95 
1877.] life of the poet as given in the Kitab-el-Aghdni. 
v. 66. In this verse the word is used of the trunk of a palm tree which is 
still an object of desire to the gatherer of the fruit, but is so tall that he cannot hope 
to climb it: it is thus evident that the word is not, as stated by the authorities quoted 
in Lane s. v., restricted to the trunk of a palm tree after it has become dry or has 
lost its head of leaves and fruit. 
v. 68. “ Light saddle rihdleh, a saddle made only of sheep-skin and wool, 
without any frame of wood, used by swift riders. 
vv. 70.—72. In these verses, says the commentator, he boasts of the contention 
which passed between him and er-Rabi‘ son of Ziyad at the court of en-No‘man son of 
el-MunSir king of el-Hireh. The circumstances of this contest are related in the notices 
of both poets given in the Kitab el-Aghani. 
v. 71. “ Fiends of the Desert jinnu-l-bediiy. El-Bediiy may be either the pro¬ 
per name of a certain valley, or it may be synonymous with el-budiyeh , the Desert gen¬ 
erally. 
v. 73. The custom of the Arabs in gambling with arrows was to require those 
who lost to pay for the camel which was the prize of those who won : Lebid’s liberality 
consisted in that he furnished the prize himself from his herds, and thus those who lost 
had not to pay. 
v. 74. A barren camel, says the commentary, is the fattest, while one with 
young is most delicate of flesh. 
v. 75. Tebaleh, a certain valley in el-Yemen, famous for its abundance of water 
and rich meadows. In this valley was situated the Oracle of Bu-l-Khulusah, consulted 
by Imra’el-Q,eys after the slaying of his father. 
v. 76. “ The camel by her master’s grave:” el-beliyyeh. It was the custom of 
the pagan Arabs to tether a camel by the grave of a dead warrior, and to let her die 
there of hunger and thirst; they believed that on the Judgment Day her master would 
ride on her at the Resurrection to the gathering of mankind. The root belly a means to 
be worn out. 
v. 77. “ They fill brimful with meat:” literally, they crown, as in Greek (II. I, 
470) Kprjrripas i-KunerpavTo ttotolo, and (II. VIII, 232) Kpgrrjpas eiriare^ las olvoio. 
“ Bowls :” Jchuluj , plural of Khalij, a river or canal, used to mean great and well-filled 
bowls. 
v. 80. “ A gainer of all good gifts and one who takes them by force:” Kasubu 
raghaibin ghannamuha : this does not mean that the generous man, like the Vikings, 
was bounteous from the wealth he had acquired by plunder ; the “ good gifts” are his 
noble qualities ; and to gain them by force is to improve them by strenuous and noble 
deeds. 
v. 87. “ Lawgivers :” hoklcdm, i. e. judges, deciders of disputes, and layers down 
of the law ; all these functions, as in Homeric times, were among the ancient Arabs 
combined in one man of tried steadfastness and honesty. 
v. 88. “ A Spring-tide.” As the season of Rabi ‘ or Spring was the pleasantest of 
the year, rich with fertilizing rains and green pasture, so men of bountiful and kindly 
nature were likewise called by that name. Lebid’s own father Rabi‘ah, as the Aghani 
informs us, was known as RabVat-el-Mo'tarrin i. e. “ a Spring for those who came to 
seek his bounty.” 
“ Their year of widowhood.” The commentator quoted by Arnold (not ez-Zauzenx) 
says that in the Ignorance it was the custom for widows on the death of their husbands 
to undergo a period of separation (‘ iddeli) extending to one year. Under el-Islam the 
‘ iddeh was fixed ( Surat-el-Baqarah, verse 234) at four months and ten days. During this 
