COUPLET. One who is blind to friendship's rights, 'twere shame To mention, in the rank of men, his name. And I have associated myself with a tribe who make no account of the perpetration of things of great magnitude, where themselves are the offenders, while they regard a trifling fault on the part of others as excessive. COUPLET. Have they a failing of their own? they call 't Virtue; and name thy virtue a huge fault. And I, in fine, will not let slip the opportunity of revenge and the hour of requital, and I will not rest nor allow myself to repose until I have exacted vengeance for my young one from this merciless tyrant and cruel oppressor, who, without just grounds, has slain one born at the same time, his playmate, and companion and friend, and without a cause has destroyed the sharer of his house and bed. COUPLET. I'll set all love, all pity, too, aside, And fuel for my burning hate provide. He then sprang remorselessly in the face of the prince, and tore out the world-surveying eyes of that refresher of the visual organs of the empire, and, flying away, settled on a pinnacle of the castle. Intelligence of this was conveyed to the king. He wept for the eyesight of his son, and wished to entice the bird into the net of deceit, and having imprisoned it in the cage of calamity, to command that the punishment due to its offence should be carried into execution. He then came under the castle-wall, and standing opposite the Lark, said, 'Friend of my existence! come down from this height for thy life is safe. HEMISTICH. What though thy musky tresses erred? 'Tis past. Now destroy not our intercourse, nor cause the plant of my enjoyment to wither.' The Lark replied, 'O king! it is the bounden duty of all to obey thy command. After wandering for a long time in the desert of reflection I had arrived at the confines of this thought, that for the remainder of my life I should regard the royal palace as the sanctuary of my wishes, and the shrine of my prosperity, and not gallop the steed of my energies, save in the court of this lord. My idea was that I might be happy and tranquil under the shade of thy favor, like the doves in the temple of Makkah; and, exerting myself in the path' of honourable and kindly feeling, I might arrive at the elevation of a pure unruffled content. Now, however, that they have thought fit to slay my young one in the seraglio like a sacrifice offered by pilgrims, how can I have 1 For the marwat-i maruwat of the editions, I feel inclined to read, with some MSS., tarikah-i maruwat, and I have translated accordingly. However, some may prefer marwat, as referring to the temple of Makkah mentioned just before. any desire left to circumambulate this house. And yet, notwithstanding all this, if I were aware of anything equivalent to sweet life, I would acquiesce and take service with the ladies of the sacred precincts of the seraglio, but, COUPLET. The bird once scared that has escaped the net, Will for no grain its terror then forget. And moreover the traditionary saying, 'The believer will not be stung from one hole twice,' is proved correct: and it behoves an acute person not to try the same thing twice, nor to suffer a second time from the wound of the same animal. COUPLET. Hast thou e'er heard the saying of the wise? 'He will repent who the once tested tries.' And, again, it is clear to the luminous mind of the king that an offender cannot live secure. For if his punishment in this temporary state be delayed, yet that of the eternal world is still to be expected by him. And if, by the aid of lofty good-fortune he escape the former, he must taste the bitterness of chastisement through the sufferings of his children and grandchildren; and he must in this way experience the abasement of the tortures and disastrous results which his crime entails. For the temper of the world is a security for the quality of requital, and the disposition of fortune guarantees the character of proportionate rewards. Accordingly the king's son devised treachery against my young one; and from me, without my option, but in the way of requital, affliction fell upon him. And it is impossible that any one should drink a draught from the cup of oppression, and not suffer from the intoxication of calamity; or plant the seedling of injustice in the garden of action, and not reap the fruit of torture and anguish. COUPLET. Fools that sow seeds of colocynth, must not Expect to reap sweet cane will be their lot. 2 But, perhaps, the king has not heard the story of Dánádil and the thieves, and the retribution which befell the latter has not reached the royal ear?' The king asked, 'How was that?' STORY II. The Lark said, 'They have related that in the city of Rakkah there was a darvesh, adorned with estimable qualities and commendable manners, and the plant of his actions was beautified with the flowers of virtuous feelings and excellent habits. Inasmuch as he possessed a heart rendered 1 The word tawaf signifies the circumambulation of the K'abah by pilgrims, which they are enjoined to do seven times. 2 That is,Wise-heart.' wise by a knowledge of spiritual truth, they used to call him Dánádil and the people of that city entertained a strong regard for him. COUPLET. He to whom wisdom does all truths impart, Is the soul's friend, the ointment of the heart. At one time in his life he set out on a pilgrimage to the Sacred House,1 and entered on his journey without a friend or companion. A party of thieves came up with him; and, suspecting that he had considerable wealth, formed the desire of slaying him. Dánádil said, 'The worldly wealth that I have with me is no great matter, beyond what will suffice as provision for the way on my pilgrimage. If your wishes are satisfied by that amount, it is of no consequence, take the things and leave me alone to bring this journey to an end in reliance on God and destitute of other support; and to make of the dust of the temple's threshold a collyrium for the eye of my expectation. COUPLET. I'll to his dwelling go, my head upon his threshold lay, And make collyrium for my eyes of dust from his doorway.' The merciless robbers, giving no heed to these words, drew their swords to put him to death. The hapless darvesh looked in every direction like one aghast; and, as is the wont of those in distress, sought for aid and deliverance. In that terrible desert and fearful and alarming wilderness, not a living creature met his sight; save that at that time a flock of cranes was flying above their heads. Dánádil called out, 'O cranes! I have fallen captive in this desert into the hands of cruel men, and, save the Lord of the unseen world, no one is acquainted with my condition. Do ye exact vengeance for me from this gang, and require my blood at their hands?' The robbers laughed and said, 'What is thy name?' He replied, 'Dánádil.' 'Marry,' quoth they, thy heart has not a particle of wisdom. We are sure that thou art a fool. And whoever is devoid of reason there will ensue nothing very bad from killing him.' Dánádil replied, Surely thou wilt see when the dust is cleared away,' I will here recite in your ear somewhat as to retribution, and I will bring under your observation a trifle with respect to the requital of actions; but yet a class of whose nature the characteristic is, 'They are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore will they not repent,' what knowledge have they of this matter? 2 1 The temple at Makkah. 2 Kur'an, Fl. ii. 17; Mar. 18; Sale, p. 3, 1. 7: These are the men, who have purchased error at the price of true direction: but their traffic hath not been gainful, neither have they been rightly directed. They are like unto one who kindleth a fire, and when it hath enlightened all around him; God taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, they shall not see; they are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore will they not repent.' COUPLET. If one with prudence, too, possessed an ear, He would these sayings with deep pleasure hear.' However much Dánádil addressed them, the ear of their understanding was insensible to his truthful discourse, and the visual faculty of their sight did not behold the manifestation of the beauty of reality. They killed him and took his effects. When the news of his murder reached the people of the city, they were sad and felt much regret for his loss, and were ever on the look-out to catch his murderers. At last, after a considerable interval most of the inhabitants of that city had assembled on the day of 'Íd in worship, and the murderers of Dánádil also had taken their places in one corner in that meeting. In the midst of the prayers, a number of cranes passing through the air flew over the heads of the robbers, and uttered such plaintive cries, that from their wailing the people stopped reading the daily lessons, and the repetition of the names of God. One of the robbers laughed, and said sneeringly to a comrade, 'They are certainly requiring the blood of Dánádil.' It happened that one of the inhabitants of the city overheard this speech, and told it to another. In a short time they informed the governor of it. They were then seized, and after a short inquiry they confessed, and the retribution for the innocent blood [they had shed] having reached them, they met with the suitable retaliation. STANZA. Throughout this world, who did e'er string the bow Of wrong, that on him was not swiftly hurled Eternal curses, shaft-like, and he so Became a butt for vengeance? In this world A warning prove to those he fain would wrong. And I have adduced this story in order that the king may know that my boldness in wounding the prince was inspired by retributive justice and the requirements of retaliation. Else whence could a feeble bird have strength for such a deed? And since this action has been perpetrated by me, the command of reason, the controller, is, that I should not obey thy mandate; nor, relying upon thee, be led by the cord of treachery and deceit into a pit. HEMISTICH. 'Tis best I shun the service of the king.' The king replied, "What thou hast said is allied to truthfulness and prudence, and fraught with the advantages of wisdom and the beneficial results of good sense, and I know that, in accordance with the saying, 'The beginner is the most in the wrong,' the fault was my son's, since without any previous offence on its part he killed thy young one. Thus, then, by way of retribution, as it is said, 'The retaliation of evil ought to be an evil propor tionate thereto,'1 thou hast exacted a rightful quittance. Nay more, I am thankful that thou didst not proceed to slay him, and wast satisfied with destroying his sight. Now, neither hast thou any rancor left, nor have I any wish to injure thee. Believe my word, and do not foolishly persevere in withdrawing and separating thyself, and know that I regard revenge as a failing in man, and look upon forgiveness as one of the virtues of noble minds. I will never smite the hand of rejection upon the forehead of virtue, nor turn the face of acceptance towards vice. Nay, my desire is to do good in return for evil, and if an injury befall me from any one, to recompence him with a benefit. QUATRAIN. 'Tis not our practice to be pretexts seeking, Good-will and truthful speaking are our mood. Have we the power, to them we aye do good.' The Lark replied, My return is altogether impossible; for the wise renounce the companionship of a friend who has been alienated; and it is recorded among the maxims of sages, that although men may shew an increase of courtesy and conciliation to persons whose feelings have been wounded, and regard it as incumbent on them to treat such persons with respect and kindliness, still their suspicions and aversion will augment, and this being the case, it becomes necessary to avoid them. STANZA. My friend! when thou hast any one offended, Be not on soothing him intent: The more he sees thy services extended, The more his doubts of thee augment.' The king rejoined, 'O Lark! cease these words, for thou art as a son to me, nay, even dearer still, and I have not the same affection for any of my kinsmen or connections, that I have for thee. No one ever plans mischief against his own kin, or entertains vengeful or hostile feelings towards his intimates.' The Lark answered, 'The wise have delivered their sentence as to relations, and have spoken in detail as to the circumstances of each; and have thus pronounced, 'Mother and father are real friends; and brothers are as comrades and attached companions; and a wife is in the position of one who shares in social intercourse; and daughters are equivalent to antagonists, and all other kinsfolk are no better than strangers. But men 2 1 Kur'an, Fl. xlii. 38; Mar. 39; Sale, p. 360, 1. 27, 'But the reward, which is with God is better, and more durable for those who believe, and put their trust in their Lord; and who, when an injury is done them, avenge themselves, (and the retaliation of evil ought to be an evil proportionate thereto;) but he who forgiveth, and is reconciled unto his enemy, shall receive his reward from God; for He loveth not the unjust doers.' 2 From these lines we may learn the distinction between dust and rafik, and ydr and áshnd; these words being in fact a descending series. |