Shorter Novels, Eighteenth Century Part 37

327.

PAGE 219. _Gian Ben Gian_

By this appellation was distinguished the monarch of that species of beings, whom the Arabians denominate _Gian_ or _Ginn_; that is, _Genii_; and the Tarikh Thabari, _Peris_, _Feez_, or _Fairies_. He was renowned for his warlike expeditions and stupendous structures. According to Oriental writers, the pyramids of Egypt were amongst the monuments of his power. The buckler of this mighty sovereign, no less famous than that of Achilles, was employed by three successive Solimans, to achieve their marvellous exploits. From them, it descended to Tahamurath, surnamed _Divbend_, or _Conqueror of the_ GIANTS. This buckler was endowed with most wonderful qualities, having been fabricated by talismanic art; and was alone sufficient to destroy all the charms and enchantments of demons or giants; which, on the contrary, were wrought by magic. Hence we are no longer at a loss for the origin of the wonderful s.h.i.+eld of Atlante.

The reign of Gian Ben Gian over the Peris is said to have continued for two thousand years; after which, EBLIS was sent by the Deity to exile them, on account of their disorders, and confine them in the remotest region of the earth.--D'HERBELOT, p. 396. BAILLY, _Sur l'Atlantide_, p.

147.

PAGE 219. _... the talismans of Soliman_

The most famous _talisman_ of the East, and which could control even the arms and magic of the dives or giants, was _Mohur Solimani_, the seal or ring of Soliman Jared, fifth monarch of the world after Adam. By means of it the possessor had the entire command, not only of the elements, but also of demons and every created being.--RICHARDSON'S _Dissertation on the Languages, etc., of Eastern Nations_, p. 272. D'HERBELOT, p. 820.

PAGE 219. _... pre-Adamite sultans_

These monarchs, which were seventy-two in number, are said to have governed each a distinct species of rational beings, prior to the existence of Adam. Amongst the most renowned of them were SOLIMAN RAAD, SOLIMAN DAKI, and SOLIMAN DI GIAN BEN GIAN.--D'HERBELOT, p. 820.

PAGE 219. _... beware how thou enterest any dwelling_

Strange as this injunction may seem, it is by no means incongruous to the customs of the country. Dr. Poc.o.c.k mentions his travelling with the train of the governor of Faiume, who, instead of lodging in a village that was near, pa.s.sed the night in a grove of palm-trees.--_Travels_, vol. i, p. 56.

PAGE 220. _... the a.s.s of Balaam, the dog of the seven sleepers, and the other animals admitted into the paradise of Mahomet_

It was a tenet of the Mussulman creed, that all animals would be raised again, and many of them honoured with admission to paradise. The story of the seven sleepers, borrowed from Christian legends, was this: In the days of the Emperor Decius, there were certain Ephesian youths of a good family, who, to avoid the flames of persecution, fled to a secret cavern, and there slept for a number of years. In their flight towards the cave, they were followed by a dog, which, when they attempted to drive back, said, "_I love those who are dear unto G.o.d; go sleep, therefore, and I will guard you._" For this dog the Mahometans retain so profound a reverence, that their harshest sarcasm against a covetous person is, "He would not throw a bone to the dog of the seven sleepers."

It is even said that their superst.i.tion induces them to write his name upon the letters they send to a distance, as a kind of talisman, to secure them a safe conveyance.--_Religious Ceremonies_, vol. vii, p. 74 n. SALE'S _Koran_, chap. xviii and notes.

PAGE 220. _Rocnabad_

The stream thus denominated flows near the city of Schiraz. Its waters are uncommonly pure and limpid, and their banks swarded with the finest verdure.

PAGE 220. _Do you, with the advice of my mother, govern_

Females in the East were not anciently excluded from power. In the Story of Zeyn Alasnam and the King of the Genii, the mother of Zeyn undertakes, with the aid of his viziers, to govern Ba.s.sora during his absence on a similar expedition.

PAGE 221. _Chintz and muslin_

For many curious particulars relative to these articles, consult Mr.

Delaval's _Inquiry concerning the Changes of Colours, etc._; to which may be added, LUCRETIUS, lib. iv, 5. PETRONIUS, c. 37. MARTIAL, viii, Ep. 28, 17; xiv, Ep. 150. PLUTARCH, in _Vita Catonis_. PLINY, viii, 48.

PAGE 221. _Moullahs_

Those amongst the Mahometans who were bred to the law had this t.i.tle; and from their order the judges of cities and provinces were taken.

PAGE 221. _... the sacred Caaba_

That part of the temple at Mecca which is chiefly revered, and, indeed, gives a sanct.i.ty to the rest, is a square stone building called the Caaba, probably from its quadrangular form. The length of this edifice, from north to south, is twenty-four cubits, and its breadth, from east to west, twenty-three. The door is on the east side, and stands about four cubits from the ground, the floor being level with the threshold.

The Caaba has a double roof, supported internally by three octangular pillars of aloes wood, between which, on a bar of iron, hangs a row of silver lamps. The outside is covered with rich black damask, adorned with an embroidered band of gold. This hanging, which is changed every year, was formerly sent by the caliphs.--SALE'S _Preliminary Discourse_, p. 152.

PAGE 222. _... the supposed oratory_

The dishonouring such places as had an appearance of being devoted to religious purposes, by converting them to the most abject offices of nature, was an Oriental method of expressing contempt, and hath continued from remote antiquity.--HARMER'S _Observations_, vol. ii, p.

493.

PAGE 223. _... regale these pious poor souls with my good wine from Schiraz_

The prohibition of wine in the Koran is so rigidly observed by the conscientious, especially if they have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, that they deem it sinful to press grapes for the purpose of making it, and even to use the money arising from its sale.--CHARDIN, _Voy. de Perse_, tom. ii, p. 212. _Schiraz_ was famous in the East for its wines of different sorts, but particularly for its _red_, which was esteemed more highly than even the white wine of _Kismische_.

PAGE 224. _... the most stately tulips of the East_

The tulip is a flower of Eastern growth, and there held in great estimation. Thus, in an ode of Mesihi: "The edge of the bower is filled with the light of Ahmed; among the plants the fortunate _tulips_ represent his companions."

PAGE 224. _... certain cages of ladies_

There are many pa.s.sages of the _Moallakat_ in which these _cages_ are fully described. Thus, in the poem of Lebeid:

"How were thy tender affections raised, when the damsels of the tribe departed; when they hid themselves in carriages of cotton, like antelopes in their lair, and the tents as they were struck gave a piercing sound!

"They were concealed in vehicles, whose sides were well covered with awnings and carpets, with fine-spun curtains and pictured veils."--_Moallakat_, by SIR W. JONES, pp. 46, 35. See also LADY M. W.

MONTAGU, Let. xxvi.

PAGE 224. _... dislodged_

Our language wants a verb, equivalent to the French _denicher_, to convey, in this instance, the precise sense of the author.

PAGE 225. _... those nocturnal insects which presage evil_

It is observable that, in the fifth verse of the Ninety-first Psalm, "the terror by night," is rendered, in the old English version, "the bugge by night."[1] In the first settled parts of North America, every nocturnal fly of a noxious quality is still generically named a bug; whence the term bugbear signifies one that carries terror wherever he goes. Beelzebub, or the Lord of Flies, was an Eastern appellative given to the Devil; and the nocturnal sound called by the Arabians _azif_ was believed to be the howling of demons.

[1] Instances are not wanted, both in the English and Greek versions, where the translators have modified the sense of the original by their own preconceived opinions. To this source may be ascribed the BUGGE of our old Bible.

PAGE 225. _... the locusts were heard from the thickets on the plain of Catoul_

The insects here mentioned are of the same species with the tett?? of the Greeks, and the _cicada_ of the Latins. The locusts are mentioned in Pliny, b. xi, 29. They were so called, from _loco usto_, because the havoc they made wherever they pa.s.sed left behind the appearance of a place desolated by fire. How could then the commentators of Vathek say that they are called _locusts_, from their having been so denominated by the first English settlers in America?