"Well wot, when our tents rise along their valleys, The men of every clan That we give death to them that durst attempt us, To friends what food we can; That staunchly we maintain a cause we cherish, Camp where we choose to ride, Nor will we aught of peace, when we are angered, Till we be satisfied. We keep our vassals safe and sound, but rebels We soon force to their knees; And if we reach a well, we drink pure water, Others the muddy lees. Ours is the earth and all thereon: when _we_ strike, There needs no second blow; Kings lay before the new-weaned boy of Taghlib Their heads in homage low. We are called oppressors, being none, but shortly A true name shall it be![227] We have so filled the earth 'tis narrow for us, And with our ships the sea![228] [Sidenote: Ḥárith b. Ḥilliza.] Less interesting is the _Mu‘allaqa_ of Ḥárith b. Ḥilliza of Bakr. Its inclusion among the _Mu‘allaqát_ is probably due, as Nöldeke suggested, to the fact that Ḥammád, himself a client of Bakr, wished to flatter his patrons by selecting a counterpart to the _Mu‘allaqa_ of ‘Amr b. Kulthúm, which immortalised their great rivals, the Banú Taghlib. Ḥárith's poem, however, has some historical importance, as it throws light on feuds in Northern Arabia connected with the antagonism of the Roman and Persian Empires. Its purpose is to complain of unjust accusations made against the Banú Bakr by a certain group of the Banú Taghlib known as the Aráqim:-- "Our brothers the Aráqim let their tongues Against us rail unmeasuredly. The innocent with the guilty they confound: Of guilt what boots it to be free? They brand us patrons of the vilest deed, Our clients in each miscreant see."[229] A person whom Ḥárith does not name was 'blackening' the Banú Bakr before the King of Ḥíra. The poet tells him not to imagine that his calumnies will have any lasting effect: often had Bakr been slandered by their foes, but (he finely adds):-- "Maugre their hate we stand, by firm-based might Exalted and by ancestry-- Might which ere now hath dazzled men's eyes: thence scorn To yield and haughty spirit have we. On us the Days beat as on mountain dark That soars in cloudless majesty, Compact against the hard calamitous shocks And buffetings of Destiny."[230] He appeals to the offenders not wantonly to break the peace which ended the War of Basús:-- "Leave folly and error! If ye blind yourselves, Just therein lies the malady. Recall the oaths of Dhu ’l-Majáz[231] for which Hostages gave security, Lest force or guile should break them: can caprice Annul the parchments utterly?[232] [Sidenote: ‘Antara.]