XIII
The purple, white, and gray garments, symbolizing Man's dreams of power, of love, and of bliss.
XIV
The same idea is expressed by Omar Khayyam. Here are the first three lines of the 122nd quatrain of Heron-Allen's literal translation:
"To him who understands the mysteries of the
world
The joy and sorrow of the world is all the same,
Since the good and the bad of the world all come
to an end."
"Howdaj," a sort of palanquin borne by camels; hence, a wedding or a triumphal procession.
XVII
"Thamud" and "'Ad," two of the primitive tribes which figure prominently in the legendary history of Arabia. They flouted and stoned the prophets that were sent to them, and are constantly held up in the Koran as terrible examples of the pride that goeth before destruction.
"Hashem's fearless lad," Mohammed the Prophet.
XVIII
I quote again from Omar, Fitzgerald's translation:
"And this reviving Herb, whose Tender Green
Fledges the River-Lip, on which we lean—
Ah, lean upon it lightly! for who knows
From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen."
In justice to both the Persian and the Arab poet, however, I give the 43d quatrain of Heron-Allen's, which I think contains two lines of that of Fitzgerald, together with Abu'l-Ala's own poetic-fancy.
94
