1877.] life of the poet as given in the Kitab-el-Aghdni. 71 
And el-Mo‘tasim burst into a flood of tears, and invoked God’s mercy 
upon el-Mamun—“ For such a brother,” said he, “ was he to me.” Then 
he went on, reciting the rest of the poem himself— • 
“ Nay, wail not, if the Days have sundered him from me— 
One day the stroke of Time shall fall upon all of us ! 
The race of men is nought else than a tent-place and its folk— 
the day that they leave it void, it returns to its loneliness. 
They pass forth from it in bands, and it remains after them 
even as an empty palm with the fingers folded thereon. 
And what is man but a kindled brand whereof the glow 
sinks into ashes when once its blaze has spent itself ? 
And what is man but hidden thoughts of good intent ? 
And what is wealth but a loan, a trust to be given back P 
Lies there not before me, even though death should be slow to come, 
the comradeship of the staff: over which my fingers close ? 
I tell tales of the ages that have long passed away ; 
I totter along—when I rise, my body is bent in twain ; 
I am become like a sword that has worn out its sheath— 
far away are the days of its forger, but still its point is keen. 
‘ 0 go not away from us !’ Nay—but death is our trysting-place 
—ready is it to come—nay, it is even here ! 
0 thou that chidest, what assures thee but thine own dream 
—when men have gone their way, who is he that will bring them 
back ? 
Dost thou tremble before what Time has brought on the brave ? 
Where is the generous man on whom Fate’s stroke falls not ? 
By thy life ! there knows not any waiter on the pebble’s cast, 
nor any watcher of the flight of birds, what God is doing !” 
He that tells the tale says “ We marvelled, by God ! at the beauty of the 
words, the correctness of his recitation, and the excellence of his choice of a 
piece to recite.” 
El-Hoseyn ibn ‘All informed me that he had been told by Mohammed 
ibn el-Qasim ibn Mahrawe.yh and Mohammed ibn Jerir et-Tabari, who said 
that he had learned it from Mohammed ibn Hamid er-IIazi, who was told 
by Selameh ibn el-Fadl, who heard it from Ibn Ishaq, that ‘Othman ibn 
Ma<5‘un 31 was dwelling under a covenant of protection with el-Welid ibn el- 
Mughireh ; and one day, reflecting with himself, he said “ By God ! it is 
not becoming that a Muslim should dwell safely under the protection of a 
Kafir , when the Prophet of God (may God bless him and grant him peace !) 
is in fear of them.” And he came to el-Welid and said to him—“ I desire 
that thou be free from thy covenant of protection with me.” El-Welid 
said “ Perhaps thou hast conceived some doubt of me.” “ No,” said ‘Oth- 
