University of California • Berkeley From the Library of Charles Erskine Scott Wood and his Wife Sara Bard Field Given in Memory of JAMES R.CALDWELL 1 • , 1 % / "^w^ ^ ^ 4^ r>^ ^^ w^ V. ^ 1 R ^lS ^^fl^ ^Bi ^ ^1 >^.'^p|i Pv^Tit^ / nI* Y i/^ ^ / 1 1 "^ / ^/vfT:: \NJ 1 ■-■^3===^ V ■ ''\l 1^ OL , /"""^^ — A. '^Ss^/" kI^k — ■—■ "^^^V- \- AV» I "- -*tw / \ / y / •'^- \ // \ \k\ Ijk •^ ^ ^ -^ ^"^^^/ / JnJ^ "1 -wv ^ " '^ ^' /^;__L- -^r ^^ <^ ^ \ /~- ^ \ - '*** nO X ^ 1 - r\ ' — ^ "' "^^ "^ \ ~^ \ r^ V ^ ■" -.,.- 1® '^ /^(^^^ "^ "^ 3-.~ L \ ■' .^ ^ 2^ n ^' ANJ^rl- " \"^ - *^^ ^ ^. %^ K. ^' '^.^^^i^^x -^ ^sffftK ^ r ) s / ■^ ^^^f"^ ^•^^jT^ yTN ^^ V '" >^Vi^^^«r^ "Cl/r^ " 1 A. i*^ y\i ySj|l^^=^|^^'?^ ^N/ — /\."*^ "^ '" \ \ /^ nOV v. J:( 7*^ 'L.y'^^^^} '''"'vlJ /^SN-^'N^ \|k, wv \ \ •V ^i^^HO' /y\ r — A 'A / ,^-^J?\ / / /'i " / — fwN j^ 1= V^ K^ Ii---^?%A? 1 i^^_l.^ "^ Wv > /'Z^ "■ 3\-3^!S4r^^^ I /t'??'^ n/~w. // ^. K^^^ J' -^ .T (J ^ -.^. /I ^^i V^^/U "" '"'^ w\. ^ 1^ ^. ^- 1 / ^/^ x* ^.^^ >>^« JT^ ^,. .-V* /y^ wA \^^ 'w — « ^JWV ~* Ij _/v,^ vv ^ <>. -»«• "^ gP^ ^'v — <• -«' „" -w- J^ ^ ■w. -~v -«^ /-«N „^ vW -'^^^^^ --11 : -1 JS-^c^ ^.^v-^ •' ''^' ^^^^-f <^/ j?4r ^;^ ^^// SALAMAN AND ABSAL AN ALLEGORY. TEANSLATED FROM THE PERSIAN ^ J A M I. LONDON : J. W. PAEKEE AND SON, WEST STEAND. MDCCCLVl. My dear Cowell, Two years ago, when we began (I for the first time) to read this Poem together, I wanted you to translate it, as 1 something that should interest a few who are worth inter- \ esting. You, however, did not see the way clear then, and had Aristotle pulling you by one Shoulder and Prakrit Yararuchi by the other, so as indeed to have hindered you up to this time completing a Yersion of Hafiz' best Odes which you had then happily begun. So, continuing to like old Jami more and more, I must try my hand upon him ; and here is my reduced Yersion of a small Original. What Scholarship it has is yours, my Master in Persian and so much beside; who are no further answerable for all than by well liking and wishing publisht what you may scarce have Leisure to find due fault with. Had all the Poem been like Parts, it would have been all translated, and in such Prose lines as you measure Hafiz in, and such as any one should adopt who does not feel himself so much of a Poet as him he translates and some he trans- lates for — before whom it is best to lay the raw material as genuine as may be, to work up to their own better Fancies. But, unlike Hafiz' best — (whose Sonnets are sometimes as close packt as Shakespeare's, which they resemble in more IV ways than one) — Jami, you know, like his Countrymen ge- nerally, is very diffuse in what he tells and his way of tell- ing it. The very structure of the Persian Couplet — (here, like people on the Stage, I am repeating to you what you know, with an Eye to the small Audience beyond) — so often ending with the same Word, or Two Words, if but the fore- going Syllable secure a lawful Rhyme, so often makes the Second Line but a slightly varied Repetition, or Modifica- tion of the First, and gets slowly over Ground often hardly worth gaining, x^ This iteration is common indeed to the He- brew Psalms and Proverbs — where, however, the Value of the Repetition is different. In your Hafiz also, not Two only, but Eight or Ten Lines perhaps are tied to the same Close of Two — or Three — words ; a verbal Ingenuity as much valued in the East as better Thought. And how many of all the Odes called his, more and fewer in various Copies, do you yourself care to deal with ? — And in the better ones how often some lines, as I think for this reason, unworthy of the Rest — interpolated perhaps from the Mouths of his many Devotees, Mystical and Sensual — or crept into Manuscripts of which he never arranged or corrected one from the First ? This, together with the confined Action of Persian Gram- mar, whose organic simplicity seems to me its difiiculty when applied, makes the Line by Line Translation of a Poem not line by line precious tedious in proportion to its length. Especially — (what the Sonnet does not feel) — in the Narrative ; which I found when once eased in its Collar, and yet missing somewhat of rhythmical Amble, somehow, and not without resistance on my part, swerved into that " easy road" of Verse — easiest as unbeset with any exigen- cies of Rhyme. Those little Stories, too, which you thought untractable, but which have their Use as well as Humour by way of quaint Interlude Music between the little Acts, felt ill at ease in solemn Lowth-Isaiah Prose, and had learn' d their tune, you know, before even Hiawatha came to teach people to quarrel about it. Till, one part drawing on an- other, the Whole grew to the present form. As for the much bodily omitted — it may be readily guess- ed that an Asiatic of the 15th Century might say much on such a subject that an Englishman of the 19th would not care to read. Not that our Jami is ever licentious like his Contemporary Chaucer, nor like Chaucer's Posterity in Times that called themselves more Civil. But better Men will not now endure a simplicity of Speech that Worse men abuse. Then the many more, and foolisher. Stories — pre- liminary Te Deums to Allah and Allah' s-shadow Shah — very much about Alef JSToses, Eyebrows like inverted Nuns, drunken Narcissus Eyes — and that eternal Moon Pace which never wanes from Persia — of all which there is surely enough in this Glimpse of the Original. No doubt some Oriental character escapes — the Story sometimes becomes too Skin and Bone without due interval of even Stupid and Bad. Of the two Evils ? — At least what I have chosen is least in point of bulk ; scarcely in proportion with the length of its Apology which, as usual, probably discharges one's own Conscience at too great a Price ; people at once turning against you the Arms they might have wanted had you not laid them down. However it may be with this, I am sure a complete Translation — even in Prose — would not have been a readable one — ^which, after all, is a useful property of most Books, even of Poetry. In studying the Original, you know, one gets contentedly carried over barren Ground in a new Land of Language — excited by chasing any new Game that will but show Sport ; the most worthless to win asking perhaps all the sharper Energy to pursue, and so far yielding all the more Satis- faction when run down. Especially, cheer' d on as I was by such a Huntsman as poor Dog of a Persian Scholar never hunted with before ; and moreover — but that was rather in the Spanish Sierras — by the Presence of a Lady in the Eield, I silently brightening about us like Aurora's Self, or chiming I in with musical Encouragement that all we started and ran down must be Royal Game ! Ah, happy Days ! "When shall we Three meet again — when dip in that unreturning Tide of Time and Circum- stance ! — In those Meadows far from the World, it seemed, ! as SalamAn's Island — before an Iron Railway broke the Heart of that Happy Valley whose Gossip was the Mill- wheel, and Visitors the Summer Airs that momentarily ruffled the sleepy Stream that turned it as they chased one another over to lose themselves in Whispers in the Copse beyond. Or returning — I suppose you remember whose Lines they are — When Winter Skies were ting'd with Crimson still Where Thombush nestles on the quiet hill, And the live Amber round the setting Sun, Lighting the Labourer home whose Work is done, Bum'd like a Golden Angel-ground above _ The solitary Home of Peace and Love — at such an hour drawing home together for a fireside Night of it with ^schylus or Calderon in the Cottage, whose walls, modest almost as those of the Poor who cluster' d — and with good reason — round, make to my Eyes the Tower' d Crown of Oxford hanging in the Horizon, and with all Honour won, but a dingy Vapour in Comparison. And now, should they beckon from the terrible Ganges, and this little Book begun as a happy Eecord of past, and pledge perhaps of Future, Fellowship in Study, darken already with the sha- dow of everlasting Farewell ! But to turn from you Two to a Public — nearly as numer- ous — (with whom, by the way, this Letter may die without a name that you know very well how to supply), — here is the best I could make of Jami's Poem — " Ouvrage de pen d'etendue," says the Biographie Universelle, and, whatever Vlll that means, here coUaps'd into a nutshell Epic indeed; whose Story however, if nothing else, may interest some Scholars as one of Persian Mysticism — perhaps the grand Mystery of all Religions — an Allegory fairly devised and carried out — dramatically culminating as it goes on ; and told as to this day the East loves to tell her Story, illus- trated by Eables and Tales, so often (as we read in the latest Travels) at the expense of the poor Arab of the Desert. The Proper Names — and some other "Words peculiar to the East — are printed as near as may be to their native shape and sound — "Sulayman" for Solomon — " Tusuf " for Joseph, &c., as being not only more musical, but retaining their Oriental flavour unalloyed with European Association. The accented Vowels are to be pronounced long, as in Italian — Salaman — Absal — Shirin, &c. The Original is in rhpned Couplets of this measure— _^ l__ l_^_l I which those who like Monkish Latin may remember in Dum Salaman verba Regis cogitat, Pectus intra de profundis eestuat. or in English — ^by way of asking, " your Clemency for iis and for our Tragedy " — Of Salumin and of Absil hear the Song; Little wants Man here below, nor little long. LIFE OF JAMI, [J hope the following disproportionate Notice of Jdmi's Life will be amusing enough to excuse its length. I found most of it at the last moment in Rosenzweig's " Biographische Notizen " of Jami, from whose own, and Commentator's, Works it purports to be gathered.] NuRUDDiN Abdurrahman, Son of Maulana Nizamuddin ' Ah- med, and descended on the Mother's side from One of the Four great "Fathers" of Islamism, was born a. h. 817, a. d. 1414, in Jam, a little Town of Khorasan, whither (according to the Heft Aklim — " Seven Climates ") his Grandfather had migrated from Desht of Ispahan, and from which the Poet ultimately took his Takhalus, or Poetic name, Jami. This word also signifies " A Cup ; " wherefore, he says, " Born in Jam, and dipt in the " Jam" of Holy Lore, for a double reason I must be called Jami in the Book of Song." He was celebrated afterwards in other Oriental Titles — " Lord of Poets "— " Elephant of Wisdom," &c., but often hked to call himself " The Ancient of Herat," where he mainly resided. When Five Years old he received the name of Nuruddin — the " Light of Faith," and even so early began to show the Metal, and take the Stamp that distinguished him through Life. In 1419, a famous Sheikh, Khwajah Mehmed Parsa, then in the last Year of his Life, was being carried through Jam. " I was not then Five Years old," says Jami, "and my Father, who with his Friends went forth to salute him, had me carried on the Shoulders of one 1 Such final uddins signify " of the Faith." " Maulana" may be taken as " Master" in Learning, Law, &c. r.iFE OF jXmt. of the Family and set down before the Litter of the Sheikh, who gave a Nosegay into my hand. Sixty Years have passed, and me- thinks I now see before me the bright Image of the Holy Man, and feel the Blessing of his Aspect, from which I date my after Devo- tion to that Brotherhood in which I hope to be enrolled." So again, when Maulana Fakhruddin Loristani had alighted at his Mother's house — " I was then so little that he set me upon his Knee, and with his Fingers drawing the Letters of * Ali' and * Omar ' in the Air, laughed delightedly to hear me spell them. He also by his Goodness sowed in my Heart the Seed of his Devo- tion, which has grown to Increase within me — in which I hope to live, and in which to die. '^ Oh God ! Dervish let me live, and Dervish die ; and in the Company of the Dervish do Thou quicken me to Life again!" Jami first went to a School at Herat; and afterward to one founded by the Great Timiir at Samarcand. There he not only outstript his Fellows in the very Encyclopaedic Studies of Persian Education, but even puzzled the Doctors in Logic, Astronomy, and Theology ; who, however, with unresenting Gravity welcomed him — "Lo! a new Light added to our Galaxy!" — In the wider Field of Samarcand he might have liked to remain ; but Destiny liked otherwise, and a Dream recalled him to Herat. A Vision of the Great Sufi Master there, Mehmed Saaduddin Kaschgari, of the Nakshbend Order of Dervishes, appeared to him in his Sleep, and bade him return to One who would satisfy all Desire. Jami went back to Herat ; he saw the Sheikh discoursing with his Disciples by the Door of the Great Mosque ; day after day passed by with- out daring to present himself; but the Master's Eye was upon him ; day by day draws him nearer and nearer — till at last the Sheikh announces to those about him — "Lo! this Day have I taken a Falcon in my Snare!" Under him Jami began his Sufi Noviciate, with such Devotion, and under such Fascination from the Master, that going, he tells LIFE OF JAMI. US, but for one Summer Day's Holiday into the Country, one single Line was enough to " lure the Tassel-gentle back again ; " " Lo ! here am I, and Thou look'st on the^Rose ! " By and bye he withdraws, by course of Sufi Instruction, into Solitude so long and profound, that on his Return to Men he has almost lost the Power of Converse with them. At last, when duly taught, and duly authorized to teach as Sufi Doctor, he yet will not, though solicited by those who had seen such a Vision of Him as had drawn Himself to Herat; and not till the Evening of his Life is he to be seen with White hairs taking that place by the Mosque which his departed Master had been used to occupy before. Meanwhile he had become Poet, which no doubt winged his Reputation and Doctrine far and wide through Nations to whom Poetry is a vital Element of the Air they breathe. " A Thousand times," he says, "I have repented of such Employment; but I could no more shirk it than one can shirk what the Pen of Fate has written on his Forehead" — " As Poet I have resounded through tlie World; Heaven filled itself with my Song, and the Bride of Time adorned her Ears and Neck with the Pearls of my Verse, whose coming Caravan the Persian Hafiz and Saadi came forth gladly to salute, and the Indian Khosru and Hasan hailed as a Wonder of the World." " The Kings of India and Rum greet me by Letter : the Lords of Irak and Tabriz load me with Gifts ; and what shall I say of those of Khorasan, who drown me in an Ocean of Munificence?" This, though Oriental, is scarcely Bombast. J ami was honoured by Princes at home and abroad, and at the very time they were cutting one another's Throats ; by his own Sultan Abou Said ; by Hasan Beg of Mesopotamia — " Lord of Tabriz " — by whom Abou Said was defeated, dethroned, and slain ; by Mahomet II. of Turkey — " King of Rum " — who in his turn defeated Hasan ; and lastly by Husein Mirza Baikara, who extinguished the Prince xii LIFE OP jAmi. whom Hasan had set up in Abou's Place at Herat. Such is the House that Jack builds in Persia. As Hasan Beg, however — the Usuncassan of old European An- nals — is singularly connected with the present Poem, and with probably the most important event in Jami's Life, I will briefly fol- low the Steps that led to that as well as other Princely Intercourse. In A. H. 877, A. D. 1472, J ami set oflf on his Pilgrimage to Mecca. He, and, on his Account, the Caravan he went with, were honourably and safely escorted through the intervening Countries by order of their several Potentates as far as Bagdad. There Jami fell into trouble by the Treachery of a Follower he had re- proved, and who (born 400 Years too soon) misquoted Jami's Verse into disparagement of Alt, the Darhng Imam of Persia. This getting wind at Bagdad, the thing was brought to solemn Tribunal, at which Hasan Beg's two Sons assisted. Jami came victoriously off; his Accuser pilloried with a dockt Beard in Bagdad Market- place : but the Poet was so ill pleased with the stupidity of those who beheved the Reportj that, standing in Verse upon the Tigris' side, he calls for a Cup of Wine to seal up Lips of whose Utter- ance the Men of Bagdad were unworthy. After 4 months' stay there, during which he visits at Helleh the Tomb of All's Son Husein, who had fallen at Kerbela, he sets forth again — to Najaf, where he says his Camel sprang forward at sight of All's own Tomb— crosses the Desert in 22 days, medi- tating on the Prophet's Glory, to Medina; and so at last to Mecca, where, as he sang in a Ghazal, he went through all Mahommedan Ceremony with a Mystical Understanding of his Own. He then turns Homeward : is entertained for 45 days at Damas- cus, which he leaves the very Day before the Turkish Mahomet's Envoys come with 5000 Ducats to carry him to Constantinople. Arriving at Amida, the Capital of Mesopotamia (Diya^ bakar), he finds War broken out in full Flame between that Mahomet and Hasan Beg, King of the Country, who has Jami honourably LIFE OF JAMI. escorted through the dangerous Roads to Tabriz; there receives him in Divan, "frequent and full" of Sage and Noble (Hasan being a great Admirer of Learning), and would fain have him abide at Court awhile. Jami, however, is intent on Home, and once more seeing his aged Mother — for he is turned of Sixty ! — and at last touches Herat in the Month of Schaaban, 1473, after the Average Year's absence. This is the Hasan, " in Name and Nature Handsome " (and so described by some Venetian Ambassadors of the Time), of whose protection Jami speaks in the Preliminary Vision of this Poem, which he dedicates to Hasan's Son, Yacub Beg : who, after the due murder of an Elder Brother, succeeded to the Throne ; till all the Dynasties of" Black and White Sheep" together were swept away a few years after by Ismael, Founder of the Sofi Dynasty in Persia. Arrived at home, Jami finds Husein Mirza Baikara, last of the Timuridfle, fast seated there ; having probably slain ere Jami went the Prince whom Hasan had set up ; but the date of a Year or Two may w'ell wander in the Bloody Jungle of Persian History. Husein, however, receives Jami with open Arms ; Nisamuddin Ali Schir, his Vizir, a Poet too, had hailed in Verse the Poet's Advent from Damascus as " The Moon rising in the West;" and they both continued affectionately to honour him as long as he lived. Jami sickened of his mortal Illness on the 1 3th of Moharrem, 1492 — a Sunday. His Pulse began to fail on the following Friday, about the Hour of Morning Prayer, and stopped at the very mo- ment when the Muezzin began to call to Evening. He had lived Eighty-one Years. Sultan Husein undertook the Burial of one whose Glory it was to have lived and died in Dervish Poverty ; the Dignities of the Kingdom followed him to the Grave ; where 20 days afterward was recited in presence of the Sultan and his Court an Eulogy composed by the Vizir, who also laid the first Stone of a Monument to his Friend's Memory — the first Stone of "Tarbet'i Jami," in the Street of Mesched, a principal Thoro'fare LIFE OF J AMI. of the City of Herat. For, says Rosenzweig, it must be kept in mind that Jami was reverenced not only as a Poet and Philosopher, but as a Saint also ; who not only might work a Miracle himself, but leave the Power lingering about his Tomb. It wtus known that once in his Life, an Arab, who had falsely accused him of selling a Camel he knew to be mortally unsound, had very shortly after died, as Jami had predicted, and on the very selfsame spot where the Camel fell. And that Libellous Rogue at Bagdad — he, put- ting his hand into his Horse's Nose-bag to see if "das Thier" has finisht his Corn, had his Fore-finger bitten off by the same — " von demselben der Zeigefinger abgebissen" — of which " Verstiimm- lung" he soon died— I suppose, as he ought, of Lock-jaw. The Persians, who are adepts at much elegant Ingenuity, are fond of commemorating Events by some analogous Word or Sentence whose Letters, cabalistically corresponding to certain Numbers, compose the Date required. In Jami's case they have hit upon the word " Kas," a Cup, whose signification brings his own name to Memory, and whose relative Letters make up his 81 years. They have Tanks also for remembering the Year of his Death : Rosenz- weig gives some ; but Ouseley the prettiest, if it will hold — DTid az Khorasan bar amed — " The smoke " of Sighs " went up from Khoriisan." No Biographer, says Rosenzweig cautiously, records of Jami that he had more than one Wife (Grand-daughter of his Master Sheikh) and Four Sons ; which, however, are Five too many for the Doctrine of this Poem. Of the Sons, Three died Infant ; and the Fourth (born to him in very old Age), and for whom he wrote some Elementary Tracts, and the more famous " Beharistan," lived but a few years, and was remembered by his Father in the Preface to his Chiradnameh Iskander — a book of Morals, which perhaj^s had also been begun for the Boy's Instruction. Of Jami's wonderful Fruitfulness — " bewundcrungswerther Fruchtbarkeit" — as Writer, Rosenzweig names Forty-four off- LIFE OF JAMT. XV springs — the Letters of the word " Jam " completing by the aforesaid process that very Number. But Shir Khan Ludi in his " Memoirs of the Poets," says Ouseley, counts him Author of Ninety-nine Volumes of Grammar, Poetry, and Theology, which " continue to be universally admired in all parts of the Eastern "World, Iran, Turan, and Hindustan" — copied some of them into precious Manu- script, illuminated with Gold and Painting, by the greatest Penmen and Artists of the Time ; one such — the " Beharistan" — said to have cost some Thousands of Pounds — autographed as one most precious treasure of their Libraries by two Sovereign Descendants of Timur upon the Throne of Hindustan ; and now reposited away from " the Drums and Tramplings" of Oriental Conquest in the tranquil Seclusion of an English Library. Of these Ninety-nine, or Forty-four, Volumes few are known, and none except the Present and one other Poem ever printed, in England, where the knowledge of Persian might have been politi- cally useful. The Poet's name with us is almost solely associated with his " YusuF AND ZuLAiKHA," which, with the other two I have men- tioned, count Three of the Brother Stars of that Constellation into which Jami, or his Admirers, have clustered his Seven best Mys- tical Poems under the name of " Heft Aurang"— those " Seven Thrones " to which we of the West and North give our charac- teristic Name of " Great Bear" and " Charles's Wain." He must have enjoyed great Favour and Protection from his Princes at home, or he would hardly have ventured to write so freely as in this Poem he does of Doctrine which exposed the Sufi to vulgar abhorrence and Danger. Hafiz and others are apologized for as having been obliged to veil a Divinity beyond what " The Prophet " dreamt of under the Figure of Mortal Cup and Cup-bearer. Jami speaks in Allegory too, by way of making a palpable grasp at the Skirt of the Ineffable ; but he also dares, in the very thick of Mahommedanism, to talk of Reason as sole Fountain of Prophecy ; and to pant for what would seem so Pan- L LIFE OF JAMI. theistic an Identification with the Deity as shall blind him to any distinction between Good and Evil.^ I must not forget one pretty passage of J ami's Life. He had a nephew, one Maulana Abdullah, who was ambitious of following his Uncle's Footsteps in Poetry. Jami first dissuaded him; then, by way of trial whether he had a Talent as well as a Taste, bid him imitate Firdusi's Satire on Shah Mahmud. The Nephew did so well, that Jami then encouraged him to proceed ; himself wrote the first Couplet of his First (and most noted) Poem — Laila and Majnun — This Book of which the Pen has now laid the Foundation, May the diploma of Acceptance one day befall it, — and Abdallah went on to write that and four other Poems which Persia continues and multiplies in fine Manuscript and Illumina- tion to the present day, remembering their Author under his Takhalus of Hatifi — " The Voice from Heaven" — and Last of the so reputed Persian Poets. * " Je me souviens d'un Pr^dicateur a Ispahan qui, prSchant un jour dans une Place publique, parla furieusement contre ces Soufys, disant qu' ils 6toient des Ath^es a bruler ; qu' il s' etonnoit qu' on les laissj^t vivre ; et que de tuer un Soufy etoit une Action plus agreahle a Dieu que de con- server la Vie a dix Hommes de Bien. Cinq ou Six Soufys qui ^toient parmi les Aiiditeurs se jetterent sur lui apres le Sermon et le battirent ter- riblement; et commc je m' cifor^'ois de les empechcr ils me disoieut — • Un homme qui pr^che le Meurtre doit-il se plaindre d' etre battu ? ' " — Chardin. ERRATA. Page 1 (Note). For Sect. XXI. read Sect. XX. — 3 (Note). For Sect. XX. read Sect. XIX. — 13 (Note). For Isaiah xv. read xxxv. — 3a, line 6. Dele comma after Fortune's Shadow. — Oi), line 14. Read, And join with Tliee true Men to keep the Flock. The several Spellings of some Proper Names, especially the Prophet's, in Memoir "and Appendix, must be excused by the several Writers they are quoted from. SALAMAN AND ABSAL PROLOGUE. Oh Thou whose Memory quickens Lovers' Souls, Whose Fount of Joy renews the Lover's Tongue, Thy Shadow falls across the World, and They Bow down to it ; and of the Rich in Beauty Thou art the Riches that make Lovers mad. ISTot till thy Secret Beauty through the Cheek Of Laila smite does she inflame Majnun,* And not till Thou have sugar'd Shirin's Lip The Hearts of those Two Lovers fill with Blood. ^ For Lov'd and Lover are not but by Thee, IS'or Beauty ; — Mortal Beauty but the Veil ^ All well-known Types of Eastern Lovers. Shirin and her Suitors figure in Sect. XXI. B salAmAk and absAl. Thy Heavenly hides behind, and from itself Feeds, and our Hearts yearn after as a Bride That glances past us Veiled — but ever so As none the Beauty from the Veil may know. How long wilt thou continue thus the World To cozen ^ with the Fantom of a Veil From which Thou only peepest ? — Time it is To imfold thy perfect Beauty. I would be Thy Lover, and Thine only — I, mine Eyes SeaFd in the Light of Thee to all but Thee, Yea, in the Revelation of Thyself Self-Lost, and Conscience-quit of Good and Evil. Thou movest under all the Forms of Truth, Under the Forms of all Created Things ; Look whence I will, still nothing I discern But Thee in all the Universe, in which Thyself Thou dost invest, and through the Eyes Of Man, the subtle Censor^ scrutinize. To thy Harim Dividijality No Entrance finds — no Word of This and That ; Do Thou my separate and Derived Self Make One with thy Essential ! Leave me room ' The Persian Mystics also represent the Deity Dice-ing with Human Destiny behind the Curtain. '^ " The ApoUonius of Keats' Lamia." SALAMAN AND ABSAL. On that Divan which leaves no Eoom for Two ; ^ Lest, like the Simple Kurd of whom they tell, I grow perplext, oh God ! 'twLxt '' /" and " THO U; " If / — this Dignity and Wisdom whence ? If THO U — then what this abject Impotence ? A Kurd perplext by Fortune's Frolics Left his Desert for the City. Sees a City full of Noise and Clamour, agitated People, Hither, Thither, Back and Forward Running, some intent on Travel, Others home again returning. Right to Left, and Left to Right, Life-disquiet everywhere ! ' This Sufi Identification ^\dth Deity (further illustrated in the Story of Sect. XX.) is shadowed in a Parable of Jelaladdin, of which here is an outline. " One knocked at the Beloved's Door ; and a Voice asked from within, 'Who is there?' and he an- swered, ' It is I.' Then the Voice said, ' This House will not hold Me and Thee.' And the Door was not opened. Then went the Lover into the Desert, and fasted and prayed in Solitude. And after a Year he returned, and knocked again at the Door. And again the Voice asked, 'Who is there?' and he said, ' It is Thy- self! ' — and the Door was opened to him." salAm^n and absal. Kurd, when he beholds the Turmoil, Creeps aside, and, Travel-weary, Fain would go to Sleep ; " But,'^ saith he, " How shall I in all this Hubbub " Know myself again on waking ? " So by way of Recognition Ties a Pumpkin round his Foot, And turns to Sleep. A Knave that heard him Crept behind, and slily watching Slips the Pumpkin off the Sleeper^ s Ancle, ties it round his oion. And so down to sleep beside him. By and by the Kurd awaking Looks directly for his Signal- — Sees it on another's Ancle — Cries aloud, " Oh Good-f or -Nothing " Rascal to perplex me so ! " That by you I am bewilder' d, " Whether I be 1 or no ! "ij^J — the Pumpkin why on You ? *' If You— then Where am I, and Wiio ?" ,( SALAMAN AND ABsXl. Oh God ! this poor bewildered Kurd am I, Than any Kurd more helpless ! — Oh, do thou Strike down a Ray of Light into my Darkness ! Turn by thy Grace these Dregs into pure Wine, To recreate the Spirits of the Good ! Or if not that, yet, as the little Cup Whose Name I go by,^ not unworthy found To pass thy salutary Vintage round ! ' The Poet's name, " Jam^," also signifying "A Cup." The Poet's YusuF and Zulaikha opens also with this Divine Wine, the favourite Symbol of Hafiz and other Persian Mystics. The Tavern spoken of is The World. I listen in the Tavern of Sweet Songs, And catch no Echo of their Harmony : The Guests have drunk the Wine and are departed, Leaving their empty Bowls behind— not one To carry on the Revel Cup in hand ! Up Jami then ! and whether Lees or Wine To offer— boldly offer it in Thine ! SALiM^N AND ABSAL. II. And yet how long, Jami, in this Old House Stringing thy Pearls upon a Harp of Song ? Year after Year striking up some new Song, The Breath of some Old Story ? * Life is gone, And yet the Song is not the Last ; my Soul Is spent — and still a Story to be told ! And I, whose Back is crooked as the Harp I still keep tuning through the Night till Day ! That Harp untuned by Time — the Harper *s hand Shaking with Age — how shall the Harper's hand Repair its cunning, and the sweet old Harp Be modulated as of old ? Methinks 'Tis time to break and cast it in the Fire ; Yea, sweet the Harp that can be sweet no more. To cast it in the Fire — the vain old Harp That can no more sound Sweetness to the Ear, But burn'd may breathe sweet Attar to the Soul, And comfort so the Faith and Intellect, Now that the Body looks to Dissolution. ' " Ydsuf and Zulaikha," " Layla and Majnun," &c. salXman and absAl. My Teeth fall out — my two Eyes see no more Till by Feringhi Glasses turn'd to Four ; ^ Pain sits with me sitting behind my knees, From which I hardly rise unhelpt of hand ; I bow down to my Root, and like a Child Yearn, as is likely, to my Mother Earth, With whom I soon shall cease to moan and weep, And on my Mother's Bosom fall asleep. The House in Ruin, and its Music heard No more within, nor at the Door of Speech, Better in Silence and Oblivion To fold me Head and Foot, remembering What that Beloved to the Master whisper'd : — " No longer think of Rhyme, but Think of Me ! "- Of Whom ? — Of Him whose Palace The Soul is. And Treasure-House — who notices and knows Its Income and Out- going, and then comes To fill it when the Stranger is departed. Whose Shadow being Kings — whose Attributes The Type of Theirs — their Wrath and Favour His- Lo ! in the Celebration of His Glory The King Himself comes on me unaware, ^ First notice of Spectacles in Oriental Poetry, perhaps. sal^Cman and absXl. And suddenly arrests me for his own. Wherefore once more I take — best quitted else — The Field of Yerse, to chaunt that double Praise, And in that Memory refresh my Soul Until I grasp the Skirt of Living Presence. One who traveVd in the Desert Saw Majnun where he was sitting All alone like a Magician Tracing Letters in the Sand. " Oh distracted Lover ! writing *' What the Sword-wind of the Desert " Undecyphers soon as written^ " So that none who travels after " Shall be able to interpret!" — Majnun ansiver'd, " I am writing " ' LAILI'—ivere it only ' LAILi; " Yet a. Book of Love and Passion ; " And, with but her Name to dote on, " Amorously I caress it *' As it were Herself and sip " Her Presence till I drink her Lip." SALAMAN AND ABSAL. III. When Night had thus far brought me with my Book, In middle Thought Sleep robb'd me of myself ; And in a Dream Myself I seem'd to see, Walking along a straight and even Road, And clean as is the Soul of the Sufi ; A Road whose spotless Surface neither Breeze Lifted in Dust, nor mix'd the Rain to Mire. There I, methought, was pacing tranquilly, When, on a sudden, the tumultuous Shout Of Soldiery behind broke on niine Ear, And took away my Wit and Strength for Fear. I look'd about for Refuge, and Behold ! A Palace Avas before me ; whither running For Refuge from the coming Soldierj^, Suddenly from the Troop a Shahzeman,' ' " Lord of the World, Sovereign ; Hasan, Beautiful, Good." Hasan Beg of Western Persia, famous for his Beauty, had helped Jami with Escort in a dangerous Pilgrimage. He died (as History and a previous line in the Original tell) before Salaman was writ- ten, and was succeeded by his Son Yacub. c 10 salAmIn and absAl. By Name and Nature Hasan — on the Horse Of Honour mounted — robed in Royal Robes, And wearing a White Turban on his Head, Turn'd his Rein toward me, and with smiling Lips Open'd before my Eyes the Door of Peace. Then, riding up to me, dismounted ; kissed My Hand, and did me Courtesy ; and I, How glad of his Protection, and the Grace He gave it with ! — Who then of gracious Speech Many a Jewel uttered ; but of these Not one that in my Ear till Morning hung. When, waking on my Bed, my waking Wit I question'd what the Vision meant, it answered ; " This Courtesy and Favour of the Shah " Foreshows the fair Acceptance of thy Yerse, " Which lose no moment pushing to Conclusion." This hearing, I address'd me like a Pen To steady Writing ; for perchance, I thought, From the same Fountain whence the Vision grew The Interpretation also may come True. SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 11 Breathless ran a simple Rustic To a Cunning Man of Dreams ; " Lo, this Morning I was dreaming — " And, methought, in yon deserted " Village wander' d — all about me " Shatter d Houses — and, Behold! " Into one, methought, I went — and " Seg,rcKd — and found a Hoard of Gold ! Quoth the Prophet in Derision, " Oh Thou Jewel of Creation, " Go and sole your Feet like Horse's, " And returning to your Village " Stamp and scratch ivith Hoof and Nail, " And give Earth so sound a Shaking, " She must hand you something up.'"' Went at once the unsuspecting Countryman ; with hearty Purpose Set to work as he was told ; And, the very first Encounter, Struck upon his Hoard of Gold ! Until Thou hast thy Purpose by the Hilt, Catch at it boldly — or Thou never wilt. 12 salamXn and absal. IV. THE STOEY. A SHAH there was who ruled the Realm of Yun/ And wore the Ring of Empire of Sikander ; And in his Reign A SAGE, who had the Tower Of Wisdom of so strong Foundation built That Wise Men from all Quarters of the World To catch the Word of Wisdom from his Lip Went in a Girdle round him.— ^Vhich THE SHAH Observing, took him to his Secresy ; Stirr'd not a Step nor set Design afoot Without that Sage's sanction ; till, so counsel'd, From Kaf to Kaf ^ reached his Dominion : No Nation of the World or Nation's Chief ' Or "Yavan," Son of Japhet, from whom the Country was called " Yunan," — Ionia, meant by the Persians to express Greece generally. Sikander is, of course, Alexander the Great, of whose Ethics J ami wrote, as Nizami of his Deeds. 2 The Fabulous Mountain supposed by Asiatics to surround the World, binding the Horizon on all sides. SAL AM AN AND ABSAL. 13 Who wore the Ring but under span of his Bow'd down the Neck ; then rising up in Peace Under his Justice grew, and knew no Wrong, And in their Strength was his Dominion Strong. The Shah that has not Wisdom in Himself, Nor has a Wise Man for his Counsellor, The Wand of his Authority falls short, And his Dominion crumbles at the Base. For he, discerning not the Characters Of Tyranny and Justice, confounds both, Making the World a Desert, and the Fount Of Justice a Serab.^ Well was it said, " Better just Kafir than Believing Tyrant^ ' Mirage ; but, of two Foreign Words, why not the more original Persian ?— identical with the Hebrew Sharab ; as in Isaiah xv. 7, " The Sharab (or Mirdc/e) shall become a Lake ; " — rather, and bet- ter, than our Version, " The parched Ground shall become a Pool." See Gesenius. 14 salXman and absXl. God said to the Prophet David, — " David, speak, and to the Challenge " Answer of the Faith within Thee. ** Even Unbelieving Princes, " Ill-reported if Unworthy, " Vet, if They be Just and Righteous, " Were their Worship o/'The Fire — " Even These unto Themselves " Reap Glory and redress the World.^^ salamAn and absIl. 15 Y. One Night THE SHAH of Yunan, as his wont, Consider'd of his Power, and told his State, How great it was, and how about him sat The Robe of Honour of Prosperity ; Then found he nothing wanted to his Heart, Unless a Son, who his Dominion And Glory might inherit after him. And then he turn'd him to THE SHAH, and said ; " Oh Thou, whose Wisdom is the Rule of Kings — " (Glory to God who gave it !) — answer me ; " Is any Blessing better than a Son ? '^ Man's prime Desire ; by which his Name and He *' Shall live bevond Himself; by whom his Eyes " Shine living, and his Dust with Roses blows ; "A Foot for Thee to stanrl op. he shall be " A Hand to stop thy Falling ; in his Youth " Thou shalt be Young, and in his Strength be Strong " Sharp shall he bo in Battle as a Sword, " A Cloud of Arrows on the Enemy's Head ; " His Yoice shall cheer his Friends to better Plight, '' And turn the Foeman's Glory into Flight." 16 saljCmAn and absXl. Thus much of a Good Son, whose wholesome Growth Approves the Root he grew from ; but for one Kneaded of Evil — Well, could one undo His Generation, and as early pull Him and his Vices from the String of Time. Like Noah's, pufF'd with Ignorance and Pride, ■^Yho felt the Stab of '' HE IS NONE OF THINE ! " And perished in the Deluge.^ And because All are not Good, be slow to pray for One, Whom having you may have to pray to lose. ^ In the KurAn God engages to save Noah and his Family, — meaning all who believed in the Warning. One of Noah's Sons (Canaan or Yam, some think) would not beheve. " And the Ark swam with them between waves hke Mountains, and Noah called up to his Son, who was separated from him, saying, * Em- bark with us, my Son, and stay not with the Unbelievers.* He answered, * I will get on a Mountain which will secure me from the Water.' Noah replied, ' There is no security this Day from the Decree of God, except for him on whom he shall have Mercy.' And a Wave passed between them, and he became one of those who were drowned. And it was said, * Oh Earth, swallow up thy waters, and Thou, oh Heaven, withhold thy Rain!' And imme- diately the Water abated and the Decree was fulfilled, and the Ark rested on the Mountain Al Judi, and it was said, * Away with the ungodly People ! ' — Noah called upon his Lord and said, * Oh Lord, verily my Son is of my Family, and thy Promise is True; for Thou art of those who exercise Judgment.' God answered, ' Oh Noah, verily he is not of thy Family ; this intercession of thine for him is not a righteous work"— Sak' a Knrdn, vol. ii. p. 21. salXman and absal. 17 Crazy for the Curse of Children , Ran before the Sheikh a Fellow, Crying out, " Oh hear and help me! ^^ Pray to Allah from my Clay " To raise me up afresh young Cypress, " Who my Childless Eyes may lighten " With the Beauty of his Presence.^'' Said the Sheikh, " Be wise, and leave it " Wholly in the Hand of Allah, " Who, whatever we are after, " Understands our Business best." But the Man persisted, saying, " Sheikh, I languish in my Longing ; " Help, and set rny Prayer a-going ! " Then the Sheikh held up his Hand — Prayed — his Arrow jlew to Heaven — From the Hunting-ground of Darkness Down a musky Fawn of China Brought — a Boy — who, when the Tender Shoot of Passion in him planted Found sufficient Soil and Sap, Took to Drinking with his Fellows ; From a Corner of the House-top 111 affronts a Neighbour's Wife, Draws his Dagger on the Husband, Who complains before the Justice, And the Father has to pay. 18 SAlImAn and ABSiL. Day and Night the Youngster's Doings Such— the Talk of all the City; Nor Entreaty, Threat, or Counsel Held him ; till the Desperate Father Once more to the Sheikh a-running. Catches at his Garment, crying — " Sheikh, my only Hope and Helper ! " One more Prayer ! that God who laid " Will take that Trouble from my Head!" But the Sheikh replied : ^^ Remember " How that very Day I warned you " Better not importune Allah ; " Unto whom remains no other " Prayer, unless to pray for Pardon. " When from this World we are summoned " On to bind the pack of Travel " Son or Daughter ill shall help us ; " Slaves we are, and unencumbered " Best may do the Masters mind; " And, whatever he may order, " Do it with a Will Resigned:' SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 19 YI. When tlie Sharp-witted SAGE Had heard these Sayings of THE SHAH, he said, " Oh SHAH, who would not be the Slave of Lust " Must still endure the Sorrow of no Son. " — Lust that makes blind the Eeason ; Lust that makes "A Devil's self seem Angel to our Eyes ; " A Cataract that, carrying havoc with it, " Confounds the prosperous House ; a Road of Mire < " Where whoso falls he rises not again ; " A Wine of which whoever tastes shall see " Redemption's face no more — one little Sip " Of that delicious and unlawful Drink " Making crave much, and hanging round the Palate '' Till it become a Ring to lead thee by ^ " (Putting the rope in a Vain Woman's hand), " Till thou thyself go down the Way of Nothing." ' " Mihar" — A Piece of Wood put through a Camel's Nose to guide him by. i 20 SAlXmAn and ABSiCL. " For what is Woman ? A Foolish, Faithless Thing- " To whom The Wise Self-subjected, himself " Deep sinks beneath the Folly he sets up. " A very K^fir in Rapacity ; " Clotlle her a hundred Years in Gold and Jewel, " Her Garment with Brocade of Susa braided, " Her very Night-gear wrought in Cloth of Gold, " Dangle her Ears with Ruby and with Pearl, " Her House with Golden Vessels all a-blaze, " Her Tables loaded with the Fruit of Kings, " Ispahan Apples, Pomegranates of Yazd ; " And, be she thirsty, from a JewelFd Cup " Drinking the Water of the Well of Life — " One little twist of Temper, — all you 've done " Goes all for Nothing. * Torment of my life ! ' " She cries, * What have you ever done for me ! ' — " Her Brow's white Tablet — Yes — 'tis uninscrib'd " With any Letter of Fidelity ; " Who ever read it there ? Lo, in your Bosom " She lies for Years — you turn away a moment, " And she forgets you — worse, if as you turn " Her Eye should light on any Younger Lover." SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 21 Once upon the Throne of Judgment, Telling one another Secrets, Sat SuLAYMAN and Balkis ; ' The Hearts of Both were turned to Truth, Unsullied by Deception. First the King of Faith Sulayman Spoke — " Though mine the Ring of Empire, " Never any Day that passes " Darkens any one my Door-way " But into his Hand I look — " And He who comes not empty-handed " Grows to Honour in mine Eyes.^^ After this Balkis a Secret From her hidden Bosom utter'd. Saying — " Never Night or Morning " Comely Youth before me passes " Whom I look not longing after ; " Saying to myself, * Oh were he " ' Comforting of my Sick Soul! — ' '* " If this, as wise Ferdusi says, the Curse " Of Better Women, what should be the Worse ? " ^ Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. 22 salXmXn and absXl. VII. THE SAGE Ms Satire ended ; and THE SHAH With Magic-mighty Wisdom his pure Will Leaguing, its Self-fulfihnent wrought from Heaven. And Lo ! from Darkness came to Light A Child, Of Carnal Composition Unattaiat, — A Rosebud blowing on the Royal Stem, — A Perfume from the Realm of Wisdom wafted ; The Crowning Jewel of the Crown ; a Star Under whose Augury triumph'd the Throne. For whose Auspicious Name they clove the Words " Salamat" — Incolumity from Evil — And " Auseman" — the Heaven from which he came — And hail'd him by the title of SALAMAN. And -N/hereas from no Mother MUk he drew, They chose for him a Nurse — her name AbsAl — Her Years not Twenty — from the Silver Line Dividing the Musk-Harvest of her Hair Down to her Foot that trampled Crowns of Kings, SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 23 A Moon of Beauty Full ; who thus elect SALAMAN of Auspicious Augury Should carry in the Garment of her Bounty, Should feed Him with the Flowing of her Breast. As soon as she had opened Eyes on him She closed those Eyes to all the World beside, And her Soul crazed, a- doting on her Jewel, — Her Jewel in a Grolden Cradle set ; Opening and shutting which her Day's Delight, To gaze upon his Heart-inflaming Cheek, — Upon the Darling whom, could she, she would Have cradled as the Baby of her Eye.^ In Rose and Musk she wash'd him — to his Lips Pressed the pure Sugar from the Honeycomb ; And when, Day over, she withdrew her Milk, She made, and having laid him in, his Bed, Burn'd all Night like a Taper o'er his Head. Then still as Morning came, and as he grew. She dress'd him like a Little Idol up ; On with his Robe — with fresh CoUyrium Dew Touch'd his Narcissus Eyes — the Musky Locks ' Literally, Mardumak — the Mannikin, or Pupil, of the Eye, corresponding to the Image so frequently used by our old Poets. 24 salAmIn and absIl. Divided from his Forehead — and embraced With Gold and Ruby Girdle his fine Waist.— So rear'd she him till full Fourteen his Years, Fourteen-day full the Beauty of his Face, That rode high in a Hundred Thousand Hearts ; Yea, when Salaman was but Half-lance high, Lance-like he struck a -wound in every One, And burn'd and shook down Splendour like a Sun. SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 25 YIII. Soon as the Lord of Heav'n had sprung his Horse Over the Horizon into the Blue Field, Salaman rose drunk with the Wine of Sleep, And set himself a-stirrup for the Field ; He and a Troop of Princes — Kings in Blood, Kings too in the Kingdom- troubling Tribe of Beauty, All Young in Years and Courage,^ Bat in hand Galloped a-field, toss'd down the Golden Ball And chased, so many Crescent Moons a Full ; And, all alike Intent upon the Game, Salaman still would carry from them all The Prize, and shouting " Hal ! '' drive Home the BaU.2 ' The same Persian Word serving for Both. 2 The Game of Chu^an, for Centmnes the Royal Game of Per- sia, and adopted (Ouseiey thinks) under varying modifications of Name and Practice by other Nations, was played by Horsemen, who, suitably habited, and armed with semicircular-headed Bats or Sticks so short the Player must stoop below the Saddle-bow to strike, strove to drive a Ball through a Goal of upright Pillars. See Frontispiece and Appendix. 26 salAm^n and absal. This done, SalamAn bent him as a Bow To Shooting — from the Marksmen of the World Call'd for an unstrung Bow — himself the Cord Fitted unhelpt/ and nimbly with his hand Twanging made cry, and drew it to his Ear : Then, fixing the Three- feathered Fowl, discharged. No point in Heaven's Azure but his Arrow Hit ; nay, but Heaven were made of Adamant, Would overtake the Horizon as it roU'd ; And, whether aiming at the Fawn a-foot. Or Bird on wing, his Arrow went away Straight — like the Soul that cannot go astray. When Night came, that releases Man from Toil, He play'd the Chess of Social Intercourse ; Prepared his Banquet Hall like Paradise, Summoned his Houri-faced Musicians, And, when his Brain grew warm with Wine, the Veil Flung off him of Reserve. Now Lip to Lip Concerting with the Singer he would breathe ' Bows being so gradually stiffened, to the Age and Strength of the Archer, as at last to need five Hundredweight of Pressure to bend, says an old Translation of Chardin, who describes all the Process up to bringing up the String to the Ear, " as if to hatig it there" before Shooting. Then the First Trial was, who could shoot highest ; then, the Mark, &c. SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 27 Like a Messias Life into the Dead ; Now made of the Melodious-moving Pipe A Sugar-cane between his Lips that ran Men's Ears with Sweetness : Taking up a Harp, Between its dry String and his Finger fresh Struck Fire ; or lifting in his arms a Lute As if a little Child for Chastisement, Pinching its Ear such Cries of Sorrow wrung As drew Blood to the Eyes of Older Men. Now sang He like the Nightingale alone. Now set together Yoice and Instrument ; And thus with his Associates Night he spent. His Soul rejoiced in Knowledge of all kinds ; The fine Edge of his Wit would split a Hair, And in the Noose of Apprehension catch A Meaning ere articulate in Word ; His Verse was like the Pleiads ; ^ his Discourse The Mourners of the Bier ; his Penmanship, (Tablet and running Eeed his Worshippers,) ' i. e. compactly strung, as opposed to Discursive Rhetoric, which is compared to the scattered Stars of The Bier and its Mourners, or what we call The Great Bear. This contrast is otherwise prettily applied in the Anvari Soheili — " When one grows poor, his Friends, heretofore compact as The Pleiads, disperse wide asunder as The Mourners." 28 salAmIn and absAl. Fine on the Lip of Youth as the First Hair, Drove Penmen, as that Lovers, to Despair. His Bounty was as Ocean's — nay, the Sea's Self but the Foam of his Munificence, For it threw up the Shell, but he the Pearl ; He was a Cloud that rain'd upon the World Dirhems for Drops ; the Banquet of whose Bounty Left Hatim's ^ Churlish in Comparison — ' The Persian Type of Liberality, infinitely celebrated. SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 29 IX. Suddenly that Sweet Minister of mine Rebuked me angrily ; " What Folly, Jami, " Wearing that indefatigable Pen " In celebration of an Alien Shah " Whose Throne, not grounded in the Eternal World, " Yesterday was. To-day is not ! " ^ I answer'd ; " Oh Fount of Light ! — ^under an Alien Name " I shadow One upon whose Head the Crown " Both Was and Is To-day ; to whose Firman " The Seven Kingdoms of the World are subject, "And the Seas Seven but droppings of his Largess. " Good luck to him who under other Name " Taught us to veil the Praises of a Power " To which the Initiate scarce find open Door." ' The Hero of the Story being of Yunan — Ionia, or Greece generally, (the Persian Geography not being very precise,)— and so not of THE Faith. 30 salAman and absal. Sat a Lover solitary Self- discoursing in a Corner, Passionate and ever-changing Invocation pouring out ; Sometimes Sun and Moon ; and sometimes Under Hyacinth half-hidden Roses ; or the lofty Cypress, And the little Weed below. Nightingaling thus a Noodle Heard him, and, completely puzzled, — ^^Whatr^ quoth he, ^^ And you, a Lover, " Raving not about your Mistress, " But about the Moon and Roses ! " Answered he ; " Oh thou that aimest " Wide of Love, and Lover's Language " Wholly misinterpreting ; " Sun and Moon are but my Lady's *' Self, as any Trover knows ; " Hyacinth I said, and meant her " Hair — her Cheek was in the Rose — " And I myself the wretched Weed " That in her Cypress Shadow grows." SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 31 X. Now was Salaman in his Prime of Growth, His Cypress Stature risen to high Top, And the new-blooming Garden of his Beauty Began to bear ; and Absal long'd to gather ; But the Fruit grew upon too high a Bough, To which the Noose of her Desire was short. She too rejoiced in Beauty of her own No whit behind Salaman, whom she now Began enticing with her Sorcery. Now from her Hair would twine a musky Chain, To bind his Heart — now twist it into Curls Nestling innumerable Temptations ; Doubled the Darkness of her Eyes with Surma To make him lose his way, and over them Adorned the Bows ^ that were to shoot him then ; Now to the Rose-leaf of her Cheek would add ' With dark Indigo Paint, as the Archery Bow with a thin Papyrus-hke Bark. 32 salXmXn and absXl. Fresh Rose, and then a Grain of Musk * lay there, The Bird of the Beloved Heart to snare. !Now with a Laugh would break the Ruby Seal That lockt up Pearl ; or busied in the Room Would smite her Hand perhaps — on that pretence To lift and show the Silver in her Sleeve ; Or hastily rising clash her Grolden Anclets To draw the Crowned Head under her Feet. Thus by innumerable Bridal wiles She went about soliciting his Eyes, Which she would scarce let lose her for a Moment ; For well she knew that mainly by The Eye Love makes his Sign, and by no other Road Enters and takes possession of the Heart. * A Patchy sc. — " Noir comme le Mmc" De Sacy. salamIn and absal. 33 Burning with Desire Zulaikha Built a Chamber, Wall and Ceiling Blank as an untarnisht Mirror, Spotless as the Heart of Yusup. Then she made a cunning Painter Multiply her Image round it ; Not an Inch of Wall hut echoed With the Reflex of her Beauty. Then amid them, all in all her Glory sat she down, and sent for YusuF — she began a Tale Of Love — and Lifted up her Veil. From her Look he turned, hut turning Wheresoever, ever saw her Looking, looking at him still. Then Desire arose ivithin him — He was almost yielding — almost Laying Honey on her Lip — When a Signal out of Darkness Spoke to him — and he withdrew His Hand, and dropt the Skirt of Fortune. 34 salXmXn and absAl. XI. Thus day by day did Absal tempt Salaman, And by and bye her Wiles began to work. Her Eyes Narcissus stole his Sleep — their Lashes Pierc'd to his Heart — out from her Locks a Snake Bit him — and bitter, bitter on his Tongue Became the Memory of her honey Lip. He saw the Einglet restless on her Cheek, And he too quiver'd with Desire ; his Tears Tum'd Crimson from her Cheek, whose musky spot Infected all his soul with Melancholy. Love drew him from behind the Yeil, where yet Withheld him better Resolution — " Oh, should the Food I long for, tasted, turn " Unwholesome, and if all my Life to come ** Should sicken from one momentary Sweet ! " SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 35 On the Sea-shore sat a Raven, Blind, and from the bitter Cistern Forc'd his only Drink to draw. Suddenly the Pelican Flying over Fortune's Shadow Cast upon his Head,^ and calling — " Come, poor Son of Salt, and taste of " Sweet, sweet Water from my Maw." Said the Raven, ^^ If I taste it " Once, the Salt I have to live on " May for ever turn to Loathing ; ^^ And I sit a Bird accurst '* Upon the Shore to die of Thirst" * Alluding to the Phoenix, the Shadow of whose wings foretold a CrowTi upon the Head it jmssed over. 36 saljCmIn and absAl. XII. Now when Salaman's Heart tum'd to Absal, Her Star was happy in the Heavens — ^Old Love Put forth afresh — Desire doubled his Bond : And of the running Time she watch'd an Hour To creep into the Mansion of her Moon And satiate her soul upon his Lips. And the Hour came ; she stole into his Chamber — Ran up to him, Life's offer in her Hand — And, falling like a Shadow at his Feet, She laid her Face beneath. Salaman then With all the Courtesies of Princely Grace Put forth his Hand — he rais'd her in his Arms — He held her trembling there — and from that Fount Drew first Desire ; then Deeper from her Lips, That, yielding, mutually drew from his A Wine that ever drawn from never fail'd — So through the Day — so through another still — The Day became a Seventh — the Seventh a Moon — The Moon a Year — while they rejoiced together, Thinking their Pleasure never was to end. SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 37 But rolling Heaven whisper'd from his Ambush, " So in my License is it not set down. " Ah for the sweet Societies I make " At Morning and before the Nightfall break ; " Ah for the Bliss that with the Setting Sun " I mix, and, with his Eising, all is done ! " Into Bagdad came a hungry Arab — after many days of waiting In to the KhalifaKs Supper Pushed, and got before a Pasty Luscious as the Lip of Beauty, Or the Tongue of Eloquence. Soon as seen, Indecent Hunger Seizes up and swallows down ; Then his mouth undaunted wiping — " Oh Khalifah, hear me Swear, ** Not of any other Pasty " Than of Thine to sup or dine.'^ The Khalifah laughed and answered ; " Fool I who thinkest to determine " WJiat is in the Hands of Fate — " Take and thrust him from the Gate 38 salAmIn and absal. XIII. While a Full Year was counted by the Moon, Sal Am AN and Absal rejoiced together, And for so long he stood not in the face Of SAGE or SHAH, and their bereaved Hearts "Were torn in twain with the Desire of Him. They question'd those about him, and from them Heard something; then Himself in Presence sum- moned, And, subtly sifting on aU sides, so plied Interrogation till it hit the Mark, And all the Truth was told. Then SAGE and SHAH Struck out with Hand and Foot in his Redress. And First with Reason, which is also Best ; Reason that rights the Retrograde — completes The Imperfect — Reason that unties the Knot : For Reason is the Fountain from of old From which the Prophets drew, and. none beside. Who boasts of other Inspiration lies — There are no other Prophets than The Wise. salAmIn and absXl. 39 XIY. First spoke THE SHAH ;— " Salaman, Oh my Soul, " Oh Taper of the Banquet of my House, " Light of the Eyes of my Prosperity, " And making bloom the Court of Hope with E-ose ; " Years Hose-bud-like my own Blood I devoured " Till in my hand I carried thee, my Rose ; " Oh do not tear my Garment from my Hand, " Nor wound thy Father with a Dagger Thorn. " Years for thy sake the Crown has worn my Brow, " And Years my Foot been growing to the Throne " Only for Thee — Oh spurn them not with Thine ; " Oh turn thy Face from Dalliance unwise, " Lay not thy Heart's hand on a Minion ! " For what thy Proper Pastime ? Is it not " To mount and manage Rakhsh ^ along the Field ; " I^ot, with no stouter weapon than a Love-lock, " Idly reclining on a Silver Breast. ** Go, fly thine Arrow at the Antelope ' '' Lightning." The name of Rustam's famous Horse in the Shah-Nameh. 40 salAmXn and absXl. " And Lion — let not me my Lion see " Slain by the Arrow eyes of a Ghaz^l. " Go, flash thy Steel among the Ranks of Men, " And smite the Warriors' Necks ; not, flying them, ** Lay down thine own beneath a Woman's Foot. " Leave off such doing in the Name of God, " Nor bring thy Father weeping to the Ground ; " Years have I held myself aloft, and all " For Thee — Oh Shame if thou prepare my Fall ! '* PFTien before ShirtJeh's Feet Drencht in Blood fell Kai Khusrau,' He declared this Parable — " Wretch ! — There was a Branch that^ waxing '* Wanton o'er the Root he dranhfrom^ "At a Draught the Living Water " Drained wherewith Himself to crown ; " Died the Root — and with it died " The Branch— and barren was brought down ! ** ' KmisRAU PARviz (Chosroe The Victorious), Son of NoshIra- van The Great; slain, after Thirty Years of Prosperous Reign, by his Son SiiiRUEn, who, according to some, was in Love with his Father's Mistress ShirIn. See further. Section XXL, for one of the most dramatic Tragedies in Persian History. salImXn and absXl. 41 XV. Salaman heard — the Sea of his Soul was mov'd, And bubbled up with Jewels, and he said ; " Oh SHAH, I am the Slave of thy Desire, " Dust of thy Throne ascending Foot am I ; " Whatever thou Desirest I would do, " But sicken of my own Incompetence ; " Not in the Hand of my infirmer Will " To carry into Deed mine own Desire. "Time upon Time I torture mine own Soul, " Devising liberation from the Snare " I languish in. But when upon that Moon " / ihink^ my Soul relapses — and when looh — " I leave both Worlds behind to follow her ! '' 42 salXmIn and absXl. XVI. THE SHAH ceased Counsel, and THE SAGE began. " Oil Thou new Vintage of a Garden old, " Last Blazon of the Pen of * Let there be,' ' " Who read'st the Seven and Four ; ^ interpretest " The writing on the Leaves of Night and Day — ** Archetype of the Assembly of the World, *' Who hold'st the Key of Adam's Treasury — '' (Know thine own Dignity and slight it not, " For Thou art Greater yet than all I tell) — " The Mighty Hand that mix'd thy Dust inscribed ** The Character of Wisdom on thy Heart ; " Oh Cleanse thy Bosom of Material Form, *' And turn the Mirror of the Soul to Spirit, " Until it be with Spirit all possest, " Drown'd in the Light of Intellectual Truth. " Oh veil thine Eyes from Mortal l*aramour, '* And follow not her Step ! — For what is She ? — ' The Pen of « Kun "— " Esto ! "—The famous Passage of Cre- ation stolen from (Jcnesis by the Kuriiii. ^ Planets ? — adding Sun, Moon, and the Nodal Dragon's Head and Tail ; according to the Sanscrit Astronomy adopted by Persia. SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 43 " What is She but a Vice and a Reproach, " Her very Grarment-hem Pollution ! " For such Pollution madden not thine Eyes, " Waste not thy Body's Strength, nor taint thy Soul, " Nor set the Body and the Soul in Strife ! " Supreme is thine Original Degree, '^ Thy Star upon the Top of Heaven ; but Lust " Will fling it down even unto the Dust ! " Quoth a Muezzin unto Crested Chanticleer — " Oh Voice of Morning, " Not a Sage of all the Sages " Prophesies of Dawn, or startles " At the wing of Time, like Thee. " One so wise methinks were Jitter '' Perching on the Beams of Heaven, " Than with these poor Hens about him, •' Baking in a Heap of Dung." "' And," replied the Cock, " in Heaven " Once I was ; but by my Evil ^^ Lust am fallen down to raking " With my wretched Hens about me " On the Dunghill. Otherwise ^^ I were even now in Eden " With the Bird of Paradise." 44 salamAn and absal. XVII. When from THE SAGE these words Salaman heard, The breath of Wisdom round his Palate blew ; He said—" Oh Darling of the Soul of Plato, " To whom a hundred Aristotles bow ; " Oh Thou that an Eleventh to the Ten " Original Intelligences addest,^ — "Hay my Face before Thee in the Dust, " The humblest Scholar of thy Court am I ; " Whose every word I find a WeU of Wisdom, " And hasten to imbibe it in my Soul. " But clear unto thy clearest Eye it is, " That Choice is not within Oneself — To Do, " Not in The Will, but in The Power, to Do. " From that which I originally am " How should I swerve ? or how put forth a Sign " Beyond the Power that is by Nature Mine ?" ^ This passage finds its explanation in the last Section. SALAMAN AND ABSAL. 45 XVIII. Unto the Soul that is confused by Love Comes Sorrow after Sorrow — most of aU To Love whose only Friendship is Reproof, And overmuch of Counsel — ^whereby Love Grows stubborn, and increases the Disease. Love unreproved is a delicious food ; Reproved, is Feeding on one's own Heart's Blood. Salaman heard ; his Soul came to his Lips ; Reproaches struck not Absal out of him, But drove Confusion in ; bitter became The Drinking of the sweet Draught of Delight, And wan'd the Splendour of his Moon of Beauty. His Breath was Indignation, and his Heart Bled from the Arrow, and his Anguish grew — How bear it ? — Able to endure one wound. From Wound on Wound no remedy but Flight ; Day after Day, Design upon Design, He turn'd the Matter over in his Heart, And, after all, no Remedy but Flight. 46 salXmXn and absAl. Resolv'd on that, he victuall'd and equipped A Camel, and one Night he led it forth. And mounted — he and Absal at his side, The fair Salaman and Absal the Fair, Together on one Camel side by side, Twin Kernels in a single Almond packt. And True Love murmurs not, however small His Chamber — nay, the straitest best of all. JVhen the Moon of Canaan Yusuf Darkened in the Prison of uEgypt, Night by Night Zulaikiia went To see him— for her Heart was broken. Then to her said One who never Yet had tasted of Love's Garden : " Leavest Thou thy Palace- Chamber " For the FelorHs narrow Cell ? " Answered She^ " Without my Lover, " Were my Chamber Heavens Horizon, " It were closer than an Ant's eye ; " And the Ant's eye wider were " Than Heaven, my Lover with me there ! salImXn and absIl. 47 XIX. Six days SalamAn on the Camel rode, And then E-emembrance of foregone Eeproach Abode not by him ; and upon the Seventh He halted on the Seashore, and beheld An Ocean boundless as the Heaven above, That, reaching its Circumference from Kaf To Kaf, down to the Back of Gau and Mahi ' Descended, and its Stars were Creatures' Eyes. The Face of it was as it were a Range Of moving Mountains ; or as endless Hosts Of Camels trooping from all Quarters up. Furious, with the Foam upon their Lips. In it innumerable glittering Fish Like Jewels polish-sharp, to the sharp Eye But for an Instant visible, glancing through As Silver Scissors slice a blue Brocade ; 1 The Bull and Fish — the lowest Substantial Base of Earth. " He first made the Mountains ; then cleared the Face of Earth from Sea ; then fixed it fast on Gau ; Gau on Mahi ; and Mahi on Air; and Air on what? on Nothing; Nothing upon Nothing, all is Nothing — Enough." Attar; quoted in De Sacy's Pend- namah, xxxv. 48 SAlAmXn and ABSiCL. Though were the Dragon from its HoUow roused, The Dragon of the Stars * would stare Aghast. Salaman eyed the Sea, and cast about To cross it — and forthwith upon the Shore Devis'd a Shallop like a Crescent Moon, Wherein that Sun and Moon in happy Hour Enter'd as into some Celestial Sign ; That, figured like a Bow, but Arrow-like In Flight, was feathered with a little Sail, And, pitcht upon the Water like a Duck, So with her Bosom sped to her Desire. When they had sail'd their Vessel for a Moon, And marr'd their Beauty with the wind o' th* Sea, Suddenly in mid Sea reveal'd itself An Isle, beyond Description beautiful ; An Isle that all was Garden ; not a Bird Of Note or Plume in all the World but there ; There as in Bridal Retinue array'd The Pheasant in his Crown, the Dove in her Collar ; * The Sidereal Dragon, whose Head, according to the Pauranic (or Poetic) Astronomers of The East, devoured the Sun and Moon in Eclipse. " But we know," said Ramachandra to Sir W. Jones, " that the supposed Head and Tail of the Dragon mean only the Nodes, or Points formed by Intersections of the Ecliptic and the Moon's Orbit." Sir W. Jones' Works, vol iv. p. 74. salXmIn and absXl. 49 And those who tuued their Bills among the Trees That Arm in Arm from Fingers paralyz'd With any Breath of Air Fruit moist and dry Down scatter'd in Profusion to their Feet, Where Fountains of Sweet Water ran, and round Sunshine and Shadow chequer-chased the Ground. Here Iram Garden seem'd in Secresy Blowing the Rosebud of its Eevelation ; Or Paradise, forgetful of the Day Of Audit, lifted from her Face the Veil. Salaman saw the Isle, and thought no more Of Further — there with Absal he sat down, Absal and He together side by side Eejoicing like the Lily and the Rose, Together like the Body and the Soul. Under its Trees in one another's Arms They slept — they drank its Fountains hand in hand- Sought Sugar with the Parrot — or in Sport Paraded with the Peacock — raced the Partridge — Or fell a-talking with the Nightingale. There was the Rose without a Thorn, and there The Treasure and no Serpent to beware — What sweeter than your Mistress at your side In such a Solitude, and none to Chide ! H 50 salAmIn and absXl. fVhisper'd one to Wamik ' — " Oh Thou " Victim of the Wound of Azra, " What is it that like a Shadow " Movest thou about in Silence " Meditating Night and Day ? " WImik answer'df " Even this — " Tofiy with Azra to the Desert ; *' There by so remote a Fountain " That, whichever way one traveWd " League on League, one yet should never, " Never meet the Face of Man — " There to pitch my Tent— for ever " There to gaze on my Beloved ; " Gaze, till Gazing out of Gazing '* Greio to Being Her I gaze on, " She and I no more, but in One *' Undivided Being blended. " All that is not One must ever " Suffer with the Wound of Absence ; " And whoever in Love's City " Enters, finds but Room for One, " And but in Oneness Union." ' Another Typical Lover of Azra, A Virgin. SALAMAN AND ABsAl. 51 XX. When by and bye THE SHAH was made aware Of that Soul- wasting absence of his Son, He reached a Cry to Heav'n — ^his Eye-lashes Wept Blood — Search everywhere he set a-foot, But none could tell the hidden Mystery. Then bade he bring a Mirror that he had, A Mirror, like the Bosom, of the Wise, Reflecting all the World, ^ and lifting up The Yeil from all its Secret, Good and Evil. That Mirror bade he bring, and, in its Face Looking, beheld the Face of his Desire. * Mythically attributed by the East — and in some wild Western Avatar — to this Shah's Predecessor, Alexander the Great. Per- haps (V. Hammer thinks) the Concave Mirror upon the Alexan- drian Pharos, which by Night projected such a fiery Eye over the Deep as not only was fabled to exchange Glances with that on the Rhodian Colossus, and in Oriental Imagination and Language to penetrate " The World," but by Day to Reflect it to him who looked therein with Eyes to see. The Cup of their own Jamshid had, whe- ther Full or Empty, the same Property. And that Silver Cup found in Benjamin's Sack — " Is not this it in which my Lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he Divmeth .^"— Gen. xliv. 5. Our Reflecting Telescope is going some way to realize the Alexandrian Fable. 52 SALibliN AND ABSAL. He saw those Lovers in the Solitude, Turn'd from the World, and all its ways, and People, And looking only in each other's Eyes, And never finding any Sorrow there. THE SHAH beheld them as they were, and Pity Fell on his Eyes, and he reproached them not ; And, gathering all their Life into his hand. Not a Thread lost, disposed in Order all. Oh for the Noble Nature, and Clear Heart, That, seeing Two who draw one Breath, together Drinking the Cup of Happiness and Tears ^ Unshatter'd by the Stone of Separation, Is loath their sweet Commimion to destroy, Or cast a Tangle in the Skein of Joy. The Arrows that assail the Lords of Sorrow Come from the Hand of Retribution. Do Well, that in thy Turn Well may betide Thee ; And turn from 111, that 111 may turn beside Thco. Kparrjpa fxaK^tov t)Sovtjc Kai SaKpvuJV Kip»'u>rr«c t^crrivov axp«t ort; we see the MIl, or APPENDIX. 79 Goals; Servants attend on Foot holding Chugans in readiness for other Persons who may join in the Amusement, or to supply the place of any that may be broken. A young Prince — as his Parr, or Feather, would indicate — receives on his Entrance into (he Meidan, or Place of Exercise, a Chugan from the hands of a bearded Man very plainly dressed ; yet (as an intelligent Painter at Ispahan assured me, and as appears from other Miniatures in the same Book) this Bearded Figure is meant to represent Hafiz himself," &c. The Persian legend at the Top Corner is the Verse from Hafiz which the Drawdng illustrates ; Sliahsuvara Khusli bemeid^n ^imedy guiy bezann. Though the Sticks, or Bats, are here represented long, they really were (as Chardin and others report) so short as to cause the Rider to stoop below the Saddle-bow to strike ; which, the Horse going full Gallop, was great part of the Difficulty. And Tabri describes Events in the Eighth Century (just before his own Time), when Harun Alraschid was still little, so that when on Horseback, " he could not reach to strike the Ball with a Chugan." Ouseley also, judging from the Illustration (in which Persian Artists are not very accurate), thinks the Chugan sticks were owXy generally, or partially, semicircular at the striking End. But that they were so (varying perhaps a little in degree as our Bandy sticks do) is proved by the Text of the Present Poem, as also by a previous line in the Original, where — " The Realm of Existence is the space of his Meidan, "The Ball of Heaven in the Crook of his Chvgan." And passages in Hafiz speak of his Heart as being carried off" by his Beloved's Eyebrow ; which no Persian Lover ever dreamt of but as arched indeed. 80 APPENDIX. As the " Fair One " of Persian Mysticism is the Deity's Self— so the Points of that Beauty (as in our Canticles) adumbrate so many of the Deity's Attributes; varying however with various Poets, or their Commentators. Sir W. Jones speaks of The H.ur as emblematic of "The Expansion of Divine Glory" — The Lips as of " Hidden Mysteries " — The Down of the Cheek as " Spirits round the Throne," whose central point of excessive Light is dark- en'd into The Mole upon the Cheek ! — Tholuck, from a Turkish Commentary, interprets the Ringlets as "The Divine Mysteries;'* the Forehead their Manifestation, &c. The Beauty of Absal, though Sensual, yet seduces Salaman (The Soul) with its Likeness to The Divine ; and her Tresses, as we see, play their part, involving him in their Intricacies. The following Ode of Jami's on the subject very happily entangles the Ear with its repetitions of that mysterious Zulf which closes the first two, and every alternate Line, to the End. " Le Texte de cette Ode," says De Sayy, " est d' une Charme inexprimfible que r on chercheroit inutilement dans une Traduction." The Persian therefore is here vocalized as nearly as possible in English Notes, to give the Reader a Notion of the harmony which is its chief Merit. But I subjoin for the Lover of hteral Translation a very literal one, which he can if he chooses place word for word under the Persian, and, if he will accept a very little help at starting, may construe into what form he pleases : supplying for himself a Verb and a Point where the Reader of the original has to do so. The apostrophized 'i (here written, but in Persian only pro- nounced) either denotes that the following Noun, Pronoun, or Adjective belongs to it as Genitive or Epithet — as in the first line " diVi man "=" heart of I (Me) ; " or acts merely as a passing Note of harmony (with a People who hate all harshness but in Deed) between any two Consonants and a third, or between any conso- nanted long Vowel and a succeeding Consonant, unless that long Vowel's Consonant be n. " Tamam' i zulf" in line 3 is an in- i APPENDIX. 81 stance of -the H in its latter use. In both cases it is common in quantity. The ra in the 5th and last lines mark the Dative. Ay dir i man sayd' i dam' i zulf ' i to Dam' i dilha gashta nam' i zulf i to Banda shud dar zulf i to dilha tamam Dam ii band amad taraam' i zulf i to Dad' i tashrif i ghiilam' i-bandara Zulf i to ay man ghiilam' i zulf i to Laik' i rukhsar' i gulrang' i to nist Juz nikab' i mushkifam' i zulf i to Ram kunand az dam' i murghan way ajab Jan' i bi aram' i ram' i zulf i to Zulf i to bala' i mah darad makam Bas buland amad makam' i zulf i to Subh' i ikbal' ast' i tali' har nafas Banda-Jami-ra zi sham' i zulf i to. Ah heart I prey share Ringlet You Snare Hearts become name Ringlet you Bound are in Ringlet you Hearts wholly Snare and bond become wholly Ringlet you Give honour Slave-bound Ringlet you Ah I Slave Ringlet you Worthy cheek rose-colour'd you not is Except Veil musky-natured Ringlet you Escape make from Snare Birds Ah strange Soul without peace obsequious of Ringlet you Ringlet you above Moon has place Very high is place Ringlet you Dawn BHss is revealed every breath Bondman-Jami from Night Ringlet you. 82 APPENDIX. Page 7. " The Master," whose Verse is quoted, is Jellaladin, the Great Sufi Teacher. The "King Himself" is Yacub Beg, whose Father's Vision appears in the next Section. Page 22. " Mussulman " is very usually derived from the same " Salem " element as " Salaman." So " Solomon," &c. Page 26. " Premierement, k bander V arc ; dont V Art consiste a le bien tenir, a le bander, et a laisser partir la Corde a I'aise, sans que la main gauche qui tient V arc, et qui est toute etendue, ni la main droite qui manie la Corde, remuent le moins du monde. On en donne d' abord d' aises a bander ; puis de plus durs par degr^s. Les maitres de ces Exercises apprennent a ban- der r arc devant soi, derriere soi, a cote de soi, en haut, en bas — bref, en cent postures differentes, toujours vite et aisement. lis ont des arcs fort difficiles a bander, et, pour essayer la force, on les pend contre un mur a une Cheville, et on attache des poids a la Corde de 1' arc a 1' endroit oii 1' on appuie la coche de la Fleche. Les plus durs portent cinque cents pesant avant d'etre bandes," &c. — Sir John Chardin, vol. iii. 43/. He elsewhere says, " La bonte d' un Arc consiste, comme on le dit en Perse, en ce que d' abord il soit rude a bander, jusqu' a ce que la Fleche soit d moitie dessus; et qu'ensuite il soit mou et aise, jusqu' a ce que le bout de la Fleche soit entre dans la Corde." Page 39 and elsewhere The Throne is spoken of as under Foot. The Persepolitan Sculpture still discovers its King keeping his Chair as Europeans do with a separate Footstool. But in Jami's time, The Throne was probably of the same Fashion that Chardin saw Soliman twice crowned on ' 200 years after — perhaps the very same — " Un petit Tabouret carre," 3 feet high, Golden and Jew- ' SoUman's 2nd Coronation came about because of his having fallen so ill from Debauchery, that his Astrologers said his First must have taken place under an Evil conjunction of Stars— so he must be crowned again — •which he was— Chardin looking on both times. APPENDIX. 83 elled, on which the Prince gathers up his feet in Oriental fashion, so as it serves for Throne and Footstool too. " Ce Tabouret, hors le Temps qu'il sert a cette Ceremonie se garde avec grand Soin dans le Tresor Royal qui est au Donjon de la Forteresse d' Ispa- han," where also, to prove the Conservatism of Persia so far as Habits go, — " J' ai vu," he says, " des .Habits de Tamurlan ; ils sont tallies tout comme ceux qu'on fait aujourd'hui, sans aucune dif- ference." So the Mirrors used in Persia 200 years ago were com- monly of polished Metal, just as Jami so often describes. Page 40. " Kai," which almost signifies " Gigantic King," pro- perly belongs to Khusrau, 3rd king of the Kaianian Dynasty ; but is here borrowed for Parviz as a more mythical Title than Shah or King. Page 42. I have proposed " The Planets " for those mysterious " Seven and Four." But there is a large Choice, especially for the ever mystical " Seven " — Seven Commandments ; 7 Climates ; 7 Heavens, &c. The " Four " may be the 4 Elements, or even the 4 acknowledged Mahommedan Gospels— namely. The Pentateuch, Psalms, New Testament, and Kuran. vi For Salaman, though fabled not of The Faith, yet allegorically represents The Mirror of all Faith, and as The original Form of The Human Soul might be intuitively enlightened with all the Revelations that were to be — might even be, in esoteric Sufiism, The Come and Coming Twelfth Imam who had read all the previous Eleven ; it being one Doc- trine in the East that it is ever the Last and most perfect Prophet who was First Created and reserved in the In|erior Heaven nearest to God till the Time of his Mission should come. Sir John Chardin quotes Seven Magnificats written in gold upon azure over Shah Abbas' Tomb in the great Mosque at Kom— com- posed, he says, " par le docte Hasan-Cazy," mainly in glory of Ali the Darling Imam of Persia, but of which the First Hymn " est tout de Mahomet.^' This has some passages so very parallel with the Sage's Address to Salaman, that (knowdng how little worth 84 APPENDIX. such parallels are, especially in a Country where Magnificent Titles of Honour are stereotyped ready to be lavished on Prophet or Khan) nevertheless really seem borrowed by "le docte Hasan- Cazy ," who probably was hard set to invent any new. They show at least how Jami saluted his Alien Prince with Titles' due to Mahomet's Self, and may perhaps light any curious Reader to a better understanding of these Seven and Four. He calls Mahomet, " Infaillible Expositeur des Quatre Livres " — those Gospels ; ' " Con- ductcur des huit mobiles " — the 8 Heavens of the Planets, says the Editor ; " Gouverneur des Sept Parties " the Climates ; " Arche- type des Choses creees ; Instrument de la ^Creation du Monde : h plus releve de la race d'Adam. Ce Peintre incomprehensible, qui a tire tout d\m seul Coup de Pinceau *KouN FlKOUN,' tC a jamais fait un si beau portrait que le Globe de ton Visage. " Page 49. " Iram Garden." " Mahomet," says Sir W. Jones, " in the Chapter of The Morning, towards the end of his Alcoran, mentions a Garden called * Irem,' which is no less celebrated by the Asiatic Poets than that of the Hesperides by the Greeks. It was planted, as the Commentators say, by a king named Shedad," — deep in the Sands of Arabia Felix — " and was once seen by an Arabian who wandered far into the Desert in search of a lost Camel." ' So Sir John : but the Kuran being one, this looks rather addrest to All than Mahomet. THE END. JOHN GUILDS AND SON, BUNOAY. P s ^ f lirffliiw "i"- »~»*V**'T S«»* ' '- ■^=^<^'^^^^'^