290 CALLOGRAPHY. 



those of Tograi, (or Thograi), vizier of Bagdad, are held in high 

 repute The idyls of Abu Beer are much esteemed, as also the Song 

 of Al Nasaphi. The Dha Argiouzat of Al Gazi, contains every 

 Arabic word in which the letter Dh occurs. The Lamiats of Tograi, 

 Shafari, and Abu Mansur, have every line ending in L ; the Bordah 

 of Ibn Zadun, has every line closing with the letter M ; and m his 

 Nuniat, each line ends with the letter N. The poem of Abi'1-olae, 

 in praise of Prince Said, and the later poems of Faredh, are mentioned 

 as particularly beautiful. So also is the volume by Abu'l Cassem, 

 entitled Particles of Gold. D'Herbelot, in his Bibliotheque Orien- 

 tale, enumerates upwards of thirty Arabian poets, and their works; of 

 which we have no room here to speak farther. 



The epic poetry of the Arabians, being all of a romantic character, 

 we reserved for the present place. Admai's (or Asmai's) great 

 heroic romance, Antara's Life, describes the exploits of Antara, (or 

 Andar), an Arabian prince, whom we have already mentioned as one 

 of the poetical Pleiades. The Mecamat, (Makamat), or Sessions, 

 by Ithiel Hariri, is a romantic history of a knight errant: and the 

 Natural Man, by Ibn Tophail, is a philosophical romance of great 

 interest. The Life of Timur, (Tamerlane), by Ebn Arabshah, is 

 regarded by Sir William Jones as an epic or heroic poem of great 

 merit : but the great storehouse of Arabian romance, is Jllf Lail u 

 Lail, or the thousand nights and one night, commonly known as the 

 Arabian Nights Entertainments ; a collection of wild and beautiful tales, 

 said to have been translated from the Persian, in the times of the caliph 

 Al Mansur, and now translated into most of the European tongues. 

 The fables of Lokman, were written, it is believed, 'since the rise of 

 Mohamedanism ; and they have found more favour in Europe than 

 at home. 



Of Turkish Callography, we have very little to say, except that 

 it appears to be quite meagre. The romantic poem entitled Chosroes 

 and Shereen, by Molla Khosrew, is, we believe, derived from the 

 Persian. The principal lyric poet of the Turkish language, is Baki, 

 whose divan, or collection of odes and songs, contains many beau- 

 ties. They have also an Anthology, of choice poems, collected by 

 Latifi and Tschelebi ; besides other minor poems, among which are 

 the songs of Mesihi, mentioned by Sir William Jones. The paucity 

 of Turkish literature is owing perhaps in part to the abundance of the 

 Arabic and Persian ; of which the Turks are fond, and which sup- 

 plies the place of a national literature of their own. 



2. Persian Callography, closely resembles the Arabian, both in 

 style and subjects ; unless, perhaps, it is more devoted to luxury and 

 the tender passions. It abounds, however, in pure and beautiful 

 sentiments ; numerous specimens of which are furnished in the trans- 

 lations, by Sir William Jones and others. The Persians have one 

 great epic poem, as distinct from the romantic; or rather a collection 

 of epics, Called the Shah Nameh, (Shanamah), or Book of Kings, 

 begun, it is said, by Dakiki, continued by Ansari, but completed by 

 Ferdusi, to whom the whole work is commonly attributed. It is a 

 poetical history of Persia, in detached portions, extending from Nour- 

 shivan to Yezdegerd ; and signalizing the exploits of Rustem, (or 



