"Everywhere that there has been a rose or tulip
bed
There has been spilled the crimson blood of a
king;
Every violet shoot that grows from the earth
Is a mole that was once upon the cheek of
beauty."
XX
"Zakkum," a tree which, in Mohammedan mythology, is said to have its roots in hell, and from which are fed the dwellers of hell-fire. In one of the Chapters of the Koran, The Saffat, I find this upon it: "And is that a pure bounty, or the Zakkum tree? It is a tree which groweth in hell; its fruits are like unto the heads of the devils, who eat from it, and from it fill their stomachs."
Zakkum is also one of the bitter-fruited trees of Arabia. And the people there speak of "a mouthful of zakkum" when they want to describe an unhappy experience. It is also the name of one of the plants of the desert, whose flower is like the jasmine; and of one of the trees of Jericho, whose fruit is like the date, but somewhat bitter.
XXIII
"Jannat," Paradise. "Juhannam," Hell.
XXIX
And Tennyson also says:
"There is more truth in honest doubt.
Believe me, than in all the creeds."
XXXI
"Mutakallem," disputant. The mutakallemin are the logicians and theologians of Islam.
95
