Oriental Literature - Anonymous
ORIENTAL LITERATURE
THE LITERATURE OF ARABIA
With Critical and Biographical Sketches by
Epiphanius Wilson, A.M.
1900
CONTENTS
THE ROMANCE OF ANTAR
Introduction
The Early Fortunes of Antar
Khaled and Djaida
The Absians and Fazareans
ARABIAN POETRY
Introduction
SELECTIONS.--
An Elegy
The Tomb of Mano
Tomb of Sayid
On the Death of His Mistress
On Avarice
The Battle of Sabla
Verses to My Enemies
On His Friends
On Temper
The Song of Maisuna
To My Father
On Fatalism
To the Caliph Harun-al-Rashid
Lines to Harun and Yahia
The Ruin of Barmecides
To Taher Ben Hosien
The Adieu
To My Mistress
To a Female Cup-bearer
Mashdud on the Monks of Khabbet
Rakeek to His Female Companions
Dialogue by Rais
To a Lady Weeping
On a Valetudinarian
On a Miser
To Cassim Obio Allah
A Friend's Birthday
To a Cat
An Epigram upon Ebn Naphta-Wah
Fire
To a Lady Blushing
On the Vicissitudes of Life
To a Dove
On a Thunder Storm
To My Favorite Mistress
Crucifixion of Ebn Bakiah
Caprices of Fortune
On Life
Extempore Verses
On the Death of a Son
To Leila
On Moderation in our Pleasures
The Vale of Bozaa
To Adversity
On the Incompatibility of Pride and True Glory
The Death of Nedham Almolk
Lines to a Lover
Verses to My Daughters
Serenade to My Sleeping Mistress
The Inconsistent
The Capture of Jerusalem
To a Lady
An Epigram
On a Little Man with a Very Large Beard
Lamiat Alajem
To Youth
On Love
A Remonstrance with a Drunkard
Verses
On Procrastination
The Early Death of Abou Alhassan Aly
The Interview
ARABIAN NIGHTS
THE SEVEN VOYAGES OF SINDBAD
First Voyage
Second Voyage
Third Voyage
Fourth Voyage
Fifth Voyage
Sixth Voyage
Seventh and Last Voyage
ALADDIN'S WONDERFUL LAMP
THE ROMANCE OF ANTAR
[_Translation by Etienne Delecluse and Epiphanius Wilson_]
INTRODUCTION
The romantic figure of Antar, or Antarah, takes the same place in
Arabian literature as that of Achilles among the Greeks. The Cid in
Spain, Orlando in Italy, and Arthur in England, are similar examples of
national ideals put forth by poets and romance writers as embodiments of
a certain half-mythic age of chivalry, when personal valor, prudence,
generosity, and high feeling gave the warrior an admitted preeminence
among his fellows. The literature of Arabia is indeed rich in novels and
tales. The "Thousand and One Nights" is of world-wide reputation, but
the "Romance of Antar" is much less artificial, more expressive of high
moral principles, and certainly superior in literary style to the
fantastic recitals of the coffee house and bazaar, in which Sinbad and
Morgiana figure. A true picture of Bedouin society, in the centuries
before Mohammed had conquered the Arabian peninsula, is given us in the
charming episodes of Antar. We see the encampments of the tribe, the
camels yielding milk and flesh for food, the women friends and
councillors of their husbands, the boys inured to arms from early days,
the careful breeding of horses, the songs of poet and minstrel stirring
all hearts, the mail-clad lines of warriors with lance and sword, the
supreme power of the King--often dealing out justice with stern, sudden,
and inflexible ferocity. Among these surroundings Antar appears, a
dazzling and irresistible warrior and a poet of wonderful power. The
Arab classics, in years long before Mohammed had taken the Kaaba and
made it the talisman of his creed, were hung in the little shrine where
the black volcanic stone was kept. They were known as Maallakat, or
Suspended Books, which had the same meaning among Arabian literati as
the term classic bore among the Italian scholars of the Renaissance.
Numbered with these books of the Kaaba were the poems of Antar, who was
thus the Taliessin of Arabian chivalry.
It is indeed necessary to recollect that in reading the episodes of
Antar we have been taken back to the heroic age in the Arabian
peninsula. War is considered the noblest occupation of a man, and Khaled
despises the love of a noble maiden "from pride in his passion for war."
Antar has his famous horse as the Cid had his Babicca, and his
irresistible sword as Arthur his Excalibur. The wealth of chiefs and
kings consists in horses and camels; there is no mention of money or
jewelry. When a wager is made the stakes are a hundred camels. The
commercial spirit of the Arabian Nights is wanting in this spirited
romance of chivalry. The Arabs had sunk to a race of mere traders when
Aladdin became possessed of his lamp, and the trickery, greed, and
avarice of peddlers and merchants are exhibited in incident after
incident of the "Thousand and One Nights." War is despised or feared,
courage less to be relied upon than astute knavery, and one of the facts
that strikes us is the general frivolity, dishonesty, and cruelty which
prevail through the tales of Bagdad. The opposite is the case with
Antar. Natural passion has full play, but nobility of character is taken
seriously, and generosity and sensibility of heart are portrayed with
truthfulness and naivete. Of course the whole romance is a collection of
many romantic stories: it has no epic unity. It will remind the reader
of the "Morte d'Arthur" of Sir Thomas Malory, rather than of the
"Iliad." We have chosen the most striking of these episodes as best
calculated to serve as genuine specimens of Arabian literature. They
will transport the modern reader into a new world--which is yet the old,
long vanished world of pastoral simplicity and warlike enthusiasm, in
primitive Arabia. But the novelty lies in the plot of the tales. Djaida
and Khaled, Antar and Ibla, and the race between Shidoub and the great
racers Dahir and Ghabra, bring before our eyes with singular freshness
the character of a civilization, a domestic life, a political system,
which were not wanting in refinement, purity, and justice. The
conception of such a dramatic personage as Antar would be original in
the highest degree, if it were not based upon historic fact. Antar is a
more real personage than Arthur, and quite as real and historic as the
Cid. Yet his adventures remind us very much of those which run through
the story of the Round Table.
The Arabs, in the days of romance, were a collection of tribes and
families whose tents and villages were spread along the Red Sea, between
Egypt and the Indian Ocean. There were some tribes more powerful than
others, and the result of their tyranny was often bitter war. There was
no central monarchy, no priesthood, and no written law. The only stable
and independent unit was the family. Domestic life with its purest
virtues constituted the strong point amongst the Arabian tribes, where
gentleness, free obedience, and forbearance were conspicuous. Each tribe
bore the name of its first ancestor, and from him and his successors
came down a traditionary, unwritten law, the violation of which was
considered the most heinous of offences. There was no settled religion
before the conquest of Mohammed; each tribe and each family worshipped
whom they would--celestial spirits, sun and moon, or certain idols. In
the account given in Antar of the Council of War, the ancients, or old
men of the tribe, came forth with idols or amulets round their necks,
and the whole account of the council, in which the bard as well as the
orator addressed the people, is strictly accurate in historic details.
The custom of infanticide in the case of female children was perfectly
authorized among the Arabs, and illustrates the motive of the pretty
episode of Khaled and Djaida. War was individual and personal among the
Arabs, and murder was atoned for by murder, or by the price of a certain
number of camels. Raising of horses, peaceful contests in arms, or
poetic competitions where each bard recited in public his compositions,
formed their amusements. They were very sensible to the charms of music,
poetry and oratory, and as a general rule the Arab chieftain was brave,
generous, and munificent.
All these historic facts are fully reflected in the highly emotional
tale of "Antar," which is the greatest of all the national romances of
Arabia. It would scarcely be possible to fix upon any individual writer
as its author, for it has been edited over and over again by Arabian
scribes, each adding his own glosses and enriching it with incidents.
Its original date may have been the sixth century of our era, about five
hundred years before the production of the "Thousand and One Nights."
E.W.
THE EARLY FORTUNES OF ANTAR
At the time the "Romance of Antar" opens, the most powerful and the best
governed of the Bedouin tribes were those of the Absians and the
Adnamians. King Zoheir, chief of the Absians, was firmly established
upon his throne, so that the kings of other nations, who were subject to
him, paid him tribute. The whole of Arabia in short became subject to
the Absians, so that all the chiefs of other tribes and all inhabitants
of the desert dreaded their power and depredations.
Under these circumstances, and as a consequence of a flagrant act of
tyranny on the part of Zoheir, several chieftains, among whom was
Shedad, a son of Zoheir, seceded from the Absian tribe, and set out to
seek adventures, to attack other tribes, and to carry off their cattle
and treasure. These chieftains arrived at the dwelling-place of a
certain tribe, named Djezila, whom they fought with and pillaged.
Amongst their booty was a black woman of extraordinary beauty, the
mother of two children. Her name was Zebiba; her elder son was Djaris;
her younger Shidoub. Shedad became passionately enamoured of this woman,
and yielded all the rest of his share in the booty in order to obtain
possession of her and her two children. He dwelt in the fields with this
negress, whose sons took care of the cattle. In course of time Zebiba
bore a son to Shedad. This child was born tawny as an elephant; his eyes
were bleared, his head thick with hair, his features hard and fixed. The
corners of his mouth drooped, his eyes started from his head, his bones
were hard, his feet long; he had ears of prodigious size, and his glance
flashed like fire. In other respects he resembled Shedad, who was
transported with delight at the sight of his son, whom he named Antar.
Meanwhile the child waxed in strength, and his name soon became known.
Then the companions of Shedad wished to dispute the possession of the
boy with him, and King Zoheir was informed of the matter. He demanded
that the boy should be brought into his presence, and Shedad complied.
As soon as the king caught sight of this extraordinary child, he uttered
a cry of astonishment, and flung him a piece of goat's flesh. At the
same moment a dog, who happened to be in the tent, seized the meat and
ran off with it. But Antar, filled with rage, pursued the animal, and,
violently taking hold of him, drew his jaws apart, splitting the throat
down to the shoulders, and thus recovered the meat. King Zoheir, in
amazement, deferred the matter to the Cadi, who confirmed Shedad's
possession of Zebiba, and her three children, Djaris, Shidoub, and
Antar.
Shedad therefore provided a home for Zebiba, in order that his sons
might be educated in their business of tending the herds. It was at this
time that Antar began to develop his strength of body, his courage, and
intelligence. When he was ten years of age he slew a wolf which
threatened to attack the herds committed to his charge. Although brutal,
headstrong, and passionate, he early exhibited a love of justice, and a
disposition to protect the weak, especially women. He put to death a
slave who beat an old woman, his slave and companion; and this action,
although at first misunderstood, eventually gained the admiration of
King Zoheir, who treated Antar with distinction, because of his nobility
of character. In consequence of this action, which had been so much
applauded by King Zoheir, the young Arab women and their mothers hung
round Antar to learn the details of this courageous deed, and to
congratulate him on his magnanimity.
Among the young women was Ibla, daughter of Malek, the son of Zoheir.
Ibla, fair as the full moon, was somewhat younger than Antar. She was
accustomed to banter him in a familiar way, feeling that he was her
slave. "And you," she said to him, "you, born so low, how dared you kill
the slave of a prince? What provocation can you have against him?"
"Mistress," replied Antar, "I struck that slave because he deserved it,
for he had insulted a poor woman. He knocked her down, and made her the
laughing stock of all the servants." "Of course you were right,"
answered Ibla, with a smile, "and we were all delighted that you escaped
from the adventure safe and sound. Because of the service you have
rendered us by your conduct, our mothers look upon you as a son, and we
as a brother."
From that moment Antar made the service of women his special duty above
all others. At that time the Arabian ladies had the habit of drinking
camel's milk morning and evening, and it was especially the duty of
those who waited upon them to milk the camels, and to cool it in the
wind before offering it to them. Antar had been for some time released
from this duty, when one morning he entered the dwelling of his uncle
Malek, and found there his aunt, engaged in combing the hair of her
daughter Ibla, whose ringlets, black as the night, floated over her
shoulders. Antar was struck with surprise, and Ibla, as soon as she knew
that he had seen her, fled and left him with his eyes fixed abstractedly
on her disappearing form.
It was from this incident that the love of Antar for the daughter of his
uncle took its origin. He saw how Ibla shone in society, and his passion
grew to such an extent that he ventured to sound her praises, and to
express the feeling she excited in him by writing verses which, while
they gained the admiration of the multitude, incurred also the envy of
the chieftains. Moreover his father could not pardon the presumption of
Antar, who, born a slave, had dared to cast eyes on his free-born
cousin.
When therefore he slew a slave who had slandered him, his father ordered
him to be flogged, and sent away to watch over the cattle in the
pastures. He had now before him a fresh opportunity for exhibiting his
prodigious strength and invincible courage. A lion attempted to attack
the herds committed to his care. He killed it at the very moment that
his father Shedad, enraged against him, had come, accompanied by his
brother, to do him ill. But a mingled feeling of admiration and fear
held their hands, and in the evening, when Antar returned from the
pastures, his father and his uncle made him seat himself at dinner with
them, while the rest of the attendants stood behind them.
Meanwhile King Zoheir was called upon a warlike expedition against the
tribe of Temin. All his warriors followed him; the women alone remained
behind. Shedad entrusted them to the protection of Antar, who pledged
his life for their safety. During the absence of the warriors, Semiah,
the lawful wife of Shedad, conceived the idea of giving an entertainment
on the bank of the lake Zatoulizard. Ibla attended it with her mother,
and Antar witnessed all the amusements in which his beloved took part.
His passion for her became intensified. He was once tempted to violate
the modesty of love by the violence of desire, but, at that moment, he
saw a great cloud of dust rise in the distance; the shouts of war were
heard; and suddenly the warriors of the tribe of Cathan appeared on the
scene, and, descending on the pleasure-seekers, carried off the women,
including Ibla. Antar, being unarmed, ran after one of the horsemen,
seized him, strangled and threw him to the ground. Then he put on the
armor of the vanquished foe, attacked and put to flight the tribe of
Cathan, rescued the women, and obtained a booty of twenty-five horses.
From that moment Semiah, the wife of Shedad, who hitherto had a
pronounced aversion to Antar, conceived a sincere affection for him.
King Zoheir, meantime, had returned victorious from his expedition.
Shedad returned at the same moment, and went to visit his herds. Seeing
Antar surrounded by horses which he did not know, and mounted upon a
fine black courser, he asked, "Where did these animals, and particularly
this superb horse, come from?" Then Antar, not willing to betray the
imprudence of Semiah, declared that, as the Cathanians had left their
horses behind them, he had seized them. Shedad was indignant, and
treated Antar as a robber, reproached him for his wickedness, and after
repeatedly telling him how wrong it was to rouse discord among the
Arabs, struck him with his whip, with such violence as to draw blood.
Then Semiah, distressed by the sight of this unjust treatment, took off
her veil, letting her hair fall over her shoulders, took Antar into her
arms and told all that had happened and how she and all the other women
of her tribe were indebted to this hero for their honor and liberty.
Shedad could not restrain his tenderness on learning the magnanimity of
his son's silence. Soon afterwards King Zoheir, to whom this incident
had been related, summoned Antar into his presence, and declared that a
man who could exhibit such courage and generosity was bound to become
preeminent among his companions. All the chieftains who surrounded the
king congratulated Antar, and one of his friends, in order to give the
court a complete idea of this young man's remarkable gifts, asked him to
recite some of his verses.
In compliance with this request he recited a poem in praise of warriors
and war, and the king and all the court manifested their delight. Zoheir
bade Antar approach, gave him a robe of honor, and thanked him. That
evening Antar departed with his father Shedad, his heart full of joy
over the honors which had been lavished on him, and his love for Ibla
still more heightened.
In spite of the indisputable virtues of Antar, in spite of the great
services he had rendered the Absians, the chieftains of this tribe still
regarded him as merely a common slave and tender of cattle. The
beginning of his rise to favor excited a feeling of keen hatred, and
caused many plots to be laid against him. A series of intrigues was
entered upon, the aim of which was the death of the hero. But each
attack upon his reputation and his life redounded to his benefit, and
furnished him with an opportunity of putting his enemies to silence and
defeat. For by his generosity and magnanimity, even his envious foes
felt themselves under obligation to him. On each of his triumphs the
mutual love between himself and Ibla went on increasing.
After the performance of many feats as a horseman, Antar came into
possession of a famous horse named Abjer, and a sword of marvellous
temper, Djamy--and every time he appeared on the field of combat, as
well as when he returned victorious from the fight, he made a poetic
address, finishing with the words, "I am the lover of Ibla." At the
conclusion of a war in which he had performed prodigies of valor, King
Zoheir gave him the surname of Alboufauris, which means, "The Father of
Horsemen."
The greater grew his name, the more highly he was honored by King
Zoheir, so much the more did the hatred of the chieftains and the love
of Ibla towards him increase. But it came to pass that Ibla was asked in
marriage by Amarah, a stupid youth, puffed up by his wealth and lineage.
Antar, on hearing the news, was transported with rage, and attacked his
young rival with such violence that all the Arabian chiefs begged of
Zoheir to punish the aggressor. The king left to Shedad, Antar's father,
the pronouncing of sentence. Shedad had, like the others, viewed the
rise of Antar, the black slave, to favor, with jealous eye, and sent him
back to the pastures to keep the herds.
It was at this point that the greatness of Antar's character appeared in
its full dimensions. The hero submitted with resignation to the orders
of his father, "to whom," he said, "he owed obedience as to his master,
since he was his slave"; and he swore to him, in the presence of
witnesses, not to mount horse, nor engage in battle, without his
permission. Tears flowed from his eyes, and before departing for the
pastures he went to see his mother Zebiba, and to talk with her
concerning Ibla. "Ibla?" said his mother--"but a moment ago she was
here beside me, and said to me, 'Comfort the heart of Antar, and tell
him from me, that even should my father torture me to death in trying to
change my mind, I would not desire nor ask for other husband than
Antar.'"
These words of Ibla filled with rapture the heart of Antar, as he
started for the pastures in company with his brothers, Djaris and
Shidoub.
At this time the tribe of Abs, which Zoheir ruled over, was at war with
that of Tex, on account of the carrying off of Anima, daughter of the
chief of the Tex, a man known as "The Drinker of Blood." Animated by the
desire to take vengeance and recover his daughter, this chief and his
army fell upon the Absians like a thunderbolt. The Absians were
defeated, and their women, among whom was Ibla, taken prisoners. All
pride was then, in this time of need, laid aside, and to their
assistance Antar was summoned. But before acting Antar laid down his
conditions, and stipulated that, in case he succeeded in subduing the
foe and recovering the women, Ibla should be given him in marriage.
Malek, the father of Ibla, and Shedad, the father of Antar, assented,
and bound themselves by an oath to fulfil these conditions and to
reinstate Antar in all the honors and dignities belonging to him.
Antar was victorious. He rescued Ibla, and received grateful expressions
of gratitude from his beloved, while King Zoheir gave him the kiss of
royal honor. Everything seemed to unite in fulfilling the hopes of
Antar. But at the very moment in which he was honored by royal
felicitations, several chieftains, indignant at the elevation of a black
slave, employed every means to prevent his marriage with Ibla, and to
force him to undertake enterprises which would prove fatal to him.
Shedad, his father, and Malek, the father of Ibla, connived at these
plots. They demanded of Antar, who was of that trusting disposition
which belongs to generous and brave men, that he give as a wedding
present to his bride, a thousand camels, of a particular breed, not to
be found excepting on the borders of the Persian kingdom. The hero made
no remark on hearing this treacherous demand, and was so eager to please
Ibla, that he took no count of the difficulties to be undergone. He set
off and soon found himself engaged in conflict with a large army of
Persians, who made him prisoner, and led him off with the view of
bringing him into the presence of their king. There he was taken, bound
and on horseback, when at that instant, the news came that a fierce lion
of extraordinary size was ravaging the country. It was alleged that even
armed men fled before it. Antar, who was on the point of being put to
death, asked the King of Persia to cause his arms at least to be
unbound, and to let him confront the lion. His prayer was granted; he
rushed upon the savage creature, and transfixed it with his lance. Nor
was this the only service he did the King of Persia, who in gratitude
for many others, not only gave Antar the thousand camels he was looking
for, but loaded him with treasures, with which to do homage to Ibla.
On his return Antar was received with a rapturous welcome by the Absian
tribe. But the hostile and the envious continued to plot against him.
They still aimed at preventing his marriage, and compassing his death.
Amarah, who aspired to Ibla's hand, backed by all the chieftains hostile
to Antar, renewed his suit and pretensions. Ibla was carried off from
her house among the Absians, and taken to another tribe. Then Antar set
out in search of her, and at length rescued her: their mutual love was
intensified by this reunion. By a series of wiles and intrigues
skilfully conducted, the chiefs who surrounded Ibla persuaded her to
demand still further dowry from Antar. She spoke of Khaled and Djaida,
whose history has already been related; she said, in presence of Antar,
that that young warrior girl would not consent to marry Khaled, saving
on the condition that her camel's bridle be held by the daughter of
Moawich. This word was sufficient for Antar, and he promised to Ibla
that Djaida should hold the bridle of her camel on her wedding day; and
more than that, the head of Khaled should be slung round the neck of the
warrior girl. Thus the hero, constantly loving and beloved by Ibla,
incessantly deceived by the cunningly devised obstacles raised by his
foes, sustained his reputation for greatness of character and strength
of arm, submitted with resignation to the severest tests, and passed
victoriously through them all. After the death of King Zoheir, whom he
avenged, he undertook to assist Cais, Zoheir's son, in all his
enterprises, and after a long series of adventures which tired the
patience, love, and courage of Antar, this hero, recognized as chief
among Arabian chieftains, obtained the great reward of his long
struggles and mighty toils, by marriage to his well-loved Ibla.