Sure Harut's[B] potent spells were breath'd
Upon that magic sword, thine eye;
For if it wounds us thus while sheath'd,
When drawn, 'tis vain its edge to fly.
How canst thou doom me, cruel fair,
Plung'd in the hell[C] of scorn to groan?
No idol e'er this heart could share,
This heart has worshipp'd thee alone.
_Aly Ben Abd_.
[34] This author was by birth an African; but having passed over to
Spain, he was much patronized by Mohammed, Sultan of Seville. After
the fall of his master, Ben Abd returned to Africa, and died at
Tangier, A.H. 488.
[B] A wicked angel who is permitted to tempt mankind by teaching them
magic; see the legend respecting him in the Koran.
[C] The poet here alludes to the punishments denounced in the Koran
against those who worship a plurality of Gods: "their couch shall
be in hell, and over them shall be coverings of fire."