The Literature of Arabia Part 5

Must then my failings from the shaft Of anger ne'er escape?

And dost thou storm because I've quaff'd The water of the grape?

That I can thus from wine be driv'n Thou surely ne'er canst think-- Another reason thou hast giv'n Why I resolve to drink.

'Twas sweet the flowing cup to seize, 'Tis sweet thy rage to see; And first I drink myself to please; And next--to anger thee.

_Yezid_.

[9] Yezid succeeded Mowiah in the Caliphate A.H. 60; and in most respects showed himself to be of a very different disposition from his predecessor. He was naturally cruel, avaricious, and debauched; but instead of concealing his vices from the eyes of his subjects, he seemed to make a parade of those actions which he knew no good Mussulman could look upon without horror; he drank wine in public, he caressed his dogs, and was waited upon by his eunuchs in sight of the whole court.

ON FATALISM[10]

Not always wealth, not always force A splendid destiny commands; The lordly vulture gnaws the corse That rots upon yon barren sands.

Nor want, nor weakness still conspires To bind us to a sordid state; The fly that with a touch expires Sips honey from the royal plate.

_Imam Shafay Mohammed Ben Idris_.

[10] Shafay, the founder of one of the four orthodox sects into which the Mohammedans are divided, was a disciple of Malek Ben Ans, and master to Ahmed Ebn Hanbal; each of whom, like himself, founded a sect which is still denominated from the name of its author. The fourth sect is that of Abou Hanifah. This differs in tenets considerably from the three others, for whilst the Malekites, the Shafaites, and the Hanbalites are invariably bigoted to tradition in their interpretations of the Koran, the Hanifites consider themselves as at liberty in any difficulty to make use of their own reason.

TO THE CALIPH HARUN-AL-RAs.h.i.+D[11]

Religion's gems can ne'er adorn The flimsy robe by pleasure worn; Its feeble texture soon would tear, And give those jewels to the air.

Thrice happy they who seek th' abode Of peace and pleasure, in their G.o.d!

Who spurn the world, its joys despise, And grasp at bliss beyond the skies.

_Ibrahim Ben Adham_.

[11] The author of this poem was a hermit of Syria, equally celebrated for his talents and piety. He was son to a prince of Khorasan, and born about the ninety-seventh year of the Hegira. This poem was addressed to the Caliph upon his undertaking a pilgrimage to Mecca.

LINES TO HARUN AND YAHIA[12]

Th' affrighted sun ere while he fled, And hid his radiant face in night; A cheerless gloom the world overspread-- But Harun came, and all was bright.

Again the sun shoots forth his rays, Nature is deck'd in beauty's robe-- For mighty Harun's sceptre sways, And Yahia's arm sustains the globe.

_Isaac Almousely_.

[12] Isaac Almousely is considered by the Orientals as the most celebrated musician that ever flourished in the world. He was born in Persia, but having resided almost entirely at Mousel, he is generally supposed to have been a native of that place.

THE RUIN OF BARMECIDES[13]

No, Barmec! Time hath never shown So sad a change of wayward fate; Nor sorrowing mortals ever known A grief so true, a loss so great.

Spouse of the world! Thy soothing breast Did balm to every woe afford; And now no more by thee caress'd, The widow'd world bewails her Lord.

[13] The family of Barmec was one of the most ill.u.s.trious in the East. They were descended from the ancient kings of Persia, and possessed immense property in various countries; they derived still more consequence from the favor which they enjoyed at the court of Bagdad, where, for many years, they filled the highest offices of the state with universal approbation.

TO TAHER BEN HOSIEN[14]

A pair of right hands and a single dim eye Must form not a man, but a monster, they cry:-- Change a hand to an eye, good Taher, if you can, And a monster perhaps may be chang'd to man.

[14] Taher Ben Hosien was ambidexter and one-eyed and, strange to say, the most celebrated general of his time.

THE ADIEU[15]

The boatmen shout, "Tis time to part, No longer we can stay"-- 'Twas then Maimnna taught my heart How much a glance could say.

With trembling steps to me she came; "Farewell," she would have cried, But ere her lips the word could frame In half-form'd sounds it died.

Then bending down with looks of love, Her arms she round me flung, And, as the gale hangs on the grove, Upon my breast she hung.

My willing arms embraced the maid, My heart with raptures beat; While she but wept the more and said, "Would we had never met!"

_Abou Mohammed_.

[15] This was sung before the Caliph Wathek, by Abou Mohammed, a musician of Bagdad, as a specimen of his musical talents; and such were its effects upon the Caliph, that he immediately testified his approbation of the performance by throwing his own robe over the shoulders of Abou Mohammed, and ordering him a present of an hundred thousand dirhems.

TO MY MISTRESS[16]

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 princ.i.p.al part of his life was spent at Bagdad, under the patronage of the Aba.s.side Caliphs.

TO A FEMALE CUP-BEARER[17]

Come, Leila, fill the goblet up, Reach round the rosy wine, Think not that we will take the cup From any hand but thine.

A draught like this 'twere vain to seek, No grape can such supply; It steals its tint from Leila's cheek, Its brightness from her eye.

_Abd Alsalam Ben Ragban_.

[17] Abd Alsalam was a poet more remarkable for abilities than morality.

We may form an idea of the nature of his compositions from the nickname he acquired amongst his contemporaries of c.o.c.k of the Evil Genii. He died in the 236th year of the Hegira, aged near eighty.