,,the ,,luzumiyat                       
,,of                                    
,,abu',l-,,ala                          
,selected from his                      
,luzum ma la ,yalzam and ,suct uz-,zand 
and first rendered into ,english        
,by                                     
,,ameen ,,rihani                        
,author of                              
,the ,book of ,khaled                   
7,second ,edition7                      
,,new ,,york                            
,,james ,t4 ,,white  ,,co41             
#aibj                                   
,,to ,,his ,,royal ,,highness           
,,emir ,,feisal                         
,,in ,,whom ,,are ,,centred             
,,the ,,hopes ,,and ,,aspirations       
,,of ,,the ,,syrian ,,people            
,,for ,a ,,united ,,syria               
,,this ,,book                           
,,is ,,dedicated                  ,his  
poems generally known as the ,luzumiyat 
arrest attention by their  boldness and 
originality as well as by the sombre and

 earnest tone  which pervades           
them4--,raynold ,a4 ,nicholson3 ,a      
,history of the ,arabs4      ,abu'l-,ala
 is a poet many centuries ahead of his  
time4--,von ,kremer4                    
,,copyrighted #aiah ,,by                
,,james ,t4 ,,white  ,,co4              
,,to ,,abu',l-,,ala              ,in thy
 fountained peristyles of ,reason       
,glows the light and flame of desert    
noons2          ,and in the cloister of 
thy pensive ,fancy              ,wisdom 
burns the spikenard of her moons4       
,closed by ,fate the portals of the     
dwelling              ,of thy sight1 the
 light thus inward flowed2          ,and
 on the shoulders of the crouching      
,darkness              ,thou hast risen 
to the highest road4            ,i have 
seen thee walking with ,canopus         
,through the stellar spaces of the      
night2          ,i have heard thee      
asking thy ,companion1                  
,where be now my staff1 and where thy   
light8            ,abu'l-,ala1 in the   

heaving darkness1              ,didst   
thou not the whisperings hear of me8    
,in thy star-lit wilderness1 my         
,brother1              ,didst thou not a
 burdened shadow see8            ,i have
 walked and ,i have slept beside thee1  
,i have laughed and ,i have wept as     
well2          ,i have heard the voices 
of thy silence              ,melting in 
thy ,jannat and thy hell4            ,i 
remember1 too1 that once the ,saki      
,filled the antique cup and gave it     
thee2          ,now1 filled with the    
treasures of thy wisdom1                
,thou dost pass that very cup to me4    
,by the ,god of thee1 my ,syrian        
,brother1              ,which is best1  
the ,saki's cup or thine8               
,which the mystery divine uncovers--    
,if the cover covers aught divine4      
,and if it lies hid in the soul of      
silence              ,like incense in   
the dust of ambergris1          ,wouldst
 thou burn it to perfume the terror     
,of the caverns of the dried-up seas8   

,where'er it be1 ,oh6 let it be1 my     
,brother4--              ,though        
thrice-imprisoned1#i thou hast forged us
 more          ,solid weapons for the   
life-long battle              ,than all 
the ,heaven-taught ,armorers of yore4   
,thrice-imprisoned1 thou wert e'en as   
mighty1              ,in the boundless  
kingdom of the mind1          ,as the   
whirlwind that compels the ocean1       
,as the thunder that compels the wind4  
,thrice-imprisoned1 thou wert freer     
truly              ,than the liegeless  
,arab on his mare1--          ,freer    
than the bearers of the sceptre1--      
,freer than the winged lords of the air4
            ,thrice-imprisoned1 thou    
hast sung of freedom              ,as   
but a few of all her heroes can2        
,thou hast undermined the triple prison 
,of the mind and heart and soul of man4 
,in thy fountained peristyles of ,reason
              ,glows the light and flame
 of desert noons2          ,and in the  
cloister of thy pensive ,fancy          

,wisdom burns the spikenard of her      
moons4                                  
,ameen ,rihani4                         
,,preface4      ,when ,christendom was  
groping amid the superstitions of the   
,dark ,ages1  and the ,norsemen were    
ravaging the western part of ,europe1   
and the  princes of ,islam were cutting 
each other's throats in the name of     
,allah and his ,prophet1                
,abu'l-,ala'l-,ma'arri was waging his   
bloodless war  against the follies and  
evils of his age4 ,he attacked the      
superstitions  and false traditions of  
law and religion1 proclaiming the       
supremacy  of the mind2 he hurled his   
trenchant invectives at the tyranny1 the
  bigotry1 and the quackery of his      
times1 asserting the supremacy of  the  
soul2 he held the standard of reason    
high above that of authority1  fighting 
to the end the battle of the human      
intellect4 ,an intransigeant  with the  
exquisite mind of a sage and scholar1   
his weapons were never  idle4 ,but he   

was1 above all1 a poet2 for when he     
stood before the  eternal mystery of    
,life and ,death1 he sheathed his sword 
and murmured  a prayer4                 
,abu'l-,ala'l-,ma'arri1 #a the          
,lucretius of ,islam1 the ,voltaire of  
the  ,east1 was born in the spring of   
the year #igc ,a4,d41 in the obscure    
village of ,ma'arrah1 #b which is about 
eighteen hours' journey south  of ,halab
 7,aleppo74 ,and instead of ,ahmad ibn  
,abdallah ibn ,sulaiman  ut-,tanukhi 7of
 the tribe of ,tanukh71 he was called   
,abu'l-,ala 7the  ,father of the        
,sublime71 by which patronymic of       
distinction he is  popularly known      
throughout the ,arabic speaking world4  
,when a boy1 ,abu'l-,ala was instructed 
by his father2 and subsequently  he was 
sent to ,halab1 where he pursued his    
studies under the tutelage  of the      
grammarian ,muhammad ibn ,abdallah ibn  
us-,sad4 ,his literary  proclivity was  
evinced in his boyhood1 and he wrote    
verse1 we are  told1 before he was ten4 

,of these juvenile pieces1 however1     
nothing  was preserved4    ,he was about
 five years old when he fell a victim to
 small-pox and  almost lost his sight   
from it4 ,but a weakness in his eyes    
continued to  trouble him and he became1
 in middle age1 ,i presume1 totally     
blind4 #c  ,some of his biographers     
would have us believe he was born blind2
  others state that he completely lost  
his sight when he was attacked by  the  
virulent disease2 and a few intimate    
that he could see slightly  at least    
with the right eye4 ,as to whether or   
not he was blind when  he was sent to   
,halab to pursue his studies1 his       
biographers do not  agree4 ,my theory1  
based on the careful perusal of his     
poems and on  a statement advanced by   
one of his biographers1 #d is that he   
lost  his sight gradually1 and total    
blindness must have come upon him       
either in his youth or his middle age4  
#e ,were we to believe that  he was born
 blind or that he suffered the complete 

loss of his sight  in his boyhood1 we   
should be at a loss to know1 not how he 
wrote his  books1 for that was done by  
dictation2 not how he taught his pupils1
  for that was done by lectures2 but how
 he himself was taught in the  absence  
in those days of a regular system of    
instruction for the blind4    ,in #ajaj 
,a4,d4 he visited ,baghdad1 the centre  
of learning and  intelligence and the   
capital of the ,abbaside ,khalifs1 where
 he passed  about two years and became  
acquainted with most of the literary men
 of  the age4 #f ,he attended the       
lectures and the readings of the leading
  doctors and grammarians1 meeting with 
a civil reception at the hand  of most  
of them4    ,he also journeyed to       
,tripoli1 #g which boasted1 in those    
days1  of many public libraries2 and1   
stopping at ,ladhekiyah1 he lodged in  a
 monastery where he met and befriended a
 very learned monk4 ,they  discussed    
theology and metaphysics1 digressing now
 and then into the  profane4 ,indeed1   

the skepticism which permeates          
,abu'l-,ala's writings  must have been  
nursed in that convent by both the monk 
and the poet4    ,these are virtually   
the only data extant showing the various
 sources  of ,abu'l-,ala's learning2 but
 to one endowed with a keen perception1 
a powerful intellect1 a prodigious      
memory1 together with strong innate     
literary predilections1 they seem       
sufficient4 ,he was especially noted    
for the extraordinary memory he         
possessed2 and around this our ,arab    
biographers and historians weave a thick
 net of anecdotes1 or rather  fables4 ,i
 have no doubt that one with such a     
prodigious memory could  retain in a few
 minutes what the average person could  
not2 but when  we are told that         
,abu'l-,ala once heard one of his pupils
 speaking  with a friend in a foreign   
tongue1 and repeated there and then the 
long conversation1 word for word1       
without having the slightest idea  of   
its meaning1 we are disposed to be      

skeptical4 ,many such anecdotes  are    
recorded and quoted by his ,arab        
biographers without as much as          
intimating a single doubt4 #h ,the fact 
that he was blind partly  explains the  
abnormal development of his memory4     
,his career as poet and scholar dates   
from the time he returned from          
,baghdad4 ,this1 so far as is known1 was
 the last journey he made2  and his home
 became henceforth his earthly prison4  
,he calls himself  ,a double-fettered   
,captive1 #i his solitude being the one 
and his  blindness the other4 ,like most
 of the scholars of his age1 in the     
absence of regular educational          
institutions1 with perhaps one or two   
exceptions1 he had to devote a part of  
his time to the large number of  pupils 
that flocked to ,ma'arrah from all parts
 of ,asia ,minor1 ,arabia1  and ,india4 
,aside from this1 he dictated to his    
numerous amanuenses  on every possible  
and known subject4 ,he is not only a    
poet of the  first rank1 but an         

essayist1 a literary critic1 and a      
mathematician  as well4 ,everything he  
wrote was transcribed by many of his    
admirers1  as was the fashion then1 and 
thus circulated far and near4 ,nothing1 
however1 was preserved but his ,diwans1 
his ,letters and the ,epistle  of       
,forgiveness1 #aj of which ,i shall yet 
have occasion to speak4 #aa    ,his     
reputation as poet and scholar had now1 
after his return from  ,baghdad1        
overleaped the horizons1 as one writer  
has it4 ,honors were  conferred upon him
 successively by the rulers and the     
scholars of  his age4 ,his many noted   
admirers were in constant communication 
with  him4 ,he was now looked upon as   
the master of the learned1 the chief of 
the wise1 and the sole monarch of the   
bards of his century4 ,ma'arrah  #ab    
became the ,mecca of every literary     
aspirant2 ambitious young  scholars came
 there for enlightenment and            
inspiration4 ,and ,abu'l-,ala1  although
 a pessimist1 received them with his    

wonted kindness and  courtesy4 ,he      
imparted to them what he knew1 and told 
them candidly  what he would not teach1 
since1 unlike other philosophers1 he was
 not  able to grasp the truth1 nor      
compass the smallest of the mysteries of
  creation4 ,in his latter days1        
youthful admirers sought his blessing1  
which he1 as the childless father of    
all1 graciously conferred1  but with no 
self-assumed spiritual or temporal      
authority4    ,for thirty years he      
remained a vegetarian1 living the life  
of an  ascetic4 #ac ,this mode of living
 led his enemies to accuse him of       
renouncing ,islam and embracing         
,brahminism1 one of the tenets of which 
forbids the slaughter of animals4 ,the  
accusation was rather sustained  by the 
dispassionate attitude he held towards  
it1 and1 furthermore1  by his vehement  
denunciation of the barbarous practice  
of killing  animals for food or for     
sport4    ,most of the censors of       
,abu'l-,ala were either spurred to their

 task  by bigotry or animated by        
jealousy and ignorance4 ,they held him  
up  to ridicule and opprobrium1 and such
 epithets as heretic1 atheist1          
renegade1 etc41 were freely applied4    
,but he was supremely indifferent  to   
them all1 #ad and never would he cross  
swords with any particular  individual2 
he attacked the false doctrines they    
were teaching1  turning a deaf ear to   
the virulent vituperations they hurled  
upon  him4 ,i fail to find in the three 
volumes of his poems1 even in the       
,letters1 one acrimonious line savoring 
of personality4    ,ibn-,khillikan1 ,the
 ,plutarch of ,arabia1 who is cautious  
and guarded  in his statements1 speaking
 of ,abu'l-,ala1 truly says3    ,his    
asceticism1 his deep sense of right and 
wrong1 his powerful  intellect1 his     
prodigious memory1 and his wide range of
 learning1  are alike acknowledged by   
both friend and foe4    ,his pessimism  
was natural1 in part hereditary4 ,the   
man was nothing  if not genuine and     

sincere4 ,ruthlessly he said what he    
thought and  felt4 ,he had no secrets to
 hide from the world1 no thoughts which 
he dared not express4 ,his soul was as  
open as ,nature2 his mind  was the      
polished mirror of his age4 #ae ,it may 
be that had he not  been blind-stricken 
and had not small-pox disfigured his    
features1  he might have found a        
palliative in human society4 ,his       
pessimism  might not have been cured1   
but it might have been rendered at least
  enticing4 ,good-fellowship might have 
robbed it of its sting4 ,nor is  his    
strong aversion to marriage1 in view of 
these facts1 surprising4    ,he lived to
 know that his fame spread from the     
sequestered village of  ,ma'arrah to the
 utmost confines of the ,arabic speaking
 world4 ,in the  spring of #ajee ,a4,d4 
he died1 and was buried in a garden     
surrounding  his home4 ,adh-,dhahabi    
states that there were present at his   
grave  eighty poets1 and that the ,koran
 was read there two hundred times  in a 

fortnight4 ,eighty poets in the small   
town of ,ma'arrah sounds  incredible4   
,but we must bear in mind that almost   
every one who studies  the ,arabic      
grammar has also to study prosody and   
versification and  thus become at least 
a rhymster4 ,even to-day1 the death of a
 noted  person among the ,arabs1 is     
always an occasion for the display of   
much  eloquence and tears1 both in prose
 and verse4    ,abu'l-,ala1 beside being
 a poet and scholar of the first rank1  
was  also one of the foremost thinkers  
of his age4 ,very little is said  of his
 teachings1 his characteristics1 his    
many-sided intellect1 in  the           
biographies ,i have read4 ,the fact that
 he was a liberal thinker1  a trenchant 
writer1--free1 candid1 downright1       
independent1 skeptical  withal1--answers
 for the neglect on the part of         
,mohammedan doctors1  who1 when they do 
discuss him1 try to conceal from the    
world what  his poems unquestionably    
reveal4 ,i am speaking1 of course1 of   

the  neglect after his death4 ,for      
during his life-time he was much        
honored1  as ,i have shown1 and many    
distinguished travellers came especially
  to ,ma'arrah to see him4 ,he was also 
often called upon to act as  intercessor
 with the ,emirs for the natives of his 
village4 #af    ,the larger collection  
of his poems1 the ,luzumiyat1 #ag was   
published  in ,cairo1 in two volumes1 by
 ,azeez ,zind1 from an original ,ms4    
written  in the twelfth century1 under  
,abu'l-,ala's own title ,luzum ma la    
,yalzam1 or the ,necessity of what is   
,unnecessary4 ,this title refers to  the
 special system of rhyming which the    
poet adopted4 ,and the poems1  published
 in desultory fashion1 were written1 it 
seems1 at different  periods of his     
life1 and are arranged according to his 
particular  alphabetical system of      
rhyming4 ,they bear no titles except1   
,and he  also says1 rhyming with so and 
so1 whatever the consonant and vowel    
may be4 ,in his ,preface to the         

,luzumiyat he says3    ,it happened that
 ,i composed these poems during the past
 years1  and in them ,i have always     
aimed at the truth4 ,they are certainly 
free from the blandishments of          
exaggeration4 ,and while some of them   
are written in glorification of ,god1   
who is above such glory1 others  are1 as
 it were1 a reminder to those who       
forget1 a pinch to those who  sleep1 and
 a warning to the children of the earth 
against the wiles  of the great world1  
where human rights and human gratitude  
are often  strangled by the same hand of
 ,fate4    ,as for the translation of   
these chosen quatrains1 let me say at   
the outset that it is almost impossible 
to adhere to the letter  thereof and    
convey the meaning without being        
insipid1 dull1 and at  times even       
ridiculous4 ,there being no affinity    
between the ,arabic  and the ,english1  
their standards of art and beauty widely
 differ1  and in the process of         
transformation the outer garment at     

times  must necessarily be doffed4 ,i   
have always adhered to the spirit1      
however1 preserving the native imagery  
where it was not too clannish  or       
grotesque4 ,i have added nothing that   
was foreign to the ruling idea1  nor    
have ,i omitted anything that was       
necessary to the completion of the      
general thought4 ,one might get an idea 
of what is called a scholarly           
translation from the works of any of the
 ,orientalists who have made  a study of
 ,abu'l-,ala4 ,the first ,english       
scholar to mention the poet1  as far as 
,i know1 was ,j4 ,d4 ,carlisle1 who in  
his ,specimens of ,arabic  ,poetry1     
published in #ahaj1 has paraphrased in  
verse a quatrain on  ,pride and ,virtue4
 ,he also translated into ,latin one of 
,abu'l-,ala's bold  epigrams1 fearing1  
,i suppose1 to publish it at that time  
in ,english4    ,the quatrains which are
 here published are culled from the     
three  ,volumes of his poems1 and they  
are arranged1 as nearly as may be1  in  

the logical order of their sequence of  
thought4 ,they form a kind  of eclogue1 
which the poet-philosopher delivers from
 his prison  in ,ma'arrah4    ,once1 in 
,damascus1 ,i visited1 with some        
friends1 a distinguished ,sufi2  and    
when the tea was being served1 our host 
held forth on the subject  of           
,abu'l-,ala's creed4 ,he quoted from the
 ,luzumiyat to show that the            
poet-philosopher of ,ma'arrah was a true
 ,sufi1 and of the highest  order4 ,in  
his passionate hatred of the vile world 
and all the vile  material              
manifestations of life1 quoth our host1 
he was like a  dervish dancing in sheer 
bewilderment2 a holy man1 indeed1       
melting  in tears before the distorted  
image of ,divinity4 ,in his aloofness1  
as in the purity of his spirit1 the     
ecstatic negations of ,abu'l-,ala  can  
only be translated in terms of the      
,sufi's creed4 ,in his raptures1        
shathat1 he was as distant as ,ibn      
ul-,arabi2 and in his bewilderment1     

heirat1 he was as deeply intoxicated as 
,ibn ul-,fared4 ,if others have         
symbolized the ,divinity in wine1 he    
symbolized it in ,reason1 which is  the 
living oracle of the ,soul2 he has1 in a
 word1 embraced ,divinity  under the    
cover of a philosophy of extinction4444 
,this1 and more such from our ,sufi     
host1 to which the guests gently  nodded
 understanding4 ,one of them1 a young   
poet and scholar1  even added that most 
of the irreligious opinions that are    
found in  the ,luzumiyat were forced    
upon the poet by the rigorous system of 
rhyming he adopted4 ,the ,rhyme1 then1  
is responsible for the heresies  of     
,abu'l-,ala6 ,allah be praised6 ,but    
this view of the matter was not  new to 
me4 ,i have heard it expressed by       
zealous ,muslem scholars1 who  see in   
,abu'l-,ala an adversary too strong to  
be allowed to enlist with  the enemy4   
,they will keep him1 as one of the      
,pillars of the ,faith1  at any cost4   
,coming from them1 therefore1 this      

rhyme-begotten heresy  theory is not    
surprising4    ,but ,i am surprised to  
find a ,european scholar like ,professor
  ,margoliouth giving countenance to    
such views2 even repeating1 to  support 
his own argument1 #ah such drivel4 ,for 
if the system of  rhyme-ending imposes  
upon the poet his irreligious opinions1 
how can  we account for them in his     
prose writings8 ,how1 for instance1     
explain  his book ,al-fusul wal ,ghayat 
7,the ,chapters and the ,purposes71 a   
work in which he parodied the ,koran    
itself1 and which only needed1  as he   
said1 to bring it to the standard of the
 ,book1 the polishing  of four centuries
 of reading in the pulpit8 ,and how     
account for his  ,risalat ul-,ghufran   
7,epistle of ,forgiveness71 a most      
remarkable work  both in form and       
conception8--a ,divina ,comedia in its  
cotyledonous  state1 as it were1 only   
that ,abu'l-,ala does not seem to have  
relished  the idea of visiting          
,juhannam4 ,he must have felt that in   

his three  earthly prisons he had had   
enough of it4 ,so he visits the ,jannat 
and there meets the pagan bards of      
,arabia lulling themselves in  eternal  
bliss under the eternal shades of the   
sidr tree1 writing and  reading and     
discussing poetry4 ,now1 to people the  
,muslem's ,paradise  with heathen poets 
who have been forgiven1--hence the title
 of the  ,work1--and received among the 
blest1--is not this clear enough1 bold  
enough1 loud enough even for the deaf   
and the blind8 ,the idea1  says         
,professor ,nicholson1 speaking of ,the 
,epistle of ,forgiveness1  #ai is       
carried out with such ingenuity and in a
 spirit of audacious  burlesque that    
reminds one of ,lucien4    ,this does   
not mean1 however1 that the work is     
essentially of a  burlesque quality4    
,abu'l-,ala had humor2 but his earnest  
tone is never  so little at an ebb as   
when he is in his happiest mood4 ,i     
quote from  ,the ,epistle of            
,forgiveness3          ,sometimes you   

may find a man skilful in his trade1    
says the      ,author1 perfect in       
sagacity and in the use of arguments1   
but      when he comes to religion he is
 found obstinate1 so does he      follow
 in the old groove4 ,piety is implanted 
in human nature2      it is deemed a    
sure refuge4 ,to the growing child1 that
 which      falls from his elders' lips 
is a lesson that abides with him all    
his life4 ,monks in their cloisters and 
devotees in their mosques      accept   
their creed just as a story is handed   
down from him who      tells it1 without
 distinguishing between a true          
interpreter and      a false4 ,if one of
 these had found his kin among the      
,magians1 or      among the ,sabians1 he
 would have become nearly or quite like 
them4      ,it does seem1 too1 that the 
strain of heterodoxy in ,abu'l-,ala is  
partly  hereditary4 ,his father1 who was
 also a poet of some distinction1  and  
his maternal uncle1 were both noted for 
their liberal opinions  in religious    

matters4 ,and he himself1 alluding in   
one of his poems  to those who          
reproached him for not making the       
pilgrimage to ,mecca1  says that neither
 his father1 nor his cousin1 nor his    
uncle had  pilgrimaged at all1 and that 
he will not be denied forgiveness1 if   
they  are forgiven4 ,and if they are    
not1 he had as lief share their fate4   
,but aside from his prose writings1 in  
which1 do what we may1 we can not       
explain away his supposed heresies1 we  
find in the ,luzumiyat themselves  his  
dominant ideas on religion1 for         
instance1 being a superstition2  wine1  
an unmitigated evil2 virtue1 its own    
reward2 the cremation of the  dead1 a   
virtue2 the slaughter or even the       
torture of animals a crime2  #bj doubt1 
a way to truth2 reason1 the only prophet
 and guide2--we  find these ideas       
clothed in various images and expressed 
in varied  forms1 but unmistakable in   
whatever guise we find them4 ,here1 for 
instance1 is ,professor ,nicholson's    

almost literal translation of a         
quatrain from the ,luzumiyat3           
,hanifs #ba are stumbling1 ,christians  
gone astray1      ,jews wildered1       
,magians far on error's way3--      ,we 
mortals are composed of two great       
schools1      ,enlightened knaves or    
else religious fools4      ,and here is 
the same idea1 done in a large picture4 
,the translation1  literal too1 is mine3
          ',tis strange that ,kusrah and
 his people wash        ,their faces in 
the staling of the kine2      ,and that 
the ,christians say1 ,almighty ,god     
,was tortured1 mocked1 and crucified in 
fine3      ,and that the ,jews should   
picture ,him as one        ,who loves   
the odor of a roasting chine2      ,and 
stranger still that ,muslems travel far 
,to kiss a black stone said to be       
divine3--      ,almighty ,god6 will all 
the human race        ,stray blindly    
from the ,truth's most sacred shrine8   
#bb      ,the ,east still remains the   
battle-ground of the creeds4 ,and the   

,europeans1 though they shook off their 
fetters of moral and spiritual  slavery1
 would keep us in ours to facilitate the
 conquests of ,european  commence4 ,thus
 the terrible ,dragon1 which is fed by  
the foreign  missionary and the native  
priest1 by the theologians and the      
ulama1  and which still preys upon the  
heart and mind of ,orient nations1 is as
  active to-day as it was ten centuries 
ago4 ,let those consider this1  who     
think ,von ,kremer exaggerated when he  
said1 ,abu'l-,ala is a poet  many       
centuries ahead of his time4    ,before 
closing1 ,i wish to call attention to a 
question which1 though  unimportant in  
itself1 is nevertheless worthy of the   
consideration  of all admirers of       
,arabic and ,persian literature4 ,i     
refer to  the similarity of thought     
which exists between ,omar ,khayyam and 
,abu'l-,ala4 ,the former1 ,i have reason
 to believe1 was an imitator or a       
disciple of the latter4 ,the birth of   
the first poet and the death of  the    

second are not very far apart3 they both
 occurred about the middle  of the      
eleventh century4 ,the ,english reading 
public here and abroad  has already     
formed its opinion of ,khayyam4 ,let it 
not1 therefore1  be supposed that in    
making this claim ,i aim to shake or    
undermine  its great faith4 ,my desire  
is to confirm1 not to weaken1--to       
expand1  not contract1--the ,oriental   
influence on the ,occidental mind4      
,whoever will take the trouble1 however1
 to read ,omar ,khayyam in  conjunction 
with what is here translated of         
,abu'l-,ala1 can not fail  to see the   
striking similarity in thought and image
 of certain phases  of the creed or the 
lack of creed of both poets4 #bc ,to be 
sure1  the skepticism and pessimism of  
,omar are to a great extent imported    
from ,ma'arrah4 ,but the ,arab          
philosopher in his religious opinions   
is far more outspoken than the ,persian 
tent-maker4 ,i do not say that  ,omar   
was a plagiarist2 but ,i say this3 just 

as ,voltaire1 for instance1  acquired   
most of his liberal and skeptical views 
from ,hobbes1 ,locke and  ,bayle1 so did
 ,omar acquire his from ,abu'l-,ala4 ,in
 my notes to these  quatrains ,i have   
quoted in comparison from both the      
,fitzgerald and  the ,herron-,allen     
versions of the ,persian poet2 and with 
so much or so  little said1 ,i leave the
 matter in the hands of the reader1 who1
 upon  a careful examination1 will      
doubtless bear me out as to this point4 
,,the ,,luzumiyat ,,of ,,abu',l-,,ala   
,i    ,the sable wings of ,night        
pursuing day  ,across the opalescent    
hills1 display      ,the wondrous       
star-gems which the fiery suns  ,are    
scattering upon their fiery way4        
,,ii    ,o my ,companion1 ,night is     
passing fair1  ,fairer than aught the   
dawn and sundown wear2      ,and fairer1
 too1 than all the gilded days  ,of     
blond ,illusion and its golden snare4   
,,iii    ,hark1 in the minarets muazzens
 call  ,the evening hour that in the    

interval      ,of darkness ,ahmad might 
remembered be1--  ,remembered of the    
,darkness be they all4        ,,iv      
,and hear the others who with cymbals   
try  ,to stay the feet of every         
passer-by3      ,the market-men along   
the darkling lane  ,are crying up their 
wares4--,oh6 let them cry4        ,v    
,mohammed or ,messiah6 ,hear thou me1   
,the truth entire nor here nor there can
 be2      ,how should our ,god who made 
the sun and moon  ,give all his light to
 ,one1 ,i cannot see4        ,,vi       
,come1 let us with the naked ,night now 
rest  ,and read in ,allah's ,book the   
sonnet best3      ,the ,pleiads--ah1 the
 ,moon from them departs1--  ,she draws 
her veil and hastens toward the west4   
,,vii    ,the ,pleiads follow2 and our  
,ethiop ,queen1  ,emerging from behind  
her starry screen1      ,will steep her 
tresses in the saffron dye  ,of dawn1   
and vanish in the morning sheen4        
,,viii    ,the secret of the day and    
night is in  ,the constellations1 which 

forever spin      ,around each other in 
the comet-dust2--  ,the comet-dust and  
humankind are kin4        ,,ix    ,but  
whether of dust or fire or foam1 the    
glaive  ,of ,allah cleaves the planet   
and the wave      ,of this mysterious   
,heaven-,sea of life1  ,and lo6 we have 
the ,cradle of the ,grave4        ,x    
,the ,grave and ,cradle1 the untiring   
twain1  ,who in the markets of this     
narrow lane      ,bordered of darkness1 
ever give and take  ,in equal           
measure--what's the loss or gain8       
,,xi    ,ay1 like the circles which the 
sun doth spin  ,of gossamer1 we end as  
we begin2      ,our feet are on the     
heads of those that pass1  ,but ever    
their ,graves around our ,cradles grin4 
,,xii    ,and what avails it then that  
,man be born  ,to joy or sorrow8--why   
rejoice or mourn8      ,the doling doves
 are calling to the rose2  ,the dying   
rose is bleeding o'er the thorn4        
,,xiii    ,and he the ,messenger1 who   
takes away  ,the faded garments1 purple1

 white1 and gray      ,of all our dreams
 unto the ,dyer1 will  ,bring back new  
robes to-morrow--so they say4           
,,xiv    ,but now the funeral is passing
 by1  ,and in its trail1 beneath this   
moaning sky1      ,the howdaj           
comes1--both vanish into night2  ,to me 
are one1 the sob1 the joyous cry4       
,,xv    ,with tombs and ruined temples  
groans the land  ,in which our forbears 
in the drifting sand      ,arise as     
dunes upon the track of ,time  ,to mark 
the cycles of the moving hand           
,,xvi    ,of ,fate4 ,alas6 and we shall 
follow soon  ,into the night eternal or 
the noon2      ,the wayward daughters of
 the spheres return  ,unto the bosom of 
their sun or moon4        ,,xvii    ,and
 from the last days of ,thamud and ',ad 
,up to the first of ,hashem's fearless  
lad1      ,who smashed the idols of his 
mighty tribe1  ,what idols and what     
heroes ,death has had6        ,,xviii   
,tread lightly1 for the mighty that have
 been  ,might now be breathing in the   

dust unseen2      ,lightly1 the violets 
beneath thy feet  ,spring from the mole 
of some ,arabian queen4        ,,xix    
,many a grave embraces friend and foe   
,behind the curtain of this sorry show  
,of love and hate inscrutable2 alas6    
,the ,fates will always reap the while  
they sow4        ,,xx    ,the silken    
fibre of the fell ,zakkum1  ,as warp and
 woof1 is woven on the loom      ,of    
life into a tapestry of dreams  ,to     
decorate the chariot-seat of ,doom4     
,,xxi    ,and still we weave1 and still 
we are content  ,in slaving for the     
sovereigns who have spent      ,the     
savings of the toiling of the mind      
,upon the glory of ,dismemberment4      
,,xxii    ,nor king nor slave the hungry
 ,days will spare2  ,between their fangd
 ,hours alike we fare3      ,anon they  
bound upon us while we play  ,unheeding 
at the threshold of their ,lair4        
,,xxiii    ,then ,jannat or ,juhannam8  
,from the height  ,of reason ,i can see 
nor fire nor light      ,that feeds not 

on the darknesses2 we pass  ,from world 
to world1 like shadows through the      
night4        ,,xxiv    ,or sleep--and  
shall it be eternal sleep  ,somewhither 
in the bosom of the deep                
,infinities of cosmic dust1 or here     
,where gracile cypresses the vigil keep6
        ,,xxv    ,upon the              
threshing-floor of life ,i burn  ,beside
 the ,winnower a word to learn2         
,and only this3 ,man's of the soil and  
sun1  ,and to the soil and sun he shall 
return4        ,,xxvi    ,and like a    
spider's house or sparrow's nest1  ,the 
,sultan's palace1 though upon the crest 
,of glory's mountain1 soon or late must 
go3  ,ay1 all abodes to ruin are        
addrest4        ,,xxvii    ,so1 too1 the
 creeds of ,man3 the one prevails       
,until the other comes2 and this one    
fails      ,when that one triumphs2 ay1 
the lonesome world  ,will always want   
the latest fairy-tales4        ,,xxviii 
,seek not the ,tavern of ,belief1 my    
friend1  ,until the ,sakis there their  

morals mend2      ,a lie imbibed a      
thousand lies will breed1  ,and thou'lt 
become a ,saki in the end4        ,,xxix
    ,by fearing whom ,i trust ,i find my
 way  ,to truth2 by trusting wholly ,i  
betray      ,the trust of wisdom2 better
 far is doubt  ,which brings the false  
into the light of day4        ,,xxx     
,or wilt thou commerce have with those  
who make  ,rugs of the rainbow1 rainbows
 of the snake1      ,snakes of a staff1 
and other wondrous things8--  ,the      
burning thirst a mirage can not slake4  
,,xxxi    ,religion is a maiden veiled  
in prayer1  ,whose bridal gifts and     
dowry those who care      ,can buy in   
,mutakallem's shop of words  ,but ,i for
 such1 a dirham can not spare4          
,,xxxii    ,why linger here1 why turn   
another page8  ,oh6 seal with doubt the 
whole book of the age2      ,doubt every
 one1 even him1 the seeming slave  ,of  
righteousness1 and doubt the canting    
sage4        ,,xxxiii    ,some day the  
weeping daughters of ,hadil  ,will say  

unto the bulbuls3 ,let's appeal      ,to
 ,allah in behalf of ,brother ,man      
,who's at the mercy now of ,ababil4     
,,xxxiv    ,of ,ababil6 ,i would the    
tale were true1--  ,would all the birds 
were such winged furies too2      ,the  
scourging and the purging were a boon   
,for me1 ,o my dear ,brothers1 and for  
you4        ,,xxxv    ,methinks ,allah  
divides me to complete  ,his problem1   
which with ,xs is replete2      ,for ,i 
am free and ,i am too in chains         
,groping along the labyrinthine street4 
,,xxxvi    ,and round the ,well how oft 
my ,soul doth grope  ,athirst2 but lo6  
my ,bucket hath no ,rope3      ,i cry   
for water1 and the deep1 dark ,well     
,echoes my wailing cry1 but not my hope4
        ,,xxxvii    ,ah1 many have ,i   
seen of those who fell  ,while drawing1 
with a swagger1 from the ,well2         
,they came with ,rope and ,bucket1 and  
they went  ,empty of hand another tale  
to tell4        ,,xxxviii    ,the ,i in 
me standing upon the brink  ,would leap 

into the ,well to get a drink2      ,but
 how to rise once in the depth1 ,i cry1 
,and cowardly behind my logic slink4    
,,xxxix    ,and she3 ,how long must ,i  
the burden bear8  ,how long this        
tattered garment must ,i wear8      ,and
 ,i3 ,why wear it8 ,leave it here1 and  
go  ,away without it--little do ,i care4
        ,,xl    ,but once when we were  
quarreling1 the door  ,was opened by a  
,visitor who bore      ,both ,rope and  
,pail2 he offered them and said3        
,drink1 if you will1 but once1 and      
nevermore4        ,,xli    ,one draught1
 more bitter than the ,zakkum tree1     
,brought us unto the land of mystery    
,where rising ,sand and ,dust and ,flame
 conceal  ,the door of every            
,caravanseri4        ,,xlii    ,we reach
 a door and there the legend find4  ,to 
all the ,pilgrims of the ,human ,mind3  
,knock and pass on6 ,we knock and knock 
and knock2  ,but no one answers save the
 moaning wind4        ,,xliii    ,how   
like a door the knowledge we attain1    

,which door is on the bourne of the     
,inane2      ,it opens and our          
nothingness is closed1--  ,it closes and
 in darkness we remain4        ,,xliv   
,hither we come unknowing1 hence we go2 
,unknowing we are messaged to and fro2  
,and yet we think we know all things of 
earth  ,and sky--the suns and stars we  
think we know4        ,,xlv    ,apply   
thy wit1 ,o ,brother1 here and there    
,upon this and upon that2 but beware    
,lest in the end--ah1 better at the     
start  ,go to the ,tinker for a slight  
repair4        ,,xlvi    ,and why so    
much ado1 and wherefore lay  ,the burden
 of the years upon the day      ,of thy 
vain dreams8 ,who polishes his sword    
,morning and eve will polish it away4   
,,xlvii    ,i heard it whispered in the 
cryptic streets  ,where every sage the  
same dumb shadow meets3      ,we are but
 words fallen from the lipe of ,time    
,which ,god1 that we might understand1  
repeats4        ,,xlviii    ,another    
said3 ,the creeping worm hath shown1    

,in her discourse on human flesh and    
bone1      ,that ,man was once the bed  
on which she slept--  ,the walking dust 
was once a thing of stone4        ,,xlix
    ,and still another3 ,we are coins   
which fade  ,in circulation1 coins which
 ,allah made      ,to cheat ,iblis3 the 
good and bad alike  ,are spent by ,fate 
upon a passing shade4        ,l    ,and 
in the pottery the potter cried1  ,as on
 his work shone all the master's pride--
      ,how is it1 ,rabbi1 ,i1 thy slave1
 can make  ,such vessels as nobody dare 
deride8        ,,li    ,the ,earth then 
spake3 ,my children silent be2  ,same   
are to ,god the camel and the flea3     
,he makes a mess of me to nourish you1  
,then makes a mess of you to nourish me4
        ,,lii    ,now1 ,i believe the   
,potter will essay  ,once more the      
,wheel1 and from a better clay          
,will make a better ,vessel1 and        
perchance  ,a masterpiece which will    
endure for aye4        ,,liii    ,with  
better skill he even will remould  ,the 

scattered potsherds of the ,new and     
,old2      ,then you and ,i will not    
disdain to buy1  ,though in the mart of 
,iblis they be sold4        ,,liv       
,sooth ,i have told the masters of the  
mart  ,of rusty creeds and ,babylonian  
art      ,of magic4 ,now the truth about
 myself--  ,here is the secret of my    
wincing heart4        ,,lv    ,i muse1  
but in my musings ,i recall  ,the days  
of my iniquity2 we're all--      ,an    
arrow shot across the wilderness1       
,somewhither1 in the wilderness must    
fall4        ,,lvi    ,i laugh1 but in  
my laughter-cup ,i pour  ,the tears of  
scorn and melancholy sore2      ,i who  
am shattered by the hand of ,doubt1     
,like glass to be remoulded nevermore4  
,,lvii    ,i wheedle1 too1 even like my 
slave ,zeidun1  ,who robs at dawn his   
brother1 and at noon      ,prostrates   
himself in prayer--ah1 let us pray      
,that ,night might blot us and our sins1
 and soon4        ,,lviii    ,but in the
 fatal coils1 without intent1  ,we sin2 

wherefore a future punishment8          
,they say the metal dead a deadly steel 
,becomes with ,allah's knowledge and    
consent4        ,,lix    ,and even the  
repentant sinner's tear  ,falling into  
,juhannam's very ear1      ,goes to its 
heart1 extinguishes its fire  ,for ever 
and forever1--so ,i hear4        ,,lx   
,between the white and purple ,words of 
,time  ,in motley garb with ,destiny ,i 
rhyme3      ,the colored glasses to the 
water give  ,the colors of a symbolry   
sublime4        ,,lxi    ,how oft1 when 
young1 my brothers ,i would shun  ,if   
their religious feelings were not spun  
,of my own cobweb1 which ,i find was but
  ,a spider's revelation of the sun4    
,,lxii    ,now1 mosques and             
churches--even a ,kaaba ,stone1  ,korans
 and ,bibles--even a martyr's bone1--   
,all these and more my heart can        
tolerate1  ,for my religion's love1 and 
love alone4        ,,lxiii    ,to       
humankind1 ,o ,brother1 consecrate  ,thy
 heart1 and shun the hundred ,sects that

 prate      ,about the things they      
little know about--  ,let all receive   
thy pity1 none thy hate4        ,,lxiv  
,the tavern and the temple also shun1   
,for sheikh and libertine in sooth are  
one2      ,and when the pious knave     
begins to pule1  ,the knave in purple   
breaks his vow anon4        ,,lxv       
,the wine's forbidden1 say these honest 
folk1  ,but for themselves the law they 
will revoke2      ,the snivelling sheikh
 says he's without a garb1  ,when in the
 tap-house he had pawned his cloak4     
,,lxvi    ,or in the house of lust4 ,the
 priestly name  ,and priestly turban    
once were those of ,shame--      ,and   
,shame is preaching in the pulpit now-- 
,if pulpits tumble down1 ,i'm not to    
blame4        ,,lxvii    ,for after she 
declaims upon the vows  ,of ,faith1 she 
pusillanimously bows      ,before the   
,sultan's wine-empurpled throne1  ,while
 he and all his courtezans carouse4     
,,lxviii    ,carouse1 ye sovereign      
lords6 ,the wheel will roll  ,forever to

 confound and to console3      ,who sips
 to-day the golden cup will drink       
,mayhap to-morrow in a wooden bowl--    
,,lxix    ,and silent drink4 ,the tumult
 of our mirth  ,is worse than our mad   
welcoming of birth3--      ,the thunder 
hath a grandeur1 but the rains1         
,without the thunder1 quench the thirst 
of ,earth4        ,,lxx    ,the         
,prophets1 too1 among us come to teach1 
,are one with those who from the pulpit 
preach2      ,they pray1 and slay1 and  
pass away1 and yet  ,our ills are as the
 pebbles on the beach4        ,,lxxi    
,and though around the temple they      
should run  ,for seventy times and      
seven1 and in the sun      ,of mad      
devotion drool1 their prayers are still 
,like their desires of feasting-fancies 
spun4        ,,lxxii    ,oh6 let them in
 the marshes grope1 or ride  ,their     
jaded ,myths along the mountain-side2   
,come up with me1 ,o ,brother1 to the   
heights  ,where ,reason is the prophet  
and the guide4        ,,lxxiii    ,what 

is thy faith and creed1 they ask of me1 
,and who art thou8 ,unseal thy          
pedigree4--      ,i am the child of     
,time1 my tribe1 mankind1  ,and now this
 world's my caravanseri4        ,,lxxiv 
,swathe thee in wool1 my ,sufi friend1  
and go  ,thy way2 in cotton ,i the wiser
 grow2      ,but we ourselves are shreds
 of earth1 and soon  ,the ,tailor of the
 ,universe will sew4        ,,lxxv      
,ay6 suddenly the mystic ,hand will seal
  ,the saint's devotion and the sinner's
 weal2      ,they worship ,saturn1 but  
,i worship ,one  ,before whom ,saturn   
and the ,heavens kneel4        ,,lxxvi  
,among the crumbling ruins of the creeds
  ,the ,scout upon his camel played his 
reeds      ,and called out to his       
people1--,let us hence6  ,the pasture   
here is full of noxious weeds4          
,,lxxvii    ,among us falsehood is      
proclaimed aloud1  ,but truth is        
whispered to the phantom bowed      ,of 
conscience2 ay6 and ,wrong is ever      
crowned1  ,while ,right and ,reason are 

denied a shroud4        ,,lxxviii       
,and why in this dark ,kingdom tribute  
pay8  ,with clamant multitudes why stop 
to pray8      ,oh6 hear the inner       
,voice3--,if thou'lt be right1  ,do what
 they deem is wrong1 and go thy way4    
,,lxxix    ,thy way unto the ,sun the   
spaces through  ,where king ,orion's    
black-eyed huris slew      ,the ,mother 
of ,night to guide the ,wings that bear 
,the flame divine hid in a drop of dew4 
,,lxxx    ,hear ye who in the dust of   
ages creep1  ,and in the halls of wicked
 masters sleep3--      ,arise6 and out  
of this wan weariness  ,where ,allah's  
laughter makes the ,devil weep4         
,,lxxxi    ,arise6 for lo6 the ,laughter
 and the ,weeping  ,reveal the ,weapon  
which the ,master's keeping      ,above 
your heads2 ,oh6 take it up and strike6 
,the lion of tyranny is only sleeping4  
,,lxxxii    ,evil and ,virtue8 ,shadows 
on the street  ,of ,fate and            
,vanity1--but shadows meet      ,when in
 the gloaming they are hast'ning forth  

,to drink with ,night annihilation      
sweet4        ,,lxxxiii    ,and thus the
 ,sun will write and will efface  ,the  
mystic symbols which the sages trace    
,in vain1 for all the worlds of ,god are
 stored  ,in his enduring vessels ,time 
and ,space4        ,,lxxxiv    ,for all 
my learning's but a veil1 ,i guess1     
,veiling the phantom of my nothingness2 
,howbeit1 there are those who think me  
wise1  ,and those who think me--even    
these ,i bless4        ,,lxxxv    ,and  
all my years1 as vapid as my lay1  ,are 
bitter morsels of a mystic day1--       
,the day of ,fate1 who carries in his   
lap  ,december snows and snow-white     
flowers of ,may4        ,,lxxxvi        
,allah1 my sleep is woven through1 it   
seems1  ,with burning threads of night  
and golden beams2      ,but when my     
dreams are evil they come true2  ,when  
they are not1 they are1 alas6 but       
dreams4        ,,lxxxvii    ,the subtle 
ways of ,destiny ,i know2  ,in me she   
plays her game of ,give and ,go4        

,misfortune ,i receive in cash1 but joy1
  ,in drafts on ,heaven or on the winds 
that blow4        ,,lxxxviii    ,i give 
and go1 grim ,destiny1--,i play  ,upon  
this checker-board of ,night and ,day   
,the dark game with thee1 but the day   
will come  ,when one will turn the      
,board the other way4        ,,lxxxix   
,if my house-swallow1 laboring with     
zest1  ,felt like myself the burden of  
unrest1      ,unlightened by inscrutable
 designs1  ,she would not build her     
young that cozy nest4        ,,xc       
,thy life with guiltless life-blood do  
not stain--  ,hunt not the children of  
the woods2 in vain      ,thou'lt try one
 day to wash thy bloody hand3  ,nor     
hunter here nor hunted long remain4     
,,xci    ,oh6 cast my dust away from    
thee1 and doff  ,thy cloak of sycophancy
 and like stuff3      ,i'm but a shadow 
on the sandy waste1--  ,enough of thy   
duplicity1 enough6        ,,xcii        
,behold6 the ,veil that hid thy soul is 
torn  ,and all thy secrets on the winds 

are borne3      ,the hand of ,sin has   
written on thy face  ,awake1 for these  
untimely furrows warn6        ,,xciii   
,a prince of souls1 'tis sung in ancient
 lay1  ,one morning sought a vesture of 
the clay2      ,he came into the        
,pottery1 the fool--  ,the lucky fool   
was warned to stay away4        ,,xciv  
,but ,i was not4 ,oh6 that the ,fates   
decree  ,that ,i now cast aside this    
clay of me2      ,my soul and body      
wedded for a while  ,are sick and would 
that separation be4        ,,xcv        
,thou shalt not kill6--,thy words1 ,o   
,god1 we heed1  ,though thy two         
,soul-devouring ,angels feed      ,thy  
,promise of another life on this1--  ,to
 have spared us both1 it were a boon    
indeed4        ,,xcvi    ,oh6 that some 
one would but return to tell  ,if old   
,nubakht is burning now in hell1        
,or if the workers for the ,prophet's   
prize  ,are laughing at his ,paradisal  
sell4        ,,xcvii    ,once ,i have   
tried to string a few ,pearl-seeds      

,upon my ,rosary of wooden beads2       
,but ,i have searched1 and ,i have      
searched in vain  ,for pearls in all the
 caverns of the creeds        ,,xcviii  
,and in the palaces of wealth ,i found  
,some beads of wisdom scattered on the  
ground1      ,around the throne of      
,power1 beneath the feet  ,of fair-faced
 slaves with flowers of folly crowned4  
,,xcix    ,thy wealth can shed no tears 
around thy bier1  ,nor can it wash thy  
hands of shame and fear2      ,ere thou 
departest with it freely part1--  ,let  
others plead for thee and ,god will     
hear4        ,c    ,for me thy silks and
 feathers have no charm  ,the pillow ,i 
like best is my right arm2      ,the    
comforts of this passing show ,i spurn1 
,for ,poverty can do the soul no harm4  
,,ci    ,the guiding hand of ,allah ,i  
can see  ,upon my staff3 of what use    
then is he      ,who'd be the blind     
man's guide8 ,thou silent oak1  ,no son 
of ,eve shall walk with me and thee4    
,,cii    ,my life's the road on which ,i

 blindly speed3  ,my goal's the grave on
 which ,i plant a reed      ,to shape my
 ,hope1 but soon the ,hand unseen  ,will
 strike1 and lo6 ,i'm but a sapless     
weed4        ,,ciii    ,o ,rabbi1 curse 
us not if we have been  ,nursed in the  
shadow of the ,gate of ,sin      ,built 
by thy hand--yea1 ev'n thine angels     
blink  ,when we are coming out and going
 in4        ,,civ    ,and like the dead 
of ,ind ,i do not fear  ,to go to thee  
in flames2 the most austere      ,angel 
of fire a softer tooth and tongue  ,hath
 he than dreadful ,munker and ,nakir4   
,,cv    ,now1 at this end of ,adam's    
line ,i stand  ,holding my father's     
life-curse in my hand1      ,doing no   
one the wrong that he did me3--  ,ah1   
would that he were barren as the sand6  
,,cvi    ,ay1 thus thy children1 though 
they sovereigns be1  ,when truth upon   
them dawns1 will turn on thee1      ,who
 cast them into life's dark labyrinth   
,where even old ,izrail can not see4    
,,cvii    ,and in the labyrinth both son

 and sire  ,awhile will fan and fuel    
hatred's fire2      ,sparks of the log  
of evil are all men                     
,allwhere--extinguished be the race     
entire6        ,,cviii    ,if miracles  
were wrought in ancient years1  ,why not
 to-day1 ,o ,heaven-cradled seers8      
,the highway's strewn with dead1 the    
lepers weep1  ,if ye but knew1--if ye   
but saw their tears6        ,,cix       
,fan thou a lisping fire and it will    
leap  ,in flames1 but dost thou fan an  
ashy heap8      ,they would respond1    
indeed1 whom thou dost call1  ,were they
 not dead1 alas6 or dead asleep4        
,,cx    ,the way of vice is open as the 
sky1  ,the way of virtue's like the     
needle's eye2      ,but whether here or 
there1 the eager ,soul  ,has only two   
,companions--,whence and ,why4          
,,cxi    ,whence come1 ,o firmament1 thy
 myriad lights8  ,whence comes thy sap1 
,o vineyard of the heights8      ,whence
 comes the perfume of the rose1 and     
whence  ,the spirit-larva which the body

 blights8        ,,cxii    ,whence does 
the nettle get its bitter sting8        
,whence do the honey bees their honey   
bring8      ,whence our ,companions1    
too--our ,whence and ,why8  ,o ,soul1 ,i
 do not know a single thing6            
,,cxiii    ,how many like us in the ages
 past  ,have blindly soared1 though like
 a pebble cast1      ,seeking the veil  
of mystery to tear1  ,but fell accurst  
beneath the burning blast8        ,,cxiv
    ,why try to con the book of earth   
and sky1  ,why seek the truth which     
neither you nor ,i      ,can grasp8 ,but
 ,death methinks the secret keeps1  ,and
 will impart it to us by and by4        
,,cxv    ,the ,sultan1 too1             
relinquishing his throne  ,must wayfare 
through the darkening dust alone        
,where neither crown nor kingdom be1 and
 he1  ,part of the ,secret1 here and    
there is blown4        ,,cxvi    ,to    
clay the mighty ,sultan must return     
,and1 chancing1 help a praying slave to 
burn      ,his midnight oil before the  

face of ,him1  ,who of the ,sultan makes
 an incense urn4        ,,cxvii         
,turned to a cup1 who once the sword of 
state  ,held o'er the head of slave and 
potentate1      ,is now held in the     
tippler's trembling hand1  ,or smashed  
upon the tavern-floor of ,fate4         
,,cxviii    ,for this ,i say1 ,be       
watchful of the ,cage  ,of chance2 it   
opes alike to fool and sage2      ,spy  
on the moment1 for to-morrow'll be1     
,like yesterday1 an obliterated page4   
,,cxix    ,yea1 kiss the rosy cheeks of 
new-born ,day1  ,and hail eternity in   
every ray      ,forming a halo round its
 infant head1  ,illumining thy          
labyrinthine way4        ,,cxx    ,but  
,i1 the thrice-imprisoned1 try to troll 
,strains of the song of night1 which    
fill with dole      ,my blindness1 my   
confinement1 and my flesh--  ,the sordid
 habitation of my soul4        ,,cxxi   
,howbeit1 my inner vision heir shall be 
,to the increasing flames of mystery    
,which may illumine yet my prisons all1 

,and crown the ever living hope of me4  
,,notes ,,to ,,the ,,quatrains      ,i  
,to open a poem with a few amatory      
lines1 is a literary tradition among    
,arab poets4 ,but ,abu'l-,ala1 having   
had no occasion to evince such  tender  
emotions1 whether real or merely        
academic1 succeeded1 as in  everything  
else he did1 in deviating from the      
trodden path4 ,i find1  however1 in his 
minor ,diwan1 ,suct uz-,zand1 a slight  
manifestation  of his youthful ardor1 of
 which this and the succeeding          
quatrains1  descriptive of the charms of
 ,night1 are fairly representative4     
,,iii    ,ahmad1 ,mohammed the ,prophet4
        ,,iv    ,and hear the others who
 with cymbals try1 etc41 meaning the    
,christians2 in the preceding quatrain  
he referred to the ,mohammedans4        
,,vii    ,milton1 in ,il ,penseroso1    
also speaks of night as the starred     
,ethiop  queen2 and ,shakespeare1 in    
,romeo and ,juliet1 has these lines3    
,her beauty hangs upon the cheek of     

night      ,as a rich jewel in an       
,ethiop ear4      ,the source of        
inspiration is the same to all          
world-poets1 who only  differ sometimes 
in the jars they bring to the source4   
,,xiii    ,the purple1 white1 and gray  
garments1 symbolizing ,man's dreams of  
power1 of love1 and of bliss4           
,,xiv    ,the same idea is expressed by 
,omar ,khayyam4 ,here are the first     
three  lines of the #abbnd quatrain of  
,heron-,allen's literal translation3    
,to him who understands the mysteries of
 the world      ,the joy and sorrow of  
the world is all the same1      ,since  
the good and the bad of the world all   
come to an end4      ,howdaj1 a sort of 
palanquin borne by camels2 hence1 a     
wedding or  a triumphal procession4     
,,xvii    ,thamud and ',ad1 two of the  
primitive tribes which figure           
prominently in the legendary history of 
,arabia4 ,they flouted and stoned  the  
prophets that were sent to them1 and are
 constantly held up in the  ,koran as   

terrible examples of the pride that     
goeth before destruction4    ,hashem's  
fearless lad1 ,mohammed the ,prophet4   
,,xviii    ,i quote again from ,omar1   
,fitzgerald's translation3          ,and
 this reviving ,herb1 whose ,tender     
,green      ,fledges the ,river-,lip1 on
 which we lean--          ,ah1 lean upon
 it lightly6 for who knows      ,from   
what once lovely ,lip it springs unseen4
      ,in justice to both the ,persian  
and the ,arab poet1 however1 ,i give    
the #dc;d quatrain of ,heron-,allen's1  
which ,i think contains two lines  of   
that of ,fitzgerald1 together with      
,abu'l-,ala's own poetic-fancy4         
,everywhere that there has been a rose  
or tulip bed      ,there has been       
spilled the crimson blood of a king2    
,every violet shoot that grows from the 
earth      ,is a mole that was once upon
 the cheek of beauty4        ,,xx       
,zakkum1 a tree which1 in ,mohammedan   
mythology1 is said to have its  roots in
 hell1 and from which are fed the       

dwellers of hell-fire4 ,in  one of the  
,chapters of the ,koran1 ,the ,saffat1  
,i find this upon it3  ,and is that a   
pure bounty1 or the ,zakkum tree8 ,it is
 a tree which  groweth in hell2 its     
fruits are like unto the heads of the   
devils1  who eat from it1 and from it   
fill their stomachs4    ,zakkum is also 
one of the bitter-fruited trees of      
,arabia4 ,and the  people there speak of
 a mouthful of zakkum when they want to 
describe  an unhappy experience4 ,it is 
also the name of one of the plants of   
the desert1 whose flower is like the    
jasmine2 and of one of the trees  of    
,jericho1 whose fruit is like the date1 
but somewhat bitter4        ,,xxiii     
,jannat1 ,paradise4 ,juhannam1 ,hell4   
,,xxix    ,and ,tennyson also says3     
,there is more truth in honest doubt1   
,believe me1 than in all the creeds4    
,,xxxi    ,mutakallem1 disputant4 ,the  
mutakallemin are the logicians and      
theologians of ,islam4        ,,xxxiii  
,hadil is a poetic term for dove4 ,and  

in ,arabic mythology it is the  name of 
a particular dove1 which died of thirst 
in the days of ,noah1  and is bemoaned  
until this day4    ,ababil1 a flock of  
birds1 who scourged with flint-stones   
which  they carried in their beaks1 one 
of the ancient ,arab tribes1 noted  for 
its idolatry and evil practices4        
,,xxxviii1 ,,xciii and ,,xciv    ,i     
quote again from ,omar1 ,fitzgerald's   
version1 quatrain #dd3          ,why1 if
 the ,soul can fling the dust aside1    
,and naked on the air of ,heaven ride1  
,were't not a shame--were't not a shame 
for him      ,in this clay carcass      
crippled to abide8      ,and from       
,heron-,allen's1 quatrain #ade3         
,o ,soul1 if thou canst purify thyself  
from the dust of the clay1      ,thou1  
naked spirit1 canst soar in the heav'ns1
      ,the ,empyrian is thy sphere--let 
it be thy shame      ,that thou comest  
and art a dweller within the confines of
 earth4        ,,xlviii    ,the walking 
dust was once a thing of stone1 is my   

rendering of  the line1          ,and he
 concerning whom the world is puzzled   
,is an animal evolved of inorganic      
matter4      ,this line of ,abu'l-,ala  
is much quoted by his enthusiastic      
admirers  of the present day to prove   
that he anticipated ,darwin's theory of 
evolution4 ,and it is remarkable how the
 fancy of the poet sometimes  coincides 
with the logical conclusions of the     
scientist4        ,,xlix    ,iblis1 the 
devil4        ,l    ,rabbi1 my lord     
,god4        ,,lvi    ,this quatrain is 
quoted by many of the ,biographers of   
,abu'l-,ala to  prove that he is a      
materialist4 ,which argument is easily  
refuted1  however1 with others quatrains
 taken at random from the ,luzumiyat4   
,,lvii1 ,,lviii and ,,lix    ,omar was  
also a confessed cynical-hypocrite4     
,thus runs the first line  of the #aadth
 quatrain of ,heron-,allen's3           
,the world being fleeting ,i practise   
naught but artifice4      ,and he also  
chafes in the chains of his sins4       

,following is the #bc;d  quatrain of the
 same translation3          ,khayyam1   
why mourn for thy sins8      ,from      
grieving thus what advantage more or    
less dost thou gain8      ,mercy was    
never for him who sins not1      ,mercy 
is granted for sins2 why then grieve8   
,abu'l-,ala1 in a quatrain which ,i did 
not translate1 goes even farther  in his
 questioning perplexity4 ,why do good   
since thou art to be  forgiven for thy  
sins8 he asks4        ,,lxii    ,kaaba  
,stone1 the sacred black stone in the   
,kaaba at ,meccah4        ,,lxxvii      
,the ,american poet1 ,lowell1 in ,the   
,crisis1 utters the same cry3           
,truth forever on the scaffold1         
,wrong forever on the throne4           
,,xc          ,and the poor beetle that 
we tread upon      ,in corporal         
sufferance finds a pang as great        
,as when a giant dies4                  
--,shakespeare3 ,measure for ,measure4  
,to let go a flea is a more virtuous act
 than to give a dirham to  a            

beggar4--,abu'l-,ala4        ,,xciii and
 ,,xciv    ,omar too1 in the #aegth     
quatrain of ,heron-,allen's--           
,had ,i charge of the matter ,i would   
not have come1      ,and likewise could 
,i control my going1 where could ,i go8 
,,xcv    ,thy two soul-devouring angels1
 the angels of death and resurrection4  
,,xcvi    ,nubakht1 one of the opponents
 of the ,prophet ,mohammed4             
,,ciii    ,rabbi1 my lord ,god4         
,,civ    ,and like the dead of ,ind1    
referring to the practice of the ,hindus
  who burn their dead4    ,munker and   
,nakir1 the two angels who on the ,day  
of ,judgment open  the graves of the    
dead and cross-examine them--the process
 is said to  be very cruel--as to their 
faith4 ,whosoever is found wanting in   
this  is pushed back into the grave and 
thence thrown into ,juhannam4 ,no       
wonder ,abu'l-,ala prefers cremation4   
,,cv    ,he wrote his own epitaph1 which
 is3          ,this wrong to me was by  
my father done1          ,but never by  

me to any one4        ,,cvi    ,izrail1 
the angel of death4        ,,cxv1 ,,cxvi
 and ,,cxvii    ,these will suggest to  
the reader ,shakespeare's lines3        
,imperial ,caesar1 dead and turned to   
clay1      ,might stop a hole to keep   
the wind away2      ,o1 that that earth1
 which kept the world in awe1           
,should stop a wall t'expel the winter's
 flaw4        ,,cxviii    ,compare this 
with ,omar's3          ,thou hast no    
power over the morrow1      ,and anxiety
 about the morrow is useless to thee3   
,waste not thou the moment1 if thy heart
 is not mad1      ,for the value of the 
remainder of thy life is not certain4   
,,press ,,and ,,personal ,,notices      
,mr4 ,rihani's book is soundly          
workmanlike1 with adequate scholarship1 
and is often very felicitous4 ,he has   
done a real service to modern           
understanding of an important though    
slightly known literature in  presenting
 these selections with sufficient       
annotation4--,new ,york  ,evening ,sun4 

,the ,luzumiyat4 ,by ,abu'l-,ala4 ,born 
in ,syria1 in the tenth century ,a4 ,d41
  this poet1 scholar1 teacher1          
philosopher and pessimist became known  
as  the ,voltaire of the ,east1 and may 
well be read for the beauty of  his     
work1 even if there is little agreement 
with his general ideas  of life4--,the  
,christian ,century4      ,abu'l-,ala is
 a true poet1 with a philosophy much    
nobler than ,omar's1  and ,mr4 ,rihani's
 translation has rare poetic            
qualities4--,edwin ,markham4            
,if ,i had but a garden for a bower     
,wherein the roses of ,damascus flower1 
,how happy1 with the ,luzumiyat in hand1
              ,to pass the afternoon and
 sunset hour6                           
,clinton ,scollard4      ,the ,luzumiyat
 of ,abu'l-,ala1 as rendered into       
,english by ,mr4 ,ameen  ,rihani1 is    
more than a mere translation--it is     
excellent poetry4 ,aside  from its      
interest as a literary curiosity1 it    
possesses intrinsic value  as literature

 of a high quality4 ,the historical     
matter contained in  the preface of the 
book1 as well as the notes following the
 preface1  will appeal to the scholar   
who makes a study of the best           
expressions  of ,oriental               
thought4--,james ,b4 ,kenyon4      ,the 
first ,english rendition of the         
,luzumiyat of ,abu'l-,ala1 comes from   
,ameen ,rihani1 the author of the ,book 
of ,khaled1 who has selected the        
quatrains from three volumes of the     
works of the ,syrian poet4 ,for  those  
who cling to a childish haze concerning 
,assyrians and ,syrians1  we would add  
that while the ,assyrian comes down like
 a wolf on the  fold1 the ,syrian1 at   
least this particular one1 has a tread  
like ,omar  ,khayyam4 ,therein lies the 
chief interest of the ,luzumiyat1 unfair
  as it may be1 in view of the fact that
 ,abu'l-,ala died at about the  time    
,omar was born4 ,so marked and          
far-reaching is the resemblance1  that  
we might almost bring ourselves to the  

belief that in ,omar  ,khayyam was      
recreated the soul of ,abu'l-,ala1 with 
subtle changes1  notable among them the 
casting off of the tenets of            
prohibition1  and a substitution of     
fatalism for stoicism4--,the ,sun 7,new 
,york74      ,what ,fitzgerald did for  
the ,man of ,neishapur in his wonderful 
version  of the ,rubaiyat1 ,mr4 ,rihani 
has done1 in scarcely inferior measure1 
for his own remote ancestor ,abu'l-,ala4
 ,mr4 ,rihani1 who is a poet and        
essayist in ,english as well as in      
,arabic1 has made a permanent addition  
to ,literature4 ,the ,luzumiyat can not 
be displaced4--,michael ,monahan4       
,mr4 ,rihani has rendered valuable      
service to ,literature in making  the   
career of ,the ,lucretius of ,islam1 as 
he happily calls him1  known to the     
general reader in the ,english-speaking 
world4444 ,the  similarity of the       
,luzumiyat to ,omar ,khayyam under      
certain aspects1  should win for        
,rihani's brilliant rendering a generous

 measure of  recognition4 ,as it is1 the
 rare merits of the book1 the critical  
power  of the preface1 the skill and    
sincere feeling exhibited in the verse1 
and the wide knowledge of ,english      
,literature shown in the notes1  make   
it1 to my mind1 a little                
masterpiece4--,percy ,white4      ,the  
similarity in some parts of the         
,luzumiyat to ,omar ,khayyam is         
striking4 ,but ,abu'l-,ala1 to my mind1 
is a greater poet1 and he is  at times  
so remarkably modern4 ,i am glad to make
 his acquaintance  through your         
excellent translation4--,r4 ,b4         
,cunninghame ,graham4      ,there is a  
compelling power in his attack on       
hypocrisy and quackery1  in his         
recognition of the supremacy of reason  
and the human soul4 ,those  who still   
fondly turn to the ,rubaiyat for        
enjoyment will surely  find stimulus1   
too1 and pleasure in these ruthless     
rhymes4--,asia4                  ,,notes
      #a ,my learned friend1 ,count ,e4 

de ,mulinen1 called my attention to  the
 work of ,von ,kremer on ,abu'l-,ala4   
,and ,i have seen copies of a  certain  
,german ,asiatic ,review in which were  
published translations1  made by that   
eminent ,orientalist1 of many poems from
 the ,luzumiyat4 ,he  speaks of         
,abu'l-,ala as one of the greatest      
moralists of all times1  whose profound 
genius anticipated much that is commonly
 attributed  to the so-called modern    
spirit of enlightenment4    ,professor  
,d4 ,s4 ,margoliouth has also translated
 into ,english the  ,letters of         
,abu'l-,ala1 which were published with  
the ,arabic ,text at the  ,clarendon    
,press1 ,oxford1 #ahih4 ,also ,professor
 ,raynold ,a4 ,nicholson1  in his work1 
,a ,literary ,history of the ,arabs1    
discusses the poet at  length and       
renders into ,english some poems from   
the ,luzumiyat4 ,a work  was published  
by ,charles ,carrington1 ,paris1 #aijd1 
under the title1  ,un ,prcurseur d',omar
 ,khayyam1 ,le ,pote ,aveugle3 ,extraits

 de ,pomes  et de ,lettres d',abu'l-,ala
 al-,ma'arri4 ,and another1 ,the ,diwan 
of  ,abu'l-,ala1 done into ,english by  
,henry ,baerlein1 who must have helped  
himself freely to the ,quatrains of ,von
 ,kremer4    #b ,for a picturesque      
description of the squalidness and      
sordidness of  ,ma'arrah and its people1
 see ,letter ,,xx of ,the ,letters of   
,abu'l-,ala1  ,oxford ,edition4    #c   
,when he visited ,baghdad he was about  
thirty-seven years of age4 ,and  when he
 went to attend a lecture there by one  
of the leading scholars1  he was called 
by the lecturer1 istabl1 which is       
,syrian slang for blind4    #d ,he was  
four years of age when he had the attack
 of small-pox4 ,the  sight of his left  
eye was entirely lost and the eyeball of
 his right  had turned white4 ,al-,hafiz
 us-,silafi relates3 ',abu ,muhammad    
,abdallah  told me that he visited him  
7,abu'l-,ala7 once with his uncle and   
found him sitting on an old hair        
matting4 ,he was very old1 and the      

disease that attacked him in his boyhood
 had left its deep traces  on his       
emaciated face4 ,he bade me come near   
him and blessed me as  he placed his    
hand on my head4 ,i was a boy then1 and 
,i can picture  him before me now4 ,i   
looked into his eyes and remarked how   
the one  was horribly protruding1 and   
the other1 buried in its socket1 could  
barely be seen4'--,ibn ,khillikan4    #e
 ,how long he retained any sort of      
vision is not certain4 ,his  frequent   
references in his writings to stars1    
flowers1 and the forms of  the ,arabic  
letters imply that he could see a little
 at least some years  after this        
calamity4--,d4 ,s4 ,margoliouth3 ,the   
,letters of ,abu'l-,ala4    ,he used to 
play chess and nard4--,safadi4    #f    
,for an interesting account of ,literary
 ,society in ,baghdad see  ,renan's     
,islam and ,science2 also the ,biography
 to the ,letters of  ,abu'l-,ala4 ,prof4
 ,margoliouth1 though not unfair in his 
judgment of the  poet1 is unnecessarily 

captious at times4 ,he would seem       
partial to the  suffrage of orthodox    
,mohammedans with regard to             
,abu'l-,ala's unorthodox  religious     
views4 ,but they have a reason1 these   
ulama1 for endeavoring  to keep a genius
 like ,abu'l-,ala within the pale of    
belief4 ,which  reason1 let us hope1 has
 no claim on ,prof4 ,margoliouth4 ,and  
in his  attempt to depreciate           
,abu'l-,ala as a disinterested and      
independent  scholar and poet1 he does  
not escape the inconsistency which often
  follows in the wake of cavil4 ,read   
this1 for instance3          ,like many 
of those who have failed to secure      
material prosperity1      he found      
comfort in a system which flatters the  
vanity of those      who have not       
succeeded by teaching that success is   
not worth      attaining4      ,and     
this1 not on the same page perhaps1 but 
close to it3          ,for though other 
roads towards obtaining the means of    
supporting      himself at ,baghdad have

 been open to him1 that which he refused
      to follow 7the profession of an   
encomiast1 i4 e4 a sycophant1      a    
toady7 was the most certain4      #g    
,biography of ,abu'l-,ala by            
,adh-,dhahabi4    #h ,the ,letters1     
which abound in quotations1 enable us to
  gauge the power of his memory better  
than these wonder-loving                
narrators4--,d4 ,s4 ,margoliouth4    #i 
,in one of his poems he speaks of three 
prisons1 his body being  the third4     
,here is ,professor ,nicholson's        
translation3          ,methink ,i am    
thrice-imprisoned--ask not me      ,of  
news that need no telling--      ,by    
loss of sight1 confinement in my house1 
,and this vile body for my spirit's     
dwelling4      #aj ,also his ,commentary
 on the works of the poet               
,al-,mutanabbi4    #aa ,adh-,dhahabi    
gives the titles of forty-eight of his  
works1 to  which ,safadi adds fourteen4 
,a literary baggage of considerable     
bulk1  had not most of it perished when 

the ,crusaders took ,ma'arrah in  #ajih4
 ,now1 the ,luzumiyat1 the ,letters1    
,suct uz-,zand and the ,epistle  of     
,forgiveness can be obtained in printed 
form4    #ab ,what he says of           
,al-,maghribi in the ,first ,letter     
became literally  true of himself3 ',as 
,sinai derives its fame from ,moses and 
the ,stone  from ,abraham1 so ,ma'arrah 
is from this time 7after his return from
  ,baghdad7 known by him4'--,d4 ,s4     
,margoliouth4    #ac ,even before he    
visited ,baghdad he had a pension of    
thirty dinars  7about #ajj71 half of    
which he paid to his servant1 and the   
other half  was sufficient to secure for
 him the necessaries of life4 ,he lived 
on lentils and figs1 says ,adh-,dhahabi2
 he slept on a felt mattress2  he wore  
nothing but cotton garments2 and his    
dwelling was furnished  with a straw    
matting4    #ad ,we have the following  
from ,adh-,dhahabi3    ,one of these    
critics came one day to ,abu'l-,ala and 
relating the  conversation himself said1

 ',what is it that is quoted and said   
about  you8' ,i asked4    ',it is false2
 they are jealous of me1' he replied4   
',and what have you to incite their     
jealousy8 ,you have left for them  both 
this world and the other4'    ',and the 
other8' murmured the poet1 questioning1 
ruminating4 ',and  the other1 too8'     
#ae ,his poems1 generally known as the  
,luzumiyat1 arrest attention by  their  
boldness and originality as well as by  
the sombre and earnest  tone which      
pervades them4--,raynold ,a4 ,nicholson3
 ,a ,literary ,history  of the ,arabs4  
#af ,the ,governor of ,halab1 ,salih ibn
 ,mirdas1 passed once by ,ma'arrah1     
when thirty of its distinguished        
citizens were imprisoned on account  of 
a riot in the town the previous year4   
,abu'l-,ala being asked to  intercede   
for them1 was led to ,salih1 who        
received him most politely  and asked   
him what he desired4 ,the poet1 in      
eloquent but unflattering  speech1 asked
 ,salih 'to take and give forgiveness4' 

,and the ,governor1  not displeased1    
replied3 ',i grant it you4' ,whereupon  
the prisoners  were released4    #ag    
,his poems leave no aspect of the age   
7in which he lived7  untouched1 and     
present a vivid picture of degeneracy   
and corruption1  in which tyrannous     
rulers1 venal judges1 hypocritical and  
unscrupulous  theologians1 swindling    
astrologers1 roving swarms of dervishes 
and  godless ,carmathians1 occupy a     
prominent place4--,raynold ,a4          
,nicholson3  ,a ,literary ,history of   
the ,arabs4    #ah ,the ,mohammedan     
critics who thought he let his opinions 
be guided  by his pen probably came near
 the truth4 ,and any man who writes in  
such  fetters as the meter 7he means the
 rhyme-ending2 for ,abu'l-,ala made  use
 of every known meter of ,arabic        
prosody7 of the ,luzumiyat imposes1  can
 exercise but slight control over his   
thoughts4--,d4 ,s4 ,margoliouth3        
,letters of ,abu'l-,ala4    #ai ,this   
work1 of which ,professor ,nicholson    

says there are but  two copies extant1  
one in ,constantinople and the other in 
his own  ,collection1 was published in  
,cairo1 in #aijg1 edited by ,sheikh     
,ibrahim  ul-,yazeji4    #bj ,to let go 
a flea is a more virtuous act than to   
give a dirham  to a                     
beggar4--,abu'l-,ala4    #ba ,the       
,orthodox1 i4 e4 the ,mohammedans4      
#bb ,i do not find these verses in the  
printed copies of either the  ,luzumiyat
 or ,suct uz-,zand4 ,but they are       
quoted1 from some ,ms4 copy  ,i suppose1
 by the historian ,abu'l-,fida4    #bc  
,omar wrote poetry in ,arabic too4 ,my  
learned friend1 ,isa ,iskandar  ,maluf  
of ,zehleh1 ,mt4 ,lebanon1 showed me    
some quatrains of ,omar the  ,tent-maker
 and ,astronomer1 in an old ,arabic ,ms4
 which bear a striking  resemblance to  
some of ,abu'l-,ala's both in thought   
and style4