tears were unable to flow, and scarcely could they support themselves.
At length, taking each other despondingly by the hand, they went
faltering from this fatal hall, indifferent which way they turned their
steps. Every portal opened at their approach. The dives fell prostrate
before them. Every reservoir of riches was disclosed to their view; but
they no longer felt the incentives of curiosity, of pride, or avarice.
With like apathy they heard the chorus of genii, and saw the stately
banquets prepared to regale them. They went wandering on, from chamber
to chamber, hall to hall, and gallery to gallery; all without bounds or
limit; all distinguishable by the same lowering gloom; all adorned with
the same awful grandeur; all traversed by persons in search of repose
and consolation, but who sought them in vain; for every one carried
within him a heart tormented in flames. Shunned by these various
sufferers, who seemed by their looks to be upbraiding the partners of
their guilt, they withdrew from them to wait, in direful suspense, the
moment which should render them to each other the like objects of
terror.
"What!" exclaimed Nouronihar; "will the time come when I shall snatch my
hand from thine?"--"Ah!" said Vathek, "and shall my eyes ever cease to
drink from thine long draughts of enjoyment? Shall the moments of our
reciprocal ecstasies be reflected on with horror? It was not thou that
broughtest me hither; the principles by which Carathis perverted my
youth have been the sole cause of my perdition! it is but right she
should have her share of it." Having given vent to these painful
expressions, he called to an afrit, who was stirring up one of the
braziers, and bade him fetch the Princess Carathis from the palace of
Samarah.
After issuing these orders, the caliph and Nouronihar continued walking
amidst the silent crowd, till they heard voices at the end of the
gallery. Presuming them to proceed from some unhappy beings, who, like
themselves, were awaiting their final doom, they followed the sound, and
found it to come from a small square chamber, where they discovered,
sitting on sofas, four young men of goodly figure, and a lovely female,
who were holding a melancholy conversation by the glimmering of a lonely
lamp. Each had a gloomy and forlorn air; and two of them were embracing
each other with great tenderness. On seeing the caliph and the daughter
of Fakreddin enter, they arose, saluted, and made room for them. Then he
who appeared the most considerable of the group, addressed himself thus
to Vathek: "Strangers! who doubtless are in the same state of suspense
with ourselves, as you do not yet bear your hand on your heart, if you
come hither to pass the interval allotted, previous to the infliction of
our common punishment, condescend to relate the adventures that have
brought you to this fatal place; and we, in return, will acquaint you
with ours, which deserve but too well to be heard. To trace back our
crimes to their source, though we are not permitted to repent, is the
only employment suited to wretches like us!"
The caliph and Nouronihar assented to the proposal; and Vathek began,
not without tears and lamentations, a sincere recital of every
circumstance that had passed. When the afflicting narrative was closed,
the young man entered on his own. Each person proceeded in order; and,
when the third prince had reached the midst of his adventures, a sudden
noise interrupted him, which caused the vault to tremble and to open.
Immediately a cloud descended, which, gradually dissipating, discovered
Carathis on the back of an afrit, who grievously complained of his
burden. She, instantly springing to the ground, advanced towards her
son, and said, "What dost thou here, in this little square chamber? As
the dives are become subject to thy beck, I expected to have found thee
on the throne of the pre-Adamite kings."
"Execrable woman!" answered the caliph; "cursed be the day thou gavest
me birth! Go, follow this afrit; let him conduct thee to the hall of the
prophet Soliman: there thou wilt learn to what these palaces are
destined, and how much I ought to abhor the impious knowledge thou hast
taught me."
"Has the height of power, to which thou art arrived, turned thy brain?"
answered Carathis; "but I ask no more than permission to show my respect
for Soliman the prophet. It is, however, proper thou shouldst know that
(as the afrit has informed me neither of us shall return to Samarah) I
requested his permission to arrange my affairs, and he politely
consented. Availing myself, therefore, of the few moments allowed me, I
set fire to the tower, and consumed in it the mutes, negresses, and
serpents, which have rendered me so much good service; nor should I have
been less kind to Morakanabad, had he not prevented me, by deserting at
last to thy brother. As for Bababalouk, who had the folly to return to
Samarah, to provide husbands for thy wives, I undoubtedly would have put
him to the torture; but being in a hurry, I only hung him, after having
decoyed him in a snare, with thy wives, whom I buried alive by the help
of my negresses, who thus spent their last moments greatly to their
satisfaction. With respect to Dilara, who ever stood high in my favour,
she hath evinced the greatness of her mind, by fixing herself near, in
the service of one of the magi; and, I think, will soon be one of our
society."
Vathek, too much cast down to express the indignation excited by such a
discourse, ordered the afrit to remove Carathis from his presence, and
continued immersed in thoughts which his companions durst not disturb.
Carathis, however, eagerly entered the dome of Soliman, and without
regarding in the least the groans of the prophet, undauntedly removed
the covers of the vases and violently seized on the talismans. Then,
with a voice more loud than had hitherto been heard within these
mansions, she compelled the dives to disclose to her the most secret
treasures, the most profound stores, which the afrit himself had not
seen. She passed, by rapid descents, known only to Eblis and his most
favoured potentates; and thus penetrated the very entrails of the earth,
where breathes the sansar, or the icy wind of death. Nothing appalled
her dauntless soul. She perceived, however, in all the inmates who bore
their hands on their heart, a little singularity not much to her taste.
As she was emerging from one of the abysses, Eblis stood forth to her
view; but notwithstanding he displayed the full effulgence of his
infernal majesty, she preserved her countenance unaltered, and even paid
her compliments with considerable firmness.
This superb monarch thus answered: "Princess, whose knowledge and whose
crimes have merited a conspicuous rank in my empire, thou dost well to
avail thyself of the leisure that remains; for the flames and torments,
which are ready to seize on thy heart, will not fail to provide thee
soon with full employment." He said, and was lost in the curtains of his
tabernacle.
Carathis paused for a moment with surprise; but, resolved to follow the
advice of Eblis, she assembled all the choirs of genii, and all the
dives, to pay her homage. Thus marched she, in triumph, through a vapour
of perfumes, amidst the acclamations of all the malignant spirits, with
most of whom she had formed a previous acquaintance. She even attempted
to dethrone one of the Solimans, for the purpose of usurping his place;
when a voice, proceeding from the abyss of death, proclaimed, "All is
accomplished!" Instantaneously the haughty forehead of the intrepid
princess became corrugated with agony; she uttered a tremendous yell,
and fixed, no more to be withdrawn, her right hand upon her heart, which
was become a receptacle of eternal fire.
In this delirium, forgetting all ambitious projects, and her thirst for
that knowledge which should ever be hidden from mortals, she overturned
the offerings of the genii; and, having execrated the hour she was
begotten and the womb that had borne her, glanced off in a rapid whirl
that rendered her invisible, and continued to revolve without
intermission.
Almost at the same instant, the same voice announced to the caliph,
Nouronihar, the four princes, and the princess, the awful and
irrevocable decree. Their hearts immediately took fire, and they, at
once, lost the most precious gift of heaven--HOPE. These unhappy beings
recoiled, with looks of the most furious distraction. Vathek beheld in
the eyes of Nouronihar nothing but rage and vengeance; nor could she
discern aught in his but aversion and despair. The two princes who were
friends, and, till that moment, had preserved their attachment, shrunk
back, gnashing their teeth with mutual and unchangeable hatred. Kahlah
and his sister made reciprocal gestures of imprecation; all testified
their horror for each other by the most ghastly convulsions, and screams
that could not be smothered. All severally plunged themselves
into the accursed multitude, there to wander in an eternity of
unabating anguish.
Such was, and such should be, the punishment of unrestrained passions
and atrocious deeds! Such shall be the chastisement of that blind
curiosity, which would transgress those bounds the wisdom of the Creator
has prescribed to human knowledge; and such the dreadful disappointment
of that restless ambition, which, aiming at discoveries reserved for
beings of a supernatural order, perceives not, through its infatuated
pride, that the condition of man upon earth is to be--humble and
ignorant.
Thus the caliph Vathek, who, for the sake of empty pomp and forbidden
power, had sullied himself with a thousand crimes, became a prey to
grief without end, and remorse without mitigation; whilst the humble,
the despised Gulchenrouz passed whole ages in undisturbed tranquillity,
and in the pure happiness of childhood.
NOTES
PAGE 195. _Caliph_
This title, amongst the Mahometans, comprehends the concrete character
of Prophet, Priest, and King, and is used to signify _the Vicar of God
on Earth_. It is, at this day, one of the titles of the Grand Signior,
as successor of Mahomet; and of the Sophi of Persia, as successor of
Ali.--HABESCI'S _State of the Ottoman Empire_, p. 9. D'HERBELOT, p. 985.
PAGE 195. _Omar Ben Abdalaziz_
This caliph was eminent above all others for temperance and self-denial,
insomuch that he is believed to have been raised to Mahomet's bosom, as
a reward for his abstinence in an age of corruption.--D'HERBELOT, p.
690.
PAGE 195. _Samarah_
A city of the Babylonian Irak; supposed to have stood on the site where
Nimrod erected his tower. Khondemir relates, in his life of Motassem,
that this prince, to terminate the disputes which were perpetually
happening between the inhabitants of Bagdat and his Turkish slaves,
withdrew from thence, and having fixed on a situation in the plain of
Catoul, there founded Samarah. He is said to have had, in the stables of
this city, a hundred and thirty thousand _pied horses_, each of which
carried, by his order, a sack of earth to a place he had chosen. By this
accumulation an elevation was formed that commanded a view of all
Samarah, and served for the foundation of his magnificent
palace.--D'HERBELOT, pp. 752, 808, 985. _Anecdotes Arabes_, p. 413.
PAGE 195. _... in the most delightful succession_
The great men of the East have been always fond of music. Though
forbidden by the Mahometan religion, it commonly makes a part of every
entertainment. _Nitimur in vetitum semper._ Female slaves are generally
kept to amuse them and the ladies of their harems. The Persian
Khanyagere seems nearly to have resembled our old English minstrel; as
he usually accompanied his barbut, or lute, with heroic
songs.--RICHARDSON'S _Dissertation on the Languages, etc., of Eastern
Nations_, p. 211.
PAGE 196. _Mani_
This artist, whom Inatulla of Delhi styles _the far-famed_, lived in the
reign of Schabur, or Sapor, the son of Ardschir Babegan, was founder of
the sect of Manichæans, and was, by profession, a painter and sculptor.
His pretensions, supported by an uncommon skill in mechanical
contrivances, induced the ignorant to believe that his powers were more
than human. After having secluded himself from his followers, under the
pretence of passing a year in heaven, he produced a wonderful volume,
which he affirmed to have brought from thence; containing images and
figures of a marvellous nature.--D'HERBELOT, p. 458. It appears, from
the _Arabian Nights_, that Haroun al Raschid, Vathek's grandfather, had
adorned his palace and furnished his magnificent pavilion with the most
capital performances of the Persian artists.
PAGE 196. _Houris_
The virgins of Paradise, called, from their large black eyes, _Hur al
oyun_. An intercourse with these, according to the institution of
Mahomet, is to constitute the principal felicity of the faithful. Not
formed of clay, like mortal women, they are deemed in the highest degree
beautiful, and exempt from every inconvenience incident to the sex.--_Al
Koran_; _passim_.
PAGE 196. _... it was not with the orthodox that he usually held_
Vathek persecuted, with extreme rigour, all who defended the eternity of
the Koran; which the Sonnites, or orthodox, maintained to be uncreated,
and the Motazalites and Schiites as strenuously denied.--D'HERBELOT, p.
85, etc.
PAGE 197. _Mahomet in the seventh heaven_
In this heaven, the paradise of Mahomet is supposed to be placed,
contiguous to the throne of Alla. Hagi Khalfah relates, that Ben
Iatmaiah, a celebrated doctor of Damascus, had the temerity to assert
that, when the Most High erected his throne, he reserved a vacant place
for Mahomet upon it.
PAGE 197. _Genii_
_Genn_, or _Ginn_, in the Arabic, signifies a Genius or Demon, a being
of a higher order, and formed of more subtile matter than man. According
to Oriental mythology, the Genii governed the world long before the
creation of Adam. The Mahometans regarded them as an intermediate race
between angels and men, and capable of salvation; whence Mahomet
pretended a commission to convert them. Consonant to this, we read that,
_when the |Servant of God| stood up to invoke him, it wanted little but
that the |Genii| had pressed on him in crowds, to hear him rehearse the
Koran_.--D'HERBELOT, p. 375. _Al Koran_, ch. 72. It is asserted, and not
without plausible reasons, that the words _Genn_, _Ginn_--_Genius_,
_Genie_, _Gian_, _Gigas_, _Giant_, _Géant_--proceed from the same
themes, viz. {Gê}, _the earth_, and {gaô}, _to produce_; as if these
supernatural agents had been an early production of the earth, long
before Adam was modelled out from a lump of it. The {Ôntes} and {Eôntes}
of Plato bear a close analogy to these supposed intermediate creatures
between God and man. From these premises arose the consequence that,
boasting a higher order, formed of more subtle matter, and possessed of
much greater knowledge, than man, they lorded over this planet, and
invisibly governed it with superior intellect. From this last
circumstance they obtained in Greece the title of {Daimones}, Demons,
from {daêmôn}, _sciens_, knowing. The Hebrew word, \NFLIM\, Nephilim
(Gen. vi, 4), translated by _Gigantes_, giants, claiming the same etymon
with {nephelê}, a cloud, seems also to indicate that these intellectual
beings inhabited the void expanse of the terrestrial atmosphere. Hence
the very ancient fable of men of enormous strength and size revolting
against the gods, and all the mythological lore relating to that mighty
conflict; unless we trace the origin of this important event to the
ambition of Satan, his revolt against the Almighty, and his fall with
the angels.
PAGE 197. _Assist him to complete the tower_
The Genii, who were styled by the Persians _Peris_ and _Dives_, were
famous for their architectural skill. The pyramids of Egypt have been
ascribed to them.
The Koran relates, that the Genii were employed by Solomon in the
erection of his magnificent temple.--BAILLY, _Sur l'Atlantide_, p. 146.
D'HERBELOT, p. 8. _Al Koran_, ch. 34.
PAGE 198. _... the stranger displayed such rarities as he had never
before seen_
In the _Tales of Inatulla_, we meet with a traveller who, like this, was
furnished with trinkets and curiosities of an extraordinary kind. That
such were much sought after in the days of Vathek, may be concluded from
the encouragement which Haroun al Raschid gave to the mechanic arts, and
the present he sent by his ambassadors to Charlemagne. This consisted of
a clock, which, when put into motion, by means of a clepsydra, not only
pointed out the hours in their round, but also, by dropping small balls
on a bell, struck them, and, at the same instant, threw open as many
little doors, to let out an equal number of horsemen. Besides these, the
clock displayed various other contrivances.--_Ann. Reg. Franc. Pip.
Caroli, etc._, _ad ann._ 807. WEIDLER, p. 205.
PAGE 198. _... characters on the sabres_
Such inscriptions often occur in Eastern romances. We find, in the
_Arabian Nights_, a cornelian, on which _unknown characters_ were
engraven; and, also, a sabre, like those here described. In the French
king's library is a curious treatise, entitled _Sefat Alaclam_;
containing a variety of alphabets, arranged under different heads; such
as the _prophetic_, the _mystical_, the _philosophic_, the _magical_,
the _talismanic_, etc., which seems to have escaped the research of the
indefatigable Mr. Astle.--_Arabian Nights_, vol. ii, p. 246; vol. i, p.
143. D'HERBELOT, p. 797.
PAGE 201. _... beards burnt off_
The loss of the beard, from the earliest ages, was accounted highly
disgraceful. An instance occurs, in the _Tales of Inatulla_, of one
being _singed off_, as a mulct on the owner, for having failed to
explain a question propounded; and, in the _Arabian Nights_, a
proclamation may be seen similar to this of Vathek.--Vol. i, p. 268;
vol. ii, p. 228.
PAGE 202. _The old man put on his green spectacles_
This is an apparent anachronism; but such frequently occur in reading
the Arabian writers. It should be remembered, the difficulty of
ascertaining facts and fixing the dates of inventions must be
considerable in a vast extent of country, where books are comparatively
few, and the art of printing unpractised. Though the origin of
_spectacles_ can be traced back, with certainty, no higher than the
thirteenth century, yet the observation of Seneca--that letters appeared
of an increased magnitude when viewed through the medium of convex
glass--might have been noted also by others, and _a sort of spectacles_
contrived, in consequence of it. But, however this might have been, the
art of staining glass is sufficiently ancient, to have suggested in the
days of Vathek the use of _green_, as a protection to the eye from a
glare of light.
PAGE 204. _Accursed Giaour!_
_Dives_ of this kind are frequently mentioned by Eastern writers.
Consult their tales in general; and especially those of the Fishermen,
Aladdin, and the Princess of China.
PAGE 206. _Bababalouk, the chief of his eunuchs_
As it was the employment of the _black eunuchs_ to wait upon and guard
the sultanas; so the general superintendence of the harem was
particularly committed to their chief.--HABESCI'S _State of the Ottoman
Empire_, pp. 155, 156.
PAGE 206. _... the divan_
This was both the supreme council and court of justice, at which the
caliphs of the race of the Abassides assisted in person, to redress the
injuries of every appellant.--D'HERBELOT, p. 298.
PAGE 206. _The officers arranged themselves in a semicircle_
Such was the etiquette, constantly observed, on entering the
divan.--_Arabian Nights_, vol. iv, p. 36. D'HERBELOT, p. 912.
PAGE 206. _... the prime vizier_
Vazir, vezir, or, as we express it, vizier, literally signifies a
_porter_; and, by metaphor, the minister who bears the principal burden
of the state, generally called the Sublime Porte.
PAGE 207. _The muezzins and their minarets_
Valid, the son of Abdalmalek, was the first who erected a _minaret_, or
turret; and this he placed on the grand mosque at Damascus, for the
_muezzin_, or crier, to announce from it the hour of prayer. This
practice has constantly been kept to this day.--D'HERBELOT, p. 576.
PAGE 210. _Soliman Ben Daoud_
The name of _David_ in Hebrew is composed of the letter \V\ _Vau_
between two \D\ _Daleths_ \DVD\; and, according to the Masoretic points,
ought to be pronounced _David_. Having no U consonant in their tongue,
the Septuagint substituted the letter B for V, and wrote {Dabid},
_Dabid_. The Syriac reads _Dad_ or _Dod_; and the Arabs articulate
_Daoud_.
PAGE 210. _I require the blood of fifty of the most beautiful sons of
the viziers_
Amongst the infatuated votaries of the powers of darkness, the most
acceptable offering was _the blood of their children_. If the parents
were not at hand to make an immediate offer, _the magistrates did not
fail to select those who were most fair and promising_, that the demon
might not be defrauded of his dues. On one occasion, _two hundred of the
prime nobility were sacrificed together_.--BRYANT'S _Observations_, p.
279, etc.
PAGE 213. _... bracelet_
The bracelet, in the East, was an emblem of royalty.--D'HERBELOT, p.
541. For want of a more proper term to denominate the ornament
_serkhooj_, the word _aigret_ is here used.
PAGE 214. _... mutes_
It has been usual, in Eastern courts, from time immemorial, to retain a
number of mutes. These are not only employed to amuse the monarch, but
also to instruct his pages in an art to us little known, of
communicating everything by signs, lest the sounds of their voices
should disturb the sovereign.--HABESCI'S _State of the Ottoman Empire_,
p. 164. The mutes are also the secret instruments of his private
vengeance, in carrying the fatal string.
PAGE 215. _Prayer announced at break of day_
The stated seasons of public prayer, in the twenty-four hours, were
five: daybreak, noon, midtime between noon and sunset, immediately as
the sun leaves the horizon, and an hour and a half after it is down.
PAGE 216. _Skulls and skeletons_
Both were usually added to the ingredients already mentioned. These
magic rites sufficiently resemble the witch scenes of Middleton,
Shakespeare, etc., to show their Oriental origin. Nor is it to be
wondered if, amongst the many systems adopted from the East, this should
have been in the number. It may be seen, from the Arabian Tales, that
magic was an art publicly taught; and Father Angelo relates of a rich
enchanter, whom he knew at Bassora, that his pupils were so numerous as
to occupy an entire quarter of the city.
PAGE 219. _Flagons of wine and vases of sherbet reposing on snow_
Sir John Chardin speaks of a wine much admired in the East, and
particularly in Persia, called _roubnar_; which is made from the juice
of the pomegranate, and sent abroad in large quantities. The Oriental
sherbets, styled by St. Jerome, _sorbitiunculæ delicatæ_, consisted of
various syrups (such as lemon, liquorice, capillaire, etc.) mixed with
water. To these, Hasselquist adds several others, and observes, that the
sweet-scented violet is a flower greatly esteemed, not only for its
smell and colour, but, especially, for its use in _sherbet_; which, when
the Easterns intend to entertain their guests in an elegant manner, is
made of a solution of violet-sugar. Snow, in the _rinfrescos_ of a hot
climate, is almost a constant ingredient. Thus, in the _Arabian Nights_,
Bedreddin Hassan, having filled a large porcelain bowl with sherbet of
roses, put snow into it.
PAGE 219. _... a parchment_
Parchments of the like mysterious import are frequent in the writings of
the Easterns. One in particular, amongst the Arabians, is held in high
veneration. It was written by Ali, and Giafar Sadek, in mystic
characters, and is said to contain the destiny of the Mahometan
religion, and the great events which are to happen previous to the end
of the world. This parchment is of _camel's skin_; but it was usual with
Catherine of Medicis to carry about her person, a legend, in cabalistic
characters, inscribed on the skin of a dead-born infant.--D'HERBELOT, p.
366. WRAXALL'S _House of Valois_.
PAGE 219. _Istakar_
This city was the ancient Persepolis, and capital of Persia, under the
kings of the three first races. The author of _Lebtarikh_ writes, that
Kischtab there established his abode, erected several temples to the
element of fire, and hewed out for himself and his successors sepulchres
in the rocks of the mountain contiguous to the city. The ruins of
columns and broken figures which still remain, defaced as they were by
Alexander and mutilated by time, plainly evince that those ancient
potentates had chosen it for the place of their interment. Their
monuments, however, must not be confounded with the superb palace reared
by Queen Homai, in the midst of Istakhar; which the Persians distinguish
by the name of _Tchilminar_, or the forty watch-towers. The origin of
this city is ascribed by some to Giamschid, and others carry it higher;
but the Persian tradition is, that it was built by the _Peris_, or
Fairies, when the world was governed by Gian Ben Gian.--D'HERBELOT, p.
327.
PAGE 219. _Gian Ben Gian_
By this appellation was distinguished the monarch of that species of
beings, whom the Arabians denominate _Gian_ or _Ginn_; that is, _Genii_;
and the Tarikh Thabari, _Peris_, _Feez_, or _Fairies_. He was renowned
for his warlike expeditions and stupendous structures. According to
Oriental writers, the pyramids of Egypt were amongst the monuments of
his power. The buckler of this mighty sovereign, no less famous than
that of Achilles, was employed by three successive Solimans, to achieve
their marvellous exploits. From them, it descended to Tahamurath,
surnamed _Divbend_, or _Conqueror of the_ GIANTS. This buckler was
endowed with most wonderful qualities, having been fabricated by
talismanic art; and was alone sufficient to destroy all the charms and
enchantments of demons or giants; which, on the contrary, were wrought
by magic. Hence we are no longer at a loss for the origin of the
wonderful shield of Atlante.
The reign of Gian Ben Gian over the Peris is said to have continued for
two thousand years; after which, EBLIS was sent by the Deity to exile
them, on account of their disorders, and confine them in the remotest
region of the earth.--D'HERBELOT, p. 396. BAILLY, _Sur l'Atlantide_, p.
147.
PAGE 219. _... the talismans of Soliman_
The most famous _talisman_ of the East, and which could control even the
arms and magic of the dives or giants, was _Mohur Solimani_, the seal or
ring of Soliman Jared, fifth monarch of the world after Adam. By means
of it the possessor had the entire command, not only of the elements,
but also of demons and every created being.--RICHARDSON'S _Dissertation
on the Languages, etc., of Eastern Nations_, p. 272. D'HERBELOT, p. 820.
PAGE 219. _... pre-Adamite sultans_
These monarchs, which were seventy-two in number, are said to have
governed each a distinct species of rational beings, prior to the
existence of Adam. Amongst the most renowned of them were SOLIMAN RAAD,
SOLIMAN DAKI, and SOLIMAN DI GIAN BEN GIAN.--D'HERBELOT, p. 820.
PAGE 219. _... beware how thou enterest any dwelling_
Strange as this injunction may seem, it is by no means incongruous to
the customs of the country. Dr. Pocock mentions his travelling with the
train of the governor of Faiume, who, instead of lodging in a village
that was near, passed the night in a grove of palm-trees.--_Travels_,
vol. i, p. 56.
PAGE 220. _... the ass of Balaam, the dog of the seven sleepers, and the
other animals admitted into the paradise of Mahomet_
It was a tenet of the Mussulman creed, that all animals would be raised
again, and many of them honoured with admission to paradise. The story
of the seven sleepers, borrowed from Christian legends, was this: In the
days of the Emperor Decius, there were certain Ephesian youths of a good
family, who, to avoid the flames of persecution, fled to a secret
cavern, and there slept for a number of years. In their flight towards
the cave, they were followed by a dog, which, when they attempted to
drive back, said, "_I love those who are dear unto God; go sleep,
therefore, and I will guard you._" For this dog the Mahometans retain so
profound a reverence, that their harshest sarcasm against a covetous
person is, "He would not throw a bone to the dog of the seven sleepers."
It is even said that their superstition induces them to write his name
upon the letters they send to a distance, as a kind of talisman, to
secure them a safe conveyance.--_Religious Ceremonies_, vol. vii, p. 74
n. SALE'S _Koran_, chap. xviii and notes.
PAGE 220. _Rocnabad_
The stream thus denominated flows near the city of Schiraz. Its waters
are uncommonly pure and limpid, and their banks swarded with the finest
verdure.
PAGE 220. _Do you, with the advice of my mother, govern_
Females in the East were not anciently excluded from power. In the Story
of Zeyn Alasnam and the King of the Genii, the mother of Zeyn
undertakes, with the aid of his viziers, to govern Bassora during his
absence on a similar expedition.
PAGE 221. _Chintz and muslin_
For many curious particulars relative to these articles, consult Mr.
Delaval's _Inquiry concerning the Changes of Colours, etc._; to which
may be added, LUCRETIUS, lib. iv, 5. PETRONIUS, c. 37. MARTIAL, viii,
Ep. 28, 17; xiv, Ep. 150. PLUTARCH, in _Vita Catonis_. PLINY, viii, 48.
PAGE 221. _Moullahs_
Those amongst the Mahometans who were bred to the law had this title;
and from their order the judges of cities and provinces were taken.
PAGE 221. _... the sacred Caaba_
That part of the temple at Mecca which is chiefly revered, and, indeed,
gives a sanctity to the rest, is a square stone building called the
Caaba, probably from its quadrangular form. The length of this edifice,
from north to south, is twenty-four cubits, and its breadth, from east
to west, twenty-three. The door is on the east side, and stands about
four cubits from the ground, the floor being level with the threshold.
The Caaba has a double roof, supported internally by three octangular
pillars of aloes wood, between which, on a bar of iron, hangs a row of
silver lamps. The outside is covered with rich black damask, adorned
with an embroidered band of gold. This hanging, which is changed every
year, was formerly sent by the caliphs.--SALE'S _Preliminary Discourse_,
p. 152.
PAGE 222. _... the supposed oratory_
The dishonouring such places as had an appearance of being devoted to
religious purposes, by converting them to the most abject offices of
nature, was an Oriental method of expressing contempt, and hath
continued from remote antiquity.--HARMER'S _Observations_, vol. ii, p.
493.
PAGE 223. _... regale these pious poor souls with my good wine from
Schiraz_
The prohibition of wine in the Koran is so rigidly observed by the
conscientious, especially if they have performed the pilgrimage to
Mecca, that they deem it sinful to press grapes for the purpose of
making it, and even to use the money arising from its sale.--CHARDIN,
_Voy. de Perse_, tom. ii, p. 212. _Schiraz_ was famous in the East for
its wines of different sorts, but particularly for its _red_, which was
esteemed more highly than even the white wine of _Kismische_.
PAGE 224. _... the most stately tulips of the East_
The tulip is a flower of Eastern growth, and there held in great
estimation. Thus, in an ode of Mesihi: "The edge of the bower is filled
with the light of Ahmed; among the plants the fortunate _tulips_
represent his companions."
PAGE 224. _... certain cages of ladies_
There are many passages of the _Moallakat_ in which these _cages_ are
fully described. Thus, in the poem of Lebeid:
"How were thy tender affections raised, when the damsels of the tribe
departed; when they hid themselves in carriages of cotton, like
antelopes in their lair, and the tents as they were struck gave a
piercing sound!
"They were concealed in vehicles, whose sides were well covered with
awnings and carpets, with fine-spun curtains and pictured
veils."--_Moallakat_, by SIR W. JONES, pp. 46, 35. See also LADY M. W.
MONTAGU, Let. xxvi.
PAGE 224. _... dislodged_
Our language wants a verb, equivalent to the French _dénicher_, to
convey, in this instance, the precise sense of the author.
PAGE 225. _... those nocturnal insects which presage evil_
It is observable that, in the fifth verse of the Ninety-first Psalm,
"the terror by night," is rendered, in the old English version, "the
bugge by night."[1] In the first settled parts of North America, every
nocturnal fly of a noxious quality is still generically named a bug;
whence the term bugbear signifies one that carries terror wherever he
goes. Beelzebub, or the Lord of Flies, was an Eastern appellative given
to the Devil; and the nocturnal sound called by the Arabians _azif_ was
believed to be the howling of demons.
[1] Instances are not wanted, both in the English and Greek versions,
where the translators have modified the sense of the original by their
own preconceived opinions. To this source may be ascribed the BUGGE of
our old Bible.
PAGE 225. _... the locusts were heard from the thickets on the plain of
Catoul_
The insects here mentioned are of the same species with the {tettix} of
the Greeks, and the _cicada_ of the Latins. The locusts are mentioned in
Pliny, b. xi, 29. They were so called, from _loco usto_, because the
havoc they made wherever they passed left behind the appearance of a
place desolated by fire. How could then the commentators of Vathek say
that they are called _locusts_, from their having been so denominated by
the first English settlers in America?
PAGE 226. _Vathek ... with two little pages_
"All the pages of the seraglio are sons of Christians made slaves in
time of war, in their most tender age. The incursions of robbers in the
confines of Circassia afford the means of supplying the seraglio, even
in times of peace."--HABESCI'S _State of the Ottoman Empire_, p. 157.
That the pages here mentioned were _Circassians_, appears from the
description of their complexion--_more fair than the enamel of
Franguestan_.
PAGE 226. _... confectioners and cooks_
What their precise number might have been in Vathek's establishment it
is not now easy to determine; but in the household of the present Grand
Signior there are not fewer than a hundred and ninety.--HABESCI'S _State
of the Ottoman Empire_, p. 145.
PAGE 227. _... hath seen some part of our bodies; and, what is worse,
our very faces_
"I was informed," writes Dr. Cooke, "that the Persian women, in general,
would sooner expose to public view any part of their bodies than their
faces."--_Voyages and Travels_, vol. ii, p. 443.
PAGE 228. _... vases of snow, and grapes from the banks of the Tigris_
It was customary in Eastern climates, and especially in the sultry
season, to carry, when journeying, supplies of snow. These _æstivæ
nives_ (as Mamertinus styles them) being put into separate vases, were,
by that means, better kept from the air, as no more was opened at once
than might suffice for immediate use. To preserve the whole from
solution, the vessels that contained it were secured in packages of
straw.--_Gesta Dei_, p. 1098. Vathek's ancestor, the CALIPH MAHADI, in
the pilgrimage to Mecca, which he undertook from ostentation rather than
devotion, loaded upon camels so prodigious a quantity, as was not only
sufficient for himself and his attendants amidst the burning sands of
Arabia, but also to preserve, in their natural freshness, the various
fruits he took with him, and to ice all their drink whilst he stayed at
Mecca, the greater part of whose inhabitants had never seen snow till
then.--_Anecdotes Arabes_, p. 326.
PAGE 229. _... horrible Kaf_
This mountain, which, in reality, is no other than Caucasus, was
supposed to surround the earth, like a ring encompassing a finger. The
sun was believed to rise from one of its eminences (as over Oeta, by the
Latin poets), and to set on the opposite; whence, _from Kaf to Kaf_,
signified, from one extremity of the earth to the other. The fabulous
historians of the East affirm, that this mountain was founded upon a
stone, called _sakhrat_, one grain of which, according to Lokman, would
enable the possessor to work wonders. This stone is further described as
the pivot of the earth, and said to be one vast emerald, from the
refraction of whose beams the heavens derive their azure. It is added,
that whenever God would excite an earthquake, he commands the stone to
move one of its fibres (which supply in it the office of nerves), and,
that being moved, the part of the earth connected with it quakes, is
convulsed, and sometimes expands. Such is the philosophy of the Koran!
The _Tarikh Tabari_, written in Persian, analogous to the same
tradition, relates, that, were it not for this emerald, the earth would
be liable to perpetual commotions, and unfit for the abode of mankind.
To arrive at the Kaf, a vast region,
"Far from the sun and summer gale,"
must be traversed. Over this dark and cheerless desert, the way is
inextricable without the direction of supernatural guidance. Here the
dives or giants were confined, after their defeat by the first heroes of
the human race; and here, also, the peris, or fairies, are supposed in
ordinary to reside. Sukrage, the giant, was king of Kaf, and had Rucail,
one of the children of Adam, for his prime minister. The giant Argenk,
likewise, from the time that Tahamurath made war upon him, reigned here,
and reared a superb palace in the city of Aherman, with galleries, on
whose walls were painted the creatures that inhabited the world prior to
the formation of Adam.--D'HERBELOT, p. 230, etc.
PAGE 229. _... the Simurgh_
This is that wonderful bird of the East, concerning which so many
marvels are told: it was not only endowed with reason, but possessed
also the knowledge of every language. Hence it may be concluded to have
been a dive in a borrowed form. This creature relates of itself that it
had seen the great revolution of seven thousand years twelve times
commence and close; and that, in its duration, the world had been seven
times void of inhabitants, and as often replenished. The Simurgh is
represented as a great friend to the race of Adam, and not less inimical
to the dives. Tahamurath and Aherman were apprised by its predictions of
all that was destined to befall them, and from it they obtained the
promise of assistance in every undertaking. Armed with the buckler of
Gian Ben Gian, Tahamurath was borne by it through the air, over the dark
desert, to Kaf. From its bosom his helmet was crested with plumes, which
the most renowned warriors have ever since worn. In every conflict the
Simurgh was invulnerable, and the heroes it favoured never failed of
success. Though possessed of power sufficient to exterminate its foes,
yet the exertion of that power was supposed to be forbidden. Sadi, a
serious author, gives it as an instance of the universality of
Providence, that the Simurgh, notwithstanding its immense bulk, is at no
loss for sustenance on the mountain of Kaf. Inatulla hath described
Getiafrose, queen of the Genii, as seated on a golden chariot, drawn by
ten simurghs; whose wings extended wide as the earth-shading bir, and
whose talons resembled the proboscis of mighty elephants: but it does
not appear from any other writer, that there ever was more than _one_,
which is frequently called the _marvellous gryphon_, and said to be
like that imaginary monster.--D'HERBELOT, p. 1017, 810, etc. _Tales of
Inatulla_, vol. ii, pp. 71, 72.
As the _magic shield of Atlante_ resembles the _buckler of Gian Ben
Gian_, so _his Ippogrif_ apparently came from the _Simurgh_,
notwithstanding the reference of Ariosto to the veridical Archbishop:
"Non ho veduto mai, nè letto altrove,
Fuor che in Turpin, d'un si fatto animale."
PAGE 229. _... palampores, etc._
These elegant productions, which abound in all parts of the East, were
of very remote antiquity. Not only are {sindonas EUANTHEIS}, _finely
flowered linens_, noticed by Strabo; but Herodotus relates, that the
nations of Caucasus _adorned_ their _garments_ with _figures of various
creatures_, by means of the sap of certain vegetables; which, when
macerated and diluted with water, communicate colours that cannot be
washed out, and are no less permanent than the texture itself.--STRABO,
l. xv, p. 709. HERODOTUS, l. i, p. 96. The Arabian Tales repeatedly
describe these "_fine linens of India, painted in the most lively
colours_, and representing _beasts_, _trees_, _flowers_, etc."--_Arabian
Nights_, vol. iv, p. 217, etc.
PAGE 229. _... afrits_
These were a kind of Medusæ, or Lamiæ, supposed to be the most terrible
and cruel of all the orders of the dives.--D'HERBELOT, p. 66.
PAGE 229. _... tablets fraught with preternatural qualities_
Mr. Richardson observes, "that in the East men of rank in general
carried with them pocket astronomical tables, which they consulted on
every affair of moment." These tablets, however, were of the _magical_
kind, and such as often occur in works of romance. Thus, in Boiardo,
Orlando receives, from the father of the youth he had rescued, "a book
that would solve all doubts"; and, in Ariosto, Logistilla bestows upon
Astolpho a similar directory. The books which Carathis turned over with
Morakanabad were imagined to have possessed the like virtues.
PAGE 230. _... dwarfs_
Such unfortunate beings as are thus "curtailed of fair proportion," have
been, for ages, an appendage of Eastern grandeur. One part of their
office consists in the instruction of the pages; but their principal
duty is the amusement of their master. If a dwarf happen to be a mute,
he is much esteemed; but if he be also an eunuch, he is regarded as a
prodigy, and no pains or expense are spared to obtain him.--HABESCI'S
_State of the Ottoman Empire_, p. 164, etc.
PAGE 230. _... a small spring supplies us with water for the Abdest, and
we daily repeat prayers, etc._
Amongst the indispensable rules of the Mahometan faith, ablution is one
of the chief. This rite is divided into three kinds. The first,
performed before prayers, is called _Abdest_. It begins with washing
both hands, and repeating these words: "Praised be Alla, who created
clean water, and gave it the virtue to purify: he also hath rendered our
faith conspicuous." This done, water is taken in the right hand thrice,
and the mouth being washed, the worshipper subjoins: "I pray thee, O
Lord, to let me taste of that water which thou hast given to thy prophet
Mahomet in paradise, more fragrant than musk, whiter than milk, sweeter
than honey; and which has the power to quench for ever the thirst of him
that drinks it." This petition is accompanied with sniffing a little
water into the nose. The face is then three times washed, and behind the
ears; after which water is taken with both hands, beginning with the
right, and thrown to the elbow. The washing of the crown next follows,
and the apertures of the ear with the thumbs; afterward the neck with
all the fingers, and, finally, the feet. In this last operation, it is
held sufficient to wet the sandal only. At each ceremonial a suitable
petition is offered, and the whole concludes with this: "Hold me up
firmly, O Lord! and suffer not my foot to slip, that I may not fall from
the bridge into hell." Nothing can be more exemplary than the attention
with which these rites are performed. If an involuntary cough or sneeze
interrupt them, the whole service is begun anew, and that as often as it
happens.--HABESCI, p. 91, etc.
PAGE 230. _... reading the holy Koran_
The Mahometans have a book of stops or pauses in reading the Koran,
which divides it into _seventeen_ sections, and allows of no
more.--D'HERBELOT, p. 915.
PAGE 230. _... the bells of a cafila_
A cafila, or caravan, according to Pitts, is divided into distinct
companies, at the head of which an officer, or person of distinction, is
carried in a kind of horse-litter, and followed by a sumpter camel,
loaded with his treasure. This camel hath a bell fastened to either
side, the sound of which may be heard at a considerable distance. Others
have bells on their necks and their legs, to solace them when drooping
with heat and fatigue. Inatulla also, in his tales, hath a similar
reference: "The bells of the cafila may be rung in the thirsty desert."
Vol. ii, p. 15. These small bells were known at Rome from the earliest
times, and called from their sounds _tintinnabulum_. Phædrus gives us a
lively description of the mule carrying the fiscal moneys: _clarumque
collo jactans tintinnabulum_.--Bk. ii, fabl. vii.
PAGE 230. _Deggial_
This word signifies properly a liar and impostor, but is applied by
Mahometan writers to their _Antichrist_. He is described as having but
one eye and eyebrow, and on his forehead the radicals of _cafer_ or
_infidel_ are said to be impressed. According to the traditions of the
faithful, his first appearance will be between Irak and Syria, mounted
on an ass. Seventy thousand Jews from Ispahan are expected to follow
him. His continuance on earth is to be forty days. All places are to be
destroyed by him and his emissaries, except _Mecca_ or _Medina_, which
will be protected by angels from the general overthrow. At last,
however, he will be slain by Jesus, who is to encounter him at the gate
of Lud.--D'HERBELOT, p. 282. SALE'S _Preliminary Discourse_, p. 106.
PAGE 230. _... dictated by the blessed Intelligence_
That is, the angel _Gabriel_. The Mahometans deny that the Koran was
composed by their prophet; it being their general and orthodox belief,
that it is of divine original; nay, even eternal and uncreated,
remaining in the very essence of God; that the first transcript has been
from everlasting by his throne, written on a table of immense size,
called the _preserved table_; on which are also recorded the divine
decrees, past and future: that a copy was by the ministry of the angel
_Gabriel_ sent down to the lowest heaven, in the month of _Ramadan_, on
the night of _power_: from whence _Gabriel_ revealed it to Mahomet by
parcels, some at Mecca, and some at Medina.--_Al Koran_, ch. ii, etc.
SALE'S _Preliminary Discourse_, p. 85.
PAGE 231. _... to kiss the fringe of your consecrated robe_
This observance was an act of the most profound reverence.--_Arabian
Nights_, vol. iv, p. 236, etc.
PAGE 231. _... and implore you to enter his humble habitation_
It has long been customary for the Arabs to change their habitations
with the seasons. Thus Antara:
"Thou hast possessed thyself of my heart; thou hast fixed thy abode, and
art settled there, as a beloved and cherished inhabitant.
"Yet how can I visit my fair one, whilst her family have their _vernal
mansion_ in Oneizatain, and mine are stationed in Ghailem?"
Xenophon relates, in his Anabasis, that it was customary for the kings
of Persia {therizein kai erizein}, to pass the _summer_ and _spring_ in
Susa and Ecbatana; and Plutarch observes further, that their winters
were spent in Babylon, their summers in Media (that is, _Ecbatana_), and
the pleasantest part of _spring_ in Susa: {Kaitoi tousge Persôn basileas
emakarizon en babylôni ton cheimôna diagonias; en de Mêdia to theros; en
de Sousois, to hêdiston tou EAROS.}--_De Exil._, p. 604.
PAGE 231. _... red characters_
The laws of Draco are recorded by Plutarch, in his _Life of Solon_, to
have been written in blood. If more were meant by this expression, than
that those laws were of a sanguinary nature, they will furnish the
earliest instance of the use of _red characters_, which were afterwards
considered as appropriate to supreme authority, and employed to denounce
some requisition or threatening design to strike terror. According to
Suidas, this manner of writing was, likewise, practised in _magic
rites_. Hence their application to the instance here mentioned. TROTZ,
_In Herm. Hugonem_, pp. 106, 307. SUIDAS _sub voc._ {Thettalê gynê}.
PAGE 231. _... thy body shall be spit upon_
There was no mark of contempt amongst the Easterns so ignominious as
this.--_Arabian Nights_, vol. i, p. 115.; vol. iv, p. 275. It was the
same in the days of Job. Herodotus relates of the Medes, {PTUEIN antion
AISCHRON esti}, and Xenophon relates, {AISCHRON esti Persais to
APOPTUEIN}. Hence the reason is evident for spitting on our Saviour.
PAGE 231. _... bats will nestle in thy belly_
Bats in these countries were very abundant, and, both from their numbers
and nature, held in abhorrence. See what is related of them by THEVENOT,
part i, pp. 132, 133, EGMONT and HAYMAN, vol. ii, p. 87, and other
travellers in the East.
PAGE 232. _... the Bismillah_
This word (which is prefixed to every chapter of the Koran except the
ninth) signifies, "in the name of the most merciful God." It became not
the initiatory formula of prayer till the time of Moez the Fatimite.
D'HERBELOT, p. 326.
PAGE 232. _... inscription_
Inscriptions of this sort are still retained. Thus Ludeke: "Interni non
solum Divani pluriumque conclavium parietes, sed etiam frontispicia
super portas inscriptiones habent."--_Expositio_, p. 54. In the History
of Amine, we find an inscription over a gate, in letters of gold,
analogous to this of Fakreddin: "Here is the abode of everlasting
pleasures and content."--_Arabian Nights_, vol. i, p. 193.
PAGE 232. _... a magnificent tecthtrevan_
This kind of _moving throne_, though more common at present than in the
days of Vathek, is still confined to persons of the highest rank.
PAGE 233. _... your ivory limbs_
The Arabians compare the skin of a beautiful woman to the egg of the
ostrich, when preserved unsullied. Thus Amriolkais:
"Delicate was her shape; fair her skin; and her body well proportioned:
her bosom was as smooth as a mirror,--
"Or like the pure egg of an ostrich, of a yellowish tint blended with
white."
Also the Koran: "Near them shall lie the virgins of Paradise, refraining
their looks from beholding any besides their spouses, having large black
eyes, and resembling the eggs of an ostrich, covered with feathers from
dust."--_Moallakat_, p. 8. _Al Koran_, ch. 27.
But though the Arabian epithet be taken from thence, yet the word ivory
is substituted, as more analogous to European ideas, and not foreign
from the Eastern. Thus Amru:
"And two sweet breasts, smooth and white as vessels of ivory, modestly
defended from the hand of those who presume to touch
them."--_Moallakat_, p. 77.
PAGE 233. _... baths of rose-water_
The use of perfumed waters for the purpose of bathing is of an early
origin in the East, where every odoriferous plant sheds a richer
fragrance than is known to our more humid climates. The rose which
yields this lotion is, according to Hasselquist, of a beautiful pale
blush colour, double, large as a man's fist, and more exquisite in scent
than any other species. The quantities of this water distilled annually
at Fajhum, and carried to distant countries, is immense. The mode of
conveying it is in vessels of copper coated with wax.--_Voyag._, p. 248.
Ben Jonson makes Volpone say to Celia:
"Their bath shall be the juyce of gillyflowres,
Spirit of roses, and of violets."
PAGE 233. _... lamb à la crême_
No dish among the Easterns was more generally admired. The caliph
Abdolmelek, at a splendid entertainment, to which whoever came was
welcome, asked Amrou, the son of Hareth, what kind of meat he preferred
to all others. The old man answered, "An ass's neck, well seasoned and
roasted."--"But what say you," replied the caliph, "to the leg or
shoulder of a LAMB _à la crême_?" and added:
"How sweetly we live if a shadow would last!"
--_MS. Laud._ No. 161. S. OCKLEY'S _History of the Saracens_, vol. ii,
p. 277.
PAGE 233. _... made the dwarfs dance against their will_
Ali Chelebi al Moufti, in a treatise on the subject, held that dancing
after the example of the dervishes, who made it a part of their
devotion, was allowable. But in this opinion he was deemed to be
heterodox; for Mahometans, in general, place dancing amongst the things
that are forbidden.--D'HERBELOT, p. 98.
PAGE 233. _... durst not refuse the commander of the faithful_
The mandates of Oriental potentates have ever been accounted
irresistible. Hence the submission of these devotees to the will of the
caliph.--Esther, i, 19. Daniel, vi, 8. LUDEKE, _Expos. brevis_, p. 60.
PAGE 233. _... the nine hundred and ninety-ninth time_
The Mahometans boast of a doctor who is reported to have read over the
Koran not fewer than twenty thousand times.--D'HERBELOT, p. 75.
PAGE 234. _... black eunuchs, sabre in hand_
In this manner the apartments of the ladies were constantly guarded.
Thus, in the Story of the Enchanted Horse, Firouz Schah, traversing a
strange palace by night, entered a room, "and by the light of a lantern
saw that the persons he had heard snoring were black eunuchs with naked
sabres by them, which was enough to inform him that this was the
guard-chamber of some queen or princess."--_Arabian Nights_, vol. iv, p.
189.
PAGE 234. _... to let down the great swing_
The swing was an exercise much used in the apartments of the Eastern
ladies, and not only contributed to their health, but also to their
amusement.--_Tales of Inatulla_, vol. i, p. 259.
PAGE 235. _... melodious Philomel, I am thy rose_
The passion of the nightingale for the rose is celebrated over all the
East. Thus Mesihi, as translated by Sir W. Jones:
"Come, charming maid, and hear thy poet sing,
Thyself the rose, and he the bird of spring:
Love bids him sing, and love will be obey'd,
Be gay; too soon the flowers of spring will fade."
PAGE 236. _... calenders_
These were a sort of men amongst the Mahometans who abandoned father and
mother, wife and children, relations and possessions, to wander through
the world, under a pretence of religion, entirely subsisting on the
fortuitous bounty of those they had the address to dupe.--D'HERBELOT,
_Suppl._, p. 204.
PAGE 236. _... santons_
A body of religionists, who were also called abdals, and pretended to be
inspired with the most enthusiastic raptures of divine love. They were
regarded by the vulgar as _saints_.--OLEARIUS, tom. i, p. 971.
D'HERBELOT, p. 5.
PAGE 236. _... dervishes_
The term _dervish_ signifies a _poor man_, and is the general
appellation by which a religious amongst the Mahometans is named. There
are, however, discriminations that distinguish this class from the
others already mentioned. They are bound by no vow of poverty, they
abstain not from marriage, and, whenever disposed, they may relinquish
both their blue shirt and profession.--D'HERBELOT, _Suppl._, 214. It is
observable, that these different orders, though not established till the
reign of Nasser al Samani, are notwithstanding mentioned by our author
as coeval with Vathek, and by the author of the _Arabian Nights_ as
existing in the days of Haroun al Raschid; so that the Arabian fabulists
appear as inattentive to chronological exactness in points of this sort
as our immortal dramatist himself.
PAGE 236. _... Brahmins_
These constituted the principal caste of the Indians, according to whose
doctrine _Brahma_, from whom they are called, is the first of the three
created beings by whom the world was made. This Brahma is said to have
communicated to the Indians four books, in which all the sciences and
ceremonies of their religion are comprised. The word Brahma, in the
Indian language, signifies _pervading all things_. The Brahmins lead a
life of most rigid abstinence refraining not only from the use, but even
the touch, of animal food; and are equally exemplary for their contempt
of pleasures and devotion to philosophy and religion.--D'HERBELOT, p.
212. BRUCKERI _Hist. Philosoph._, tom. i, p. 194.
PAGE 236. _... fakirs_
This sect were a kind of religious anchorets, who spent their whole
lives in the severest austerities and mortification. It is almost
impossible for the imagination to form an extravagance that has not been
practised by some of them, to torment themselves. As their reputation
for sanctity rises in proportion to their sufferings, those amongst them
are reverenced the most, who are most ingenious in the invention of
tortures, and persevering in enduring them. Hence some have persisted in
sitting or standing for years together in one unvaried posture,
supporting an almost intolerable burden, dragging the most cumbrous
chains, exposing their naked bodies to the scorching sun, and hanging
with the head downward before the fiercest fires.--_Relig. Ceremon._,
vol. iii, p. 264, etc. WHITE'S _Sermons_, p. 504.
PAGE 237. _... Visnow and Ixhora_
Two deities of the East Indians, concerning whose history and adventures
more nonsense is related than can be found in the whole compass of
mythology besides. The traditions of their votaries are, no doubt,
allegorical; but without a key to disclose their mystic import, they are
little better than senseless jargon.
PAGE 237. _... talapoins_
This order, which abounds in Siam, Laos, Pegu, and other countries,
consists of different classes, and both sexes, but chiefly of
men.--_Relig. Ceremon._, vol. iv, p. 62, etc.
PAGE 237. _... small plates of abominations_
The Koran hath established several distinctions relative to different
kinds of food, in imitation of the Jewish prescriptions; and many
Mahometans are so scrupulous as not to touch the flesh of any animal
over which, _in articulo mortis_, the butcher had omitted to pronounce
the _Bismillah_.--_Relig. Ceremon._, vol. vii, p. 110.
PAGE 238. _... fish which they drew from a river_
According to Le Bruyn, the Oriental method of fishing with a line, is by
winding it round the finger, and when the fisherman feels that the bait
is taken, he draws in the string with alternate hands: in this way, he
adds, a good dish of fish is soon caught. Tom. i, p. 564. It appears,
from a circumstance related by Galand, that Vathek was fond of this
amusement.--D'HERBELOT, _Suppl._, p. 210.
PAGE 238. _Sinai_
This mountain is deemed by Mahometans the noblest of all others, and
even regarded with the highest veneration, because the divine law was
promulgated from it.--D'HERBELOT, p. 812.
PAGE 238. _Peris_
The word _Peri_, in the Persian language, signifies that beautiful race
of creatures which constitutes the link between angels and men. The
Arabians call them _Ginn_, or genii, and we (from the Persian, perhaps)
_Fairies_: at least, the peris of the Persian romance correspond to that
imaginary class of beings in our poetical system. The Italians
denominate them _Fata_, in allusion to their power of charming and
enchanting; thus the _Manto fatidica_ of Virgil is rendered in _Orlando_,
_La Fata Manto_. The term ginn being common to both peris and dives, some
have erroneously fancied that the peris were female dives. This
appellation, however, served only to discriminate their common nature
from the angelic and human, without respect to their qualities, moral or
personal. Thus, the dives are hideous and wicked, whilst the peris are
beautiful and good. Amongst the Persian poets, the beauty of the peris
is proverbial: insomuch that a woman superlatively handsome, is styled
by them, _the offspring of a Peri_.
PAGE 239. _... butterflies of Cashmere_
The same insects are celebrated in an unpublished poem of Mesihi. Sir
Anthony Shirley relates, that it was customary in Persia, "to hawke
after butterflies with sparrows, made to that use, and stares." It is,
perhaps, to this amusement that our author alludes in the context.
PAGE 240. _Megnoun and Leilah_
These personages are esteemed amongst the Arabians as the most
beautiful, chaste, and impassioned of lovers; and their amours have been
celebrated with all the charms of verse, in every Oriental language. The
Mahometans regard them, and the poetical records of their love, in the
same light as the Bridegroom and Spouse, and the Song of Songs, are
regarded by the Jews.--D'HERBELOT, p. 573.
PAGE 240. _... they still detained him in the harem_
Noureddin, who was as old as Gulchenrouz, had a similar indulgence of
resorting to the harem, and no less availed himself of it.--_Arabian
Nights_, vol. iii, pp. 9, 10.
PAGE 240. _... dart the lance in the chase_
Throwing the lance was a favourite pastime with the young Arabians; and
so expert were they in this practice (which prepared them for the
mightier conflicts, both of the chase and of war), that they could bear
off a ring on the points of their javelins.--RICHARDSON'S _Dissertation
on the Languages, etc., of Eastern Nations_, pp. 198, 281.
PAGE 240. _Shaddukian and Ambreabad_
These were two cities of the peris, in the imaginary region of
_Ginnistan_: the former signifies _pleasure_ and _desire_, the latter,
_the city of Ambergris_.--See RICHARDSON'S _Dissertation on the
Languages, etc., of Eastern Nations_, p. 169.
PAGE 242. _... a spoon of cocknos_
The cocknos is a bird whose beak is much esteemed for its beautiful
polish, and sometimes used as a spoon. Thus, in the _History of
Atalmulck and Zelica Begum_, it was employed for a similar purpose:
"Zelica having called for refreshment, six old slaves instantly brought
in and distributed _Mahramas_, and then served about in a great basin of
Martabam, a salad _made of herbs of various kinds, citron juice, and the
pith of cucumbers_. They served it first to the Princess in a _cocknos
beak_: she took a beak of the salad, ate it, and gave another to the
next slave that sat by her on her right hand; which slave did as her
mistress had done."
PAGE 243. _Ghouls_
Ghoul, or _ghul_, in Arabic, signifies any terrifying object, which
deprives people of the use of their senses. Hence it became the
appellative of that species of monster which was supposed to haunt
forests, cemeteries, and other lonely places; and believed not only to
tear in pieces the living, but to dig up and devour the
dead.--RICHARDSON'S _Dissertation on the Languages, etc., of Eastern
Nations_, pp. 174, 274.
That kind of insanity called by the Arabians _Kutrub_ (a word signifying
not only a _wolf_, but likewise a _male Ghoul_), which incites such as
are afflicted with it to roam howling amidst those melancholy haunts,
may cast some light on the nature of the possession recorded by St.
Mark, ch. v, I, etc.
PAGE 244. _... feathers of the heron, all sparkling with carbuncles_
Panaches of this kind are amongst the attributes of Eastern
royalty.--_Tales of Inatulla_, vol. ii, p. 205.
PAGE 244. _... whose eyes pervade the inmost soul of a female_
The original in this instance, as in the others already noticed, is more
analogous to the French than the English idiom: "_Dont l'oeil pénètre
jusqu'à la moelle des jeunes filles._"
PAGE 244. _... the carbuncle of Giamschid_
This mighty potentate was the fourth sovereign of the dynasty of the
Pischadians, and brother or nephew to Tahamurath. His proper name was
_Giam_ or _Gem_, and _Schid_, which in the language of the ancient
Persians denominated the sun: an addition ascribed by some to the
majesty of his person, and by others to the splendour of his actions.
One of the most magnificent monuments of his reign was the city of
Istakhar, of which Tahamurath had laid the foundations. This city, at
present called _Gihil-_, or _Tchil-minar_, from the forty columns reared
in it by Homai, or (according to our author and others) by Soliman Ben
Daoud, was known to the Greeks by the name of Persepolis; and there is
still extant in the East a tradition, that, when Alexander burnt the
edifices of the Persian kings, seven stupendous structures of Giamschid
were consumed with his palace. This prince, after having subjected to
his empire seven vast provinces of Upper Asia, and enjoyed in peace a
long reign (which some authors have protracted to 700 years), became
intoxicated with his greatness; and, foolishly fancying it would have no
end, arrogated to himself divine honours. But the Almighty raised up,
even in his own house, a terrible instrument to abase his pride, by whom
he was easily overcome, and driven into exile.
The author of _Giame al tavatikh_ mentions the cup, or concave mirror of
Giamschid, formed of a gem, and called the cup of the sun. To this
vessel the Persian poets often refer, and allegorize it in different
ways. They attribute to it the property of exhibiting everything in the
compass of nature, and even some things that are preternatural. The gem
it consisted of appears to be the carbuncle or oriental ruby; which,
from its resemblance to a burning coal, and the splendour it was
supposed to emit in the dark, was called Schebgerag, or, the torch of
the night. According to Strabo, it obtained its high estimation amongst
the Persians, who were worshippers of fire, from its igneous qualities;
and perhaps those virtues for which it hath been styled "the first of
stones."
Milton had a learned retrospect to its fabulous powers, in describing
the Old Serpent:
... his head
Crested aloft, and carbuncle his eyes--
D'HERBELOT, pp. 392, 395, 780, etc. BRIGHTE, _On Melancholie_, p. 321.
_Paradise Lost_, IX, 499.
PAGE 244. _... have you false keys? Come to the dark chamber_
It was the office of Shaban, as chief eunuch, to keep the key of the
ladies' apartment. In the Story of Ganem, Haroun al Raschid commands
Mesrour, the chief of the eunuchs, "to take the perfidious Fetnah, and
shut her up in the dark tower." That tower was within the inclosure of
the palace, and commonly served as a prison for the favourites who might
chance to disgust the caliph.
PAGE 246. _... their faith is mutually plighted_
When females in the East are betrothed, their palms and fingers are
tinged of a crimson colour, with the herb hinnah. This is called "the
crimson of consent."--_Tales of Inatulla_, vol. ii, p. 15.
PAGE 246. _... violate the rights of hospitality_
So high an idea of these rights prevails amongst the Arabians, that "a
bread and salt traitor," is the most opprobrious invective with which
one person can reproach another.--RICHARDSON'S _Dissertation on the
Languages, etc., of Eastern Nations_, p. 219. See also the Story of Ali
Baba and The Forty Thieves, in the _Arabian Nights_, vol. iv, p. 166.
PAGE 246. _... narcotic powder_
A drug of the same quality, mixed in lemonade, is given to Zobeide, in
the Story of Ganem.
PAGE 248. _Funeral vestments were prepared; their bodies washed, etc._
The rites here practised had obtained from the earliest ages. Most of
them may be found in Homer and the other poets of Greece. Lucian
describes the dead in his time as washed, perfumed, vested, and crowned,
{hôraios anthesin}, with the flowers most in season; or, according to
other writers, those in particular which the deceased were wont to
prefer. The elegant editor of the _Ruins of Palmyra_ mentions the
fragments of a mummy found there, the hair of which was plaited exactly
in the manner as worn at present by the women of Arabia.
The burial dress from the days of Homer hath been commonly white, and
amongst Mahometans is made without a seam, that it may not impede the
ceremonial of kneeling in the grave, when the dead person undergoes
examination.--HOMER, EURIPIDES, etc., _passim_. LUCIAN, tom. ii, p. 927.
PASCHAL, _De Coron._, p. 225. _Ruins of Palmyra_, pp. 22, 23. _Iliad_,
xviii, 352. _Relig. Cerem._, vol. vii, p. 117.
PAGE 248. _... all instruments of music were broken_
Thus, in the _Arabian Nights_: "Haroun al Raschid wept over
Schemselnihar, and, before he left the room, ordered all the musical
instruments to be broken."--Vol. ii, p. 196.
PAGE 248. _... imans began to recite their prayers_
An iman is the principal priest of a mosque. It was the office of the
imans to precede the bier, praying as the procession moved on.--_Relig.
Cerem._, vol. vii, p. 117.
PAGE 248. _The wailful cries of La Ilah illa Alla!_
This exclamation, which contains the leading principle of Mahometan
belief, and signifies _there is no God but God_, was commonly uttered
under some violent emotion of mind. The Spaniards adopted it from their
Moorish neighbours, and Cervantes hath used it in _Don Quixote_: "En
esto llegáron corriendo con grita, LILILIES (literally _professions of
faith in Alla_), y algazara los de las libreas adonde Don Quixote
suspenso y atónito estava."--_Parte segunda_, cap. lxi, tom. iv, p. 241.
The same expression is sometimes written by the Spaniards, _Lilaila_,
and _Hila hilahaila_.
PAGE 249. _... the angel of death had opened the portal of some other
world_
The name of this exterminating angel is _Azrael_, and his office is to
conduct the dead to the abode assigned them; which is said by some to be
near the place of their interment. Such was the office of Mercury in the
Grecian mythology.--SALE'S _Preliminary Discourse_, p. 101. HYDE, _in
notis ad Bobov._, p. 19. R. ELIAS, in _Tishbi_. BUXTORF, _Synag. Jud. et
Lexic. Talmud_. HOMER, _Odyssey_.
PAGE 250. _Monker and Nakir_
These are two black angels of a tremendous appearance, who examine the
departed on the subject of his faith: by whom, if he give not a
satisfactory account, he is sure to be cudgelled with maces of red-hot
iron, and tormented more variously than words can describe.--_Religious
Ceremonies_, vol. vii, pp. 59, 68-118; vol. v, p. 290. SALE'S
_Preliminary Discourse_, p. 101.
PAGE 250. _... the fatal bridge_
This bridge, called in Arabic _al Sirat_, and said to extend over the
infernal gulf, is represented as narrower than a spider's web, and
sharper than the edge of a sword. Though the attempt to cross it be--
"More full of peril, and advent'rous spirit,
Than to o'erwalk a current, roaring loud,
On the unsteadfast footing of a spear;"
yet the paradise of Mahomet can be entered by no other avenue. Those,
indeed, who have behaved well need not be alarmed; mixed characters will
find it difficult; but the wicked soon miss their standing, and plunge
headlong into the abyss.--POCOCKE in _Port. Mos._, p. 282, etc. Milton
apparently copied from this well-known fiction, and not, as Dr. Warton
conjectured, from the poet Sadi, his way--
"Over the dark abyss, whose boiling gulf
Tamely endured a bridge of wond'rous length,
From hell continued, reaching the utmost orb
Of this frail world."
PAGE 250. _... a certain series of years_
According to the tradition from the prophet, not less than nine hundred,
nor more than seven thousand.
PAGE 250. _... the sacred camel_
It was an article of the Mahometan creed, that all animals would be
raised again, and some of them admitted into paradise. The animal here
mentioned appears to have been one of those _white-winged_ CAMELS
_caparisoned with gold_, which Ali affirmed had been provided to convey
the faithful.--_Religious Ceremonies_, vol. vii, p. 70. SALE'S
_Preliminary Discourse_, p. 112. AL JAUHERI. EBNO'L ATHIR, etc.
PAGE 251. _... basket-making_
This sort of basket work hath been long used in the East, and consists
of the leaves of the date-bearing palm. Panniers of this texture are of
great utility in conveying fruits, bread, etc., whilst heavier articles,
or such as require a more compact covering, are carried in bags of
leather, or skin.--HASSELQUIST'S _Voyage_, p. 26.
PAGE 251. _... the caliph presented himself to the emir in a new light_
The propensity of a vicious person, in affliction, to seek consolation
from the ceremonies of religion, is an exquisite trait in the character
of Vathek.
PAGE 255. _... the waving of fans_
These fans consisted of the trains of peacocks or ostriches, whose
quills were set in a long stem, so as to imbricate the plumes in the
gradations of their natural growth. Fans of this fashion were formerly
used in England.
PAGE 256. _... wine hoarded up in bottles, prior to the birth of
Mahomet_
The prohibition of wine by the Prophet materially diminished its
consumption within the limits of his own dominions. Hence a reserve of
it might be expected of the age here specified. The custom of hoarding
wine was not unknown to the Persians, though not so often practised by
them as by the Greeks and the Romans.
"I purchase" (says Lebeid) "the old liquor, at a dear rate, in dark
leathern bottles, long reposited; or in casks black with pitch, whose
seals I break, and then fill the cheerful goblet."--_Moallakat_, p. 53.
PAGE 256. _... excavated ovens in the rock_
As substitutes for the portable ovens, which were lost.
PAGE 257. _... her great camel Alboufaki_
There is a singular and laboured description of a camel in the poem of
_Tarafa_; but Alboufaki possessed qualities appropriate to himself, and
which rendered him but little less conspicuous than the deformed dun
camel of Aad.
PAGE 257. _... to set forward, notwithstanding it was noon_
The employment of woodfellers was accounted of all others the most
toilsome, as those occupied in it were compelled to forgo that mid-day
cessation with which other labourers were indulged. Inatulla speaks
proverbially of "woodmen in the meridian hour, scarce able to raise the
arms of languor." The guides of Carathis being of this occupation, she
adroitly availed herself of it to urge them forward, without allowing
them that repose during the mid-day fervour which travellers in these
climates always enjoyed, and which was deemed so essential to the
preservation of their health.
PAGE 258. _... the confines of some cemetery_
Places of interment in the East were commonly situated in scenes of
solitude. We read of one in the History of the First Calender, abounding
with so many monuments, that four days were successively spent in it
without the inquirer being able to find the tomb he looked for; and,
from the story of Ganem, it appears that the doors of these cemeteries
were often left open.--_Arabian Nights_, vol. ii, p. 112; vol. iii, p.
135.
PAGE 260. _... a Myrabolan comfit_
The invention of this confection is attributed by M. Cardonne to
Avicenna, but there is abundant reason, exclusive of our author's
authority, to suppose it of a much earlier origin. Both the Latins and
Greeks were acquainted with the balsam, and the tree that produced it
was indigenous in various parts of Arabia.
PAGE 261. _... blue fishes_
Fishes of the same colour are mentioned in the _Arabian Nights_; and,
like these, were endowed with the gift of speech.
PAGE 262. _... waving streamers on which were inscribed the names of
Allah and the Prophet_
The position that "there is no God but God, and Mahomet is his Prophet,"
pervades every part of the Mahometan religion. Banners, like those here
described, are preserved in the several mosques; and, on the death of
extraordinary persons, are borne before the bier in solemn
state.--_Religious Ceremonies_, vol. vii, pp. 119, 120.
PAGE 263. _... astrolabes_
The mention of the astrolabe may be deemed incompatible, at first view,
with chronological exactness, as there is no instance of any being
constructed by a Mussulman, till after the time of Vathek. It may,
however, be remarked, to go no higher, that Sinesius, bishop of
Ptolemais, invented one in the fifth century; and that Carathis was not
only herself a Greek, but also cultivated those sciences which the good
Mussulmans of her time all held in abhorrence.--BAILLY, _Hist. de
l'Astronom. Moderne_, tom, i, pp. 563, 573.
PAGE 264. _On the banks of the stream, hives and oratories_
The bee is an insect held in high veneration amongst the Mahometans, it
being pointed out in the Koran, "for a sign unto the people that
understand." It has been said, in the same sense, "Go to the ant, thou
sluggard."--Proverbs, vi, 6. The santons, therefore, who inhabit the
fertile banks of Rocnabad, are not less famous for their hives than
their oratories.--D'HERBELOT, p. 717.
PAGE 265. _... sheiks ... cadis_
Sheiks are the chiefs of the societies of dervishes; cadis are the
magistrates of a town or city.
PAGE 265. _Asses in bridles of riband inscribed from the Koran_
As the judges of Israel in ancient days rode on white asses, so, amongst
the Mahometans, those that affect an extraordinary sanctity use the same
animal in preference to the horse. Sir John Chardin observed, in various
parts of the East, that their reins, as here represented, were of silk,
with the name of God, or other inscriptions, upon them.--LUDEKE, _Expos.
brevis_, p. 49. CHARDIN'S MS. cited by Harmer.
PAGE 266. _One of these beneficent genii, assuming the exterior of a
shepherd, etc., began to pour from his flute, etc._
The flute was considered as a sacred instrument, which Jacob and other
holy shepherds had sanctified by using.--_Religious Ceremonies_, vol.
vii, p. 110.
PAGE 266. _... involuntarily drawn towards the declivity of the hill_
A similar instance of attraction may be seen in the Story of Prince
Ahmed and the Peri Parabanou.--_Arabian Nights_, vol. iv, p. 243.
PAGE 267. _Eblis_
D'Herbelot supposes this title to have been a corruption of the Greek
{Diabolos}, _diabolos_. It was the appellation conferred by the Arabians
upon the prince of the apostate angels, whom they represent as exiled to
the infernal regions, for refusing to worship Adam at the command of the
Supreme, and appears more likely to originate from the Hebrew \HBL\
_hebel_, vanity, pride.--See below, the note, p. 305, "_Creatures of
clay._"
PAGE 267. _... compensate for thy impieties by an exemplary life_
It is an established article of the Mussulman creed, that the actions of
mankind are all weighed in a vast unerring balance, and the future
condition of the agents determined according to the preponderance of
evil or good. This fiction, which seems to have been borrowed from the
Jews, had probably its origin in the figurative language of Scripture.
Thus, Psalm lxii, 9: "Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of
high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether
lighter than vanity"; and in Daniel, the sentence against the King of
Babylon, inscribed on the wall, "Thou art weighed in the balance, and
found wanting."
PAGE 268. _Balkis_
This was the Arabian name of the Queen of Sheba, who went from the south
to hear the wisdom and admire the glory of Solomon. The Koran represents
her as a worshipper of fire. Solomon is said not only to have
entertained her with the greatest magnificence, but also to have raised
her to his bed and his throne.--_Al Koran_, ch. xxvii, and SALE'S notes.
D'HERBELOT, p. 182.
PAGE 270. _The pavement, strewed over with saffron_
There are several circumstances in the Story of the Third Calender, that
resemble those here mentioned; particularly a pavement strewed with
saffron, and the burning of ambergris and aloes-wood.
PAGE 271. _Ouranbad_
This monster is represented as a fierce-flying hydra, and belongs to the
same class with the _rakshe_, whose ordinary food was serpents and
dragons; the _soham_, which had the head of a horse, with four eyes, and
the body of a flame-coloured dragon; the _syl_, a basilisk with a face
resembling the human, but so tremendous that no mortal could bear to
behold it; the _ejder_, and others. See these respective titles in
RICHARDSON'S _Persian, Arabic, and English Dictionary_.
PAGE 272. _Creatures of clay_
Nothing could have been more appositely imagined than this compellation.
Eblis, according to Arabian mythology, had suffered a degradation from
his primeval rank, and was consigned to these regions, for having
refused to worship Adam in obedience to the supreme command; alleging,
in justification of his refusal, that himself had been formed of
ethereal fire, whilst Adam was only a creature of clay.--_Al Koran_, c.
lv, etc.
PAGE 272. _... the fortress of Aherman_
In the mythology of the Easterns, Aherman was accounted _the Demon of
Discord_. The ancient Persian romances abound in descriptions of this
fortress, in which the inferior demons assemble, to receive the behests
of their prince; and from whom they proceed to exercise their malice in
every part of the world.--D'HERBELOT, p. 71.
PAGE 272. _... the halls of Argenk_
The halls of this mighty dive, who reigned in the mountains of Kaf,
contained the statues of the seventy-two Solimans, and the portraits of
the various creatures subject to them; not one of which bore the
slightest similitude to man. Some had many heads, others many arms, and
some consisted of many bodies. Their heads were all very extraordinary,
some resembling the elephant's, the buffalo's, and the boar's; whilst
others were still more monstrous.--D'HERBELOT, p. 820. Some of the idols
worshipped to this day in Hindostan answer to this description.
PAGE 272. _... holding his right hand, motionless, on his heart_
Sandys observes that the application of the right hand to the heart is
the customary mode of Eastern salutation; but the perseverance of the
votaries of Eblis in this attitude was intended to express their
devotion to him both heart and hand.
PAGE 273. _In my lifetime I filled, etc._
This recital agrees perfectly with those in the Koran, and other Arabian
legends.
PAGE 274. _... an unrelenting fire preys on my heart_
Hariri, to convey the most forcible idea of extreme anxiety, represents
the heart as tormented by fierce burning coals. This form of speech, it
is observed, is _proverbial_; but do we not see whence the proverb
arose?--CHAPPELOW'S _Six Assemblies_, p. 106.
PAGE 275. _Carathis on the back of an afrit_
The expedition of the afrit in fetching Carathis is characteristic of
this order of dives. We read in the Koran that another of the fraternity
offered to bring the Queen of Sheba's throne to Solomon before he could
rise from his place.--Ch. xxvii.
PAGE 277. _... glanced off in a rapid whirl that rendered her invisible_
It was not ill conceived to punish Carathis by a rite, and one of the
principal characteristics of that science in which she so much
delighted, and which was the primary cause of Vathek's perdition and of
her own. The circle, the emblem of eternity, and the symbol of the sun,
was held sacred in the most ancient ceremonies of incantations; and the
whirling round deemed as a necessary operation in magical mysteries. Was
not the name of the greatest enchantress in fabulous antiquity, Circe,
derived from {kirkos}, a circle, on account of her magical revolutions,
and of the circular appearance and motion of the sun, her father? The
fairies and elves used to arrange themselves in a ring on the grass; and
even the augur, in the liturgy of the Romans, whirled round to encompass
the four cardinal points of the world. It is remarkable, that a
derivative of the verb, rendered, _to whirl in a magical manner_ (see
page 257), which corresponds to the Hebrew \SHR\, and is interpreted
_scindere, secare se in orbem, inde notio circinandi, mox gyrandi, et
hinc à motu versatili, fascinavit, incantavit_, signifies in the Koran
_the glimmering of twilight_: a sense deducible from the shapeless
glimpses of objects when hurried round with the velocity here described,
and very applicable to the sudden disappearance of Carathis, who, like
the stone in a sling, by the progressive and rapid increase of the
circular motion, soon ceased to be perceptible. Nothing can impress a
greater awe upon the mind than does this passage in the original.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber's Note, continued:
Inconsistent or obsolete spelling has not been corrected.
The following changes were made to the text:
Title Page: missing round bracket added (after "d. 1946")
p. 15: happy valley to Happy Valley (his design to leave the Happy
Valley)
p. 51: f to if (and, if it were possible)
p. 75: double quote to single quote (to devolve it upon thee.')
p. 80: thyself." to thyself.'" (so worthy as thyself.'")
p. 88: bu to but (but they are soon disentangled)
p. 116: melanchoy to melancholy (a grave and melancholy air.)
p. 136: marrriage to marriage (in suitable marriage.)
p. 157: by to be (Heaven be thy guide!)
p. 161: af to of (but an enemy of Manfred.)
p. 176: H to He (He learned with indignation)
p. 194: were to was (An account of these travels was published)
p. 194: _Amezia_ to _Azemia_
p. 256: duing to during (during her continuance in favour,)
p. 263: missing close quote added (such an explosion!")
p. 266: then to than (clearer than crystal)
p. 273: ominious to ominous (this ominous preliminary)
p. 286: east to west (from east to west)
p. 286: Delavel's to Delaval's (Delaval's _Inquiry concerning the
Changes of Colours, etc._)
p. 292: extra period deleted (to hêdiston tou EAROS.)
p. 300: missing close quote added (y atónito estava.")
p. 302: wood-fellers to woodfellers (The employment of woodfellers)
p. 303: missing space added (PAGE 264.)
p. 304: \HBR\ to \HBL\
p. 306: kirchos to kirkos
------------------------------------------------------------------------