The Scented Garden

Ecstasy to content the mystic, without scientific, 113 enquiry into its nature. Pantheism. The garden quit ? Frequent the mosque ? By Allah, ’twas an ass that brayed. Allah, if Allah be, indwells All beauty.3 He is best repaid By who loves jade as jade, nor asks Some mighty Jaker for the Jade.4 The garden-podex wants, methinks, No worship, but a member-spade.5 1. The Sodom-fable is to be found in the XVth chaper of the Q’uran. Moslems accept the Bible, so far as it goes. Only they regard the Christian as the Christian regards the Jew : as one not up-to- date. Big fleas have small fleas, etc. quoth the bard ; and the modern follower of El Baab and the Baha-i-Ullah says the same to the orthodoxMus- lim. 2. An allusion to a well-known tale, perhaps to be identified in Alf Laylah wa Laylah. A chief re- turning from some expedition, finds his favourite wife in the embraces of one of his sons. He re- proaches her, saying : Am I not the maker superior to whom I made ? (quoting, I fancy, the Q’uran). She replied than women might lawfully treasure the poem and press it to their hearts, but that it would be highly scandalous if they treated the poets in that manner. 3. We are not inclined to regard the “ if ” as sceptical, but as a strong form of affirmation. “ As sure as Allah exists, He exists not only in temples made by men for His worship, but in all the beauty He has created.” This at least is the line of defence attempted by those orthodox Muslim who cannot quite forgive Abdullah — or forget him.