Line 81. Thence his attainments Kais assiduous drew. Kais was the original name of the lover, and afterwards called Majnún in consequence of the madness produced by his passion. Line 94. Her richly flowing locks were black as night, Lailí, in Arabic, signifies night: the name, however, has been referred to her colour, and she is accused of possessing no beauty but in the eyes of her lover, being short in stature, and dark in complexion. A poet is said to have addressed her, saying, “Art thou the person for whom Kais lost his reason? I do not see that thou art so beautiful." "Silence!" she said, "thou art not Majnún," Another observed to Majnún, “Lailí is not surpassing in beauty; what occasions this adoration ?" "Thou dost not see Lailí with my eyes!" was his brief reply. Laura and Eloisa, and other celebrated fair ones, have been equally robbed of their personal charms; indeed, Laura has been even stripped of her mortality. Gibbon speaks of her as a nymph so shadowy, that her very existence has been questioned, and adds, in a note, "The allegorical interpretation prevailed in the fifteenth century; but the wise commentators were not agreed whether they should understand, by Laura, religion or virtue, or the Blessed Virgin!" However, according to Nazámi and history, Lailí not only existed in reality, but was exquisitely beautiful. Line 180. Khosrú, without his throne or crown. Khosrú, a king of Persia-a royal surname. Line 208 And Laili! Laili! rang around, Thus Shakspeare, in "Twelfth Night,” Holla your name to the reverberate hills, Line 232. That mole which adds to every look A magic spell I cannot brook. The mole is a prodigious beauty among Oriental writers. Thus Hafiz, "If that maid of Shiraz would accept my hand, I would give for the black mole on her cheek the cities of Samarkand and Bokara." Sir William Jones, in his fine Ode, has omitted the chief point in the stanza which contains the passage just cited. He says "Sweet maid, if thou wouldst charm my sight, And bid these arms thy neck enfold, That rosy cheek, that lily hand, Would give thy poet more delight Than all Bokara's vaunted gold, Than all the gems of Samarkand." In these verses, however sweet they may be, the original sentiment is utterly lost. Line 238. As Kâƒ's ice-summit, cold. Kaaf, the Caucasus, Line 247. The Evil eye has struck my heart. The slavish superstition about conjuration, witchcraft, and enchantment, is universal in the East. In love affairs, charms are concocted to produce every imaginable effect,―attachment, scorn, jealousy, &c. A ridiculous case of the evil eye, in a less sentimental matter, occurred to one of my native servants the other day. He was proceeding in a boat from Barrackpore to Calcutta, and, anxious to get on quickly, though against the tide, he abused the boatman for not exerting himself sufficiently on the occasion. He appears to have been greatly excited, and on his arrival complained to me of an excruciating headache, declaring that he had been bewitched by a look from the boatman. He lost his appetite; fever came on, and he applied, as usual on such emergencies, to his saint, to get "the charm dissolved;" but to no purpose. He continued without taking food, and at length obtained leave to return to his home in a distant province. There was, however, enough of natural cause in the intense heat of the sun, and the excitement of violent passion, to occasion the symptoms complained of; but all his fellow-servants believed him to be the victim of an evil eye. Talismans and spells are innumerable in Arabia and Persia. There is the Sulwan, or water poured from a kind of shell, or upon earth taken from the grave of a dead man, which they drink to the health of a person, as a cure for love, or any severe affliction. Atfet, small beads, hung by women round their necks, as a charm to gain the affections of their lovers. Akret, a spherical amulet, worn by some women round their waists, to prevent pregnancy and by others to favour conception. Aksit, an amulet in form of a knot, which women wear to keep their husbands faithful. Kerchara, an ass's head placed upon a pole in a garden, &c., to guard it from fascination. In laughing at these fooleries, however, we must remember the first statute of James I., c. 12, against offenders "that consult, covenant with, entertain, employ, or reward any evil spirit, to any intent," or "that exercise any witchcraft, enchantment, charm, or sorcery, whereby any person shall be killed, destroyed, consumed, or lamed in his body, or any part thereof," which said statute was not repealed till the 9th of George II.!!! Line 265. He saw her fresh as morning's scented air- This sort of antithesis, or contrast of condition, is common among the Persian poets, and they dwell upon it with great pleasure, if we may judge from the extent to which they proceed whenever an opportunity presents itself. There are several instances of it in the course of this poem. Line 461. The holy Kába where the Prophet pray'd, The Kába at Mecca is traditionally said to have been built by the patriarch Abraham: it is at least of very ancient date. Gibbon says, "The Greek historian Diodorus has remarked a famous temple, whose superior sanctity was revered by all the Arabians: the linen or silken veil, which is annually renewed by the Turkish emperor, was first offered by a pious king of the Homerites, who reigned 700 years before the time of Mahomet. A spacious portico incloses the quadrangle of the Câba, a square chapel, twenty-four cubits long, twenty-three broad, and twenty-seven high; a door and a window admit the light; the double roof is supported by three pillars of wood; a spout (now of gold) discharges the rain-water, and the well Zem-zem is protected by a dome from accidental pollution. The precincts of Mecca enjoyed the rights of sanctuary, and in the last month of each year the city and temple were crowded with a long train of pilgrims, who presented their vows and offerings in the house of God. The same rites which are now accomplished by the faithful Mussulman were invented and practised by the superstition of the idolaters. At an awful distance they cast away their garments; seven times, with hasty steps, they encircled the Câba, and kissed the black stone; seven times they visited and adored the adjacent mountains ; seven times they threw stones into the valley of Mina; and the pilgrimage was achieved, as at the present hour, by a sacrifice of sheep and camels, and the burial of their hair and nails in the consecrated ground." Vol. ix. p. 245. Line 744. She droop'd like broken-winged bird. "Like a broken-winged bird" is a common epithet, expressive of misfortune and affliction. Line 1100. Whatever hero felt his ponderous gerz, Was crush'd, though stedfast as the Mount Elbérz. Gerz, a mace or club. Elbêrz is a celebrated mountain in Persia, and forms a favourite simile in the Shahnameh of Firdausi. The immovable firmness of his heroes is generally compared to the Mount Elbêrz. Line 1195. Near where Foráť's bright stream rolls on, reclined. The river Euphrates. The scene is laid in the country surrounding Bagdad. Line 1290. His tale is told; some Diw or Ghoul "Diw-demon, giant, devil, ghost, hobgoblin. The diws, genii, or giants, in Eastern mythology, are a race of malignant beings. The ghoul is an imaginary sylvan demon, of different shapes and colours, supposed to devour men and animals. Anything wucn suddenly attacks and destroys a man, or robs him of his senses."-Richardson. Line 1378. Empurpled Dijla's rolling stream. The river Tigris. Line 1387. Quickly her sharp disdain the bridegroom feels, The original makes Lailf rather Amazonian at this juncture, which is not quite in keeping with the gentleness of her character. It says, she struck him such a blow, that he fell down as if he were dead. Line 1436. Close, side by side, from morn till night, Báshad hema roz gosh der gosh. Literally, Every day, ear in ear. Line 1458. A dangerous friend, a fatal foe, Afati-jehán, the calamity of the world. A common epithet applied in anger to the fair sex. Something in the spirit of Otway : "Who lost Marc Antony the world? a woman. |