The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

originally contained In his Diwan. collection
! of amatory lyrics. only n few have come down
to our own time.
! sadi. the greatest favorlte OF tho Persian
people. was born In the latter part OF the
| twelfth century while his country was under
| Turkish rule. It is an interesting incident OF
his lie that te was once captured by the Cruz
saders and forced to work with jewish cap
tiyes upon tho Notifications OF Tripol. saul
who represonts the third period OF Persian
poetry. lived more than hundred years. anu
closed his long life at Shiraz. where 1t began
He was an accomplished linguist writing as
freely in Arabic as In Persian: he Is also sa'o
to have been tho first to compose verso in the
Hindustani dialect. His most capacious WORK
ia the Diwan. n collection Of lyrics. but the
most popular OF his writings among European
scholars are the Bustan, or Fruit Garden. ana
the Gulistan, or Rose Carbon. The former
consists OF ten chapters OF dishctlc VERSE
teaching lessons OF morality In the form oil po-
| etc fables. The Gulistan comprises NUMBER
| OF short stories. each OF which 10 intended TO
illustrate some cardinal principle Many OF
the rules OF conduct inculcated seem to nave
been founded on tho proverbs OF solomon.
Extracts from both tho Gulistan and Bustan are
given in the book before us.
The fourth period Of Moslem Persian litera-
ture, which began at the close OF the thir-
tcenth century and continued until the be-
ginning OF the fifteenth. represents the nigh
| est development OF lyric poetry md rhetoric.
During this epoch. Persia had many mon OF
culture and talent. but the foremost OF these
was Hanz. He was contemporary OF llmur.
and was, on one occasion. severely repukeu
By tho Mongol conIueror for verse in when
| he assured his sweetheart that For tho black
m ole on thy cheek | would give the cities OF
Samarcand and Bokhara." Timur Is reported
TO have said sternly: Behold have taken
and destroyed with the edge OF the sword tho
| greatest Kingdoms OF the earth to add splen-
dor and population to the twin royal cities OF
my native land. Samarcand and Bokhara: yet
Won would dispose OF them both at once for the
black mole on the check OF your beloved In
stead Of being dauntod by the reproof l1nilz
| replied: 1t is true. sire. and 1t 10 by such
acts OF generosity that | am reduced. MS you
sec, to my present state OF poverty. 1lmur
smiled. and bestowed upon him some mag
uiilcent marks OF favor.
1t is we'll known that. In his youth. Hatiz
sang freely OF love and wine. and that his
| verses dealing with these themes were often
| iraught with censurable coarseness AS he
| grew older. however. he became a votary OF
| the snfl philosophy. and his later poetry con-
tanned SO many fgurative illusions that the
! Mohammc dans called his productions the
| language OF mystery" Whether. owing to the
! licentiousr ess O. his youth and early manhood.
! or TO the heresies OF his later years the Mos
| lem Clergy at first refused to read the burial
service over his body but his friends obviated
| tho difficulty by strategy. and Hafiz eventually
received honorable interment
The most distinguished figure in the nth
period, ana. In tho opinion OF many scholars
| the most illustrious in Persian literature. was
| Jami q native Of Jam. a small town near Herat
| He was the last great poet and mystic OF Per-
! STA, and he was held to combine the moral tone
| OF Sadi with the ease OF liafiz and tho pathoe
| of Miami most prolific author. he is said
| to have produced nnety-nine different works
| which continue to be admired in all parts Of
| Iran and Hindusan.
The sixth and seventh periods are dismissed
| ms containing no poets worthy OF notice. and
| all we hear OF Omar Khayyam who belongs tc
the first period. is that his beautiful quatrains
are a great improvement upon tho rubai Of
Abu Said, who WAS his predecessor in this
peculiar style OF verse. and his rhapsodies upon
love and wine prengure those OF HafZ.' The
author OF this book does not seem to be &C
auaintcd with Fitzgerald's remarkable trans
lation or para phrase OF the auatrains OF Oma
Khayyam: at all events there is no reference
to this tour de force in the book before us.