登陆注册
12108200000141

第141章

[301] Amongst Moslems as amongst Christians there are seven deadly sins:idolatry,murder,falsely charging modest women with unchastity,robbing orphans,usury,desertion in Holy War and disobedience to parents. The difference between the two creeds is noteworthy. And the sage knows only three,intemperance,ignorance and egoism.

[302] Meaning,'It was decreed by Destiny;so it came to pass,'appropriate if not neat.

[303] The short,stout,dark,long-haired and two-bunched camel from 'Bukhtar'(Bactria),the 'Eastern'(Bakhtar) region on the Amu or Jayhun (Oxus) River;afterwards called Khorasan. The two-humped camel is never seen in Arabia except with northern caravans,and to speak of it would be a sore test of Badawi credulity.

[304] 'Kaylulah'is the 'forty-winks'about noon:it is a Sunnat or Practice of the Prophet who said,'Make the mid-day siesta,for verily at this hour the devils sleep not.''Aylulain'is slumbering after morning prayers (our 'beauty-sleep'),causing heaviness andid leness:'Ghaylulah'is dozing about 9 a.m. engendering poverty and wretchedness:'Kaylulah'(with the guttural Kaf) is sleeping before evening prayers and 'Faylulah'is slumbering after sunset--both held to be highly detrimental. (Pilgrimage ii 49.)

[305] The Biblical 'Hamath'(Hightown) too well known to require deion. It is still famous for the water-wheels mentioned by al-Hariri (assembly of the Banu Haram).

[306] When they say,'The levee flashes bright on the hills of Al-Yaman,'the allusion is to the south quarter,where summer-lightning is seen. Al-Yaman (always with the article) means,I have said,the right-hand region to one facing the rising sun and Al-Sham (Syria) the left-hand region.

[307] Again 'he'for 'she,'in delicacy and jealousy of making public the beauty or conditions of the 'veiled sex.'Even public singers would hesitate to use a feminine pronoun. As will be seen however,the rule is not invariably kept and hardly ever in Badawi poetry.

[308] The normal pun on 'Nuzhat al-Zaman'= Delight of the Age or Time.

[309] The reader will find in my Pilgrimage (i. 305) a sketch of the Takht-rawan or travelling-litter,in which pilgrimesses are wont to sleep.

[310] In poetry it holds the place of our Zephyr;end the 'Bad-i-Saba'=Breeze o'the morn,Is much addressed by Persian poets.

[311] Here appears the nervous,excitable,hysterical Arab temperament which is almost phrensied by the neighbourhood of a home from which he had run away.

[312] Zau al-Makan and Nuzhat al-Zaman.

[313] The idea is essentially Eastern,'A lion at home and a lamb abroad'is the popular saying.

[314] Arab. 'Hubb al-Watan'(= love of birthplace,patriotism)

of which the Tradition says 'Min al-Iman'(=is part of man's religion).

[315] He is supposed to speak en prince;and he yields to a prayer when he spurns a command.

[316] In such caravans each party must keep its own place under pain of getting into trouble with the watchmen and guards.

[317] Mr. Payne (ii. 109) borrows this and the next quotation from the Bull Edit. i. 386.

[318] For the expiation of inconsiderate oaths see Koran (chaps.v.). I cannot but think that Al-Islam treats perjury too lightly:

all we can say is-that it improves upon Hinduism which practically seems to leave the punishment to the gods.

[319] 'Kausar,'as has been said,represents the classical nectar,the Amrita of the Hindus.

[320] From Bull Edit. i. 186. The couplet in the Mac. Edit. i.457 is very wildly applied.

[321] The 'insula'of Sancho Panza.

[322] This should have assured him that he stood in no danger.

[323] Here ends the wearisome tale of the brother and sister,and the romance of chivalry begins once more with the usual Arab digressions.

[324] I have derived this word from the Persian 'rang'=colour,hue,kind.

[325] Otherwise all would be superseded,like U. S. officials under a new President.

[326] Arab. 'Nimshah'from the Pers. Nimchah,a 'half-sword,'a long dagger worn in the belt. Richardson derives it from Namsh,being freckled (damasked).

[327] The Indian term for a tent large enough to cover a troop of cavalry.

[328] Arab. 'Marhum'a formula before noticed. It is borrowed from the Jewish,'of blessed memory'(after the name of the honoured dead,Prov. x. 17.);with the addition of 'upon whom be peace,'as opposed to the imprecation,'May the name of the wicked rot!'

[329] The speeches of the five damsels should be read only by students.

[330] i.e. Those who look for 'another and a better.'

[331] The title of Caliph Abu Bakr because he bore truthful witness to the Apostle's mission or,others say,he confirmed the 'Mi'raj'or nocturnal journey to Heaven.

[332] All this is Koranic (chaps. ii.,etc.).

[333] This may have applied more than once to 'hanging judges'in the Far West.

[334] A traditionist and jurisconsult of Al-Medinah in the seventh and eighth centuries.

[335] The Alexander of the Koran and Eastern legends,not to be confounded with the Alexander of Macedon. He will be noticed in a future Night.

[336] Aesop,according to the Arabs:of him or rather of the two Lukmans,more presently.

[337] Koran ii. 185.

[338] Mohammed.

[339] One of the Ashab or Companions of Mohammed.

[340] A noted traditionist at Cufa in the seventh century.

[341] Koran,chaps. lxxiv. I (and verse 8 follows). The Archangel Gabriel is supposed to address Mohammed and not a few divines believe this Surah (chapter) to have been first revealed.

Mr. Rodwell makes it No. ii. following the Fatrah or silent interval which succeeded No. xcvi. 'Clots of Blood.'See his 2nd Edit. p. 3 for further details.

[342] i.e. dangerous to soul-health.

[343] In the Mac. Edit. 'Abd'for 'Sa'id.'The latter was a black and a native of Cufa during the first century (A.H ) and is still famous as a traditionist.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 风在耳边吹

    风在耳边吹

    如果眼前出现一片黑影,不要怕,那是因为你的背后有太阳............让清风捂摸,让冷风相伴,从此我的梦中始终有你。。。。。。告别过去,走向未来,最美时光大门已然敞开~
  • 绝处逢生之黑暗侵袭

    绝处逢生之黑暗侵袭

    如果说世上有地狱,堕天城绝对当仁不让。暴力,淫乱,毒品,折磨...每一个生活在堕天城的人都是恶魔,血腥只是他们的日常。他们的人生毫无希望,他们在狂欢中等待灭亡。也许,是神终于厌烦了这个藏污纳垢的黑暗深渊,天罚...降临了......丧尸,失却了灵魂的躯体死而复生。地狱已满,凡人的末世仿佛降临。
  • 六宫:新月记

    六宫:新月记

    一入宫门深似海,从此连性命都一并是皇家的了。后宫风云起,太子燕西真的是良人吗?还是几次救她于危难的燕昭呢?波诡云谲,明争暗斗,冷江月披荆斩棘,最终又能否登上权力的巅峰,与心爱的人一起笑看风云呢?各位喜欢并支持这部作品的朋友们,小斐要跟大家请个假,由于个人工作的关系,可能要暂停一段时间的更新,等待小斐工作稳定了,立马会恢复的,希望大家理解,并且继续支持小斐,小斐会不断地努力写下去的,谢谢。
  • 花舞:锦绣山河

    花舞:锦绣山河

    她一袭红衣携百万将士血染江山,只为死去的父王讨一个公道。他躲在她的身后说:“花舞,我怕!”,众将军听到纷纷抽搐。她是现代佣兵王,一次穿越她成了秦王朝的郡主,一身红装狂妄绝世,运筹帷幄,天下皆不入眼。却唯独有一人能惹得她生气发狂。他秦王朝的小王爷,地下王朝的主子,生杀成性,却隐藏身份收住心性,只为留在她的身边,他装柔弱、耍赖撒泼,棱角分明的俊脸生生拧成川子,深邃的眉眼扮着无辜:“花舞,你娶我吧。”他们相携长大,从她幼年直到及笄,他为她结发为她挽簪。花舞红衣飞舞,单膝下跪:“秦风,我以万里江山为聘,嫁我可好?”他褪去邪肆,深情而庄重,像誓言一般:“好”。
  • 我的猛鬼大学

    我的猛鬼大学

    我叫楚墨,是猛鬼学院的大一新生。这里是我的猛鬼大学的故事
  • 十日纹

    十日纹

    本文是小言……同一个梦,她做了无数次,梦中永远只有一把叫着陌生名字的声音,分不清好坏。她温婉淡漠,可谁人想到,温柔如她,却全身是致命性毒药!他将她绑到自己身边,想将她捧上天!却在初见时,为她的不自爱差点要了她,而她居然对他用腐蚀性药物,可恶的女人!
  • 忘记爱情

    忘记爱情

    “滚,我再也不想看见你,给我滚”经历了事业和爱情的双重打击的肖晓,再也没有任何情绪去想别的事了。可是总有一个人在她的身后默默的关注着她,给她安慰,给她信心。在她爱的和爱她的人面前,她会如何抉择完成这华丽的蜕变。
  • 第七公寓

    第七公寓

    疯子老徐和小白领小马,这两个人之间的交流碰撞与相互了解
  • 福妻驾到

    福妻驾到

    现代饭店彪悍老板娘魂穿古代。不分是非的极品婆婆?三年未归生死不明的丈夫?心狠手辣的阴毒亲戚?贪婪而好色的地主老财?吃上顿没下顿的贫困宭境?不怕不怕,神仙相助,一技在手,天下我有!且看现代张悦娘,如何身带福气玩转古代,开面馆、收小弟、左纳财富,右傍美男,共绘幸福生活大好蓝图!!!!快本新书《天媒地聘》已经上架开始销售,只要3.99元即可将整本书抱回家,你还等什么哪,赶紧点击下面的直通车,享受乐乐精心为您准备的美食盛宴吧!)
  • 僵尸与道长

    僵尸与道长

    僵尸,不在三界之中,超脱六道之外。以怨为力,以血为食,然而世人并不知道僵尸最强的力量来源于爱!