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. "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. XXXIII Hadil is a poetic term for dove. And in Arabic mythology it is the name of a particular dove, which died of thirst in the days of Noah, and is bemoaned until this day. "Ababil," a flock of birds, who scourged with flint-stones which they carried in their beaks, one of the ancient Arab tribes, noted for its idolatry and evil practices. XXXVIII, XCIII and XCIV I quote again from Omar, Fitzgerald's version, quatrain 44: "Why, if the Soul can fling the dust aside, And naked on the air of Heaven ride, Were't not a shame--were't not a shame for him In this clay carcass crippled to abide?" And from Heron-Allen's, quatrain 145: "O Soul, if thou canst purify thyself from the dust of the clay, Thou, naked spirit, canst soar in the heav'ns, The Empyrian is thy sphere--let it be thy shame That thou comest and art a dweller within the confines of earth." XLVIII "The walking dust was once a thing of stone," is my rendering of the line, "And he concerning whom the world is puzzled Is an animal evolved of inorganic matter." This line of Abu'l-Ala is much quoted by his enthusiastic admirers of the present day to prove that he anticipated Darwin's theory of evolution. And it is remarkable how the fancy of the poet sometimes coincides with the logical conclusions of the scientist. XLIX "Iblis," the devil. L "Rabbi," my lord God. LVI