should not exhibit boldness and audacity; and if in his actions or wordsany fault is observable-should employ words of true but kind admonition, and use sweet illustrations and fascinating stories, and recount in the midst of the tale the faults of others-and the vazír of the king of the owls possessed all these qualities, and omitted not one particle in this respect; and I heard with my own ears, that he said to the king, 'Dominion is a lofty station and elevated rank. One cannot by one's own endeavor set the foot of desire on that step, nor can one reach that degree save by the aid of fortune and the assistance of destiny; and since it is attainable only by these fortunate coincidences we ought to hold it dear, and show strenuous exertion for retaining its laws and preserving its customs by justice and equity.

QUATRAIN.

O thou! to whom an empire's sway is given,
Wouldst thou be blest, eschew then tyranny.
Not by a hundred swords are realms so riven,
As by, if just, one injured victim's sigh.

And now it is more in accordance with a right course to avoid carelessness in action, and not to look superciliously on measures of importance, since the permanence of a state and the continuance of good-fortune are attainable only by four things. By perfect caution, which beholds the face of to-morrow in the mirror of to-day; and by a universal fortitude, against whose resolve weakness and infirmity make no way; and a right-aiming judgment, which swerves not from the path of moderation towards error; and by a keen sword, which, like the world-consuming lightning, casts fire into the stacked corn of the life of its opponent.

COUPLET.

Ne'er in the garden of the state will justice flourish green,

Save it be watered from the fount of the sabre flashing keen.'

He said all this and no one heeded his words, and his advice was not honored with acceptance.

HEMISTICH.

Till things from right and left all topsy-turvy turned.

Neither did they derive any benefit from his wisdom and sagacity, nor did he himself escape from that calamity by his own intelligence and ability. And here the truth of the subtle saying, 'There is no counsel to him who is not obeyed,' was thoroughly demonstrated.

VERSE.

How can his counsel advantageous seem,

From whose persuasions all men turn away?

A sage has said, 'The most judicious scheme

Is faulty, if its author none obey.'

This is the story of being cautious of the deceitful snares and treacherous frauds of an enemy.

For although he may be extremely humble, and

abase himself much; nevertheless, it is far removed from the path of wisdom to be deluded thereby. For a single lone crow, in spite of his weakness and feebleness, in that manner chastised powerful and numerous enemies; and this happened in consequence of their weakness of mind and poverty of understanding. Otherwise, had those owls possessed a particle of prudence, that crow would never have attained his object, nor have seen, even in sleep, the face of that triumph. And it behoves a wise man to survey this history with the eye of self-admonition; and to hear this ensample with the ear of understanding; and to know of a truth that it is not right to place confidence in an enemy, nor to despise a foe, however contemptible he may seem; and however much he may hear his enemy boast of attachment, or perceive him adduce causes for the confirmation of friendship, not to be clated thereby.

STANZA.

Whate'er his boasted friendship, still the foe
Will ne'er by wise men be believed a friend.
The venom of the snake is changeless, though
By casting off his skin he seem to mend.

And there is a second moral in this story which bids us to secure sincere friends and loyal and attached companions, since that may be regarded as the most profitable of treasures and the most advantageous of transactions. For the friendship of Kárshinás and his aid and assistance issued in such results to the crows, that they arrived from the dangerous place of terror and dismay at the station of security and peace. And if any one show himself to be equitable and amiable, know that he may at the same time have zealous friends, and may also pluck away the skirt of avoidance from perfidious foes. And thus he will arrive at all he could desire and at the summit of his wishes, And God is the Lord of successful assistance.'

COUPLET.

With cordial friends in glad delights repose;
And pluck the skirt of converse from thy foes.'

CHAPTER V.

OF THE DETRIMENT OF GIVING WAY TO NEGLIGENCE, AND OF PERMITTING THE OBJECTS OF DESIRE TO ESCAPE FROM ONE'S

HANDS.

INTRODUCTION.

The king said to the Bráhman, 'Thou hast narrated the story of being cautious of the deceit of enemies, and not being beguiled by their words, and of guarding oneself from the injury of the hypocrisy and fraud of foes, and from the calamity of the perfidious and insidious schemes of enemies although they should appear in the guise of friends. My request now is, that thou wouldest explain the story of one who exerted himself to gain a thing, and after having obtained the object of his desire, indulging in carelessness, threw away what he had gained.' The Bráhman opened the mouth of praise, and recited from the page of eulogy these panegyrical verses.

STANZA.

'O Thou, auspicious-footed king of kings!
Heaven's stars glad power from thy aspect gain.
Blest as the spot waved o'er by Phoenix' wings,
Become the countries which thy shade obtain:
How of thy might shall I the glorious things
Recount? Laud be to thee! and, yet again,

High laud! albeit thou art above our praises vain.

It is not concealed from the penetrating mind of the king, which is the happy site of infinite benevolence, that it is easier to acquire than to preserve a thing. For many precious things may be obtained through a happy contingency and the assistance of fortune, and the aid of destiny; without the woe of exertion and the pain of labor. The retention of them, however, save by clear counsels and proper measures, is impracticable; and whoever is destitute of the ornament of caution and foresight, and who does not' walk vigorously in the plain of good sense and a regard for consequences; what he has acquired soon falls into the plain of spoliation and ruin, and nothing is left in the grasp of his option but regret and contrition. Just in this manner the friendship of one so attached as the Monkey, was gained without the trouble of labor and exertion, by the Tortoise, and through folly and ignorance was lost by him; and the wound of his fatuity and stupidity found no healing-plaster.' The king inquired, 'How was that?'

1 I can make no sense of rájil báshad. It appears to me that a negative is absolutely required, prefixed to the verb, and I translate accordingly, though no MS.supports the reading.

STORY I.

The Brahman said, 'They have related that in one of the islands of the Indian Ocean1 there were many monkeys, and they had a king whose name was Kárdán. The foundation of his empire was raised on much awe, and a perfect administration of justice; and the basis of his grandeur was strengthened by a will which brooked no delay, and a justice dealt out to all. His subjects, through the glad influence of his beneficence, placed the side of happy repose on the couch of security and peace, and the inhabitants of that country loosed the tongue of benediction and propitiation in praise of his unlimited liberality.

COUPLET.

Wrong he repressed, and aid to justice lent;

God was well-pleased and man with him content.

He lived a very long time in happiness and prosperity, and passed from the spring of youth to the autumn of old age and weakness. Then the symptoms of decrepitude beginning to show themselves in his members, cheerfulness began to pack up its marching equipage to leave his heart, and light to quit his eye; and the plant of vigor, which had produced the fruits of desire, began, under the Samúm of debility and helplessness, to wither, and the lamp of mirth was extinguished by the violent blast of calamity and trouble, and the carpet of pleasure was folded up by the invasion of diseases and sufferings.

VERSE.

Seek not the signs of youth in aged men ;
For to their source, streams ne'er return again.
Age must all passion from its thoughts remove,
Since with old age, expires the reign of love.
When age lets fall its snow-dust on the head,
Know that all hope of unmixed joy is fled.

And the custom of perfidious fortune is no other than this, that it changes the freshness of the rose-garden of youth into the dismal thorn-thicket of old age and makes turbid the sweet waters of wealth with the rubbish of the abasement of poverty. The happiness of its day is not separable from the suffering of its gloomy night; and its atmosphere, which shows at first so clear, is not without the dust of damage and injury.

STANZA.

Life's joys with sorrows infinite the fates together weld;

Then not for pleasant-tasted wine in fortune's goblet seek.

For who the water-lily in the garden ere beheld

But saw the tulip spotted with the tear-drops from its cheek?

1 Lit., 'the green sea.'

2 Knowing affairs,' 'experienced.'

3 I have no doubt a play on words is intended here, as 'azb means 'sweet water,' and 'azab, water covered with weeds.'

This old husband-slaying beldam, which they call the world, presents herself to mortals in the apparel of a young bride, and with her fleeting jewels and untrustworthy ornaments, brings the heart of foolish simpletons into the snare of her love.

COUPLET.

This world's gear is but a pastime, to beguile poor infants fit;
Foolish are those simple mortals who are led astray by it.

And notwithstanding that she makes all this outward adornment a means of deceiving the victims of the plain of supineness, and employs this false stock of allurements for the demented ones of the bázár of appetite and lust; yet none of those who have bound her with the nuptial knot have succeeded in placing the hand of desire in the bosom of their wish, and not one of all who have brought themselves into the net of union with her have for a single night reaped enjoyment according to the wish of their heart.

COUPLET.

A fair bride is the world; but yet, be wise!

For none may wed this coy and curtained prize.

6

The puerile ones of the end of the street, This present life is no other than a play, and a vain amusement,'2 lie in her calamitous net, and are attached to her bewitching person, and are ignorant of the foulness of her interior, and the falseness of her promises, and the baseness of her nature, and the impurity of her disposition.

DISTICHS.

This world's enjoyments, like a serpent's skin,
Are chequered, soft, and venom-full within.
Rich men and poor, by her delusions bound,

Rejoice like one who dreams of treasure found.

And a wise man, the eyes of whose heart have been enlightened by the jeweled collyrium, The world is a bridge, pass over it, but do not repair it,' gives no heed to its fleeting and delusive tales, nor sets his heart on the pursuit of its vain dignities and useless riches, and since he knows the instability of the world, and the uncertainty of its possessions, he turns his face to search for enduring happiness.

COUPLET.

Plant thou a root whose produce blest, eternal joy shall be;
For in life's garden spring fleets by, and autumn now we see.

1 My best MS. inserts khuudrá before dár ávarad, which I think a great improvement on the reading of the editions.

2 Kur án, Fl. vi., 32; Mar. 31; Sale, p. 94, 1. 17. 'This present life is no other than a play, and a vain amusement; but surely the future mansion shall be better for those who fear God will they not, therefore, understand?'A similar expression occurs also at Ch. xlvii, 38, lvii. 19, of the Kur'an.

3 For the reading of the edition fa'atabaruhá, I would suggest fa'abaruhá, which is the reading of my best MS., and is evidently the correct one.