PRESS AND PERSONAL NOTICES
Mr. Rihani's book is roundly workmanlike, with adequate scholarship, and is often very felicitous. He has done a real service to modern understanding of an important though slightly known literature in presenting these selections with sufficient annotation.—New York Evening Sun.
The Luzumiyat. By Abu'l-Ala. Born in Syria, in the tenth century A. D., this poet, scholar, teacher, philosopher and pessimist became known as "the Voltaire of the East," and may well be read for the beauty of his work, even if there is little agreement with his general ideas of life.—The Christian Century.
Abu'l-Ala is a true poet, with a philosophy much nobler than Omar's, and Mr. Rihani's translation has rare poetic qualities.—Edwin Markham.
If I had but a garden for a bower
Wherein the roses of Damascus flower,
How happy, with the Luzumiyat in hand,
To pass the afternoon and sunset hour!
Clinton Scollard.
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