The Persian Poets. 
3 321. J 
that worm had ever spun. A few days 
after, Jemshid sought the tomb to mourn 
and weep his loss 3 and when he saw the 
silk decayed, thus to himself he thought: 
Of finest texture was this shroud com¬ 
posed 3 but soon has the worm of the grave 
destroyed it. Ah! true these words that 
grieved my soul, one day as to his harp the 
minstrel sung : 4 Alas! short are our days! 
and like the blooming rose or verdant 
spring they fade away ; but when within 
the silent tomb we sleep, full many another 
spring shall glad the world, and many a 
rose shall bloom . 111 
To appreciate correctly the merits of 
these mystic poems, it would be neces¬ 
sary to enter info an extended enquiry 
respecting the origin and opinions of 
the different kinds of mystics which 
have prevailed in Persia, which would 
be foreign to our purpose; suffice it to 
say that the first who wrote a poem on 
mysticism, was Abu el Mujed ed din 
Mahdud ben Adam , better known by 
the name of El Hakim Sindi , who flou¬ 
rished in the 1.2th century. 
To conclude our extracts from Per¬ 
sian literature, the following, from an 
unknown author, appears not undeserv¬ 
ing attention, 
ON MARRIAGE. , 
O slave to woman ! if to love thy heart 
be still inclined, take unto thyself a wife, 
and remain no longer single. But when 
thou marriest, choose one who is of vir¬ 
tuous parents and endowed with modesty; 
nor seek for health or beauty, for rare it is 
to find a single one, in whom combine, for¬ 
tune, beauty, modesty. A chastened 
modesty is better, then, than riches 3 
these are earthly, but that is heavenly. 
Beauty and wealth are transient j the 
slightest grief impairs the one, and acci¬ 
dents disperse the other : bnt modesty is 
permanent, and subject to no reverse. 
When thou art married, seek to please thy 
wife, but listen not to all she says. From 
mail’s right side a rib was taken to form 
the woman, and never was there seen a rib 
quite straight, and would’st thou straighten 
it ? It breaks but bends not. Since then 
’tis plain that crooked is woman’s temper, 
forgive her faults and blame her not. Nor 
let them anger thee, nor coercion use, as all 
is vain to straighten what is curved. But 
trust not to thy wife thy secrets or thy 
wealth ; acquaint her with them, and thou 
wilt know no peace. Who conceals not 
his secrets from his wife soon finds them 
known to every one. Tell her thy fortune, 
and as it must either be that thou art rich 
or poor, it will happen, then, my friend, if 
rich, thy wife will blame continually tliy 
avarice 3 if poor, she will complain of hard¬ 
ness and accuse thy meanness. But diffi¬ 
cult it is to choose a wife 5 and marriage 
131 
always is attended with cares and troubles. 
As a proof of what has now been said, listen 
to this tale: —• 
“ In Chin are many painters of skill and 
genius 3 and one of these painted the por¬ 
traits of three men, ail differing in their ex¬ 
pression. One was represented as melan¬ 
choly and afflicted, and his hand, through 
grief, fixed on his beard, and, like a diver, 
immersed in the sea of thought. The se¬ 
cond had seized in his hand a stone, with 
which he was beating his breast 3 and his 
portrait resembled the mourners who weep 
over the dead. The third appeared gay 
and happy, and seemed free from every 
worldly care 3 his countenance was bloom¬ 
ing, and his lips full of smiles. Above 
each of these portraits was written a de¬ 
scription of their meaning. Above the one 
who seemed melancholy and sunk in thought 
was written, ‘ This was an Arab, compelled 
by the hardship of his fate to demand a 
maid in marriage 3 and from the bitterness 
of thinking on the subject is he so afflicted . 1 
Above the one who smote his breast was 
written, L This was a man who married, 
captivated by the charms of his wife 3 but 
misery ensued 3 and now repenting agony 
so overpowers his soul, that he tears his 
hair and beats his breast.’ Above the 
third, who seems rejoiced and happy, was 
written, < This is a man relieved from every 
care, as his wife is dead and has ceased to 
trouble him 3 and thus released from secret 
sorrow he now enjoys his liberty.’” 
These fragments of oriental litera¬ 
ture will give the reader an idea of the 
Persian style of writing. Like their 
cognate brethren the Arabs, their 
writings abound in metaphor and alle¬ 
gory. The different authors who have 
embellished Persian literature, flourish¬ 
ed between A.D. 923 and 1520 ; for no 
sooner was the whole of Persia united 
under the government of Shah Ismael 
Sifi, than literature began to decay 
from neglect, since which a marked al¬ 
teration has taken place in the style of 
Persian writers. To the chasteness of 
original genius has succeeded the steri¬ 
lity of imitation, and the beauty of an¬ 
cient authors ought not to be included 
in the general censure which is attri¬ 
butable only to their modern writers. 
It has been admitted that the poetry of 
Persia is deficient in variety, in verity, 
and in action; but are not these imper¬ 
fections compensated by the richness of 
the thoughts and imagery—by the 
beauty of the sentiments and descrip¬ 
tions—by the grace a nd animation of 
the style—and by the sweetness of the 
versification? J.G. Jackson. 
Windsor. 
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