Flowers from a Persian Garden and Other PapersClouston, W. A. (William Alexander)
History
Flowers from a Persian Garden and Other Papers
Clouston, W. A. (William Alexander)
Middle Eastern literature -- History and criticism
This is the title of an ancient Persian poem, composed in the reign of
Nushirvan, A.D. 531-579, of which some fragments only now remain,
incorporated with an Arabian poem. In 1833, Von Hammer published a
German translation, at Vienna: _Wamik und Asra; das ist, Gluehende und
die Bluehende. Das aelteste Persische romantische Gedicht. Jun fuenftelsaft
abgezogen_, von Joseph von Hammer (Wamik and Asra; that is, the Glowing
and the Blowing. The most ancient Persian Romantic Poem. Transfer the
Fifth, etc.) The hero and heroine, namely, Wamik and Asra, are
personifications of the two great principles of heat and vegetation, the
vivifying energy of heaven and the correspondent productiveness of
earth.--This noble poem is the subject of a very interesting article in
the _Foreign Quarterly Review_, vol. xviii, 1836-7, giving some of the
more striking passages in English verse, of which the following may
serve as a specimen:
'The Blowing One' Asra was justly named,
For she, in mind and form, a blossom stood;
Of beauty, youth, and grace divinely framed,
Of holiest spirit, filled with heavenly good.
The Spring, when warm, in fullest splendour showing,
Breathing gay wishes to the inmost core
Of youthful hearts, and fondest influence throwing,
Yet veiled its bloom, her beauty's bloom before;
For her the devotee his very creed forswore.
Her hair was bright as hyacinthine dyes;
Her cheek was blushing, sheen as Eden's rose;
The soft narcissus tinged her sleeping eyes,
And white her forehead, as the lotus shows
_'Gainst Summer's earliest sunbeams shimmering fair._
A curious story is related by Dawlat Shah regarding this poem, which
bears a close resemblance to the story of the destruction of the
Alexandrian Library, by order of the fanatical khalif 'Umar: One day
when Amir Abdullah Tahir, governor of Khurasan under the Abbasside
khalifs, was giving audience, a person laid before him a book, as a rare
and valuable present. He asked: "What book is this?" The man replied:
"It is the story of Wamik and Asra." The Amir observed: "We are the
readers of the Kuran, and we read nothing except that sacred volume, and
the traditions of the Prophet, and such accounts as relate to him, and
we have therefore no use for books of this kind. They are besides
compositions of infidels, and the productions of worshippers of fire,
and are therefore to be rejected and contemned by us." He then ordered
the book to be thrown into the water, and issued his command that
whatever books could be found in the kingdom which were the composition
of the Persian infidels should be immediately burnt.
ANOTHER FAMOUS ARABIAN LOVER.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account