The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments
General
The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
The reader may perhaps desire a more minute analysis of Arabian beauty.
The following is the most complete that I can offer him.--"Four things
in a woman should be _black_; the hair of the head, the eyebrows, the
eyelashes, and the dark part of the eyes: four _white_; the complexion
of the skin, the white of the eyes, the teeth, and the legs: four _red_;
the tongue, the lips, the middle of the cheeks, and the gums: four
_round_; the head, the neck, the fore-arms, and the ankles: four _long_;
the back, the fingers, the arms, and the legs:[50] four _wide_; the
forehead, the eyes, the bosom, and the hips: four _fine_; the eyebrows,
the nose, the lips, and the fingers: four _thick_; the lower part of the
back, the thighs, the calves of the legs, and the knees: four _small_;
the ears, the breasts, the hands, and the feet."[51]
NOTE 20. Mes'ood is a common proper name of men, and signifies "happy,"
or "made happy."
NOTE 21.--_On the_ Jinn, _or Genii._ The frequent mention of Genii in
this work, and the erroneous accounts that have been given of these
fabulous beings by various European writers, have induced me to examine
the statements respecting them in several Arabic works; and I shall here
offer the result of my investigation, with a previous account of the
Angels.
The Muslims, in general, believe in three different species of created
intelligent beings; namely, Angels, who are created of light; Genii, who
are created of fire; and Men, created of earth. The first species are
called "Meláikeh" (sing. "Melek"); the second, "Jinn" or "Ginn" (sing.
"Jinnee" or "Ginnee"); the third, "Ins" (sing. "Insee"). Some hold that
the Devils (Sheyṭáns) are of a species distinct from Angels and Jinn;
but the more prevailing opinion, and that which rests on the highest
authority, is, that they are rebellious Jinn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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