The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-02
FROM AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION.
A Lesson of the Degradation of wo-
men, Read by VI. MaeterIinck.

men. neuu Dy VI.
From the Independent.
I Glanced to-day to take up copy of
the Arabian Nights" in the very remark
able translation recently published by DR..
Mardrus. and 1 marveled at the extraor-
binary picture it gives of the ancient
long-vanished civilizations. Not in the
Odyssey or the Bible. in Xenophon or Plu-
tarch, could their teaching be more clear
ly set forth. There is one story that the
Sultana Schahrazade tells-it is one of the
very finest the volume contains-that re-
Yeals a life as pure and admirable as
mankind has ever known a life replete
with beauty, happiness and love; spon-
tsneous and vivid. intelligent flourishing
and refined; an abundant life that, to
certain point, comes as near to truth as
life we'll can. 1t is, in many respects,
almost as perfect in its moral as in its
material civilization. And the pillars on
which this Incompatible structure rests
like pillars Of light supporting the light
are foruped of ideas of justice so delicate,
counsels of wisdom so deeply penetrating,
that we of to-day being less fine in grain,
less eager and buoyant, have lost the
power to formulate or to discern them.
And for all that, this palace
of felicity, that harbors a moral
life SO active and vigorous, so gra-
ciously grave, so noble-this palace,
wherein the purest and hottest wisdom
governs the pleasures of rejoicing man.
kinds in its entirety based on so great
an injustice, is inclosed by so vast, SO pro-
found, so frightful an iniquity, that the
wretchedest man of US all would shrink
in dismay from its glittering, gem-be-
strewn threshold. But of this iniquity
they who abide in that marvellous dwell
ing have never the faintest suspicion. 1t
would seem that they never draw near to
a window; or that, should one by some
chance fly open and reveal to their sor-
rowful gaze the misery strewn in the
midst of revels and feasting, they still
would be blind to the crime which was
infinitely more revolving, infinitely more
monstrous than the most appalling mis-
cry; the crime of the slavery-above all.
the degradation-of their women. For
these, however exalted their position,
and at the moment even when they are
speaking to the men round about them of
goodness and justness when they are re-
mnding them of their most touching and
generous duties-these women never are
more than mere objects of pleasure, to
be bought or sold, or given away, in
moment of gratitude, ostentation or drunk
enness. to any barbarous or ioathsome
master.
Nozhatan, as, concealed behind curtain
of silk and pearls, she speaks to Prince
Sharkan, and the wise men of the king
DOM ''they tell us that the Khalif Omar
set forth one night, in the company of the
venera bic Asian Abou-Zeid, and that he
beheld, far away from his palace, fire
that was burning, and drew near, as he
thought that his presence might perhaps
be of service And he saw a poor woman
L. underneath "A cal
dron, and by her side there were two little
miserable children. grooming most piteous-
w. And Omar said, Peace unto thee, o
woman What does thou here, alone IN
the night and cold? And she answered,
Lord, am making this water to boil that
my children may drink who perish OF
hunger and cold; but for the misery we
have to bear Allah will surely one DAY
ask reckoning of Omar the khalif.' And
the khalif. who was in disguise, was
much moved, and he said to her, But does
thou think o woman, that Omar can
know of thy wretchedness, seeing that he
does not relieve it? And she answered.
Wherefore then is Omar the khalif If ne
be unaware of the misery of his people
and of each one of his SUD-
| iects?' Then the khalif was silent
| and he said to Asian Abou-Zeid, Let
| us 60 quickly from hence And he hast
of his kitchens, and he entered therein
and drew forth a sack of flour from the
midst of the other sacks, and also jar
that was filled to the brim with sheep
fat and he said to AbouIZeid, %, Abou-
Zeid help thou me to charge these on
my back But Abou-Heid refused, and ne
cried, Suffer that l carry them upon my
back, Q commander of the faithful Ana
Omar said calmly to him, Wilt thou also,
o Abou-Zeid. bear the weight of my sins
on the day Of resdfrection?'e And Abou-
Zeid was obliged to charge the jar filled
with fat and the sack of flour on the
khalif's back. And Omar fastened, thus
laden, until he had once again reached
the poor woman; and he took of the flour,
and he took of the fat, and placed these
in the caldron over the fire; and with his
| own hands did he then get ready the food;
| and he qufckened the fire with his breath,
| and as he bent over, his beard being long,
| the smoke from the wood forced its way
through the beard Of the khalif And at
last, when the food was prepared, Omar
offered it unto the woman and the two
| little children; and with his breath did
he cool the food while these ate their
| fill. Then he left them the sack of -four
and the jar of fat; and he went on his
| way and said unto Asian Abou-Zeid, o
| Abou-Zeid, the light from this fire have
| seen to-day has enlightened me also
| And 1t is thus that. a little further on,
| there speaks to a very wise king one of
| five pensive maidens whom this king is
| invited to buy. Know thou, o King"
| she says that the most beautiful deed
one can do il the deed that is disinterest-
ed And so do they tell US that in Israel
| once were two brothers, and that one ask
ed the other one day, OF all the
| deeds thou hast done, which was the
wickedest? And his brother replied, This:
| AS 1 passed by a hen-roost one day
stretched out my arm and l seized a
| chicken and strangled 1t, and then flung
| It back into the roost. That is the wick
edest deed of my life. And thou, o my
brother, what is they wickedest action?
| And he answered That I prayed to Allah
one day TO demand a favor of him. For 1t
is only when the soul is simply uplifted
| on high that prayer can be beautiful
And one of her companions. captive and
! slave like herself, also speaks to the
King: Learn to know thyselfr' she says.
Learn to know tbysef And do thou not
| act tin then. And do thou then only act
in accord with all thy desires, but having
great care always lest thou should in
lure thy neghbor."
| To this last formula our morality of to-
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