the capital of China there was a king, who, in observing the canons of justice, had, like Jamshíd, made the world-displaying goblet of reason the mirror of his life; and, like Alexander, sought for the living waters of equity in his attention to the rules of government.
He had a son of fair countenance and sweet disposition, who captured the hearts of mankind with the lasso of suavity, and, with the grain of beneficence and courtesy, brought into the snare of his attachment the birds of the souls of high and low.
This son formed a desire of seeing the Holy Sanctuary, which is another term for that in the well-known passage, ‘Verily the first house appointed unto men to worship in [was that which is in Becca];’490 and from the corner of his heart was manifested a strong inclination to circumambulate that most excellent place, round which religious processions move, by which is meant the abode of peace, according to the saying, ‘Whoever entereth therein shall be safe.490a Having accepted with the words ‘Here I am!’ the invitation of the summoner,490b [who says] ‘And proclaim unto the people,’490c he formed a fixed determination of entering on a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the K’abah.
After he had obtained leave to depart from his father, he set off by way of the sea, and embarked with a number of retainers in ships such that the expanse of heaven appeared insignificant in comparison with each vessel, and the page of the sky shewed like a diminutive scrap in juxta-position with a single sail of each barque. They put in motion the footless, water-traversing coursers, and taking up their abode in that wooden house in which the roof was below and the pillar above,490e they committed the reins of disposal to the rapid wind.
Having traversed a distance, in a short time they arrived at the revered Makkah, and having performed the proper ceremonies and rites of the pilgrimage, they bent their steps to kiss the threshold of the sacred Mausoleum of His Highness the Sulṭán of the throne of prophecy, and the Kháḳán of the court of honor and majesty.
(May God pour His blessings on Muḥammad the chosen, and on his family the pure ones, and on his companions the excellent!); and were made felicitous by kissing the sublime court of the Prophet.
And thence they came with a caravan of Khurásán towards Baghdád. The king of that place, hearing an account of the prince, came out to meet him, and observed towards him the respectful and honorific ceremonies which were fitting and requisite, and having prepared for him proper entertainment and allowances, and a suitable place to alight in, he besought him to tarry there certain days. When they had recovered themselves from the fatigue of the journey, and had resolved on returning to their own country, the prince made many apologies to the Sulṭán for the trouble he had given; and having replied to his attentions with the gifts of thankfulness and gratitude, sent to his seraglio, by way of present and good-will offering, a Chinese damsel; and he himself having packed up his traveling effects set out for Khurásán. The Sulṭán, after the ceremony of accompanying his guest some way on the march, and the discharge of the customs of valediction; returned to his seraglio, and sent for the damsel. He beheld a form of such beauty that the Limner of Creative Power had never drawn the like on the tablet of existence, nor had the eye of the painter of imagination ever beheld in the volume of fancy so graceful a shape. Her enchanting locks enchained a world with the lasso of mischief, and the world-illuminating moon, from its high station, had painted a diadem on the ground before her face. With one arch movement of her eyebrow, she placed the claims of other pretenders to beauty on the shelf of oblivion, and with a single coquettish glance of her half-intoxicated eye, she gave to the wind of inebriation the piety of anchorets.
At the graceful movements of that free cypress, the foot of the heart of the king of Baghdád sank in the clay; and by tasting her wine-colored lip, he became intoxicated and bereft of sense without the intervention of wine.
However much the Sulṭán, who had lost his heart, exerted himself [to escape this thraldom] it was all in vain; and though commanding reason poured the water of admonition on the fire of love, its flame did but blaze forth the more.
Giving himself up to the society of the damsel, the Sulṭán, all at once abandoned the thought of his people’s sufferings, and attention to the affairs of the State. And whenever a king engages in dissipation, and ceases to inquire into the condition of the oppressed; and, fixing his ears on the soft sounds of the lute and lyre, listens not to the wailing of each afflicted heart, troubles in a short time arise, and sedition and disorder, growing rampant, the issue of affairs is disastrous to mankind.
Some days passed in this manner, and the Pillars of the State and ministers of the king, distressed at their monarch’s indifference, beheld the condition of the city and of the country involved in disorder. A number of them, unfolding the hand of prayer, turned their faces to [ask help of] hermits and saintly men; and soliciting benedictory intercessions from pure-minded darveshes, made offerings for the restoration of the Sulṭán’s state. The prayers of these disinterested personages reached the target of acceptance. At night the Sulṭán saw, in a dream, one advancing towards him, say,
What thing is this that thou hast taken in hand? and hast withdrawn thy hand from attending to the oppressed. It has almost come to pass that affairs are irremediable and thy empire overthrown. Rise! and betake thyself to thy concerns,
The king, in terror at this circumstance, awoke. He then performed his ablutions, and loosed his tongue in excusing himself, and praying to be forgiven, and employing himself in remedying the past, issued a command that that damsel should not again intrude on his privacy. And although he could not rest without her, and his heart was never tranquil except in meditating on her beauty, still, through fear of God and dread of the decline of his kingdom, he gave this order. The damsel waited two or three days, and then one night, feeling a longing desire for the king’s society, she entered his chamber with a face like a fresh rose-bud493 which the morning-breeze has caused to blow; and with ringlets like the twisting hyacinths buried in an envelope of purest musk.
Again at sight of her beauty the king was despoiled of his senses, and tumultuous love robbed him of his reason and understanding.
For several days more he remained captivated by her beauty, and infatuated with her locks and mole,493b passed his time in delights; and again the messengers of the invisible world summoned him with infallible warnings to the path of rectitude. The king came to himself and said, ‘There is no remedy for my sufferings but to get rid of this mischief, and no hope of a cure for my affairs save in the annihilation of this calamity.’ Hereupon he commanded a chamberlain saying, ‘Take this disobedient damsel, who without permission entered my chamber, and cast her into the Tigris.’ The chamberlain led the damsel away, and reflected thus with himself: ‘This is the beloved mistress of the king, and perhaps to-morrow he may repent and require her of me again. Then if I have put her to death, the hand of thought will not reach the skirt of remedy.’ He therefore concealed her in his house. The king, who was sad at what he had done, when he returned from his seat in the public hall into his private apartments, was overcome with the desire of seeing his mistress, and tortured with regret. Again reproaching himself, he allayed the ferment of his mind with the arguments of reason. One night, to dispel his grief, he quaffed a goblet of pure wine, and forgetting the admonitions of reason and the warnings of prudence, became impatient at the recollection of his enchanting fair one. Summoning his high chamberlain, he inquired into the fate of his beloved, and said with the most terrible threats, ‘If thou bringest her not here this night I will bring thee to punishment.’ However much the chamberlain began to excuse himself, it was all in vain, and beholding the dreadful wrath of the king he saw himself on the verge of destruction. Through necessity therefore he conveyed the moon-like beauty to the king’s chamber. Again the foundation of delight was laid, and the materials of mirth set ready.
In short, three times the king commanded her to be slain, and the chamberlain acting cautiously, delayed the execution. At last the affairs of the state came to a complete stand. The Sulṭán perceived that there was no remedy for this calamity but from his own hand, and that he could not hope to get rid of this misfortune by the aid of another.
For he saw that whomsoever he might command to slay the damsel would assuredly, out of caution, delay the execution. Therefore the king prepared himself to put her out of the way, yet he was unwilling to destroy any one openly, without some palpable treason on their part. At last, one day, standing on the terrace of his palace, he was gazing on the Tigris, and the damsel, in attendance on him, was contemplating from a distance the beauty of the king. The Sulṭán, dreading the future, reflected on the fatal consequences of his supineness. He saw that the time was come, and said to himself, ‘Though I bring on my head innocent blood, yet a hundred thousand hearts will be solaced which now by my neglect of them, are immersed in blood. And though this girl is dear to me as my life, yet it is of still greater importance to have regard to the condition of my distressed people.’ He then bade her approach nearer to look at a vessel. When the damsel had come close, the king gave her a push, and threw her into the Tigris; and evincing much grief, gave out as though she had of herself fallen into the water. He then commanded them to draw her out of the river, and burying her, and beginning to mourn for her, he fulfilled the most rigorous conditions of that rite. Thus, for the public weal, he with his own hand, took away the life of her whom he adored.
And I have adduced this story in order that the king may know that it is better to take care of the welfare of the state than to shew indulgence to one traitor, and more advisable to remove one person whose existence is a general injury, than to exclude a thousand others.’ By these wily insinuations the fire of the lion’s wrath was kindled, and he sent a message to Farísah, ‘If thou hast any excuse to offer for this offence, make it known.’ As Farísah was innocent, and [as it is true what] they have said, ‘When a man’s hand is short, his tongue is long;
he sent back a rough message, and his reproachful words did but help the mischievous flatteries of his opponents. The fire of Kámjúí’s wrath rose higher, and putting aside all covenants and promises, he gave a positive order to put Farísah to death. They conveyed tidings of this to the mother of the Lion, who saw that he was acting precipitately, and had disregarded clemency and forbearance, and exchanged patience and calmness for levity and precipitation. She thought to herself, ‘I must go with all speed and release my son from the temptations of the accursed devil. For whenever anger gets the mastery over kings, Satan bears sway over them, and leads them to do whatever he wishes; and the same meaning may be understood from the import of the true tradition, ‘When the sulṭán is furious, the devil exercises dominion over him.’
First of all she despatched some one to the executioner, saying, ‘Pause ere thou slayest the Jackal, until I speak to the Lion.’ She then came to Kámjúí, and said ‘O son, I have heard that thou hast given orders to put Farísah to death. What was his crime? and what fault has he committed?’ The Lion recounted the circumstances. His mother said, ‘O son! cause not thyself to wander in the wilderness of perplexity, nor exclude thyself from the quality of justice and beneficence. And the wise have said, ‘Eight things depend on eight things. The honor of a wife on her husband; and the reputation of a son on his father; and the knowledge of a pupil on his teacher; and the strength of an army on its general; and the spiritual gifts of religious men on their faith; and the security of subjects on their king; and the government of a king on justice; and the excellence of justice on reason and vigilance. Now the principal things in this matter are two. One is to know one’s followers and attendants, and to place each in the position proper for him, and to promote him in proportion to his ability and skill. The second point is, to suspect them in what concerns one another, for there is a constant strife between those who are most in favour at the courts of kings, which cannot be extinguished except by their utter annihilation. Wherefore if the King listens to the accusations of one against the other, and attends to the calumnies of that one with reference to this, there will be no more confidence between the Sulṭán and the Pillars of the State. Hence whenever they wish they will be able to bring a loyal servant under suspicion, and trick out a traitor in the garb of loyalty. Consequently the innocent are overtaken in the whirlpool of calamity, and the guilty pass their time on the shore of escape in safety and security.
And without doubt, the result of this procedure will be that those present will decline office, and the absent will hang back;496 and the execution of the supreme commands will be delayed, and a thousand embarrassments will accrue to the Pillars of the State; and the ill consequences which proceed from this are beyond the limits of computation, and exceed the power of reckoning.
The Lion said, ‘I have not been induced by any one’s words to issue this command with reference to Farísah. Nay, my disposition towards him was unchanged, until his treason was palpable.’ The lioness replied, ‘It is not right for kings to alter their minds, especially with reference to the confidential advisers of the court, without perfect certainty. And as to what thou saidst that his treason was fully proved, this matter is still veiled in doubt; and the truth will then be evident when the curtain falls from the face of this affair. And it was but fitting that thou shouldest have found room in the amplitude of thy clemency for so slight a fault which they impute to Farísah on suspicion; and that thou shouldest have kept in full view of thy mind his previous services; and the virtuous efforts and illustrious acts which he performed at the door of this palace ought not to have been effaced from the tablet of thy memory; nor ought the words of those devoid of merit, unattested, to have met with a favorable hearing as to the meritorious of approved capacity.
O son! we ought to recognise, in all circumstances that occur, and in all events that take place, far-sighted reason and world-adorning judgment as a just oracle and perfect discriminator: for the excellence of man’s nature is ennobled by the clearness of his intellect.
And Farísah had reached in thy court a high station and exalted rank, and had attained great eminence and lofty position. In public assemblies thou wast accustomed to speak in his praise, and in private thou honoredst him by taking counsel with him. Now, it behoves thee to break thy resolve of violating thy covenant, and not to exert thyself for the destruction of the base of that edifice which thou hast erected with the hand of thy own encouragement; and to guard thyself from the exultation of enemies and the rejoicing of the envious, so that, as is required by thy grave and dignified position, having judged it necessary to make due investigation, and, having practised caution and employed inquiry to the fullest extent, thou mayest be excused in the eye of reason, and be clear in the opinion of the wise from the stain of false accusation. And this crime which they impute to him is too paltry for a wise man like him to soil with its dust the mirror of uprightness, and to defile the skirt of honesty with the impurities of trifles such as these. And I know that greed and appetite could not overcome his abstinence and contentment; and that covetousness and lust could not gallop the steed of hope in the plain of his vision and knowledge. Moreover, during this long period that Farísah has been an attendant of this court he has never eaten flesh; and, previous to that, too, he was famed and celebrated for this quality. His abstaining from eating animal food was in every mouth, and had reached all ears.
And the probability is that enemies put the flesh in Farísah’s abode. And it is not to be supposed that this is too much for the deceit of the fraudulent, or the envy of the invidious to effect. For among the envious there has been one who, in expectation that it might be injurious to another, was a consenting party to his own death, as that wretched merchant ordered the slave to kill him.’ The Lion requested to know, ‘How was that?’
The lioness said, ‘They have related that there was in Baghdád an envious man, who had a neighbor a poor man and a pious, who passed his days in traversing the waste of fasting with the step of abstinence, and his nights in traveling the roads of worship by the path of nocturnal prayer and spiritual conflict.
The inhabitants of Baghdád turned the face of confidence towards that holy man, and his goodness was talked of in their assemblies and public meetings and the great men of the city used to notice him kindly and by way of present, and, to secure his blessing, used to send offerings of money and goods to him. On these several accounts the envious man envied his good neighbor, and made various attempts to injure him, but every arrow of deceit which he discharged from the bow of calumny was rendered nugatory by the shield of innocence and the armor of piety. At last he was reduced to despair about this, and was utterly wearied. He then bought a slave, and made a point of according to him all possible kindnesses and rewards, and fulfilled all the requirements of compassionate feeling and care towards him. He used constantly to say, ‘I am cherishing thee for a particular object, and bringing thee up for a thing of the greatest importance, and I hope that thou wilt extricate my heart from that load, and free my sad soul from that care.
After a considerable time had passed, and the slave became firmly obedient, and submissively disposed, he several times begged with the tongue of entreaty to undertake the promised affair, and to enter upon the business in which the wish of his master was contained, and said, ‘I am not able to express by the force of language the various favors and kindnesses which thou hast lavished on this helpless person, nor by the aid of description can I distinctly set forth the condescending attentions and benefits with which thou hast distinguished this humble slave.
I desire, in return for these demonstrations of kindness, that I may shew my devotion, and perform service in requital of these benefits.
When the master saw that his slave aimed at shewing his gratitude and was ambitions of proving his attachment, he raised the curtain from before the affair and said, ‘Know and understand that I am tired of my life by reason of this neighbor of mine, and I wish by some means or other to bring a misfortune upon him. In spite of all the artifices I have set on foot, and the expedients I have contrived, the arrow of my counsel has not reached the target of desire; and the fire of envy blazes forth every moment in my heart and makes life odious to me. And from chagrin on his account I loathe the enjoyments of life, and am disgusted with my own existence. I have cherished thee during this long interval, that thou mayest this night kill me on my neighbor’s terrace, and leave me there and depart; in order that, when they see me there in the morning a corpse, they may, as of course they will, apprehend him on suspicion of the murder; and so he will be despoiled of his property and life, and his character for goodness and virtue will be destroyed, and men’s faith in him will end in being marred, and he will no longer be able to boast of his piety and austerity. And to men’s sorrow the meaning of this couplet will come true with regard to him, in that they have said,
The slave replied, ‘O master! relinquish this thought, and set about managing this affair differently; and if thy wish is to get rid of the holy man, I will slay him, and will set thy heart at ease with regard to him.’ The master rejoined, ‘That is a complicated and long affair. Perhaps thou mayest not get him into thy power, nor be able to kill him so quickly, and I have no more patience or endurance left. Arise! and perform this service, and make me satisfied with myself; and lo! I hand over to thee a writing of manumission, and I give thee a purse of gold, with which thou wilt be able to support thyself all thy life, that thou mayest depart from this city, and take up thy abode in another country.’ The slave replied, ‘O master! no wise man entertains this thought which thou hast formed; and no one who has drawn in the perfume of good sense, sets forth such a scheme as thou hast set forth. For the misfortune of an enemy may, indeed, be desirable in one’s lifetime; but when thou hast passed beyond the circle of existence, what gratification will there be to thee from his execution? and what advantage from his being racked and imprisoned?
However much he spake after this fashion, it was of no avail; and, when the slave saw that his master’s inclinations lay that way, he cut off his head on the terrace of his neighbor’s house, and left his body, which was a disgrace to the expanse of creation, in that spot, and taking his deed of manumission and the bag of dínárs, he set off for Iṣfahán, and took up his residence in that abode of peace. The next day they found the malevolent merchant lying slain on the terrace of the good man. Thereupon, they seized the latter and detained him in prison. However, as the murder of the accursed envious man was not proved according to law against him, and the majority of the notables and other inhabitants of Baghdád gave their testimony to his virtuous and blameless conduct, no one opposed his acquittal. Still they did not remove his fetters, and he remained for some time imprisoned in the same manner. After an interval, a merchant of distinction saw the slave in Iṣfahán, who asked about the family of his master, and also about the neighbor’s. In the midst of the conversation, they came to speak of that good man and his imprisonment. The slave said, ‘A strange and cruel injustice has been inflicted on that innocent person. The fact is, the thing was done by me at the command and order of my master, and that holy man is quite ignorant of the whole transaction.’ He then detailed all the circumstances, and the rich merchant took a number of persons to witness what he had said; and, on their return to Baghdád, they recounted the story of what had taken place, and the particulars of what had occurred. Thus that true believer obtained his release, and the envious man became a mark for the arrow of execration; while his pious neighbor uttered, with the tongue of his circumstances, this exulting stanza, which is the produce of the mind of an eminent personage,
And I have adduced this story in order that the king may condescend to perceive what actions are done by envious men, and when their feelings towards one another are such, how can birds high in the air, and fishes down in the sea, and beasts in the expanse of the wild plain, be safe from the assaults of the malevolent? And those of thy attendants are not far to seek, who are now inferior to Farísah in dignity, and before held a more honorable position than he does, who have probably contrived a scheme against him, and stir up this treason to degrade him. Pause in thy haste and in these precipitate measures, and adopt a merciful and dignified procedure, and deliberate well in this affair, planning its remedy in a manner becoming thy greatness. Since to-day thou hast pulled in the reins of punishment, and to-morrow the real state of the case will be known and its details understood, one of two things must follow. If he was not worthy of death thou hast exercised a merciful intervention in his behalf, and not impressed on the volume of thy acts innocent blood. While if, in fact, he deserves to be slain, the option is left and there is no excuse for delaying his punishment.
The Lion listened to the words of his mother, and having weighed them in the scales of reason, perceived that they contained advice free from selfish ends, and admonition adorned with the ornament of benevolence. He delayed the punishment and commanded them to bring Farísah into the presence, and having summoned him to a private audience, said, ‘I have tried thee before and seen and approved thy qualities and dispositions, and thy words find more acceptance with me than the speeches of thy enemies and of those who envy thee. Return again to the discharge of thy duties, and as to what thou hast said or heard in what has taken place, grieve not over it nor think of it.’ Farísah said, ‘Although the king has spread the shade of his favor on the head of my condition, and manifested towards me all the bounty that kings can evince, nevertheless, I cannot emerge from the chagrin of this calumny, save when the king thinks of a remedy and devises an expedient, that the real truth of the affair and the exact state of the case may be known. Notwithstanding that I am assured of my own perfect honesty, and have the most perfect security in the verdict of acquittal, which my own heart supplies, yet the more cautious the scrutiny your majesty may be pleased to use, the more apparent will be my sincerity and uprightness. And I know that my advantage and welfare is bound up in this matter.
Kámjúí said, ‘In what manner can inquiry be made? and by what expedient can the investigation be carried on?’ Farísah replied, ‘The parties who made the false accusation must be brought hither, and your majesty must, in the way of searching inquiry, demand of them what they meant by accusing me in particular of this treason, when I have not eaten flesh for years, and passing over those who eat flesh and cannot do without it. And assuredly when the king is urgent in inquiring into this point, they will give the true account of it. And if they are contentious, by terrifying them with threats of punishment, intelligence may be obtained of the particulars; or if that, too, fails, by holding out hopes of mercy and promising favors, the veil of doubt may be removed from the face of certainty; so that my innocence and unstained honor will be clear to all the court.
Kámjúí said, ‘I will inquire the state of the case of them by threatening them with punishment, not by promising them pardon and indulgence, for clemency must not be expended in the case of one who acknowledges malice and envy towards my confidant and trusted minister.’ Farísah said, ‘In all cases where pardon is bestowed by those invested with absolute authority and power, it is rightly bestowed, as it is said, ‘Forgiveness is to be found with power.’ The right method of action is, to pass over the offence of an adversary even when we have complete power over him. For the obtaining power over an adversary is an estimable blessing, and our gratitude for such a blessing can only be shewn by pardon and forgiveness of his fault.
When Kámjúí had heard the words of Farísah, and beheld the marks of truth and right counsel impressed on the pages of those words; he sent separately for each of those parties who had stirred up this dust of mischief, and used the most strenuous exertions, even to the limit of excess, to discover what was concealed, and to develope the intricate points. Moreover he urged them much, with the promise that, if they would state the truth, the pages of their offences should be washed with the water of forgiveness; and, in addition, they should also be rewarded with honors and gifts from the king. At last some of them acknowledged the facts, and the rest, too, being compelled to confess, disclosed truthfully the real state of the case. Thus the sun of the integrity of Farísah came forth from under the cloud of doubt, and the dust of uncertainty was removed from before the eye of conviction.
The mother of the Lion said, ‘O my son! thou hast granted immunity to this faction, and to recall it is impossible; but let this be an example to thee, whence thou oughtest to take warning, and hereafter not open the ear of attention to the slanders of any calumniator. Nor till clear proof and demonstration of positive certainty is obtained, which may release thee from doubt, must thou listen to the idle tales of interested persons, nor assent to what they may say of the faults of another, however pithy503 and laconic their words may appear. For a thing of little magnitude, by degrees, reaches such a point that the remedy of it does not come within the sphere of possibility. And the source of great rivers, like the Nile, and the Euphrates, and the Jaiḥún, and the Tigris, is but a very small spring, which by the accession of other waters reaches that magnitude that it is impassable save in ships. Wherefore it is necessary to keep back words, whether trifling or the reverse, that are uttered in defamation of any one, and to close the path to the remarks of others that the conclusion of the affair may not terminate in mischief.
Kámjúí replied, ‘I accept this advice, and I perceive that without clear proof it is not good to suspect any one.’ His mother answered, ‘O king! the person who, without evident cause, is angry with his friends, is one of those eight classes of people of whose society sages have commanded us to beware.’ Kámjúí replied, ‘Recount to me the detail of this classification.’ The lioness continued, ‘The wise have traced on the leaves of the pages of admonition that it is proper to shun the society of eight classes, and equally incumbent on us to converse and associate with eight other classes. However, the eight persons from whose intercourse we ought to pluck the skirt of agreement are as follows:—The first, is he who does not recognize the debt he owes to benefactors for benefits received, and stigmatizes himself by ingratitude and unthankfulness. The second, is he who is angry without cause, and whose anger overpowers his gentler feelings. The third, is he who through long life becomes pround, and thinks himself freed from the necessity of discharging his duty to his Creator and his fellow-creatures. The fourth, is he who bases his proceedings on perfidy and deceit, and in whose sight these qualities appear venial. The fifth, is he who opens up to himself the path of falsehood and perfidy, and who withdraws from truth and uprightness. The sixth, is he who gives a swing to his appetite in matters of licentiousness, and accounts sensual gratification as the principal object504 of his wishes, and the K’abah of his hopes. The seventh, is he who is characterised by a deficiency of modesty, and conducts himself with impudence and disrespect. The eighth, is he who is causelessly suspicious of persons, and who, without clear proof and demonstration, distrusts the wise. But the eight persons with whom we ought to unite, and whose society we ought to regard as a blessing, are the following:—First, he who regards it as a duty to be thankful for kindness, and who is careful to discharge the duties which he finds devolve upon him. The second, is he the knot of whose friendship and the promise of whose attachment is not broken by the accidents of fortune and the vicissitudes of uncertain time. The third, is he who feels it incumbent on him to shew respect to men of education and honor, and is disposed to reward and requite them by word and deed. The fourth, is he who keeps himself from perfidy, and lying, and pride, and haughtiness. The fifth, is he who is able to control himself in the moment of anger. The sixth, is he who raises the standard of generosity, and who exerts himself to the utmost in obtaining the wishes of the hopeful. The seventh, is he who clings to the train of modesty and honor, and never oversteps the line of good manners. The eighth, is he who is by nature the friend of good and virtuous men, and shuns the debauched and irreligious. And whoever associates and unites with this class that has been mentioned, and who shuns and avoids the parties that have been named before, by the blessing of the said associates the defect of objectionable qualities diminishes in him, and his temperament approximates to the true equilibrium: for when vinegar, with all the sharpness and sourness that is natural to it, is mixed with honey, it escapes from its original acidity, and becomes the means of dispelling so many ailments.504a
When the Lion saw the results of the care505 and the excellence of the intervention of his mother in obviating this embarrassment, and remedying what had happened, after performing what gratitude and thankfulness prescribed, he said, ‘O queen of the age! by the blessed influences of thy admonitions and the favors of thy advice,
and an able minister and faithful officer has emerged from the whirlpool of calumny, and I have acquired information as to the character of each of my attendants, and I shall know hereafter what kind of treatment to adopt towards each of them, and how to commence in rejecting or accepting their words.’ His confidence in Farísah then increased, and having offered many apologies, and shewn him much courtesy, he called him before him and said, ‘Thou must regard this aspersion as the cause of an increase of my confidence, and the source of an augmentation of my reliance in thee, and thou canst continue the superintendence of the affairs, which was committed to thee, according to the former fashion.’ Farísah replied, ‘This does not come right so, nor is the knot of my affairs loosened by these caresses. The king slighted his former promises, and gave to the accusations of my enemies a firm place in his mind.505a
Kámjúí replied, ‘Thou must not take to heart any of these things, for neither didst thou fall short in thy service, nor I fail in my regard. Be of good cheer! and betake thyself to thy duties with the fullest reliance on my protection.’ Farísah replied,
This time I have escaped, but the world is not void of envious and slanderous persons, and as long as the favor of the king towards me continues, the envy of the malignant will be unchanged. Moreover, from the king having listened to my calumniators to the extent that he has, my enemies have learned, that he is easily won over. They will therefore every moment get ready some new embroilment, and will incessantly thrust in their insinuations; and every king that has lent his ear to the words of the mischievous traducer, and given heed to the falsehoods and wiles of the backbiter and defamer, his service is a risking of life; and to sport with one’s life is not the habit of the wise.
And if the king’s judgment sees fit, I will, by a single word, make my excuse for declining service clear.’ The king said, ‘Say on.’ Farísah continued, ‘In that the king showed compassion upon me in this occurrence, and placed fresh confidence in me, and even augmented his former trust in me, he has acted with graciousness and indulgence, and that may be regarded as a surpassing blessing, and a favor exceeding description. But in that he issued his command for my punishment,506 with such rash haste and without inquiry being made, he displayed such precipitancy, that I have lost my confidence in his royal generosity, and have ceased to hope in his imperial kindness and infinite compassion. For he causelessly cancelled his former favors, and unreasonably obliterated my previous services, and on a false accusation—and that too of such a paltry nature that had it been proved would not have deserved such importance to be attached to it—authorised a cruel punishment. Now a king ought to be such that even a gross act of treason would not sully the quality of his mercy, like the King of Yaman,506a who, notwithstanding an offence of the gravest nature, did not disgrace his Chamberlain, and covered his bad action with the veil of clemency.’ Kámjúí inquired, ‘How was that?’
Farísah said, ‘They have related that in the capital of Yaman there was a king, from whose clear countenance beamed the light of the morning of justice, and on the face of whose acts and the forehead of whose desires the rays of the light of equity were manifest.
One day he was displeased with his Chamberlain and forbade him his palace.506b The hapless Chamberlain had not fortitude to meet the eye of the king, and yet thought it not advisable to depart from that city. Compelled by necessity he remained seated in the corner of his house, and was at one time weeping over the embarrassment of his affairs, at another laughing at the marvelous vicissitudes of fortune.
At last from the deficiency of means, and his numerous family, and the embarrassment caused by their utter destitution, he came to the conclusion that he ought to convey himself into the king’s presence, either that his neck might meet the sword of punishment, or his head be adorned with the diadem of acceptance. One day, when the king had a great entertainment and there was a general levée, the Chamberlain sent to all his friends, and having borrowed a horse and a robe, sate thereon, and entered the king’s palace. The warders and chamberlains supposed that the king had renewed his favor towards him, and that they had given the steed and the robe to him by command of the Sulṭan; wherefore no one opposed his entrance. So the Chamberlain boldly entered the court and stood in his proper place. Now the king had taken his seat at a banquet of wine, and was indulging in mirth with his guests. When he saw the Chamberlain, the fire of wrath began to blaze forth; and the executioner, Anger, demanded the chastisement of the offender. Again, on reflection, he was unwilling to disturb the convivial meeting, and to exchange the enjoyment of the sweet wine for the ennui of vexation and annoyance. His natural clemency sought to get the preference by pardoning the crime, and his innate generosity viewed the offence as not committed.
When the Chamberlain looked on the face of the king, and found the freshness of his mirth and his hilarity unchanged, he applied himself busily to his duties; and having tightly bound the skirt of service on the waist of attendance, he lent a hand in everything that was being done, and engaged in every duty; until, having obtained a good opportunity, he concealed under his tunic a golden dish, which weighed a thousand miṯḳáls. The king perceived that action of his, and understood that narrowness of means and his distressed condition were the cause of this boldness. He therefore deputed clemency to conceal that offence. At the end of the party, those who had charge of the dishes were making search and accusing the people, and their aim was to extract a confession from them by intimidation and threats. The king asked one of the grandees, ‘What has happened to these people that they are in such excessive perturbation?’ The nobleman represented the matter as it was. The king said, ‘Let these people go, for they have not got the dish. He who has it, will not give it back; and he who saw it will not tell.’ The Chamberlain went out and supported himself for a year on the price of that dish. The next year, at the very same time, there was a special banquet and a general levée. Again the Chamberlain introduced himself in the crowd. The king called him up and whispered to him, ‘Is the dish all spent?’ The Chamberlain turned the face of supplication towards the ground, and said,
What I did was for a set purpose, and I thought that the king would see me, or some other would detect it, and convey me to punishment; for, from the sufferings of hunger, I was sick of my life. While, if what I did, remained under the veil of concealment, at least I should secure food for some days. These were my feelings, and I am certain that the truth of my statement will not remain hidden in the mirror of the most luminous mind.
The king replied, ‘Thou speakest truth, and there is room for commiseration in thy case.’ He then bestowed on him marks of his favor, and committed to him the same post which he formerly held.
Now the object of citing this story is to shew that the heart of the king ought to be like the billowy sea, so as not to be discolored by the dirt and rubbish of calumny; and the centre of his clemency should be like the stately mountain, firm in a position of stability, so that the furious wind of anger cannot move it.
The Lion responded, ‘Thy words are true, but bitter and rough. Now an antidote ought to be sweet, that the patient may find it easy to swallow; and it is possible that the mind of a sick person may loathe a nauseous medicine, even though he knows that his recovery depends upon it, and hence he remains excluded from the blessing of health.
Farísah replied, ‘The king’s heart is rougher in confirming falsehood, than my words in uttering truth. And since he hears with facility deceit and slander, it would be better if the listening to what is true and wholesome, were not so displeasing to him. Nor, I pray, let him impute this speech to boldness and disrespect, for it comprehends two things of the utmost utility. The first is, that those who have been unjustly treated, find a relief in appealing and in venting their grief, and their minds are cleansed from the dust of grief in lamenting and exclaiming against oppresssion. Moreover, it is better that I should disclose all that is in my heart, that present or absent I may be the same to the king, and that nothing may remain that in future may rankle into hostility. The second thing is, that I wished that the sagacious judgment and world-adorning justice of the king should pronounce on this case. But the decision could be pronounced only after hearing the statement of the injured person; consequently, it appeared imperative, that the latter should state the case of his wrongs to the physician of the court of justice.
Kámjúí replied, ‘The case is so; but in liberating thee from this whirlpool, we conferred on thee an infinite benefit; and liberation from the vortex of destruction, after the order for punishment had been issued, is a more manifest favor and a more thorough instance of bounty.’ Farísah rejoined, ‘As long as life lasts I shall be unable to return thanks for the kindness of the king, nor in ages could I acquit myself of my debt to the royal beneficence; and this pardon and condonation after the order for retribution and chastisement, surpasses all other favors; for other benefits have relation only to the sustenance of the body, while this is the cause of tranquillity as regards life itself.
And before this, too, I was always the king’s sincere, obedient, loyal, and attached servant, and I considered my life and soul due as a sacrifice to obtain his approval and to execute his commands; and what I now say, is not to attach blame to the king’s judgment in this affair, or to reproach his prudence and wisdom; but it is an enduring custom, and an inveterate habit, for the ignorant to envy those who possess merit and ability, and it appears impossible to close the path of envy from reaching the eminent and wise.
And an eminent personage has said on this subject,
And from the sage’s blessing, ‘Return envied,’ the same subtle sense is intelligible.’ Kámjúí said, ‘What need one care for the envy of foes and the machinations of the envious? for false words carry no weight510 with them, and the schemes of the worthless, with respect to the excellencies of people of merit, are like an obscure star in the Lesser Bear in the sun’s splendor, which causes it to remain hid. Falsehood is always defeated and truth triumphant, according to the saying, ‘And the word of God is triumphant:’ the glory of the wise man is not broken by the breach of the envious person, nor is the innocent man stained by the calumnies of the defamer.
And be thou henceforward secure, that the mischievous attempts of the envious cannot injure thee, for I have learned the truth of their interested remarks, and will not meet them with assent.’ Farísah replied, ‘In spite of all this, I fear lest, God forbid! my enemies should find an opportunity of interfering between us, not by envy, but by way of advice.’ The Lion asked, ‘In what manner can they interfere?’ Farísah answered, ‘They will say, ‘In the heart of such a one alarm has sprung up, inasmuch as thou didst give an order for his punishment; and his brain has become intoxicated with pride, because thou hast augmented thy favor towards him, and at this very time he feels himself wronged by your majesty; and one whose suspicions are excited is not fit to be trusted, nor ought he to be promoted in thy service.
And when they essay to move the king’s mind with this artifice, it is not improbable that suspicion will be excited on the king’s part too; and in point of fact, there is ground for kings not feeling secure of a servant, who has been wronged or disgraced from his post, or removed from his office; or whose enemy, who was formerly inferior to him in rank, has been preferred before him.’ Kámjúí replied, ‘How can this affair be remedied? and by what plan can the gates of this approach be closed?’ Farísah made answer, ‘Their words on this score would be very unfounded, and would have nothing but a mere erroneous semblance. For after such occurrences the confidence of both parties becomes more clear; and hence, even if in the mind of the master dissatisfaction has arisen, owing to his discovering some neglect in the service of his minister, yet, after giving vent to his anger, and inflicting the punishment deserved, that resentment will, without doubt, diminish, and no apprehension, little or much, will be left. Moreover, the king will for the future understand the little dependance to be placed in the false reports of messengers, and will give no more heed to the idle whispers of the interested, while the excessive attachment and sagacity, and perfect skill and honesty of the other party become better established. Moreover, even if in the heart of the servant, too, alarm and dread have existed, yet, after having received his chastisement, he feels secure, and ceases to anticipate evil.
The Lion asked, ‘In how many ways does distrust originate among servants?’ Farísah replied, ‘In three ways: in the first place, if the subject possess a high dignity, which through the supineness of his master is impaired. Secondly, if enemies sally out against him, and by reason of the king’s withdrawal of favor, make an overpowering attack against him. Thirdly, if property and wealth, that he may have acquired, pass from his hands through the king’s want of kindness.’ Kámjúí asked, ‘How can these things be remedied?’ Farisah replied, ‘By one thing, which is, that the favor of his master be regained, and fresh confidence be reposed in him by the king; so that both the rank which he had lost be restored to him, and his rival, too, who had got the better of him, be rebuked; and the property of his, which had been dissipated, be re-collected. For an equivalent can be found for everything save life, specially in the service of kings and great men. And since the king has been pleased to remedy the condition of this his slave, and since I have entirely regained the royal favor and approval, what grievance can yet remain? or how can my enemies find an opportunity to speak? Yet notwithstanding all this, I hope that the King will hold me excused and not draw me again into the net of calamity, and permit me to wander in this wilderness secure and content, and with sincerity of heart offer up daily portions of benediction and praise.
Kámjúí answered, ‘Keep a stout heart! for thou art not of those servants that calumniators should make their voices heard respecting thee, and convey to the place of acceptance words tending to asperse thy character. Moreover I have thoroughly proved thee,512 and learned that in adversity thou art indued with patience, and in prosperity art conspicuous for thy gratitude; and that thou rejectest all that is contrary to honor and uprightness, and regardest it as a plain obligation to observe generosity, and at the same time honesty in all thy orders. Wherefore rely on my protection and favor, for my confidence in respect to thy ability and truth and sagacity and probity has been doubled; and in no possible way can the words of thy opponents hereafter find a hearing; and whatever wiles they may contrive will be construed into a palpable attack.
Farísah replied, ‘With the existence of all this condescending kindness, what fear should I have of the malice of enemies? and possessing the happiness of the imperial favor, what need I fear from the dissatisfaction of my rivals?
Then with the utmost assiduity he entered upon his duties, and each day the degree of his authority was augmented, and the rank of his elevation and promotion doubled, until through the abundance of his right-mindedness and rectitude the royal confidence was entirely reposed in him, and he became the depositary of the state-secrets, both financial and political.
This is the story of kings, with regard to what happens between them and their followers; and how, after the manifestation of their dislike and displeasure, they return to gracious and indulgent feelings. And let it not be hidden from the wise, what an amount of profitable instruction they have wrapped up in the composition of these stories and narratives. Whoever is favored by the assistance of heaven, and aided by the divine auspices, will expend all his energies in trying to understand the directions of the sage, and lavish all his zeal in unveiling the dark sayings of the wise; and will have recourse to the physicians of the hospital of spirituality, the exhilarating care-dispellers of truth; in order that by the blessing of the curatives of these spiritual doctors he may escape from the error-blending ailments of ignorance and fatuity.
Dábishlim reverentially blessed the sage Bídpáí, and said, ‘I have heard the story of Farísah and Kámjúí, and it is a tale for the intelligent as to what happens between kings and their servants in the matter of disagreement and treason, and forgiveness and punishment, and a return to the renewal of favor and an augmentation of confidence in trustworthy and able men, with a view to the ordering of the state and the furtherance of salutary measures. It also refers to the not transgressing in the direction of falsehood and the being open to conviction through true and wholesome words; and the advantages of these directions are such as to be beyond the limits of computation. Now be pleased to relate the story of one, who for the preservation of his own condition and the defence of his own person, does not desist from injuring others and inflicting harm on animals; and does not give heed to the admonitions of the sagacious, until, in consequence, he is overtaken with a retribution similar to his own acts.’ The sage responded, ‘None but a fatuous person proceeds in acting injuriously to dumb animals, except one who is ignorant, and cannot discern between the light of good and the darkness of evil, and the advantage of gain and disadvantage of loss: and who, swayed by his fatuity, wanders in the wilderness of error, careless of the consequences of his actions; and the visual faculty of whose eyes falls short of the termination of his deeds, wherefore he is not indued with sight to behold the nature of retribution. He, however, the eye of whose thought514 is illuminated by the jeweled collyrium of the eternal guidance, and the flower-garden of whose heart is perfumed with the odors of the herbs of the everlasting favor, will never suffer himself to act towards a fellow-creature, in a way he should not himself approve if done to him.
And thou must know that every action has its appointed recompense, which will assuredly reach the doers; and they must not be elated by any delay that may intervene, for in accordance with the saying, ‘Assuredly God grants delay, but does not overlook,’ there may be a respite but not an entire overlooking: there is time allotted for two or three days’ delay, but the idea of escaping punishment and retribution is a vain one. Every seed which they sow in the field of action, will, before much time elapses, yield fruit. Wherefore every one that desires good must sow nothing but the seed of good.
And if anyone wishes by deceit and misrepresentation to veil his own misconduct, and to trick out his hypocrisy and artifice in the apparel of righteous actions, to such an extent that men may praise him, and that the mention of his virtues, pervading all districts and regions, should extend far and near, by these means the result of his blameable actions will never be averted from him, but the fruits of his internal baseness and the impurity of his mind will reach him. Just so, if a husbandman should sow—for example—the seed of colocynth in the ground, and having covered it with earth, should give out that he had sown sugar-cane there, and all persons should believe that sugar-cane would grow up in that land, still indubitably his crop would not be changed by that artifice, and that same seed of colocynth which he sowed, would produce to view its fruit.
And it may be, that when anyone finds the reality of the retributive system; and when the mystery of the verse, ‘And whoever shall have wrought good of the weight of an ant, shall behold the same. And whoever shall have wrought evil of the weight of an ant, shall behold the same,515a has penetrated his heart, that he will turn from his evil acts, and expressing his repentance of his cruel and injurious conduct, will adopt as his path, the way of clemency and kindness.
And among such discourses and similar narratives, is the story of the rank-breaking Lion and the Archer.’ The king asked, ‘How was that?’
The Bráhman replied, ‘They have related that in the country of Aleppo, there was a jungle full of various trees and containing gardens and streams.
And in that jungle there was a Lion,516 a monster, ready for war and conflict, of elephantine bulk, such that Bahrám in the sky was like a wild ass before it, and the celestial lion, from the awe of its terribleness, fled beneath the earth like the energy infixed there by omnipotence.516a
It was always busied in shedding blood and incessantly besmeared its jaws with the gore of animals. A lynx, who was its attendant, on beholding things going on after this fashion, felt alarmed at the consequences of this cruelty and the fruits of this blood-thirstiness, and bethinking itself of the commination, ‘Whoever abets an oppressor, God will give that oppressor power over him,’ desired to abandon that service.
Thus reflecting he turned his face toward the desert, on the edge of which he saw a mouse, which was most busily employed in gnawing the root of a tree and in severing with its serrulated teeth the material of its fibres. Meantime the tree with the tongue of its condition, was addressing it thus, ‘O cruel tormentor! why art thou overthrowing with the axe of injury, the foundation of my life? and why dost thou sever with the sword of injustice, the strings of my existence, or in other words, my roots, with which I imbibe water? and thus exclude men from the happiness of my shade and the advantage of my fruit.
The mouse paying no attention to his complaints, employed himself in the same cruel proceeding, when suddenly a snake with open mouth came out from a lurking-place, and making a spring at the mouse, all at once swallowed him.’ The lynx carried away fresh experience from these circumstances, and learned that the injurious person meets with nought but injury, and he who plants a bramble gathers not the rose of his wish.
And at the same time that the snake, after finishing the deglutition of the mouse, coiled itself under the tree, a hedgehog came up, and seized the tail of the snake with its mouth, and pulled it. The snake, from excessive inquietude dashed against it, until all its body was transfixed with the points of its quills, and it yielded up its life to the ruler of hell. The lynx clearly beheld on the page of certainty another writing. But when the snake was disabled, the hedgehog put out its head, and devoured such parts of the snake as were fit for its food, and again drawing back its head under the curtain of concealment, lay in the shape of a ball on the plain of the desert. The lynx was watching the state of the hedge-hog, when all of a sudden a hungry fox came there, and beheld the hedgehog, which was a tit-bit for it, in that posture. The fox knew that owing to the sharpness of the thorns it could not inhale the perfume of the rose of its desire, nor open the door of its wish with the key of artifice and contrivance. He, therefore, threw the hedgehog on its back and dropped some drops of urine on its belly. And the hedgehog, under the idea that it was raining, drew its head from out of the curtain of concealment. Then the fox leapt up and seized his neck, and having bitten off its head, greedily devouredthe rest of its body, so that the skin alone was left. The repast was not quite done when a bounding dog came from a corner like a ravenous wolf, and tore the fox to pieces, and having appeased its canine appetite with a part of it, went to sleep in a retired spot. The lynx was observing these marvels, each of which was a clear proof of the certainty of retribution, and was in expectancy as to what was next to come from the secret chamber of fate into the expanse of the plain of destiny, when suddenly it beheld a leopard, which rushed out from the corner of the desert, and before the dog was aware, tore its heart from its breast with his life-lacerating teeth. It happened that the leopard had sprung out without observing the ambush of a hunter, who was sitting close by with an arrow fitted to his bow. When he saw the leopard busy with the dog he discharged a heart-piercing shaft at it, which entered its right side and came out at the left.
The leopard was as yet scarce fallen to the ground when the hunter nimbly stripped off its skin from its head. Just then a horseman came up there, and took a fancy to that leopard’s skin, which was very beautifully spotted and colored. The hunter, however, being loath to part with it, their proceedings ended in a quarrel and deadly strife, and in the midst of their contest the horseman drew a finely-tempered sword, and rode at the hunter, and before the latter could shake himself free, the horseman made his head roll on the plain, and snatching up the leopard’s skin, set off on his road. He had as yet not gone a hundred paces, when his horse fell on its head, and the rider, being hurled to the ground, broke his neck.
These experiences augmented the conviction of the lynx, and coming to the Lion, he demanded permission to quit that jungle. The Lion replied, ‘Thou reposest under the shade of my good fortune, and hast a share from the tray of my beneficence, and the table of my generosity. What may be the cause of thy departure from this station, and of thy abandonment of my service?’ The lynx answered, ‘O King! an idea has exhibited itself to me, and a thought has raised its head from the environs of my heart, which if I conceal, I fear I shall melt; and if I tell, I am in terror lest I should lose my life.
But if your royal highness will pledge me your faith in a manner which it will be quite inadmissible to break, I will truthfully state how the case stands.’ The Lion assured him of his safety, and pledged himself accordingly, and confirmed his promise by oaths. Then the lynx said, ‘I observe that the inclinations of the king are restricted to the injury of God’s creatures, and the reins of his power are turned to the annoyance of the innocent. Hearts are wounded by the claw of his tyranny, and breasts lacerated by the scar of the sufferings he inflicts.
And I am much alarmed at this state of things, and am aghast at these circumstances.’ As the Lion had that very moment given his promise, he put up with this hard language, and said, ‘Since no wrong is done to thee, and my tyranny does not reach thee, of what use is it to withdraw?’ The lynx replied, ‘The first of two reasons is, that no generous-minded person can endure to see oppression, nor can bear to bear the groans of the victims.
The second reason is, my fear lest the baneful results of these actions should reach thee, and I too, owing to my association with thee, should be consumed in the fire of punishment.
The Lion said, ‘How hast thou learned the disastrous result of evil actions? and by whom hast thou been taught the happy consequences of acting well?’ The lynx replied, ‘All whose nostrils have inhaled the fragrance of the flower-garden of understanding know that whoever sows the seed of injury will reap nought save the harvest of detriment, and he who plants the young tree of benefit will gather only the fruit of tranquillity. They have compared the world, which is the place of retribution, to a mountain, because whatever thou sayest, good or bad, thou hearest, by way of echo, the response of the same.
And I have this day beheld with the eye of certainty the realities of retribution, and have seen with my own sight the nature of recompense.’ He then began and recounted, in the manner he had observed it, the story of the mouse and the snake, and the hedgehog and fox, and the dog and leopard, and the hunter and the horseman. He then added, by way of admonition, ‘O king! the mouse that gnawed the root of the tree became the food of the snake; and the snake that injured him was overtaken with the calamity of the hedgehog; and the hedgehog that killed the snake fell into the snare of the artifice of the fox; and the fox, which spilled the blood of an animal, was destroyed by the hungry dog; and the dog, on account of this injustice, was crushed under the paw of the leopard; and the leopard, through the disastrous influence of its own cruelty and injuriousness, was made a target for the shaft of fate; and the hunter, owing to his unprovoked attack and mercilessness, lost his life; and the horseman, through his pitiless shedding of innocent blood, was left with his heart crushed and neck broken. Thus the actions of each, since they were based on injury to others, proved, by way of retaliation, injurious to himself. Wherefore it is incumbent on persons of understanding to abandon evil, and to keep aloof from the evilly disposed; and it is a sacred and necessary duty for the wise to reduce their own conduct to rectitude, and let their disposition be towards good actions.
The Lion was so infatuated with the pride of his own strength, and so intoxicated with the arrogance engendered by his own might and prowess, that he looked upon the words of the lynx as mere idle tales, and regarded his admonitions as a jest; and the more he talked in this fashion the higher rose the flame of the Lion’s cupidity and greediness.
The lynx saw that his advice had the same effect on the heart of the Lion that the foot of a little ant has on a rock, or on steel; and that his warnings exercised no more influence on the breast [of that savage] than the point of the lance of a thorn on the cuirass of a hard stone.
He therefore quitted the Lion and went out into a retired place. The Lion, incensed by what had occurred with the lynx, followed close upon him, but the lynx concealed himself in a thicket of thorns. The Lion passed by him and beheld two fawns feeding in the plain of that desert, while their fond mother was, guardian-like, watching their movements. The Lion attempted to seize them, and the deer called out, ‘O king! what wilt thou gain by making prey of these two little ones? or what will it advantage thee to devour them? Cause not my eyes to weep at separation from those who are the solace of my sight, and broil not my heart with the fire of parting from those who are pieces of my liver. Thou too, in fine, hast children. Think of them! lest the same befall them that befalls mine.
It happened that the Lion had two young ones, the sight of which made the world bright to him, and he wished for the power of vision simply to gaze on their forms. At the very time that he was about to pounce on the fawns, a hunter, too, was employed in that jungle in capturing the lion-whelps. Here the Lion, giving no heed to the lamentations of the doe, killed her fawns, and then the hunter slew both the lion-whelps and flayed them.
The doe, flying from the presence of the Lion, and suffering the pangs of separation from her own beloved ones, was running in various directions distractedly. All at once the lynx came up to her, and asked what had befallen her? and, when he had learned what had happened to her, his heart was consumed at her distress, and he began to lament with her.
After outcries, and wailing, and sighs, and weeping, and lamentation without end, the lynx consoled her, and said, ‘Grieve not! in a short time he will meet with his punishment and the requital due.
However, in the other direction, the Lion returned to his jungle and saw his young ones stretched in that manner upon the ground. Hereupon he raised his outcries and roarings to the sky, and said,
The Lion raised so huge an uproar, and commencing a piteous outcry, lamented in such wise that the wild animals of that wilderness wept at his bemoanings, and he expressed his distress in such a fashion that the birds of the air, from sympathy with his sufferings, lamented also.
In the neighborhood of the Lion lived a jackal who had shaken his skirt free from worldly associations, and who perused, from the page of resignation and reliance on God, the subtle saying, ‘Whoever is contented, is full.’
He came to the Lion to condole with him, and said, ‘What is the cause of all this lamentation and groaning?’ The Lion stated the facts. The jackal said, ‘Practice patience, and take to thyself fortitude, for never did any nostril inhale from the flower-garden of the world the perfume of constancy. Nor did any palate ever taste from the hand of the cup-bearer Time the wine of happiness without the smack of suffering.522
Compose thy heart for a time and open the ear of attention while I read to thee two or three maxims from the volume of wisdom, and point out to thee the true state of the transactions of this perfidious world.’ The sea of the Lion’s mind was calmed from its tumultuous state, and he listened heedfully to the admonitions and counsels of the jackal with the ear of acquiescence. When the latter saw that the Lion was disposed to hearken to his words, he began a captivating harangue, and said, ‘O king! there is an ending appointed to every beginning, and there is a predestined conclusion to the commencement of every affair. Whenever the period of life is finished and the time of fated extinction has arrived, a moment’s respite is impossible, [as it is said], Therefore when their term is expired, they shall not have respite for an hour, neither shall they be anticipated.’522a And we may expect joy to follow on the traces of every grief, and after all mirth we must anticipate lamentation.
In all situations one ought to acquiesce in the divine decree, and lay aside complaints which are altogether unavailing.
The Lion said, ‘Whence has this calamity reached my young ones?’ The jackal replied, ‘This, too, has reached thee from thyself, for thou hast inflicted on others twice as much as the Archer of destiny has inflicted on thee. And this is the requital of thy own deeds which has reached thee, [for it is said], ‘As thou judgest, thou shalt be judged.’ And thy case is very like that of the Seller of Wood, who said, ‘Whence did this fire fall among my wood?’ The Lion asked, ‘How was that?’
The jackal said, ‘They have related that in former times there was an oppressor who used to buy the wood of poor people, by violence and injustice, and having made a great difference in the price, used to give for it less than it was worth, and forcing it in winter on rich men, would take from them double its value. Thus both the poor were driven to despair at his cruelty, and the rich, too, were bewailing his tyranny.
One day he took by force the fire-wood of a poor man, and gave half the price to that destitute wretch. The darvesh raised to heaven the hand of supplication, and turned the face of prayer towards the point of adoration of the humble and submissive.
At this time a devout person came by, and having heard how matters stood, loosed the tongue of reproach against that tyrant, and said,
Act not thus towards the helpless, who have no protection save the court of the divine king; and indulge not in cruelty towards the afflicted, who rain down tears all night, like a taper from burning of the heart. Do not lay waste with the wrongs of injustice, the mansion of the breast of the poor, and pour not into the goblet of vengeance, in the place of ruby wine, the heart’s-blood of the bereaved.
That proud oppressor was offended at the words of the pious man, and frowning insolently and with fatuous displeasure, said,
The darvesh turned his face away from him and hastened to the retirement of his own privacy. It happened that that very night the tyrant’s stack of wood caught fire, and extending thence to his house and residence, burnt clean up524a all the property he possessed, and deposited that tyrannical person from his soft bed in warm ashes. It came to pass, in the morning, the same pious man who had rebuked him the day before, came to that quarter; there he beheld the tyrant, who was saying to his friends, ‘I know not whence this fire caught my house?’ The devout personage replied, ‘From the smoke of the hearts of the poor, and the burning of the bosoms of the afflicted.
The tyrant hung down his head, and said to himself, ‘One ought not to transgress justice. The seed of oppression that I have sown will yield no better fruit than this.
And I have cited this story, in order that thou mayest know what has befallen thy sons, is in requital of what thou hast done to the children of others; and they have all used the same complaint and lamentation that thou hast used; and, again, all have been compelled to be patient. Wherefore, as others have patiently endured the pain thou hast inflicted, do thou also be patient under the wrongs that others have wreaked on thee.’ The Lion replied, ‘Impress these words on my mind, by corroborating them with arguments and proofs.’ The jackal answered, ‘How old art thou?’ The Lion replied, ‘Forty years.’ The jackal rejoined, ‘During this long interval, of what has thy food been?’ The Lion replied, ‘Of the flesh of animals and men of which I made prey.’ ‘Then,’ said the jackal, ‘had the animals on whose flesh thou hast fed thus long neither father nor mother? and did not their kinsfolk express in wailings and lamentations their regret for separation from these thy victims, and their distress at losing them? If on that day thou hadst seen the conclusion of this affair, and hadst shunned to spill blood, this event would not now have occurred, and such an adventure would never have taken place.
And shouldest thou persevere in this line of conduct, and adhere to the same sanguinary and cruel course, be prepared! for thou wilt experience many such things; and so long as people are afraid of thee thou wilt not inhale the perfume of security and peace. Deck thy character with kindness and clemency, and make no approaches to the harming other animals, and the molestation of this one or that. For he that molests others, never sees the face of happiness, and the injurious person never arrives at his object and wish.
When the Lion heard these words, and the real state of the case was revealed to him, he perceived, that the result of an action based on harm to others, can be nought but disappointment and disaster. He then reflected, ‘Life’s spring, for such is the season of youth, has been exchanged for the autumn of old age and debility; and every moment I must expect to tread the path of annihilation, and undertake a long and far journey. There is nothing better for me to do than to prepare the provisions for the road to that place, whither all must return; and than that, forsaking injuriousness and oppression, I content myself with scant food, and feeling no solicitude as to more or less, abandon all care of the having or not having.525
He then desisted from eating blood and flesh, and satisfying himself with fruits, took the path of contentment. When the jackal saw that the Lion had commenced eating fruits, and that if he persevered therein, an amount of food, which would suffice a jackal for a year, would be consumed in ten days, he was vexed, and came to the Lion again and said How is the king employed?’ The Lion replied, ‘I have abandoned the world, and have girt up my lions to spiritual conflicts and abstinence.
The jackal replied, ‘The case is not as the king is pleased to say; nay, the injury which he inflicts on others, is even greater now than before.’ The Lion responded, ‘From what cause is any one now injured by me? I neither stain my mouth with blood, nor do I spread out my claws to harm any one.
The jackal replied, ‘Thou hast withdrawn thy hand from thy own natural food, and eatest of the allotted portion of other animals, to which thou hast no right; and the fruits of this jungle will not suffice for thy maintenance for ten days. Thus, those whose subsistence is dependent on these fruits will quickly perish, and the curse of this will hang round thy neck, and it is possible that the punishment of it will reach thee even in this world, and I fear lest thy condition should be like that of the Hog that violently seized the monkey’s fruits.’ The Lion said, ‘Explain, how was that?’
The jackal said, ‘They have related that once upon a time the aid of divine grace was extended to a monkey, and, withdrawing from those of his own race, he took up his abode in a retired spot in a certain wilderness. Now, therein were some fig-trees; and the monkey bethought himself, ‘An animal cannot dispense with food, and in this jungle the only eatable thing is figs. If I devour all the figs while they are fresh, I must pass the winter without supplies. I cannot do better than each day shake down the figs of one tree, and after eating as much thereof as will support life, dry the remainder, that both the summer may pass comfortably, and that during the winter, too, I may be well off.
Accordingly he finished several trees, and having eaten a little of their fruit, he stored up the remainder. One day, having climbed up one of the fig-trees, he, as usual, was eating some of the fruit and gathering some to dry, when all of a sudden a Hog springing away from a hunter rushed into that jungle. Whenever it came to a tree it found no fruit on it, till it came to the foot of that up which the monkey was, gathering the figs. When the monkey’s eyes lighted on the Hog his heart was pained, and he said,
When the Hog saw the monkey he called out ‘Bravo!’ and having uttered the usual benedictory expressions, said, ‘Dost thou wish for a guest?’ The monkey, too, deceitfully returned a hypocritical answer, and said,
May the arrival of thy auspicious footstep be blessed and fortunate! If thou hadst previously favored me with a message informing me of thy high advent, assuredly the conditions of hospitality should have been fulfilled in a manner suitable to my circumstances. At present the shame that I feel is owing to the want of the means of entertainment.
The Hog replied, ‘We are just off our journey, and could most eagerly partake of whatever thou hast at hand.
The Monkey shook the fig-tree, and the Hog kept on eating with the utmost avidity, till not a thing was left on the tree and on the ground. He then turned to the Monkey, and said, ‘O gracious host! the fire of my hunger is still burning fiercely, and my greedy mind is still in distress to obtain food. Shake another tree, and bind me to thee as thy debtor.’ The Monkey willing or not shook another tree, and in a very short time not a trace of the fruit of that tree too was left. The Hog pointed to another tree. The Monkey said, ‘Dear guest! exceed not the bounds of generous sentiment! that which I have devoted to thee was a month’s provision for me, and I cannot offer thee more.
Hereupon the Hog grew angry and said, ‘This wilderness has been for a long time in thy possession, and now it shall belong to me!’ The Monkey replied, ‘To take away the territory of another is unlucky, and the conclusion of an oppressive and tyrannical course is not to be commended, but deprecated. Give up the thought of acting intemperately, and hold back thy hand from wrong and injustice; for oppression of the weak yields no happy result, and the molestation of the friendless bears no good fruit.
At these words the fire of the Hog’s wrath waxed hotter, and he said, ‘I will forthwith bring thee down from this tree, and pour into thy bosom what thou deservest.’ He then ascended the tree to throw the Monkey down. He had, however, hardly fixed himself on the first branch, when it broke, and falling head downwards he proceeded to the pit of hell.
And I have adduced this story, since thou too usurpest the fruit of others, and makest their allotted sustenance thy food. When these parties die of hunger, enmity to thee will settle in the hearts of their children, and being ever employed in speaking ill of thee behind thy back, they will not cease for one moment to curse thee. And if the impression of thy tyranny pervaded the world before, so now the rumor of thy pious abstinence is rife on all tongues. Yet in both cases animals cannot escape thy persecution, whether it be in a state of violence and mischief, or in the array of virtue and rectitude. And pray what devotion is this? that thou shouldest be as busied as ever in pampering thy body, and forbear to turn from sensual and corporeal gratifications to the securing intellectual and spiritual delights.
When the Lion heard this discourse, he relinquished his fruit-diet also, and, contenting himself with water and grass, increased his daily portions of worship and adoration; and, in season and out of season, repeated to himself the purport of these truth-distinguished couplets,
This is the story of a violent evil-doer, holding the inhabitants of the world in thraldom under his oppression, and regardless of the disastrous results; till in the end he becomes involved in the same calamity which he inflicted on his fellow-creatures; after which he recognises the right way and the path of rectitude. Similarly, the Lion, until he beheld both his beloved sons roasted on the fire of regret, removed not his heart from blood-thirstiness and evil actions. But when he gained this experience, he turned his back on the deceitful world, and thought it no longer admissible to give heed to its unsubstantial gauds, and was in no wise led to purchase the smiles of this faithless one.
And it behoves men of sense to comprehend well these directions, and store up these experiences for their present condition and future state; and to lay the foundation of their affairs in this world and that to come on the same one maxim, viz., that whatever they would not approve of for themselves and their children and their connections, they should not suffer to be done to others; in order that the commencements of their undertakings and the conclusion of their affairs, may be adorned with a good name and honorable celebrity, and that they may remain secure in this world and in that to come from the consequences of ill-actions and the baneful results of oppression.
The world-subduing king after hearing this agreeable story, said, ‘O eloquent and right-counselling sage! thou hast set forth with clear proof530 and perspicuous reasoning, the apologue of an evil-doer who without thought of consequences, went to excess in injuring and molesting [others], and on being himself involved in similar calamities, had recourse to repentance and contrition. I now request that thou wouldest recount a narrative comprising the import of the eleventh precept; and that thou wouldest set forth the true particulars of a person aiming at something not suitable to his condition, nor in accordance with his circumstances.’ The perfect sage, in a style which in purity and clearness resembled the water of life, and in sweetness and richness was the foster-sister of the beverage of the sugar-cane;
said, ‘O king! asylum of the world!
Ancient sages have pronounced, ‘For every action there are men, for every place its [proper] saying.’ In the wardrobe of the invisible world they have sewed on the lofty530a stature of every person the garment of his own actions, and have carefully prepared for each in the treasury of the Divine bestowal, the robe of his special transactions suitable to his figure. Each individual has his task, and every man his actions that suit him.
The cupbearer of the divine favors presents from the wine-cellar of ‘Every party rejoiceth in that which they follow,’531 a cup suited to the condition of each, nor does He exclude one single person from the beverage of His bounty or the fountain of His grace.
Wherefore every one ought to employ himself in that profession which the eternal Artificer has entrusted to him, and take steps to conduct that business by gradual progress, to the stage of perfection.
And whosoever quits his own employment and betakes himself to a business unsuited to him, and turns away from what he has received by hereditary descent or long previous acquisition, will undoubtedly be overtaken with embarrassment and perplexity. Consequently, by the way which he is then pursuing, he will not arrive at the wished-for station, and the return to his former road becomes impossible. Thus he remains stupefied and aghast between the two.
Wherefore it behoves a man to plant his foot firmly in the path of his own profession, and not to be led by desire to stretch forth his hand to every branch of vain longing, and to lay aside the quest of greater things, since for the most part the final issue thereof is disappointment; and let him not soon or lightly surrender a thing whence he has experienced profit, and whose fruit he has found to be advantageous,532 so that he may act in accordance with the import of the high tradition, ‘Whoever has had a thing bestowed on him, let him cling to it,’ and may escape from bewilderment and distress; and the words of the holy Maulaví,532a who is a mine of the jewels of spirituality, alludes to this same circumstance, in the passage where he says,
And of the stories that befit these premises, the story of that Devotee who spoke the Hebrew tongue is one, and of the versatile Guest who wished to learn that language.’ The king asked, ‘How was that?’
The Bráhman said, ‘They have related that in the land of Kinnauj (Kanoj) there lived a man pious and abstemious, and continent and religious. He was assiduous in satisfying the conditions of the daily duties of devotion, and he performed with sincerity the customary ceremonies of worship. The clearness of his purity had obliterated the opacities of earthly connections, and the transparency of his nature removed from before the eyes of the spiritual the curtain of the obscurities of terrestrial concerns. The border of his prayer-carpet was the alighting-place of the manifestations of grace, and the threshold of his closet was the theatre of the exhibitions of the infallible world.
He expended all his energies in restoring life to the ceremonies of the law, and employed all his zeal in fulfilling the duties of a righteous life. The bird of love of the world did not find a nest in the region of his breast, and the beams of his regard from the sun of his mind did not fall nor shine on this dark earth.
And notwithstanding533 all this piety and abstinence, whatever was his portion from the treasury of ‘Unto God belong the stores of heaven and earth,’533a he devoted to [the reception of] guests, and used to bestow the provisions of his own dinner and supper, through the strength of his liberality, on deserving darveshes.
One day a traveler came to his cell as guest, and the pious man, as is the custom of bountiful hosts—viz., that their table appears without the vinegar of frowns—advanced to meet him with a fresh countenance and open brow, and displayed the utmost joy and cheerfulness at his visit. After offering his salutations, and the arrangement of the repast, they spread the carpet of conversation. The Holy Man inquired, ‘Whence art thou come? and to what country is it thy intention to go?’ The Guest replied, ‘My story is a long one, and it is a narrative compounded of many points of true experience and subtleties of comparison. But if your illustrious mind feels disposed to hear it, some particulars may be set forth by way of summary.’ The Devotee replied, ‘Whoever has the ear of intelligence open will be able to derive some advantage from every story, and may pass by the bridge of comparison to the road of true wisdom.
Do thou without hesitation recount thy history, and state unreservedly what advantages and detriment have accrued to thee from this journey.’ The Guest replied, ‘O holy man of the age, and incomparable saint! know that I am originally from Europe, and I was employed there as a baker. I was always heating the oven of my bosom with the fire of covetousness, and yet, with a thousand difficulties, I obtained but a single loaf from the table of fortune.
Now I had a friendship with a farmer, and the road of companionship was incessantly trodden by us, and the customs of amicable intercourse observed. The farmer, out of friendly feeling and to assist me, used to send to my shop the grain that I required, and took the money for it as time came round, and when534 there happened to be a delay534a sometimes in the payment, he was easy with me. One day he took me to an entertainment at one of his gardens, and discharged all the duties of a host, as is customary with liberal people. After we had finished eating our meat, we engaged in conversation. He inquired, ‘What amount of profit dost thou make by thy trade? and what is the extent of thy stock and interest?’ I gave him some slight inkling of my condition, and said, ‘The stock in my shop is twenty kharwárs534b of wheat, and the profit I obtain thereon is just enough to support my wife and family, and that may be534c about ten or twelve kharwárs.
The farmer exclaimed, ‘Holy God! the profit of thy profession is not of that degree that one could build thereon. I fancied that in thy trade the profit was great and the income immense.
I rejoined, ‘Sir! what kind of business is thine? and what are the profits
and capital in it?’ He replied, ‘In my business the capital required is small
and the interest vast. Save the seed that we sow the whole crop is clear gain.
And in this business we are not content with a return of ten for one.’ I
was amazed, and said, ‘How can this be?’ The farmer answered, ‘Don’t
be surprised, for there is still greater profit than this. When a single poppy-seed,
which is the smallest of all seeds, takes root well in the ground and
germinates, it sends up near twenty shoots,534d
and possibly even more. And
at the end of every shoot is a poppy-clump, so that one cannot reckon the
number of them; and hence thou mayest imagine that the profit of my
business is beyond the range of calculation, and the gain of farming greater
than can be computed. And the agriculturists of the field of wisdom have
said that
And, according to the belief of the alchymists, the department of husbandry is viewed in such a light that the philosopher’s stone535 is supposed to allude to agriculture: as it is said,
When I heard these words from the farmer, a longing for the gains of agriculture entered my head, and shutting up the door of my shop I busied myself with preparing farming implements. Now, in the quarter of the town in which I resided, there was a darvesh famed for his perfections, and noted for his excellent qualities.
When he learnt that I was leaving my own business, and going to employ myself in a different profession, he sent for me, and loosing the tongue of rebuke, said, ‘Master baker! be content with that which has been given thee and don’t seek for more, for the quality of greediness is an unlucky one, and the end of the greedy is to be deprecated. But whoever holds in his hand the coin of contentment is the king of his own time, while he that is a prisoner to the baseness of avarice is on a level with devils and brutes.
I replied, ‘O shekh! I get but little advantage from this business in which I am engaged, and I have found out that the profits of farming are great. I have formed an idea that I may, perhaps, be benefited by the latter occupation, and that I may subsist more easily.’ The old devotee answered, ‘For a very long time the means of thy subsistence have been procured by this business, and the beverage of thy life has, by this employment, been purified from the rubbish of anxiety; while the undertaking in which thou art at present designing to embark is an affair full of toil. Peradventure thou mayest not be able to labour assiduously in the duties required, nor to discharge fitly what it demands. Nor is everything which shews its head from the secret chamber of desire possible to be acquired according to our wish.
Meddle not with that which concerns thee not, and withdraw not thine hand from thine own employment, for whoever leaves his own trade and undertakes a thing unsuited to him will meet with what that Crane met with.’ I asked, ‘How was that?’
This signifies ‘catching and breaking the bones of the prey.’
↩Ḳur’án, xxviii. 77; Sale, p. 296, l. 5: ‘And forget not thy portion in this world; but be thou bounteous unto others, as God hath been bounteous unto thee: and seek not to act corruptly in the earth; for God loveth not the corrupt doers.’
↩Ḳur’án, Fl. ii. 57; Sale, p. 8, l. 1: ‘Eat and drink of the bounty of God, and commit not evil in the earth, acting unjustly.’
↩Ḳur’án, Fl. xxxix. 57; Mar. 56; Sale, p. 348, l. 9: ‘And follow the most excellent instructions which have been sent down unto you from your Lord, before the punishment come suddenly upon you, and ye perceive not the approach thereof; and a soul say, Alas! for that I have been negligent in my duty to God; verily, I have been one of the scorners; or say, If God had directed me, verily I had been one of the pious; or say, when it seeth the prepared punishment, If I could return once more into the world, I would become one of the righteous.’
↩Ḳur’án, Fl. x. 93; Mar. 91; Sale, p. 161, l. 4: And we prepared for the children of Israel an established dwelling in the land of Canaan, and we provided good things for their sustenance: and they differed not in point of religion, until knowledge had come unto them; verily thy Lord will judge between them on the day of resurrection, concerning that wherein they disagreed.’
↩Observe this sense of dast afráz: it is not given in the Dictionaries.
↩That is, ‘seeking enjoyment.’
↩Lit., ‘hang it round its neck.’
↩In one MS. ’aib is well supplied before na dárad.
↩I would rather, with some MSS., omit the darvesh that precedes ḥalwágar in the editions.
↩Lit., ‘who had a share in the taste of poverty.’
↩There is an equivoque here on ḥalwá, ‘sweetmeat,’ and ḥalwá shudah, ‘descending and being revealed,’ which cannot be retained in English. For ḥall shudan is ‘to descend,’ and wá shudan is ‘to be disclosed,’ and the two compounds are here put together for the sake of the equivoque.
↩Kur’án, liv. 55; Sale, p, 391, l. 29: ‘Moreover, the pious shall dwell among gardens and rivers, in the assembly of truth, in the present of a most potent King.’
↩Ḳur’án, xcv. 5; Sale, p. 447, l. 18: ‘By the fig, and the olive; and by Mount Sinai and this territory of security; verily we created man of a most excellent fabric; afterwards we rendered him the vilest of the vile: except those who believe, and work righteousness; for they shall receive an endless reward.’
↩I would, in accordance with the best MS. supply iḥtiyáṭ after sharáiṭ.
↩I am obliged to use these eleven words to translate maghlatah.
↩In my copy of the lithographed edition, there is great confusion here. The story of the Faḳír and the cup of honey, is inserted here out of its place.
↩I read with the best MS., raḳamí chand az gûnah-i ḥasad bá zarḳ, instead of the raḳamí chand az har gúnah-i ḥashw va párah-i zard.
↩Ḳur’án, xlix. 12; Sale, p. 380, l. 24: ‘Inquire not too curiously into other men’s failings; neither let the one of you speak ill of another in his absence. Would any of you desire to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Surely ye would abhor it.’
↩Lit., ‘The sun of my mirth has arrived on the top of the wall.’
↩Ḳur’án, Fl. iii. 90; Mar. 96; Sale, p. 43, l. 36: ‘Say, God is true; follow ye therefore the religion of Abraham the orthodox; for he was no idolater. Verily the first house appointed unto men to worship in, was that which is in Becca; blessed and a direction to all creatures.’ Becca is another name for Mecca, the Arabs using the m and b promiscuously in several words.
↩See the passage of the Kur’án quoted above. The next line is, ‘Therein are manifest signs: the place where Abraham stood; and whoever entereth therein shall be safe.’
↩I would read dá’í-rá did the MSS. allow it, governed in the dative by ijábat zadah.
↩Ḳur’án, xxii. 28, Sale, p. 253, l. 28: ‘And proclaim unto the people a solemn pilgrimage: let them come unto thee on foot, and on every lean camel, arriving from every distant road; that they may be witnesses of the advantages which accrue to them from the visiting this holy place; and may commemorate the name of God on the appointed days, in gratitude for the brute cattle which he hath bestowed on them.’
↩’Arafát is a mountain twelve miles from Makkah, whence pilgrims make a procession to the Holy Monument on another mountain at a little distance. On ’Arafát Adam met Eve after a separation of 200 years.
↩That is, the deck was below the mast or pillar.
↩There is an equivoque here, which cannot be retained in English. The burj-ábí may mean ‘the sign Aquarius,’ or ‘a mansion in the water.’
↩Here again is an equivoque not retainable in English. Khák búsí, is ‘kissing the ground;’ and burdan ba-khák, lit., ‘to bear to the ground,’ means—like the German ‘zu Grunde gehen,’—‘to be ruined or lost.’
↩I have kept the equivoque here more successfully than the extravagance of Persian allusions generally permits: dar tang mándan, said of sugar, means, ‘to be in a bale,’ and signifies generally ‘to be distressed;’ dar sang raftan has the two meanings that ‘to be petrified’ has in English.
↩I have kept the equivoque here more successfully than the extravagance of Persian allusions generally permits: dar tang mándan, said of sugar, means, ‘to be in a bale,’ and signifies generally ‘to be distressed;’ dar sang raftan has the two meanings that ‘to be petrified’ has in English.
↩Here again is an equivoque on tang, which signifies ‘slender’ and ‘sad.’
↩Here again is an equivoque on tang, which signifies ‘slender’ and ‘sad.’
↩Mízán, ‘Libra,’ may also mean ‘convivial tables.’ I know not if an equivoque is intended.
↩Mízán, ‘Libra,’ may also mean ‘convivial tables.’ I know not if an equivoque is intended.
↩Gul-barg, ‘rose-leaf;’ but shiguftah will hardly apply to a leaf. However, Persian writers care little for such inconsistencies.
↩Lit. ‘From desire her Indian spikenard in a twist.’ I commend this to the lovers of purely literal translation.
↩The mole takes a conspicuous place in the enumerations of the beauties of a Persian mistress. Ḥáfiz tells us he would give Bukhárá and Samarḳand (as we should say Vienna and Paris) for the mole of his fair one.
↩This appears to be the meaning of taḳá’ud namúdan here, and indeed I find it given on the margin of one of the MSS.
↩Mújiz va mukhtaṣar. I doubt the meaning of these words here. ‘Trifling and unimportant’ would suit the context better.
↩These lines are quoted from the ‘Gulistán’ of S’adí. See my Translation, p. 39, l. 11, where they are rendered somewhat differently.
↩Lit., ‘point to which the face is turned in prayer.’
↩The drink sikanjabín ‘oxymel,‘ is here alluded to, which according to Oriental writers is good to cure biliousness, etc.
↩One MS. reads mauk’í-i ihtimám.
↩As I can make nothing of the reading of the editions here, I read with the best MS. I have, va maḥál-i dushmanán-rá dar ẓamír tamakkun dád, which is simple and intelligible.
↩The printed edition omits va after siyásat-i man, and thus the sense of the passage is lost.
↩Yaman = Arabia Felix.
↩Observe the phrase, khánah bar vai zindan sákht.
↩This English may appear devoid of meaning, but it is a literal translation. The original idea is so strained as to be almost unintelligible.
↩Lit.: ‘are not lighted up,’ ‘have no lustre.’
↩The reader will have exclaimed again and again ‘Ohe jam satis!’ was there ever anything so wearisome and inane, so full of repetition, as these speeches of the stolid Kámjúí and the luckless Farísah?
↩Sar, lit., ‘head,’ which, indeed, may be the meaning here.
↩Lit., ‘If ye return to it, we also will return to it.’ These words more ‘in extenso’ occur at Kur’án, xvii. 8; Sale, p. 210, l. 14: ‘Peradventure your Lord will have mercy on you hereafter: but if ye return to transgress a third time, we also will return to chastise you; and we have appointed Hell to be the prison of the unbelievers.’ Sale’s note is, ‘And this came accordingly to pass; for the Jews being again so wicked as to reject Mohammad, and conspire against his life, God delivered them into his hands; and he exterminated the tribe of Koreidha, and slew the chiefs of that of Al Nadîr, and obliged the rest of the Jewish tribes to pay tribute.’
↩Ḳur’án, xcix. 7 and 8; Sale, p. 450, l. 19: ‘On that day men shall go forward in distinct classes, that they may behold their works. And whoever shall have wronght good of the weight of an ant, shall behold the same. And whoever shall have wrought evil of the weight of an ant, shall behold the same.’
↩I know not the meaning of the mádah inserted here in the editions after búd. It cannot be ‘female,’ for at p. 438, l. 18 of the Persian text this lion is addressed as ai malik, ‘O king!’
↩It is utterly impossible to render this passage intelligibly. Gáo-i zamín would signify literally, ‘the cow of the earth,’ but it also bears the meaning which I have given to it in the translation. [See Burhán-i Ḳát’i.] The equivoque must be entirely lost in English.
↩The kánún is ‘a chafing-dish,’ or ‘a fire-place;’ ‘the place where live coals are kept for warming a room.’
↩Lit., ‘ferine brutishness.’ I have, however, translated as I have, in order to preserve in English the jingle on the words badí, ‘badness,’ and dadí, ‘brutishness.’
↩As the shadow, though long, comes back to its original source, the wall; so our cruelties, though it may be after a long interval, recoil on ourselves.
↩The equivoque is lost in English. In the original, khár, ‘a thorn,’ cannot, it is said, pierce khárá, ‘a hard stone.’
↩Lit, ‘wounding.’
↩Kur’án, Fl. vii. 32; Mar. 35; Sale, p. 110, l. 22: ‘Unto every nation there is a prefixed term: therefore, when their term is expired, they shall not have respite for an hour, neither shall they be anticipated. The same expression occurs also at chap. x. 50; xvi. 63.
↩This story is related, in somewhat different language, in the ‘Gulistán,’ chap. i., story 26. See page 81 of my translation.
↩The khirman signifies ‘harvest,’ and also ‘corn piled up in a large circular stack.’
↩An exact translation of the original pák bi-súkht.
↩These lines occur in the ‘Gulistán’ in the place quoted above, but the two lines that rhyme to them are here omitted.
↩Lit., of ‘is,’ and ‘is not.’
↩Lit., ‘portico and dome of subsistence.’ So, at least, I would translate the words riwáḳ va ṭáḳ-i m’aíshat. I may add that the lines are very pretty in the original.
↩Here again is an untranslateable equivoque: áb khẉurd has two meanings, ‘draught of water,’ and ‘halting-place.’
↩The meaning of these obscure lines I take to be as follows: ‘Thou mayest bite the poor man, and thus draw blood from his heart; but if, by the retribution which is sure to follow, thou undergoest the toothache of remorse, what wilt thou do then?’
↩Lit., ‘thy life.’
↩I am doubtful whether I have rightly translated jannatu’l Mávai.
↩I prefer to insert, with some MSS., bih before burhání, and to read bi-burhání rúshan, rather than to take burhání as in apposition with maṯal.
↩The adjective wálá, ‘lofty,’ is most inaptly introduced here, merely for the sake of the jingle with bálá, ‘stature.’ So, if we were to attach any sense to it in this sentence, we might infer that only tall men are indebted to these invisible tailorings, or that all men are tall.
↩Kur’án, xxiii. 55; Sale, p. 260, 1. 17: This your religion is one religion; and I am your Lord, wherefore fear me. But men have rent the affair of their religion into various sects: every party rejoiceth in that which they follow.’ The same expression occurs again in the Kur’án at Ch. xxx. 31.
↩The point of these lines is somewhat lost in English; as with us there is little reason why a hatter should claim precedence over a saddler. The Oriental idea no doubt is, that he who makes gear for asses and other beasts, is below him who ornaments the noblest part of man, his head. Of course, the word rendered ‘hatter,’ is more properly ‘turban-maker,’ or ‘cap-maker.’
↩The expression natíjah-i chízí is somewhat unusual. I almost suspect the reading to be corrupt here.
↩A famous Ṣúfí doctor and poet, who wrote in A.H. 600 = 1203 A.D. His name was Jalálu ’d-din Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad u’l-Balkhí u’l Konaví.
↩ Of the
Lit., ‘He placed his step on the air.’
↩Or, it may be, ‘together with.’
↩Kur’án, lxiii. 7; Sale, p. 410. l. 12: ‘These are the men, who say to the inhabitants of Medina, Do not bestow anything on the refugees who are with the apostle of God, that they may be obliged to separate from him. Whereas unto God belong the stores of heaven and earth: but the hypocrites do not understand,’
↩These untranslateable lines are a string of puns on the words íṯár, ‘giving,’ aṯír, ‘ethereal,’ aṯar, ‘effect,’ or ‘power.’ It is impossible to convey the slightest idea of these equivoques in English.
↩The printed edition, by a typographical error, omits chún before muhlatí. For the va furṣatí of the editions, I would prefer to read, with some MSS., bi-furṣatí.
↩The printed edition, by a typographical error, omits chún before muhlatí. For the va furṣatí of the editions, I would prefer to read, with some MSS., bi-furṣatí.
↩Lit., ‘ass-loads,’ a measure equal to 100 Tabríz maunds.
↩The lithographed edition omits. búd after tawánad.
↩The Persian word for our ‘shoot,’ here, is tír,—lit. ‘arrow.’
↩Kibrít-í ahmár, lit. ‘red gold.’
↩Gúgird-i ahmar, another name for ‘the philosopher’s stone.’
↩Some Muḥammadans suppose that ‘wheat’ was the forbidden fruit. See Sale, page 5, note ‘e.’
↩