replied that it was his divinely appointed lot, and that it would be impious to complain of the dispensations of Providence. He also instanced the case of the ass of a water- carrier, which, after having starved and worked hard in its master's service, by chance found admittance to the king's stables, where it was struck by the sleek appearance of the horses. But one day the horses were taken out to battle, and returned in a most miserable plight, some grievously wound- ed, and others dying. After seeing this sight it determined that its own hard life was preferable, and returned to its mas- ter. The fox replied that the ass was wrong in carrying pas- sive resignation to such an extent as to refuse to try to better his condition when the opportunity of doing so presented itself, because God says, "Go in quest of the bounties of God." He added, if the ass would come with him, he would take him to a delightful meadow, where he would never lack plenty of grass all the year round. The ass rejoined that the command to strive for sustenance was only issued on account of the weakness of man's faith. The fox replied that this exalted faith was only vouchsafed to a few great saints, because the Prophet describes contentment as a treasure, and treasure is not found by everyone. The ass rejoined that the fox was perverting the Scripture, as no pious man who trust- ed in God was ever forsaken. In illustration of this he told an anecdote of a devotee who determined to put the matter to the test, and went out into the desert, trusting only to God to supply his wants, and resolved to seek no aid of man, and not to exert himself in any way to gain food. He lay down on a stone and went to sleep; and God sent a caravan of trav- elers that way, who found him, and forced him to take food in spite of himself. The fox again pressed the ass to try to bet- ter his condition, saying that God had given men hands to use and not to do anything with. The ass answered that he knew of no occupation and exertion better than trust in God, as worldly occupations often lead to ruin, according to the text, "Throw not yourselves with your own hands into ruin." But though the ass repeated all these excellent pre- cepts, yet it was only so much cant on his part, because he was not firmly rooted in. the faith. He had all the time a car- nal hankering after the pleasant grazing-ground the fox told him of, and the objections he made were only a parrot-like repetition of precepts heard, but not thoroughly understood and taken to heart. To illustrate the worthless nature of mere imitated religion and profession divorced from practice, a story is told of an infamous fellow who used to carry a dag- ger to protect as he said, his honor, though his every action showed that he had neither honor to protect nor manliness to protect it. The ass, though like Abraham, he had broken his idols, had not a sufficiently rooted faith to leap, like Abraham, into the fire, and thus prove his faith. (Here the poet apologizes for the trivial illustrations he uses by citing the text, "Verily God is not ashamed to set forth as well the instance of a gnat as of any nobler object" ). Finally the ass yielded to the fox's enticement, and accompanied him to the

replied that it was his divinely appointed lot, and that it would be impious to complain of the dispensations of Providence. He also instanced the case of the ass of a water- carrier, which, after having starved and worked hard in its master's service, by chance found admittance to the king's stables, where it was struck by the sleek appearance of the horses. But one day the horses were taken out to battle, and returned in a most miserable plight, some grievously wound- ed, and others dying. After seeing this sight it determined that its own hard life was preferable, and returned to its mas- ter. The fox replied that the ass was wrong in carrying pas- sive resignation to such an extent as to refuse to try to better his condition when the opportunity of doing so presented itself, because God says, "Go in quest of the bounties of God." He added, if the ass would come with him, he would take him to a delightful meadow, where he would never lack plenty of grass all the year round. The ass rejoined that the command to strive for sustenance was only issued on account of the weakness of man's faith. The fox replied that this exalted faith was only vouchsafed to a few great saints, because the Prophet describes contentment as a treasure, and treasure is not found by everyone. The ass rejoined that the fox was perverting the Scripture, as no pious man who trust- ed in God was ever forsaken. In illustration of this he told an anecdote of a devotee who determined to put the matter to the test, and went out into the desert, trusting only to God to supply his wants, and resolved to seek no aid of man, and not to exert himself in any way to gain food. He lay down on a stone and went to sleep; and God sent a caravan of trav- elers that way, who found him, and forced him to take food in spite of himself. The fox again pressed the ass to try to bet- ter his condition, saying that God had given men hands to use and not to do anything with. The ass answered that he knew of no occupation and exertion better than trust in God, as worldly occupations often lead to ruin, according to the text, "Throw not yourselves with your own hands into ruin." But though the ass repeated all these excellent pre- cepts, yet it was only so much cant on his part, because he was not firmly rooted in. the faith. He had all the time a car- nal hankering after the pleasant grazing-ground the fox told him of, and the objections he made were only a parrot-like repetition of precepts heard, but not thoroughly understood and taken to heart. To illustrate the worthless nature of mere imitated religion and profession divorced from practice, a story is told of an infamous fellow who used to carry a dag- ger to protect as he said, his honor, though his every action showed that he had neither honor to protect nor manliness to protect it. The ass, though like Abraham, he had broken his idols, had not a sufficiently rooted faith to leap, like Abraham, into the fire, and thus prove his faith. (Here the poet apologizes for the trivial illustrations he uses by citing the text, "Verily God is not ashamed to set forth as well the instance of a gnat as of any nobler object" ). Finally the ass yielded to the fox's enticement, and accompanied him to the

lion's lair. The lion, being famished with hunger, sprang upon him the moment he appeared. Being, however, weak with sickness and fasting, he missed his aim, and the ass escaped with a slight wound. Then the fox blamed the lion for his precipitation, and the lion, after excusing himself as best he could, persuaded the fox to try to allure the ass a sec- ond time into his lair. The fox consented to try, observing that experience would probably have been thrown away on an ass, and his vows of repentance forgotten. Those who lapse from repentance, in forgetfulness of their former expe- rience, may be compared to the Jews changed into apes and swine by 'Isa. The fox was received by the ass with many reproaches for having deceived him; but he at last managed to persuade the ass that what he had seen was not a real lion, but only a harmless talisman; and the silly ass allowed him- self to be again deluded, and forgot his vows of repentance, and again followed the fox to the lion's lair, where he speed- ily met his doom. Men who make professions of holiness merely from blind imitation of others are detected and confuted by the opposition between their words and their deeds. A man asked a camel, saying, "Ho! whence comest thou, Thou beast of auspicious footstep?" He replied, " From the hot bath of thy street." The man said, " That is proved false by thy dirty legs!" So, when stubborn Pharaoh saw Moses' staff a serpent, And begged for a delay (to fetch magicians) and relented, Wise men said, "He ought to have become harsher, If He really be, as He says, the Lord Supreme. What could miracles such as these of serpents, Or even dragons, matter to the majesty of His divinity? If He be really Lord Supreme, seated on His throne, What need has He to wheedle a worm like Moses?" O babbler, while thy soul is drunk with mere date wine, Thy spirit hath not tasted the genuine grapes. For the token of thy having seen that divine light Is this, to withdraw thyself from the house of pride. When a fowl flies to the salt water, It has never beheld the blessing of sweet water; But its faith is mere imitation of other fowl, And its soul has never seen the face of real faith. Wherefore the blind imitator encounters great perils, Perils of the road, of robbers, of cursed Satans. But when he has seen the light of God, he is safe From the agitation of doubt, and is firm in the faith. Till the foam has landed on the shore and dry land, Which is its home, it is ever tossed to and fro. 'Tis at home on the land, but a stranger on the water. While it remains a stranger, it must be tossed about. When its eyes are opened, and it sees the vision of land, Satan has no longer any domination over it. Although the ass repeated verities to the fox, He spoke them idly and in the way of cant. He praised the water, but was not eager to drink; He rent his garments and his hair, but was no real lover. The excuse of a hypocrite is rejected, not approved, Because it comes only from the lips, not from the heart. He has the scent of the apple, but not a piece of it, And the scent only for the purpose of misleading others. Thus a woman's onset in the midst of a battle array,

lion's lair. The lion, being famished with hunger, sprang upon him the moment he appeared. Being, however, weak with sickness and fasting, he missed his aim, and the ass escaped with a slight wound. Then the fox blamed the lion for his precipitation, and the lion, after excusing himself as best he could, persuaded the fox to try to allure the ass a sec- ond time into his lair. The fox consented to try, observing that experience would probably have been thrown away on an ass, and his vows of repentance forgotten. Those who lapse from repentance, in forgetfulness of their former expe- rience, may be compared to the Jews changed into apes and swine by 'Isa. The fox was received by the ass with many reproaches for having deceived him; but he at last managed to persuade the ass that what he had seen was not a real lion, but only a harmless talisman; and the silly ass allowed him- self to be again deluded, and forgot his vows of repentance, and again followed the fox to the lion's lair, where he speed- ily met his doom. Men who make professions of holiness merely from blind imitation of others are detected and confuted by the opposition between their words and their deeds. A man asked a camel, saying, "Ho! whence comest thou, Thou beast of auspicious footstep?" He replied, " From the hot bath of thy street." The man said, " That is proved false by thy dirty legs!" So, when stubborn Pharaoh saw Moses' staff a serpent, And begged for a delay (to fetch magicians) and relented, Wise men said, "He ought to have become harsher, If He really be, as He says, the Lord Supreme. What could miracles such as these of serpents, Or even dragons, matter to the majesty of His divinity? If He be really Lord Supreme, seated on His throne, What need has He to wheedle a worm like Moses?" O babbler, while thy soul is drunk with mere date wine, Thy spirit hath not tasted the genuine grapes. For the token of thy having seen that divine light Is this, to withdraw thyself from the house of pride. When a fowl flies to the salt water, It has never beheld the blessing of sweet water; But its faith is mere imitation of other fowl, And its soul has never seen the face of real faith. Wherefore the blind imitator encounters great perils, Perils of the road, of robbers, of cursed Satans. But when he has seen the light of God, he is safe From the agitation of doubt, and is firm in the faith. Till the foam has landed on the shore and dry land, Which is its home, it is ever tossed to and fro. 'Tis at home on the land, but a stranger on the water. While it remains a stranger, it must be tossed about. When its eyes are opened, and it sees the vision of land, Satan has no longer any domination over it. Although the ass repeated verities to the fox, He spoke them idly and in the way of cant. He praised the water, but was not eager to drink; He rent his garments and his hair, but was no real lover. The excuse of a hypocrite is rejected, not approved, Because it comes only from the lips, not from the heart. He has the scent of the apple, but not a piece of it, And the scent only for the purpose of misleading others. Thus a woman's onset in the midst of a battle array,

She keeps in line, and forms part of the battle array, Yet, though she looks a very lion as she stands in line, Her hand begins to tremble as soon as she takes a sword. Woe to him whose reason is like a woman While his lust is like a resolute man! Of a certainty his reason will be worsted in the fight, And his imitation of a man will only lead him to ruin. Happy is he whose reason is masculine, And his ugly lust feminine and under subjection! Though the mere imitator quotes a hundred proofs, They are all based on opinion, not on conviction. He is only scented with musk, he is not himself musk; He smells of musk, but is really naught but dung. For his dung to become musk, O disciple, He must graze year after year in the divine pasture. For he who, like the musk-deer, feeds on saffron of Khoten Must not eat grass and oats like asses. That man of cant has at his tongue's end A hundred proofs and precepts, but there is no life in him. When the preacher has himself no light or life, How can his words yield leaves and fruit? He impudently preaches to others to walk aright, While himself He is unsteady as a reed shaken by wind. Thus, though his preaching is very eloquent, It hides within it unsteadiness in the faith. In order to gain true wisdom man must shake off worldly illusions. The fox said, "In my pure wine there are no dregs; These vain suspicions are not becoming. All this is only baseless suspicion, O simple one, Else you would know I am not plotting against you. You repudiate me on account of your own bad fancies; Why do you thus suspect your true friends? Think well of the 'Brothers of purity,' Even though they show harshness toward you; For when evil suspicion takes hold of you, It severs you from hundreds of friends. If a tender friend treats you roughly to try you, 'Tis contrary to reason to distrust him. Though I bear a bad name, my nature is not malevolent; What you saw was not dangerous, it was only a talisman. But even if there were danger in that object of suspicion, Friends always pardon an offence." This world of illusions, fancies, desires, and fears, Is a mighty obstacle in the traveler's path. Thus, when these forms of delusive imaginations Misled Abraham, who was a very mountain of wisdom, He said of the star, " This is my Lord," Having fallen into the midst of the world of illusion. He thus interpreted the meaning of sun and stars, Yea, he, that great man who threaded jewels of interpreta- tion, Seeing then that this world of eye-fascinating illusion Seduced from the right path such a mountain as Abraham, So that he said of the star, "This is my Lord," What will not its illusions effect on a stupid ass? Human reason is drowned, like the high mountains, in the flood of illusion and vain imaginations. The very mountains are overwhelmed by this flood, Where is safety to be found save in Noahs ark? By illusions that plunder the road of faith The faithful have been split into seventy-two sects. But the man of conviction escapes illusion; He does not mistake his eyelash for the new moon. He who is divorced from 'Omar's light Is deceived by his own crooked eyelash. Thousands of ships, in all their majesty and pomp, Have gone to pieces in this sea of illusion.

She keeps in line, and forms part of the battle array, Yet, though she looks a very lion as she stands in line, Her hand begins to tremble as soon as she takes a sword. Woe to him whose reason is like a woman While his lust is like a resolute man! Of a certainty his reason will be worsted in the fight, And his imitation of a man will only lead him to ruin. Happy is he whose reason is masculine, And his ugly lust feminine and under subjection! Though the mere imitator quotes a hundred proofs, They are all based on opinion, not on conviction. He is only scented with musk, he is not himself musk; He smells of musk, but is really naught but dung. For his dung to become musk, O disciple, He must graze year after year in the divine pasture. For he who, like the musk-deer, feeds on saffron of Khoten Must not eat grass and oats like asses. That man of cant has at his tongue's end A hundred proofs and precepts, but there is no life in him. When the preacher has himself no light or life, How can his words yield leaves and fruit? He impudently preaches to others to walk aright, While himself He is unsteady as a reed shaken by wind. Thus, though his preaching is very eloquent, It hides within it unsteadiness in the faith. In order to gain true wisdom man must shake off worldly illusions. The fox said, "In my pure wine there are no dregs; These vain suspicions are not becoming. All this is only baseless suspicion, O simple one, Else you would know I am not plotting against you. You repudiate me on account of your own bad fancies; Why do you thus suspect your true friends? Think well of the 'Brothers of purity,' Even though they show harshness toward you; For when evil suspicion takes hold of you, It severs you from hundreds of friends. If a tender friend treats you roughly to try you, 'Tis contrary to reason to distrust him. Though I bear a bad name, my nature is not malevolent; What you saw was not dangerous, it was only a talisman. But even if there were danger in that object of suspicion, Friends always pardon an offence." This world of illusions, fancies, desires, and fears, Is a mighty obstacle in the traveler's path. Thus, when these forms of delusive imaginations Misled Abraham, who was a very mountain of wisdom, He said of the star, " This is my Lord," Having fallen into the midst of the world of illusion. He thus interpreted the meaning of sun and stars, Yea, he, that great man who threaded jewels of interpreta- tion, Seeing then that this world of eye-fascinating illusion Seduced from the right path such a mountain as Abraham, So that he said of the star, "This is my Lord," What will not its illusions effect on a stupid ass? Human reason is drowned, like the high mountains, in the flood of illusion and vain imaginations. The very mountains are overwhelmed by this flood, Where is safety to be found save in Noahs ark? By illusions that plunder the road of faith The faithful have been split into seventy-two sects. But the man of conviction escapes illusion; He does not mistake his eyelash for the new moon. He who is divorced from 'Omar's light Is deceived by his own crooked eyelash. Thousands of ships, in all their majesty and pomp, Have gone to pieces in this sea of illusion.

Then follows an anecdote of Shaikh Muhammad of Ghazni, who was named "Sar i Razi," because he used to take only a vine-leaf to break his fast. He dwelt a long time in the desert, and was there miraculously preserved from death, and directed by divine intimation to proceed to Ghazni, and beg money of the rich and distribute it to the poor. After he had done this some time a second intimation came to him to beg no longer, as the money for his charities would be supplied to him miraculously. He at last attained to such a degree of spiritual insight that he knew the wants of those who came to him for aid before they uttered them. He said the reason of this preternatural discernment was, that he had purified his heart of all but the love of God, and thus, whenever thoughts of anything besides God occurred to his mind, he knew they did not appertain to him, but must have been in some way suggested to him by the per- son asking aid of him. Then follow some reflections on the power of fasting and abstinence to subdue the carnal lusts which lead man to destruction; and two short anecdotes to illustrate the thesis that God never fails to provide sustenance for those who take no thought for the morrow, but place absolute trust in Him. The fate of the ass then suggests to the poet another train of reflections. After the lion had slain the ass, he went to the river to quench his thirst, telling the fox to watch the dead body till he returned; but the moment the lion's back was turned the fox ate up the heart and liver, which are the dain- tiest parts. When the lion returned and inquired for them, the fox assured him that the ass had possessed neither a heart nor a liver, for if he had he would never have shown himself so stupid. Men without understanding are not real- ly men at all, but only simulacra or forms of men. For lack of understanding many will cry in the world to come, "Had we but hearkened or understood, we had not been among the dwellers in the flame" Then follows a story of a monk (Diogenes) who took a lantern and searched all through a bazaar crowded with men to find, as he said, a man. The monk's search for a man. The monk said, "I am searching everywhere for a man Who lives by the life of the breath of God." The other said, "Here are men; the bazaar is full; These are surely men, O enlightened sage!" The monk said, "I seek a man who walks straight As well in the road of anger as in that of lust. Where is one who shows himself a man in anger and lust? In search of such a one I run from street to street. If there be one who is a true man in these two states, I will yield up my life for him this day!" The other, who was a fatalist, said, "What you seek is rare. But you are ignorant of the force of the divine decree; You see the branches, but ignore the root. We men are but branches, God's eternal decree the root. That decree turns from its course the revolving sky, And makes foolish hundreds of planets like Mercury. It reduces to helplessness the world of devices; It turns steel and stone to water.

Then follows an anecdote of Shaikh Muhammad of Ghazni, who was named "Sar i Razi," because he used to take only a vine-leaf to break his fast. He dwelt a long time in the desert, and was there miraculously preserved from death, and directed by divine intimation to proceed to Ghazni, and beg money of the rich and distribute it to the poor. After he had done this some time a second intimation came to him to beg no longer, as the money for his charities would be supplied to him miraculously. He at last attained to such a degree of spiritual insight that he knew the wants of those who came to him for aid before they uttered them. He said the reason of this preternatural discernment was, that he had purified his heart of all but the love of God, and thus, whenever thoughts of anything besides God occurred to his mind, he knew they did not appertain to him, but must have been in some way suggested to him by the per- son asking aid of him. Then follow some reflections on the power of fasting and abstinence to subdue the carnal lusts which lead man to destruction; and two short anecdotes to illustrate the thesis that God never fails to provide sustenance for those who take no thought for the morrow, but place absolute trust in Him. The fate of the ass then suggests to the poet another train of reflections. After the lion had slain the ass, he went to the river to quench his thirst, telling the fox to watch the dead body till he returned; but the moment the lion's back was turned the fox ate up the heart and liver, which are the dain- tiest parts. When the lion returned and inquired for them, the fox assured him that the ass had possessed neither a heart nor a liver, for if he had he would never have shown himself so stupid. Men without understanding are not real- ly men at all, but only simulacra or forms of men. For lack of understanding many will cry in the world to come, "Had we but hearkened or understood, we had not been among the dwellers in the flame" Then follows a story of a monk (Diogenes) who took a lantern and searched all through a bazaar crowded with men to find, as he said, a man. The monk's search for a man. The monk said, "I am searching everywhere for a man Who lives by the life of the breath of God." The other said, "Here are men; the bazaar is full; These are surely men, O enlightened sage!" The monk said, "I seek a man who walks straight As well in the road of anger as in that of lust. Where is one who shows himself a man in anger and lust? In search of such a one I run from street to street. If there be one who is a true man in these two states, I will yield up my life for him this day!" The other, who was a fatalist, said, "What you seek is rare. But you are ignorant of the force of the divine decree; You see the branches, but ignore the root. We men are but branches, God's eternal decree the root. That decree turns from its course the revolving sky, And makes foolish hundreds of planets like Mercury. It reduces to helplessness the world of devices; It turns steel and stone to water.

you who attribute stability to these steps on the road, You are one of the raw ones; yea, raw, raw! When you have seen the millstone turning round, Then, prithee, go and see the stream that turns it. When you have seen the dust rising up into the air, Go and mark the air in the midst of the dust. You see the kettles of thought boiling over, Look with intelligence at the fire beneath them. God said to Job, 'Out of my clemency 1 have given a grain of patience to every hair of thine.' Look not, then, so much at your own patience; After seeing patience, look to the Giver of patience. How long will you confine your view to the waterwheel? Lift up your head and view also the water." 6. Koran xxviii. 38. 7. A society at Basra, who wrote, about 980 AD., an encyclopedia of philosophy (trans, by Dieterici). 9. Alluding to the first anecdote in Book II. 10. Koran lxxvii. 10. STORY XL The Mosalman who tried to convert a Magian. A Mosalman pressed a Magian to embrace the true faith. The Magian replied, "If God wills it, no doubt I shall do so." The Mosalman replied, "God certainly wills it, that your soul may be saved from hell; but your own evil lusts and the Devil hold you back." The Magian retorted, using the arguments of the Jabriyan or "Compulsionists," that on earth God is sole sovereign, and that Satan and lust exist and act only in furtherance of God's will. To hold that God is pulling men one way and Satan another is to derogate from God's sovereignty. Man cannot help moving in the direction he is most strongly impelled to go; if he is impelled wrongly he is no more to blame than a building designed for a mosque but degraded into a fire-temple, or a piece of cloth designed for a coat but altered into a pair of trousers. The truth is, that whatever occurs is according to God's will, and Satan himself is only one of His agents. Satan resembles the Turkoman's dog who sits at the door of the tent, and is" vehement against aliens, but full of ten- derness to friends." The Mosalman then replied with the arguments of the Qadarians and Mutazilites, to prove the freedom of the will and consequent responsibility of man for his actions. He urged that man's free agency and conse- quent responsibility are recognized in common parlance, as when we order a man to act in a certain way,-that God expressly assumes man to be a free agent by addressing commands and prohibitions to him, and by specially exempting some, such as the blind, from responsibility for certain acts, that our internal consciousness assures us of our power of choice, just as outward sense assures us of properties in material objects, and that it is just as sophis- tical to disbelieve the declarations of the interior con- sciousness, as those of the outward senses as to the reality

you who attribute stability to these steps on the road, You are one of the raw ones; yea, raw, raw! When you have seen the millstone turning round, Then, prithee, go and see the stream that turns it. When you have seen the dust rising up into the air, Go and mark the air in the midst of the dust. You see the kettles of thought boiling over, Look with intelligence at the fire beneath them. God said to Job, 'Out of my clemency 1 have given a grain of patience to every hair of thine.' Look not, then, so much at your own patience; After seeing patience, look to the Giver of patience. How long will you confine your view to the waterwheel? Lift up your head and view also the water." 6. Koran xxviii. 38. 7. A society at Basra, who wrote, about 980 AD., an encyclopedia of philosophy (trans, by Dieterici). 9. Alluding to the first anecdote in Book II. 10. Koran lxxvii. 10. STORY XL The Mosalman who tried to convert a Magian. A Mosalman pressed a Magian to embrace the true faith. The Magian replied, "If God wills it, no doubt I shall do so." The Mosalman replied, "God certainly wills it, that your soul may be saved from hell; but your own evil lusts and the Devil hold you back." The Magian retorted, using the arguments of the Jabriyan or "Compulsionists," that on earth God is sole sovereign, and that Satan and lust exist and act only in furtherance of God's will. To hold that God is pulling men one way and Satan another is to derogate from God's sovereignty. Man cannot help moving in the direction he is most strongly impelled to go; if he is impelled wrongly he is no more to blame than a building designed for a mosque but degraded into a fire-temple, or a piece of cloth designed for a coat but altered into a pair of trousers. The truth is, that whatever occurs is according to God's will, and Satan himself is only one of His agents. Satan resembles the Turkoman's dog who sits at the door of the tent, and is" vehement against aliens, but full of ten- derness to friends." The Mosalman then replied with the arguments of the Qadarians and Mutazilites, to prove the freedom of the will and consequent responsibility of man for his actions. He urged that man's free agency and conse- quent responsibility are recognized in common parlance, as when we order a man to act in a certain way,-that God expressly assumes man to be a free agent by addressing commands and prohibitions to him, and by specially exempting some, such as the blind, from responsibility for certain acts, that our internal consciousness assures us of our power of choice, just as outward sense assures us of properties in material objects, and that it is just as sophis- tical to disbelieve the declarations of the interior con- sciousness, as those of the outward senses as to the reality

of the material world. He then told an anecdote of a man caught robbing a garden and defending himself with the fatalist plea of irresponsibility, to whom the owner of the garden replied by administering a very severe beating, and assuring him that this beating was also predestined, and that he therefore could not help administering it. He con- cluded his argument by repeating that the traditions, "Whatever God wills is," and "The pen is dry, and alters not its writing," are not inconsistent with the existence of freewill in man. They are not intended to reduce good action and evil to the same level, but good actions will always entail good consequences, and bad actions the reverse. A devotee admired the splendid apparel of the slaves of the Chief of Herat, and cried to Heaven, "Ah! learn from this Chief how to treat faithful slaves!" Shortly after the Chief was deposed, and his slaves were put to the torture to make them reveal where the Chief had hidden his treasure, but not one would betray the secret. Then a voice from heaven came to the devotee, saying, "Learn from them how to be a faithful slave, and then look for rec- ompense." The Magian, unconvinced by the arguments of the Mosalman, again plied him with "Compulsionist" arguments, and the discussion was protracted, with the usual result of leaving both the disputants of the same opinion as when they began. The poet remarks that the contest of the "Compulsionists" and the advocates of man's free agency will endure till the day of judgment; for noth- ing can resolve these difficulties but the true love which is "a gift imparted by God to whom He will." Love puts reason to silence. Love is a perfect muzzle of evil suggestions; Without love who ever succeeded in stopping them? Be a lover, and seek that fair Beauty, Hunt for that Waterfowl in every stream! How can you get water from that which cuts it off? How gain understanding from what destroys understand- ing? Apart from principles of reason are other principles Of light and great price to be gained by love of God. Besides this reason of yours God has other reasons Which will procure for you heavenly nourishment. By your carnal reason you may procure earthly food, By God-given reason you may mount the heavens. When, to win enduring love of God, you sacrifice reason, God gives you "a tenfold recompense;" yea, seven hun- dred fold. When those Egyptian women sacrificed their reason, They penetrated the mansion of Joseph's love; The Cup-bearer of life bore away their reason, They were filled with wisdom of the world without end. Joseph's beauty was only an offshoot of God's beauty; Be lost, then, in God's beauty more than those women. Love of God cuts short reasoning, O beloved, For it is a present refuge from perplexities. Through love bewilderment befalls the power of speech, It no longer dares to utter what passes; For if it sets forth an answer, it fears greatly That its secret treasure may escape its lips. Therefore it closes lips from saying good or bad, So that its treasure may not escape it. In like manner the Prophet's companions tell us "When the Prophet used to tell us deep sayings, That chosen one, while scattering pearls of speech, Would bid us preserve perfect quiet and silence."

of the material world. He then told an anecdote of a man caught robbing a garden and defending himself with the fatalist plea of irresponsibility, to whom the owner of the garden replied by administering a very severe beating, and assuring him that this beating was also predestined, and that he therefore could not help administering it. He con- cluded his argument by repeating that the traditions, "Whatever God wills is," and "The pen is dry, and alters not its writing," are not inconsistent with the existence of freewill in man. They are not intended to reduce good action and evil to the same level, but good actions will always entail good consequences, and bad actions the reverse. A devotee admired the splendid apparel of the slaves of the Chief of Herat, and cried to Heaven, "Ah! learn from this Chief how to treat faithful slaves!" Shortly after the Chief was deposed, and his slaves were put to the torture to make them reveal where the Chief had hidden his treasure, but not one would betray the secret. Then a voice from heaven came to the devotee, saying, "Learn from them how to be a faithful slave, and then look for rec- ompense." The Magian, unconvinced by the arguments of the Mosalman, again plied him with "Compulsionist" arguments, and the discussion was protracted, with the usual result of leaving both the disputants of the same opinion as when they began. The poet remarks that the contest of the "Compulsionists" and the advocates of man's free agency will endure till the day of judgment; for noth- ing can resolve these difficulties but the true love which is "a gift imparted by God to whom He will." Love puts reason to silence. Love is a perfect muzzle of evil suggestions; Without love who ever succeeded in stopping them? Be a lover, and seek that fair Beauty, Hunt for that Waterfowl in every stream! How can you get water from that which cuts it off? How gain understanding from what destroys understand- ing? Apart from principles of reason are other principles Of light and great price to be gained by love of God. Besides this reason of yours God has other reasons Which will procure for you heavenly nourishment. By your carnal reason you may procure earthly food, By God-given reason you may mount the heavens. When, to win enduring love of God, you sacrifice reason, God gives you "a tenfold recompense;" yea, seven hun- dred fold. When those Egyptian women sacrificed their reason, They penetrated the mansion of Joseph's love; The Cup-bearer of life bore away their reason, They were filled with wisdom of the world without end. Joseph's beauty was only an offshoot of God's beauty; Be lost, then, in God's beauty more than those women. Love of God cuts short reasoning, O beloved, For it is a present refuge from perplexities. Through love bewilderment befalls the power of speech, It no longer dares to utter what passes; For if it sets forth an answer, it fears greatly That its secret treasure may escape its lips. Therefore it closes lips from saying good or bad, So that its treasure may not escape it. In like manner the Prophet's companions tell us "When the Prophet used to tell us deep sayings, That chosen one, while scattering pearls of speech, Would bid us preserve perfect quiet and silence."

So, when the mighty phoenix hovers over your head, Causing your soul to tremble at the motion of its wings, You venture not to stir from your place, Lest that bird of good fortune should take wing. You hold your breath and repress your coughs, So as not to scare that phoenix into flying away. And if one say a word to you, whether good or bad, You place finger on lip, as much as to say, "Be silent." That phoenix is bewilderment, it makes you silent; The kettle is silent, though it is boiling all the while. 1 . Note the true believer is here represented as using the argu- ments of the Qadarians or Mutazilites for free will, as against the Jabriyan or fatalist argument put into the mouth of the Magian. 2. Koran xlviii. 29. 4. The Prophet said, "Sit not with a disputer about fate, nor converse with him." 7. "And when they saw him they were amazed at him, and cut their hands" (Koran xii. 31). 8. It is supposed to bring good fortune. 9. Bewilderment is the "truly mystical darkness of ignorance" which falls upon the mystic when the light of absolute Being draws near to him, and "blinds him with excess of light." See Gulshan i Raz, p. 33, and notes. STORY XII. The Devotee who broke the noble's wine-jar. A certain noble, who lived under the Christian dispensa- tion when wine was allowed, sent his servant to a monastery to fetch some wine. The servant went and bought the wine, and was returning with it, when he passed the house of a very austere and testy devotee. This devotee called out to him, "What have you got there?" The servant said, "Wine, belonging to such a noble." The devotee said, "What! does a follower of God indulge in wine? Followers of God should have naught to do with pleasure and drinking; for wine is a very Satan, and steals men's wits. Your wits are not too bright already, so you have no need to render them still duller by drink." In illustration of this, he told the story of one Ziayi Dalaq, a very tall man, who had a dwarfish brother. This brother one day received him very ungraciously, only half rising from his seat in answer to his salutation, and Ziayi Dalaq said to him, "You seem to think yourself so tall that it is necessary to clip off somewhat of your height." Finally the devotee broke the wine-jar with a stone, and the servant went and told his master. The noble was very wrathful at the presumption of the devotee in taking upon himself to pro- hibit wine, as condemned by the law of nature, when it had not been prohibited by the Gospel, and he took a thick stick and went to the devotee's house to chastise him. The devo- tee heard of his approach and hid himself under some wool, which belonged to the ropemakers of the village, He said to himself, "To tell an angry man of his faults one needs to have a face as hard as a mirror, which reflects his ugliness without fear or favor." Just so the Prince of Tirmid was once playing chess with a courtier, and being checkmated, got into a rage and threw the chessboard at his courtier's head. So before playing the next game the courtier protected his head by

So, when the mighty phoenix hovers over your head, Causing your soul to tremble at the motion of its wings, You venture not to stir from your place, Lest that bird of good fortune should take wing. You hold your breath and repress your coughs, So as not to scare that phoenix into flying away. And if one say a word to you, whether good or bad, You place finger on lip, as much as to say, "Be silent." That phoenix is bewilderment, it makes you silent; The kettle is silent, though it is boiling all the while. 1 . Note the true believer is here represented as using the argu- ments of the Qadarians or Mutazilites for free will, as against the Jabriyan or fatalist argument put into the mouth of the Magian. 2. Koran xlviii. 29. 4. The Prophet said, "Sit not with a disputer about fate, nor converse with him." 7. "And when they saw him they were amazed at him, and cut their hands" (Koran xii. 31). 8. It is supposed to bring good fortune. 9. Bewilderment is the "truly mystical darkness of ignorance" which falls upon the mystic when the light of absolute Being draws near to him, and "blinds him with excess of light." See Gulshan i Raz, p. 33, and notes. STORY XII. The Devotee who broke the noble's wine-jar. A certain noble, who lived under the Christian dispensa- tion when wine was allowed, sent his servant to a monastery to fetch some wine. The servant went and bought the wine, and was returning with it, when he passed the house of a very austere and testy devotee. This devotee called out to him, "What have you got there?" The servant said, "Wine, belonging to such a noble." The devotee said, "What! does a follower of God indulge in wine? Followers of God should have naught to do with pleasure and drinking; for wine is a very Satan, and steals men's wits. Your wits are not too bright already, so you have no need to render them still duller by drink." In illustration of this, he told the story of one Ziayi Dalaq, a very tall man, who had a dwarfish brother. This brother one day received him very ungraciously, only half rising from his seat in answer to his salutation, and Ziayi Dalaq said to him, "You seem to think yourself so tall that it is necessary to clip off somewhat of your height." Finally the devotee broke the wine-jar with a stone, and the servant went and told his master. The noble was very wrathful at the presumption of the devotee in taking upon himself to pro- hibit wine, as condemned by the law of nature, when it had not been prohibited by the Gospel, and he took a thick stick and went to the devotee's house to chastise him. The devo- tee heard of his approach and hid himself under some wool, which belonged to the ropemakers of the village, He said to himself, "To tell an angry man of his faults one needs to have a face as hard as a mirror, which reflects his ugliness without fear or favor." Just so the Prince of Tirmid was once playing chess with a courtier, and being checkmated, got into a rage and threw the chessboard at his courtier's head. So before playing the next game the courtier protected his head by

wrappings of felt. Then the neighbors of the devotee, hear- ing the noise, came out and interceded for him with the noble, telling him that the devotee was half-witted, and could not be held responsible for his actions; and moreover, that as he was a favorite of God, it was useless to attempt to slay him before his time, for the Prophet and other saints had been miraculously preserved in circumstances fatal to ordinary persons. The noble refused to be pacified; but the neighbors redoubled their entreaties, urging that he had so much pleasure in his sovereignty that he could well dispense with the pleasure of wine. The noble strenuously denied this, saying that no other pleasure of sovereignty, or what not, could compensate him for the loss of wine, which made him sway from side to side like the jessamine. The prophets themselves had rejected all other pleasures for that of spiri- tual intoxication, and he who has once embraced a living mistress will never put up with a dead one. The moral is, that spiritual pleasures, typified by wine, are not to be bartered away for earthly pleasures. The Prophet said, "The world is carrion, and they who seek it are dogs;" and the Koran says, "The present life is no other than a pastime and a sport; but the future mansion is life indeed." Description of a devotee who trusted to the light of nature. His brain is dried up; and as for his reason, It is now less than that of a child. Age and abstinence have added infirmity to infirmity, And his abstinence has yielded him no rejoicing. He has endured toils, but gained no reward from his Friend; He has done the work, but has not been paid. Either his work has lacked value, Or the time of recompense is not decreed as yet. Either his works are as the works of the Jews, Or his reward is held back till the appointed time. This grief and sorrow are enough for him, That in this valley of pain he is utterly friendless. With sad eyes he sits in his corner, With frowning face and downcast looks. There is no oculist who cares to open his eyes, Nor has he reason enough to discover the eye-salve. He strives earnestly with firm resolve and in hope, His work is done on the chance of being right. The vision of "The Friend" is far from his course, For he loses the kernel in his love for the shell. 1 . Half-witted persons are supposed to be divinely protected. 3. "But as to the infidels, their works are like the mirage in the desert" (Koran xxiv. 39). 4. I.e., he has no director (Murshid i kamil) to instruct him in the right course. STORY VIII. (continued). Mabmud and Ayaz.

wrappings of felt. Then the neighbors of the devotee, hear- ing the noise, came out and interceded for him with the noble, telling him that the devotee was half-witted, and could not be held responsible for his actions; and moreover, that as he was a favorite of God, it was useless to attempt to slay him before his time, for the Prophet and other saints had been miraculously preserved in circumstances fatal to ordinary persons. The noble refused to be pacified; but the neighbors redoubled their entreaties, urging that he had so much pleasure in his sovereignty that he could well dispense with the pleasure of wine. The noble strenuously denied this, saying that no other pleasure of sovereignty, or what not, could compensate him for the loss of wine, which made him sway from side to side like the jessamine. The prophets themselves had rejected all other pleasures for that of spiri- tual intoxication, and he who has once embraced a living mistress will never put up with a dead one. The moral is, that spiritual pleasures, typified by wine, are not to be bartered away for earthly pleasures. The Prophet said, "The world is carrion, and they who seek it are dogs;" and the Koran says, "The present life is no other than a pastime and a sport; but the future mansion is life indeed." Description of a devotee who trusted to the light of nature. His brain is dried up; and as for his reason, It is now less than that of a child. Age and abstinence have added infirmity to infirmity, And his abstinence has yielded him no rejoicing. He has endured toils, but gained no reward from his Friend; He has done the work, but has not been paid. Either his work has lacked value, Or the time of recompense is not decreed as yet. Either his works are as the works of the Jews, Or his reward is held back till the appointed time. This grief and sorrow are enough for him, That in this valley of pain he is utterly friendless. With sad eyes he sits in his corner, With frowning face and downcast looks. There is no oculist who cares to open his eyes, Nor has he reason enough to discover the eye-salve. He strives earnestly with firm resolve and in hope, His work is done on the chance of being right. The vision of "The Friend" is far from his course, For he loses the kernel in his love for the shell. 1 . Half-witted persons are supposed to be divinely protected. 3. "But as to the infidels, their works are like the mirage in the desert" (Koran xxiv. 39). 4. I.e., he has no director (Murshid i kamil) to instruct him in the right course. STORY VIII. (continued). Mabmud and Ayaz.

The poet now returns to the story of Mahmud and Ayaz, which is continued at intervals till the end of the book. The king inquired of Ayaz what made him continually visit his old shoes and garments, as Majnun used to visit his Laila, or as a Christian regularly visits his priest to obtain absolu- tion for his sins. Why should he call to these dead things, like a fond mother calling to her dead infant, were it not that faith and love made them, as it were, living beings to him? The eye sees what it brings with it to see; it can see nothing but what it has gained the faculty of seeing. Thus the face of Laila, which seemed so lovely to the eyes of Majnun, made clairvoyant by love, seemed to strangers to have no claims to beauty. The earthly forms which here sur- round us are, as it were, vessels fraught with spiritual wine, only visible to those who have learnt to discern the deep things of the Spirit. Love and faith are a mighty spell. O Ayaz, what is this love of yours for your old shoes, Which resembles the love of a lover for his mistress? You have made these old shoes your object of devotion, Just as Majnun made an idol of his Laila! You have bound the affection of your soul to them, And hung them up in your secret chamber. How long will you say orisons to this old pair of shoes? And breathe your oft-told secrets into inanimate ears? Like the Arab lover to the house of his dead mistress, You address to them long invocations of love. Of what great Asaf were your shoes the house? Is your old garment, think you, the coat of Yusuf? Like a Christian who confesses to a priest His past year's sins of fornication, fraud, and deceit; In order that the priest may absolve him of those sins; He thinks the priest's absolution the same as God's! That priest is unable to condemn or to absolve; But faith and love are a mighty enchantment! God's dealings visible to the spiritual. The wine is from that world, the vessels from this; The vessels are seen, but the wine is hidden! Hidden indeed from the sight of the carnal, But open and manifest to the spiritual! O God, our eyes are blinded! O pardon us, our sins are a heavy burden! Thou art hidden from us, though the heavens are filled With Thy light, which is brighter than sun and moon! Thou art hidden, yet revealest our hidden secrets! Thou art the source that causes our rivers to flow. Thou art hidden in Thy essence, but seen by Thy bounties. Thou art like the water, and we like the millstone. Thou art like the wind, and we like the dust; The wind is unseen, but the dust is seen by all. Thou art the spring, and we the sweet green garden; Spring is not seen, though its gifts are seen. Thou art as the soul, we as hand and foot; Soul instructs hand and foot to hold and take. Thou art as reason, we like the tongue; 'Tis reason that teaches the tongue to speak. Thou art as joy, and we are laughing; The laughter is the consequence of the joy. Our every motion every moment testifies, For it proves the presence of the Everlasting God. So the revolution of the millstone, so violent, Testifies to the existence of a stream of water. O Thou who art above our conceptions and descriptions,

The poet now returns to the story of Mahmud and Ayaz, which is continued at intervals till the end of the book. The king inquired of Ayaz what made him continually visit his old shoes and garments, as Majnun used to visit his Laila, or as a Christian regularly visits his priest to obtain absolu- tion for his sins. Why should he call to these dead things, like a fond mother calling to her dead infant, were it not that faith and love made them, as it were, living beings to him? The eye sees what it brings with it to see; it can see nothing but what it has gained the faculty of seeing. Thus the face of Laila, which seemed so lovely to the eyes of Majnun, made clairvoyant by love, seemed to strangers to have no claims to beauty. The earthly forms which here sur- round us are, as it were, vessels fraught with spiritual wine, only visible to those who have learnt to discern the deep things of the Spirit. Love and faith are a mighty spell. O Ayaz, what is this love of yours for your old shoes, Which resembles the love of a lover for his mistress? You have made these old shoes your object of devotion, Just as Majnun made an idol of his Laila! You have bound the affection of your soul to them, And hung them up in your secret chamber. How long will you say orisons to this old pair of shoes? And breathe your oft-told secrets into inanimate ears? Like the Arab lover to the house of his dead mistress, You address to them long invocations of love. Of what great Asaf were your shoes the house? Is your old garment, think you, the coat of Yusuf? Like a Christian who confesses to a priest His past year's sins of fornication, fraud, and deceit; In order that the priest may absolve him of those sins; He thinks the priest's absolution the same as God's! That priest is unable to condemn or to absolve; But faith and love are a mighty enchantment! God's dealings visible to the spiritual. The wine is from that world, the vessels from this; The vessels are seen, but the wine is hidden! Hidden indeed from the sight of the carnal, But open and manifest to the spiritual! O God, our eyes are blinded! O pardon us, our sins are a heavy burden! Thou art hidden from us, though the heavens are filled With Thy light, which is brighter than sun and moon! Thou art hidden, yet revealest our hidden secrets! Thou art the source that causes our rivers to flow. Thou art hidden in Thy essence, but seen by Thy bounties. Thou art like the water, and we like the millstone. Thou art like the wind, and we like the dust; The wind is unseen, but the dust is seen by all. Thou art the spring, and we the sweet green garden; Spring is not seen, though its gifts are seen. Thou art as the soul, we as hand and foot; Soul instructs hand and foot to hold and take. Thou art as reason, we like the tongue; 'Tis reason that teaches the tongue to speak. Thou art as joy, and we are laughing; The laughter is the consequence of the joy. Our every motion every moment testifies, For it proves the presence of the Everlasting God. So the revolution of the millstone, so violent, Testifies to the existence of a stream of water. O Thou who art above our conceptions and descriptions,

Dust be on our heads, and upon our similitudes of Thee! Yet Thy slaves never cease devising images of Thee; They cry to Thee always, "My life is Thy footstool!" Like that shepherd who cried," O Lord! Come nigh to thy faithful shepherd, That he may cleanse thy garment of vermin, And mend thy shoes, and kiss the hem of thy robe!" No one equaled that shepherd in love and devotion, Though his manner of expressing it was most faulty. His love pitched its tent on the heavens, He himself was as the dog at the tent-door. When the sea of love to God boiled up, It touched his heart, but it touches your ears only. The thesis that silence may indicate emotions too deep for expression, while eloquent expressions may indicate that the ears only, and not the heart, have been touched, is next illustrated by a ludicrous anecdote of a dwarf who disguised himself as a woman, and presented himself at a sermon addressed to women. This dwarf played a trick on a woman sitting next him, which made her cry out, and the preacher fancied that his sermon had touched her heart; but the dwarf said that if her heart had been touched she would not have betrayed her feelings by publishing them to the whole congregation. The king then again pressed Ayaz to explain the mystery of his regard for the old shoes and rags, in order to admon- ish the courtiers, for he said that the beauty of true holiness is such that it attracts even infidels. To illustrate this he told an anecdote of a Mosalman who tried to convert a Gueber in the time of Bayazid. The Gueber said that he admired and envied the faith of Bayazid, though he had no power to imitate it; but as for the faith of the missionary who was try- ing to convert him, it only inspired him with aversion, because it was plainly insincere and hypocritical. And he told an anecdote of a harsh-voiced Mu'azzin who went into a heathen country and there uttered the call to prayer. It happened that there was a girl in that place who had long been inclined to embrace Islam, much to the grief of her parents; but when she heard this harsh call she was at once cured of her wish to forsake her own religion. Her father was so delighted at this that he ran out and loaded the Mu'azzin with gifts. The Gueber said the missionary had cured him of the wish to embrace Islam, just as the girl was cured by the Mu'azzin's harsh voice. But he said he still retained his reverence for the faith of Bayazid, though he failed to understand how so much spirituality as was seen in Bayazid could be contained in an earthly body. He gave a curious illustration of his meaning. A man brought home a piece of meat weighing over half a man, to provide a meal for a guest; but his wife, who was very greedy, ate it all up secretly. When the man missed his meat he asked his wife for it, and she said the cat had eaten it. The man took the cat and weighed her, and found she weighed only half a man. Then he said to his wife, "If this half-man is all cat, where is the meat? and if it is meat, where is the cat?" The Gueber said this was exactly the difficulty he felt about the spirit and the body of Bayazid. He concluded by saying, in the words of the Hadis, "The true believer is attached to others, and others are attached to him, but the hypocrite inspires affection in no one.

Dust be on our heads, and upon our similitudes of Thee! Yet Thy slaves never cease devising images of Thee; They cry to Thee always, "My life is Thy footstool!" Like that shepherd who cried," O Lord! Come nigh to thy faithful shepherd, That he may cleanse thy garment of vermin, And mend thy shoes, and kiss the hem of thy robe!" No one equaled that shepherd in love and devotion, Though his manner of expressing it was most faulty. His love pitched its tent on the heavens, He himself was as the dog at the tent-door. When the sea of love to God boiled up, It touched his heart, but it touches your ears only. The thesis that silence may indicate emotions too deep for expression, while eloquent expressions may indicate that the ears only, and not the heart, have been touched, is next illustrated by a ludicrous anecdote of a dwarf who disguised himself as a woman, and presented himself at a sermon addressed to women. This dwarf played a trick on a woman sitting next him, which made her cry out, and the preacher fancied that his sermon had touched her heart; but the dwarf said that if her heart had been touched she would not have betrayed her feelings by publishing them to the whole congregation. The king then again pressed Ayaz to explain the mystery of his regard for the old shoes and rags, in order to admon- ish the courtiers, for he said that the beauty of true holiness is such that it attracts even infidels. To illustrate this he told an anecdote of a Mosalman who tried to convert a Gueber in the time of Bayazid. The Gueber said that he admired and envied the faith of Bayazid, though he had no power to imitate it; but as for the faith of the missionary who was try- ing to convert him, it only inspired him with aversion, because it was plainly insincere and hypocritical. And he told an anecdote of a harsh-voiced Mu'azzin who went into a heathen country and there uttered the call to prayer. It happened that there was a girl in that place who had long been inclined to embrace Islam, much to the grief of her parents; but when she heard this harsh call she was at once cured of her wish to forsake her own religion. Her father was so delighted at this that he ran out and loaded the Mu'azzin with gifts. The Gueber said the missionary had cured him of the wish to embrace Islam, just as the girl was cured by the Mu'azzin's harsh voice. But he said he still retained his reverence for the faith of Bayazid, though he failed to understand how so much spirituality as was seen in Bayazid could be contained in an earthly body. He gave a curious illustration of his meaning. A man brought home a piece of meat weighing over half a man, to provide a meal for a guest; but his wife, who was very greedy, ate it all up secretly. When the man missed his meat he asked his wife for it, and she said the cat had eaten it. The man took the cat and weighed her, and found she weighed only half a man. Then he said to his wife, "If this half-man is all cat, where is the meat? and if it is meat, where is the cat?" The Gueber said this was exactly the difficulty he felt about the spirit and the body of Bayazid. He concluded by saying, in the words of the Hadis, "The true believer is attached to others, and others are attached to him, but the hypocrite inspires affection in no one.