(Sebastian Evans: Longmans.)
King Solomon ben David, the Wise, on whom be peace, was a mighty player
at the chess before the Lord. And he sent unto Vaphres, King of Egypt,
and Nabonassar, King of Babylon, and Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, and
unto others of the Kings round about, whether they were friends or
whether they were enemies; Hadad, King of Edom; Hiram, King of Tyre;
and Reson, King of Damascus, who alone of the princes of Syria refused
to bend the knee to the King of Israel, saying: “Greeting from my lord
Solomon, King of Israel, who desireth to play with thee at the chess.
And whosoever among ye is minded to play with me at the chess, either
I will come unto him, or otherwise, if he will, he shall come to me at
the House of Millo, in Jerusalem; and if he win of me a game he shall
have ten of the cities of Israel of them that are nighest his own
borders; but an if he lose, he shall forfeit me ten cities of those of
his own country that are nighest the land of Israel.” And King Vaphres,
which is Pharaoh, and the other Kings played with King Solomon, and the
Lord gave King Solomon the upperhand of them all, so that he gat fifty
walled cities beyond the borders of Israel, and made broad the borders
of Israel from the River Euphrates unto the land of Egypt, so that he
ruled all the kingdoms, as it is written, even from Tiphsah unto Uzzah.
And it came to pass after a time that there was no man so bold that he
durst adventure to play King Solomon at the chess unless he should give
him the advantage, as three of the foot soldiers, or an elephant, or a
camel of the right hand and a knight of the left, or the like. And all
of his viziers and all the poets and musicians of the Temple he made
a-weary of their lives because of disappointment. For he would say, “O,
such an one, do thou play me at the chess, and I will give thee three
or four, as it might be, of my fighting men; and if thou win the game
of me I will give thee a garment of broidered work of Hind worth a
thousand pieces of gold, or a sword of the steel of Cathay with a hilt
wrought of a single emerald, such as no King hath in his treasury, or a
charger of the colts of the dams of Arabia by the steeds of the sea.”
So they played at the chess with the King, and when he had won the
game of any of them, then would he laugh and say: “Behold, I leave thee
thy robe, for it is not meet for a King to take aught of his servants,”
and he bade them fill him wine that he might forget the bitterness of
his heart.
But after a time it came to pass that the King was weary of playing
with his viziers and the poets and musicians of the Temple, and his
Judges, and the Captains of his guard, and would fain find out others,
whose manner of play he knew not, to play against him at the chess. But
the dread of the King was sore in the hearts of them that he called to
play against him, and he said, “Behold, they are all daunted by the
terror of my wisdom, and I have no glory of all my skill; for though
the gazelle be fleeter of foot than the leopard, yet ever the leopard
leapeth on to the neck of the gazelle. Now therefore will I disguise
me and they that play against me shall not know that they play against
King Solomon.”
So he called unto him his chief vizier, Zabud ben Na, the King’s
friend, and at eventide they stained their faces and put on garments as
they had been merchants from Ophir, and went forth into the streets of
the city. And at the corner of the King’s-avenue, which is before the
House of Millo, they met a stranger clad in a rich garment of Baalbek,
walking slowly as one perplexed, not lifting his eyes from the ground.
And Solomon said, “Peace be upon thee, O brother.”
And the stranger answered, “Peace be upon thee, O brother, from the
Lord of Peace, the One, the Merciful.”
And Solomon said, “Who art thou, and whither goest thou, for meseemeth
thou art a stranger in the city?”
And the stranger said, “Men call me Jareb ben Othniel, and Vaphres,
King of Egypt, this long time hath entertained me in his palace as
one of his boon companions, for I am a poet and musician after his
own heart; and even now am I come into Jerusalem as a messenger unto
Jehoshaphat ben Abiud, King Solomon’s remembrancer, with whom I must
needs be before midnight.”
Then said Solomon, “It wanteth yet some hours of midnight; come with us
in the meanwhile to our lodging, and let us pass the time with wine and
music.”
“I will well,” said Jareb. And when they came into the lodging King
Solomon had prepared, Zabud let call for wine, and they made merry.
Then said King Solomon, “Let bring the tables, that thou and I may
play a bout at the chess, and then shalt thou sing us a song of them
that delight the heart of King Pharaoh.”
Then Jareb said, “Sweet is the song that closeth the eyes in sleep and
giveth ease to the sick man who crieth aloud for the soreness of his
pain. When he heareth my voice, the slave remembereth not his chain nor
the outcast his poverty; the toiler layeth aside his work and the angry
man his wrath. But as for playing at the chess at this time, I pray
thee hold thy servant excused, for the One Merciful, to whom be glory,
hath laid a burden on thy servant, so that he cannot lose a game at the
chess even if he so would, and haply if he win a game of thee thou wilt
be an-angered, and he should seem ungrateful in thine eyes for this
grace thou has shown him.”
Then Solomon laughed, and spake within himself, “This minstrel is of
the children of Eblis, the braggart, and the Lord hath given him into
my hands that I may put his boasting to shame. Surely I shall win a
game of him and pull his robe over his head, and then shall be given
him a lute wherewith to comfort the sadness of his spirit.”
But the King’s lips spake otherwise than the thought that was in his
heart, and he said, “Blessed be thou, Jareb ben Othniel! I would fain
lose a game unto thee, and behold, I give thee this cloak of mine own
in earnest of thy victory.”
And therewithal he set upon him his cloak, which was of stuff of Tyre,
with lynx’s fur, worth a hundred pieces of gold.
Then Zabud let call for tables, and King Solomon played at the chess
with Jareb ben Othniel; and King Solomon’s men were of the white and
Jareb’s of the black. And Jareb played without thought, as one that
could but little of the chess, so that in a brief space King Solomon
had taken prisoner both his elephants and a knight and a camel, besides
four of his foot soldiers, while Jareb had taken but one foot soldier
of King Solomon.
And Solomon said, within himself, “There is no glory in playing with a
foolish lutanist such as this. Shall leviathan put forth his strength
against the gadfly? I will contrive a combination and make an end of
him.” So he made a combination and took his captain.
Then Jareb rose up and made as though he would go. And Solomon said
unto him, “Whither away? for the game is not yet played out.”
Then Jareb said, “O, my lord King Solomon, when thou walkest abroad
the herbs of the field, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop on the
wall, find themselves a tongue to tell thee of their several virtues,
yet hast thou not heard the voice of these chess men. See now and
behold if thy servant should move yonder foot soldier on to the next
square, where would my lord the King be then?”
And Solomon looked at the tables, and behold if his adversary should
play his foot soldier on to the next square the King was checkmated
without redress.
And when he understood that his name was known of Jareb and that he
was defeated, a mighty wrath gat hold upon King Solomon, and the world
was straitened upon him. And the blackness of the tempest was in his
forehead, and his voice was as the thunder in the hills. And he drew
his sword and smote off the head of Jareb as he stood.
Then said he to Zabud, “Cast me this dog’s carrion into the ditch
without the city, that the fowls of uncleanness may feast themselves
therewithal.”
But behold there was no dead body, neither any blood; and Zabud said,
“May God, to whom be glory, preserve my lord the King. Verily this man
was a sorcerer.”
“Nay,” said King Solomon, “he was no sorcerer, for always the jewel of
my girdle warneth me so often as one who useth witchcraft cometh into
my presence; yet as at this time it spake not. But said he not that he
was bound unto the house of Jehoshaphat, our remembrancer? Haste thee
thither and bring tidings whether thou hear of him.”
So Zabud went to the house of Jehoshaphat, and asked at the gate
whether such an one had been there. And the master of the gate made
answer and said, “O my lord, of a truth such an one hath been here but
even now, and he went in unto my lord, and even as he bowed his head to
salute him my lord groaned thrice and gave up the ghost.”
So Zabud returned to King Solomon and told him all the tidings. And
King Solomon rent his garments for the death of Jehoshaphat and said,
“See now, this dog hath told me I know less than naught, yet knew he
less than naught himself, otherwise would he never have thought to bear
a message to a dead man. May God not have mercy on his soul.”
Now, it was about a seven years’ space, and King Solomon again
disguised his countenance and went forth with his chief vizier to seek
one to play at chess with the King. And as they walked along the
covered way of the Thousand Fountains that leadeth to the House of
Lebanon, at the corner of the street called Yellow there met them a
damsel, as it were a moon, and her countenance was as a treasure house
of the beauty of the elements. Her hair was golden as the flames in the
circle of fire that is the uttermost girdle of the world; her eyebrows
were as rainbows and her eyes as the stars of the air; her nose and
cheeks were as flowers of the earth, white and red as roses in the
rose gardens of Sharon, and the mole thereon of the color of the soil
of Eden; her lips were as the coral of the Seven Seas, and her teeth
as pearls of the waters of El Kerker; her garments were as the Milky
Way for the glitter of jewels, and as the nest of the Phœnix for sweet
smell of musk and myrrh and frankincense; and the swaying of her body
as she walked was as the bending of the willow withes on the banks of
Jordan when the wind of sundown reveals the inward whiteness of their
leaves.
And King Solomon’s eyes waxed swollen for gladness to look upon her,
and he said, “Peace be unto thee, O daughter of mine uncle.” And she
answered, “Peace be unto thee, O my lord, and the mercy of the One
Merciful.”
And Solomon said, “O, damsel, who art thou and whither goest thou?” And
she said, “Thy servant is a slave girl of the household of Ahimaaz, to
whom thy lord and mine, King Solomon, on whom be peace, hath given his
daughter Basmath in marriage; and even now am I bound to the house of
Ben Abinadab, to whom our lord King Solomon hath given his daughter
Taphath in marriage, for there is a feast there toward this night, and
thy slave hath been sent for to sing. And men call me Admatha, the
daughter of Adaiah.”
And the King said, “What songs canst thou sing?” And she said, “O my
lord, thy slave girl hath but little skill, and her voice to the many
soundeth harsh and untuneable; yet the lover, when he swooneth in the
extremity of his passion, is fain to hearken unto me, and my song is
blessed of the wise man to whom the vanity of all things hath been
revealed.”
And Solomon said, “O Admatha, it is not yet the hour of the feast; come
with us awhile to our lodging that we have prepared, and let us pass
the time with wine and music until it behoveth thee to depart.” And
she answered, “Peace be upon ye; I will well.” So they came into the
lodging, and Zabud let call for wine and they made merry.
Then King Solomon said, “Let bring tables, that thou and I may play a
bout at the chess, and then shalt thou sing us a song to the lover in
the torment of his passion.”
But Admatha said, “O my Lord, as for playing at the chess at this time,
I pray thee hold thy slave excused.”
“Wherefore so?” exclaimed King Solomon; “for my heart is set to play
with thee at the chess.”
Then said Admatha, “O my lord, the One Merciful, to whom be all glory,
hath laid a burden on thy slave, forasmuch as she may in no wise lose
a game at the chess, strive she never so sore; and if she play with
thee and win her game, thou wilt haply be an-angered with her, and she
should seem ungrateful to thee for this grace that thou hast shown her.”
And Solomon said within himself, “I have held converse with this damsel
aforetime, for of a surety I do remember this word she hath spoken that
none may have the upper hand of her at the chess.” And he looked upon
her straitly for a long time, yet could he call nothing to mind as of
her face or favor. And he said within himself, “Behold, that which is,
that which hath been, and that which shall be, shall be even as that
which is. Belike it was one of them I have defeated of old who boasted
himself thus.”
But he spake with his lips and said, “O Admatha, even to lose a game
at thy hands were sweeter than to overcome the King of Damascus, and,
behold, I give thee this cloak in earnest of thy victory.”
Then Zabud let call for tables, and Solomon the King played at the
chess with Admatha the slave girl; and Solomon’s men were of the white
and Admatha’s men of the black. And Admatha played without thought, as
one that could but little of the chess, so that in a brief space King
Solomon had taken prisoner both her elephants and a knight of the right
hand and a camel of the left, besides four of her foot soldiers, while
Admatha had taken but one foot soldier of King Solomon. And Solomon
said within himself, “What glory is it unto me to win at the chess of
this music girl? Shall I lift a cimeter of the steel of Cathay to crop
a flower of the balsam? I will contrive a combination and make an end
of her.” So he made a combination and took her captain.
Then Admatha rose up and made as though she would go. But Solomon said,
“Whither away, O Admatha? for the game is not yet played out.”
Then Admatha turned about and said, “O my lord King Solomon, when it
listeth thee to sit on thy carpet the winds become thy chariot, and
all the beasts of the field fare under thee to subdue thine enemies;
and the fowls of the air fly overhead to shield thee from the sun; yet
these chess men, that are but of ebony wood and the tusk of behemoth,
refuse to obey thee. See now and behold; if thy slave should move
yonder foot soldier on to the next square, where would my lord the King
be then? As for playing at chess, thy slave girl knoweth naught, yet
knoweth she more withal than my lord King Solomon.”
And when Solomon looked at the tables, behold if his adversary should
move the foot soldier on to the next square the King was checkmated
without redress.
And when he understood that he was known of Admatha and that he was
defeated, a mighty wrath gat hold upon King Solomon, and the world was
straitened upon him; the vein of fury stood out between his eyebrows,
and the fire flashed from his eyes as the blaze leaps from a burning
mountain, and the darkness which gathered on his brow was as the smoke
thereof, and his words rolled forth even as the molten stone from the
mouth of the caldrons of Eblis in the hills of Sikkel. And he drew his
sword and smote off the head of Admatha as she stood.
And he cried aloud to Zabud, “Cast me this swine’s carcas into the
ditch without the city, that the fowls of uncleanness may feast
themselves therewithal.”
But, behold, there was no dead body, neither was there any blood;
and Zabud said, “God preserve my lord the King! this damsel was a
sorceress.”
“Nay,” said King Solomon, “for my ring spake no word of warning. But
said she not that she was bound to the feast at the house of Ben
Abinadab? Now, therefore, go straightway thither and bring me tidings.”
And as Zabud went toward the house he met a great company of men and
women weeping and wailing and rending their garments; and when they saw
Zabud they cried: “O my lord, mayst thou survive my lord Ben Abinadab!
for, behold, as we all were feasting and making merry a certain slave
girl came into the company whom my lord bade sing to her lute. And
when she had tuned her lute she began to sing, and before ever she had
sung two words my lord turned his face to the wall and died. Now,
therefore, bear the tidings to King Solomon with haste, for our lady
Taphath, the widow of Ben Abinadab, is a daughter of my lord the King.”
Then Solomon was sore troubled, and rent his garments and cast ashes
upon his head, and the days were darkened upon him. And he said: “Who
is this slave girl? for of a surety I do remember all these things of
aforetime.” Howbeit he remembered not Jareb ben Othniel, and he said:
“I am as one that resteth on his oar when the image of his oar is bent
awry by reason of the water that is over it, so that he seeth not
aright that which he seemeth to see. O! the waters! the waters! They
have covered the whole world, so that no man seeth truly the things
that have been for the waters that are above them.”
And about a space of one-and-twenty years, yet once more King Solomon
and his chief vizier disguised themselves and went forth into the city,
if haply they might find one to play at the chess with the King. And as
they came nigh unto the Water Gate of the Temple, behold there stood at
the bottom of the steps an old man, as it were a sheikh of the Sons of
the Desert, and his hair was white as the water courses of the hills in
winter, and his beard flowed down to his knees, as it were icicles of
stone in the caverns of Hermon, and his eyebrows were as the snow on
the branches of the cedars of the forest, and his eyes as the torches
of them that seek for Thammuz on Lebanon.
And Solomon said unto him, “Peace be unto thee, O mine uncle.” And the
old man answered, “Peace be unto thee and mercy from the One Merciful.”
And Solomon said, “By what name shall I speak to my father’s brother,
and whitherward shall we bear him company?”
And the old man said, “I am Habakkuk ben Methusael, the chief of the
Benou Methusael, children of the Great Desert, and I have come hither
to Jerusalem that I may play a game at the chess with my lord King
Solomon.”
And Solomon said, “O Habakkuk, is there any of the Sons of the Desert
who is the equal of my lord King Solomon?”
And Habakkuk said, “Nay, my son, there is none among the Kings of the
earth who may be compared with my lord King Solomon in riches, or in
majesty, or in wisdom; yet haply in this matter of playing at the
chess, the Lord, to whom be all the glory, hath been minded not to
lay up the whole of his treasure in a single treasure house; for thy
servant hath played with men of understanding as well as with others
these two hundred years and more, yet hath he never lost a game to any
of the children of men.”
And Solomon said within himself, “Now will I win a game of this
patriarch of the Desert, and afterward we will bring him to the palace,
and when he seeth that it was none other than King Solomon himself who
hath defeated him his shame shall be the less.”
So he spake to the old man and said, “Behold, as at this time my
lord King Solomon hath gone to sup with the daughter of Pharoah, in
the House of Lebanon, and of a surety he will not return till after
midnight, for thy servants but even now met the bearers returning with
his litter. Wherefore do thou come with us to our lodging, and if it
irk thee not, win a game at the chess of thy servant.”
And Habakkuk said, “I will well.”
So they came into the lodging, and Zabud let call for wine and they
made merry; howbeit Habakkuk excused himself as for drinking of the
wine for that he was of kindred with Hammath of the tribe of Rechab.
And Zabud let call for tables, and Solomon the King played at the chess
with Habakkuk the Son of the Desert, and Solomon’s men were of the
white and Habakkuk’s of the black. And Habakkuk played without thought
as one that could but little of the chess, so that in a brief space
King Solomon had taken prisoner both his elephants and a knight of the
right hand and a camel of the left, besides four of his foot soldiers,
while Habakkuk had taken but one foot soldier of King Solomon. And
Solomon said within himself, “What glory is it to win at the chess
of a dog of the desert such as this? Doth the lightning make boast
of slaying the frog that croaketh in the marsh? I will contrive a
combination and make an end of him.” So he made a combination and took
his captain.
Then Habakkuk laid hold on one of his ebony foot soldiers, and said:
“O, my lord King Solomon, the One Merciful hath given thee dominion
over all ghouls and afrits and jina and marids of the jinn, them that
inhabit the houses of the fire and them that walk on the earth or creep
within its bowels, them that dwell within the deep waters and them that
fly upon the wings of the air; yea, all them that durst disobey thy
behests, hast thou imprisoned against the Day of Judgment in vessels
of copper, sealed in lead with thine own seal, and hast cast them into
the sea of El Kerker. Yet hath not the One Merciful, to whom be glory,
given thee lordship over these bits of ebony and ivory that they should
do thy will; for lo, when I shall set down this foot soldier on yonder
next square, where will my lord the King be then?”
And Solomon looked at the tables, and behold when his adversary should
set down the foot soldier he was checkmated without redress. And when
he understood that he was known of the Son of the Desert and had been
defeated by him, a mighty wrath gat hold upon King Solomon and the
world was straitened upon him; and his forehead waxed dark as the Night
of Retribution, and his eyes flashed thereunder as it were the burning
of the two Cities of the Plain, and his voice was as the roaring of the
fire wherewith they were consumed. And he leapt to his feet and would
have drawn his sword to smite off the head of Habakkuk. But Habakkuk
abode still and lifted up the ebony foot soldier in his right hand, and
the King was as one striken with a sudden palsy; and there came upon
him a great whiteness and trembling, and his tongue clave to the roof
of his mouth, and the sword dropped from his right hand.
And Habakkuk said unto him, “O my lord King Solomon, where is the
wisdom wherewith the One Merciful hath gifted thee beyond all others of
the sons of men? Behold now these three times hast thou gone about to
slay the servant of the living God. How is it that thou hast not known
me?”
And as Solomon looked straitly at Habakkuk the snow of his hair and his
beard was melted away, and the manner of his garments were changed, and
even while Solomon was yet marveling at the change, behold it was the
slave girl, Admatha, who held up the ebony foot soldier against the
King.
And the waters of forgetfulness were rolled back from the King’s
memory, and he said: “Verily I should have remembered and repented, for
lo this game is the very game, move for move, that I played with thee,
O, Admatha, what time thou wert sent for to sing in the house of Ben
Abinadab my son.”
And Admatha said, “O my lord King Solomon, of a truth this is even so,
but where is the wisdom wherewith the One Merciful hath gifted thee
beyond all others of the children of men? How is it thou hast not known
me?”
And as Solomon looked straitly at Admatha her countenance and the
manner of her garments were changed, and even while the King was yet
marveling at the change behold it was Jareb ben Othniel who held up the
ebony foot soldier against the King.
And the things which had been were lifted above the waters of
forgetfulness, and Solomon saw them even as they were. And he said,
“Verily I should have remembered and repented, for lo these two games
are the very same, move for move, and combination for combination, with
the game I played aforetime with thee, O Jareb ben Othniel, when thou
didst bear a message to Jehoshaphat my remembrancer.”
And Jareb said, “Oh, my lord King Solomon, of a truth this is even so,
but where is the wisdom wherewith the One Merciful hath gifted thee
above all thy fellows? How is it that thou hast not known me?”
And as Solomon looked straitly at Jareb his countenance and the manner
of his garments were changed, and even while the King was yet marveling
at the change a glory as of the unspoken Name lighted his face, and his
hair was as the rays of the sun at noonday, and his raiment was as a
flame of fire, and from his shoulders came forth wings, whereof every
feather was as a rainbow after the storm.
And the Angel said, “O, King Solomon, where is the wisdom wherewith
the One Merciful hath gifted thee above thy brethern? Even yet hast
thou not known me.” And the Angel still held up the ebony foot soldier
against the King.
And Solomon said, “Verily long since should I have known thee and
repented, O Azrael, angel of death, for none save the brother of the
Four who uphold the throne of God, to whom be glory, could have played
this game at the chess that thou hast played against me, lo these three
times.”
And Azrael said, “Oh King Solomon, may the One Merciful have much mercy
upon thee, for thou needest much!”
And he set down the ebony foot soldier.
And King Solomon was dead.