the marks of sincerity and royalty,' that he withhold nothing from the king of the right discharge of his duties, and the representation of faithful counsel: for the wise have decreed that, Whosoever conceals the truth from the king, keeps back an ailment from the physician, and does not see fit to disclose his poverty and hunger to his friends, may be regarded as a traitor to himself.' The Lion responded, "Thy loyalty and singleness of mind, have long ago been apparent to me and I have long since known thy uprightness and good faith. Now speak! what event has happened? in order that, after acquaintance with the circumstances of the case, we may occupy ourselves with deliberation.' Damnah, when he had ensnared the Lion by his artful words, loosed his tongue, and said, COUPLET. 'May wisdom guide thee, king! and victory Thee follow, and thy foemen vanquished be! Shanzabah has held private meetings with the leaders of the army, and has entered into conversation with the Pillars of the state, and said, 'I have tried the Lion, and fathomed the extent of his strength and might and judgment and sagacity, and in each have clearly discerned many defects and infinite weakness. COUPLET. Not he the hero that my fancy drew; He is not such-my thought was all untrue. 2 And I am in amazement-that while the king has shewn all this profuseness in honoring that faithless ingrate and has made him the 'alter ego' in the government and administration of the empire-in return for these favors, this procedure should have been developed by him, and in requital of such benefits such a pretension should have been set up by him and assuredly in accordance with the saying, Verily man becometh insolent because he seeth himself to abound in riches, one who beholds his hand unrestrained in command and prohibition, and finds the reins for slackening or compressing state affairs in the grasp of his own power, will have eggs deposited in the nest of the brain by the imp of mischief, and the tempest of rebellion will break forth from the blackness of his heart. VERSE. Whom fortune raises from profound distress, Exalts, lifts to the summit of success. 'Twere strange if he should kingly aims forego, Nor cast his lasso o'er the struggling foe. 1 Lit.: 'pure disposition and legitimacy.’ 2 Lit. The one of two.' I know of no English equivalent to sání isnain. 3 Kur'an, ch. xcvi. 6; Sale, p. 448, 1. 10: Read, by thy most beneficent Lord, who taught the use of the pen; who teacheth man that which he knoweth not. Assuredly. Verily man becometh insolent because he seeth himself abound in riches. Verily unto thy hand shall be the return of all.' In this quotation Abú Jahl is referred to, as all commentators agree. The Lion said, 'O Damnah! ponder well what words these are which thou speakest. Whence hast thou learnt these circumstances? and if it be as thy words import, what measures can be adopted in relation to this affair?' Damnah replied, 'The loftiness of his rank, and the elevation of his position, is well known to the king, and when a sovereign beholds one of his servants vieing with himself in rank, dignity, wealth and pomp, he should speedily away with him, otherwise the affair will become impracticable, and the king will be overthrown, and as to a remedy for this matter, in such-wise as the enlightened soul of the king requires, how can our dull mind, and deficient intelligence arrive at it? But I know this much, that preventive measures should be promptly adopted in the case of the Ox, and that if your majesty deliberates, it is possible the affair may come to that point, that the step of counsel will be unequal to the extent of its measurement. STANZA. Thy foe was but an ant, a serpent now is he! Then on this snake-turned ant take vengeance now. For soon this serpent will a mighty dragon be, If thou delay, and him to live allow. And they have said that men are of two classes, the man of caution, and the weak man. The weak man is he who, at the time of the occurrence of an event, and the event of an occurrence, is confounded and distracted, and irresolute and perplexed; and the man of caution is he who, making use of foresight, considers the issues of affairs; and the man of caution is also of two kinds. The first is he who, before the appearance of danger has already thoroughly appreciated its character, and who, in the beginning of an affair, by the eye of understanding, discerns what others discover at the termination, and who consults for the issue of things at their commencement. HEMISTICH. Deliberation first and action last. And such a person, before falling into the whirlpool of calamity, will be able to convey himself to the shore of safety, and him they call 'most cautious.' And the other is he, who, when calamity arrives, maintains an unshaken heart, and does not allow himself to be penetrated by dismay and terror, and doubtless from such a person the right road and advisable course will not remain concealed, and him they call 'cautious.' And with reference to the state of these three persons, of whom one is wise, and the second halfwise, and the third ignorant-the story of those Three Fishes is applicable, who chanced to be together in a pond.' The Lion asked, 'How befell that?' K STORY XV. Damnah said, 'They have related that there was a pool of water at a distance from the highway, and hidden from the notice of travelers, and its retired waters were pure like the faith of the spiritual, and its appearance such as to suffice those who were in search of the water of life, and this lake communicated with a running stream. In it abode three large fishes, such that the celestial fish,' through envy of them, was broiled on the fryingpan of jealousy, like Aries by the heat of the sun. And one of those three fishes was Very Cautious, and the second Cautious, and the other Helpless. Suddenly, in the season of spring, when the world, from the adornment of its flower-gardens, was like the garden of paradise, and all parts of earth's surface, from its bright and sweet-scented plants, resembled the azure vault full of stars; when the chamberlain, the morning breeze, had adorned earth's floor with many-hued carpets, and the peerless gardener of creation had ornamented the world with flowers of divers colors, VERSE. Morn's musk-diffusing breeze the garden fanned: To the young breeze roses their hues unveil. All at once, two or three fishermen happened to pass by that water, and by the will of God they discovered the circumstances of the abode of those three fishes in that lake, exactly as things really were. Having agreed therefore on a rendezvous with one another, they hastened to bring their nets, and the fishes, having gained intelligence of that circumstance, immersed as they were in water were, nevertheless, made to consort with the fire of anguish. When night drew on, the fish that was perfectly wise and possessed extreme caution, inasmuch as he had often witnessed the violence of oppressive fortune, and the petulance of the faithless heavens, and as his foot was planted firmly on the carpet of experience, began to reflect on the means of escape from the net of the fishermen, and to ponder on deliveranoe from their bonds. VERSE. Own him as prudent and as throughly wise, Who founds his actions on a base secare. But in whose caution aught defective lies, He therefore adopted expeditious measures, and before even consulting with 1 Alias the sign Pisces. 2 I have slightly amplified these verses. In Keene's translation, doubtless from a typographical error, we read: 'The garden was loaded with musk by the breeze of the moon!" In the his friends, made his exit on the side adjacent to the flowing stream. morning the fishermen came and firmly secured both sides of the lake. Then the half-wise fish, who was adorned with the ornament of good sense, but who possessed no share of the stores of experience, when he beheld this state of things, felt much contrition, and said, 'I have chosen to be negligent, and the termination of the affairs of the supine is like the present. It behoved me, like that other fish, before the descent of calamity, to have taken thought for myself, and previous to the assault of misfortune to have pondered the way to escape. COUPLET. Think of the cure before the thing occurs, He grieves in vain who till 'tis past defers. Now since the opportunity of flight is gone, it is the time for stratagem and artifice, and although they have said that deliberation during the time of disaster yields but little advantage, and but small fruition is derivable from the produce of good sense in the period of calamity; still, notwithstanding all this, it behoves a wise man in no way to despair of the benefits of wisdom, nor to allow of delay or tardiness in repelling the devices of an enemy. He then made himself appear dead, and went floating on the surface of the water. One of the fishermen picked him up, and fancying him to be dead, threw him on the ground; and he, craftily flinging himself into a rivulet, preserved his life. COUPLET. Die, friend! if thou enfranchisement wouldst gain, And the other fish in whose proceedings supineness prevailed, and in whose actions imbecility was apparent, darted about right and left, astounded and bewildered and fatuous, and, trying to escape, rushed to the surface and to the bottom,' until at last he was captured. And by considering this story, the prince may be convinced that measures should be speedily taken with reference to Shanzabah; and before opportunity and power expire, he should strike the fire of regret into the soul of that miscreant, with a high-tempered sword; and having given the harvest of his life to the winds of destruction, raise up the smoke of affliction from his family to the sky. COUPLET. 2 Hast thou the mastery o'er thy treacherous foe, His brains then shatter with the stone of woe.' The Lion said, 'I understand what thou hast spoken, but I have no suspicion that Shanzabah meditates any treason, and will allow himself to 1 Keene seems to have had a different reading, as he translates, and kept looking to the surface and to the bottom.' 2 Dúd signifies the 'breath of anguish,' as well as 'smoke.' requite past favors by subsequent ingratitude, for up to this period I have indulged in nothing but goodness and kindness towards him.' Damnah responded, 'Exactly so, but by these bounties of the King he has reached his present elevation. COUPLET. At thy free will to smite, select the spot, Since thou wilt salve the wound-it matters not. A worthless fellow naturally bad, will be a sincere and loyal adviser so long as he has not reached the station which he hopes to gain, but when his wish is accomplished, ambition to obtain further advancement-which befits him not -will shew itself from the store-house of his thoughts: and the wise have said that the service of the mean and ignoble is based on the canon of fear and hope. When once he is secure from the intrusions of fear, he darkens the fountain of his loyalty, and when he has been rendered independent by the attainment of his object, he kindles the fire of ingratitude and mischief.' The Lion said, 'How then ought we to treat servants of a base disposition and sordid mind, in order that the traces of their ingratitude may not be evinced?' Damnah replied, 'You ought not to exclude them from your favors to such a degree that they should suddenly despond, and, abandoning your service, affect the side of your enemies; nor ought you so to bestow on them favors and wealth, that, having reached the zenith of success, extravagant fancies may develop themselves in them. But rather they ought to pass their life always between hope and fear, and their course of action should be perpetually governed by promises and threats, and dread and expectation; since opulence and immunity make them self-sufficient, and that becomes a cause of rebellion and guilt; and [on the other hand] despair and destitution render menials bold, and hence arises injury to the royal power. COUPLET. Despair makes man audacious-insolent: O friend! my desperation then prevent.' The Lion said, 'To my mind it seems that the mirror of Shanzabah's condition, is pure from the stain of this deceit, and the page of his heart clear and unsullied by the character of these thoughts; and I have always been in the position of benefactor towards him, and have continuously associated his career with indulgence, and after an undeviating course of kindness and favor to him from me, how could he devise evil and mischief in return? COUPLET. My heart affection's flag for him displays, Why should he then a hostile banner raise?' 1 I have generally translated buzurgán 'the wise,' and Kcene still more invariably renders 'the ancients.' The word may, I think, have either meaning. |