Ungenerous and mistaken maid,
To scorn me thus because I'm poor!
Canst thou a liberal hand upbraid
For dealing round some worthless ore?
To spare's the wish of little souls,
The great but gather to bestow;
Yon current down the mountain rolls,
And stagnates in the swamp below.
_Abou Teman Habib_.
[16] Abou Teman is considered the most excellent of all the Arabian
poets. He was born near Damascus A.H. 190, and educated in Egypt;
but the principal part of his life was spent at Bagdad, under the
patronage of the Abasside Caliphs.