the Persians and Hindus. 373 



with the divine, by a childifh arrangement according to the alphabetical 

 order of the rhymes. HAfiz never pretended to more than human virtues, 

 and it is known, that he had human propensities j for in his youth he 

 was paflionately in love with a girl furnamed Shdkhi Ne6dt, or the Branch 

 cf Sugarcane y and the prince of Shiraz was his rival: fince there is an 

 agreeable wildnefs in the flory, and fince the poet himfelf alludes to it in 

 one of his odes, I give it you at length from the commentary. There is 

 a place called Pirifebz^ or the Green old man, about four Perjian leagues 

 from the city; and a popular opinion had long prevailed, that a youth, who 

 ftipuld pafs forty fucceflive nights in Pirifebz without fleep, would infalli- 

 bly become an excellent poet : young Ha fiz had accordingly made a vow s 

 that he would ferve that appreniiceihip with the utmoft exactnefs, and 

 for thirty nine days he rigoroufly difcharged his duty, walking every 

 morning before thehoufe of his coy miftrefs, taking fome refremment and 

 Keft at noon* and paffing the night awake at his poetical ftation ; but, 

 on the fortieth morning, he was tranfponed with joy on f eing the girl bec- 

 kon to him through the lattices, and invite him to e^ter : (lie received 

 him with rapture, declared her preference of a bright genius to t e fjn of 

 a king, and would have detained him all night, if he had not recollected 

 his vow and, refolving to keep it inviolate, returned to his port. The people 

 of S/jiraz add (and the fiction is grounded on a couplet of Hafiz) that, 

 early next morning an old man, in a green mantU, who was nolefs a perfo- 

 nage than Khizr himfelf, approached him at Pinebz with, a cup brimful 

 of nectar, which the Greeks would have called the water of Aganippe, and 

 rewarded his perfevera-ce with an infpiring draught of it. After his 

 juvenile paffions had fubfided, we may fuppofe that his mind took that reli- 

 gious bent, which appears in moft of his compofitions ; for there can be no 

 doubt that the following difiichs, colle&ed from different odes, relate to 

 the myflical theology of the Sufis % 



