meriteth, and cause him to attain his desire, and make him a particular object of overflowing kindness and abundant favour; and whatsoever thou dost for him, I shall regard myself as the object of it, and shall be thankful to thee.

Then he directed the letter and sealed it and delivered it to the agent. So the agent sent it to 'Abd-Allah, who, when he read it, was delighted at its contents, and, having caused that man to be brought to him, said to him, Whichever of the two things that I promised thee is the more agreeable to thee I will present to thee. And the man replied, The gift will be more agreeable to me than any thing else. Accordingly, 'Abd-Allah gave orders to present him with two hundred thousand pieces of silver, and ten Arab horses, five of them with housings of silk, and five with jewelled saddles such as are used in processions of state, and with twenty chests of clothes, and ten memluks, horsemen, together with what was appropriate of costly jewels. Then he bestowed upon him a dress of honour, and sent him to Baghdad magnificently equipped.

When he arrived, therefore, at Baghdad, he repaired to the door of the mansion of Yahya the son of Khalid before he went to his family, and he begged permission to go in to him. So the chamberlain went in to Yahya, and said to him, O our lord, at our door is a man of respectable appearance and comely form and good condition, with a number of pages, desiring to come in to thee. And he gave him permission to enter; and when he came in to him, he kissed the ground before him, and Yahya said to him, Who art thou? The man answered, O master, I am he who was killed by the tyranny of fortune, and thou hast brought me to life from the grave of calamities, and raised me to the paradise of desires. I am he who forged a letter in thy name, and conveyed it to ‘Abd-Allah the son of Malik El-Khuzaʻi.-And what, said Yahya, hath he done with thee; and what hath he given to thee? He answered, He gave me of the benefits proceeding from thy liberality and benevolence, and thy comprehensive favours and universal generosity, and thy magnanimity and ample bounty, so that he enriched me, and he distinguished me by especial beneficence, and bestowed presents upon me; and I have brought all his gifts and his presents; they are at thy door, and the case is submitted unto thee, to decide upon it as thou wilt. Upon this, Yahya replied, The action that thou hast done for me is better than that which I have performed for thee, and thou art entitled to abundant thanks from me, and great bounty, since thou hast changed the enmity that subsisted between me and that highlyrevered man into sincere friendship and affection. I will therefore give thee the like of that which 'Abd-Allah the son of Malik hath given thee. -He then ordered that he should be presented with money and horses, and chests of clothing, such as 'Abd-Allah had bestowed upon him; and thus that man's original prosperity was restored to him by the kindness of these two generous men.

ANECDOTE OF EL-MA'MUN AND A LEARNED MAN

It is said that there was not among the Khalifehs of the descendants of El-'Abbas any more learned in all the sciences than El-Ma'mun. On two days in every week, he used to preside at discussions of the learned men; and the professors of religion and law, and the scholastic theologians, by whom the discussions were carried on, used to sit in his presence according to their several ranks and degrees. Now on one occasion, while he was sitting with them, there came in to his assembly a stranger, clad in white tattered clothing, who seated himself at the lower end, behind the professors, in an obscure place. And when they began the discussion, and entered upon the consideration of the difficult propositions, it being their custom to submit the proposition to the members of the assembly one after another, and for each who could offer some quaint addition to what others advanced, or some extraordinary, witty saying, to mention it,the question was proposed to them by turns until it came to that stranger; whereupon he gave a reply better than the replies of all the professors; and the Khalifeh approved it, and ordered that he should be raised from the place that he had taken to a higher one. Then, when the second question came to him, he gave a reply better than the first; and El Ma'mun ordered that he should be raised to a place of higher dignity. And when the third question went round, he gave a reply better and more just than the two former replies; upon which El-Ma'mun ordered that he should sit near unto himself. And after the discussion was ended, the attendants brought the water, and the guests washed their hands; and they brought the repast, and they ate.

The professors then arose and went forth ; but El-Ma'mun prevented the stranger from going out with them: he caused him to draw near unto him, and treated him with courtesy, promising him to bestow favours and benefactions upon him. And after this, the banquet of wine was prepared, the comely boon-companions came, and the wine circulated; but when it came round to that man, he rose upon his feet, and said, If the Prince of the Faithful give me permission, I will speak one word. El-Ma'mun replied, Say what thou wilt. And he said, The possessor of eminent judgment (whose eminence may God increase!) knoweth that the slave was to-day, in this noble assembly, one of the obscure among the people, and one of the mean among the company, and that the Prince of the Faithful hath raised him to a place near unto his own person, small as is the wisdom that he hath displayed, and hath elevated him to a rank above others, so that he hath attained to a goal to which his ambition did not aspire; and now he desireth to divest him of that small degree of wisdom which hath exalted him after his meanness, and enriched him after his poverty. But may God forbid, and by no means suffer, that the Prince of the Faithful should envy him for the small degree of wisdom and fame and excellence that he

possesseth; for if the slave drink wine, wisdom will depart far from him, and ignorance will draw near to him, and he will be deprived of his politeness, and will return to his former contemptible station, and become despicable and obscure in the eyes of men. I therefore hope that the possessor of eminent judgment, of his bounty and generosity and princely qualities and excellent disposition, will not despoil him of this jewel.-And when the Khalifeh El-Ma'mun heard these words from him, he praised him and thanked him, caused him to sit again in his place and treated him with respect, gave orders to present him with a hundred thousand pieces of silver and to mount him upon a horse, and gave him magnificent apparel. And in every assembly he exalted and favoured him above all the professors, so that he became the highest of them in rank and degree.-And God is all-knowing.

CHAPTER XV

[NIGHTS 308-327]

THE STORY OF 'ALI SHIR AND ZUMURRUD

THERE was, in ancient times, a certain merchant in the land of Khurasan, whose name was Mejd-ed-Din, and he had great wealth, and black slaves, and memluks and pages; but he had attained to the age of sixty years, and had not been blessed with a son. After this, however, God (whose name be exalted!) blessed him with a son, and he named him 'Ali Shir.61

When this boy grew up, he became like the full moon; and when he had attained to manhood, and was endowed with every charm, his father fell sick of a fatal disease. So he called his son, and said to him, O my son, the period of death hath drawn near, and I desire to give thee a charge.And what is it, O my father? said the young man. He answered, I charge thee that thou be not familiar with any one among mankind, and that thou shun what may bring injury and misfortune. Beware of the evil associate; for he is like the blacksmith: if his fire burn thee not, his smoke will annoy thee. How excellent is the saying of the poet !

There is none in thy time whose friendship thou shouldst covet; nor any intimate who, when fortune is treacherous, will be faithful.

Live then apart, and rely upon no man: I have given thee, in these words, good advice, and sufficient.

Men are as a latent disease: rely not therefore upon them.
Thou wilt find guile and artifice in them if thou examine them.

And that of another :

Intercourse with men profiteth nothing, unless to pass time in idle conversation.

Then converse with them little, except for the purpose of acquiring knowledge or rectifying an affair.

And the saying of another :

If a person of sagacity hath tried mankind, I have eaten them, when he hath but tasted;

And I have seen their affection to be nought but deceit, and their religion I have seen to be nought but hypocrisy.

The young man replied, O my father, I hear and obey. Then what next dost thou counsel me to do?-His father answered, Do good when thou art able; persevere in comely conduct towards men, and avail thyself of opportunities to dispense kind actions; for a wish is not always of easy accomplishment; and how good is the saying of the poet !—

It is not at every time and season that acts of beneficence are easily performed.

When thou art able, then, hasten to do them, lest they should become difficult to execute.

And the son replied, I hear and obey. Then what more? -O my son, answered the father, Be mindful of God: He I will then be mindful of thee. Guard also thy wealth, and be not prodigal of it; for if thou be prodigal of it, thou wilt become in need of the assistance of the least of mankind and know that the estimation in which a man is held is according to that which his right hand possesseth. excellent is the saying of the poet !

:

How

When my wealth becometh little, no friend consorteth with me;
but when it increaseth, all men are my friends.

How many enemies for the sake of wealth have borne me company!
And how many friends for its loss have become my enemies.

-And what besides? said the young man. His father answered, O my son, consult him who is older than thyself, and hasten not to perform a thing that thou desirest to do: have compassion also upon him who is thine inferior; then he who is thy superior will have compassion upon thee; and oppress not any, lest God give power over thee to one