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Page 1 of 21910 · PDF PAGE 13
…l Haji flourished in circa 1600 A.D., well after the classic era of Persian poetry. But his style is highly praised by competent judges, though the older school regret the way in which he has broken away from tradition in : (a) the introduction of coarse expressions. (b) the undue exercise of poetic license : such as (1) his extension of the usual license re the genitive kasra to all kasra sounds. (2) his occasional breach of the rule which forbids two inert consonants to occur togeth- er, though a friendly commentator inge- niously asserts tha…
1910 · PDF PAGE 123
…y that in the deserts of Arabia there dwelleth a beast very like a horse, but possessing a great horn. Now I am not at all like a horse, though I am beautiful and swift, but I certainly possess an immense horn.1 Also there is a great bird which, when in danger, placeth its head within the sand, exposing its po- dex. Thou, Habib, though otherwise not at all like a bird, dost expose thy podex, even when in no danger.1 I cannot but think that all this was in the mind of the Mullah, when in his sermon on Friday he reproached us openly with beastlin…
1910 · PDF PAGE 136
…ver’s shuddering brain ?1 Some evil Jinn may haunt the fane ; Some serpent hurt the sugar-cane ; Some rot infect the golden grain ! Nay, though my flesh grow boil and blain, Each sinew cramp, each muscle sprain, Each link dissolve of Nature’s chain, Each nerve disrupt in thoughts inane,2 Each function abdicate its reign, I care not, so this love remain. Dead or alive, insane or sane, The perfect passion of us twain Shall bring us blessing in its train As summer brings the welcome rain. Turn, life’s deceitful weather-vane ! Our love is set as Ch…
1910 · PDF PAGE 117
…ti- mental men Universalists, and so on. Such a ra- tionalistic view of the Genesis of Creed is uncom- mon enough in Eastern literature, though the gen- eral Fichtean positing of the non-Ego by the Ego implied in the previous stanza is to be found open- ly or obscurely in most sacred books. 3. This stanza is almost certainly spurious. 4. This is the old jest : “ As long as you drink a drop of this medicine daily, you will not die.” Though perhaps the erectio penis of the hanged may give the lie to the jape. 5. In fact, I saw a very beautiful co…
1910 · PDF PAGE 18
… of Ha- fiz, the Song of Songs, the Ghazals of ‘ Ismat of Bokhara ’ — not to mention the obscene Chinese Aphorisms of Kwaw. Yet no doubt though Hafiz sings chiefly of wine, Solomon of Woman, and ‘ Ismat of harloty, we sooner pardon these freedoms because we our- selves can understand, though we can never ap- prove of them : but they seem innocent indeed
1910 · PDF PAGE 84
…t of individualization of ideas is common in Eastern literature. We had a bad attack of it ourselves with Thomas Haines Bayley and Co. “ Though Custom may frown upon Boyhood and Beauty, And Ethics take counsel with Prudence and Breeding, Morality smiles “ But if Patience be Duty, Should Courage lament, or Repentance lie bleeding ? ” And so though on Conscience’ inviolate altar We strew the sad flowers of Repulsion and Shame, Religion and Justice must bid us not falter Till Purity mingles with Pleasure and Fame.” You go on till your stock of abs…
1910 · PDF PAGE 154
…e subject to death and de- cay. For the Yogi, this preservation of semen is the best of all Yogas, and it is the giver of happiness. 64. Though immersed in enjoyments, men get powers through its practice. Through the force of his practice, he becomes an adept in due season, in his present life. 65. The Yogi certainly obtains through this practice all kinds of powers at the same time enjoy- ing all the innumerable enjoyments of the world. 66. This Yoga can be practised along with much enjoyment ; therefore the Yogi should practise it. 67. There …
1910 · PDF PAGE 57
… pin is long and thin ” ; yet he appears to share the prejudice, probably from personal rea- sons. 4. Hatim Tai. The Hercules of Persia, though his feasts are more famous than his feats or his sta- ture. But here the bulk is clearly the important thing. 5. Hunchback — not merely an unfortunate, but a bad man. Witness “ Expect 42 ills from the cripple, and 80 from the one-eyed man ; but when the hunchback arrives, say Allah help us ! ” 6. Bukhti is the two-humped camel of Bac- tria. Ali is therefore the fellow’s name ; Bukhti his laqab or nickna…
1910 · PDF PAGE 135
…is certainly spu- rious. We retain it as shewing the ingenuity of in- terpretation employed in this class of literature. 4. The natural (though hardly altogether just) contempt of the practical expert for the arm-chair critic. 5. Surely Oriental exaggeration.
1910 · PDF PAGE 115
…e takhallus. A. L. (It will be observed that some of these notes are redundant. We have not altered or cut any of Ma- jor Lutiy’s notes, though we have added a small number of our own. On the rare occasions of our disagreement, we have added his initials to his note, and added our own view in brackets. Ed.)
1910 · PDF PAGE 26
…nd Samadhic con- sciousness, or, as the Buddhists assert, that there is a long series of intervening states invariable and well-defined, though perhaps this may sometimes be so. Nor is the appearance of the “ Dweller ” a sure earnest of success : on the contrary, many (even most) will fail to pass this terrible barrier. 6. Crede experto ? Ed.
1910 · PDF PAGE 112
…Till he the world from milk of prayer to wine of me- ditation wean.7 Like peacocks in a garden spread our thousand eyes of jewel-sheen ; Though squawking with an eunuch’s voice, our paederastic plumes we preen.8 For voice is sound, and dies with air ; light is co- excellent with God9 ; As Hate’s a poison for delight, so love’s a physic for the spleen. And El Qahar is Truth, and nought but Allah stuffs his gaberdine,10 And Allah windeth he about with tarband gemmed11 of gold and green.12
1910 · PDF PAGE 118
…thee that delight thou hast in me. Thou wast indeed unconscious of thy beating, crying only : “ Press harder and deeper, O mas- ter ! ”, though my member was entirely remote from thy podex, being engulphed in the ambitious and muscular twat of a certain concubine with splendid breasts like erect members1 so firm were they. Such mirage, if it be mirage, is truer than truth, if it be truth. Nothing can shake thee in love, any more than any affliction touches the Sufi. It is therefore of no service that I restore to thy sweet podex its accus- tome…
1910 · PDF PAGE 160
…nd amours. 2. Azrael — angel of death ; Israfel — of the last Judgement, bear respectively a sword and a trum- pet. We have taken Azrael though modern Per- sians usually (Not the text here. Ed.) call him Abu Yahya [Persian text] “ Father John.” Some ignorant Persians confuse him with Ezekiel ! Result : “ to sup with Father John ” means either to eat dirt, i.e. (apologize) or “ to die.” Hence an offended Persian in a tavern brawl, may “ You must sup with Father John to-night ” meaning “ Retract, or I knife you.” 3. Venus-throw — the double six. …
1910 · PDF PAGE 110
…er these rules the game is excel- lent. With a boy it would however be incomparably more difficult, if not impossible. The text suggests though that the boy is fixed, while the man swings. This should be easier of execution.
1910 · PDF PAGE 140
…h : O fools ! ye miss love’s podex-joy, and missing love all good ye miss. Come, O Habib, thy podex close on El Qahar’s enamoured tool ! Though we mistake the world and God, at least is no mistake in this. 1. After this ode the “ secret key-number ” breaks down. It is said that there are five odes missing. But no doubt need therefore be cast upon the genuineness of the following odes. Some weight is to be given to the contention that there can be only 42 odes, neither more nor less, for mystical reasons. Their Persian dress I cannot learn ; but…
1910 · PDF PAGE 80
…ith the whip, bidding thee be cheerful, thou didst rise instant with laughter and smiles. Thou didst put on thy old provoking coquetry ; though for many days thou hadst drunk nothing but water, thou didst comport thyself as one in whom the wine first blu- sheth.2 Also when my love revived for thee a little, thou didst not immodestly thrust out thy buttocks, and show bare a gaping and hungry podex. On the contrary, thou wast like a young girl, and there was much shame when thy hand led the camel to the well.3 Also there was embarrassment for the…
1910 · PDF PAGE 64
…of all the jasmine in Iran, Ha- bib, just as thy podex has the essence of all its roses. But it is too much like the bosom of a wom- an. Though thy buttocks are like nargis, they are no longer firm. This is because thou lingerest in bawdy talk in taverns, drinking forbidden liquors ; because thou dalliest all day with that camel-backed monocular from Nubia. He serveth thee without remission from the Wolf’s Tail2 to the Evening Star, O thou eaten up with beastliness ! and for this thou forgettest the manly games of youth. When I first had thee, …
1910 · PDF PAGE 113
… maybe ”, while [Persian text] “ happy memory ” justifies “ Sweetit- was.” But what shall I say of [Persian text] and the rest — mangled though suggestive roots ? Possibly the poet knew very little about ships and their name. 5. Jolly Roger — again a coarse expression, best untranslated. The notorious debauchery of pirate ships, and the slang verb “ Roger ” (futuere]) sug- gested the present phrase. 6. The text would justify us in reading “ rounded pearls ” [Persian text] fairy (peri of Moore) and [Per- sian text] fullness. Where there was doub…
1910 · PDF PAGE 11
… alike of love and of litera- ture : and its possession is a very talisman from Kabul to Yarkand. As a subaltern stationed at R... P..., though in a British regiment, I found it my first duty to acquire a thorough grounding in the tongue of Hafiz, for these as well as professional reasons. Thus I made the acquaintance of Munshi Mahbub Tantra, a Kashmiri from Bandipur, but one residence of nearly 30 years in Shiraz and Bushir. My know- ledge of the writings of Richard Burton came in very handy, as also the vague studies of Oriental mysticism wit…