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By MAYNARD, MERRILL & Ca L w CP INTRODUCTION. Matthew Arnolb was the son of Dr. Thomas Arnold, the celebrated head-master of Rugby School. He was born Decem- ber 24, 1832, at Laleham, near Staines, In 1836 he entered Winchester School, but was removed the following year to Rugby, where he completed his preparation for the university. He maintained a high position in the school, presenting in 1840 a prize poem, and winning the same year a scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford. During his first year at the uni- versity he obtained the Hertford Scholarship, for proficiency in Latin, and later won the Newdigate Prize for English Poetry; with a poem entitled ' ' Cromwell. " He graduated with honors, and in 1845 was elected Fellow of Oriel College, just th y years after the election of his father to the same honor. Among his colleagues here were R. W. Church, Dean of St. Paul's, John Earle, the present Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, and the poet A. H. Clough. His intimacy with Clough grew into the closest friendship, which received its final seal in the tender and noble lines of " Thyrsis," an elegy that for exalted beauty must be placed with Milton's ' ' Lycidas " and Shelley's " Adonais."- Of his life at Oxford one who knew him in those days says .* "His perfect self-possession, the sallies of his ready wit, the humorous turn which he could give to any subject that he handled, his gayety, "exuberance, versatility, audacity, and unfailing command of words, made him one of the most pop- ular and successful undergraduates that Oxford has ever known." Oxford, as the home of his intellectual life, was always dear to him, that "beautiful city, so venerable, so lovely !" who, " by her ineffable charm, keeps ever calling us near to the true goal of all of us, to the ideal, to perfection." 3 4 INTRODUCTION. During his residence the university was still under the influence of the famous Tractarian Movement, which did so much to purify English religious thought. The leaders of the move- ment were Fellows of Oriel, and the year in which Mr. Arnold became Fellow of this college was the year in which Dr. New- man seceded to Kome. The influence of these events may be traced in all his writing and thinking; in apparent contradic- tion of his radical and analytical habit of thought, he main- tained through life a conservative admiration for the Estab- lished Church. From 1847 to 1851 Mr. Arnold acted as private secretary to the late Lord Lansdowne. He married in 1851, and the same year was appointed Lay Inspector of Schools, a position which he held with honor for nearly thirty-five years. Twice he was sent abroad by the government to study the school-systems of the Continent, and his various reports are among the most valuable contributions to educational literature. He labored zealously until the end of his life for the reform of the English public schools, aiming especially at the elevation of middle- class education, to the defects of which he traced the greater part of the moral, social, and political faults of English civil- ization. To organize middle-class education as well as it is organized in France and Germany was, to his mind, the "one thing necessary" for expelling the " Philistines" and regener- ating English society. Mr. Arnold's first appearance in literature was as a poet, with the now famous little volume of 1848, entitled "The Strayed Reveller, and other Poems, by A." In 1853 " Em- pedocles on Etna, and Other Poems" appeared, and soon after he published in his own name a volume of selections from the two preceding volumes, including a few new poems. The impression produced by his poetry was such that in 1857 he was elected to the Professorship of Poetry at Oxford, a position which he held for two terms, a period of ten years, at the end of which there was general regret that the limitation of the statutes did not permit a third term. During this period " Merope," a tragedy after the Greek manner, was published, followed by the celebrated "Lectures on Translating Homer," INTRODUCTION'. 5 and, in 1865, by the epoch-making vohime of "Essays in Criticism." This book was a revelation in literature. By it criticism was endowed with a new function; it was elevated to the dignity of a creative art ; even poetry was made a " criticism of life." The author defined the new criticism to be " a disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world," and his whole liter- ary work was an illustration of the definition. Such a form of criticism was far removed from the militant omniscience of the Edinburgh critics, as also from the tea-table civility of the Lamb and Leigh Hunt school. The lesson of this volume was that criticism must be broadened and humanized, that it must be sympathetic, tempered with " sweet reasonableness," and, above all, truthful, endeavoring with sincerity to "see things as in themselves they are." With these essays a new era in critical writing began. England now had her own Sainte- Beuve. With this view of the true function of criticism it is not strange, perhaps, that Mr. Arnold's attention was often with- drawn from literature and devoted to social and religious questions. In 1870 appeared " Culture and Anarchy," an essay in political and social criticism, presenting a good illustration of the logical force of that peculiar literary style which in his hands was always an instrument of marvelous delicacy and power. His theological criticism is contained in " St. Paul and Protestantism," published in 1871; " Literature and Dogma," 1873; "God and the Bible," 1875; and "Last Essays on Church and Religion," 1877. These books aroused bitter controversy. His earnest effort to rescue the essential elements of the Christian religion from the destruction threat- ened by dogmatic theology in the one direction and material- istic science in the other was regarded by many as an attack upon Christianity itself. Mr. Arnold's other published works are: "The Study of Celtic Literature," 1868; "Friendship's Garland," 1871; "Mixed Essays" and "Irish Essays," 1882 ; "Discourses in America," 1885; " Complete Poems," 1876; a volume of " Select- ed Poems" in the Golden Treasury Series, and a posthumous 6 INTEODUCTION, volume, "Essays in Criticism, Second Series." A mere enu- meration of his books shows the breadth and versatility of his mind. He was poet, essayist, theologian, critic, philosopher; yet a remarkable singleness of purpose runs through all his work. Whatever the topic, the real theme is culture, in its highest sense, — the refinement and harmonious develop- ment of the intellect and the soul. His writing is a con- stant appeal to the ideal in human nature, an insistence upon the moral and spiritual aspects of life in contrast with the vulgar material aspects. As a prose stylist he is one of the great masters. As a poet only two, or three at most, of his contemporaries should be named before him. His poetry is a splendid embodiment of the profoundest thought and feeling of the period, especially of the struggle through which all sensitive souls are passing in the recoil before the ' ' hopeless tangle of this age." The death of Matthew Arnold occurred suddenly, April 15, 1888, bringing a painful shock to the thousands who had long been accustomed to regard him as a leader and teacher. " Not only the world of literature, but the infinitely larger world of unexpressed thought and feeling and unembodied imagination, is sensibly the poorer for his loss." His special mission was, as Mr. Stedman expresses it, "that of spiritualizing what he deemed an era of unparalleled materialism." His most earnest desire was to warn all, as he warned his " Scholar-Gypsy," to fly from " This strange disease of modern life, With its sick hurry, its divided aims, Its heads o'ertaxed, its palsied hearts." And although his words of warning have often been "on men's impious uproar hurled," they have left a deep and per- manent impress upon the finer consciousness of the age. Arnold as a Poet. " He is a maker of such exquisite and thoughtful verse that it is hard sometimes to question his title to be considered a genuine poet. On the other hand, it is likely that the very grace and culture and thoughtfuluess of his style inspire in many the first doubt of his claim to the name of poet. Where the art is evident and elaborate, we are all too apt to assume that it is all art and not genius. Mr. Arnold is a sort of miniature Goethe ; we do not know that his most ardent admirers could demand a higher praise for him, while it is probable that the description will suggest exactly the intellectual peculiarities which lead so many to deny him a place with the really inspired singers of his day." — McCARTnY's History of Our Own Times. "Mr. Arnold belongs to the classical school of poetry, regarding the Greeks, with their strength and simplicity of phrase and their perfect sense of form, as his masters. To the imaginative power of a true poet he adds a delicacy and refinement of taste and a purity and severity of phrase which uncultivated readers often mistake for boldness. Nowhere in his poems do we find those hackneyed commonplaces, decked out with gaudy and ungraceful ornament, which pass for poetry with many people. His fault rather is that he is too exclusively the poet of culture. Many of his verses will always seem fiat and insipid to those who have not received a classical education ; while, on the other hand, students of Greek literature will be disposed to praise certain of his pieces more highly than their intrinsic merit demands. Yet it may be doubted whether some of his work as a poet will not stand the ordeal of time better than that of any contemporary poet, Mr. Tennyson and Mr. Browning excepted. There are few poems which show such a refined sense of beauty, such dignity and self- 7 8 ARNOLD AS A POET. restraint, such admirable adaptation of the form to the subject, as Mr. Arnold's 'Sohrab and Rustum,' 'Tristram and Iseult,' and the 'Forsaken Merman.' " — Nicoll's Landmarks of English Lit- erature. "His shorter meters, used as the framework of songs and lyrics, rarely are successful ; but through youthful familiarity with the Greek choruses he has caught something of their irregular beauty. ' The Strayed Reveler ' has much of this unfettered charm. Arnold is restricted in the range of his affections ; but that he is one of those who can love very loyally the few with whom they do enter into sympathy, through consonance of traits or experiences, is shown in the emotional poems entitled ' Faded Leaves' and 'Indifference,' and in later i)ieces, which display more fluency, ' Calais Sands ' and ' Dover Beach.' A prosaic man- ner injures many of his lyrics ; at least he does not seem clearly to distinguish between the functions of poetry and of prose. He is more at ease in long, stately, swelling measures, whose graver movement accords with a serious and elevated purpose. Judged as works of art, ' Sohrab and Rustum ' and ' Balder Dead ' really are majestic poems. Their blank verse, while independent of Tennyson's, is the result, like that of the ' Mort d' Arthur,' of its author's Homeric studies ; is somewhat too slow in ' Balder Dead,' and fails of the antique simplicity, but is terse, elegant, and always in ' the grand manner.' Upon the whole this is a remark- able production ; it stands at the front of all experiments in a field remote as the northern heavens and almost as glacial and clear. . . . ' Sohrab and Rustum ' is a still finer poem, because more human and more complete in itself. The verse is not so devoid of epic swiftness. The powerful conception of the relations be- tween the two chieftains and the slaying of the son by the father are tragical and heroic." — Stedman's Victorian Poets. The Story of Sohrab and Rustum. The material for Arnold's "Sobrab and Rustum " was taken from tbe great Persian epic, tbe " Sbah-Namab," or "Book of Kings." Firdusi, tbe autbor of tbis celebrated poem, wbose real name was Abu'l Casim Mansur, was born about tbe year 941 a.d. He was learned in all tbe wisdom of tbe Persian and Aral)ic litera- tures, and was cboseu by Mabmud, tbe sultan of Gbazuin, after a competition witb seven otber poets, to convert tbe ancient legends of Persia into a connected poem. At one of tbe meetings of tbe court i)oets be was so successful witb an improvised verse tbat tbe sultan bestowed upon bim tbe name Firdusi {Firdus, paradise), saying : " Tbou bast made my court a paradise." Firdusi labored upon Ins royal task for tbirty years, and wrote sixty tbousand verses ; for eacb verse be was to receive a gold piece from tbe sultan, and it was bis purpose to devote tbe wbole sum to tbe building of a dike for bis native town of Tus. But tbere were rivals and enemies at court, and instead of tbe sixty tbousand })ieces of gold tbat bad been promised, tbe sultan was persuaded to send bim sixty tbousand pieces of silver. Witb rigbteous indigna- tion Firdusi rejected tbe gift, sent back a proud message of scorn, wrote a scatbing satire against tbe sultan, and tben fled from bis dominions. He, " Who loved the ancient kings, and learned to see Their buried shapes in vision one by one, And wove their deeds in lovely minstrelsy, For all the gloiy that his name had won To Persia, was in exile by the sea." At length, after many years of wandering, be returned to bis native town, a decrepit old man. Time and tbe entreaties of friends bad appeased tbe sultan's anger, and be sougbt to make amends for tbe wrong done to tbe noble poet. Tbe promised gold be now sent to bim, witb a robe of bonor and a message of wel- come and good-will. But it was too late ; wbile tbe camels were 9 10 THE STOEY OF SOHRAB AND EUSTUM. bearing the treasure in at one gate of the town, the body of Firdusi was borne out at another. But the great stone dilve for the river of Tus was built with the gold, as a monument to the poet's memory. The Shah-Namah is the national epic of Persia, as the Iliad is of Greece, the Nibelungenlied of Germany, and the Cid of Spain. Rustum is a hero like Hercules, Achilles, and Siegfrid. The finest episode of the poem is the story of the fatal contest between Rus- tum and his son. Some of the details of the narrative were changed by Arnold, in order to bring it within the requirements of modern poetic art. The original story runs thus : Rustum was hunting near the borders of Turan, and while he was sleeping, his faithful horse, Ruksh, was stolen by certain young men of Turan. At this Rustum was sorely troubled. He followed the hoof-prints to the neighboring city of Samengan, and in great wrath demanded of the king of that city that his steed be restored to him, and he vowed that if Ruksh were not restored, many of the sons of Turan should pay for him with their heads. The king calmed his auger with gracious promises of assistance, and conducted him to his palace. And there Rustum was enter- tained by the beautiful princess Tahmineh, who was already in love with him for his great deeds of heroism of which she had heard much, and who had connived at the stealing of Ruksh in order that she might bring him thither. The conclusion of this adventure was a royal wedding at the court of Samengan. But the wild spirit of Rustum could not be confined at court, and having recovered his horse Ruksh, he departed. At parting he gave to his young bride an amulet of onyx, saying: "Cherish this jewel, and if Heaven cause thee to give birth unto a daughter, fasten it within her locks, and it will shield her from evil ; but if it be granted unto thee to bring forth a son, fasten it upon his arm, that he may wear it like his father." A remarkable son Avas born, and he was called Sohrab ; but Tahmineh sent word to Rustum that the child was a girl, for she feared that he would take the boy from her ; wherefore Rustum gave no heed to his child. When Sohrab had grown to great strength and courage he demanded the name of his father, and upon learning that the far-famed Rustum was his father he re- solved to find him. His mother would have him keep his lofty THE STORY OF SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 11 parentage a secret, for King Afrasiab was tlie enemy of Rustum, but he boldly proclaimed his birth and his purpose to conquer the kingdom of Iran and place his father upon the throne. And he had also a secret purpose, which was to return with Rustum and conquer the kingdom of Turan for himself. Now King Afrasiab was much pleased with the young hero^ for his heart was at once filled with a crafty purpose. He prepared an army for Sohrab, and called the leaders to him secretly, and said : "Into our hands hath it been given to settle the course of the world. For it is known unto me that Sohrab is sprung from Rustum the Pehliva, but from Rustum must it be hidden who it is that goeth out against him, then peradventure he will perish by the hands of this young lion, and Iran, devoid of Rustum, will fall a prey into my hands. Then will we subdue Sohrab also, and all the world will be ours." So the united Tartar bands set out toward the kingdom of Kai Kaoos, and on the way Sohrab performed mighty deeds of valor, the fame of which was loudly sounded through the land of Iran. The king in terror sent to Rustum, asking him to come forth from his retirement and lead the army against this new conqueror. But Rustum tarried in his coming many days, and when at length he came the king was in great wrath, and threatened to put him to death. Then Rustum answered him with words of scorn : "I am a free man and no slave, and am servant alone unto God ; and without Rustum Kai Kaoos is as nothing. But for me, who called forth Kai Kobad, thine eyes had never looked upon this throne. And had I desired it, I could have sat upon its seat. But now am I weary of thy follies, and I will turn me away from Iran, and when this Turk shall have put you under his yoke, I shall not learn thereof." Then he strode proudly from the king's presence, sprang upon Ruksh, and disappeared. And now the nobles and chieftains of Iran were in still greater terror because of this folly of their king, and they went to Rustum and with many prayers prevailed with him to return, and the king hum- bled himself and craved pardon from Rustum for his words spoken in anger, and bestowed rich gifts upon him. So Rustum prepared himself for the contest. At length the two armies were face to face by the river Oxus Sohrab, hoping ever to find Rustum, led Hujir, an Iranian cap 12 THE STOET OF SOHRAB AND KUSTUM. tive, to a lieight overlooking the enemy's camp, and questioned liim about the tents of the leaders ; but Hujir answered falsely, and so he believed that Hustum's tent was not among them. He then challenged Kai Kaoos to single combat, and the craven king persuaded Rustum to meet the bold champion. When Rustum saw the youth and noble bearing of Sohrab his heart went out in compassion toward him, and he besought him to retire : " O young man, the air is warm and soft, but the earth is cold." And Sohrab, filled with a sudden and strange hope, said: "Tell me thy name, that my heart may rejoice in thy words, for it seemeth unto me that thou art none other than Rustum, the son of Zal." But Rustum denied that he was Rustum, for he deemed that Sohrab would be the more afraid when he beheld such prowess in an Iranian chieftain ; and Sohrab was made sorrowful by his words. And now the combat began. They foiight with spears, with swords, with arrows, and with clubs. They strove until their mail was torn and covered with blood, and their horses spent with exhaustion. Rustum thought within himself that in all his days he had not met such a foe, and finally he was felled by a terrible blow from Sohrab's club. The day being then far spent, the champions rested for the night. Still troubled in mind, Sohrab sought again to know of Haman whether his antagonist might not be Rustum ; but Haman, mindful of the command of his master, Af rasiab, replied that he knew the face of Rustum well, for he had often seen him in battle, and tliis man was not Rus- tum. On the morrow the champions again met, and again Sohrab urged peace : "For it seemeth unto me that this conflict is impure. And if thou wilt listen to my desires, my heart shall speak to thee of love. And for this cause I ask thee yet again, tell me thy name, neither hide it any longer, for I behold that thou art of noble race. And it would seem unto me that thou art Rustum, the chosen one, the son of Zal." And Rustum answered: "O hero of tender age, we are not come forth to parley, but to combat, and mine ears are sealed against thy words of lure." Then they joined battle, and from morning until the setting of the sun they struggled. At last Sohrab seized Rustum by the girdle and threw him to the ground, and would have ended his life had not Rustum, bethinking himself of a wile, cried out to THE STORY OF SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. IB liim that in such contests it was the custom in Iran not to slay an adversary until he had been twice overcome. So again they rested, and that night Rustum prayed to his god Ormuzd that the strength of his earlier years might return. And Ormuzd heard his prayer. On the morning of the third day Rustum rushed upon Sohrab with renewed might, seized him with a ter- rible grasp, hurled him to the earth, so that his back was broken like a reed, and drew forth his sword to sever the body. Then Sohrab in agony cried : "I sped not forth for empty glory, but I went out to seek my father ; for ray mother had told me by what tokens I should know him, and I perish for longing after him. And now have my pains been fruitless, for it hath not been given unto me to look upon his face. Yet I say unto thee, if thou shouldest become a fish that swimmetli in the depths of the ocean, if thou shouldest change into a star that is concealed in the farth- est heaven, my father would draw thee forth from thy hiding- place and avenge my death upon thee when he shall learn that the earth is become my bed. For my father is Rustum the Peh- liva, and it shall be told unto him how that Sohrab, his son, perished in the quest after his face." At these words Rustum fell to the earth as if stricken by a blow, and h-e demanded of Sohrab some token of Rustum. Then Sohrab charged him to open his armor, and there he saw the amulet of onyx upon his arm ; and when he had seen it he cried out in terrible agony of soul. Then Sohrab asked that the army of Turan be permitted to return in peace. "As for me," he said, "I came like the thunder and I vanish like the wind, but perchance it is given unto us to meet again above." And then the spirit of Sohrab departed. Now that Sohrab was dead, Rustum burned his tent, his throne, and all his arms and trappings of war. And he cried aloud con- tinually, "I that am old have killed my son. My heart is sick unto death." The body of his son he bore to Seistan, and placed it in a noble tomb. And joy never again entered into the heart of Rustum. The heavy news was carried to the court of Samen- gan, and the old king tore his garments. And when Tahmineh knew that her son Sohrab was dead, she was beside herself with grief. She sent for his steed and his armor, and she stroked the steed, pressing his head to her breast and pouring her tears upon 14 THE STORY OF SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. him. And the helmet that Sohrab had worn she kissed many times, and his gold and jewels she gave to the poor. A year she mourned, and then, borne down to death by her sorrow, her spirit departed to her son. Note.— There is no complete translation of the Sliah-Namah in English. The standard version is the French version of Jules Mohl, published by Madame Mohl in 1876. There is an English version by Mr. James Atkinson, giving an epitome of the poem from a Persian abridgment. Portions of the poem will be found in Mr. Robinson's " Persian Poetry for English Readers," and in Miss Zimmern's " Heroic Tales from Firdusi the Persian." This adaptation has been drawn upon for the foregoing narrative. The study of Firdusi's exile has been told in pleasing verse by Edmund W. Gosse in his " Firdusi in Exile." SOHRAB AND RuSTUM. AN EPISODE. And the first gray of morning filled the east, And the fog rose out of the Oxus stream. But all the Tartar camp along the stream Was hushed, and still the men were plunged in sleep ; Sohrab alone, he slept not ; all night long 5 He had lain wakeful, tossing on his bed ; But when the gray dawn stole into his tent, He rose, and clad himself, and girt his sword, And took his horseman's cloak, and left his tent, And went abroad into the cold wet fog, 10 Through the dim camp to Peran-Wisa''s tent. Through the black Tartar tents he passed, which stood Clustering like beehives on the low flat strand Of Oxus, where the summer floods o'erflow "When the sun melts the snows in high Pamere ; 15 Through the black tents he passed, o'er that low strand. And to a hillock came, a little back From the stream's brink — the spot where first a boat. Crossing the stream in summer, scrapes the land. The men of former times had crowned the top 20 1. And. This form of opening indicates the episodical character of the poem. 2. Oxus. The classical name of the great river now called Amoo Daria. It was the scene of many important events in ancient history. Consult Classical Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica. 5. Sohrab (so'rdb) Note the effect of the repetition. 8. Suggest similar repetitions of and in the Scriptures. 11. Peran-Wisa (pe'rdn we'sd). The commander of King Afrasiab's (af-rd'si-db) army. 15. Pamere ( pn-meer'). Usually written Pamir ; an elevated steppe or plateau in which the Oxus. has its source,— a part of the great Himalayan plateau. 15 16 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. With a clay fort ; but that was fall'ii, and now The Tartars built there Peran-Wisa's tent, A dome of laths, and o'er it felts were spread. And Sohrab came there, and went in, and stood Upon the thick piled carpets in the tent, 5 And found the old man sleeping on his bed Of rugs and felts, and near him lay his arms. And Peran-Wisa heard him, though the step Was dulled ; for he slept light, an old man's sleep ; And he rose quickly on one arm, and said : — 10 " Who art thou ? for it is not yet clear dawn. Speak ! is there news, or any night alarm ? " But Sohrab came to the bedside, and said : " Thou know'st me, Peran-Wisa ! it is I. The sun is not yet risen, and the foe 15 Sleep ; but I sleep not ; all night long I lie Tossing and wakeful, and I come to thee. For so did King Afrasiab bid me seek Thy counsel, and to heed thee as thy son, In Samarcand, before the army marched ; 30 And I will tell thee what my heart desires. Thou know'st if, since from Ader-baijan first I came among the Tartars and bore ai'ms, I have still served Afrasiab well, and shown, At my boy's years, the coui'age of a man. 25 This too thou know'st, that while I still bear on The conquering Tartar ensigns through the world, And beat the Persians back on every field, I seek one man, one man, and one alone — Rustum, my father ; who I hoped should greet, 30 9. He slept litfht. So Shakespeare says, in " Romeo and Juliet," II, 3 : " Care keeps his watch in every old man's eye, And where care lodges sleep will never lie." 20. Samarcand (udm arkdncV). The ancient Marcanda, destroyed by Alexander ; later the great conqueror Timur's capital. See map of Asia. 23. Ader-baijan tdd'cr-bl'i/dii). A northern province of Persia. 29. I seek . . . son. VVliat effect is produced by the repetitions in this sentence? 80. Uustuni {rods' turn). This celebrated Persian hero is supposed to have lived about (300 years B.C. His romantic life, a mixture of fact and fiction, SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 17 Should one day greet, upon some well-fought field, His not unworthy, not inglorious son. So I long hoped, but him I never find. Come then, hear now, and grant me what I ask. Let the two armies rest to-day ; but I 5 Will challenge forth the bravest Persian lords To meet me, man to man ; if I prevail, Rustum will surely hear it ; if I fall — Old man, the dead need no one, claim no kin. Dim is the rumor of a common fight, 10 Where host meets host, and many names are sunk ; But of a single combat fame speaks clear." ^- ' • He spoke ; and Peran-Wisa took the hand Of the young man in his, and sighed, and said : " O Sohrab, an unquiet heart is thine ! 15 Canst thou not rest among the Tartar chiefs. And share the battle's common chance with us Who love thee, but must press forever first. In single fight incurring single risk, To find a father thou hast never seen ? 20 That were far best, my son, to stay with us Unmurmuring ; in our tents, while it is war, And when 'tis truce, then in Afrasiab's towns. But, if this one desire indeed rules all. To seek out Rustum — seek him not through figM ! 25 Seek him in peace, and carry to his arms, O Sohrab, carry an unwounded son ! But far hence seek him, for he is not here. For now it is not as when I was young, When Rustum was in front of every fray ; 30 But now he keeps apart, and sits at home, In Seistan, with Zal, his father old. is tl^e favorite theme of Persian poets. Some believe that he was a com- mander under C3"rus the Great. The name is variously spelled Boostam, Roostcm, Eosteiti, Rnustem, etc. 10. Commoii fi^ht. General fight, in which all are engraged. :W. Seistan {se-is tan'). Also Sistnn. A province and lake in Afgha- nistan. ;w. Zal (2(77) He was distinguished in Persian legend as a hei'o, but mainly as the father of Rustuui. 18 SOHRAB AND EUSTUM. Whether that his own mighty strength at last ^ Feels the abhorred approaches of old age, Or in some quarrel with the Persian King. There go ! — thou wilt not ? Yet my heart forebodes Danger or death awaits thee on this field. 5 Fain would I know thee safe and well, though lost To us ; fain therefore send thee hence, in peace To seek thy father, not seek single fights In vain ; — but who can keep the lion's cub From ravening, and who govern Kustum's son ? 10 Go, I will grant thee what thy heart desires." So said he, and dropped Sohrab's hand, and left His bed, and the warm rugs whereon he lay ; And o'er his chilly limbs his woolen coat He passed, and tied his sandals on his feet, 15 And threw a white cloak round him, and he took In his right hand a ruler's staff, no sword ; And on his head he set his sheepskin cap, Black, glossy, curled, the fleece of Kara-Kul ; And raised the curtain of his tent, and called 20 His herald to his side, and went abroad. The sun by this had risen, and cleared the fog From the broad Oxus and the glittering sands. And from their tents the Tartar horsemen filed Into the open plain ; so Haman bade — 25 Haman, who next to Peran-Wisa ruled The host, and still was in his lusty prime. From their black tents, long files of horse, they streamed ; As when some gray November morn the files. In marching order spread, of long-necked cranes 30 Stream over Casbin and the southern slopes 1-3. Whether that . . . Or in. Either because ... Or because of. 10. Ravening. Olitaininj? prey by violence, like auimals. So in Eze. xxii. 25 : " like a roaring lion ravening the prey.'" 19. Kara-KuI (kd'rd-kool). A famous pasturag^e for sheep in Bokhara. 25. Haman (hd'man). In the original poem he aids in deceiving Sohrab as to his father's presence in thePersian army. 31. Casbin. Also Kasvin ; a city of Persia, once the seat of royalty. Near it, to the north, are the Elburz (el'boo'z) mountains. Sf HRAB AND RUSTUM, 19 //^ Of Elburz, from fV'o Aralian estuaries, Or some frore Caspian reed-bed, southward bound For the warm Persian seaboard — so they streamed. The Tartars of the Oxus, the King's guard. First, with black slieepskin caps and with long spears ; 5 Large men, large steeds ; who from Bokhara come And Khiva, and ferment the milk of mares. Next, the more temperate Toorkmuns of the south, The Tukas, and the lances of Salore, And those from Attruck and the Caspian sands ; 10 Light men and on light steeds, who only drink The acrid milk of camels, and their wells. And then a swarm of wandering horse, who came From far, and a more doubtful service owned ; The Tartars of Ferghana, from the banks 15 Of the Jaxartes, men with scanty beards And close-set skullcaps ; and those wilder hordes Who roam o'er Kipchak and the northern waste, Kalmucks and unkempt Kuzzaks, tribes who stray Nearest the Pole, and wandering Kirghizzes, 20 2. Frore. Frozen, frosty. Anglo-Saxon froren, from freosau, to freeze. /. Khiva (ke'vd). An important province, or khanate, of Turkestan. Its capital is Khiva. 7. Milk of mares. This intoxicating liquor, used by the Tartars, is called kdumiss. Tlie name is now applied to a somewhat similar prepara- tion of milk for invalids. 8. Toorkiuun. The Toorkmuns, or Turkomans, are Tartars inhabiting the steppe east of the Caspian and south of the Oxus. 10. Attruck. Also Airak ; a rivei- emptying into the Caspian Sea. 14. A luore doubtful service owned. They did not acknowledge obedience to King Afrasiab, and therefore formed an uncertain part of the army. 15. Ferghana (fer-qhd'nd). A province of Turkestan, in which are the head-waters of the river Jaxartes (jax-ar'teez), the modern Sihon, or Syr Daria. 18. Kipchak. A name once applied to a large region bordering the Caspian Sea on the north. 19. Kalmucks. Or CfdiHiicfcs ,' a nomadic race, inhabiting various parts of the Russian and Chinese empires. They live iu "conical felt tents, set up in regular lines like the streets of a town. Their wealth consists entirely in small but high-spirited horses, excellent cattle, and broad-tailed, rough- fleeced sheep." 19. Kuzzaks (kooz'zaks). The modern Cossacks, a wandering Russian tribe. :^0. Kirghizzes (kir'ghi-zeez). A fierce Mongolian tribe from the high mountainous regions. '20 SOHRAB AND BUST TM. "Who come on shaggy ponies from Pamere , ' -/ ^ These all filed out from camp into the plain. And on the other side the Persians formed ; — First a light cloud of horse, Tartai's they seemed, The Ilyats of Khorassan ; and behind, 5 The royal troops of Persia, horse and foot, a / i -- Marshaled battalions bright in burnished steel. Ojlj/^^i/^^y^jb'^^f^^^^ But Peran-Wisa with his herald came. Threading the Tartar squadrons to the front. And with his staff kejjt back the foremost ranks. 10 And when Ferood, who led the Persians, saw That Peran-Wisa kept the Tartars back, He took his spear, and to the front he came, And checked his ranks, and fixed them where they stood. And the old Tartar came upon the sand 15 Betwixt the silent hosts, and spake, and said : " Ferood, and ye, Persians and Tartars, hear ! Let there be truce between the hosts to-day. But choose a champion from the Persian lords To fight our champion Sohrab, man to man." 20 As, in the country, on a morn in June, When the dew glistens on the pearled ears, A shiver runs through the deep corn for joy — So, when they heard what Peran-Wisa said, A thrill through all the Tartar squadrons ran 35 Of pride and hope for Sohrab, whom they loved. But as a troop of peddlers, from Cabool, Cross underneath the Indian Caucasus, That vast sky-neighboring mountain of milk snow ; Crossing so high, that, as they mount, they pass 30 Long flocks of traveling birds dead on the snow, 5. Khorassan {ko-rds-sda'). "The land of the Sun"; a nonlieastern province of Persia. Ilyats (il'i-dls). a wurd meaning tribes, is applied col- lectively to the Tartar tribes of this province. 23. Corn. Used in the European sense of grain, as wheat, barley, etc. 27. Cabool (kd-booV). Also Cabul and Kabul ; the capital of Afghan- istan. 28. Indian Caucasus. The same as the Hindoo Koosh mountains, between Afghanistan and Turkestan. SOHRAB AND KUSTUM. 21 f Choked by the air, and scarce can they themselves Slake their parched throats with sugared mulberries — In single file they move, and stop their breath, For fear they should dislodge the o'erhanging snows — So the pale Persians held their breath with fear. 5 And to Ferood his brother chiefs came up To counsel ; Gudurz and Zoarrah came, And Feraburz, who ruled the Persian host Second, and was the uncle of the King ; These came and counseled, and then Gudurz said : 10 " Ferood, shame bids us take their challenge up. Yet champion have we none to match this youth. ,^..^. ^ He has the wild stag's foot, the lion's heart. fh/\j/^y^\^ (\ But Kustum came last night ; aloof he sits And sullen, and has pitched his tents apart. 15 Him will I seek, and carry to his ear The Tartar challenge, and tliis young man's name. Haply he will forget his wratii, and fight. Stand forth the while, and take their challenge up." So spake he ; and Ferood stood forth and cried : 20 " Old man, be it agreed as thou hast said ! Let Sohrab arm, and we will find a man." He spake : and Peran-Wisa turned, and strode Back through the opening squadrons to his tent. But through the anxious Persians Gudurz ran, 25 And crossed the camp which lay behind, and reached, Out on the sands beyond it, Eustum's tents. Of scarlet cloth they were, and glittering gay, Just pitched ; the high pavilion in the midst Was Rustum's, and his men lay camped around. 30 And Gudurz entered Rustum's tent, and found Rustum ; his morning meal was done, but still The table stood before him, charged with food — A side of roasted sheep, and cakes of bread, 1. Choked by the air. Explain the conditions that produce tin's eflffct. SugKi'st any Alpine experiences or arlventui-es tliat justify the de- scription contained in this fine simile, 11. 27, p. 2U to 5, p 21. 7. Gnduvz (goo' door z); Zoarrah (zode'ra/t) I Feraburz (/e'rd-6ooJ"«). 22 SOHRAB AND KUSTUM. And dark -green melons ; and there Kustum sate CJf Listless, and held a falcon on his wrist. And i^layed with it ; but Gudurz came and stood Before him ; and he looked, and saw him stand, And with a cry sprang up and dropped the bird, 5 And greeted Gudurz with both hands, and said : " Welcome ! these eyes could see no better sight. "What news ? but sit down first, and eat and drink." But Gudurz stood in the tent door, and said : " Not now ! a time will come to eat and drink, 10. But not to-day ; to-day has other needs. The armies are drawn out, and stand at gaze ; For from the Tartars is a challenge brought To pick a champion from the Persian lords To fight their champion — and thou know'st his name — W Sohrab men call him, but his birth is hid. O Rustum, like thy might is this young man's ! He has the wild stag's foot, the lion's heart ; And he is young, and Iran's chiefs are old, Or else too weak ; and all eyes turn to thee. 20 Come down and help us, Rustum, or we lose ! " He spoke ; but Rustum answered with a smile : " Go to ! if Iran's chiefs are old, then I Am older ; if the young are weak, the King Errs strangely ; for the King, for Kai Khosroo, 25 1. Sate. Obsolete form of sat, 2. Falconry, or tht? sport of using falcons and hawks in hunting', has been practiced in the East from the most ancient times. It was known in China 2000 years b.c. According to Lajard, ''a falconer hearing a hawk on his wrist" was found represented in the bas-reliefs of Nineveh. 7 to 8, p. 24. Those who are familiar witli Homer's Iliad will find many suggestive similarities in Arnold's poem, notably in the simple and direct language, in the fine similes, and in some of the incidents. This appeal to Rustum recalls the appeal to the " implacable Achilles " in the Iliad, book ix. The poem is an evidence of Arnold's splendid classical culture and of his ability to make English verses truly Homeric in quality. 19. Iran's chiefs. Persia is called Iran by the Persians themselves. According to the Shah-Namah, there were two brothers, Iran and Tur, from whom sprang the Iranians and Turanians. 23. Go to. An old phrase of exhortation, often contemptuous, common in the Scriptures and in Shakespeare, as in " Twelfth Night," IV, 1: "Go to, go to, thou art a foolish fellow." 25. Kai Khosroo (kl kos-roo'). The Persian name of Cyrus the Great. He was the third of the Kaianiau dynasty, the founder of which, Kai Kobad, SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 23 Himself is young, and honors younger men, ^T^i /j And lets the aged molder to their graves. Kustum he loves no more, but loves the young — The young may rise at Sohrab's vaunts, not I. For what care I, though all speak Sohrab's fame ? 5 For would that I myself had such a son, And not that one slight helpless girl I have— A son so famed, so brave, to send to war, And I to tarry with the snow-haired Zal, My father, whom the robber Afghans vex, 10 And clip his borders short, and drive his herds, And he has none to guard his weak old age. There would I go, and hang my armor up. And with my great name fence that weak old man, And spend the goodly treasures I have got, 15 And rest my age, and hear of Sohrab's fame, And leave to death the hosts of thankless kings. And with these slaughterous hands draw sword no more." He spoke, and smiled ; and Gudurz made reply : " What then, O Rustum, will men say to this, 20 When Sohrab dares our bravest forth, and seeks Thee most of all, and thou, whom most he seeks, Hidest thy face ? Take heed lest men should say : ' Like some old miser, Rustum hoards his fame. And shuns to peril it with younger men.' " 25 And, greatly moved, then Rustum made rejDly : " O Gudurz, wherefore dost thou say such words ? Thou knowest better words than this to say. according to legend, was placed upon the throne by Rustum. In th<; "Rubaiyat " of Omar Khayyam (Fitzgerald's translation) we have : " What have we to do W^ith Kaikobad the Great, or Kaikhosru ? Let Zal and Rustum thunder as they will." Arnold has transferred the scene of the poem from the reign of Kai Kaoos, as given in the ShahNamah, to the more glorious reign of Kai Khosroo. 7. Helpless girl. He had been deceived by the mother. See Introduc- tion, and 11. ll-lT,p. 34. 10. Snow-li!iii-ejkylark, Adonals, and other Poems. 86 Dickens's Cricket^ on the Hearth. 87 Spencer's Philosophy of Style. 88 Lamb's Essays of Ella. 89 Cowper's Task, Book II. 90 Wordsworth's Selected Poems. 91 Tennyson's The Holy Grail, and Sir Galahad. 93 Addison's Cato. 93 Irving's Westminster Abbey, and Christmas Sketches. 94 & 95 Macaulay's Earl of Chat- ' ham. 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