登陆注册
3651100000140

第140章

[181] The Eastern heroine always has a good appetite and eats well. The sensible Oriental would infinitely despise that maladive Parisienne in whom our neighbours delight,and whom I long to send to the Hospital.

[182] i.e. her rivals have discovered the secret of her heart.

[183] i.e. blood as red as wine.

[184] The winecup (sunlike) shines in thy hand;thy teeth are bright as the Pleiads and thy face rises like a moon from the darkness of thy dresscollar.

[185] The masculine of Marjanah (Morgiana)'the she coralbranch ;'and like this a name generally given to negroes.

We have seen white applied to a blackamoor by way of metonomy and red is also connected with black skins by way of fun. A Persian verse says :

'If a black wear red,e'en an ass would grin.'

[186] Suggesting that she had been sleeping.

[187] Arab.'Raushan,'a window projecting and latticed: the word is orig. Persian: so Raushana (splendour)=Roxana. It appears to me that this beautiful name gains beauty by being understood.

[188] The word means any servant,but here becomes a proper name.'Wasifah'usually= a concubine.

[189] i.e. eagerness,desire,lovelonging.

[190] Arab.'Rind,'which may mean willow (oriental),bay or aloes wood: AlAsma'i denies that it ever signifies myrtle.

[191] These lines occur in Night cxiv.: by way of variety I give (with permission) Mr. Payne's version (iii. 59).

[192] Referring to the proverb'AlKhauf maksum'=fear (cowardice) is equally apportioned: i.e. If I fear you,you fear me.

[193] The fingers of the right hand are struck upon the palm of the left.

[194] There are intricate rules for'joining'the prayers;but this is hardly the place for a subject discussed in all religious treatises. (Pilgrimage iii. 239.)

[195] The hands being stained with Henna and perhaps indigo in stripes are like the ring rows of chain armour. See Lane's illustration (Mod. Egypt,chaps. i.)

[196] She made rosewater of her cheeks for my drink and she bit with teeth like grains of hail those lips like the lotusfruit,or jujube: Arab.'Unnab'or'Nabk,'the plum of the Sidr or Zizyphus lotus.

[197] Meaning to let Patience run away like an untethered camel.

[198] i.e. her fair face shining through the black hair.

'Camphor'is a favourite with Arab poets: the Persians hate it because connected in their minds with death;being used for purifying the corpse. We read in Burckhardt (Prov. 464)'Singing without siller is like a corpse without Hanut'this being a mixture of camphor and rosewater sprinkled over the face of the dead before shrouded. Similarly Persians avoid speaking of coffee,because they drink it at funerals and use tea at other times.

[199] i.e. she is angry and bites her carnelion lips with pearly teeth.

[200] Arab.'Wa ba'ad;'the formula which follows'Bismillah'In the name of Allah. The French translate it or sus,etc. I have noticed the legend about its having been first used by the eloquent Koss,Bishop of Najran.

[201] i.e. Her mind is so troubled she cannot answer for what she writes.

[202] The Bul. Edit. (i. 329) and the Mac. Edit. (i. 780) give to Shams alNahar the greater part of Ali's answer,as is shown by the Calc. Edit. (230 et seq.) and the Bresl. Edit. (ii. 366 et seq.) Lane mentions this (ii. 74) but in his usual perfunctory way gives no paginal references to the Calc. or Bresl.;so that those who would verify the text may have the displeasure of hunting for it.

[203] Arab.'Bi'smi'llahi' rRahmani'rRahim.'This auspicatory formula was borrowed by AlIslam not from the Jews but from the Guebre'Ba namiYezdan bakhshaishgaridadar!'(in the name of YezdanGodAllgenerous,Alljust!). The Jews have,'In the name of the Great God;'and the Christians,'In the name of the Father,etc.'The socalled Sir John Mandeville begins his book,In the name of God,Glorious and Almighty. The sentence forms the first of the Koran and heads every chapter except only the ninth,an exception for which recondite reasons are adduced.

Hence even in the present day it begins all books,letters and writings in general;and it would be a sign of Infidelity (i.e.

nonIslamism) to omit it. The difference between'Rahman'and'Rahim'is that the former represents an accidental (compassionating),the latter a constant quality (compassionate).

Sale therefore renders it very imperfectly by'In the name of the most merciful God;'the Latinists better,'In nomine Dei misericordis,clementissimi'(Gottwaldt in Hamza Ispahanensis);

Mr. Badger much better,'In the name of God,the Pitiful,the Compassionate'whose only fault is not preserving the assonance:

and Maracci best,'In nomine Dei miseratoris misericordis.'

[204] Arab. Majnun (i.e. one possessed by a Jinni) the wellknown model lover of Layla,a fictitious personage for whom see D'Herbelot (s.v.Megnoun). She was celebrated by Abu Mohammed Nizam alDin of Ganjah (ob. A.H. 597=1200) pop. known as Nizami,the caustic and austere poet who wrote:

The weals of this world are the ass's meed!

Would Nizami were of the ass's breed.

The series in the East begins chronologically with Yusuf and Zulaykha (Potiphar's wife) sung by Jami (nat. A.H. 817=1414);the next in date is Khusraw and Shirin (also by Nizami);Farhad and Shirin;and Layla and Majnun (the Nightblack maid and the Maniacman) are the last. We are obliged to compare the lovers with'Romeo and Juliet,'having no corresponding instances in modern days: the classics of Europe supply a host as Hero and Leander,Theagenes and Charicleia,etc. etc.

[205] The jeweller of Eastern tales from Marocco to Calcutta,is almost invariably a rascal: here we have an exception.

同类推荐
  • The Chimes

    The Chimes

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 思辨录辑要

    思辨录辑要

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 一字佛顶轮王经

    一字佛顶轮王经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • THE GERMAN IDEOLOGY

    THE GERMAN IDEOLOGY

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 纯阳真人浑成集

    纯阳真人浑成集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 春秋异想之江湖缘起

    春秋异想之江湖缘起

    战国背景江湖纷争的故事!平行世界的武侠幻想世界!
  • 今生有你不孤单

    今生有你不孤单

    你相信爱吗?那个虚无缥缈的东西!“少爷,找到了!”他闻言,眉头轻挑:“在哪?”未想,有的人,并非池中物!她又离开了,带走了所以有关她的东西,就好像,她的出现只是一场梦而已。离开,不过是梦醒罢了!
  • 追妻无门:女boss不好惹

    追妻无门:女boss不好惹

    青涩蜕变,如今她是能独当一面的女boss,爱了冷泽聿七年,也同样花了七年时间去忘记他。以为是陌路,他突然向他表白,扬言要娶她,她只当他是脑子抽风,他的殷勤她也全都无视。他帮她查她父母的死因,赶走身边情敌,解释当初拒绝她的告别,和故意对她冷漠都是无奈之举。突然爆出她父母的死居然和冷家有丝毫联系,还莫名跳出个公爵未婚夫,扬言要与她履行婚约。峰回路转,破镜还能重圆吗? PS:我又开新文了,每逢假期必书荒,新文《有你的世界遇到爱》,喜欢我的文的朋友可以来看看,这是重生类现言,对这个题材感兴趣的一定要收藏起来。
  • 穴道气功自疗养生功法

    穴道气功自疗养生功法

    本书介绍了穴道气功自疗养生功法,包括9个必修关键穴道按摩法,10招基本养生穴道按摩法,14项病症穴道按摩法,2个关键养生呼吸法,5招抗老回春气功健康法,5招病症改善气功健康。
  • 平江记事

    平江记事

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 何处安放

    何处安放

    春天的奇思特村分外的有韵味。各种颜色的花开了,红的绿的黄的白的,一棵棵一簇簇一片片的,布满了奇思特村野。这个泰姆河岸边的古老村庄只有一条由鹅卵石混着沙土铺成的主路,路边长着各种生机勃勃的花草树木。这条主路和这个村庄的历史一样悠久。村里散落着一座座用芦苇、麦秸或茅草覆盖房顶的农舍,墙壁上用彩石和红砖砌出精美的图案,它们大都建造于17世纪。还有一条从泰姆河分流出来的小河,翻卷着细细的浪花穿村而过。
  • 道德真经解

    道德真经解

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 圣域大陆之魔神传说

    圣域大陆之魔神传说

    在这一片祥和的大陆,突然某一天传出了魔神即将降世的传说…而原本已失去废品为生的宁孤宁安,他们两个亲兄弟也因为一个偶然,竟然获得高人赠送的最强VIP系统!踏上了各自的道路!
  • 华丽又漂亮地生存到最后

    华丽又漂亮地生存到最后

    如今王者荣耀已是世界级电子竞技项目,而蝉联两年国内冠军的T1电竞战队CGO竟然迎来了史无前例的女队员?
  • 白云象林本真禅师语录

    白云象林本真禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。