"So Adam reutte (reute) and Eva span
Wwer was da ein Eddelman (Edelman)?"
[FN#209] Plur. of "'Usfúr" = a bird, a sparrow. The etymology
is characteristically Oriental and Mediaeval, reminding us of Dan
Chaucer's meaning of Cecilia "Heaven's lily" (Súsan) or "Way for
the blind" (Cæcus) or "Thoughts of Holiness" and lia=lasting
industry; or, "Heaven and Leos" (people), so that she might be
named the people's heaven (The SEcond Nonne's Tale).
[FN#210] i.e. "Fír is rebellious."
[FN#211] Both of which, I may note, are not things but states,
modes or conditions of things. See. vol. ix. 78.
[FN#212] "Salát" = the formal ceremonious prayer. I have
noticed (vol. iv. 60) the sundry technical meanings of the term
Salát, from Allah=Mercy; from Angel-kind=intercession and pardon,
and from mankind=a blessing.
[FN#213] Possibly "A prayer of Moses, the man of God," the title
of the highly apocryphal Psalm xc.
[FN#214] Arab. "Libás" = clothes in general.
[FN#215] In text "Zafar" = victory. It may also be
"Zifr"=alluding to the horny matter which, according to Moslem
tradition, covered the bodies of "our first parents" and of which
after the "original sin" nothing remained but the nails of their
fingers and toes. It was only when this disappeared that they
became conscious of their nudity. So says M. Houdas; but I
prefer to consider the word as Zafar=plaited hair.
[FN#216] According to Al-Mas'udi (i. 86, quoting Koran xxi. 52),
Abraham had already received of Allah spiritual direction or
divine grace ("Rushdu 'llah" or "Al-Hudà") which made him
sinless. In this opinoin of the Imamship, says my friend Prof.
A. Sprenger, the historian is more fatalistic than most Sunnis.
[FN#217] Modern Moslems are all agreed in making Ishmael and not
Issac the hero of this history: see my Pilgrimage (vol. iii.
306). But it was not always so. Al-Mas'udi (vol. ii. 146)
quotes the lines of a Persian poet in A.H. 290 (=A.D. 902) which
expressly say "Is'háku kána'l-Zabíh" = Isaac was the victim, and
the historian refers to this in sundry places. Yet the general
idea is that Ishmael succeeded his father (as eldest son) and was
succeeded by Isaac; and hence the bitter family feud between the
Eastern Jews and the ARab Gentiles.
[FN#218] In text "Tajui"=lit. thou pluckest (the fruit of good
deeds). M. Houdas translates Tu recueilles, mot à mot tu
citeilles.
[FN#219] See note at the end of this tale.
[FN#220] Amongst the Jews the Temple of Jerusalem was a
facsimile of the original built by Jehovah in the lowest heaven
or that of the Moon. For the same idea (doubtless a derivation
from the Talmud) amongst the Moslems concerning the heavenly
Ka'abah called Bayt al-Ma'mur (the Populated House) see my
Pilgrimage iii. 186, et seq.
[FN#221] i.e. there is an end of the matter.
[FN#222] In text "Massa-hu'l Fakr"=poverty touched him.
[FN#223] He had sold his father for a horse, etc., and his
mother for a fine dress.
[FN#224] This enigma is in the style of Samson's (Judges xiv.
12) of which we complain that the unfortuante Philistines did not
possess the sole clue which could lead to the solution; and here
anyone with a modicum of common sense would have answered, "Thou
art the man!" The riddles with which the Queen of Sheba visited
Solomon must have been simply hard questions somewhat like those
in the text; and the relator wisely refuses to record them.
[FN#225] We should say "To eclipse the sun."
[FN#226] A very intelligible offer.
[FN#227] Arab. "Bi Asri-hi," lit. "rope and all;"
metaphorically used=altogether, entirely: the idea is borrowed
from the giving or selling of a beast with its thong, halter,
chain, etc.
[FN#228] In the text, "Káhin," a Cohen, a Jewish Priest, a
soothsayer: see Al-Kahánah, vol. i. 28. In Heb. Kahana=he
ministered (priests' offices or other business) and Cohen=a
priest either of the true God or of false gods.
[FN#229] This ending with its résumé of contents is somewhat
hors ligne, yet despite its vain repetition I think it advisable
to translate it.
[FN#230] "And she called his name Moses, and she said because
from the water I drew him" (Exod. ii. 10).
[FN#231] The Pharoah of the Exodus is popularly supposed by
Moslems to have treated his leprosy with baths of babes' blood,
the babes being of the Banú Isráíl. The word "Pharoah" is not
without its etymological difficulties.
[FN#232] Graetz (Geschichte i. note 7) proves that "Aram," in
the Hebrew text (Judges iii. 8), should be "Edom."
[FN#233] I give a quadruple increase, at least 25 per centum
more than the genealogies warrant.
[FN#234] MS. pp. 505-537. This story is found in the "Turkish
Tales" by Petis de la Croix who translated one fourth of the
"Forty Wazirs" by an author self-termed "Shaykh Zádeh." It is
called the "History of Chec Chahabeddin" (Shaykh Shiháb al-Dín),
and it has a religious significance proving that the Apostle did
really and personally make the "Mi'raj" (ascent to Heaven) and
returned whilst his couch was still warm and his upset gugglet
had not run dry. The tale is probably borrowed from Saint Paul,
who (2 Cor. xii. 4) was "caught up into Paradise," which in those
days was a kind of region that roofed the earth. The Shaykh in
question began by showing the Voltairean Sultan of Egypt certain
specious miracles, such as a phantom army (in our tale two
lions), Cairo reduced to ashes, the Nile in flood and a Garden of
Irem, where before lay a desert. He then called for a tub,
stripped the King to a zone girding his loins and made him dip
his head into the water. Then came the adventures as in the
following tale. When after a moment's space these ended, the
infuriated Sultan gave orders to behead the Shaykh, who also
plunged his head into the tub; but the Wizard divined the
ill-intent by "Mukáshafah" (thought-reading); and by "Al-Ghayb
'an al-Absár" (invisibility) levanted to Damascus. The reader
will do well to compare the older account with the "First Vizir's
Story" (p. 17) in Mr. Gibb's "History of the Forty Vizirs," etc.
As this scholar remarks, the Mi'ráj, with all its wealth of wild
fable, is simply alluded to in a detached verses of the Koran
(xvii. 1) which runs: [I declare] "The glory of Him who
transported His servant by night from the Sacred Temple (of
Meccah) to the Remote Temple (of Jerusalem), whose precincts we
have blessed, that we might show him of our signs." After this
comes an allusion to Moses (v. 2); Mr. Gibb observes (p. 22) that
this lengthening out of the seconds was a favourite with
"Dervishes," as he has shown in "The Story of Jewád ," and
suggests that the effect might have been produced by some drug
like Hashish. I object to Mr. Gibb's use of the word "Hour)"
(ibid. p. 24) without warning the reader that it is an irregular
formation, masculine withal for "Huríyah," and that the Pers.
"Húri," from which the Turks borrowed their blunder, properly
means "One Húr."
[FN#235] For the Dajlah (Tigris) and Furát (Euphrates) see vols.
viii. 150- ix. 17. The topothesia is worse than Shakespearean. In
Weber's Edit. of the "New Arabian Nights" (Adventures of
Simoustapha, etc.), the rivers are called "Ilfara" and "Aggiala."
[FN#236] In text "Alwán," for which see vol. vii. 135.
[FN#237] [The word which is here translated with: "and one had
said that he had laboured hard thereat (walawá'yh?) seems
scarcely to bear out this meaning. I would read it "wa'l-Aw'iyah"
(plur. of wi'á), rendering accordingly: "and the vessels (in
which the aforesaid meats were set out) shimmered like unto
silver for their cleanliness."--ST.]
[FN#238] In text "Al-Wahwah."
[FN#239] In text, "Mutasa'lik" for "Moutasa'lik" = like a
"sa'lúk."
[FN#240] For this "high-spirited Prince and noble-minded lord"
see vol. ix. 229.
[FN#241] In text "Bisáta-hum" = their carpets.
[FN#242] In text "Hawánít," plur. of "Hanút" = the shop or vault
of a vintner, pop. derived from the Persian Kháneh. In Jer.
xxvii. 16, where the A. V. has "When Jeremiah was entered into
the dungeon and into the cabins," read "underground vaults,"
cells or cellars where wine was sold. "Hanút" also means either
the vintner or the vintner's shop. The derivation because it
ruins man's property and wounds his honour is the jeu d'esprit of
a moralising grammarian. Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 377.
[FN#243] In the Arab. "Jawákín," plur. of Arab. Jaukán for Pers.
Chaugán, a crooked stick a club, a bat used for the Persian form
of golf played on horseback--Polo.
[FN#244] [The text reads "Liyah," and lower down twice with the
article "Al-Liyah" (double Lam). I therefore suspect that
"Liyyah," equivalent with "Luwwah," is intended which both mean
Aloes-wood as used for fumigation (yutabakhkharu bi-hi). For the
next ingredient I would read "Kit'ah humrah," a small quantity of
red brickdust, a commodity to which, I do not know with what
foundation, wonderful medicinal powers are or were ascribed. This
interpretation seems to me the more preferable, as it presently
appears that the last-named articles had to go into the phial,
the mention of which would otherwise be to no purpose and which I
take to have been finally sealed up with the sealing clay. The
whole description is exceedingly loose, and evidently sorely
corrupted, so I think every attempt at elucidation may be
acceptable.--ST.]
[FN#245] "Wa Kíta'h hamrah," which M. Houdas renders un morceau
de viande cuite.
[FN#246] This is a specimen of the Islamised Mantra called in
Sanskrit Stambhana and intended to procure illicit intercourse.
Herklots has printed a variety of formulæ which are popular
throughout southern India: even in the Maldive Islands we find
such "Fandita" (i.e. Panditya, the learned Science) and Mr. Bell
(Journ., Ceylon Br. R. A. S. vii. 109) gives the following
specimen, "Write the name of the beloved; pluck a bud of the
screw-pine (here a palette de mouton), sharpen a new knife, on
one side of the bud write the Surat al-Badr (chapter of Power,
No. xxi., thus using the word of Allah for Satan's purpose); on
the other side write Vajahata; make an image out of the bud;
indite particulars of the horoscope copy from beginning to end
the Surat al-Rahmán (the Compassionating, No. xlviii.);, tie the
image in five places with coir left-hand-twisted (i.e.
widdershins or 'against the sun'); cut the throat of a
blood-sucker (lizard); smear its blood on the image; place it in
a loft, dry it for three days, then take it and enter the sea. If
you go in knee deep the woman will send you a message; if you go
in to the waist she will visit you." (The Voyage of Francois
Pyrard, etc., p. 179.) I hold all these charms to be mere
instruments for concentrating and intensifying the brain action
called Will, which is and which presently will be recognised as
the chief motor-power. See Suppl. vol. iii.
[FN#247] Probably the name of some Prince of the Jinns.
[FN#248] In text "Kamá zukira fí Dayli-h" = arrange-toi de facon
à l'atteindre (Houdas).
[FN#249] Proverbial for its depth: Káshán is the name of sundry
cities; here one in the Jibál or Irák 'Ajami--Persian
Mesopotamia.
[FN#250] Doubtless meaning Christians.
[FN#251] The Sage had summoned her by the preceding spell which
the Princess obeyed involuntarily.
[FN#252] i.e., last night, see vol. iii. 249.
[FN#253] In text "Wuldán" = "Ghilmán": the boys of Paradise; for
whom and their feminine counterparts the Húr (Al-Ayn) see vols.
i. 90, 211; iii. 233.
[FN#254] Arab. "Dukhn" = Holcus dochna, a well-known grain, a
congener of the Zurrah or Durrah = Holcus Sativus, Forsk. cxxiii.
The incident is not new. In "Des blaue Licht," a Mecklenburg tale
given by Grimm, the King's daughter who is borne through the air
to the soldier's room is told by her father to fill her pocket
with peas and make a hole therein; but the sole result was that
the pigeons had a rare feast. See Suppl. vol. iii. 375.
[FN#255] i.e., a martyr of love. See vols. iii. 211; i-iv. 205.
[FN#256] In the text "Ka'ka'"; hence the higher parts of Meccah,
inhabited by the Jurham tribe, was called "Jabal Ka'ka'án," from
their clashing arms (Pilgrimage iii. 191).
[FN#257] This was the work of the form of magic popularly known
as Símiyá = fascination, for which see vol. i. 305, 332. It is
supposed to pass away after a period of three days, and
mesmerists will find no difficulty in recognising a common effect
upon "Odylic sensitives."
[FN#258] Here supply the MS. with "illá."
[FN#259] In text "tatadakhkhal'alay-h:" see "Dakhíl-ak," vol. i.
61.
[FN#260] Or "he": the verb may also refer to the Sage.
[FN#261] Arab. "Kazafa" = threw up, etc.
[FN#262] This, in the case of the Wazir, was a transformation for
the worse: see vol. vii. 294, for the different kinds of
metamorphosis.
[FN#263] i.e. my high fortune ending in the lowest.
[FN#264] In text "Bakar" = black cattle, whether bull, ox or cow.
For ploughing with bulls.
[FN#265] In text "Mukrif" = lit. born of a slave father and free
mother.
[FN#266] In text "Antum fí kháshin wa básh," an error for
"khásh-másh" = a miserable condition.
[FN#267] In text "yatbashsh" for "yanbashsha." [Or it may stand
for yabtashsh, with transpositions of the "t" of the eighth form,
as usual in Egypt. See Spitta-Bey's Grammar, p. 198.-- ST.]
[FN#268] "Janánan," which, says M. Houdas, is the vulgar form of
"Jannatan" = the garden (of Paradise). The Wazir thus played a
trick upon his hearers. [The word in the text may read "Jinánan,"
accusative of "Jinán," which is the broken plural of "Jannah,"
along with the regular plural "Jannát," and, like the latter,
used for the gardens of Paradise.--ST.]
[FN#269] For this name of the capital of Eastern Arabia see vols.
i. 33, vii. 24.
[FN#270] "To be" is the Anglo-Oriental form of "Thaub" = in
Arabia a loose robe like a nightgown. See ii. 206.
[FN#271] The good old Mosaic theory of retribution confined to
this life, and the belief that Fate is the fruit of man's action.
[FN#272] Arab. "Sandarúsah" = red juniper gum (Thuja articulata
of Barbary), red arsenic realgar, from the Pers. Sandar = amber.
[FN#273] MSS. pp. 718-724. This fable, whose moral is that the
biter is often bit, seems unknown to Æsop and the compilation
which bore his name during the so-called Dark Ages. It first
occurs in the old French metrical Roman de Renart entitled, Si
comme Renart prist Chanticler le Coq (ea. Meon, tom. i. 49). It
is then found in the collection of fables by Marie, a French
poetess whose Lais are still extant; and she declares to have
rendered it de l'Anglois en Roman; the original being an Anglo-
Saxon version of Æsop by a King whose name is variously written
Li reis Alured (Alfred ?), or Aunert (Albert ?), or Henris, or
Mires. Although Alfred left no version of Æsop there is in MS. a
Latin Æsop containing the same story of an English version by Rex
Angliae Affrus. Marie's fable is printed in extenso in the
Chaucer of Dr. Morris (i. 247); London, Bell and Sons, 1880; and
sundry lines remind us of the Arabic, e.g.:--
Li gupil volt parler en haut,
Et li cocs de sa buche saut,
Sur un haut fust s'est muntez.