Quoth the Khalif, "Bravo, O Curret el Ain! Whose song is that?"

"The words are by Dibil el Khuzai," answered she, "and the air by Zourzour es Seghir." Abou Isa looked at her and his tears choked him; so that the company marvelled at him. Then she turned to El Mamoun and said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, wilt thou give me leave to change the words?" "Sing what thou wilt," answered the Khalif. So she played a lively measure and sang the following verses:

If thou please me and he please thee in public, look thou hide And keep in secret straiter watch o'er love, lest ill betide.

And disregard and put away the tales of slanderers; For seldom seeks the sland'rer aught but lovers to divide.

They say that when a lover's near, he wearies of his love And that by absence pa.s.sion's cured. 'Tis false; for I have tried Both remedies, but am not cured of that which is with me, Withal that nearness easier is than distance to abide.

Yet nearness of abode, forsooth, may nowise profit thee, An If the grace of him thou lov'st be unto thee denied.

When she finished, Abou Isa said, "O Commander of the Faithful, we will be at peace, though we be dishonoured. Dost thou give me leave to reply to her?" "Yes," answered the Khalif. "Say what thou wilt to her." So he swallowed his tears and sang these verses:

I held my peace nor said, "I am in love;" and eke The pa.s.sion that I felt even from my heart hid I: And natheless, if my eyes do manifest my love, It is because they are the shining moon anigh.

Then Curret el Ain took the lute and rejoined with the following:

If what thou dost pretend were very truth, Thou woulst not with mere wishing rest content, Nor couldst endure to live without a girl, In charms and beauty wonder excellent.

But there is nought in that thou dost avouch, Save only idle talk and compliment.

When Abou Isa heard this, he fell a-weeping and lamenting and discovered the trouble and anguish of his soul. Then he raised his eyes to her and sighing, repeated the following:

Under my wede there is a wasted body And in my soul an all- absorbing thought.

I have a heart, whose suffering is eternal, and eyes with tears like torrents ever fraught.

When a wise man meets me, he rebukes me, Chiding the love that thou in me hath wrought.

Lord, I've no strength all this my dole to suffer; Prithee, come Death or quick relief be brought!

When he had ended, Ali ben Hisham sprang up and kissing his feet, said, "O my lord, G.o.d hath heard thy prayer and answered thy supplication, and consenteth to thy taking her with all her gear, so the Commander of the Faithful have no mind to her."

"Had we a mind to her," answered the Khalif, "we would prefer Abou Isa before ourselves and help him to his desire." So saying, he rose and embarking, went away, whilst Abou Isa tarried for Curret al Ain, whom he took and carried to his own house, with a breast dilated for gladness. See then the generosity of Ali ben Hisham.

EL AMIN BEN ER RESHID AND HIS UNCLE IBRAHIM BEN EL MEHDI.

El Amin,[FN#171] son of Er Reshid, once entered the house of his uncle Ibrahim ben el Mehdi and saw there a slave-girl playing upon the lute. She was one of the fairest of women, and his heart inclined to her. Ibrahim, seeing how it was with him, sent the girl to him, with rich apparel and precious jewels. When he saw her, he thought that his uncle had lain with her; so he was loath to have to do with her, because of this, and sent her back to Ibrahim, accepting the present that came with her. Ibrahim learnt the reason of this from one of El Amin's servants; so he took a shift of flowered silk and let work upon his skirt, in letters of gold, the following lines:

By Him to whom all fronts do bow, of that which is Beneath her skirt, I swear, I'm ignorant outright; Nor have I had in aught to meddle with her mouth, Except it were by way of hearing and of sight.

Then he clad her in the shift and giving her a lute sent her once more to his nephew. When she came into the latter's presence, she kissed the earth before him and tuning the lute, sang thereto the following verses:

By returning the gift, thou showest what's hid in thy breast, And thine aversion to me is made manifest.

As thou bear malice for aught that hath been,--forgive The past, for the Khalifate's sake, and let it rest.

When she had made an end of her song, El Amin looked at her and reading that which was wrought upon her skirt, could not control himself, but drew near unto her and kissed her and appointed her a separate lodging in his palace. Moreover, he thanked his uncle for this and bestowed on him the government of Er Re.[FN#172]

EL FETH BEN KHACAN AND THE KHALIF EL MUTAWEKKIL.

The Khalid El Mutawekkil[FN#173] was once again taking medicine, and folk sent him all manner of presents and rarities. Amongst others, El Feth ben Khacan[FN#174] sent him a virgin slave, high-bosomed, of the fairest of women of her time, and with her a vase of crystal, containing red wine, and a goblet of red gold, whereon were graven in black the following verses:

When th' Imam's made an end of taking medicine And health and strength ensue to him thereon, in fine, There's no medicament befits him but to drink, From out this cup, a draught of this decocted wine.

And break the seal[FN#175] reserved to him, for this, indeed, Right salutary is, hard after medicine.

Now the physician Youhenna[FN#176] was with the Khalif, when the damsel entered; and when he read the above verses, he smiled and said, 'By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, Feth is better versed than I in the art of medicine: so let not the Commander of the Faithful gainsay his prescription.'

Accordingly, the Khalif followed El Feth's prescription and was made whole by the blessing of G.o.d.

THE MAN'S DISPUTE WITH THE LEARNED WOMAN OF THE RELATIVE EXCELLENCE OF THE MALE AND THE FEMALE.

(Quoth a certain man of learning) I never saw a woman sharper- witted, more intelligent, better furnished in learning, more excellent of faculties or more pleasant of ingredients than a female preacher of the people of Baghdad, by name Sitt el Meshayikh.[FN#177] It chanced that she came to the city of Hemah in the year [of the Hegira] 561[FN#178] and there delivered salutary exhortations to the folk from the pulpits.

Now there used to visit her house a number of students of divinity and [other] persons of learning and culture, who would argue with her upon questions of theology and discuss controversial points with her. I went to her one day, with a friend of mine, a man of education; and when we had taken our seats, she set before us a dish of fruit and seated herself behind a curtain. Now she had a [young] brother, a handsome youth, who stood by us, to serve us.

When we had eaten, we fell to disputing upon points of divinity, and I propounded to her a theological question, bearing upon a difference between the Imams.[FN#179] She proceeded to speak in answer, whilst I listened; but my friend fell the while to looking upon her brother's face and considering his charms, without paying any heed to what she said. Now she was watching him from behind the curtain; so, when she had made an end of her exposition, she turned to him and said, "Meseems thou art of those that give men the preference over women!" "a.s.suredly,"

answered he. "And why so?" asked she. "Because," replied he, "G.o.d hath preferred the male over the female; and I love that which excels and mislike that which is excelled." She laughed and said, "Wilt thou deal fairly with me in argument, if I argue the matter with thee?" "I will," answered he. Then said she, "What is the evidence of the superiority of the male to the female?" "It is of two kinds," answered he, "that which is founded on authority and that which is founded on reason.

The authoritative part derives from the Koran and the Sunneh [Traditions of the Prophet]. As for the former, quoth G.o.d the Most High, 'Men stand above women, in that G.o.d hath given these the preference over those;'[FN#180] and again, 'If there be not two men, then [call] one man and two women;'

[FN#181] and again, when treating of the law of inheritance, '[If there be brothers and sisters,] let each male have the like of the portion of two females.'[FN#182] Thus G.o.d, blessed and exalted be He, hath in these places preferred the male over the female and teaches that a woman is as the half of a man, for that he is worthier than she. As for the Sunneh, is it not reported of the Prophet (whom G.o.d bless and preserve) that he appointed the blood-wit for a woman to be half that of a man?

As for the evidence of reason, the male is the agent and the female the patient."

"Thou hast said well, O my lord," rejoined she; "but, by Allah, thou hast proved my contention with thine own lips and hast advanced arguments that tell against thee, and not for thee.

Thus: G.o.d (blessed and exalted be He) preferred the male above the female, solely because of the quality of masculinity; and in this, there is no difference between us. Now this quality [of masculinity] is common to the child, the boy, the youth, the adult and the graybeard; nor is there any distinction between them in this. Since, then, the superior excellence of man enures to him solely by virtue of the quality of masculinity, it behoves that thy heart incline to the graybeard and thy soul delight in him, equally with the boy, seeing that there is no distinction between them, in point of masculinity. But the difference between thee and me turns upon the qualities that are sought as const.i.tuting excellence of intercourse and delight of usance; and thou hast adduced no proof of the superiority of the male over the female in this."

"O my lady," answered he, "knowest thou not that which is proper to the boy of symmetry of shape and rosy cheeks and pleasant smile and sweetness of speech? Boys are, in these respects, superior to women; and the proof of this is what is reported of the Prophet, that he said, 'Stay not thy gaze upon the beardless boys, for in them is the similitude[FN#183] of the black-eyed girls of Paradise.' Nor indeed is the superiority of the boy over the girl hidden to any, and how well saith Abou Nuwas:

The least of his virtues it is that thou'rt free From uncleanness with him nor with child can he be.

And what another poet says:

Quoth th' Iman Abou Nuwas, past-master sure was he In every canon of debauch and jolly knavery, "O ye that love the downy cheeks of younglings, take your fill Of a delight, in Paradise that will not founden be."

So if one enlarge in praise of a girl and wish to enhance her value by the mention of her charms, he likens her to a boy, because of the ill.u.s.trious qualities that belong to the latter, even as saith the poet:

Boylike of b.u.t.tocks, to and fro, in amorous dalliance, She sways as sway the nodding canes that in the north wind dance.

If boys, then, were not superior to girls, why should the latter be likened to them? And know also, may G.o.d the Most High preserve thee, that a boy is easy to be led, adapting himself to the wish, pleasant of commerce and manners, inclining to a.s.sent rather than difference, especially when the down on his face creeps lightly and the hair darkens on his lips and the vermilion of early youth runs in his cheeks, so that he is like the full moon; and how goodly is the saying of Abou Temmam: [FN#184]

"The whiskers on his cheek appear;" the slanderers said to me; Quoth I, "That's none of his defect; so give me no more prate."

What time he came of age to bear b.u.t.tocks that here and there Pulled him and over beads of pearl his lips' hair darkened late And eke the rose a solemn oath, full fast and binding, swore Its ruddy marvels from his cheek should never separate, I with my eyelids spoke to him, without the need of speech, And for reply thereto was what his eyebrows answered straight.

His goodliness still goodlier is than that thou knewst of yore, And the hair guardeth him from those his charms would violate.