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 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES: 
 
 AN ESSAY 
 
 TO FACILITATE THE READING 
 
 OK 
 
 PERSIAN MANUSCRIPTS; 
 
 WITH ENGRAVED SPECIMENS, PHILOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 
 AND NOTES CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL. 
 
 By WILLIAm/oUSELEY, Efq. 
 
 - / 
 
 Hontian : 
 
 PRINTED FOR RICHARD WHITE, 
 OPPOSITE BURLINGTON HOUSE, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1795- 
 
 t®nttttB at <Stationera i^altj 
 
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 •~A
 
 TO 
 
 STACK 
 ANNEX 
 
 /is; 
 
 7; . s i 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURAii:B^ 
 
 FRANCIS RAWDON HASTINGS, 
 
 EARL OF MOIRA, 
 
 BARON RAWDON, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 W HEN I requefted permiffion 
 to dedicate thefe pages to your Lordfhip, it was 
 not merely with the hope that the name of a 
 good and of a great man might fave them from 
 perifhing with the trifles of the day : It has been 
 the fate of many works, to bear in their Dedica- 
 cations, the high founding titles of great men, 
 who, from the very nature of their fubjefts, were 
 incapable of underftandingthem. But, my Lord, 
 from your knowledge of the Eaflern languages, 
 
 and 
 
 211849B
 
 IV DEDICATION. 
 
 and particularly of the Perfian, this work is ad- 
 dreiled to your Lordfhip with peculiar propriety; 
 and, however inconliderable, I truft it will be re- 
 ceived, as a proof of the very fincere refpeft, 
 with which I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordlhip's obedient 
 
 and humble fervant, 
 
 WILLIAM OUSELEY. 
 
 London, iSi^//. 12, 1795. 
 
 INTRO-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 That ambition of fame which teaches many to con- 
 fider as unworthy of attention thofe minuter fubjeds 
 from which Uttle reputation for genius can be expecled, 
 I had long fuppofed to he the r.aiife, why, among thofe 
 who have contributed to the advancement of Oriental 
 Literature, fo Uttle has been done on that introductory 
 branch, of which the following EfTay principally ti'eats. 
 
 But of this neglect, I was induced to feek another 
 caufe, when the fubject of the work which I had under- 
 taken, acquired fome importance, in my own opinion, from 
 the confideration, that, without a previous knowledge of 
 petty matters, it is almoft impofliblc to attain a high 
 
 a degree
 
 VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 degree of emioMjce in any fcicnce ; that the theory of 
 mufical founds cannot be perfeftly comprehended by him 
 who is unacquainted with the gammut, and that the 
 greateft fcholar muft have undergone the drudgery of 
 the alphabet.* 
 
 And encouraged by the example of fo illuftrious a 
 critic as Quintilian, who thinks nothing unconnedled 
 with the art of Oratory, which is neceflary to the 
 formation of an eloquent fpeaker-)-, I began to regard as 
 no inconfidcrable branch of Eaftern literature, the fludy 
 of the Graphic art, as cultivated among the Perfians ; 
 without a knowledge of which no man can be pro- 
 nounced a perfeft Orientalift. 
 
 And having, by thefe confiderations, given a degree 
 of importance to the fubje6l I was about to undertake, I 
 
 • " If what appears little, be nniverfally defpifed, nothing greater can he attained ; for 
 " all that is great was at firft little, and rofe to its prefent bulk by gradual acceflions 
 " and accumulated labours," — Johnfon's Rambler, No. 83. 
 
 f " Sive contemnentes tanquam parva, quae prius difcimus ftudia," &c. " Ego 
 
 " cum nihil exiftimem arti oratorix alienum, fine quo oratorcni non poffe fieri, fatendum 
 " eft, nee ad ullius rei fummam nifi precedentibus initiis pervenire, ad ipinora ilia, fed 
 " quae fi negligas, non fit majoribus locus, demittere me non recufabo," &c. — Quintil : 
 Inftit: orator: Proem, Lib. i. 
 
 naturally
 
 INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 naturally became defirous to know the caufe why others 
 had fo long negle6led it; from the evident utility of a 
 work, which might tend to remove the obftacles oppofed 
 to the ftudent on his very firit fetting out, (and which 
 muft be overcome before the obje6t of his purfuit can be 
 attained) it appeared ftrange that no perfon had under- 
 taken the taik, and I lamented that it was left for one fo 
 infufEciently qualified as myfelf to execute. 
 
 But on the commencement of the following work, I 
 difcovered the caufe of this negle6t,* for the difficulty of 
 arrangement, and the extreme drynefs of the fubje6t have 
 proved fuch, as, more than once, have nearly forced 
 me to abandon the defign, and muft have deterred from 
 the profecution of it, any perfon not pofTeffing a con- 
 fiderable fhare of patience and perfeverance. 
 
 With fcarce any other qualification than thefe, I un- 
 dertook the work, and have colledted in the following 
 pages, and endeavoured to arrange in fome degree of or- 
 der, the fcattered obfervations I had made during the in- 
 fancy of my acquaintance with the Perfian language; 
 when, in attempting to decipher Manulcripts, a confider- 
 
 a 2 able
 
 Vlij INTRODUCTION. 
 
 able portion of time Avas nccefTarily confumcd, which 
 fucha work as I now offer to tlie public, might, perhaps, 
 have faved. 
 
 When we refleft on the difficulties that frequently oc- 
 cur among ourfelves, in reading the familiar letters of 
 our friends: when we confider that many are puzzled in 
 deciphering even what has been written by themfelves, we 
 cannot wonder that more fcrious obftacles are prefented 
 to the learner of a new language, and a ftrange charac- 
 ter : a charaiSter, too, that, from its conflru6lion, and the 
 facility with which combinations may be formed, allows 
 
 the writer to indulge in infinite liberties. It is therefore vain 
 to expevSt that a work of tlii& iiaiuic vaii even approach 
 perfe£lion ; no fyftem of rules, however well arranged, 
 being capable of governing the caprices of the Penman. 
 
 I AM, notvvithftanding this, induced to hope, that the 
 following Eflay, fuch as it is, may prove of fome fervice to 
 the Perfian fcholar ; for fuch an Affiftant I have often 
 wiihed, when ftruggling with the various difficulties that 
 arife from the hurry, negligence, or fancy of tranfcribers : 
 and to the Student, in a fimilar embarraffinent, who can- 
 
 • not
 
 INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 not have the advantages of oral inftrudlion, this v/ork is of- 
 fered. Clofe apphcation, however, with patience and perfe- 
 verance, which, as I before mentioned, are indilpenfably ne- 
 ce0ary, will foon render my labours fuperfluous. But, above 
 all, tranfcribing for two or three hours every day, from 
 manufcripts correftly written, will prove of fervice to the 
 learner ; and this may be done, even at a time when he is 
 nearly ignorant of the language, and the meaning of fe- 
 veral words in the original. Such a pra6lice, continued 
 for a few weeks, will infenfibly furnifh the memory with 
 phrafes, which a Dictionary will at leifure explain : Nay, 
 without the afliftance of fucha work, from analogy, and 
 the frequent recurrence of any particular word in con- 
 ftru£tion with others, the learner may frequently afcertain 
 the fenfe of a paffage, and acquire, in the mean time, the 
 moft ufeful habit of refle6lion. Information, obtained in 
 this manner, by his own induflry, will prove not only more 
 grateful to the Student, but I can venture to affirm, in- 
 finitely more profitable than that which he indolently derives 
 from the labours of another. At all events, the pradtice 
 of frequent tranfcribing from correct originals, will in- 
 fallibly
 
 X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fallibly promote the objea of this work, by rendering the 
 written character eafy and famihar. 
 
 And that the Student muft be perfe6tly acquainted 
 with the written chara6ler, before he can expert either 
 profit or pleafure from his Oriental purfuits, is obvious 
 from the confideration, that the great mafs of Afiatic Lite- 
 rature (and particularly Perfian) yet remains in manu- 
 fcript ; to the labours of fome learned German and 
 Dutch linguifts, we are principally indebted for many 
 valuable works in Arabic that have iflued from the prefs ; 
 but of Perfian, until the inftitution of the Afiatic So- 
 ciety, (from which, much is to be expe6ted) five or fix 
 compofitions alone, of any merit, have appeared in print : 
 in Holland, during the laft century, and recently in 
 England, if we except partial extra6ls, fcattered through 
 Piclionaries, Grammars, and works of a fimilar nature. 
 
 Yet, that innumerable treafures will reward the pains 
 of him, who ihall explore the mine of Perfian literature, 
 I am well perfuaded, more from the united teftimonies of 
 others, who have devoted themfelves to the ftudy of it, than 
 from any fuperficial knowledge, which 1 have hitherto been 
 
 5 able
 
 INTRODUCTION, XI 
 
 able to acquire of the Eaftern languages ; but by thofe 
 unacquainted with the literature of Afia, the praifcs which 
 Orientaliils beftow on the writers of that country, are 
 afcribed, lefs lo their intrinfic merits, than to the partial 
 enthufiafm of a commentator, employed on a favorite fub- 
 je6l : as thofe who poflefs no mufic in their fouls, and are 
 dead to all the powers of harmony, can read without emo- 
 tion, and are unable to comprehend the moft animated, or 
 defcriptive pafTages of a Roufleau, or a Burney. 
 
 On the chara6lers ufed by the ancient Perfians, I have 
 not, in this Eflay, offered any obfervations, referving that 
 branch of Oriental Antiquities, for the fubje£l of inveftiga- 
 tion in a future work*. Neither have I enquired into the 
 probable nature of thofe learned writings, which, as Nizarm 
 afTures us, in his Hiftory of Alexander the Great, were 
 tranflated, after the conqueft of Perfia, into the native lan- 
 guage of the Viclorious Prince, They have, it is to be 
 feared, perilhed in the fame tide of Time, which has 
 
 * Alphabets of the Pekleti and Zend, are given in that admirable work, " De Fatis 
 *' Linguarum Orientalium Commentatio," Vienna, 1780, Folio. 
 
 effaced
 
 XU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 effaced the ancient painting, celebrated by the Perfian poet ; 
 whether the tranflations have efcaped thofe conflagrations 
 fo fatal to Grecian literature, and flill moulder in an obfcure 
 corner of the Byfantine, or of fome Monaftic Library, would 
 be no unworthy obje6t of curious inquiry. Although I 
 have ftudied, in the following pages, to reprefs a natural 
 tendency to the inveftigation of antiquities, and have re- 
 i'erved niuch for future difculTion, yet I muft here antici- 
 pate a remark, which mzny of my readers will probably 
 make, that, " of the notes and obfervations fcattcred 
 " through this work, the greater number inclines to that 
 *' favourite fubjedl ;" in excufe, I plead the very interefling 
 nature of that country's antiquities, whofe language, and 
 modern chara6lcr, I have principally treated of; that coun- 
 -try, to whofe ancient monarchs, all the princes of the 
 known v/orld bowed the head*, while they " reigned 
 *•' from India, even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred, and 
 
 * •• Thus faitlvCyrus, king of Pcrfia, The Lord GOD of Ifeavcn, hath given me 
 " all the kingdom? of ;hc Earih, kz." Zztsl Chap. I. v. 2. 
 
 4 
 
 " feven
 
 INTRODUCTION. XlU 
 
 " feven and twenty provinces* : fitting in Imperial ftate, on 
 fplendid thrones, adorned with all the 
 
 " Wealth of Ormus and of Ind, 
 
 " Or where the gorgeous Eaft with richeft hand, 
 
 " Showers on her kings, Barbaric pearls and goldf." 
 
 Of thofe Perfian monarchs, the gilded palaces, fituated 
 in the various quarters of their wide extended dominions, 
 realized, in magnificence and beauty, all that we can con- 
 ceive of Afiatic fplendor, or of edifices raifed by magic pow- 
 er, dazzling the eyes of mortal gazers ; but of thofe palaces, 
 the majeftic ruins yet to be feen, while they remain a vene- 
 rable record of the nation's former greatnefs, afford ample 
 fubject for melancholy reflexions, on the decay of empires, 
 
 * Efther, Chap. I. verfe i. 
 
 f Milton's Paradife Loft, Book II. To this Eallem fplendor, the poet Spenfer alfo 
 alludes, in his Faery Queen, Book III. Canto 4. 
 
 " The Wealth of th' Eaft, and pomp of Perfian kings." 
 
 b and
 
 XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and the revolutions efFcdted by time : for no^v, to ufe the 
 words of a Pcrfian poet* : 
 
 " The fpider holds the veil in the palace of Casfar, 
 
 " The owl ftandscentinel on the watch-tower of Afrafiab." 
 
 And to the mildnefs of a happy chmate alone, we are 
 probably indebted for the prefervation of thofe fculptured 
 figures, and myfterious infcriptions, that ftill decorate the 
 walls of the royal apartments, where the vidlorious 
 Alexander celebrated his triumph over the fallen Darius, 
 and in which the lovely Thais, by the fide of the 
 Grecian hero, " fat like a blooming Eaftern bride," — and, 
 but too fuccefsfully, urged him to deftroy, in one fatal 
 hour of amorous intoxication, the metropolis of the Per- 
 fian empire, and of the world, with one of the noblefl 
 
 * " Pordeh-daree mikend der kufar-i- keyfar ankiboot, 
 " Boomy nubet mizend ber kumbed i-Afrasiaub." 
 
 See the original Perfian, in Jones's Grammar, p. 104. 
 
 In thefe words, and they were happily applied, did the triumphant Turk, Mahomet II. 
 exclaim, when, having given a final blow to the Roman Empire, in 1453, by the taking 
 of Conftaniinople, (where the Greek Emperor fell) he contemplated the Royal Palace of 
 his vanquilhed foe, which prefentcd to his view a dreary fcene of havcc and defolation. 
 
 2 produ6tions
 
 INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 produdlions of human labour and ingenuity — the magni- 
 ficent palace of the Sons of Cyrus*. 
 
 Yet, however confiderable may be its majeftic re- 
 mains, ftill to be feen above ground, it is moft probable that, 
 within the precindts of the ruined palace, treafures, much 
 more precious in the antiquary's eftimation, from long 
 concealment, lie buried in the dull of more than twentv 
 ages. To drag thefe into open day, from the dark receffes 
 
 * The city of Perfepolls, which covered the extenfive plain of Chehelm'mar, muft have 
 foon yielded to the conflagration, and become an eafy prey to the flames, the houfes 
 (which were probably but flight fabricks) being principally conftrufted of cedar and 
 cyprefs wood : But the Palace, fituated on a rifing ground, about 400 paces from thecitr, 
 was compofed of fuch excellent materials, and conftrufted with fuch admirable flcill, that 
 a great part of it fuccefsfuUy oppofed the progrefs of the fire, and has refifted the aflaults 
 of above 200c years. lu the beginning of the prefent century, Monf. Le Bruyn, publiiheJ 
 engravings of feveral hundred figures cut in relief, which yet remained upon the walls ; 
 leaving for future vifitors to copy, fuch a prodigious number of fculptures, that, according 
 to fome travellers [Herbert, Mandelflo, &c.). it would require no common degree of in- 
 duftry in an able artift to make drawings of them all in the fpace of feversl months. 
 When vifitcd in 1627 by Sir Thos, Herbert, not only the images cut in marble remained 
 in perfecl prefervation, but even the gilding on the walls, and on the drapery of fome 
 figures, retained its original luftre. Time, however, gradually finks many valuable frag- 
 ments deeper in the earth ; and others, from the daily dilapidations of the peafants, may be 
 found in the humble walls of the neighbouring cottages. 
 
 b 2 of
 
 xvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of oblivion, is a fpecies of enjoyment for which tlie princes 
 of the Eaft, who pofTefs the power of indulging it, feel not 
 the inclination ; and is, I fear, a degree of luxury far 
 beyond the reach or privileges of a folitary European 
 traveller ! 
 
 And that valuable and mofl: curious fubterranean 
 fragments dill exift at Perfepolis, is an opinion which I 
 have adopted, not merely from the probability that fimilar 
 treafures lie hidden among all vifible ruins of confiderable 
 antiquity, but from the pofitive tellimonies, and ftrong 
 conjectures of feveral ingenious travellers*. Of the figures 
 
 at 
 
 * I have been afTured by the Chevalier Clergeau de la Barre, that among the ruins of 
 Babylon and Perfepolis, moft curious and valuable antiques are daily difcovered, many of 
 which are depofited in the cabinets of the European Confuls, refident in the vicinity of 
 thofe places. This ingenious Frenchman, whom I had the pleafure of meeting in Hol- 
 land, foon after his return from the Eaft, (in the various countries of which he had tra- 
 velled for twelve years) has hitherto been prevented by domeftic misfortunes, and the civil 
 calamities of his country, from offering to the public, his admirable colledion of drawings, 
 taken from the moft venerable monuments of antiquity in India, Perfia, Arabia, and the 
 Levant. In the defarts of Arabia, he difcovered and afcertained the fituation of a fine 
 and very ancient temple, not marked in any map, nor defcribed by any traveller; but on 
 
 removing
 
 INTRODUCTION. xvii 
 
 at the monument of Ruftam, (in the vicinity of Perfepolis) 
 fuppofed to reprefent that celebrated warrior and his 
 favourite miftrefs,* the lower parts are concealed in heaps 
 of ftones and accumulated rubbilh, which hide perhaps, 
 at the fame time, fome ancient infcriptions, or other in- 
 terefting fculptures. And on that fpot, not far from the 
 royal palace, where, in the opinion of Sir Tho. Herbert, 
 the famous temple of Diana flood, nothing ftrikes the view 
 but continued piles of earth, " wherein, (to ufe the words 
 " of that well-informed writer) doubtlefs, are buried many 
 " rare pieces of art-j-." 
 
 removing fome earth wtich concealed part of a curious fculpture. One of his guides hap- 
 pening to difcover the body of a camel not long dead, the others became apprehenfive that 
 the wandering Arabs were at hand, and immediately departed. Among the antiques found 
 at Babylon and Perfepolis, the moll curious, according to the Chevalier, were feveral 
 volumes of parchment, covered with charaders hitherto undeciphered, and an emerald of 
 two inches long, containing the figureof Alexander, engraved with fuch exquifiteart as to be 
 only difcernible when placed in a particular point of view between the eye and the light. 
 
 * See the 5th chapter of this work, p. 97, 1 14, &c. and the engraving of thofe figures 
 in Le Bruyn's Travels. 
 
 + Herbert's Travels, p. 155. 
 
 From
 
 xviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 From the jealoufy and fufpicious ignorance of the 
 vulgar in almoft every country, Grangers find confiderable 
 difficulty in examining with attention, any celebrated ruins ; 
 but the Perfians, naturally of a romantic turn, vain of their 
 nation's former fplendor, and the ftriking memorials of it 
 which yet remain, and delighting in thofe traditions which 
 record the deeds of other days, oppofe no obllacles to the 
 curious traveller, in the inveftigation of their antiquities ; 
 and lefs rigid than the Mahometans of Arabia, they freely 
 permit him to employ liis pencil, fo neceflary a companion 
 to the accompliflied antiquary*. 
 
 And from the ftudy of thofe noble ruins abovemen- 
 tioned, and of the fculptures which they ftill exhibit, and by 
 a careful comparifon of the flatues in the royal Maufolea, 
 fituated in the impending hills, and other ancient monu- 
 
 * Thus Monf. Le Bruyn, an ingenious painter, who vifited Perfepolis in 1705, was 
 permitted not only to pafs three months in uninterrupted leifure among its venerable re- 
 mains, and to make drawings of every thing that appeared to him either curious or 
 pifturefque, but alfo to employ a ttone cutter cfShiraz, (a city 30 miles diftant) to feparate 
 from the mafs of marble fome ancient figures in reEef, which he afterwards brought to 
 Europe. 
 
 ments,
 
 INTRODUCTION. xlx 
 
 ments, with the oral and written traditions of the coun- 
 try concerning them, much may yet be done to illuftrate 
 the antiquities of Perfia, which it is my fixed intention, if 
 life and health be fpared, perfonally to explore. 
 
 Of the ancient poetry of Perfia, fo fcanty are the Spe- 
 cimens jib* nave defcended to our days, that the induftry 
 of many, who made it the object of their refearch, feems to 
 have been employed in vain : to afcertain therefore, what it 
 may have been, muft be the refult of inveftigation more 
 fuccefsful. The learned Prefident of the Afiatic Society 
 could difcover but a few lines of the ancient Pahlavi* ; and 
 the ingenious Biographer of the Perfian Poets, could trace 
 them little farther than the time of the Arabian conqueft-f-. 
 Yet, the climate of the country, the manners, and very na- 
 ture of men, muft have undergone a total change, or we 
 
 * Sir William Jones's Anniverfary Diflertation on the Perfians, 1789. 
 
 + Captain William Kirkpatrick's Introdut^ion to the Hiilory of the Perfian Poets, 
 Afiatic Mifcellaiiy, No, i. 
 
 mull
 
 XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 muft conclude, that ancient Perfm could boaft of its poetical 
 produ6lions ; its modern inhabitants being a race, which 
 may be faid to lifp in numbers ; among whom, the cultiva- 
 tion of their language is an important care, and who believe 
 of Poetry, as the ancient Greeks did of Mufic, that it poflefTes 
 a fafcinating power, and thence they have ftyled it, " Law- 
 " ful Magic." 
 
 It will therefore be found, that there is fcarce any fpecies 
 of compofition, which the Perfian poets have not cultivated 
 with fuccefs, from the didadlic or Moral Sentence, to the 
 finifhed Epic or Heroic Poem : through every gradation of 
 Bacchanalian Ode, Elegiac, and Amorous Sonnet, Allego- 
 ries amufing or inftru6live, and Romances founded on 
 hiftory, or fable : compofitions breathing all the warmth of 
 a luxuriant foil, and decorated with every adventitious 
 grace, that the moft flowery language can bellow. 
 
 And in this refpe6t thePerfians are peculiarly fortunate, 
 their native tongue, from the fimplicity of its conftru6tion, 
 and facility in verfification, being, like the Italian among us, 
 moft happily adapted to all the purpofes of poetry, particu- 
 larly
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXl 
 
 larly that of the Erotic kind, which feems to be naturally 
 the favourite of the tender and voluptuous Perfian*. 
 
 A VERY ftriking fimilarity of fentiment and imagery 
 may be difcovered in the works of the Italian and Perfian 
 poets ; I fhall not here dwell on this refemblance which has 
 been pointed out by others. The Sonnets of Petrarch have 
 been compared with thofe of Sadi : nay, a general fimilarity 
 of manners and cuftoms has been remarked by one, who, 
 an Italian by birth, was rendered capable, by a long refi- 
 
 * A learned Orientalift has moil happily defcribed the genius of Perfian Literature by 
 
 the epithets " foft and elegant." " Jacent, quod vehementer doleo, liters Perficae, 
 
 " molles illmet elegantes, quarum addifcendarum tu metanta cupiditate incendifti, ut quid- 
 
 " quid evenerit, fi modo vivam et valeam, certura fit deliberatumque, laro apud nos ex- 
 
 •' empio, totura me illis tradere." 
 
 See the letter of Profeflbr Schultens, to Sir William Jones, written in 1777, quoted in 
 the Dutch Eulogium, or, " Lofreden op Henrik. Albert Schultens," by Jacobus Kante- 
 laar. Amfterdam, 1794. Oflavo, 77, 
 
 And if the ftudy of poetry, according to a moll excellent critic, is ufeful, " quod fu 
 jiidinda," the poetical compofuions of Perlia, may boaft of a peculiar degree of utility : 
 '« Poeticam igitur eo prscipue utilem efle ftatuo, quod fit» jucunda ;" Lowth's Prafleiflioncs, 
 " de Sacra Poefi Hebraeorum ;" Pra;l. I. vol. I. p. 6, 1 quote that edition of this admirable 
 work, publiftied at Gottingen, in two volumes, Odtavo, 1758, 1 761 , with the notes and com- 
 ments of the mod learned Michaelis. Of this edition, it ia to be remarked, that in the pre- 
 face to the fecond volume, is an addrefs to the venerable author, whom, in the firft volume, 
 his commentator had, through mifinformation, fpoken of as deceafcd. 
 
 c dence
 
 XXll INTRODUCTION, 
 
 dence in Perfia, of judging with accuracy. The famous 
 traveller, Pietro della Valle, writing from that country near 
 two centuries ago,thus mentions his Perfian friends*, "Ufing 
 " always to me the greatefl compliments, and moft cour- 
 " teous fpeeches, &c. in which, and in all other cnjloins (for 
 " I have remarked, and fliall, perhaps fome day, commit 
 " them to paper as a curiofity, drawing a parallel in infi- 
 " nite refpefts) it appears to me, that the Perfians, refemblc 
 " very llrongly, the people of Naples," &c. and this inge- 
 nious author, in many other parts of his work, takes notice 
 of this refemblance ; but I have as yet fought in vain, and, 
 indeed, am ftill ignorant, whether he ever fulfilled his de- 
 
 fign of publifliing, the parallel mentioned in the above 
 
 quotation. 
 
 Between many pa0ages in the Greek and Perfian 
 Poets, a refemblance alfo has been found. We are to con- 
 fider, that the climate of Greece, furnilhes in many in- 
 
 * Viaggi di Pietro della Valle, 204. " Ufando mi fempre grandiflimi complimenti 
 " e parole raolto cortefe, &c. nelli quali, et in ogni altri coftume (che I'ho notate e forfe un 
 «• giorno lefcriveropercuriofita, facendone paralelloin infinite cofe)parea me che i Per- 
 " fiani fi aflbmiglino molto alle gentidi Napoli." 
 
 ilancesj
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXIU 
 
 fiances, the fame fubjedts for glowing and flowery defcrip- 
 tion with that of Afia ; and that many of the Greek 
 Lyric Poets were, by birth, Afiatics : from which circum- 
 ftance, and from the fimilarity of fubje6l and imagery, 
 ufed in their poems, the mofl learned Orientalift of the 
 prefent age, fcarcely fcruples, in his Latin Commentaries, 
 to clafs them among the Poets of Afia* : and, it fhall be 
 my obje6l, in a future work, to demonftrate, that Homer 
 and Anacreon, unequalled as they are, might not blufh 
 to have produced the Heroic Poem of Firdaufi, or the 
 Lyric Odes of Hafez. To deny pre-eminence to thofe 
 claflics, would befpeak a tafte as corrupt, and a judgment 
 equally prejudiceH, ae thofe of the Grammarian, who 
 quaintly aflerts, that in comparifon with a particular 
 branch of Oriental Literature, " the Graces of the Greeks 
 " and Romans are gracelefs-f." I fhall here difmifs the fubjcdl 
 
 * " Haud fcio an multi e poetis Grsecis, &c. Sir William Jones's " Poefeos 
 " Afiatics Commentarii, p. 1 6, Oftavo, London, j 774. Of this admirable work, another 
 " Oflavo Edition, appeared in 1777, publilhed at Leipfig, with the notes of the learned 
 Eichom." 
 
 f " Lingux fuavitatem et elegantiam, cum qua collatx, x'^f'~" Grascorum 
 " »x*?''^"» ^^ ingrats Latinoruni Gratia;, Sic." 
 
 Wafmuth's Arab. Grammar, Paranijis, p, I. 
 
 C 2 
 
 of
 
 XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of Perfian Poetry, and return to the principal object of 
 the following Eflay. 
 
 • It was, at firft, my defign to give only a few en- 
 graved fpecimens from original manufcripts, and to annex 
 explanations of the chief difficulties that might occur to 
 the ftudent, from the confufion or omiffion of the diacri- 
 tical points, and the whimfical combination of characters ; 
 but I have enlarged my plan, by fubjoining to the en- 
 graved fpecimens a more minute analyfis, and by prefixing 
 a few general obfervations on each letter of the alphabet, 
 and the diacritical points. 
 
 The extracts from the Perfian writers have not been 
 
 taken at random : although my chief ohjc£h has been, to 
 
 familiarife the learner's eye to the various combinations and 
 contractions of letters, yet in fo doing, I have been careful 
 to fele£t, in geneial, fuchpaflages (and particularly from 
 the Poets) as, to ufe the words of Sir Wm. Jones, on a 
 fimilar occafion,* *' will give fome variety to a fubjedl 
 
 * Perfian Grammar, p. 21, 
 
 ** naturally
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 " naturally barren and unpleafant ; will ferve as a fpecimen 
 " of the Oriental ftyle : and will be more eafily retained in 
 " the memory, than rules delivered in mere profe." 
 
 I HAVE likewife ftudied originality in my extra6ls 
 from the Perfian writers, and it will be found, that 
 (except two or three which I have acknowledged in their 
 places) none have before appeared in print; indeed, as all 
 the manufcripts quoted in this work are in my own pof- 
 feflion, I cannot have any reafonable excufe for borrowing 
 from the tranflations of another. 
 
 If, in fome few inflances, my tranflations of the Per- 
 fian verfes, have not been exa6lly literal, the Vocabulary 
 at the end of this work, will enable the reader to afcertain 
 the true meaning of the originals ; by confulting it he will 
 difcover that, whatever liberties I may have taken with the 
 words, I have never departed from thefenfe of the author: 
 and he will convince himfelf of the impoflibility of trans- 
 ferring, without grofs barbarifms, the idioms of one lan- 
 guage into another. The Vocabulary will befides fupply, 
 in fome meafure, the place of a Perfian Dictionary, — a 
 
 5 work,
 
 XXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 work, which, from its great utility, and the inceflant de- 
 mands of the India market, has become fcarce and confe- 
 quently expenfive ; and which cannot, from its bulk, be 
 always conveniently at hand.* 
 
 To render the plan of this EfTay as clear as the com- 
 plicated nature of its fubjetSt would admit, I have fubjoined 
 an explanatory Index, by the affiftance of which, the reader 
 may at once decipher any particular figure given in the 
 firft four plates, and immediately find the page or pages 
 wherein a reference is made to thofe figures, and their gra- 
 phical difficulties difcuffed and explained. To avoid re- 
 
 • Uiuil the indefatigable induftry of Mr Richardfon fumlfhed us with his admirable 
 Diftionary of the Arabic and Perfian languages, in two folio volumes, the only works of 
 that nature which the ftudent of the latter could refort to, were the great Onomafticon of 
 Meninjii, and the Lexicon by Cafiellus, The former confiding of feveral volumes, was 
 always inconvenient from its bulk, conftrufled rather for the ufe of the Turkifli than of the 
 Arabic or Perfian fcholar : and from its exorbitant price (which once rofe at Calcutta to 
 an hundred guineas) was beyond the reach of moft young Orlentalifts, until the publica- 
 cation of Mr Richardfon's Diftionary rendered itlefs valuable. The Lexicon compiled 
 byCaftellus, from the papers of the learned Golius, was publifhed with^all their errors, in 
 a confufed and inelegant type. As for the Gazo-phylacium of Father Angelo, however 
 curious in many refpefts, it is little more than a defeftive and inaccurate Vocabulary. 
 
 petition,
 
 INTRODUCTION. xxvii 
 
 petition, I have been under the neceffity of frequently re- 
 ferring the reader from one part to another of this work, 
 which in a great meafure, confifts of dfetached and mifcel- 
 laneous efTays. 
 
 On the fubje6l of pronunciation I have generally 
 followed the moft approved and correal Englifh 
 writers, in the manner of expreffing by our chara6lers, 
 the founds of Arabic and Perfian words*. In at- 
 tempting to do this with precifion, a combination of let- 
 ters is often neceflary, which, to an Englifh eye, appears 
 moft harfh and uncouth ; but this is found to be equally 
 the cafe, when the words of any other languages are 
 
 written, by a Foreigner, exactly according tO his fyftem of 
 
 pronunciation. Our own language will not bear the teft: 
 Let us fuppofe a Frenchman to have caught the founds of 
 a few Englifti words, and relying on his ear alone, to have 
 committed them to paper : who would recognize in the 
 
 * " Of founds, in general, it may be obfenred, that words are unable to defcribe them." 
 -Dr Johnfon's Englifli Grammar. 
 
 following
 
 XXVni INTRODUCTION. 
 
 following combination of letters, one of the fwcetell lines 
 of Dryden's Poetry ? 
 
 " Chi fird m dain-dgere,/arcbi nous no dime*." 
 
 Or what Italian would believe that any line of Pe- 
 trarch could be fo disfigured, even by the Englilh mode of 
 expreffing founds, as to wear the following harfli appear- 
 ance, when written according to the powers afcribed by 
 us to the vowels and other letters ? 
 
 " Say hi ichee-ah defeer kuh'l core diJlroojay\," 
 
 Yet by this mode of writing, which exhibits as harfh 
 or ridiculous, the foftefl; lines of European Poetry have we 
 been obliged to exprefs the founds of Afiatic words \, On 
 the fubje6l of the general orthography of the Eaftern lan- 
 guages, I refer the reader to an elaborate and moll inge- 
 nious Eflay by Sir William Jones. 
 
 And 
 
 * She fear'd no danger for flie knew no fin. — " The Hind and the Panther." 
 ■f- Se col cieco defir che^l cor dijlruggi."—" Sonnet xliii. Part I." 
 % From the various powers afilgned to letters by different nations, the feme Oriental 
 word, when written by a Frenchman, Italian, Spaniard, &c. aflumes a variety of appear- 
 ances ; thus the common Perfian word which we (exaflly following the original} write 
 
 Chun,
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXIX 
 
 And, I (hall clofe this preface, by deprecating the criti- 
 
 cifm of thofe, who having learned from living inftru6lors, 
 
 the rudiments of Afiatic penmanfliip, and the technical 
 
 terms of that art, may fmile at the phrafes I have adopted, 
 
 in defcribing the combinations or forms of letters, fince 
 
 all writers on the fubjedl have ufed the fame, when they 
 
 ftudied perfpicuity, without circumlocution, as I have 
 
 proved by fome quotations in the fecond Chapter. Nor let 
 
 the veteran Orientalift, condemn this EfTay, merely becaufe 
 
 he no longer wants the afTiftance of fuch a work ; the 
 
 obftacles which he has furmounted, ftill lie in the way of 
 
 others ; fome have attained their journey's end, but many 
 
 fetting out, ftill want a guide ; fhould we, becaufe landed 
 
 on the wifhed-for fhore, defpife the pilot, who may yet 
 
 fleer others into port ? 
 
 Chun, would be fpelt Tchun, by the French, dun, by the Italians, &c. and the word Shah, 
 which we write according to the Periian orthography, would be Chah, in French writings, 
 Sciah, among the Italians, Sjhah, by Dutch, and Sah, by German writers, and has been 
 written Xa, by Spanilh travellers. I believe It will be found, that the Engli(h can bed 
 exprefs the founds, yet neareft approach, in general, the Perfian orthography, in refpeft to 
 confonants and diphthongs ; but that, the Julian can beft retain the broad accent of the 
 Eaftern vowel founds. 
 
 d In
 
 XXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In the following pages, it has been my only view to 
 render them intelligible to the European ftudent, who is to 
 derive his knowledge from books alone, and to afford him 
 that afliftance, for which I often wifhed myfelf : for him, 
 1 have undertaken the humble, though laborious talk of 
 Literary Pioneer, and have endeavoured to remove, in fome 
 meafure, the thorns and brambles that oppofed his en- 
 trance to the fmiling garden of Perfian Literature ; a gar- 
 den which I would defcribe, were I allowed to conclude 
 in the Eaftern ftyle*, as a happy fpot, where lavifli na- 
 ture, with wild profufion, ftrews the mofl fragrant and 
 blooming flowers, (i) where the moft delicious fruits 
 abound, and which is ever vocal, with the plaintive melody 
 of the Nightingale, (2) who, day and night, there, " tunes 
 " her love-laboured fong :" where aerial beings in a vifi- 
 onary train, (3) the faireft creatures of poetical imagina- 
 tion, 
 
 * The reader will at once perceive, that in this concluding paragraph, I have endeavour- 
 ed to comprife the mod ftriking features, and frequent fubjefts of Perfian Literature. The 
 praifes of the rofe, and jefTamine, and other fragrant flowers, (i) are perhaps too much, the 
 Poet's favourite theme. The BiMul (2) is the almoft infeparable companion of the rofe, 
 and the beautiful Perfian Peries, (3) are a fpecics of imaginary beings, who live on 
 perfumes alone, the exquifite purity of thsir nature, rejefling all groffer nourifhment. 
 
 5 Beauty
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXXl 
 
 tion, hover in the balmy clouds, inhaling the odours of the 
 jeflamine and rofe ; a garden, in whofe trim alcoves, the 
 feflive board is fpread, and the praifes of ruby wine, (4) 
 fung to the fprightly lyre, while lovely nymphs, with dif- 
 hevelled mulky trefles, prefent the flowing goblet to the 
 enamoured gueft : (5) a garden, in whofe fhady bowers, 
 and foft recefles, the tender tale of love (6) is ever told, 
 and the fond figh, attuned to the querulous lute, (7) or 
 breathed to the pafling gale ; (8) whilft in its more open 
 
 walks, 
 
 Beauty is one of their eflential charadieriftics ; and I am perfuaded, that the name of thofe 
 gentle creatures (like many other words in the Perfian language) is of Hebrew or Chaldaic 
 
 origin, without any intervention of Arabic, and that its proper root is -iSiJ 
 
 (4) (5) (^)* The praifes of love and wine, and the delights of Spring, are, among 
 the Perfians, as with the Greeks of old, the chief fubjefts of the Lyric Song : nor do 
 thefe feem lefs enamoured of the Rofe and Nightingale, than the modern Afiatics. Ana- 
 creon calls that lovely flower, " the moft excellent of the fragrant tribe; the chief 
 " care of Spring, and the delight even of the Gods." Ode V. 
 
 " PoJo» aif tf Jfov a'»9oj, 
 
 " Pe>So» Eafos fitXr^ac, 
 
 " PoJa: x«i 6co7ai riftrtd," 
 And Theocritus prefers " the melody of the Nightingale to the notes of all other birds 
 that wbg the air." — Idyll. XII. 
 
 o<rcyv ayjouiv 
 
 Of the Perfian Mufic (7), the Ni/eemScba[i), or gentle breeze; the Shah N amah, 
 
 d 2 Skandtr
 
 XXXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 walks, the high heroic deeds of ancient warriors and 
 kings, (9) are chaunted in lofty ftrains ; Science gives 
 her lefTon, and the voice of Wifdom is often heard utter- 
 ing the moral fentence, (10) or delivering the di6tates 
 of experience, in the flowery or myfterious phrafe of 
 allegory (11). In (hort, to conclude the metaphor, an 
 ample field of intelle6tual enjoyment, which requires but a 
 little cultivation to prove itfelf a grateful foil. 
 
 Skander Namab, and other Romances {9) and Heroic Poems, I fiiall fpeak in the courfe 
 of this work: and whofoever (hall perufe the PenJ Namah {lo), the Gulijian and 
 Boflan ( 1 1 ), of the moral Sadi, and many other fimilar produftions, muft acknowledge the 
 truth of what 1 have before aflerted, " that there is fcarce any fpecies of compofition 
 which the Pcrfians have not cultivated with fuccefs." 
 
 I NOW haften to prefent this Compilation to the 
 reader, confcious, that, although my defign of affording 
 fome inftru6lion and entertainment, may have failed, 
 nothing at leaft, has been wilfully inferted, by which the 
 tafte or judgment might be vitiated or mifled, truth or 
 delicacy violated, or morality offended. 
 
 INDEX
 
 INDEX 
 
 TO THE PAGES WHICH EXPLAIN THE FIGITRES IN THE FIRST 
 
 FOUR PLATES. 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 NO. 
 
 AuNCHUNAUN, (anchnan) 
 page II 
 
 2 Seraunjaum, (Sranjam) ii, i6, 
 
 30' 35' 3^ 
 
 3 Aunchek, (Anch) 1 1, 36,39, 50 
 
 4 AJi, or Eft, (Aft) 11, 29, 48 
 
 5 IJiikbatil, (Aftkbal) 11, 32 
 
 6 DaJJitnn, (Daftitn) 11, 13, 36 
 
 7 Gulra, (Glra) 12, 33 
 
 8 5o^/wr<7, (Bkhara) 12, 13,49 
 
 9 Aumedejl , [AmAz.^] 12,56 
 
 10 Firaukh, (FTzkh) 12 
 
 11 S^««/^^^,{Shmfhad) 12,47, 55 
 
 12 Aumeedum, (Amydm) 35, 40 
 
 13 Prt^^/a/z, (Badfhah) 13,39 
 
 14 Bujiaur, (Bfyar) 13, 40 
 
 NO. 
 
 15 Pechegaun, (Pchgan) 13, 36, 
 
 16 Bechejhmhay, (Bchdimhay) 13, 
 
 41,16,28,35, 38 
 
 17 ^///i^, (Aftab) 14, 47 
 
 18 ^7^/, (Afp) 14,47 
 
 19 Tejlym, (Tflym) 14, 40 
 
 20 Geety, (Gyty) 14, 41, 50 
 
 21 Goorifty, (Grfty) 15, 49, 50 
 
 22 Auftadeh, (Aftadh) 15, 47 
 
 23 Hedys, (Hhdy's) 15, 16, 23 
 
 24 Che/him J (Chlhm) 16, 35 
 
 25 Chek,{CW) 16,39 
 
 26 Shuky, (Shuky) 40 
 
 27 Zeleekha, {Z\yk\\2i) 16,21,50 
 
 28 Sekhun, (Skhn) 16,22, 29 
 
 29 Der, (Dr) 22
 
 INDEX. 
 
 23, 29, 36 
 
 so. 
 
 30 Dufet, (Duft) 22, 28 
 
 31 Rud, (Rud) 22 
 
 32 Sikander, (Skndr) 23 
 
 33 NeJJiayed, {NHiayd' 
 
 34 Tioormend, (Zuriiind) 23 
 
 35 Mandeh, (Mandh) 23, 39 
 
 36 Chehrek, (Chhrh) 39 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 37 Andiih, (Anduh) 39 
 
 38 Hind, (Hnd) 23, 38 
 
 39 Shud, Sheh, (Shh) 24, 45, 26, 
 
 39 
 
 40 Izaur, (yEzar) 24, 3 1 
 
 41 Murd, (Mrd) 35 
 
 42 Be/ier, (Bhr) 25, 38 
 
 43 Zeradhujltt, (Zrdhflit) 25, 37, 
 
 29 
 
 44 Ghemzek, (Ghmzh) 25,31, 2iS> 
 
 39 
 
 45 %a/4, (Syh) 26, 39 
 
 46 Gu/JJien, (Glflm) 26, 29 
 
 47 Solyman, (Slyman) 26, 2,5' 3^' 
 
 40 
 
 48 "SizV/, (Sa:dy) 26, 41,50, 53, 56 
 
 49 Shirauz, (Shyraz) 26, 40. 
 
 50 LaJJtkur-eJIi, {LHikrlli) 28, 56, 
 
 63 
 
 51 KhooJIieJl, (Khunift)28 
 
 52 Imjheb (Amfhb) 29, 47, 50 
 c,^, Sekhun, (Skhn) 29, 36 
 
 NO. 
 
 54 PefyA^^y) 30'4i. 
 
 55 Nejret, (Nfrt) 30 
 
 56 Sehra, (Shra) 30 
 
 57 Hezret, (Hhzrt) 30, 50, 56 
 
 58 Tawk, (Tuk) 31, 32 
 
 59 YJJik, (^(hk) 49 
 
 60 Ghemm, (Ghm) 36 
 
 61 Nughmet, (Nghmt) 31, 32 
 
 62 Gvft, (Oft) 32,33,47 
 
 63 Hekyket, (Hhkyt) 32, 49 
 
 64 Ajhufteh, (Aflifth) 32, 39 
 
 65 Firmooden, (Frmudn) 32, 50 
 
 66 MeJJiryk, (Mfhrk) 30, 32 
 
 67 L.eikeH, (Lykn) 33, 37 
 
 68 y^y, (Yky) 33, 34 
 
 69 Giimar, (Omar) 33 
 
 70 Kemaimet, (Kmant) ^^t^ 49 
 
 71 Go/zKr/wj, (Ghrhay) 25, 33, 37, 
 
 38,40 
 
 72 Keh, (Kh) 34, 39 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 73 Hemchmaunk,{)i\mc\m2i\-ik) 34, 
 
 74 Goorift, (Grft) 34, 63 
 
 75 LaJJikur, (Lfhkr) 34 
 
 76 JemauleJIi, (Jmalfli) 34 
 
 77 Wallah, (Wallh) 34, 39 
 
 78 Hemeh, (Hmh) o^e,, 38, 39 
 
 79 Men, (Mn) 36 
 
 80 Chun Men, (Chun Mn) 36, 64
 
 INDEX. 
 
 NO. 
 
 8 1 Nifeem, (Nfym) 36 
 
 82 Damen, (Damn) 36 
 
 83 M«4y, (Mahy) 37,45 
 
 84 Mihr, (Mhr) 38 
 
 85 Hemchu, (Hmchu) 38, 54 
 
 86 Heykai, (Hyhat) 39, 48 
 
 87 Seemeen, (Symyn) 40, 48 
 
 88 Sawky, (Saky) 41, 48 
 
 89 Sady, (Saedy) 41 
 
 90 Peri-rooee, (Pryruy) 41, 
 
 47 
 
 91 Gulaub, (Glab) 42, 59 
 
 92 Laleh, (Lalh) 42 
 
 93 Ann aftaubejl, (An aftabft:) 
 
 45' 56 
 
 94 An Equivocal Figure, fee 
 
 page 46 
 
 95 Nutzvan, (Ntuan) 47 
 
 96 Kheyal, (Khyal) 62 
 
 97 Biya, (Bya) 47 
 
 98 Peer, (Byr) 47 
 
 99 Pickeed, (Bychd) 48 
 100 KeJJiteh, (Kflith) 48 
 loi Shud, (Shd) 48 
 
 102 Chun, (Chun) 16, 48 
 
 103 Az AndiJIieh Dilejli, (Zan- 
 
 dy(hh Dllh) 29, 34, 39, 50, 
 62 
 
 104 Aunkeh, (Ankh) 50, 53 
 
 105 Bauzy, (Bazy) 51, y^ 
 
 106 Khauk, (Khak) 51 
 
 NO. 
 
 107 DeJl-a-Sadi, (Dft Seedy) 51, 
 
 68 
 
 108 Javaiiby, (Juaby) 51 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 109 Danghy (Daghy) 48, 51 
 no Many, (Many) 51 
 
 111 Hafyl, (Hhafl) 53 
 
 112 Dilfereeb, (Dlfryb) ^^ 
 
 113 Z«/,(Kaf) 53 
 
 114 Hekayety, (Hhkayty) 54 
 
 115 i7(?eir//, (Hych) 55 
 
 116 Mukeyia, (Mhya) ^^ 
 
 iiy Ghemnia Yjlik, (Ghmteflik) e,c, 
 
 118 GeJIity Noah, (Kflitynuhh) 34, 
 
 56 
 
 119 Shudy Gunge, (Shdyknj) j6 
 
 120 KaJJigy, (Kafliky) 59 
 
 121 Dilruba, (Dlruba) 59, 63 
 
 122 Porkurdeh az aub, (Prkrdh az 
 
 ab) 60 
 
 123 Herkes Sheneedy,{\\x\.%'S>\m^- 
 
 dy) 60 
 
 1 24 Jaiime Shraub, (Jam Shrab) 6 1 
 
 125 Dil-dar, (Dldar) 61 
 
 126 Beeroon Kejlity, (By run Kfhty) 
 
 61 
 
 127 Der eenWekt,{jyx)^n\iki)()i 
 
 128 Aunzemeen, (Anzymn) 62 
 
 129 Ger Kurd, Mugur Keh, (Gr 
 
 Krd, Mgr Kb) 6a
 
 INDEX. 
 
 NO. 
 
 130 ^2 Amber Seri/Jiteh, (Az 
 
 iEnbr Srfhth) 62 
 
 131 Sh-Nakhajk, (Sh-Nk(h) 63 
 
 132 Nedeedek, (Ndydh) 63 
 
 133 Bergrift,{^rgxii) 63 
 
 134 Dureigh, [Drygh] 63 
 
 135 Yek-Guftar, (Yk Gftav) 
 
 63 
 
 136 Ora Dtir Awurd Az Doo > ud, 
 
 NO. 
 
 (Aura Dur Aurd Az Du- 
 Rud) 64 
 
 137 Gulzar-e-It em, {GXz^r Arm) 
 
 65,67 
 
 138 Buzruk Gerdaniden, (Bzrk 
 
 Grdanydn) 66 
 
 139 Beeron, (Byrun) 66 
 
 140 Che Arzoo Daree ? (Chh Ar- 
 
 zu Dary ?) 67 
 
 N. B. Of the other engraved Specimens, the explanations imme- 
 diately follow the Plates, excepting that of the Frontifpiece, which is 
 explained in the laft Chapter. Throughout the following pages, 
 wherever I have followed the Perfian orthography, the letter Sa, is 
 expreffed by S ; Jim, by J ; Chim, by Ch ; Hha, by Hk, or h fingle ; 
 Kha, by Kk ; Zal, by Z ; Za, by Z ; Sfad, by S ; Zzad, by Z ; Ain, 
 by a,or a ; Chain, by Gh j Faw, by U ; and Ya, by Y. 
 
 PERSIAN
 
 
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 PERSUN MISCELLANIES. 
 
 AN ESSAY 
 
 TO 
 
 FACILITATE THE READING OF 
 
 PERSIAN MANUSCRIPTS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 VV HEN the religion of Mohammed was impofed on the 
 conquered Perfians, the language of Arabia and the Koran 
 became their general and favourite fludy. Then commenced 
 a flight intertexture of Arabic words (which time has by- 
 degrees more firmly incorporated) with thofe of the pure Deri, 
 
 B or
 
 a PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap.L 
 
 or original Court dialed of Perfia; and, through the medium 
 of the regular WJkhi hand-writing, we may trace the form of 
 the upright Cujick, (the proper charafler of the ancient Arabs) 
 in the graceful flouriflies of the Perfian Talik, and even in the 
 uncouth combinations of the Shekesteh hand. But fo few and 
 immaterial are the variations which have affe(5led either the 
 Perfian letters or language, for many centuries, that a perfe<fl 
 knowledge of the diale<5t and charaftcrufed by modern writers, 
 will be found a fufficient qualification for thofe who would 
 perufc the ancient and mofl admired authors. To that par- 
 ticular form of writing I (hall therefore confine my obfervations 
 in the following pages ; nor fhall 1 dwell on thofe myflerious 
 characflers which compofe the celebrated PerJepoUtan infcrip- 
 tions, (and which are only to b© found amid the ruins of 
 Perfia's ancient capital) fince all attempts to decipher their 
 meaning have hitherto proved vain, and the mofl learned orien- 
 talifts have afforded little more on the fubjed; than conjedlure. 
 Yet it isprobablethat thofe fculptured marbles are the too faithful 
 depofitories of fome important fecrecs : their infcriptions may 
 contain records of illuftrious adlions, the memory of which 
 has long been loil: ; political regiflers of the mightiefl: empire 
 of the world ; or religious mylleries, infcribed in characters 
 known, perhaps, only to a particular order, or certain number 
 
 of the facred fundion*. ^ 
 
 On 
 
 * See " Millii (Davidis) DiiTert. (de Fj'uu!. Orient.) p. 77, quarto, Leyden, 
 1743 — and the Vi'orks of Hyde, Ksmpfer, £:c. — alfo the Travels of Herbert, Chardin, 
 
 4 Lc
 
 Chap. L] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 3 
 
 On the fubjedl of the Pehlavi, and language of the Zen.i, 
 now almoll: extind: in Perfia, and of the charadlers in which 
 the fuppofed works of Zerdtufht, or Zoroafter, have been 
 written, I refer the reader to the learned obfervations of Hyde 
 and Jones *. 
 
 Of the various kinds of hand-writing at prefent in ufe 
 among the Perfians, the principal are 
 
 The Nijkhi — Cj^^^"^^ (which fignifies a tranfcript)i 
 
 The Tdlik — \JU<X.XJ (or hanging) ; and 
 
 The Shekejleh — t>J)Uxj>^<J^ (or broken character) : 
 
 With 
 
 Le Bruyn, and Niebuhr — The " Eflai fur I'Hiftoire du Sabeifmc," by the Baron de 
 Bock, quarto, 1787, Halle; and duodecimo, 178S, Metz. — who afcribes to the vene* 
 rable ruins of Perfepolis a degree of antiquity of more than three thoufand years before 
 the Chriftian JEia. — and he is of opinion that " kr.rs in/criptions dans tine langne qu'on 
 regarde comme perdue, pewveni mcner aux decowvertes Us plus nowvellet el les plus iutiref. 
 /antes." — Confult alfo the " Quatuor Opufcula Antiquitates Orientaks illuflramia," of 
 the learned Swedith Profeflbr Tychfen, Roftoch, 1794., quarto. — And finally, the 
 " Memoires fur diverfes Antiquites de la Perfe", by A. J. Silveflre de Sacy ; a rare and 
 valuable work. 
 
 M. Le Bruyn has given a great variety of drawings ; and Niebuhr is juftly cele- 
 brated for his accuracy : but the copioufnefs and univerfal information of Chardin leave 
 him ftiil the firll in rank among oriental travellers. The fineft general view, however, 
 that I have feen, of the remains of Perfepolis, is that given by the " Heer Herbert de 
 Jager, 1693, in the Dutch CoUeftion of V'oyages, by Valentyn, y vol. folio, t724, 
 1726 : the plate is entitled, «' Ruinenvan t' paleis van Darius. 
 
 * An alphabet, and fpecimens of the ancient Pcrfian, are given in the fecond edition 
 of " Hydes Religio Vetorum Perfarum," and many curious remarks on the Pch'.ai:!, 
 
 B 2 the
 
 4 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. L 
 
 With the firft of thefe the reader is fuppofed to be already 
 acquainted, from the alphabet given in the Arabic and 
 Perfian Grammars, and from the perufal of other printed 
 books ; and I think it unneceflary to make particular mention 
 of thofe hands called, Kirma, Shulji , 'Dewani , Takoot, Togra^ 
 and fuch others * ; becaufe they rarely occur in Perfian manu- 
 fcripts ; and, being only variations of the Nijkhi, may be eafily 
 learned at any time by thofe acquainted with that charailer, 
 which, by the natives of India, who feldom \\{e it, is called 
 JSluJkh, and written without the final Yj but by Erpenius, 
 Jones, Richardfon, and the Arabian, Perfian, and Turkifh. 
 Grammarians, it is pronounced Nijkhi, and fpelt accordingly; 
 
 The fecond-mentioned hand, or Ta/ik, fhall be the fub- 
 jed; of the following pages : for the ufe of the third, or She- 
 kejieh, is almoft totally confined to familiar correfpondence 
 (and cfpecially among the Indians) or w^orks written in extreme 
 hurry, intended merely as rough copies, from which at leifure 
 tranfcripts might be made in the more elegant Talik. 
 
 So confufed, inaccurate, and uncouth is the Shekesteh hand, 
 and fo much has it degenerated from the parent Nijkhi, that 
 many even among the natives of Hindooftan (as I have been 
 affured in letters from an ingenious friend long refident there) 
 
 the Zend, and Per/epoliian infcriptions in Sir William Jones's Anniverfary Difcoutfe on 
 the Perfians, 1789. 
 
 * See the various Arabic Grammars, and Kasmpfer's moft ingenious work, the 
 " Amasnitates Exoticse," p. 145. Lemgovias, 410. 1712, 
 
 are
 
 Chap. I.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 5 
 
 are puzzled for hours in flriving to decipher particular words, 
 and, after all, are probably indebted to the context for their 
 fuccefs in afcertaining the fenfe. Notvvithftanding this, a 
 previous knowledge of the Talik hand, which holds a middle 
 place between the regular Nijkhi and broken Shekesleh, will 
 render any perfon mafter of the latter in a little time ; and, 
 that a perfedt knowledge of it is abfolutely necefHiry to thofe 
 whom bufinefs obliges to refide in the Eaft, will appear from 
 the teftimonies of thofe writers whom I have quoted in the 
 note*. 
 
 If I might here fuggefl the fubjedt for a future work, and 
 prefume to offer the Eflay now before the reader as a model, 
 I would venture to affirm that few publications would be more 
 acceptable to the Perlian fcholar, obliged by bufinefs or pub- 
 lick fituation to vifit India, than a difcuffion and analyfis of the 
 chief difficulties in the common Shekesteh hand, in which all 
 the letters of that country are written, all accounts kept, and 
 commerce carried on ; the engraved fpecimens of fuch a work 
 fhould be (after a few plates of fingle words) letters from 
 princes, generals, and merchants, on trade, negociations, money 
 tranfa(flions, orders, reports, &c. all compofed in the ufual 
 flyle and language of the country, and given alfo in the Nijkhi 
 or Talik hand. Such fpecimens, well tranilated and illuftrated 
 
 * Jones's Perfian Grammar, Pref. i6, and p. 147; Richardfon's Arabic Grammar, 
 p. 2 ; and Mr. Hadley (the teacher of Perfian writing and orthogr..p'.i)) in liio gram- 
 roatical remarks prefixed to the " Perfian Vccabulary," p. 12. 
 
 with.
 
 6 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. L 
 
 with notes, would not only promote the chief object of the 
 work, by rendering the chara6ler familiar, but would give the 
 learner, at the fame time, a knowledge of local manners and 
 cuftoms, furnifli him with many phrafes ufed in commercial, 
 military, and civil tranfadlions ; and would fpeedily qualify 
 him for entering into bufinefs with the natives of Hindooflan. 
 To the want of regularity, the omiffion of points, and the 
 confufion that charadterize this inelegant fpecies of writing, we 
 may juftly afcribe many of the errors found in Perfian manu- 
 fcripts, beautifully written in the Talik hand j cfpecially in 
 thofe which have been imported from India. For there, to 
 fave the expenfe of purchafing, the poorer Munjkies, (teachers 
 and writers) borrow the fine manufcripts of Iraun, or Perfia, 
 and having haftily tranfcribed them in their inaccurate Shekesteh, 
 lend one to another thefe defedlive copies, which they again 
 tranfcribe, with all their errors, into fair talik, decorate them 
 probably with miniature paintings and fplendid decorations, 
 and vend them for their fubfiftence*. But more learned 
 perfonages than the poor Indian Munlhies have been led into 
 grofs errors, by adopting the inaccuracies of Arabian and Per- 
 fian fcribes \-. , 
 
 ' I MUST 
 
 • Chardin attributes the defefts of Perfian MSS. to the ignorance and inattention of 
 the copyifts, who feldom take the trouble of reading over what they have written — " ces 
 fautes arrivent parl'ignorance des copifles, &c. &c. Vol. III. p. 150. 
 
 + Dr. Hyde, in his admirable notes on the Rabbinical work, which he tranflated 
 under the title of " Itinera Mundi," has detefted many miftakes of this nature, p. 32. 
 
 " Et
 
 Chap. I.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 7 
 
 I MUST here remark, that in India the Talik hand is 
 generally called Nusialeek, and written accordingly with the 
 letters Nun and Sin prefixed. Although ufed occafionally by 
 the Arabian, and commonly by the Turkilli penmen, yet it 
 feems to be more particularly a favourite of the Perfians *. 
 In it are written the works of all their poets and authors, of 
 almofl: every defcription : in Ihort, it may be faid, that in the 
 Talik hand are enveloped all the beauties of Perlick literature j 
 and fuch lovers of fcience are the ftudious Perfians (as a cele- 
 brated French traveller informs us) that writing, its chief 
 vehick, is eiteemed among them as one of their mofl noble 
 and liberal arts -f-. 
 
 " Et quidem quomodo literarura inter fe invicem fimilitudinem nominura et vocuin 
 confufionem peperit conftat tam ex plurimis aliis, quam vice verfa ex mutatione, fyl- 
 laba:," &c. He points out and correfls an error in the celebrated Lexicon, calltd Kamiisy. 
 occafioned by miftaking a final iV for the the letter R, irregularly joined to a final H. 
 He aKo corrects a fimilar error in the Perfian Tables, publilhed by the learned Greaves, 
 and others of various orientalifts — Itinera Mundi, 4to. Oxen. i6gi. Pockocke, Bo- 
 chart, &c. &c. See alfo, " Rhenferdii opera Philolog. 410. Utrecht, 1722. 
 
 * " Secundum {fcripturs genus) Taailk, quo Perfas utuntur," &c. Erpenii Gr. 
 Arab. 4. " Magis tamen Pendulo et involute charafterc quam Arabes utuntur qui 
 propterea AT^r-//' TVj//^ vocatur, unde fcriptura; leflu paulo " difficilior exurgit. Gravii 
 Gram. Perf. p. 4. This paflage, almoft verbatim. Father Angelo gives as his own, 
 in the Intr. Gaz. Perf. 
 
 + " Or comme ils font favans et qu'ils aiment fort la fcicncc il arrive qui I'art de 
 I'Ecriture, eft un des leurs plus nobles'arts libcraux et celui dont ils font le plus de cas." 
 Chardin, Vol. III. p, 150, 
 
 We
 
 « PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap, L 
 
 We find accordingly, that Calligraphy, or fine penmanfliip, 
 has been long cultivated in Perfia, with fo much fuccefs, that 
 this hand, which peculiarly afFedls graceful flourifhes and com- 
 binations of letters, has been improved to a degree of confum- 
 mate elegance ; and the beauty of this charadler gives occafion 
 to a moft learned orientalifl:, of celebrating the variety and 
 luxuriance of the Eaftern pen, and the wonderful fertility of 
 Afiatic imagination*. 
 
 When employed in tranfcribing the works of their fa- 
 vourite poets, romances, or narratives of hcroick atchievements, 
 .the Perfian fcribes exhibit fuch minute neatnefs of execution, 
 fuch tafte in the combination of letters, a variety of fancy fo 
 fplendid in the difpofition of the ornamental parts, that a 
 volume containing the productions of any celebrated author, 
 written by a capital artifl in his befl manner, and furnifhed 
 with miniatures and illuminations of adequate brilliancy, 
 brings, even in the Eafl:, a price which will appear extravagant 
 to an European, acquainted only with the current value of 
 printed books. 
 
 In a very ingenious work, lately tranflated from the Perfian, 
 •we learn that a few manufcripts, written in a beautiful hand, 
 conftituted no inconfiderable part of a moft magnificent oflFer- 
 
 * " •• Mirari elegantem varietatem, &c." — " Sed hx funt Orientis 
 
 opss; hac luxuriantis calami et fertilis imaginationis in gc ntibus Afiaticis indicia," &c. &c. 
 p. 239. Relar.di DilTiert. Mif. ell. Vol. III. de Gemmis Arab. Thefe volumes contain 
 a variety of m :ft iear, e 1 and irg -i i us diff.-rtaticns on E.iftcr.i literature and antiquities. 
 
 ing
 
 Chap. I.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 9 
 
 ing from a conquered prince to the triumphant monarch Nadir 
 Shah*; and a fingle volume, brought from India by an 
 Englifh gentleman, fome years ago, was purchafed at the ex- 
 orbitant rate of one thoufand rupees -f. It is not, however, 
 always found that the mofl highly ornamented manufcripts 
 are written with the greateft accuracy, or that they prefent the 
 mofl authentic readings : yet we can hardly fuppofe that 
 much pains would be taken to render beautiful, that which 
 is known to be eminently defedlive. The mofl ancient ma- 
 nufcripts, I believe, or thofe written nearefl the time of the 
 original authors, will be found in general the mofl correal ; 
 becaufe, from the inattention of the tranfcribers already men- 
 tioned, each fucceeding copyifl adds errors of his own to thofe 
 of his predecefTors. So that the latefl tranfcript will be an 
 aggregate of all their faults, unlefs written with peculiar care, 
 and collated with many other copies of the fame work. 
 
 • This fuperb prefent confided, among other valuable articles, of the conquered 
 Prince's diadem, three hundred camels, two hundred horfes, twenty Perfian manufcripts, 
 moft beautifully written, &c. &c. The books were given in charge to the fecretary of 
 fiate. See Mr. Gladwin's Memoirs of Khojeh Abdul Kerrum, a Calhmerian of dif- 
 tin(5Uon. P. 46. duodecimo, 1793. 
 
 f About one hundred and twenty-five pounds. This valuable manufcript was 
 brought to England by General Camac ; who lent it, with many others, to Mr. Richard- 
 fon, the learned author of the Arabic and Peifian Diflionary. It was a mifcellaneous 
 colleflion of extrads from the moft celebrated writers, decorated in the Eaftern manner, 
 with paintings of the warriors and princefles, the heroes and heroines of the poems. 
 Richardfon's Diirertatiois, p. 350, ofiavo, feccnd edition, Oxford, 1778. 
 
 C On
 
 lo PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. I. 
 
 On the fubjed: of thofe fplendid decorations and brilliant 
 paintings, which fo much enhance the value of Perfian manu- 
 fcripts, I (hall offer in another place feme obfervations : in the 
 prefent efTay my defign is merely to aflifl: the learner, by a 
 few remarks on the combinations of letters ufed in the Tdlik 
 hand, and explanations of its moft obvious difficulties and 
 irregularities. And, before I prefent the reader with any 
 fpecimens of Perfian writing, I fhall make fome obfervations, 
 feparately, on the letters of the alphabet, in the ufual order; 
 marking their principal deviations from the regular NZ/^^/hand, 
 and the different combinations and contractions incidental to 
 them. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 Chap. If.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 It 
 
 particular observations on the letters of the 
 
 alphapet. 
 
 Alif. 
 
 W ITH this letter, from its fimple upright figure, the pen- 
 man can, perhaps, take fewer liberties than with any other of 
 the alphabet : we find, however, that fome irregularities at- 
 tend it in refpedl to its fituation and place among the other 
 letters of a word ; thus in books haftily tranfcribed it is fome- 
 times found, though initial, joined to, and as it were pendent 
 from the next letter ; as in the word Aunchunan, thus fo, &c. 
 No. I. of the firft plate*: and in the middle, or other parts, 
 as in Seranjaunit the end, conclufion, &c. No. 2 : or over the 
 other letters, as in Auncheh, that which, whoever, &c. No. 3. 
 It is often placed under the other component letters of a fylla- 
 ble, which it begins, as in the word EJi ox AJl, he is, it is, &c. 
 No. 4 : and in htikbaiil, futurity, meeting, &c. No. 5 : alfo 
 when not initial, as \n D^Jlnun, to have. No. 6 ; and it is 
 
 • The original orthography of all the worJs given in the four firft plates, uill be 
 found in the index prefixed to the firft chapter of this work. 
 
 C 2 frequently
 
 12 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 frequently placed perpendicularly over the R of the fyllable 
 that marks the oblique cafe, as in the word Gu/ra, from Gul, a 
 flower, a rofe, No. 7 ; or any other word in which that fyl- 
 lable occurs, as in Bokhara, the name of a city, No. 8. I 
 have feen two Alifs thus placed under the two laft letters of 
 Aiimedest, he has come, &c. No. 9 : Alif is fometimes joined 
 to a fucceeding letter, with a curved tail *, as in Firaukh large, 
 abundant, &c. No 10: but here it muft be remarked, that 
 the curve of the final Kha, was brought by a prolongation of 
 the flourifli (which is efleemed a beauty) to unite thus with the 
 properly unconnedled Alif. 
 
 We find Alif fometimes irregularly connefled with other 
 letters, as with D in the word ShimPoad, the box-tree. 
 No. II : but this mode of connexion approaches the irregu- 
 larity of the Shekesteh hand ; and, for remarks on the improper 
 pofition and combination of letters, I refer the reader to the 
 fourth chapter, and the explanations of the engraved fpecimens. 
 As I before obferved, the effential fimplicity of this letter's 
 form, fecures it from any confiderable alterations : I have 
 
 * I have already mentioned (in the IntroduAion) the neceffity under which all writers 
 have found therrfelves, of ufing fimilar words and phrafes, in explanations of this kind : 
 thus Rhenferdius in Rudim. Ling. Or. 832. " Hebrxi punftum illud ventri litera; 
 infcribunt :" alfo " de Charaft. Palmyr." 670, &c. Gimel, non tantum capite eft 
 ditninutum, fed ct ipfo corpore, remanente folo coUo cum pede anteriore, &c. •' Daleth, 
 deorfum incurvata et cauda nonnihil auda, &c." Angelo, in his Gazophylaium Per- 
 ficum, clavis, p. 3. " Vaw caput craffum habet, et caudam exilem." See alfo De Dieu's 
 and Greaves's Perfian Grammar, and all the other oriental philologifts. 
 
 only
 
 Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 13 
 
 only remarked, that in fome manufcripts, the unconnedted 
 Alif is often turned a little towards the lower part, as in the 
 word Dajhtun, to have, No. 6 : and that in fine writings, like 
 many other letters, it is frequently defcribed as a mere hair- 
 ftroke, as in Nos. 27, 47, 70, 71, 73, 76, 83, 96, 97, and 
 many other inflances. 
 
 Of the Letters Ba and Pa. 
 
 Of thefe letters, the former is generally ufed by the Per- 
 fian writers inflead of the latter : thus they write badijhah for 
 ■padifhah, a king, No. i 3 : but no word fpelt properly with 
 ba is ever written with pa. This confufion being occafioned 
 by the fubftituting one diacritical point for three, I refer the 
 reader to the next chapter of this work, in which they are 
 particularly treated of. 
 
 The ftroke or body of thefe characfters, when initial, is 
 often fo faintly marked, or fo immediately blended with the 
 following letter, as to be fcarcely difcernible, and known only 
 by the diacritical point or points below ; as in the words Bok- 
 hara, a city, No. 8 : bejiaur, many, much, &c. No. 14 : peche- 
 gaun, infants. No. 15: and bechejhmha'i, to the eyes, in the 
 eyes, &c. No. 16: the curve or bow of thefe letters, when 
 final, is often much contraded at the extremities : thus, in 
 
 aftauby
 
 14 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 aftaub, the fun, No. 17: and in afp* , or afib, a horfe, 
 No. 18. 
 
 Of theLetterTA. 
 
 This letter, like thofe preceding, is frequently, when 
 initial, fo faintly exprefled, as tobeafcertained only by its points: 
 thus in teJJym, fainting, granting, &c. No. 19: And it is 
 often defcribed by a plain turn of the pen, as in geety, the world. 
 No. 20, where it is rounded into the final j^, but marked by 
 its diacritical points, alfo in ^////y, fecond pers. pret. fing. of 
 
 * Among the ancient Perfians this word appears to have been a very favourite ter- 
 mination of kings and heroes names ; Lohrafp, Arjajp, Gujhiajp, Sec. which laft may be 
 eaCIy recognifed in the Greek Hyjiajfes ; and it is probable that in thefe compounds the 
 original fenfe of the word AJp was retained, and that it alluded to or exprefTed the 
 national fondnefs for horfes, and Ikill in the management of them 5 which occa- 
 fioned the Hebrew name 'kdi3, Par/ai, to be applied to the Perfians, who, before the 
 time of Cyrus, the firft encourager of horfemanlhip among them, were ftyled in general 
 Elamilis. A very flight and hafty perufal of Fcrdiiji's incomparable poem, the Shah- 
 nameh, or Book of King's, has furnifhed me with the following names of ancient Perfian 
 heroes, all ending in the word afp, viz. Arjafp, Jama/p, Duhurofp, Gurjhafp or Gur/afp, 
 Gujhtojp or Kijhinfp, Sheidn/p, Lohorafp, and Tehemn/p; to thefe may be added Piurafp, 
 mentioned by D'Herbelot and Ibnajp, by Profeffor Schikard, in his Tarich Regum Perjite, 
 proem, p. 4 1 . As it would exceed the limits of this note, and belongs more properly to 
 the antiquary or etymologift to dwell on the original compofition of thefe titles, I (hall 
 only here remark that I have not found the word afp to conclude the name of any female ; 
 2:id I defer any further obfervations to another time. 
 
 grifton.
 
 Chap II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 15 
 
 ^r/'/?o;z, to take, No, 21, where its points are carelefsly pla- 
 ced at the fide. When necelTary to fill up a line (which is 
 frequently the cafe in tranfcribing poetry, the lines beino^ 
 always of equal length) the letter ta, like others, may be ex- 
 tended or prolong'd at pleafure, as in the word auftadeh^ 
 fallen, &c. No. 22. On the fubjedl of the points which alone 
 diftinguifh this letter from Ba^ Pa, Sa, Nun, and Ya in many 
 inftances, the reader muft confult the third chapter. 
 
 Of the Letter Sa. 
 
 Its three diacritical points alone diftinguifli this letter 
 from that laft treated of; when final it is often much curved, 
 in the fame manner as Ba, and Pa which I before defcribed, 
 of this an example occurs in the word Hedees — a ftory, event, 
 narration, &c. No. 23. 
 
 Of the Letters Jim and Chim. 
 
 These characters, like Ba and Pa, are fo far confounded 
 by the Perfian writers, that the former with one point is 
 generally fubftituted for the latter, which fhould be defcribed 
 with three : thus they often write the letter Chitn in Cbefhm 
 
 5 (tlie
 
 1 6 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 (the eye) with one point only, No. 24 : alfo in bechepjm hay, 
 before quoted, No. 16. But they never fpell with f/6/w, and 
 its three points, a word which properly begins with Jim- 
 
 These letters are often rounded inflead of being pointed 
 or exprefled by an acute angle, as in Suranjaum, end, conclufion, 
 &:c. No. 2 ; and in cheh what, how, &c. No. 25 ; alfo in chun, 
 when. No. 102. A little crofs ftroke is fometimes ufed to 
 divide and diftinguifh thefe letters from Sin and Shin, when 
 the latter are exprefled by a long daOi of the pen as tliey moft 
 commonly are in the Talik hand ; thus in the compound word 
 becheft^m hay, to the eyes, &c. No. 16. When chim is defcribed 
 with three points, they are often confufed and blended toge- 
 ther, as in pechegaun, infants, No. 15. 
 
 Of the Letters Hha and Kha. 
 
 The fame combinations nearly affed: thele letters as the 
 two preceding : like thofe, they are often fomewhat rounded 
 both when initial and in the middle or other parts of a word, 
 as in Hcdees, a ftory, &c. No. 23 : Sekbun, a word, difcourfe, 
 &c. No. 28. And in Zekekha, No. 27, the name of a 
 woman, the celebrated miftrefs of Jofeph, the Hebrew Patri- 
 arch, whofe loves are the fubjedt of a mofl: admirable Perfian 
 Romance, written in the finefl: verfe by Molla Abi errahman 
 
 ben
 
 Chap. II. J PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 17 
 
 hen Ahmed yami, who flouriflied in the ninth century of the 
 Mahometan v^ra*. From this poet's works, of which I am 
 fortunate in pofleffing two beautiful manufcripts, the reader 
 will find fome extracits in the courfe of the following pages. 
 Among many other excellent produd:ions, he is chiefly 
 admired as the author of the Romance, above mentioned : the 
 Behariftan or Refidence of Spring — and his Divdun or Collec- 
 tion of Odes and Sonnets; from the Behariftan, fome fables and 
 fentences have been publillied with a Latin tranflation-j-, but of 
 the poems colleded in his Divaun, one only, I believe, has 
 yet appeared m any European drefsj. It is not, perhaps, 
 generally known, that there exifted, of this furname, two poets 
 
 • Jani derived this Sirname from his native Village Jam, and died about the year i486 
 of our iEra, according to INlr. D'Herbelot, in his Bibliotique Orientale : arricle Giami — 
 I quote the Edition of this admirable work, piiblifced in four Qiiarto Volumes at the 
 Hague 1777, 1782 — with a fine engraving of the Author's head prefixed to the firft, 
 and the addition^ of the late Profeflbr Schultcns of Leyden at the end of the fourth Vo- 
 lume. " The Divaun of Jaiiii", fays Mr. D'Herbelot, " is in a ftyle du genre fubli me, 
 tt contlent toute la theohgie myftique des Mufulmans'—^hf! this, the repartee afcribcd to 
 him in the fame article, will furprife thofe %vho underftand the equivocal meaning of 
 the original Perfian. 
 
 + In the " Anthologia Perfica' — 410. Vienna, 1 77S. In which very ingenious work the 
 reader will find an account of the Poet Jami, and a lift of all his writings, wherein are 
 enumerated above forty compofitions of this very fertile author. 
 
 + See the " Magazin fur Alte befonders Morgen landifche und Biblische LItteratur.' 
 twiete lieferung. 8vo. Caffel, p. 138, 1789- A periodical work of merit, but foon 
 difcontinued. 
 
 D i"
 
 i8 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IL 
 
 in the fame century : but of the fuperior excellence of the 
 ^VLthor oi " Jofeph and Zeleekha" TOid. "the Behariftan", we 
 require not a more convincing proof than the total omiflion of 
 the other 'Jami by the learned Herbelot, and the very flight 
 mention of his exiftence, and his name by the ingenious Wahl, 
 to whom we are indebted for the German veriion of the 
 poem before mentioned. 
 
 And before I prefent it to the reader under another form, 
 I mufi: obferve, that the Divari of Jami, which contains, ac- 
 cording to Mr. D'Herbelot, all the myftick theology of the 
 Mahometans, is replete with palTagcs of the moft tender 
 and amorous defcription — and, with an inconfiftence by no 
 means unfrequent among the Perfian writers, religious Poems 
 of a fublime and myfterious nature, are comprifed in the fame 
 work with Erotick and Bacchanalian Odes and Sonnets ; and 
 the fame perfon appears, as we read his different compofitions, 
 the enthufiaftic and bigotted devotee, the gay, voluptuous, or 
 impaffioned lover, equally content to refign his exiflence for 
 the fake of his God, his prophet, or his miflrefs*. 
 
 * '• The cxcefles of enthufiafm (to ufe the words of a learned and elegant writer) have 
 " been obferved in every age to lead to fenfual gratifications, the fame conftitution that 
 " is fufceptible of the former, being remarkably prone to the latter." 
 
 Br. Robert/on s Hijlory of Charles V. Vol. 2, 381. The extraordinary aftions and tenets 
 of noany religious Sectaries a few centuries ago, confirm the obfervation of this excellent 
 hiftorian. 
 
 c But
 
 Chap. II.j PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. . k^ 
 
 But the poet, whom I particularly fpcak of, whether he 
 pours forth the ejaculations of piety and devotion, or breathes 
 the fentiments of pafllon, or the fondefl love, is found to have 
 uniformly maintained the grcateft |Corre6tncfs and chaftity of 
 language ; neither has he been influenced by the ex imple of 
 two mofi: celebrated writers to pollute his pages with fuch 
 erofs indelicacies as have ftained the claflic volume of Anvari, 
 nor to admit into his Divaun fuch compofitions as SaJ) veiy 
 juftly ftyled " Zj/j- /w/>///7V/Vj-," and which the aTconiOied and 
 difgufted reader can fcarcely believe to have f\allen from that 
 poet's moral pen — yet Anvdri is fpokcn of as the firfl who 
 corredled the exceffive licentioufnefs of Perfian poetry, and 
 Sad} is univerfally celebrated for his inflrudlive lefTors of Mo- 
 rality and Virtue*. 
 
 In the Lyric compofitions of Perlia, we do not always find 
 a reo-ular ferics of thoughts, or fuccelTion of ideas : they fre- 
 quently confiH: of feveral unconnedted images and fentiments 
 independent of each other; nor has the Sonnet already fpoken 
 of, from the Divaun of Jami, been chofen by the tranflator as 
 an exception to this remark. From the German verfion of if, 
 which is literal, a very ingenious friend in Holland compofed, 
 
 * See D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient, art. Anvari—m^ fomc account of the Poet SaJi in 
 the couife of this work. * 
 
 D 2 almofl
 
 20 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 almofl extempore, a poetical Latin paraphrafe, which on feme 
 future occafion I fliall prefent the reader. The following 
 Gazzel or Elegiac Sonnet of Jami, I have chofen as a fpecimen 
 of that plaintive Poet's fly|l^. 
 
 SONNET. 
 
 From the Per/Ian ofjiwri. 
 
 * " Dejeded and melancholy I fly to unfrequented places ; 
 " The city without thee becomes iikfome — I feek thefolitude ofthedefart. 
 
 ■* " Sooec Sehrauny bee yjh u temajha inhoom, 
 
 " Bee loo bey men Shcher teak aumcd bejchra miroom, 
 
 " Ta too refiy az ber'em ba ies nedniem uljily, 
 
 " Gher cheh bajlmd fadles' emhemrah , tenha miroom, 
 
 " Hiech jaee as, itiehijhct tenhnye'm nebwvcd mclal ; . 
 ',' Mcones'i jauiie'rn kheyaVl eji, her ja mi roC7n. 
 
 " Pa be zungfer bala hcrfoo titlb i kar too am, 
 " Aiijljik detivatineh am, xmigeer ber fa miroom, 
 
 " Fi al mifl gher zecr f>ai men bud guljn herccr; 
 " Gher itehfooee tijl rtth, ber Khar ii Khara m'triom, 
 
 " Gcfiem, a'i jaiin roo, keh beejaunaun nckhauhem zendcgy: 
 " Gcft, "Jamit/air kiui, k'imrcoz iiferda miroom" 
 
 The original Perfian of this Sonnet I fhall give in a future publication, with fcveral 
 other lyric compofitions of Jami, Sadi, Hafiz, Caffim, Anvari, Khofroo, Scnai, S:c. &c. 
 
 hitherto unpubliflictf, 
 
 " Since
 
 Chap. II] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 21 
 
 '< Since you have forfaken this conftant bofom, I have been a ftrani-er to all 
 " fond afFidions; 
 " Though furrounded by an hundred friends, I feel myfelf alone. 
 
 " Yet in the drearinefs of the difait I feci not the affliction of folitude ; 
 " Whercfoever I vi'andcr thy beloved image is theccmpanion of my foul. 
 
 " Loaden with thy chains I feek thee on every fide, 
 " Bound with the fetters of love, a diftradted wretch ! 
 
 " It is alike to me, whether rofe-leaves were fcattered, or filken carpets fpread 
 
 " beneath my feet ; 
 " If the road lead not to thee, I fhould feem to walk amid iharp thorns and rug- 
 
 " ged rocks. 
 
 " I faid unto my vital fpirit, " Leave me ! — I will exift no longer without 
 
 " her I love ;" 
 " It replied, "O Jami ! a while be patient ; thy life is on theeve of departure." 
 
 As I fhall have occafion Hereafter, to quote the poet ydmi, 
 I fliall dwell no longer in this place on his writings, but return 
 to the original fubje(ft of my EfTay: the graphical difficulties of 
 Perfian MSS. : and of the letter Kha, I fhall here remark, 
 though it more properly belongs to the next chapter, that in 
 fome writings, from the irregular pofition of the point oi Kh.7, 
 (being either too high above the line, or placed over fome other 
 part of the word) a learner may be perplexed to afcertain the 
 letter to which it belongs, as in the example lafl: quoted, 
 Zeleekha, No. 27; where it appears at firfl:, as if placed over 
 
 4 the
 
 caa PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IL 
 
 the body of )'i7, which it would then cor. ftitute aa N. Alfo 
 in bckhun, a word, difcourfe, &c. No. 2S. 
 
 Of the Letter Dal. 
 
 In many manufcripts, negligently written, this letter is very 
 {lightly diftinguillied from Ra, but it is generally made at the 
 upper part a little thicker and more curved, as in that word of 
 very frequent occurrence, der, in, into, a gate, &c. No. 29. It is 
 fometimcs alfo written fo carelefsly as not to be eafily diftin- 
 guiflied from the letter ^aw, but even in that cafe it will be found, 
 on clofe infpecftion, that the head of the latter is much rounder 
 and larger than the upper part oi Dal, as in the word dojl or dujl 
 a friend, a miftrefs, &c. No. 30. How this letter fhould dif- 
 fer from Ra, and Vaw, will befl appear from the following 
 example in which the three letters are found : viz. Rud, he goes, 
 the third perf. prefent. fing. of the verb Rooiden, or Raviden, 
 to go J or a noun fubftantive fignifying a river, the firing of a 
 mufical inftrument, .&c. No. 31. 
 
 From this example it will appear that to defcribe the Dal, 
 it is necefHiry to lean on the pen at the top of the letter, and 
 finifli with a flighter ftroke : whilfl in writing the Ra, one 
 fhould begin ihghtly and lean more heavily towards the 
 tail — differing from both, the letter Vaw, mufl have a rounder 
 
 and
 
 CiiAP. ir.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 23 
 
 and larger head, which will be moft eafily exprefled by a 
 kind of circular motion of the pen. 
 
 But at the end of fyllables connedled, Dal does not 
 always obferve the rule of having the head or upper part more 
 ftrongly mark'd than the lower, as in Skander, No. 32 — the 
 name of Alexander the Great, whofc vidory over Dara, or 
 Darius, his conqueft of Perfia, his other heroic adlions, and 
 his amours, are celebrated in mofl: excellent poetry by Nizami*. 
 Also in Nejhayed, it is not fit, meet, &c. No. 33. 
 Dal is fometimes improperly joined to another letter by a 
 long ftroke, as in Zoormend, powerful, ftrong, &c. No, 34. 
 
 It is alfo frequently conneded with a final ha, which it 
 involves in the extremity of its flourifh, as in Mandeh, re- 
 mained, redundant, &c. No. 35. 
 
 After fome letters, it appears often more like the termi- 
 nation of the preceding letter than a diftin6t charad:er, as in 
 Hedys, news, tradition, &c. No. 23: ///Vii, India, No. 38. 
 
 In the word Shmi/bud, the box tree. No. 11, the Da/, 
 final, is joined to the preceding A/if, in a manner as I before 
 
 * Of five different copies in my poffeflion, of this admirable poem, three are coro- 
 prifed with the other works of Nizami, highly decorated with paintings and fplendidly 
 illuminated — but not fo valuable, in my opinion, as the other two plainer but more 
 accurate copies, which are fingle volumes, enrich'd with marginal and interlinear notes, 
 explaining many obfcure and difficult paffages — for fome remarks on this work, and the 
 poet N'zami, I refer the reader to the fifth and fixth chapters of this Eflay. 
 
 remarked
 
 24 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 remarked, refembling the Shekejich hand. And in a Manu- 
 fcript before me, very coarfely written, the final Dal, is 
 fometimes mofl uncouthly inverted, as in the word Shud, was, 
 (upper figure) No. 39: (for the lower figure fee remarks on 
 the letter ha.^ 
 
 ^The Letter Zal, 
 
 As Mr. Richardfon, ohferves in his Didionary, begins 
 only one word in the Perfian language* but it occurs in the 
 middle of many, and at the beginning of words originally 
 Arabic, of which great numbers are introduced into the 
 Perfian writings — I have only remarked of this letter, that it is 
 generally more curved , and rather larger than the Dal, from 
 which, however, its diacritical point is, in fadl, the fole 
 diflindtion, as in Izaur, the face, &c. No. 40. 
 
 Of the Letter Ra. 
 
 As I before obferved, (fee the letter Dal,^ this charadter 
 fometimes refembles the D. but it is generally thinner at the 
 top than that letter, and fomewhat lefs curved j as in Der 
 No 29; and Rud, No. 31, both before quoted. — It is often 
 defcribed as a mere hairflroke j thus in Murd, a Man, No. 41 ; 
 
 Zidam, the Iliack pafCon, the cholic. 
 
 and
 
 [Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 25 
 
 and frequently without any curve, as in Gohurhay, jewels. 
 No. 71; and in the compound beher, to, or in all, every, 
 &c. No. 42, where the reader will find three feveral ways 
 of writing that word. 
 
 Of the Letter Za and Zha. 
 
 The points alone diftinguiih thefe letters from the 
 preceding Ra, and from each other, as in Zerdhujht, the 
 name of the great prophet and chief of the Perfian Magi, 
 No. 43.* 
 
 Zut is known from Zal by being lefs curved : and like 
 Ra, it is often expreffed as a mere flraight hair-flroke, thus in 
 ghcmzeh a wink, or glance. No. 44. 
 
 Of the Letter Sm and Shis. 
 
 I bring thefe charaders under one head, becaufe they are 
 afFeded by the fame combinations, and expreffed by the fame 
 flouriflies — So much have thefe letters deviated from the ori- 
 ginal regularity of figure as not to be recognifed without diffi- 
 culty by the mere reader of plain Nijkhi, or printed charadler. 
 For, in the firfl place, 
 
 • I have followed the manner of wilting this naniie in a manufcript before me ; it is, 
 however, fpelt in different ways by the Perfians, and Sir Win. Jones, writes it Zeratufiit.— 
 See alfo Hyde. Herbelot, &c. &c. 
 
 E Their
 
 26 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IL 
 
 Their indentures are generally quite fmoothed away, and 
 they are defcribed by a (imple dafh of the pen : as in the words 
 Seauh, black, No. 45 : Gu/shef', a rofe-garden, No. 46; Solymarr, 
 a proper name, No. 47 ; Shud, was, (the upper fig.) No. 39: 
 and Sheh for Shjh, a King, the lower figure of the fame 
 number. 
 
 Of thefe letters the flourifh or dafli is often fomewhat 
 waving or ferpentine, as in Sddi, the celebrated poet's name. 
 No. 48 J Solyman, above quoted. No. 47 ; and Shirjlauz, No. 
 49, the name of a famous city in Perfia, the birth place of the 
 poet's Hafiz, and Sddi, and remarkable for its fine gardens, 
 wine, and beautiful women*. 
 
 From the number of learned men who have iffued from 
 its fchools, the honourable title of the " Perfian Athens," has 
 been beftowed by a celebrated Orientalift-f- on this clafTic city, 
 which, as we are affured by an intelligent traveller of the laft 
 century, was fo fertile in luxuries of every kind, as to give oc- 
 cafion to the Perfian faying, "that if Mohammed had tafted 
 
 * The lovely nymphs of Shirauz have been celebrated in the fineft ftrains of poetry by 
 Hafiz. and Sadi, who have both, indeed, done juftice to the produce of its vineyards — 
 Our early travellers have delighted in defcribing its magnificent Gardens, Pietro della 
 Valle, Olearius, Herbert, Dr. Fryer, &c. — the learned Schikard in the introduftion to 
 his 7ar/<-/?i or Chronicle, celebrates the rofes oi Shirauz ; Sindi the ingenious Kempfer (in 
 Amenit. Exot. 379) ranks the wine of that delightful foil among the fineft in the 
 world. 
 
 + The Baron Revicfky, in his " Specimen Poeseos Ferficae" 8vo. Vindob. 1771. 
 
 " the
 
 Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 27 
 
 " thepleafures ofShirauz,he would have begged of God to make 
 " him immortal there*" ; and a celebrated French writer quotes 
 another popular faying which implies, that " When this city 
 " was itfelf (in its original fplendour) the great town of Cairo 
 " was only as a fuburb to it-f' '. 
 
 An Englifli traveller, Sir Thomas Herbert, in his defcrip- 
 tion of this enchanting foil, declares that it realizes the charming 
 idea of Tibullus's Elyfium, and quotes the Roman Poet's 
 words. 
 
 " Hie ChorejE cantufque vigent paflimqiie vagantes 
 
 " Dulee Sonant tenui gutture carmen aves : 
 " Fert caflam non culta Seges : totofque per agros, 
 
 " Florat odoratis terra benigna rosis." 
 
 And he concludes his extravagant encomium on this city 
 with fome Englifli verfes, in which he compares it to the Gar- 
 den of Eden, and his own departure from it, to the banifliment 
 of Adam from the delights of Paradife. 
 
 But it is to be feared that the flruggles of contending 
 princes for the diadem of Perfia, which have convulfed for 
 many years, and flill agitate every part of that extenfive empire, 
 have effaced all veftiges of the magnificence and luxuries of 
 Shirauz, as of its rival city Ifpahan — the former, as I have 
 been affured by an ingenious foreigner, lately returned from the 
 
 * Mr. Mandelflo, among the travels of the Ambaffadors. + Chardin, Vol, II. 203. 
 
 E 2 Eafl,
 
 a8 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IL 
 
 Eaft, prefents a mofl: ftriking pitfture of decay and perfect 
 defolation : but of the latter, if we may believe a recent French 
 writer*, the ruin is not yet complete : although Shirauz 
 cannot afpire to hope that another Hafiz (hall there fing the 
 praifes of his native city, celebrate the charms of her black- 
 eyed daughters, and render immortal by his poetry the ver- 
 dant banks oi Rocknal/dd, and the rofy bowers oi Mojel/ay : yet 
 it may be hoped that of Ifpahanh former greatnefs, much is 
 flill retrieveable, and that fhe may yet produce another KetnU' 
 ledden to record her fall-f-. 
 
 The letters Bin and Shin^ are fometimes exprelTed by a 
 fimple ftraight line, as in LafhkurePo, his army, No. 50 — when 
 two Sins, Sin and Shin, or two Shins are immediately con- 
 nedled, one is diftinguifhed from the other by the deeper in- 
 dentures of the former, its being a finer ftroke or by a fmall 
 mark with the pen between, like that between Chim and Shin, 
 in the word becheJJjmhay, No. 16. See alfo Khoojheji, it is 
 fweet, agreeable, &c. No. 51. 
 
 When preceding a final /^, and other letters, the inden- 
 tures are generally fomewhat marked, or elfe the letter is 
 exprefled by a plain ftroke, finer than that of the following : 
 as in Dojl or dufet, a friend, miftrefs, &c. No. 30: Zerd- 
 
 * M. de Sauveboeuf," Voyage en Perfe, &c. 2 Vols. i2mo. 1790. 
 + See D'Herbelot Bibliot. Orient, article Kemaleddin. 
 
 hufit.
 
 Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 29 
 
 bujht, a proper Name, No. 43; imjheby to night, No. 52, and 
 eji, it is, No, 4. 
 
 The ftrokes of thefe letters are often fo blended with 
 thofe of a preceding or following characfler, as to affume the 
 appearance of a curve or bow ; thus in the word Nefsayed, it is 
 not fit, &c. No. 33 ; and in Guljhen a rofe garden, No. 46: 
 they are fometimes connected with Lam, or other letters, in 
 fuch a manner that they appear as if proceeding from the 
 upper part of the latter : thus in Gul/heri before quoted, No. 46 : 
 and in the words " az andifieb dilejh" from the thoughts 
 of her heart. No. 1 03 : where the laft word is above the 
 line*. 
 
 From many combinations thefe letters affume a very 
 whimfical appearance, which, without previous ftudy, a 
 beginner cannot well account for: but Time renders fuch 
 figures eafy and familiar : as in the word Sekhun, No. 53, 
 a difcourfe, fpeech, &c. where the initial Sin is blended 
 with the following Kha, this word is written in a more 
 regular manner, No. 28 : (See alfo under the letter 'Nuriy 
 in this chapter, where No 53, is refered to.) 
 
 From the ufing of one point only, for the three of 
 ■pa, the dalh of the letter Sin, and the reverfing of the 
 
 * The index prefixed to the firft chapter of this work, will point out the pages where 
 this number, and all the others are explained. 
 
 final
 
 30 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 J 
 
 final ya, with the total omiflion of that letter's diacritical 
 points, tlie woxApcfy, more, many, &c. No. 54, exhibits an 
 appearance very different from that which it wears when 
 written in the regular Nijkbi hand. 
 
 Sin (or Shin) is very often abriibtly blended with Ra, 
 as in the firft fy liable of the word Scranjaufn, the end, &c. 
 No. 2; and in MrJ]?ryk, the laft, No. 66. 
 
 As in the Hebrew alphabet, the letter Shin ty is only 
 diftinguifhed from the Sin V by the addition of a point: 
 fo with the Arabic and Perfian charadlers of the fame name, 
 the diacritical points alone conftitute any difference. For 
 obfervations, therefore, on Shin, as affedled by its points, 
 I refer the reader to that chapter in which they are particularly 
 treated of. 
 
 Of the Lelters Ssad and Zzad. 
 
 The point over the latter of thefe charaders alone 
 diftinguifhes it from the former; in fome Manufcripts thefe 
 letters are haftily defcribed as almofl: round, and blended, in 
 a confufed manner, with that which follows in the lower 
 limb : as in Nefret, brightnefs, &c. No. 55 : Sehra, a 
 defart, No. 56; and Hezret, Majefty, prefence, &c. 
 No. 57. 
 
 Of
 
 [Chap. 11. PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 31 
 
 Of the Letters Ta and ZzA. 
 
 These letters are not liable to many irregularities : the 
 point over the latter is its only diflindlion from the former. 
 They are fometimes abruptly blended with a fucceeding 
 letter: as in the word fawk, power, &c. No. 58. 
 
 Of the Letters Ain ani Ghain, 
 
 In fome MSS. thefe letters when initial are defcribed as 
 nearly round : the extremities being fo much contradled as 
 to form almoft a circle : thus in Ghemzeh, a glance, &c. 
 No. 44: Izaur, a face, No. 40. 
 
 When medial conned:ed, the Ghain, if the head be 
 not properly flat and broad, may often be miftaken for the 
 letter/^, as in Nughmet, harmony, mufic, No. 61. 
 
 Of the Letters Fa and Kaf. 
 
 These chara<5lers are to be known, one from the other, 
 by a fingle point over the former : two being the charac- 
 teriftic of the latter. But in the writings of the Moors of 
 Barbary, or Weftern Arabs, the letter Kaf is defcribed with 
 
 one
 
 32 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 one point only, and that it may be diftinguiflied from Fa, 
 the point of the latter is placed under the letter.* 
 
 When medial connedted, thefe letters are often defcribed 
 as a circle not filled up, or a figure of Nought with us, as 
 in Istickhaul, No. 5 : Goft, he faid, No, 62 : Hekyket, truth, 
 reality, No. Gt,; A/hnfteh, enamoured, confounded, &c. 
 No. 64, and other examples. 
 
 As I mentioned under Ghain, that letter, if too much 
 rounded, may be fometimes miftaken for the ^a medial: 
 as in Nughtnet, mufic, &c. No. 61. Thefe letters, like 
 many others, may be lengthened at pleafure, as in Fermuden, 
 to command, &c. No. 65. 
 
 Final, they are fometimes defcribed as a bow or curve, 
 thus in the word mejhryk, the Eaft, No. 66 ; and this curve is 
 often exprefled with an upright extremity fo as to appear 
 like an Alif, thus in Tawk, power, ftrength, &c. No. 58. 
 
 For irregularities of the points, fee next chapter. 
 
 Of the Letters Caf and Gaf. 
 
 There are but few manufcripts in which the Perfian 
 Gaf with three points, is diftinguifhed from the Arabic 
 Caf, which has not any ; thus they write Gulra, the oblique 
 
 * " Occidentales Arabes feu Mauri rf Kaf unum tantum punflum iraponunt ; unde t« 
 " ft, ut ab eo difcexnatur, punSum fubfternunt."— — Wafmuth. Arab. Gram. p. 3. 
 
 5 cafe
 
 Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 33 
 
 cafe of Gul* a Rofe, No. 7: Pechegan, Infants, No. 15, 
 and many other inflances — The firft oblique flroke of this 
 letter is not always joined to its perpendicular one, as in 
 Leiken, but. No. 67 j and this upper or oblique ftroke is 
 generally the longer of the two, as in the example juft 
 quoted; the word Teky, One, No 68; and Goft, he faid. 
 No. 62. 
 
 It is fometimes written after the plain Nijkhi manner : 
 and is frequently combined with other letters in a form 
 apparently confufed, as in gumar, from gumariden to gnafh 
 the teeth, to compel, &c. No. 69; and in fome combinations, 
 particularly with Mim, it is often fo defcribed as to give the 
 appearance of a Kha or hha to the fucceeding letter, as in 
 the No. laft quoted, and in the word Kumanet, thy bow, &c. 
 No. 70. 
 
 The upper or oblique flroke is often waved a little, as 
 in Goft, he faid. No. 62 : Yeky, One, No. 68, and others. 
 In fome MSB. I have found this upper flroke defcribed 
 by a little figure fomewhat refembling our capital letter S ; 
 as in Gohurhay, Jewels, No. 71. 
 
 * The word Ga/ fignifies a/awfr, in general, but the Ferfians ufe no other, when fpeaking 
 of their favourite, the Rofe ;— the word Gul, therefore, in this fenfe, fignifies" thifloviir," 
 byway ofexcellence.— — See Koempfer's Amenit, Exotic, p. 374. 
 
 The 
 F
 
 34 . PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IL 
 
 The hook, or lower limb, is fometimes very fuddenly 
 blended with a following letter, as in Tcky, One, No. 68 ; 
 and in the common pronoun Keh, Who, That, 6cc. No. 72 ; 
 alfo in " KrJJjte Noah" Noah's Ark, No. 118; and this 
 hook to fill up a line, or at the Writer's pleafure is often ex- 
 tended or dilated, as in Shemochunank^ So, Thus, ^c. No. -73. 
 
 The upper flroke of this letter is by miftake or neg- 
 ligence fometimes omitted, as in drift, he took, No. 74 ; 
 as it is fometimes crolTed through the ftroke of another 
 letter, as the reader will find exemplified in the fourth 
 chapter. 
 
 Of the Letter Lam. 
 
 When initial, or connedled with others, this letter is 
 fometimes To faintly marked as to be fcarcely perceptible; 
 thus in LaJJoktir, an army, No. 75 : JemauleJI:, his beauty. 
 No. 76; and in the words, " Az andiJJjeb dikjh, from the 
 thoughts of her heart," No. 103. 
 
 In writing the Arabic word Allah * God, the Perfians 
 generally defcribe the fecond Lam fhort, as in the exclamation 
 or oath Wallah, Oh God ! by God ! No. 77. 
 
 * The name of God, in pure Perfian, is Khoda, or Ye%d\ — the former evidently was 
 derived from the Aflyrian Gad, or Gada snj — whom the author of a Hebrew book ftyles 
 the God of the Greeks, p» -w — which in the fame words the Perfians would call Khoda 
 yunaun; the other " AjSadvel ^s^^/ antiqua lingua guebrorura Deus" — as it is explained 
 in a marginal note by the celebrated traveller Chardin, in a fine manufcript copy of the 
 Culiftan, which lately fell into my hands,— See Selden de Diis Syris,— and Miliii Difs. de 
 Gadet Meni, 235—237. 
 
 The
 
 Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 35 
 
 The very fimple form of this letter, in every combina- 
 tion, fecures it from any extraordinany liberties of the Penman. 
 For its combination with Alif, under the title of Lamalif, fee 
 the end of this chapter. 
 
 Of the Letter Mim. 
 
 A fimple dot, in many manufcripts, ferves to exprefs this 
 letter when initial, as in Ameedum, my hope, No. 12 j and in 
 Murd* a man, No. 41 — and a medial Mim, like an initial, is 
 often nothing more than a very fmall point or dot fcarcely dif- 
 cernible as in the word Ghemzeh, a wink, &c. No. 44 ; and when 
 final, according to the writer's fancy, its tail may be defcribed 
 either long or fliort, as Serenjam, the End.'No. 2 : Ameedum, my 
 hope, No. 12; Chejloim, the eye, No. 24, &c. &c. Of initial and 
 final Mivi, an example is given in Ameedum, before quoted, 
 No. 12. 
 
 Mim is often blended in a fi:range manner with other let- 
 ters : as with initial and final ha, in the word Hemeh, all. No. 
 78; where it is written three different ways : zKo w'lih. ya , and 
 alif, in Solyman, a proper name, No. 47 : v^\\\\Jkin, and ha, in 
 Bechejlomhai, to the Eyes, No. 16 ; and many other examples. 
 
 * Although the Perfians hare many ways of exprefllng Man, in a general and particular 
 fenfe, yet I cannot difcover that there is any fuigle word, in their language, which pofleflcs 
 the fame diftinflive power, as the 'vir and homo of the Latins, the avjjf and axScwirof of 
 the Greeks, and the Hebrew est and 3t k 
 
 F 2 Mivi
 
 2$ PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 Mimis often joined to another letter by a long turned flroke, 
 as in Men, me or mine, No. 79 ; alfo in the fame word. No. 
 80 : C&un men, like me, when I, &c. 
 
 When it is necefTary to fill up a line, by dilating or pro- 
 longing a letter, the head of final fNi'm is often very much flat- 
 tened and extended, as in Ghem, grief, or trouble, No. 60 : 
 Wfeenii a gale, No. 81. 
 
 Of the "Letter Nun. 
 
 The body or ftroke of this letter, when initial, is often 
 fo faintly marked as to be known only by its point : thus in 
 the word Nijcem, a gale, breeze. No. 8 1 : Nifhayed, it is not 
 fit, No. 33. Alfo in other parts of a word, as in Auncheh^ 
 that, which, &c. No. 3: Surenjdm, the end, conclufion. No. 2. 
 
 The firfl: or right-hand ftroke of final Nun, is generally 
 longer than the other, that is, it rifes higher above the line, 
 as in Dajhtun, to have. No. 6: Pechegdn^ infants, No. 15. 
 Solyman, a name. No. 47. 
 
 And final Nun is fometimes very ftrangely defcribed by a 
 kind of oblique waving flroke, marked by the diacritical point, 
 as in Sekhun, a word, difcourfe, &c. No. 53; and Damen, a 
 fkirt, border, &c. No. 82. The two extremities of final Nun 
 are often brought fo clofe together as nearly to touch the diacri- 
 tical point — thus in Sekhun, a word, No. a8 ; and in Leiken, 
 
 S hut.
 
 Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 37 
 
 but. No. 67. And final Nun, is fometimes expreffed by a 
 mere plain dafh with the point over, thus ^ 
 
 Of the Letter Vaw. 
 
 I HAVE already mentioned this letter when treating of the 
 Dal, to which I refer the reader. For fome further remarks, 
 let him confult the fourth chapter. 
 
 Of the Letter Ha.. 
 
 There is not, I believe, in the Arabic or Perfian alphabet, 
 any letter which affumes, in every fituation, a greater variety 
 of forms than the letter ha. — It is fometimes exprefled by a 
 little upright figure refembling our comma reverfed, as in 
 Mahy,a. filh. No. 83. Zerdbujht* Zoroafter, No. 43: and 
 the firfl/6fi in Goy6/^r^fly, jewels. No. 71. 
 
 * Of this great prophet of ancient Perfia, (whofe name has been fpelt feveral ways) 
 the Life at large is given in Hydcs Relig. Vet. Perf. T\x. Zend a 'vefta, or fuppofed 
 writings of Zoroafter, were tranflated into French by M. Anquetil du Perron, and pub- 
 liihed at Paris, in 3 vols. 4to. 1771. The authenticity of this work was the fubjeft of 
 much controverfy, and produced a confutation of it in the " Lettre a M.A. du Perron, 
 iSc. Oa. Land. 1771", from Sir. W. Jones; who has, however, with much generoCty, 
 allowed confiderable merit to his deceafed antagonill, in a recent publication— Annivcr- 
 fary DiiTertation on the PerCans, 1789, 
 
 When
 
 38 • PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. 1L 
 
 When joined to Alif, as in the fecond ha of the hifl: 
 example, the fyllable appears as a double upright comma. See 
 No. 71 . — It is fometimes little more than a fmall turned ftroke, 
 as in hemchunank. No. 73 ; and it is often defcribcd like a 
 heart, as in the upper figure of f/^wf;&, all, No. 78 j alfo in 
 Mihr, the Sun*, No. 84; or as a circle with a ftroke paffed 
 through it, as in Beher, to all, every, &c, the middle figure. 
 No. 42 ; and it is often defcribed as a little circumflex : thus 
 in Hemeh, all, the lowefl figure, No. 78 ; and in Hemchu,\\kc 
 as, fo, &c. No. 85. 
 
 It is frequently defcribed by an open turn of the pen, as 
 in the word Hind, India, No. 38. Of initial ha, when exprefled 
 by a turned figure or circumflex, I fhall here remark that 
 it often is brought fo near to the lower part, or the whole 
 fo rounded, as to alTume, in fome inflances, the appearance of 
 the letter Ssad, irregularly expreffed — (See under that letter) 
 as in hemchu, like, as, &c. No. 85. 
 
 When medial connedled, in Talyk MSS. ha is generally 
 written as in the woxAs BecheJJjm hai. No. 16; znd Beher, {o 
 all, every, &c. the upper figure, 42 : but it fometimes does 
 not defcend fo low on the line, as in the lower-mofl figure of 
 the fame number. 
 
 * This word may be pronounced mohur, moor, &c. and has various fignifications accord- 
 ingly ; among others it means a gold coin, current in India, a feal, ring, love. 
 See the note on Aftaul, in the next chapter. 
 
 Medial
 
 Chap, II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 39 
 
 Medial connedled ha, is fometimes expreffed as the 
 initial, thus in Hey hat, a vaft defart. No. 86 : when final, 
 this letter is commonly defcribed by a plain circle or figure of 
 Nought, as in Padijloahy a King, No. 1 3 : and Ghemzeh, No. 
 44 : this is the cafe when unconned:ed, and according to 
 the Nijkhi hand ; but the Perfians in their Tdlick manufcripts 
 have deviated very much from the fimplicity of that kind of 
 writing, when this letter occurs in the end of a word, con- 
 nedled ; for they frequently exprefs it by a little curl of the 
 pen : as in many of the foregoing examples, particularly 
 Auncheh, No. 3 : Cheh, No. 25 : Seyah , No. 45: AJhufteh, 
 No. 64: Keh, No. 72 : Wallah, No. 77. No. 103, &c. &c. 
 From thefe examples it will appear how very abruptly 
 a final ha is joined, fometimes, to another letter; and in 
 the lower figure. No. 39: Sheh, for Shah, a King, it is 
 almofi: confounded v/ith the flroke of Shiti. 
 
 Final ha is fometimes irregularly joined to letters, 
 which are fo prolonged as to involve in the extremity of their 
 flourifh, the little 0, or circle that exprefTes ha^, as in Mandeh, 
 remained, &c. No. 35 : Cbehreh, face, air, &c. No 2,6, and 
 in Anduh, grief, &c. No. 37. 
 
 In No. 78, three inftances are given of initial and final 
 ha in the word Hemeb all. 
 
 * Similar liberties have been taken by the Greek Scribes ; thus in the combination 
 (for it cannot be called a contraftion) of the letters ro and mikren, in lt'"ru; of ro and 
 alfha in eii^&ijii. 
 
 To
 
 40 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. II. 
 
 To cxprefs ta, and in the feminines of fome nouns, a 
 final ha^ with two points over, is frequently written as in 
 the 'Nijkhi hand. 
 
 Of the letter Ya. 
 
 When initial or medial, this letter is known by its 
 two diacritical points below, which diftinguifli its flroke or 
 body from B, P, T, N, &c. this body is fometimes rounded 
 or lengthened at will, as in Bejiaur, much, many, &c. No. 14: 
 and Sbirauz, the name of a city in Pcrfia, No. 49. In 
 fome writings the medial connedled ya is fcarcely marked, 
 unlefs by its points ; as in the word Ameedutn, my hope. No. 1 2. 
 
 When placed before Mini, medial or final, it is often 
 defcribed by a kind of curve or femicircular turn, but flill 
 known by its points below, as in Solymun, No. 47; and 
 TeJIym, No. 19: and in other combinations, as in Seemeetit 
 filvered, of filver, &c. No. 87. 
 
 Op Ta final, the extremity is fometimes carried up 
 flraight and high, fo as to appear like a final alif, as in Shuky, 
 jollity, mirth, &c. No. 26 -, and this firoke is often brought 
 fo clofe to the oppofite fide of the letter, as to inclofe 
 nearly the whole fpace ; thus in Gohurhay^ jewels. No. 71. 
 
 It is fometimes on the contrary, much feparated, and 
 the letter open at top, as in Bechejhmhay ^ to the eyes, &c. 
 
 No.
 
 Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 41 
 
 No. 1 6 : But in all it is to be remarked that the firfl or right 
 hand ftroke is generally higher above the line than the other, 
 as in moft of the examples before quoted ; and in the following 
 fpecimens. 
 
 As in the Arabian WJkhi hand*, the tail of final ya is 
 fometimes turned back ; thus (with points in the word Sawky, 
 a cup-bearer, water-carrier, No. 88 j and (without points) as 
 in Pe/y, many, more, &c. No. 54 : From this circumftance 
 in many combinations, a word terminating as above, alTumes 
 frequently a very ftrange appearance, as in Geety, the world. 
 No. ao: where although the points of medial and final 
 ya are marked, the whole feems irregular and confufed. — For 
 the points fee next chapter. 
 
 Final ya unconnected, is fometimes thrown above the 
 other letters of a word, in a fanciful manner, as in Sadi, the 
 name of a moft celebrated Poet, No. 48 ; and the fame 
 word ftill more irregularly written in No. 89. 
 
 And it is often defcribed as almoft a flraight line, drawn 
 horizontally over the other letters of a word, with fcarcely 
 any turn at the beginning (which is to be obferved in Sadi, 
 No. 48) as in Pery-rooi, with the face of an angel or fairy, 
 No. 90. For fome other irregularities in the pofition of final 
 
 * Je (ya) finale interdura retrocedit, &c. — See " Wafmuth. Arab. Gr. p, 3." and the 
 Alphabetum Arabicum of the learned Erpenius prefixed to his hiftory of the Patriarch 
 Jofeph, from the Koran; 410, 1617. Leyden. 
 
 G ya.
 
 4a PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IL 
 
 ya, and difficulties occafioned by the omiffion or mifplacing 
 of this letter's diacritical points, I refer the reader to the two 
 ofucceeding chapters and the engraved fpecimcns. 
 
 (yLAM-ALIF. 
 
 In the Arabic and Perfian Grammars, this compound 
 character is generally placed at the end of the alphabet : it 
 is, in fad:, compofed of Lam, in the hollow of whofe curve 
 or lower part, the letter jilif'n inferted, as in the plain Nijkhi 
 hand. But this A/ifis fometimes placed upright, and not in 
 the hollow of Lam, as Gulaiib* Rofewater, No. 91 ; and it is 
 often fo blended with the turn of Lam as to appear like part 
 of that letter, as in the word Lakh, a tulip, No 92. 
 
 But of this charader, as of all the others, many examples, 
 will be given in the fucceeding fpecimens, and many irre- 
 gularities and difficulties of combination explained, which 
 
 * So fond are the luxurious Perfians of the Rofe's delightful odour, that they not only 
 fprinkle mod profufely in their apartments, the water diftilled from its leaves, but having 
 prepared it with cinnamon and fugar, they infufe it vivHa the coffee, which they drink. The 
 Rofe of Shirauz is reckoned the mod excellent of the Eaft ; and the effence of it 
 hiehly efteemed even in the furtheft parts of India ; the fcrapings of Sandal-wood ara 
 often added in diftillation to the leaves of this flower ; but the pure eflential oil, or thick 
 
 J<M 
 
 fubftance, which they call *^ feC ^'""''i"^' <"■ effence of Rofes, is more 
 
 precious than gold. — See " Kcempfers Amenit. Exot:" 374; the remarks on Shirauz, 
 in page 26, &c. of this Effay, and fome paffages in the fifth and fixth chapter. 
 
 have,^
 
 Chap. II.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 4^ 
 
 have, I am well aware, efcaped me in this fuperficial analyfis 
 of the alphabet; and as the chief difficulties and inaccuracies of 
 Perfian writing are occafioned by the omifflon or falfe col- 
 location of points, I have thrown together in the next chapter, 
 fuch obfervations on them, as the perufal of feveral hundred 
 original manufcripts has enabled me to make. 
 
 G 2 CHAPTER
 
 44 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IIL 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OF THE DIACRITICAL POINTS. 
 
 It is almoft unneceflary to inform the reader (fuppofed to 
 be already acquainted with the Nijkhi, alphabet) that in the 
 Arabic and Perfian languages the points conftitute an effen- 
 tial part of the letters, and that according to their fituation 
 and number, they diftinguifh one charader from another; 
 thus a little ftroke, with one point over, is an N; with two, a T; 
 with one point under, a B, &c. In this refpedt they differ 
 from the points in the Hebrew language, where they fupply 
 the place of vowels, and govern the fenfe and pronunciation of 
 words without afFedting in the leaft the charadters of which 
 thofe letters are compofed, as in the trite example "im whofe 
 three letters continue invariably the fame, whilft the word, ac- 
 cording to the nature and number of vowel-points applied to it, 
 may be pronounced no lefs than eight different ways, dabar, 
 dobary dibber, &c. and the fenfe accordingly changed*. 
 
 * See "Bayley's Entrance into the Sacred Language," p. x, Duod. Lond. 1732. 
 
 The
 
 Chap. HI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 45 
 
 The importance of accuracy in the ufe of the Perfian 
 points is obvious, as any omiffion, confufion or misapplication 
 of them may totally change the letters, and of courfe the words 
 themfelves. To fuch inaccuracies in rough copies, we may 
 afcribe numberlefs errors, which, as I before faid, (Chapter I.) 
 have found their way into manufcripts very beautifully written, 
 but which have been tranfcribed from thofe erroneous copies. 
 
 In books, however, very correctly tranfcribed, it is not 
 unufual to omit totally the diacritical points of final ya, the 
 form of that letter, if properly expreffed, fecuring it in general 
 from any miftake — but when haftily written in fome combina- 
 tions, and its points omitted, final ya, has often, at firft fight, 
 the appearance of a final Jin ; thus in Mahy, a fifli. No. 83 ; 
 and I have feen the word Shudy was, defcribed as in the upper 
 figure No. 39 ; without its points : but fuch irregularity is 
 rarely to be found in any manufcripts, except thofe written in 
 the Shekefteh hand. 
 
 Although the juft number of points may be exprefled, 
 yet they are often fo irregularly placed and thrown together, as to 
 require from the beginner a minute analyfis, with fiudy and 
 time, as in the words, " Aun aftaub ejl" that is the fun. 
 No. 93 : here the point oifa is combined with thofe of medial 
 tUy ih^batjtn, and final ta are written over the firft part of 
 the word, and the point of ba placed at the end of all, 
 nearly under the final ta. But the fenfe fuggefts the true 
 letter, although the fituation of that point gives to this cha- 
 
 rader
 
 46 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. III. 
 
 rader the appearance of a final Bi, and the final ta, being fur- 
 nifhed with its points, (hews that if any be placed under it, 
 they mud belong to fome other letter of the word — a little 
 confideration will, therefore, prove that the point placed irre- 
 gularly under final /^, can belong to no other letter than the 
 6aj oi aftaub. 
 
 And though of final ^^, the points are often omitted, yet 
 thofe of that letter, initial or medial, cannot be left out, 
 without reducing the reader to the necefi!ity of fupplying the 
 equivocal body of that charafter with imaginary points, ac- 
 cording to his conception of the fenfe, thus in No. 94, by 
 adding points above and below, the figure may be made to 
 fpell, Sepeed, Sheneed, and many other combinations. 
 
 Here I (hall obferve that when two letters come together, 
 whofe points in Number are properly three, thefe generally 
 affed; the fame mode of defcription, as the points over Shin, or 
 under the letter pa, that is, as if within a triangle, or form- 
 ing a kind of pyramid; thus in the word Aftaub *, the Sun, 
 
 * It may naturally be fuppofed, that the ancient Perfians, to whom the fun was an objedl 
 of religious veneration, had many names by which they exprefled that glorious luminary. 
 The name here given is one of thofe moft generally ufed, and the word Mihr, (See note 
 Chap. 2d) was principally applied to the fun as a facred name. Of Mihr was compounded 
 the name oi Mihridnd, whom Tacitus calls Miherdates, and the Greeks endeavouring to 
 
 etain the afpiration in thefirft fy liable, ftyle Miihridales; in like manner they exprefs the 
 word Mihr by Mithra. According to a writer quoted by the learned Selden [De Diis 
 Svis-Moloch) the Sun was alfo called in Perfian Adad; and the celebrated Dr. Hyde, has 
 enumerated many other epithets and titles, by which it was diftinguilhed. See the 
 , Rclig. Veter. Ferfarum," 
 
 No.
 
 Chap. III.J PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 47 
 
 No. 17; Mo Auftadeh fallen, No. 22; and Nw/X'^w, cannot, 
 it is impoffible, &c. No. 95. Thefe are examples of letters 
 whofe points are above the line: but when they are below, the 
 bafc of the triangle, if I may ufe the expreflion, is to be next 
 the line, or the pyramid reverfed; that is, two points parallel 
 with the line, and one under, as this figure will beft 
 explain. — * 
 
 
 See alfo Biya, come, ho f bring thou, &c. No. 97, Peer, 
 old, an elder, &c. No. 98, and Nos. 17, 22, and 95, as above. 
 Among fome hundred manufcripts which I have examined, 
 there are but two in which this rule has not been obferved, and 
 even in thofe books the deviations from it were very rare, al- 
 though written throughout with much coarfenefs and inac- 
 curacy. But the three points are often defcribed, having the two 
 next the line, whether above it or below, blended together, as 
 in Shi?)i/had, the box-tree. No. 1 1. hnfieb, this night. No. 52; 
 and Gofty he faid, No. 62. Alfo, when below the line, as in 
 Afp, a horfe. No. 18; Pery-rooee, fairy-faced, or beautiful. 
 No. 90. 
 
 In aPerfian manufcript now before me, very coarfely writ- 
 ten, I obferve, that when the fame letter occurs twice in one 
 word, the tranfcriber has expreffed the points belonging to 
 thofe two letters, as if there was but one. Thus, in the word 
 
 Buldul,.
 
 48 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. III. 
 
 BulbiiU a nightingale*, one point below ferves for the two ba\, 
 as in this figure, At^ 
 
 Also, in the word Shetvfieer, a fcymetar, or fword, where 
 the points of one Shin are ufed for thofe of both, and the 
 
 word is thus written 
 
 The points belonging to fome fingle chara<5lers are often 
 expreffed by a little curled ftroke, as thofe oi Shin in Koofiteb, 
 {lain, &c. No. 100, and Shudy was. No. loi : of Chim, in the 
 word Chun, when, like as, &c. No. 102 ; and in Picheed, for 
 the infinitive Picheedun, to afiTociate with, to twift, involve, &c. 
 No. 99. But it is not only when three points come together, 
 that they are thus confufed and blended j we find, in fome 
 manufcripts, the two points of ta, ya, kaf, &c. expreffed by a 
 little figure, as in Nos. 86, 87, 88, and many others; and 
 fometimes fcarcely more than a fingle point to mark them, 
 as in aji ot ejl^ he is, &c. No. 4: Daughy, a wound or 
 fear. No. 109. 
 
 The two points belonging to fome letters, are often 
 placed one perpendicularly over the other : as in T/hk, violent 
 
 * I have already mentioned this favourite of the PerCans, in the iiitroduf^ion, and (hall 
 have occafion in the courfe of the following chapters, to quote fome paffages on the fubjeft 
 from the Eaftern poets. 
 
 5 ^ove,
 
 Chap. Ilf.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 49 
 
 love, No. 59 : Kuniaunet* , thy bow. No. 70; and Hekyket, 
 truth, reality, No. 63. 
 
 The points are not always placed exactly over or under 
 the charadlers to which they belong, as the reader nnuft have 
 already perceived in many of the examples, particularly that of 
 Ba in Bokhara-f a City, No. 8 ; oiTa in Grifiy, No. 2 1 ; of 
 
 * The word Gumaun, Cgnifiesan opinion, doubt, &c. and fliould be written with three 
 points over the firft letter to diftinguifli it from Kumaun, a bow. — " Sed Scriptores nun- 
 *' quam fere apponunt ifta tria punda et ideo multoties oritur confufio, quia multa 
 •* nomioa inter fe diverfa fcribuntur eodem modo, &c. &c." — See the old •' Graramat. 
 " Lingua Perfica;," by Father Ignatius. — Rome, 1661, 4top. 7; where he quotes the 
 word in queftion, 
 
 + Bokhara is the name of a celebrated city in Tranfoxania, or that country beyond the 
 river Gihoon, which the Perfians alfo call the Aub-i-Amii, or waters of Amu; the city is 
 furrounded by an immenfe wall, with feven gates, and contains a great number of hand- 
 forae edifices ; its gardens are watered by the river SogJ, whence the Province has beea 
 Rykd SogJiaxa; and it is celebrated as the birth place of many learned men, among 
 whom A'vicetias is the moft eminent. — See the " Hift: Priorum Regum Pers : from 
 Mirkond: of the ingenious Bernard de lenifch, 410 Vienna, 1782 — p. 148 — 9: where 
 fae quotes that couplet from the Sonnet of Hafiz, fo well known by the beautiful tranfla- 
 tion of Sir Wm Jones. 
 
 •' Sweet Maid if thou wouldft charm my fight, 
 
 " And bid thefe arms thy neck infold, 
 
 " That rofy cheek, that lily hand, 
 
 " Would give thy poet more delight * 
 
 " Than all Bokhara's vaunted gold, 
 
 " Than all the gems oi Samarcand." 
 See Jones Perf. Grammar, p. 131, third edit. Lond. 1783, 4to ; and his Afiatic Poems 
 and Tranflations, p. 59, Oftavo, Lond, 1777, Second Edition. 
 
 H Kba
 
 so PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. III. 
 
 K&a and ya in Zekkha, No. 27 ; of /^/, in Firmuden, to com- 
 mand, No. 65 ; alfo in Hezret, majefty, &c. No. 57 ; where 
 the point ofZzadis placed Co much to the left of that letter as 
 to feem belonging to the ftroke of fa above it, which, if its 
 own points had not been expreffed, would thus become a 
 final B : See alfo Im/heS, to night. No. 52. 
 
 Of the arbitrary manner of placing the points, frequent 
 inflances occur in the fubjoined fpecimens : thofe of medial 
 and final ^rt reverfed , and of /d', in Geety, the world. No. 20» 
 of fa and /a in Grifty, No. 21 : In the words *' Az aniijheh 
 dikjh^ from the anxiety or thoughts of his heart. No. 103, — 
 the points of medial Shin in Andijloeh, and of final Shin^ in 
 Dile/h, are placed over the dafli of the latter; and thofe oi ya 
 in Andijheh, under the middle of the body or dafh of Shin in 
 that word. The points are often placed fo high above their 
 letter, as to feem rather belonging to an upper line, or fome 
 other word, efpecially when the body of the letter is not 
 ftrongly marked, as in Aunchehy No. 3 : Zeleekhuj No. 27 ; 
 and the fame irregularity may be found, when the points are 
 below the line. 
 
 The flroke of fome other letter often intervenes between 
 the diacritical points, and the letter to which they belong ; 
 as in Sadi, No. 48, where the three firft letters are between the 
 final ya and its points ; and in Aunkehy he who. No. 1 04 : 
 where the point of Nun is thrown above the ftroke of Caf, 
 
 5 alfo
 
 Chap. HI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 51 
 
 alfo in Bjzy, play, fport, &c. No. 105, where the final j'a 
 reverfed is between the point and the body of the letter za, 
 and the points of ya, are placed to the left. 
 
 A point is fometimes fo irregularly placed as to feem 
 touching a letter to which it does not properly belong ; as in 
 the word Khaiiky earth, clay, &c. No. 106 : and in Dejl a Sadi, 
 No. 107, the hand of Sadi, where the points of final ta in 
 the firft word, being defcribed as blended together, are placed 
 touching the ftroke of the Iettery?« in Sadi. 
 
 When ya is the final letter of a word, and exprefled by 
 an irregular flourifli (fee under ^alaft chapter), the letter im- 
 mediately preceding and connedled with it, may be known by 
 the fituation of its point, if it be one of thofe letters which 
 poffefs fuch a charafteriftic ; for if the point be to the right, it 
 is a ba, or fome letter whofe points are below the line, as in 
 yavabi, an anfwer. No. 108. 
 
 If the point, be at the left, it belongs to one of thofc 
 letters, whofe point or points, we defcribe above the line, 
 as in Daughy a mark, wound, fear, &c. No. 109; and in 
 Mam't^o. no, the name of a famous Perfian painter, and 
 Herefiarch, who is called in our Ecclefiaflical hiftory Manes, 
 and his followers Manicheans. By the Perfians he is flyled 
 " Mani Nakhajh," or '* the painter*." .j, 
 
 it 
 
 * Of this ancient Artift's paintings, fo celebrated by Poet Ntzami, no veftiges hare 
 been difcovered ; equally an objeft of religious perfecution to the Chriiiian and Maho- 
 
 H z metan
 
 53 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. III. 
 
 The points in writings where the chara(5lers are large 
 and clearly exprefled, are not always round, but rather a kind 
 of fquare, or' lozenge. 
 
 I fhall clofe this chapter by obferving, that it is not unufual 
 in many finely written MSS. to decorate fome parts of a page, 
 particularly ornamented writings, with a figure like that of 
 three points, as in plate V. No. 5 — But a little attention and 
 habit will tell when thofe points are merely ornamental, and 
 confequently fuperfluous. 
 
 metan Zealots, it can hardly be fuppofed that the works of this arch heretic would 
 defcend to the prefent day, through fifteen centuries, without any other injuries than 
 thofe of time. — That they have totally periflied is moft probable : but that all the tradi- 
 tions concerning this impollor's fkill in painting, are mere fiftions, is an opinion I would 
 not, by any means, haftily adopt, notwithftanding the grofs anachronifm, by which. 
 Bazami has introduced him into his hiftory of Alexander, as contemporary with the Ma- 
 cedonian Prince. On the probable nature of thofe piftures, with which he is faid to have 
 decorated his Enghelioon, or gofpel, and Arzhenk, his book or colleftion of drawings fo 
 often alluded to by Ferfian writers, I fhall offer fome obfervations in another place. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 Chap. IV] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. ^^ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 From the confufed collocation of letters, and the irregular 
 pofition or omiffion of points, we find in many Ta/tk manu- 
 fcripts, that not only whole fentences and lines, but alfo fingle 
 words aflume a very fantaftic and uncommon appearance : as 
 in the word Hajy/, gain, refult, &c. No. iii : where the top 
 ji/if joins the lower part of the letter Ssad.' 
 
 Also in Di7feree6, alluring or charming the heart. No. 
 112, where the point of final 6a, is moft irregularly placed 
 under the letter Lam, and the ya and final 6a, thrown over the 
 other letters, fo that the point of fa feems to belong to the 
 ftroke of 6a, ya, and the points of ya, are placed under the 
 letter Lam. 
 
 Of a letter intervening between the points of another, 
 and its proper body, fome inftances have been given in the 
 laft chapter, particularly No. 48 in SaJi : Aunkeh, No. 104 i 
 and the word Bazy, No. 1 05 j from this circumllance, and 
 the placing of Kafs, two points to the left, inftead of over 
 their proper chara(5ler, the word Caf, No. 113, appears at firfl 
 
 fight
 
 54 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 fight a little difficult : It is the name of a fabulous mountain 
 much celebrated in the Eaflern Romances*. 
 
 From the nature of fome letters, which hang from, or 
 depend on each other in certain combinations, a word often 
 feems nearly upright, or perpendicular, as in Hcmchu, like as, 
 fo, &c. No. 85. 
 
 To fill up a fpace, and render all the lines of equal length, 
 which the Perfians much affed, particularly in writing poetry, 
 they often divide or prolong a word in a very fanciful manner : 
 thus in Hekayety a ftory, hiftory, &c. No. 114; where a fpace 
 is left between the fyllables heka and yetyy under which is 
 drawn the reverfed tail of final ya : and for the fame purpofe 
 they often connedt two letters by a long dafh or flourifti of the 
 pen, which has in many inftances the appearance of the letter 
 fm as ufually written in the Talik hand ; thus in Heecb, nothing, 
 
 • The mountain of Caf ( which fome fuppofe mount Tauris) is faid to be the refidence 
 of a fabulous animal, animmenfe bird or Griffin called the Simurgh; there, notwithftand- 
 ing the proverbial barrennefs of this dreary mountain, the voracious monller is enabled to 
 fatisfy the calls of hunger; fo great is the liberality of heaven to all its creatures. " The 
 " Omnipotent," (fays Sadi) fpreadeth his table to fuch an extent, that even the Simurgh, in 
 •' the mountain of Caf, eateth his fliare." The original Perfian lines are given in the 
 " ACatic Mifcellany," No. 2, p. 24Z, Calcutta, 1789, 410. and are as follows: — 
 " Chenaun pihen khan kerm kefterd 
 " Keh Simoorgh der Kaf kefiraet khcord." 
 In my manufcript copy of the Bo/lan, (one which the celebrated Chardin brought from 
 Perfia,) inftead of Kefimet, I find the word Roozet, which we may tranflate, a daily allow- 
 ance, from Raoz, a day. 
 
 no.
 
 Chap. IV.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 55 
 
 no, never, &c. No. 1155 where the final Chim has but one 
 point, (See under that letter. Chap, II. ) and in the word 
 Muheyia, arranged, prepared, &c. No. 116: where a long 
 dafh conne(fls t\\Q.ya with final Alif, 
 
 In the words Bi-hafyl, thus written, ^ • (com- 
 
 pounded of hi or bee, without, and hazyl, gain, refult, ad- 
 vantage,) the ya which fhould be final in the firft word, is irregu- 
 larly joined to the hha of the next, and its points placed with 
 the point of i^^, while a longdalh conne<fls the hha with AUf'va. 
 Hazyl. 
 
 And they fometimes fill up a line with little oblique 
 ilrokes, as in Plate V. No. 6. 
 
 But on the other hand, when a line is crowded they often 
 blend letters fo as to create much feeming confufion ; thus in 
 the words Ghemma Y/hk the pain or affliftion of love. No. 117; 
 the body of Ghain is made to ferve alfo for that of ain which 
 begins the word Y/hk, love : the point above, which conftituted 
 that charadler Ghain, being in imagination done away. 
 
 In the word Padjhah, a king, the a/if and da/ arc irregularly 
 joined at the top, (as thofe of 5/6/ot ^S"/^^^, already mentioned. 
 No. 1 X J Chap. II. Letter Da/) and the ftroke of Shin in Shah, 
 is brought through the former fyllable Pad, which circumftance, 
 with the abfence ofjhin's diacratical points, gives the word a 
 confufed appearance, thus, in^ 
 
 • It
 
 56 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 It is fometimcs confidcred as ornamental to bring the 
 flourifli of one letter fo far round as to touch that of another, 
 though belonging to a different word, as in Ke/J.^ty Noah*, the 
 fliip or ark of Noah, No. ti8; where the tail of final j^, 
 in the firfl word, is joined to that of final hha in Noah. 
 
 In the words Shudy gunge, thou wert a treafure, No. 119; 
 the flourifli of final _)'« in Shudy, not only touches, but is quite 
 blended into the curve or tail of the final jitn in Gung or GutiJ, 
 the point of jim is therefore placed in the hollow of that flou- 
 rifli, which conftitutes final ya, and the points of this letter are 
 altogether omitted, which circumftance increafes the feeming 
 difficulty of the whole combination. 
 
 As the Perfians fcarcely ever divide a word, by placing its 
 parts in different lines, when too much crowded, they invariably 
 write fuch parts of words above the line, never below, as in 
 Aumedejl, No. 9 ; Sddi, No. 48 ; Lafikurejh, No. 50 ; Hezeret, 
 No. 57 J Aun aftaubejl. No. 93 ; and many others. 
 
 The name of Sadi having occurred three or four times in 
 thecourfe of this work, I fliall here take occafion to mention, 
 that the birth of this celebrated poet, happened at Shirauz, in 
 the year of our /Era , 1 1 75 j he was author of the GuU/lant or 
 
 • The ftory of Noah is related in the Koran, (of which the Seventy-firft Chapter bears 
 his name) but the Mahomedans have taken fome liberties with the original narrative. The 
 Ark, according to a Mufulman commentator, was twelve hundred cubits long, and fix 
 hundred broad. See «« Savary's Coran, Vol. I. 245, Note, chapter of Hod. 
 
 Bed
 
 T/rr/r.JK. 
 
 
 ^<^. 
 
 o/^ - 'r V 
 
 ;^.^ 
 
 "-', 
 
 / * 
 
 
 '^> 
 
 Ji/^/,4>J:'^^^i>-, J/p^i;.^^ ^4 - 
 
 C 
 
 C/'?
 
 Chap. IV.J PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 57 
 
 Bed of Rofes ; the Bojian, or Fruit Garden ; the Molafnadt, or 
 Rays of Light, and a large colledion of odes and fonnets, alpha- 
 betically arranged in a Dlvdn. The firfl of thefe works has 
 been publiflaed with a Latin verfion by the learned Gentius* ; 
 in the German language by Olearius-f ; and by another perfon 
 in French;}:. Of the fecond, fome partial extracts have appear- 
 ed in the Afiatic Mifcellany||. The third, is a manufcript ex- 
 tremely fcarce, and from the Divaun, which contains above a 
 thoufand beautiful poems, very few pafTagcs have yet found 
 their way into print. Sadi was the author of fourteen or fifteen 
 other works; but Mr. Le Bruyn, (fee his Travels) muft have 
 been milinformed, when he learned, on vifiting the poet's tomb 
 in 1705, that twenty Arabic volumes were ftill extant of his 
 compofition. I fliall not here fupprefs, that there is alfo attri- 
 buted to Sadi, (although I hope without foundation) a fmall 
 
 * Rofarium Politicum, &:c. Amfterdam, 1651. Folio, Perfian and Latin. 
 
 (Saadi) Rofarium Politicum, cura Gentii. Amfterdam, 165J. Duodecimo. Latin. 
 
 + Perfianifcher Rofenthal ubetfetzet von A. Olearius, with plates. Schlefvvig. 1 654. 
 Folio. 
 
 J This French verfion, which was probably made from the Latin or German tranflation 
 before mentioned, is entitled, " Guliftan ou L'Empire des Rofes, Traite des Moeurs des 
 Rois ; compofe par Mufladini Saadi, Prince des Poetes Perfiens, Traduit du Perfan, par 
 M. ***. Paris. 1737. Duodecimo. 
 
 11 AfiaticMifcellany, No. 2, p. 235, &c. Calcutta, 1789, Quarto, where part of 
 the preface to, and a pafTage from the Boflan are given ; of this work, fome tranflations into 
 French may be found in the travels of the Chevalier Chardin. 
 
 I colledlion
 
 58 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV, 
 
 colledlion of fhort poetical compofitions (fee page 19,) incul- 
 cating Icffons of the groffeft fenfuality, and breathing all the 
 licentioufnefs of the mofl: unchafle imagination. Thefe in the 
 manufcripts before me are inconiiftently placed among the 
 beautiful, moral, and fentimental diftichs which follow out 
 author's Divin ; and in an Arabic introdu6lion, he declares his 
 repentance of having compofed thofe indelicate verfes, which, 
 however, he excufes on account of their giving a relifh to the 
 other poems, " as fait is ufed in the feafoning of meat :" and if 
 one can allow any merit to fuch produdlions, it may be faid of 
 him as of Petronius, " that he wrote the moft impure things 
 ♦' in the purefl: language*." 
 
 An ingenious friend, whom I fhall mention in the courfe 
 of this Effay, when on the fubjedl of eaftern mufic, is in 
 pofleffion of a mofl valuable manufcript Trcatife on that art, 
 which from many circumftances he conjedlures to be the 
 work of Sadi; the language is Perfian, and the fubjedl treated 
 in a fcientific and mafterly manner. Of this celebrated poet, 
 the portrait was lately to be fcen in a building near Shirauz, 
 
 • Since this paflage was written, I have had an opportuniry of infpefting the firft 
 volume oi Sadi's luorks (printed at Calcutta in folio, 1791 : in Perfian, with an Englilh 
 preface, &c. by J. H. Harrington, Efq.) fent as a valuable prefent from Sir W. Jones, 
 to the late Profeflbr Scliultens, in whofe Library at LcyJen, I was permitted to examine 
 it : and I was forry to find, that in the lift there given of Sadi's works, the " Book of Im- 
 purities," is enumerated as authentic. 
 
 . reprefenting
 
 Chap. IV.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 59 
 
 reprefenting him as a venerable old man, with a long filver 
 beard and flowing robes, holding in his right hand a crooked 
 ivory ftaff, and in the other a charger of incenfe*. He lived 
 to the advanced age of one hundred and fixteen, and his tomb 
 is ftill vifited with the refpedl due to claffic ground, at a 
 little diftance from Shirauz, his native city. 
 
 But I return to my fubjed: : it is not only parts of words 
 that are thus placed above the line, fometimes two or three 
 entire words are written over the former part of it. In the 
 courfe of the annexed fpecimens, many inftances are given of 
 the confufion arifing from this circumftance : but I (hall here 
 give a few examples of irregularities in the collocation of 
 letters and vyords from manufcripts immediately before me. 
 
 In the word Gulaiib, Rofewater, No. 91 : final Ba is 
 above the line, its ftroke touching the Lam-Aiif, and its point 
 below, under the jundlure of Gafz.nd Lam. 
 
 In Kaf^gy, would to heaven ! &c. No. 120; the two firft 
 letters, C^and Alif^xe. placed within the flroke of Shin above, 
 and the reverfed tail of final ya below : which hangs from the 
 medial Gaf by a flrange turn of the pen. 
 
 In the compound word Dilruba, raviflier of hearts, &c. 
 No. 121, the ra and vaw are over the hook of La?n, and the 
 
 • See " Francklin's Tour fr:m Bengal to Perfin, in the years 17S6-S7, p. 97, Oflavc, 
 London, 179c. 
 
 I 2 turn
 
 6o PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 turn of Ba touches its extremity : the point of ba is thrown 
 to the left of the word. 
 
 In' the words " Por Kurdeh az aub," filled with water, 
 No. 122 : the final ba is thrown over the other letters, and its 
 point placed at the left extremity of all : whilfl: the orthogra- 
 phical mark Medda, belonging to the word aub, is placed 
 over the flroke of final ba, and increafes the confufion by appear- 
 ing, in fome refpedbs, like another letter. 
 
 But it fometimes happens that in poetry, where the line is 
 crowded towards the end, not only one row of letters or 
 words is placed above the line, but frequently a third over the 
 fecond, fo as to form a very odd appearance, and not unfre- 
 quently create much confufion and difficulty: But one mufl 
 always read upwards, beginning with the lowefl line : as will 
 be proved in fome of the engraved fpecimens, and explained in 
 the following chapters. 
 
 In " Herkes Sheneedy" every one heard, or was hearing, 
 &;c., No. 123, we find the words and letters afcend even to 
 the fourth degree : the Ha and Ra are conned:ed by a long 
 daflij fuch as already has been mentioned; the word Kejs is 
 over them, and the two fyllables " Sheneed" over that; the 
 final ^'^ of Sheneedy is above all; the points of medial j^'^, 
 (which, as I before faid. Chap. III. cannot be omitted) are 
 placed in the hook of the letter Sin : and thofe oi final ya are 
 not exprefTed. 
 
 5 In
 
 Chap. IV.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 6i 
 
 In the words yamiiee-Shraub, a cup of wine, No. 124: 
 the letters Shifj and Ra touch the upper parts of Alif and 
 final Mim in Jaum : the Alif of Shraub is placed by it- 
 felf over the Shr, and flill above that is the body of final Ba, 
 touching the top of Alif-. its point thrown under the left 
 extremity. 
 
 Even the letters of a fingle word are thus placed above 
 each other in many manufcripts, as in Dildar, a fweet heart, a 
 miftrefs, &c. No. 125 : where the firfl D is by itfelf on the 
 lowefl line ; L and connedted D, on the fecond line, AlifovQX 
 them, and above all the lafl letter Ra. 
 
 From this circumftance it lometimes happens that the 
 highefl letter almoft touches or feems to belong to the line 
 above, and in other fituations it is not unufual to run the 
 flroke of fome letters fo high as to unite with that of another 
 letter belonging to the line above. An inflance of this occurs in 
 a manufcript before me where the word Kcfity, a Ship, &c. is 
 joined by the prolonged flroke of the letter Gaf, to the tail of 
 Ra in birun, out, &c. a word belonging to an upper-line. 
 See No. 126. 
 
 From the improper connection of two words, by making 
 initial or medial letters which fhould be final, or fimilar falfe 
 combinations, fome con fufion frequently arifes, as in the words 
 " Dur een "jsakt," in this feafon, at this time, &c. No. 127; 
 where the iVof ecn (for aeen, with Alif) which ought to be 
 
 final
 
 6a PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 final, is defcribed as medial 'and connected with the F^w of 
 Wakt. 
 
 Also in Aun zemeen, that land or country. No. 128; 
 where, in like manner, the N oi nun, which fliould be final, is 
 initial, and connected with the Za of Zemeen. In the word 
 Kheyal, No. 96, we find the Alif joined to the Lam, impro- 
 perly, by a flroke from the top of the former. 
 
 In fome books, it is much affeded to defcribe the ftrokes or 
 flourilhes of many letters as parallel with one another : thus, 
 in the words Muger Keb, unlefs that, &c. No. i 29; and in the 
 fame number, Gur Kurd, if he makes, does, &c. Alfo in No. 
 1 30; Az aftiber SeriJJjteh, formed or compofed of ambergris*, 
 (fpelt anbr) where the point of Nu?i is above the ftroke of Sin 
 in Serifhteh, and the point of jB^ under the long dafli which 
 unites Ba with Ra : to this dafli is defcribed as parallel the firoke 
 of Sin. 
 
 And the reader will find another example in the words 
 " Ez andifoejk dilejh" before quoted. No. 103 ; And in NakaJ/j, 
 
 * Of mufk, camphire, ambergris, and fimilar fragrant fubftances, the Perfians believe 
 angels to be formed, and other creatures endued with unrommon purity of nature; thus 
 the poets compliment their miftrefleson the delightful odours which ihey diffufe ; the aerial 
 beings called Peries, are fuppofed to exift on perfumes alone ; and even of Paradife, 
 celeftial fragrance is among the chief delights ! The wine which the faithful are there to 
 be indulged with, is fealed with mufk ; and fome authors affirm, that fhoiild the lovely 
 Houries but fuffer one drop of their ambrofial fpittie to fall upon this earth, no human 
 fenfc could bear the exquifite poignancy of its perfume. 
 
 painting,
 
 Chap. IV.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 63 
 
 painting, &c. following a word which ends in Shin, I have feen 
 the ftrokes laid parallel, and the points fituated as in No. 131 ; 
 where the three firfl: points, (to the right) are thofe of Nun and 
 Kaf'va. NakaJJd. The three points in the middle, are thofe of 
 the lower *S'/6;>/, belonging to fome preceding word: and the 
 three points at the left of all, are thofe of final Shin in NakaJIj. 
 Alfoin the word Nedeedeh, not feen, &c. No. 132, the ^a and 
 dal are placed over the nun and dal of the former fyllable. 
 
 The flroke of one letter is not unfrequently croffed through 
 that of another, as in Lafikure/h, his army, No. 50 ; where Caf 
 crofles the ftroke oi Shin final. 
 
 Also in the word " Bergirift" he takes up, &c. No. in ; 
 where the ftroke of Gaf croftes the fa and ta final above. In 
 the word Grift, before quoted. No. 74, the ftroke of Gaf 
 reaches, but does not crofs the fa or ta. 
 
 It is not unufual, to place in the hollow of letters, which 
 poflefs a large curve or fweep, fome others of the word or fen- 
 tence ; as Dureegh, alas ! No. 1 34 -, where D and R are in the 
 hollow of final Ghain, and the points of the letter ya, irregu- 
 larly thrown below. 
 
 In Dilruba^ before mentioned. No. 121 ; the Ra and Vaw 
 are in the hook of La7n ; and in Nakajh, above quoted, No. 131, 
 the curve of one final Shin is placed within that of another. 
 
 In the words Tek Guftar, one faying, fpeech, converfation, 
 &c. No. 135 ; the letters Gfta, of the fecond word are written 
 
 within
 
 64 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 within the hook of the preceding Cafo? Tek ; the R of Guftar 
 placed fo as to appear part of the firfl: word. 
 
 In No. So, before quoted, the final Nun oiChun, contains 
 that of the fecond word Men. 
 
 I BEFORE obferved (in the fecond Chapter under the re- 
 fped:ive letters) that in many manufcripts, the letters Dal, Ra, 
 and Faw, are haftily written, and may be often, at firfl fight, 
 miflaken one for another : it accordingly happens that from the 
 accidental concurrence of words, principally compofed of thefe 
 letters, and the negled: of a proper diflance between the words, 
 fome very flrange and confufed appearances refult : we will, 
 for example, fuppofe the words " Ora door awurd az doo rud" 
 to be negligently written as in No. 136 ; where the confufion 
 occafloned by the refemblance of the letters R, D, and Vaw, 
 is increafed by the turning of the lower part of unconnedled 
 Alif. (See that letter in the fecond Chapter.) 
 
 The fame difficulty arifes from the fame caufe in reading- 
 Hebrew J and many ferious miflakes have been occafioned by 
 the refemblance of the letters Beth and Caph, Daletb and Rejht 
 &c.* 
 
 And here I fhall remark^ that many letters of the Arabic 
 alphabet, flill retain, in fome meafure, the form of their origi- 
 nals in the parent Hebrew : we can eafily trace the Daletb in 
 
 * Confult the various works of the learned Bochart, Hyde, Lud: dc Dieu, Pere 
 Simon, and others. 
 
 the
 
 Chap. IV.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 6^ 
 
 the more curved body of Da/: the fame nearly of Rejb and 
 Ra: and the Zai'n as in the Faw, with its broad head, has 
 fufl[ered very little alteration ; and the three teeth of Sin and 
 S/ji'n, have only funk into the indentures of the correfponding 
 letters which bear the fame names in the 'Nijkhi alphabet : 
 But this remark encroaches on the department of the Arabian 
 Antiquary, and 1 return to my fubjedt, the Graphical difficul- 
 ties of Perfian manufcripts 
 
 In many fine writings, where feveral letters are exprefled 
 by mere hair-ftrokes, feme combinations produce a very con- 
 fufed appearance, as in the words " Gulzar-e-Irem* " the 
 Rofe-bower, or garden oflrem. No. 137, where the point of 
 Za touches the top of La??!, and the grammatical mark, which 
 fhews the former of two fubftantives to govern a genitive cafe, 
 is placed between the words Gu/zar-f and Ire;n ; and being 
 like the letters Ra and ^/if, exprefled by a fine hair-fl:roke, 
 occafions fome confufion in the appearance of the whole. 
 
 * This garden or paradife of Ire/?:, is frequently alluded to by the Mahometan poets ; it 
 is faid to have been planted in Arabia Felix, by an ancient and very impious king, whom 
 Mohammed in the Koran, fpeaks of with horror; this prince, withing to be regarded as 
 more than mortal, introduced all thofe who refpedted him as a Divinity, into this terreftriaJ 
 paradife, where they enjoyed all that was delicious and capable of gratifying the fenfcs.— 
 See D'Herbelot Bibl. Orient, art. Iram. 
 
 t This mark gives the found of e or : fhort, and anfwers to the Ca/ra of the Arabs.— 
 See Jones's Perfian Grammar, p. lo ar.d iS, and Richardfon's Arabic Ditto, p. 12. 
 
 K Also
 
 66 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 Also in the words " Buzruk gurdaniden^* to caufe to 
 become great, large, &c. No. 138; in which example the 
 point of Za almofl: touches the oblique ftroke of Caf, which 
 is feparated from its perpendicular one ; (fee Letter Gaf, or 
 Caf, Chap. II.) and within its hook or hollow, the GRD of 
 the fecond word Gerdaniden are placed : the Alif of this word 
 under the l>lyd, the points oiya being thrown under the Alif, 
 and the final Nun above all. 
 
 As in fome Arabic manufcripts, although the abfence of 
 points fufficiently diftinguifhes fuch letters as Hha, Sin, Ra, 
 &c. yet the writer frequently places over thefe charad:ers certain 
 marks which denote that the abfence of the points is not oc- 
 cafioned by his inaccuracy*; So in the Perfian word Beroon, 
 out. No. 139 J left it fhould be thought that over the long 
 dafh between ya and ra any points ought properly to have 
 been placed, a little mark or charadter is ufed for the fame 
 purpofe as thofe above-mentioned in the Arabic writings : but 
 as the moil excellent Grammarian Erpenius obferves, fuch 
 marks are feldom ufed in modern writings, and to be found 
 only in manufcripts moft accurately written-j-. — Of this de- 
 fcription, indeed, is the manufcript from which the example is 
 
 • See, " Erpenius's Arabic'Grammar," p. 7. 410, 1636. — " Wafmuth's ditto, p. 3. — 
 and " Walton's" ingenious " Introduftio ad leftionem linguarum Orientalium,'' p. 61, 
 Duodecimo. London, i6jj. 
 
 + " Hzc tamen hodie raro et non nifi in accuratiflime Sctiptis obfcrvantur." — Erpenii 
 
 Gram. Arab. 7. 
 
 given :
 
 Chap. IV.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 67 
 
 given : a beautiful copy of the celebrated Romance by the 
 Poet "Jaumi, intitled the " Loves of Jofeph and Zeleekha" 
 
 From the careleflhefs of the vv^riter, fhould any letters be 
 forgotten or omitted, they are generally fupplied either over 
 or under the line, as near as pofTible to their proper places : . 
 
 thus in the phrafe, *' Che arzoo daree ?" — .what defire haft N 
 
 thou? what do you want? &c. No. 140, in which the Ra 
 and za of a r zoo were forgotten, and afterwards written below 
 the line, the point of za being placed above it ; and the Ra of 
 Daree, which had been omitted, is placed above the line, and 
 over the v^/z/of that word. 
 
 Mistakes are fometimes corredled as with us in haftily 
 written manufcripts, by drawing fevcral ftrokes acrofs the 
 erroneous word or paflage, and referring by a mark (as given 
 in Plate V. No. 1) to the margin, where the word or paflage in 
 queftion is corredtly written. 
 
 Of two nouns fubftantive, the former governing a genitive 
 cafe, is generally marked in well-written books, by the 
 Arabic mark Ke/ra or Cafra, and known in pronunciation by a 
 fliort kind of found which may be exprefifed as a quick, e or ee 
 or^/fhort*j as mGulzar-c-Ira7i, before quoted. No. 137 : 
 
 * S;r Wm Jones (Perf. Gram. p. i8) calls this K^fra a fnortf. — Mr Hadlcy in the In- 
 troduflion to his Perfi an Vocabulary, page 17; expreflesit bvf^' or ei; — and Mr Richard- 
 fon, in the preface to his Didionar}-, fecond vol. p. vi. feeins to give the preference to a 
 &ort; there are cafes, I believe, in which it is beft written by /' fliorr. 
 
 K 2 DeJi-a-Sadi,
 
 68 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 DeJl-a-Sadi, the hand of Sadi, No. 107; and in the line given 
 in Plate VII. No. i : in the words JavaL-i-Skander, the anfvvcr 
 of Alexander : as the reader will find explained in the fixth 
 
 chapter. 
 
 When two words come together compofed of the fame 
 letters, but whofe vowel-points are different, and confequent- 
 \y their meanings, it is ufual in well-written manufcripts to 
 mark the vowel points, and thereby afTift in afcertaining the 
 fenfe : for the three letters DRD, with Fafha, pronounced 
 Derd, fignify grief, pain, afflidion, &c. The fame letters 
 marked with the vowel -point Damma, are pronounced 
 Durd, and mean dregs, fediment, &c. I have chofen thefe 
 words for an example becaufe they occur in the engraved 
 Specimen (frontifpiece,) lafl; line, the explanation of which the 
 reader will find in the lafl chapter. 
 
 Characters anfwering to our periods, commas, full 
 Hops, &c. are unknown in Perfian writings : the end of a line 
 in verfe, is fometimes marked, even though the fenfe be not 
 complete, by little figures, of which, examples are given in the 
 following plates. But in profe, efpecially where the fentence is 
 quite finifhed, and a new fubjed: perhaps commenced, no or- 
 thographical mark, or other character, is ufed to afcertain the 
 fenfe, but the words probably are crowded on each other. To 
 this general remark, however, I have met with one or two ex- 
 ceptions, which will be found in the explanation of Plate V. 
 
 No.
 
 Chap. IV.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 69 
 
 No. 6 ; and No. 7, Chapter V. In the former number of which 
 examples, the abrupt fenfe is marked by two little points or 
 ftrokes : in the latter, by a vacant fpacc left between the 
 fentences. 
 
 The word Allah, God, and other Arabic words or fen- 
 tences, occurring in Perfian MSS. are frequently marked by 
 their vowel points, and it is to be obferved, that quotations from 
 the Koran*, or other ferious works in the Arabian language, 
 are not only in general diftinguifhed by their vowel-points and 
 orthographical charadlers, but affed: a more upright and fquare 
 appearance than the Perfian lalik hand, and fometimes arc 
 written in the original ISIiJkhi. 
 
 * It feems undecided among European writers, whether the article al, in Arabic, 
 prefixed to the word Koran or Coran, fhould in our tranflations be omitted as redundant 
 after the Englifli article, or whether it Ihould be retained and ufed with that, according 
 to the praftice of Herbelot, and other eminent Orientalifts. Of this latter opmion, mod 
 of our modem Englifli writers feem to be ; yet, although I own, that from habit, both 
 the eye and ear decide in favour of the article, and that in Latin, it may be ufed with 
 elegance, I agree with thofe Orientalifts who fupprefs it, the fenfe being perfeftly com- 
 plete without this repetition of the article. I was of this opinion long before I knew that 
 it was fupported by MonGeur Savary, who, in the preface to his French tranilation of the 
 work in queftion, explains his reafon for adopting it. Although cuftom had authorized 
 and rendered familiar the ufe of the al, yet being a grammatical impropriety, he fuppreffed 
 it, and thinking it never too late to divell ones felf of ill founded prejudices, he writes 
 the word, Ccrfls. " Perfuade qu'il eft toujours temps de s'affranchir du joug d'un ufage 
 mal-ctabli j'ai ecrit, /? Cflr<7»." Savary's Coran, 2 vols. Duodecimo. Amft. 1786. 
 Page V. 
 
 5 Of
 
 70 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 Of the numerical figures and their various combinations 
 into hundreds and thoufands, I fhall fay but little ; Sir William 
 Jones, in his moft admirable Grammar, p. 91, having rendered 
 any remarks by me on that fubjedt unnecefTary. I have given 
 in Plate V. No, 8 ; the Perfian figures as written in a fair manu- 
 fcript before me, becaufefome little difference of form appears 
 in them, particularly the 4 and 5, from thofe in the Grammar ; 
 and I {hall only remark, that in moft writings, where the word 
 Seh, three, is expreffed by letters, it is ufual to place over the 
 ftroke of ^/>/, the numerical figure of 3, thus : /^ ^ 
 
 Marks of reference and charaders, diftinguifliing poetry, 
 are generally written in red ink j the moft common are given in 
 Plate V. No. i j and explained in the next chapter. 
 
 By afcertaining the number of pages in a Perfian book, and 
 counting the lines in any one page, it is eafy to difcover the 
 cxadt number of lines contained in the whole volume, as every 
 paoe (except perhaps the firft and laftj is ruled with an equal 
 number. 
 
 A CATCH-WORD at the bottom of the right-hand page, 
 o-enerally leads the reader to the beginning of the left, and this 
 catch-word is often written obliquely, as in the engraved fpe- 
 cimen, (Frontifpiece,) fee Chapter VII. 
 
 The pages are frequently ruled with golden lines, blue or 
 red ink, &c. Verfes are generally written in two columns, as 
 defcribed in Sir William Jones's Grammar, 146 ; each couplet 
 
 being
 
 Chap. IV.J PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 71 
 
 being divided equally, and each member of a couplet forming 
 part of a column, as will appear in fome of the fpecimens an- 
 nexed ; but two rows of couplets, that is, four columns, are 
 found in many MSS, and each column, whether the page con- 
 tains four, or only two, is generally feparated from the next, by 
 blue, red, or golden lines. The ftrokes of fome letters are 
 often found to exceed or encroach upon thofe lines, an inftance 
 is given in Plate VII. No, 5 ; Plate VIII. No. i ; and the 
 Frontifpiece. 
 
 Verses in four columns are to be read in the followinsr 
 
 o 
 
 order, from right to left : 
 
 43 2 I 
 
 In fome cafes, fuch as a marginal quotation, want of 
 room, &c. a diflich or tetraftich, is often written, as with us, 
 one line or member of a couplet over the other. 
 
 The tranfcribers generally conclude their work with the 
 words, " Tummet tummam al kittaub, &c." " the book is com- 
 " pletely finiihed," frequently adding the author's name, with 
 benedictions, the laurich* or date, and often the titles of the 
 
 , * Like the books printed among us in the early ages of the typographical art, the day 
 and name of the month are often mentioned, and in fome MSS. even the hour of the day 
 or night on which the writing was finiflied, a cuftom probably borrowed from the Arabs, 
 (fee Cifiri's Bibl: Arab: Hifpana: Vol.1, pref. 7. Folio. 1760,) and perhaps from 
 thofe Hijpana- Arabic authors, the pradice of placing at the end of books, the date and 
 printer's name, &c. was firft introduced into Europe. 
 
 reigning
 
 -jz PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. IV. 
 
 reigning prince ; fometimes to fill up the laft page, they place 
 the letters, ta and w/w, (forming the Arabic word Tuinma-, which 
 is the fame as Finis y or the end) in this manner : 
 
 
 not unfrequently omitting, as in the prefent example, the diacri- 
 tical points of ta. 
 
 But as the various combinations and contrad:ions of letters, 
 their irregularities, and graphical difficulties, are merely the 
 fubjedt of this work, and exactly the fame, whether comprifed 
 in one, two, or four columns, in lines oblique or horizontal, 
 ornamented or plain, I fhall not fwell this volume to an un- 
 necelTary bulk, by a multiplicity of examples ,- but proceed in 
 the next chapter to explain the engraved fpecimens, which will 
 befl illuflrate the obfervations here mifcellaneoufly thrown to- 
 gether. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 ♦/."■^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 yi^i. 
 
 
 
 -^ 
 
 «< 
 *« 
 
 /^ y^ 
 
 ' . » . • • 
 
 k I'd 
 
 
 
 
 M?^" 
 
 
 VA?S 
 
 I '2 3 4 5 G-/ s (J /o 
 
 I rr tbfvA <j I, 
 I r rfo^^A. 1 ^ r 

 
 Chap. V.J PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 73 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE MISCELLANEOUS SPECIMENS. 
 
 PLATE V. No. I. 
 
 The feven upper charadlers in this number, and others which 
 the reader will foon become acquainted with, are ufcd as 
 marks of reference or diftindion, and the explanation of the 
 paflage referred to is generally found between the lines, or in the 
 margin. 
 
 The four figures in the third line are moft commonly- 
 written in red ink, and denote that a paflage in verfe is imme- 
 diately to follow : of this an example is given in the next 
 plate. The lowefl figures of this number are ufed, even in 
 books of profe, to fill up a line, lefi: a blank fpace fhould hurt 
 the eye, and deftroy the uniformity of the writing. 
 
 PLATE V. No. 2. 
 
 " Bifmillahi 'a'rrahman* ar^rahecm" " In the nafne of God, 
 the elements and the merciful" This fentence, although Ara- 
 bic, is prefixed to almoft every book in the Perfian language, 
 whatever the fubjedt of it may be ; it is the commencement of 
 the Fateha, or opening chapter of the Koran, and is placed at the 
 
 L head
 
 74 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 head of every other Surei or chapter of that work, except 
 one.* In this fentence it is to be remarked, that the particle b, 
 in, expels the Alif of the word Jftn, " a name," and that the 
 letter Sin, in that word, is prolonged by a long dafli connedling 
 it with b, and the final Mini. In this fentence alone, the Alif 
 of Ifm fuffers an elifion : in any other it fhould be exprefTed-f-. 
 According to the original orthography, this fentence would 
 be thus written : 
 
 " Bffu allb alr-hhmn alr-hhym." 
 The fecond Lam in Allah, is exprefTed as very fliort, which 
 I before remarked under that letter in the fecond Chapter : and 
 the hba of the laft word, is prolonged by a long dalh to corref- 
 pond with that of Siti in the firft. 
 
 PLATE V. No. 3. 
 
 " NiJheftun-e-Sultaun Skartder ber takht-i-padijhahy hejau ee-i-padir 
 " khood." 
 
 " The fitting of Prince Alexander on the royal throne, in the 
 " place of his father." 
 
 This, and the two next numbers, are fpecimens of the 
 manner in which the heads of chapters are ufually written -, in 
 
 * The ninth chapter ; for this omiffion, the Mahometan doftors account, by faying, 
 that as this fentence befpeaks mercy, it would be mifplaced at the head of a chapter de- 
 nouncing vengeance. See Savary's Coran. Vol. I. p. 20 j. 
 
 + De particula b infuper notandum quod in pervulgata ilia fententia, &c. &c. Waf- 
 muth's Arab. Grammar, p. 7 5. 
 
 the
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. -j^ 
 
 the prefent example, the vowel-point Damma, giving the found 
 of or u, is placed over the firft letter of Sultaun ; the diacritical 
 points are generally blended together, and thofe of pa'm Padir, 
 exprefled by a turned figure, as mentioned in the third chapter, 
 and given in Nos. 99, and 10^, plate III. The remarks fcat- 
 tered through the foregoing chapters of this work, will enable 
 the reader to decipher without any difficulty, the words of this 
 example ; but as an additional help, I fliall give them here di- 
 vefted of vowels, and exadlly according to the original ortho- 
 graphy, viz : 
 
 *' iV/Zy?// Shan Skndr br tkht padJJoahy bjay pdr khud.'* 
 
 Jl ROM the Skander Nameh, one of the moft celebrated Ro- 
 mances of the Eaft, the example above given, has been ex- 
 traded. This work contains the hiflory of Alexander the 
 Great, written in admirable poetry, by ISIizami, who, to a great 
 deal of Perfian imagery and fable, has added, in this excellent 
 poem, much curious hiftorical matter, in fome refpedls, found- 
 ed on, and in others, widely differing from, the Greek and 
 Latin hiflories of the Grecian prince. Of this work, as I be- 
 fore mentioned, I am fortunate enough to poffefs feveral fine 
 copies J but two particularly valuable, from a multiplicity of 
 notes, marginal, and written between the lines in a mofl minute 
 
 L a and
 
 76 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 and elegant hand. Without the aid of the anonymous Perfian 
 commentators, many paflages, I confefs, would have ftill been 
 to me extremely difficult and obfcure ; and it is hardly to be ex- 
 pelled, that a mere European reader, without fuch afliftance, 
 could perfedly comprehend the frequent allufions of the poet, 
 to remote hiftory, and ancient Oriental mythology, or the 
 variety of proper names that occur in almoft every page, both 
 of pcrfons and places, and the terms ufed in fpeaking of paint- 
 ing, mufic, geography, &c. &c. 
 
 So very flight is the mention which M. D'Herbelot has made 
 of this celebrated poet*, and fo imperfect the lift which he has 
 given of his writings^ in the Bibliotheque Orientale, that I am 
 induced to believe it was the purpofe of that excellent Orienta- 
 lift to fpeak more fully of him, as of feveral other Perfian 
 authors, in fome diftind: work. He flouriflaed in the fixth 
 century of the Mahometan ^ra-f , and the following diftich, 
 from an elegy of Hafiz, (which accidentally prefents itfelf in 
 a beautiful manufcript copy of his Divan) is now, I believe, 
 for the firft time, adduced in print, as a teftimony at once of 
 our poet's excellence and antiquity : 
 
 * Bibl: Orient: Articles Nadhami and Naxami. 
 i The rsvelfth of the Chriftian ^.ra. 
 
 «' Ze
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 77 
 
 " Ze nezmi Nezami keh cherkh't kohen^ 
 ♦' Nedared chu o heech zeeba'e fekhun." 
 
 " The poetry of Nezami, in ihe whole circle of ancient writers, has no 
 " equal for grace and elegance of language." 
 
 Of his works I have feen no correct liftj and although 
 I polTefs three copies, apparently perfedl, (and one eminently- 
 beautiful) yet I am flill uncertain of the exadt number of his 
 poems y one manufcript is entitled the •' Five Trea/ures of 
 " Nezami," and contains fo many diftincft compofitions : in each 
 of the other two are comprized fix j but thefe do not corref- 
 pond with the lift given in Sir W. Jones's Perfian Grammar 
 (141, 3d edition.) 
 
 In one place, already quoted, M. D'Herbelot mentions 
 three of this author's produd:ions, and the fame number in 
 another place ; if all the works enumerated in thefe lifts are 
 genuine, and alfo thofe in my manufcripts, the number of 
 Nezami's Poems would amount to nine; yet among the 
 Dejiderata in Eaftern Literature, the late Prefident of the 
 Afiatic Society has mentioned a tranflation in profe, of 
 *' The five Poe?ns of Nezami* .^ That which I here particularly 
 fpeak of, I am induced from many circumftances to regard 
 
 as 
 
 * See Sir John Shore's difcourfe, delivered. May, 1794., to the Afiatic Society, at 
 Calcutta, the Prefidency of which learned body he was called to on the death of Sir Wm. 
 Jones, whofe virtues and learning are the fubjeft of this juft and eloquent eulogium. — 
 (Europonn Magazine, April, 179^. Bcfide the poems enumerated in the lift oi Nezami's 
 
 works
 
 78 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 as an hifloric record of confiderable authenticity ; and I 
 have not adopted this opinion merely becaufe Nizami alTerts, in 
 the introduction to his work, that he had compiled it from the 
 beft and moft ancient chronicles of the Hebrews, Greeks, and 
 old Pahlavians*. But he fkillfully reje<fls from his hiftory of 
 Alexander, many of thofe vain traditions, and idle fidtions, 
 which even the great Ferdufi, the father of Perfian poetry, has 
 admitted into \\\% Shah Namch, or *' Book of Kings." Thus 
 having mentioned fome extraordinary relations concerning his 
 hero, Nezdfni condemns them as '• tales which wanted con- 
 " firmation, in the vanity of whofe flory there is no truth," 
 — " Giizaf-i-fekhun*ra durujly neboud," and acknowledging 
 his obligations to the hiflorians of Greece, and to the venerable 
 Bard oiToos abovementioned, he regards as fabulous the pro- 
 digious circumftances which the former relate of the birth of 
 Alexander, and rejecfls the tradition of Ferduji, which by a 
 Ilrange confufion defcribes the Macedonian as fon of Darab 
 the Perfian king ; and we find accordingly, that in the dying 
 
 works by Sir Wm. Jones, and Herbelot, a ftiort and by no means interelling com- 
 pofition, is afcribed to him in a printed catalogue of Perfian MSS. which I have lately 
 feen ; but after a clofe infpedtion, I have reafon to believe that the learned and inge- 
 nious compiler of the lift, has been miftaken in affigning that trifling produftion to the 
 venerable author of the Skander Nameh. 
 
 * Sec Chap. 6th of this Effay, Plate vii. No. 4. 
 
 2 fcene
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES, 79 
 
 fcene of Darius, and his interview with Alexander, Nezami 
 has fupprelTed the difcovery that thofe monarchs were 
 brothers, which in the Shah nameh gives an air of fable to 
 the whole narration. 
 
 The hiftoric poem of Nezami, therefore, muft have 
 efcaped the ingenious Teixeiray who tells us that " the life and 
 " adlions of Alexander are celebrated as marvellous, by the 
 " Perfians, and defcribed in many books, both in profe and 
 " rhyme," &c. — yet that, " all thofe writers agree in afferting 
 " that he was not the fon of Philip*." 
 
 Copies of Nifz^w/'j work muft have of late confiderably 
 multiplied, or it cannot have been that valuable hiftory of 
 Alexander, which, we are afTured by a celebrated linguift, was 
 fo fcarce, even among the Perfians, about three centuries ago, 
 that Andrew Corfaili, an intelligent foreigner, who travelled 
 in the eaft, could never obtain a copy of itf. 
 
 * " La vida y hechos de Afcander Zurkhamehen," (for the Arabic word Zulkanem) 
 " 6 Alexandre, celebran los ParGos por maravillofos, y tienen efcrito dellos muchos libros 
 " en proza y en rima, Uenos de excelentes conceptos y fententias," &c. — " Todos los 
 " efcritores Parfios acuerdan que Afcandar no fue hijo de Philipo, a quien ellos dizen 
 " Faylakus," &c. &c. See Relaciones y Viage dende la India, &c. &c. Oft: Amberes, 
 J 610. Lib. \. cap. 22. 
 
 + See the " Threfor des Langues," a very curious work, by Claude Duret, (p. 498,) 
 Y-verdun, 1619, Quarto, where we read in his old French, that, " Andre Corfali en fon 
 " voyage aux Indes, affeure avoir veu entreles mains des Perfans fufdifts, toute 1' hiltoire 
 " du grand Alexandre en langue Perfane de laquelle, comme de chofe rare il ne f^eut one 
 " en retirer une copie." 
 
 But
 
 8o PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 But I referve for a future and more convenient occafion 
 fome remarks on the Skander Nameh, and a few extra dls and 
 tranflations from particular and intcrefting paflages ; and I 
 proceed to explain the fourth fpecimen of Perfian writing, 
 given in the mifcellaneous plate. 
 
 PLATE V. No. 4. 
 
 " Jung kirdun-i Rujlem ba Sohraiib^ va kooJJjteh Jljiiden Sohraub az 
 " deji-e Ruftem." 
 
 " The making war (or fighting) of Ruftam with Sohraub, and 
 " the killing of Sohraub by the hand of Ruftam," 
 
 In this number I have given the title of a chapter from 
 the celebrated S/^a^ Nameh, or Book of Kings. The reader, 
 who has perufed with attention the preceding pages of this 
 eflay, will find no difficulty in deciphering this line, of which, 
 as written in the original, the fpelling is here given, viz. 
 
 " >'<? ^rdn Rpn ba Shrab v kjhthjlidn Shrab az djl RJm." 
 
 I SHALL only here obfcrve, that in the firfl: word of this 
 example Jung (war) the point of medial Nun is feparated 
 from its letter by the intervening flroke of Gaf, and that the 
 three lafl: letters oi Rujiam, at the end of the line, are placed 
 above the Ra, and the final Ta of the preceding word Deji^ 
 the hand. 5 
 
 THE
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 8i 
 
 JL HE work from which this example has been taken, is the 
 mofl celebrated romance of the Eaft, and has rendered im- 
 mortal the name of its author, Ferdujl of Toos, who is 
 flyled by orientaUfls, and well deferves the honourable title of, 
 " The Perlian Homer." It is a colledlion of the ancient tra- 
 ditions and Romantic ftories of his country, containing in 
 above fixty thoufand couplets, a variety of heroic and amo- 
 rous, hiftorical and fabulous poems ; a fpecies of compofition 
 which has been always a favourite among the Perfians, after 
 whofe example, probably, their Arabian neighbours became 
 lovers of romance *. 
 
 It is certain, that above twelve centuries ago, in the days of 
 Mohammed, the romantic ftory of Ruftam, which is the fub- 
 jedt of the prefent example, and fimilar tales, were popular in 
 Perfia : returning from which country, an Arabian merchant, 
 NaJJer ben Hareth, related them to his countrymen, and fo de- 
 lighted them by the narration of thofe fidlitious adventures, that 
 they became difgufted with the dull traditions of the Koran, and 
 Naffer ben Hareth incurred the maledidlion of the prophet ■\. 
 
 * See the admirable " Oratio de Ingenio Arabum," by the late Profeflbr H. A. 
 
 Schultens, Leyden, 410. 1788, p, 30. " ncque tam ex ingenio Arabico fluxit, 
 
 " quam ex Petfarum atque Indorum cultiore fapientia quae infigniter quoque adjuvit 
 " naturalem ingenii proclivitatem ad fidiones et fabulas Romanenfes," 
 
 f See D'Herbelot Bibl. Orient. Art. Najfer ben Ilareih, &c. 
 
 M Alluding
 
 82 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 Alluding to compofitions of this nature, an ingenious 
 writer, who refided among the Perfians, informs us, that 
 " they hayc romances of famous heroes and their deeds, among 
 " which are pleafant rencounters, huntings, love-intrigues, 
 " banquettings, defcriptions of flowers and delightful groves, 
 •♦ emphatically fet down," &c. &c *. 
 
 And as I fhall have occafion in the courfe of this work to 
 fpeak of the battle here mentioned, between Ruftam and 
 Sohraub, and other romantic Perfian ftories, I difmifs the 
 fubjedt for the prefent, and return to the difcuffion of 
 manufcript difficulties. 
 
 Plate V. No. 5. 
 
 " Bekhaub atmedun En/oof aleyhi ajfalam Zeleekhara, nuhet suim ve 
 " naum u mekaum oee daniften ve b'akel a hoojlj baz aumedun." 
 
 " The coming of Jofeph, (may peace be with him) in a dream 
 " to Zeleckha the third time, and her learning his name and con- 
 " dition, and her return toreafon and underflanding." 
 
 The beautiful Zeleekha, whofe amours with the patriarch 
 Jofeph, are celebrated by the Poet Jami, was fo diftradled by the 
 violence of her love as to lofe all power of reafon and recol- 
 ledtion, and remain deprived of her fenfes, till the appearance 
 of the beloved youth, as above-mentioned, reftored peace to 
 
 * Dr. Fryer's Travels, p. 369, folio, 1681. 
 
 5 her
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 83 
 
 her mind, and calmed the agitation of her foul. From a very 
 fine copy of Jami's poem, I have extraded the lines given in this 
 Number, being the title of a chapter, written in blue ink, and 
 ornamented with lines of gold, &c. and in the frontifpicce is 
 given the beginning of the fame chapter, as a fpecimen of fine 
 poetry, written in a corredt and beautiful hand. 
 
 Of this title the letters of each word, are here inferted, 
 according to the Perfian original, viz. 
 
 " Bkhuab amdn Tusfalyh aljlam ZIykha'ranubt sum," 
 «« Vnam v mkam uy Danjln v bakl v hujh baz amdn." 
 
 By the help of this mode of writing the Perfian, it will be 
 eafy for the reader to analyze and explain to his own fatis- 
 fadlion the graphical difficulties of this paflage. In the word 
 Tufuf, of the firft line, he will remark that the two points of 
 ya are not fituated under their proper letter, but thrown to the 
 left under Sin, and that ofy^ final, in the fame word, is placed 
 over the middle of that charader. 
 
 Under Alfalam are three points, which the reader will 
 immediately perceive to be merely ornamental, and fuperfluous, 
 and fuch as I before mentioned in the laft page of Chapter the 
 Third. 
 
 ThE' points of ya in Zeleekharat are not placed exadi)' 
 under that letter, but rather under the Za and Lam, and in the 
 word Nubet, the points of final ta are thrown over that of the 
 
 Ma N, and
 
 84 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 N, and the point o^ ba placed under the flroke of final ta, 
 which gives it the appearance of a final ba. 
 
 In the fecond line the point of Nin nam, is placed to the 
 left of the Alif, and under the word Danijien, are three 
 ornamental and fuperfluous points, like thofc above-men- 
 tioned under the word Alfalam ; the D and Alif, are under 
 the N and S, and the point of the initial N not placed 
 over its proper letter, but to the left of it. 
 
 Of Kaf in Akl, the left point is placed over the Lam, the 
 ha of hoofl}, is a little turn of the pen ; and in the hollow of the 
 Shin, are placed the Ba and Alif of Baz ; the MeJJa of Au- 
 medun, is fituated over the Alif and Za oi Baz, by which cir- 
 cumflance, the point of Xa is inclofed between the two Alifs 
 of Baz and Aumedun, its own letter, and the Medda above. 
 
 Titles and heads of chapters, as the reader will perceive 
 by this, and the two preceding numbers, are written in a larger 
 charadler, and generally in red, blue, or golden letters, and 
 according to the fubjed:, in one, two, or more lines. 
 
 I MUST here remark, the general accuracy of the Perfians, 
 who announce in the title of each chapter or fedion, its princi- 
 pal contents and fubjedl. The negligence and inattention of 
 the Arabian writers in this refped:, are very ferious defeifls, and 
 ftrongly reprehended by a moft; learned Orientalift, in a pafTage, 
 which, as it defcribes as well the faults of Perfian as of Arabic 
 manufcripts, I fliall here infert, in the words of the author, 
 
 " Nullus,
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 85 
 
 " NuHus, ut plurimum rerum index, nulla capitum fumma^ 
 " (folemne Arabia's fcriptis vitium) occurrit, explorandis, 
 " enucleandifqiie five in experienda multiplici, anibigua, intri- 
 " cata fcribendi forma j five in Uteris vetuftate ipfa caducis at- 
 " que aciem fugientibus perfpiciendis : adde vocales paffim de- 
 " ficientes, pundta diacritica per librariorum aut infcitiam aut 
 *' incuriam faepius omiffa, vel male praefixa. Adde mendofa 
 " vocabula, decurtatas fententias, corruptas vel dubie exaratas 
 ♦* vel omnino prjeteritas Numerorum notas, aliaque id genus 
 " fcripturae vitia que legendi atque intelligendi negotium quam 
 " difficillimum effecere adeo ut vatem potius quam ledorem 
 •' et interpretem non femel agere fim coaftus*." 
 
 PLATE V. No. 6. 
 
 " MiJI too nedeedeham bedeedem." 
 
 (A fair one) " Like you I have not feen 1 have feen," &c. 
 
 In this line, from a fonnet of the poet Sadi-f, the abrupt 
 eonclufion of the fentence is marked by two little flrokes of the 
 pen, and a blank fpace is left between it, and the beginning of 
 
 * See the " Bibliotheca Arabico-Hifpana, of the learned CafiH, preface vi. Madrid, 
 Folio, 1760, a mod rare and valuable work, in two volumes, diftributed only in prefents 
 by the Spanifti Court. 
 i For fome account of this.ce!ebrated poet and his works. See Chap. IV. p. 56, J7. &c. 
 
 another
 
 86 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 another fentence, in which the lover declares that he had feen 
 the lovelieft fair one's of the earth, but none equal to the 
 miftrefs whom he addrefTes. 
 
 PLATE V. No. 7. 
 
 «' Maunend too audmy dcr afak 
 
 " Memhitt neboud peri nedeedem," 
 
 •' No human creature in this world 
 
 " Was ever equal to you 1 have not feen a fairy." 
 
 This diftich is, likewife, from the poet Sadi, and I give 
 it as a rare inftance of the conclufion of a fentence afcer- 
 tained by a blank fpace left between it and that which fol- 
 lows. Its graphical difficulties are fo few, that the lines 
 written ad literam, will explain them. 
 
 " Mannd tu admy dr afak 
 
 " Mmkn nbud pry ndydm." 
 
 THE extraordinary degree of beauty which the Perfians 
 affign to the imaginary being called Peri, may be conceived 
 from the extravagant compliment paid by the poet to his mif- 
 trefs, in the firll fentence of this diftich. Of the Peries I (hall 
 
 fpeak
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES, gy 
 
 fpeak more fully in the next chapter, and I fliall in this place 
 only obferve, that fo exceffive in their admiration of beauty are 
 the amorous Perfians, that thofe who poflefs it in an eminent 
 degree, are confidered by them as fomething more than mortal. 
 Of this opinion is the celebrated poet Khofru, in the beginning 
 of one of his fonnets, from the Divan, or collection of his 
 poems. • 
 
 " Khoobaun gumaun meber keh az awlad-i Admy^ end 
 " Hour' end ya ferljhteh va ya ruah azem' end. 
 
 " Think not that beautiful damfels are of the human race : 
 " They are houries of Paradife, or angels, or fuperior fpirits." 
 
 PLATE V. No. 8. 
 
 In this number are given the Perfian numerical figures, as 
 I have found them defcribed in feveral well-written books. I 
 have before remarked (page 70.) that when the word Seh^ 
 three, is exprelTcd by letters, the numerical charadler is gene- 
 rally placed over the ftroke of Sin. It is to be obferved, that 
 the Perfian numerical figures are to be read, as with us, from 
 left to right. 
 
 In the lower lines of this example are given, in Perfian 
 figures, the dates of the laft year, according to the Mahometan 
 
 and
 
 T> 
 
 88 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 and Chriftian -^^ras ; or, as the latter is ftyled in Afia, " the 
 " year of the McfTiah * ." 
 
 PLATE V. No. 9. 
 
 •' Nehyjad dofieh-e-re'ikaun pe'ijh bulbul 
 " Nehhahed khaterefl) juz nehhet-a-gul." 
 
 " You may place an hundred handfuls of fragrant herbs and flowers before 
 
 " the nightingale: 
 " Yet he wifhes not, in his conftant heart, for more than the fweet breath 
 
 " of his beloved rofc." 
 
 IN this couplet from the poet Jami I have given an exam- 
 ple of the fanciful manner in which the Perfians often write 
 
 * An index of the correfponding years is prefixed to the fecond volume of Richardfon's 
 Arab, and Perf. Diftionary, calculated to the year 1900 of our xra, of the Hegira, 13 18, 
 
 The learned ProfelTor Tychfen has given fome rules for thofc who wifti to afcertaia 
 the year of the Hegira, correfponding with any particular year of the Chriftian ajra. 
 See his " IntroduaioinRemNumariamMuhamtnedanorum," 8vo. Roftoch, 1794. p. 36. 
 
 I HAVF before quoted this author, (p. 3.) whofe knowledge of the Eaftern languages 
 is extenfive ; and his peculiar Ikill in deciphering the moft ancient and difficult Arabic 
 infcriptions, carved in the Cufic charafter, fo ingennoully and honourably acknowledged 
 by his learned antagonift, the Italian Abbe AJfmani, Profeflbr of Oriental Languages at 
 '^Q/^jfJi^ Jft d Mn , in his letter of November, 1788, wherein he fays, " Vi fiete un portento nel 
 " decifrare cio che ad altrj fembra indicifrabile, Vi fiete talmente addimefticato coUa 
 " fcrittura Cufica che non ve alcuno che pofla uguagliarvi." See p. 32. Appendix 
 Interpr. Infer. Cuf. among the Quatuor Opufcula, &c. of Tychfen, before quoted, p. 3, 
 Roftoch, 4to, 1794. 
 
 fome
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 89 
 
 fome ftriking paffages, particularly in pages oppofite to a mi- 
 niature painting, or other embellifliments. As this fpecimen 
 requires fome explanation, I fhall endeavour to point out and 
 remove its principal difficulties, by a minute analyfis of every 
 word, and enable the reader to afcertain the exadl number and 
 arrangement of the letters, by the following lines, in which 
 the original fpelling is adhered to. 
 
 " Nhy fd dfth ryhhn pyfh blbl, 
 « Nkhuahd khatrfh jz nkht gl." 
 
 In the firfl word Nehy, the point of N, is not placed over its 
 proper letter, and the final ^a is without points ; the Daloi Sad 
 is little more than the termination of the thick flroke, conne(fl- 
 ing it with the preceding letter. See under Dal, in the fecond 
 Chapter. 
 
 In Dojieb, the d is placed under the ftroke of Sin, and the 
 final ha exprefled by a thick rounded turn of the pen, over 
 which nearly, is placed the letter Ra, beginning the next word 
 Reihaufi, where the reader will obferve, that a long ftroke ferves 
 for the body of ya, that its points alone diftinguifh it, and that 
 thefe are rather placed under the hha. The A/if is a mere 
 hair-ftroke, and over the final Nun, are placed the two firft 
 letters of Peijh', and the points oi Shin in that word. Thofe of 
 pa zndi ya, are thrown together under the ftroke of Shin, and in 
 
 N the
 
 90 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 the curve of Shin, is placed the point of the initial Ba of Bulbul. 
 The medial Ba of Bulbul, has its point clofe below it ; but 
 that of the initial Ba is placed in the hook of Shin, belonging 
 to the preceding word. 
 
 The fecond line begins with Khahed, the negative particle N 
 being prefixed, and for this particle, we find nothing more than 
 a long hair-ftroke, marked however by the diacritical point of 
 ISlun. That of Kha, is placed to the left of its proper letter, 
 the Alif is a fimple hair-flroke, the ha is a little reverfed 
 comma, joined to the final Da! by a turn of the pen. The 
 point of Kha in Khatr, touches the top of Alif. The Ra is 
 abruptly joined to the T^a, and the points of final Shin, are 
 thrown over the firft indenture of that letter. 
 
 The point of Jim in 'JhZ, is placed in the hook of the pre- 
 ceding Shin of Khaterfo, and the point of Za low down, and 
 to the left fide of the letter. 
 
 In the word Nekhet, the point of Nun, is not exa(5lly over 
 its letter, and the body of Caf, is exprefled by a longer ftroke 
 than is ufual, the upper or oblique ftroke is a little infledled, 
 and the lower part of the letter joined to the fuccceding ha in 
 a very fudden and abrupt manner. The hanms into the final 
 ta, by a turn of the pen. 
 
 . The G/T/'of the word Gul, is defcribed as a fmall circle, 
 adhering to the perpendicular flroke oi Lam, with its oblique 
 ftroke proceeding from it. 
 
 THE
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. gr 
 
 X HE exceflive delight which the Perfian nightingale de- 
 rives from the enjoyment of the rofe's fragrance, affords a 
 thoufand beautiful allufions and allegories to the eaflcrn poets : 
 In a line from one of the fonnets by the celebrated Sadi, 
 he pays to his miftrefs the moft delicate compliment that a 
 Perfian lover could exprefs, by faying, 
 
 " Bulbul ar rooee too beened tulb-e- Gul nekund*." 
 
 " Should the nightingale once behold thy beauteous face, he would no 
 '• longer feek his beloved rofe." 
 
 To account for this allegorical paffion entertained by the 
 nightingale for the rofe, and which is the fubjedt of fo much 
 beautiful imagery in Perfian poetry, we muft confidcr that the 
 plaintive voice of that fweet bird, is firft heard at the fame 
 feafon of the year in which the rofe begins to blow i by a 
 natural affociation of ideas, they are therefore connedled as the 
 conftant and infeparable attendants of the fpring. It is 
 probable too, that the nightingale's favourite retreat may be the 
 rofe garden, and the leaves of that flower occafionally his 
 food : but it is certain that he is delighted with its fmell, and 
 
 * The word in this line which I have here written ar, according to the Perfian ortho- 
 graphy, is a contraiflion of agiir if ; moftly ufed in poetry. 
 
 N 2 fometimes
 
 92 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 fometimes indulges in the fragrant luxury (if I may be allowed 
 the exprcflion) to fuch excefs, as to fall from the branch, in- 
 toxicated and helplefs, to the ground*. 
 
 PLATE VI. No. I. 
 
 — " Chimauncheb berdoo ajz keJhtend—Nuzim — 
 " Bedil goft Riiftam kch imroozc jaun;' 
 " Bemaiined bemen zendeham jawedann" — 
 " Hetnidoon bedil goft Deev-i-/epeed, 
 " Keh az jaiin-^jfjireenjhudem m'autneed." — 
 
 « Clmn her doo as gi'./hty giriftun hail Jhudend Jdaty derung 
 *' Nemudends Ruftam deed keh az kboon-a-Dive rooe~e-%emem gul 
 
 In thefe lines 1 have given the words, (though not 
 arranged in the fame order as thofe in the engraved fpecimen) 
 of a pafTage from a Perfian manufcript, defcribing the fingle 
 combat of the celebrated Ruflam, with his very formidable 
 antagonift, the Dive, or Dew-Sepeed -, they fought with unre- 
 
 • See Jones's Remarks on this fubjcft and a beautiful paflage from the Shah Nameh of 
 Ferdufi, in his Latin Commentaries on Afiatic poetry, p. 140, &c. 
 
 See alfo the Religio Veterum P,r/arum of the moft learned Hyde, p. 342. (Oxf. 1700) 
 " Casterum in Oriente Lufcinii Rofas odorari folent, a rofa ad rofam volando et 
 " odorandoi donee plane inebrientur et cadant, ita ut a (juovis capiantiir," &c. &c. 
 
 mitting
 
 Ti ate.yi. 
 
 
 
 ,A:' <> 
 
 
 '^^) y^ ^f 
 
 i- 
 
 ->» 
 
 r<- 
 
 .l^-^J. 
 
 ^/ <7y 
 

 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 93 
 
 mitting fury fora confiderable time, — ' ' So that" to ufe the words 
 of the fpecimen; " — They both became weary and faint/* 
 •' PoE T RY — * ' In his heart (to himfelf) faid Ruftam, Oh that this 
 " day my life, may remain with me, and I fhall furely live for 
 " ever!" — At the fame time the Dive-Sepeed faid within him- 
 felf, " Alas ! I have no hope of faving my precious life," — 
 •' When after a long and dreadful ftruggle they paufed for a 
 •' while, Ruftam perceived, that from the blood of his adver- 
 " fary, the earth was ftained with purple, or that the face of 
 •< the earth had alTumed the colour of rofes." 
 
 TO render the deciphering of the original as eafy as pofli- 
 ble to the beginner, I fhall here give the Perfian words, placed 
 exactly in the order of the engraved fpecimen, and as in that 
 diverted of their vowels : 
 
 1. " Chnanch hr du ajz kfhtnd — NZM — bdl gft Rftm kh amruz jan :: bmand 
 
 2. " binn zndham javdan : : hmydun bdl gft dyv fpyd : : kh az jan 
 
 3. " fhyryn flidm naamyd : : chiin hr du az gHity grftn 
 
 4. " hay I flidnd faaty drnk nmtidnd Rftm dyd kh az khun 
 
 5. " dyv ruy zmyn gl fhd." 
 
 The writing of this fpecimen, although fufficiently accu- 
 rate, is far from being elegant ; the points of the two Chims in 
 
 the
 
 94 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 the firft word are confufed, as are thofe of Pa and Ya, in 
 Sepeed, (fecond line.) The reader will perceive, that through- 
 out the whole example, final Ta is deftitutc of points. In 
 the word Rujlam, which occurs both in the firfl and fourth 
 lines, the indented ftroke of Sin is brought above the Ra. 
 In the laft word (Bemaned) of the firft line, as in the firfl: word 
 (Bemen) of the fecond, the initial Ba is to be known by little 
 more than its point. In the third line, the letters Shin, Ta, 
 and Ra, of Shircen, are run abruptly one into another j and the 
 laft word of that line, the Ra, proceeds in almofl a ftraight 
 line from the lower part of Gaf. 
 
 This, and the two other examples given in the fame plate, 
 are from manufcripts written in the coarfe and hafty manner of 
 the Indian Munllaees : the reader mufl not expedt, therefore, 
 in fuch writings, to have his eye delighted with graceful flou- 
 riflies, minute hair-ftrokes, or elegant combinations. 
 
 AMONG the moll celebrated romances of the Eaft, whe- 
 ther founded on hiftory or fable, the Shdh-nameh, or Book of 
 Kings, which unites both, is juftly efteemed the firfl : and 
 has gained the fame degree of fame to its immortal author, 
 Ferdoofi (or Firdauji) among the Perfians, as the compofition 
 of the Odyffey and Iliad, has done for Homer among the 
 
 5 Greeks.
 
 Chap, v.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 95 
 
 Greeks *. Like thefe, the Perfian poem defcribes kings and 
 heroes, protedled or perfecuted by fuperhuman powers : relates 
 the adventures of perfonages who never exifted but in the 
 poet's imagination : and of others whofe exiftence is dubious, 
 though not improbable. The Shah Nameh, however, defcends 
 to the ages of kings and heroes, whom authentic hiftory 
 acknowledges. 
 
 But in the prefent fpecimen, the poet defcribes the dread- 
 ful combat of the famous Rujiam, who may be flyled the Per- 
 fian Hercules, with an imaginary being endued with preter- 
 natural qualities ; which, in fome refpedis, may be found to 
 correfpond with the Demigods of Greece, though not in all ; 
 and particularly in the eflential qualification of immortality. 
 
 For, although the Dives are fuppofed to live very long, 
 yet, like the gentle Peries, another creature of Perfian imagi- 
 nation, their lives are limited J and, from the defcriptions of 
 their battles, we find that they were obnoxious to the blows of 
 an human foe. From the malignancy of their nature, the Dives 
 waged war not only with mankind, but perfecuted with unre- 
 mitting ferocity the Peries, a race of beings to which they 
 were as oppolite as imagination can conceive ; differing in all 
 refpedts, fex, difpofition, and appearance: the Peries being 
 
 * For antcdotes of Ferdufi, See the " Anthologia Perfica," p. 80, &c. 410. 
 Vienna, 1778; and, '< Champion's Poetical Tranflation of Part of iht Shah Nameh," 
 4to. J 79 1. 
 
 female,
 
 96 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES, [Chap. V. 
 
 female, gentle, amiable, and beautiful: their enemies, the 
 Dives, all males, cruel, wicked, and of the mofl: hideous 
 afpedl *. 
 
 But I find that the idea of Dive, or Dew, is very vague, 
 even among the Perfians, as indeed muft ever be the cafe where 
 poetic fancy can add properties and attributes at will. In a 
 manufcript before me, which mentions the Ghiil (or fpecies of 
 daemon, fuppofed to dwell in defarts, or church-yards, and to 
 devour men and beafts) under that word fome Perfian anno- 
 tator has written Dive, as fynonymous, or rather, as the word 
 in Perfian approaching nearefl to the fenfe of the former, 
 which is Arabic. 
 
 And the poet Nizami, in the beginning of his Skander 
 Nameh, implores the divine protection againfl the Dive, or 
 Dew i as it were the great Dive, which a marginal note ex- 
 plains by Sh'ietaun, Satan, or the Devil. This word is Arabic, 
 from the Hebrew taty the proper Perfian name being 
 
 T r 
 
 Aherimdn, for which the word Dive is now generally ufed -)-. 
 
 • The idea which the Afiatjcs entertain of thofe imaginary beings, is very plainly 
 exprefled in the following defcription of their painted reprefentations. " At Labor in 
 " the Mogul's Palace, piftures of Dews or Dives, intermixt in moft ugly Ihapes, with 
 «' long homes, ftaringe eyes, ftiagge hair, great fangs, ugly pawes, long tailes, with 
 " fuch horrible difFormity and deformity, that I wonder the poore women are not 
 " frightened therewith." — See William Finch's Obfervations, &-c. in Purchas's 
 Pilgrims, Vol. I. 433. in 5 vols, folio. 1625. 
 
 + " Pessimum humani Generis hoftis — apud modeiniores is vocatur Div." &c. 
 Hyde's" Relig. Vet. Perf. 162." 
 
 The
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 97 
 
 The manufcript from which J have extrafted the fpecimen 
 in queftion, is an abridgement of the great Shah Nameh, by 
 Ferdufi; a work written entirely in verfe, but here abridged 
 in profe, with paflages of the original poetry occafionally 
 interfperfed. 
 
 The combatants Riijlafn, and the Dive Sepeed, or White 
 Dive, had fought for a confiderable time, with nearly equal fuc- 
 cefs J for we read in this paffage, that weary and exhaufted they 
 fuipended their blows, and each within himfelf defpaired of 
 efcaping from his adverfary's fword: *♦ If he could furvive 
 " that day, the Perfian warrior would conlider himfelf as im- 
 ** mortal," — and the Demon defpaired of faving his " fweet 
 " life*"r Of this, the hero Ru/Iam, foon deprived him, for 
 feeing the ground ftained by the blood that gufhed in torrents 
 from the monfler's wounds, he rufhed on him with confidence 
 and renewed vigour, flung him to the earth, and tore his ma- 
 lignant heart from the mutilated and hideous corfe ; this 
 combat is the fubjecfl of a painting, which lately ornamented 
 the entrance into a public building at Shirauz-f-. 
 
 * A Grecian hero, in nearly the fame predicament, ufes a fimilar expreflion : the Jann 
 Shirein of Ferdufi, is the f lAoy r,ro^ of Homer, in the fpeech of Heflor, who had almoft 
 expired, in confequence of a wound received from Ajax. Iliad, B. i j, 25 1. 
 
 t " At the door of the Ark, is a painting done in very lively colours, reprefenting the 
 " combat between the celebrated Perfian hero Rufiam and Ditb Sifecd or the White Dismoit, 
 " The ftory is taken from Ferdufi's Shah Nama, and the figures are at full length, but 
 " ill proportioned." Francklin's Tour from Bengal to Periia, p, 55. Lond. 8vo, 1790. 
 
 O Of
 
 98 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 Of the many romantic flories concerning Ruflam, it is 
 highly probable that fome hiftoric fadts have been the foun- 
 dation, though the authentic records of them cannot now be 
 found, or if they ftill exift, mufl remain unexplained, till a key 
 be difcovered to the Perfepolitaninfcriptions. His fame, as an 
 extraordinary hcro^ was celebrated in the Romances of Perfia, 
 (as I before mentioned, p. 8 1 ,) above twelve centuries ago ; he is 
 fuppofed by fome, to have been contemporary with Artaxerxes, 
 or Ahazuerus ; his tomb is flill fhewn to travellers, and tradi- 
 tion has affixed his name to a gigantic figure cut in ftone, near 
 the ruins of ancient Perfepolis, now called Chehelmindr, or the 
 " Forty Pillars." — And near the city of Shirauz, is an immenfe 
 quadrangular monument, in commemoration of Ruflam's vic- 
 torious combat with the Deev Sepeed, or White Demon*. 
 
 * This is the Kelaat-i Deev Sefeed, or Caftfe of tl*e White Giant, vvliich Father 
 Angelo, in his Gazophylacium Perficum, p. 1 27, declares to have been the mod venerable 
 monument of antiquity, which he had feen in Perfia, " Antiquita la piu angujia ch' hahl/i 
 " io weduto in Perjia :" built,, according to tradition, on the fpot where the Demon fell, 
 by whom, probably, is typified fome cruel and powerful tyrant, whom Ruftam oppofed 
 and conquered. Gazoph: Perfic: Folio, Amderd. 1684. 
 
 PLATE
 
 Chap. V.J PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 99 
 
 PLATE VI. No. 2. 
 
 " Jaihoon lefatha }iam'e rudi eft der Balkh, wa der hedyz aiimedcheft 
 " keh chehar jawy az behifit foriid aumede'mi, Jaihonn, va Shaibooii^ va 
 " Dejkh, va Forat, keh derCufeh eft." ' 
 
 " Jaihoon, with the orthographical mark Fatha, is tlie name of 
 " a river in Balkh: (Tranfoxania or Choraflan) and it is tra- 
 " ditionally faid that four ftreams defcend from Paradife: the 
 " Jaihoon, the Shaihoon, the Dejlch, and the Euphrates, which is 
 " in Cufa, or Chaldea." 
 
 This fpecimen is given from a Ferhung, or Perfian Dic- 
 tionary, (article yat/joon) andvvillfervetofhewhowpropernames 
 are diftinguidied in fuch works. Over the word yai'&oon, Shai- 
 hoon, Dejleh, and Forat, are placed thofe marks of diftinftion, 
 already mentioned in the explanation of Plate V. No. 10. — 
 A mark of the fame kind is alfo placed over the beginning of 
 one fentence, and after the end of another in the fecond line. — 
 The words in the original order and orthography, are thus : 
 
 » I. " yyhhiin hfthh nam 
 
 2. " Riidyft dr Blk u dr hhdys amdh aft kh chhar Juy az 
 
 3. « Bhjhtfrud amdandjyhun u Shyhhun u Djlh u Frat kh dr Kufhaft." 
 
 O3 In
 
 lOo PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 In the firft word of this example, the reader will obferve, 
 that the body of hba, comes between the letter ya, and its dia- 
 critical points : in the word £^/^//>6^, the points of /a are ra- 
 ther placed over the final /j/ja. In the fecond line the^^ o/'r//- 
 ify eft has not its points placed exadlly under it ; and the point 
 oi Ba in Baikh, is within the hollow of final Kha ; the points 
 of ^/ja in bedys are not exadily under that letter, and the 
 Alifof AJl is below the SinzxA Tci. The point of Chim, in 
 Chehar, (for three points) is placed very low, and the ha ex- 
 preflcd by a kind of upright comma ; the point of Jhn in 
 yuwy, feems rather to belong to the Vaw. In the third line, 
 the laft fyllable of Amedand, is placed at a diflance from the 
 former part of the word ; the final Nun of Shihoon^ has its 
 point thrown above it; the final ha in Dejleh, as in the word 
 Keh, both in the fecond and third line, is expreffed by a fliort 
 turn of the pen, alfo in Ciifeh ; the laft word AJl is divided, 
 and the Sin and Ta thrown above the line. In Perfian 
 Lexicons, the article or word to be looked for is written in 
 red ink. 
 
 IN this fpecimen of Perfian definition, we find the names 
 of four very celebrated rivers, of which the Jaihoon, or Gihon, 
 (the Oxus,') is the firft in order. It rifes in the Province of Sog- 
 
 5 diana.
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. loi 
 
 diana, among the mountains of Imaus, which feparate /ra^^, 
 or Perfia, from Turaiin, the coun'^ry of the ancient Scythians. 
 This River is alfo called Amii, by the Afiatics, and BaBros, 
 by the Greek and Roman writers, probably from Bokhara, a 
 city and province which it bounds*. 
 
 The waters of this famous River fall into the Cafpian or 
 Hircanian Sea, which, from the bordering countries, has been 
 called by the Perfians, " The Sea of Khoraffan, or of Gilaun — 
 Deriya-i- Gilau ni." 
 
 Among his other titles, thePerfian Emperor flyled him- 
 felf " Lord of the four Rivers of Paradife, which an inge- 
 nious traveller, (Sir Thomas Herbert, p. 225,) explains by 
 •' Euphrates, Tigris, Araxes, and Indus ;" although in another 
 place, (p. 243,) he acknowledges his uncertainty, whether 
 thefe were the ftreams that watered that happy garden ; that 
 the Euphrates and Tigris, were the principal rivers of the ter- 
 reftrial Paradife, is allowed by all writers. The yihoon, or 
 Oxus, as we have juft feen, is fuppofed by fome to have its 
 fource there, but as to the river Shihoon, as written in the 
 
 * The moft accurate and ingenious Geographer of the prefent day, is not, however, of 
 opinion that the modern Bokhara is the Badria of the Ancients : That it is fuppofed 
 fo, he confiders, like many other prevailing notions, as a geographical mifconception.— 
 See Rennel's Memoir of a Map of Hindooftan. P. 199. Second Edition. Quarto. 
 London. 1792. 
 
 fpecimen,
 
 1.0Z PERSIAN MISCELLANTIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 fpecimen, I mufl: confefs my ignorance. I cannot affinn tliat 
 it means the Araxes, which rifes in Armenia, to the Well of 
 the Cafpian Sea j and I fliould rather imagine that tl^e points 
 over the firfl letter were fupcrfluous, and that it fignifics the 
 Sihoon, or ancient Jaxartcs, hetween which, and the lower 
 part of the courfes of the Jihoon, or Oxiis, lies that coimtry 
 called Tranfoxania formerly, and by the modern Afiatics, 
 Maive)-''ul Neher, " The Land beyond the River." 
 
 But fo little has been done on the geography of thofe 
 ■countries, and fo ignorant are we ftillof the exact fituation of 
 the rivers which we fpeak of, that a mofl learned writer takes 
 particular occafion to remark the peculiar obfcurity which yet 
 hangs about them*; and even the celebrated Orientalifl, 
 M. D. Ilcrbelot, only tells us, that perhaps ('' pcut-etre") 
 the Shihooii, " is only another name for that river, which the 
 " Ancients called Jaxartes, and the Arabs write Sihoo7i-\y 
 
 Of the river Tigris, fo celebrated by the Greek and Latin 
 writers, the ancient name is no longer ufed, and it is now called 
 
 * "De Araxe — Magnam ethic fluvias Geographic obfcuritatem aJtulit, diim diverfis 
 adco locis deferibitur, &c." 
 
 -" De OxQ et Jaxarte ; Nufquam major eft Geographia obfcurita^ et ignorantia 
 quam in traftu qui mare five lacum et regnum Sinenfe interjacet.'' — See p. 541, and 
 544, of Is. VolTius'sNoteson Pomponius Mela. 8vo, Leyden. 1722. 
 
 f Biblioth. Orient. Art. «' Scheikhoun ;" " C'eft peut-etre le nom de la meme 
 Jliviere que Ics Arabes appelknt autrcmcnt Sihon, &c." 
 
 Dejleh;
 
 Chap, v.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 103 
 
 Dej/ehi the etymology of the former is traced to the Perfian 
 word Teer an arrow, which the river, from its velocity, was 
 laid to refemble*. To this word the Greeks (according to 
 their ufual cuftom of adapting to their own idiom, all foreign, 
 or as they llyle them barbarous, words) added the common 
 termination of the nominative cafe />, and the interpolation of 
 the Greek gamma may be accounted for by the probable 
 gutturahty of pronunciation with which the Perfians uttered 
 the letter R.-\- 
 
 The rapidity of this river's courfe Is alluded to by Sadi, in 
 an elegy which has been publiilied with a Latin tranflation. 
 " The fame of my verfes," fays the prophetic poet, " fhall 
 *' fpread over the world with greater impetuofity than the cur- 
 rent of the Tigris J j" and the river Dejleh is celebrated in a par- 
 ticular chapter of a moft excellent Geographical poem by 
 Khacan).^ 
 
 * " Tigris a celerltate qua defluit, Tigri nomen inditum ell quia Perfica lingua Ti- 
 grim sagittam appellant. Qti int. Curt. — See the various notes of Popma, Cellarius, Loc- 
 cenius, and other learned critics in Snaketiberg's molt excellent edition of Quint. Curtius. 
 4to, 1724, lib. 4, cap, 9, 255. 
 
 + A guttural pronunciation of feveral letters, fuarcely to be attained by foreigners, fs 
 a ftriking charafleriftic of all the Eaftern languages ; the Ititti ghain, in particular, ap- 
 proaches in fome inilances to tlie roughnefs of a croaking R. — See Richardfon's Arab, and 
 Peri". Did. Vol. II. p. 6. 
 
 % The original is given in the Anthologia Perfica, p. 50, 410. Vienna, 17S8. 
 
 § The " Tohfit al Irakein^' a fine defcription in Verfe of the two Irnh, Arabian and 
 Perfian Provinces, — See particularly the chapter intituled " Der Suffet-i-DcjUh hezeret'e 
 Bagdad." 
 
 4 The
 
 104 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 The ancient Medes as well as Perfians (according to 
 Pliny) called an arrow Tigris, and a learned commentator on 
 Plutarch contends that this is properly a Medic, not a Per- 
 Jian word* ; but the two nations are confounded by moft au- 
 thors, on account of their vicinity. Yet, though all ancient 
 writers agree, that the name, whether Medic or Perfian, was 
 impofed as expreflive of the rapidity of this river's current, we 
 find one traveller who calls them all in queftion, and aflerts, 
 that its ftream is lefs fwift, even than that of the Euphrates-j-. 
 
 " On the banks of the Dejleb, " am I fallen," (fays the 
 plaintive poet Jam}) *' unfriended^ and remote from any habi- 
 •* tation, whilft a torrent of tears, like that of the rapid ftream, 
 " flows from my eyes;};." This river, from its conflux with the 
 Euphrates, may be faid to water the plains of Babylon, and I 
 could never read the above-mentioned paflage, in the original 
 
 * " Plin. VI. 27, and Mauflacus in Not: ad Plut. de Flum. 
 
 + " Pietro della Vallc, Epift. 17. 
 
 X The poet JamJ, dwells with much feeling on his fufferings in this place, for he repeats, 
 in nearly the fame words, the paflage above given, in two poems of his Divaun, and, I be- 
 lieve in others,— 
 
 ♦' Ber kuttar-i Dejleb am emfiadeh, dur az khatt a maim, 
 " Wa az doo deedeh Dejleh-i khoon der kuttar men rurvan" 
 
 And one of his Gazils, or Sonnets, thus begins : 
 
 " Ber kunar-i DijUh dur az yar 'va mehjur as dyar, 
 
 •* Darent at ojhk-i chekur gom Dejleh-i khoon der kunar,'* , 
 
 Perfian
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 105 
 
 Perfian, without recoIIe<5ling the beautiful beginning of that 
 fine Hebrew pfalm or elegy, compofed in a fimilar forlorn fitu- 
 ation, and expreffive of the fame feehngs*. 
 
 From the original Chaldaic name n-a The Greeks have 
 formed their corrupt EvOJfiSTvif ; for it is vain to feek the etymology 
 of this word in a Greek compound. -f- The Perfians and 
 Arabians flill call the river by its ancient Hebrew name, 
 which they write, as in the engraved fpecimen Frdt. 
 
 The celebrated current of the Euphrates, was divided, ac- 
 cording to the Arabian geographer, whom Bochart follows J, 
 into five channels or branches, one of which led to Cufa in 
 Chaldea; and on the banks of another, was feated the 
 
 • " By the waters of Babylon we fat down and wept, &c. &c. Pfalm cxxxvii. 
 
 The beginning of Goldfmith's " Traveller" will alfo recur to one's mind, on reading 
 the Ferilaa paflage : 
 
 " Remote, unfriended, melancholy, flow, 
 
 " Or by the lazy Scheld, or wandering Po," &c. 
 
 t Thus Pliny would derive it from ^v'^oxim^, lietificare, becaufe, in its flagnations, this 
 river fertilized the foil, and thereby delighted the inhabitants of the adjacent plains. 
 Derivations of this kind, are fpoken of thus by the learned Selden — {Diis Syris, AJioreth) 
 " Multo magis enim nugantur Greculi." — " Sua in lingua origines hujufmodi ridicule 
 qusrentes" — and by another learned Orientalift, Relaudus, (in his " Differt. de vet. ling. 
 " Perf: article Paradifc'' — )" Ridiculi funt Grseci qui Paradifi et)-mon ex fuo 
 •• fermone ducunt"— Yet Pliny's derivation feems borrowed from the more direft radix 
 " of the Hebrew name ma fruftum ferre, &c. 
 
 X Geographia Sacra Phaleg. 3S. — Cadomi, folio, 1646. 
 
 P " Goliien
 
 io6 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 *' Golden Babylon'** once the proud miftrefs of the eaftern 
 world, being the capital of the AfTyrian monarchy, which 
 comprehended Syria, Mefopotamia, Chaldca, Perfia ; in fliort, 
 except India, all the great nations of weftern Afia. 
 
 On the banks of thofe celebrated flreams, the "jin nnnj 
 Neheroth Babel, or " Rivers of Babylon," of the royal 
 Pfalmift, the perfecuted Jews hung up their ufelefs harps, 
 nor would gratify " thofe who had led them captive into the 
 •* ftrange land with melody, or with a fong-f-." Thofe 
 banks were fo thickly planted with willow trees, as the learned 
 Bochart informs us, that the country of Babylon was thence 
 ftyled " The Vale of Willows;):" and on thofe trees were fuf- 
 pended the negleded and unftrung lyres of the captive 
 Hebrews. 
 
 At Babylon, probably, the ancient Perfians learned the arts 
 of magic incantation from the conquered Chaldeans§. The 
 witchcraft of Babel is mentioned in the Koran, and alluded to 
 by numberlefs Arabian and Perfian writers ; and to the Epoch 
 of the Babylonian conqueft, we may trace the multitude of 
 Chaldaic words, that are to be found in the Pahlavt, or ancient 
 language of Perfia. 
 
 In the arrangement and names of the Rivers, as given in 
 the engraved Specimen, we find a confiderable deviation from 
 
 • ♦' Ba«i/Xw» nioXvxqviios" — jEfchyl. Perfx. f Pfalm cxxxvii. 
 
 X Geogr. Sacr. Phaleg. 40. $ See Potter's note to ^fchylus's Perfians." 
 
 the
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 107 
 
 the Mofaic account of Paradife, or at leaft, the Hebrew names 
 muft have loft their original fignification, or, as is generally 
 fuppofed, the Septuagint have been miflaken, in making Pt/on, 
 to be the River Ganges, and Gihon, the Nile. But indeed, fo 
 vague is the knowledge we have of the terreftrial Paradife, that 
 although moft writers agree, in fuppofing its fituation to have 
 been at the conflux of the Tigris and Euphrates, yet fomehave 
 fuppofed it placed in Arabia Felix (as St. Augufline,) others 
 near the North Pole, in Egypt, &c. &c. The four rivers 
 mentioned by Mofes, which defcended from it, were the Pi/on, 
 the Gibon, the Hiddekel, and the Euphrates ; yet the learned 
 Milton was confcious of the uncertainty attending a particular 
 defcription of thofe rivers, and the countries through which 
 they flow, when, in the fourth book of his " Paradife Loft," 
 he wifely contents himfelf with mention of the four ftreams, 
 " whereof needs no account." 
 
 That the Nile was one of thofe rivers, feems to have been 
 formerly a popular notion. Ilhall quote here a paffage from 
 an ancient Pilgrim's Journal, who travelled in the Holy Land, 
 about the year 1400, the original manufcript of which is pre- 
 ferved in the Cottonian Library. 
 
 " In Egipt is a Citie faire 
 
 " That hight MafTaror clfe Kare,* 
 
 • Cairo, or Mefr, the capital of Eg>75t, of which the Arabic name, (from the 
 Hebrew) is ftill Mefr. 
 
 P 2 *• In
 
 io8 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 " In the which mony chirches bee, 
 
 " And oon is of our Lady — 
 
 " De Columpna calleth hit is 
 
 " And fent Barbara berict there is 
 
 " There is a water of gret prife 
 
 " That Cometh out of Paradife, 
 
 " The which is calleth Nilus 
 
 •' Men of that land thei faiethuse 
 
 " Alfo there is a gret Gardeyn 
 
 « Where that the Bawm groeth in," &c.* 
 
 That four rivers had their fources in Paradife or Eden 
 has alfo been a Rabbinical opinion : but they are defcribed as 
 very different from any of the rivers before mentioned — 
 «' thence" (fays a Jewifh author, fpcaking of Paradife) " flow 
 four flreams, to wit, of milk, of wine, of balfam, and of 
 honey."-)- The rivers defcribed by Mofes, a celebrated 
 Orientalifl: believes to be the Phafis, Araxes, Tigris, and 
 Euphrates, among whofe fources in Armenia, he fuppofes the 
 earthly paradife to have been fituatedj ; according to Milton 
 it was placed on the banks of the Tigris ; and his learned 
 
 * See" Purchas's Pilgrims," vol. ii. p. 1243. folio, 5 Vols, 162;. 
 + The words of this Rabinical writer are, in the original Hebrew, 
 
 See Day ; Millii Differt. de Mahamedifmo ante Mohamedem. p. 89. 4to, Leyden, 1 743, 
 J Relandi Differt. de Situ Paradifi Terreftris, p. 4. 
 
 commentator
 
 Chap. V.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 109 
 
 commentator (Newton) is of opinion that the united currents 
 of that river, and the Euphrates, in the words of the poet, 
 
 " Now divided into four main ftreams, 
 
 " Run diverfe, watering many a famous realm," &c. 
 
 *' Rolling on orient pearls and fands of gold." — 
 
 Par. Loft, B. 4, 233. 
 
 But as a farther purfuit of antiquities would feduce me 
 from my original plan, and encroach on the fubjedl of a fu- 
 ture publication : for accounts of Egypt, AfTyria, and Perfia, 
 I refer the reader to thofe authors, who have treated of their 
 ancient hiftory : to Herodotus particularly for the defcription 
 of Old Babylon's extent and fplendour ; and to the learned 
 Prefident of the Afiatic Society, for Remarks on the Chal- 
 daic Words, found in the Sanfcrit and Perfian languages*. 
 
 And I Ihall clofe my obfervations on this fpecimen, by 
 remarking the extreme refped: and veneration in which great 
 rivers have been held by all nations -f-. The Nile, whofe 
 
 * See " Sir Wm, Jones's Anniverfary Difcourfe, 1789." — Afiatic Refearches. 
 
 + The ancient Perfians regarded all rivers with extreme veneration, as we learn from 
 Herodotus : (Clio) and the refpeft which they, after the ancient Cuthites, paid to 
 fountains and dreams in general, became prevalent alfo among other nations, fo as at one 
 time, tobealmoft univerfal. — See Bryant's Analyfis of Ancient Mythology, and Beloe's 
 Notes on Herodotus. 
 
 fubfiding
 
 no PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 fubfiding waters left fertility on the burning foil of Egypt, 
 was the moil important objedl of public obfervation, and 
 myftically rcprefented by various Hieroglyphics ; and to the 
 Ganges divine honours are paid, and the Indian is happy, who 
 can expire on its facred banks. Our ancient claffics always 
 traced any celebrated current, to the copious urn of fome 
 river Deity; but the Mahometans, adopting the old tra- 
 ditions of Chaldea, which placed Terreftrial Paradife on the 
 banks of the confluent Tigris and Euphrates, and from a re- 
 ligious abhorrence of Polytheifm, not being at liberty to de- 
 rive their favourite flreams from any fubordinate Divinity, 
 have afligned to them at once a Paradifaical fource, and placed 
 their fountains in the Garden of Eden. 
 
 PLATE VI. No. 3. 
 
 " Paureh az floeh guzejht : leray Rujlam ferijh-i khaub 
 
 " kefleraneed: Ruflam der khaub Jfoiid; laad a-z faaty deed keh Nazu~ 
 " neen mahe peiker az pes' a ferdeh pidaw Jhud: Keiieezy der peifl) 
 " Jhumaa ledojl girifteh aimed, zva der peijh Ritftam nejheft : NUSIM- 
 "' ze perdeh ber aumed yeky Mah-a rooee,"-—"' Cbu khorjheed tabaun por 
 " as rung u huee." 
 
 " Part of the night thus pafled away ; a fplendid couch was 
 " fpread with cufhions for Riiftam, on which he laid himfelf down to 
 " reft ; after a fhort while, he beheld a beauteous damfel, lovely as the 
 
 " moon.
 
 Chap, v.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. m 
 
 *• moon, who advanced from behind the tapeftry, holding a lighted 
 " taper in her hand, and placed herfelf near him:" — Poetry. "From 
 " the hangings, advanced a moon-faced damfel, bright as the Sun, 
 " with glowing complexion, and fweet perfumes." 
 
 In this fpecimen, as in the firft number of the fame plate, 
 the reader will remark, that the word Nuzhn, (written always 
 in red ink) denotes that a pafTage in verfe immediately follows, 
 confifling of more than one couplet ; the word Beit, is ufed 
 when the verfe is of one diftich only j in the prefent example, 
 although I have given but one couplet, yet the word Nuzim, is 
 applied, becaufe in the original, feveral lines of poetry follow; 
 for the little figures inclofing verfes, fee Plate, No. V. i. 
 
 Of this fpecimen, the principal graphical difficulties will 
 be explained by the following lines, written in the order of the 
 original : 
 
 Line I " Parh az fhb gz(ht 
 
 2 " Bray rftm frfli khuab kftranyd rftm dr khuab flid bad az faaty 
 
 3 " Dyd kh naznyn mah pykr az ps prdh pyda (hd knyzy dr pyfli au 
 
 4 " Shmaa bdft grfth amd u dr pyfli rftm nfhft-A'zOT-zprdh bramd yky 
 
 5 " Mahruy :: chu khurfliyd taban pr az rnk u buy." . 
 
 Throughout this fpecimen, it is to be obferved, that the 
 diacritical points of pa, as in the firft word, and of Shin, as in 
 the third and fourth words, are blended together and confufed : 
 over Ruflam, the fecond word in the fecond line, is the mark 
 Damma^ giving the found of o or «; the points of ta, in Rujium, 
 
 5 Kejieraneei,
 
 iia PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. V. 
 
 Kejleraneed, Saaty^ &c. are blended into one ; and the points of 
 ba,fa, za. Nun, &c. are out of proportion, large, as in the words 
 Az, Sheb, and GuzaJJjt, of the firft line, and, in almoft every 
 other word, where fuch letters occur. Over the word Khaub, 
 in the 2d line, is written Shud, which, feemingly, the writer 
 had omitted. In the word Peikur, (3d line) a long unmeaning 
 ftroke unites the letters Ta and Caf. The ftroke of Shin in 
 Shud, (3d line) is thrown over part of the preceding word 
 Peida. In Keneezy (3d line) the Nun, Ta, and Za, are run into 
 each other without much diftindtion. In Bedofl (4th line) the 
 point under Ba, is fo large, as to appear like two blended to- 
 gether, and in the word Ni/hejl, (^4th line) the points of Nun 
 and Shin, are not in their proper fituations. Of KborJJjeed, 
 (5th line) the laft fyllable is thrown above the line, and the 
 point of Kha, being placed at the left, feems to belong to the 
 Ka. The Nun, of Runk, in the lafl line, is not placed exadtly 
 over its letter ; and all the final Tas in this fpecimen, are 
 defcribed without their points. 
 
 OF the great Ruftam, already mentioned, the gallant ac- 
 tions and wonderful exploits conftitute a very confiderable 
 pari of the celebrated Heroic Poem by Ferduji, intitled the 
 Sbah Nameh, or Book of Kings ; from a manufcript abridge- 
 ment
 
 Chap, v.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 113 
 
 ment of that work in profe and verfe, the fpecimen above 
 given is extraded ; relating an amorous adventure of a very 
 fingular and romantic nature. 
 
 It is there told, that, after a fumptuous feaft, and magni- 
 ficent entertainment, given in honour of Ruftam, by the King 
 of Sitemgam*, to w^hich wine and mufic contributed all their 
 charms, a couch or bed being carefully prepared for the Per- 
 fian hero, he retired to reft ; and after a (hort time was 
 aftonifhed at the appearance of a lovely damfel, who ad- 
 vanced from behind the curtains or hangings-f-. Her face 
 was beautifully ferene and fair as the filver-moon ; yet daz- 
 zling like the Sun from its exquifite beauty and glowing 
 complexion : Nor has the poet forgotten thofe delightful 
 odours that her prefence flied around ; perfume being an in- 
 difpenfable attribute of complete Perllan elegance. 
 
 * This country, as another part of the work informs us, bordered on Turan, or Tur- 
 comaiiia, the Ancient Scythia. 
 
 + The ufe of hangings, pidured tapeftry, and various coloured carpets, has been from 
 the earlieft ages prevalent in the Eaft. — We read in the Book of Efther, Chap. I. &c. 
 of the magnificence of a Periian Monarch, who made a fead unto his nobles of Perfia and 
 Media, and in his palace had hangings, " white,green, and red," fattened with purple 
 cords to filver rings, with beds of gold and filver, &c. Plutarch, in Themiftocles, 
 fpeaks of the rich Perfian carpets, with highly coloured figures ; and in his life of Cato 
 the Cenfor, he mentions ferae Babylonian tapeftry, ETn'jSAi/Aariir ttoixjAuv Bx^uXunat" 
 fent to Rome as a prefent. The manufaflurepaffed in very early times from Afia into 
 Greece; part of which, indeed, was itfelf Afiatic, Iris found Helen employed on 
 figured tapeftry ; and the web of Penelope is fufiiciently known. Iliad HI. 
 
 Q^ This
 
 114 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [C[r.\p. V. 
 
 This fair Princefs informs Ruftam, that fhe had chofen 
 that hour to come alone and unperceived : that flae was daugh- 
 r./- ter of the King of Sitemga^, had heard of Ruftam's wonder- 
 
 J ful adlions and excellent qualities, and that Ihe had made a 
 
 folemn vow, never to beftovv her hand on any other man. 
 The feclufion of females in the Eaftern Countries, from the 
 converfation of men, will, in fome meafure, account for the 
 abrupt manner in which the fair one difclofed her paflion, 
 and for her feizing on fuch an opportunity, to obtain an in- 
 terview with the objedl of her admiration. But the acknow- 
 ledgement of her love was delivered in terms fo fimple and 
 modeft, her conduit fo guarded, and her demeanour fo cor- 
 redl, that Ruftam was lefs affedled by the fplendour of her 
 ■ beauty, than filled with refpe<5l for her candour, her innocence, 
 and virtue*. 
 
 Of 
 
 * Near the ruined Palace of Peifepolis, now called Chehtl minaur, are (hewn the gi- 
 gantic figure of a Warrior, and that of a Female, who hold between them each with one 
 hand, fomething of an annular form, but proportionably large enough to go round the 
 neck : to thefe figures Tradition has bellowed the name of Ruftam, and of his favourite 
 Miftrefs, probably the fair Princefs of Sitemgaun. If we can judge from the drawings 
 of M. Le Bruyn, (a painter by profeffion) the figure of the Warrior expreffes manly 
 ftrength, and that of the Princefjis not inelegant, either in point of attitude or drapery.— 
 Le Brun's Travels in Mufcovy, Perfia, &c. and Kaempfer, fpeaking of this fculpture fays, 
 " Haec, venufta humanae ftatur* femina, fonte rediraicula, occipite cincinnis, cello mo- 
 " nili, multis quafi unionibus buUato ornata eft, &c." — Aminit, Exotics. P. 363. 
 
 A Calhmerian
 
 Chap, v.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 115 
 
 Of this myfterious interview, and the fubfequcnt union 
 of our hero with the Princefs, the refult was a fon, whom the 
 King, her father, educated after Ruflam's departure, and 
 called by the name of Sohraicb. The youth having learned 
 from his mother the ftrange circumflances of his birth, and 
 of Ruflam's fame, refolved to fet out in quefl of adventures, 
 and immediately commenced a feries of brave and gallant ac- 
 tions. But being fo unfortunate as to encounter his own fa- 
 ther, each ignorant of his relation to the other, the iflue of 
 the combat proved fatal to Sohraiib, who did not, however, 
 expire, until it was difcovered that he fell by a parent's hand. 
 Tlie circumftances attending this difcovery, the dying words 
 and filial affedlion of the ill-fated youth, and the father's ve- 
 hement afflidlion and dillrefs, afford the Poet Ferduji, a fine 
 fubjedb for many interefting and beautiful pafTages in that 
 Chapter, of which I have given the title in the Fourth 
 Number of the Fifth Plate. 
 
 A Ca(hmerian utiter of diftinftion, defcribing the defart between Herat and Balkh, 
 fpeaks of the Travels of Ruftani as we do of Cyrus's, or of Csefar's. " Ruftam, the fon 
 of Zal, " fays he," marched by this road from Iraun to Turan." — See the Memoin of 
 Khojeh Abdulkerum, tranflated from the Periian, by Mr. Gladwin. P. 36. 1793. 
 
 CL2 CHAP.
 
 ii6 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VL 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PLATE Vn. No. I. 
 
 " Chu Dara javab-i-SkanderJheneed." 
 
 " When Darius heard the anfwer of Alexander." 
 
 J. HIS line is here given merely to illuftrate a remark on 
 the httle charadler which in fome manufcripts is ufed to dif- 
 tinguifh a Noun governing a Genitive Cafe. — See Chap. IV. 
 
 This mark is found under the word javab, (anfwer) and 
 while in pronunciation it gives the fliort found of e, i, or a, 
 it correfponds in fignification with our prepofition of. 
 
 The original order of letters in this line is : 
 
 " Chu Dara juab Skndrjhnyd," 
 
 The points of the firft letter (Chim) are not diftindly 
 marked j and the laft word Sheneedy is partly thrown above the 
 preceding word, Skander. 
 
 I CAN-
 
 Flate. VIL. 
 
 tA?Q 
 
 oJ 
 
 -rjt/w-^v/y/x 
 
 Ar/ 
 
 /, 
 
 ->vv 
 
 / : 
 
 J^^A^,^^^^\\ ^^'>'A^(^iJ^ 
 
 
 • « « 
 
 
 1*3 
 
 .>/j/ 
 
 
 f^.-J 
 
 ) N! 
 
 • • * 
 
 ^/W/l^ " u'y,^'j?i^
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 117 
 
 I CANNOT pafs to the next number of this plate^ without 
 offering one obfervation on the fubjed: ot the proper names, 
 which occur in the fpecimen before us : (a line from the Skan- 
 der Nameh) ; it is to point out the reciprocal corruption of 
 thofe proper names by the Greeks and Perfians : each adapt- 
 ing the foreign word to their own idiom or conception of 
 foft-pronunciation , 
 
 Thus of the Perfian Dara the Greeks have formed 
 Dareios and the Macedonian Hero is called Skander by the 
 Perfians, or IJkander, the word being often written with an 
 initial Alif. 
 
 Why the Perfians have fupprelTed the / in Alexander, it 
 would be vain, I beheve, to inquire, but their alphabet not 
 furnilhing any fingle charadter correfponding with the harfli 
 g, it was natural to adopt the letters K and S, as a combination 
 that nearefl exprefled the found of the Greek confonant, and 
 thefe letters they have accordingly made ufe of " per 
 ♦' Metatbefin" 
 
 For the fame reafon the Italians write Alejfmidro ; and 
 the rejected g is properly changed into S ox Sh ; for Etymolo- 
 gifts derive it from the Hebrew ty Shin, and it often corre- 
 fponds with d the letter Samech, as in the word E'^« (a fword), 
 from the Chaldaic n3'D Seiphd (a fword.) 
 
 And altho' the Grecians latterly ufed this letter to exprefs 
 the 5 or Sh of other nations, as Roxana for the Perfian 
 
 RuJJjenk,
 
 ii8 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 Rujhenk, &c, yet it is probable that in pronunciation the dif- 
 ference was not perceptible : for the letter i was altogether 
 unknown to the very ancient Greeks, and only partially 
 received by the moderns; the Dorics ufed it in fome few 
 inflances for Sigma, the Attics were very late in adopting it, 
 and it never found its way into the ^olic dialedl*. 
 
 But I fliall here clofe my obfervations on this fubje(5l : 
 as I defign in a future work (for which I have already com- 
 piled a confiderable flock of materials) to publifti fome remarks 
 on the collateral affinity of the Greek and Perfian languages, 
 as derived from the Hebrseo-Chaldaic. 
 
 PLATE VII. No. 2. 
 
 *' Shrauh az dojl^e khoobaun Selfebeel ejl^' 
 
 •• Wine from the hands of lovely cup-bearers is like the 
 " celeftial waters of Selfebeel (a fountain in Paradife)." 
 
 • See the " Cadmus Grasco-Phoenix, of the learned Martinius, p. 1 153 ; and the 
 Hierozoicon, of Bochart, Vol. I. p. jcj. The letter | had the fame numerical value 
 as the Samch of the Hebrews, and the jEolian Greeks, like the Perfians, in the name of 
 Alexander, expreffed it by K and S, thus they wrote ufxus for (ifa|, and by a Metathefis 
 of thofe letters o-xtr©. for |i»of. 
 
 Eefides the principal dialefls of ancient Greece, there were innumerable fubordinate 
 idioms and local peculiarities in fpeech ; thus in the Ifland of Crete alone, it is faid that 
 there were no lefs than ninety ; and the fame words, uttered by a Lacedemonian, would 
 be fcarcely underftood by the more refined inhabitant of Athens. — See Gul. Burton Gra^ae 
 Ling. Hill. London, Duod. 1657. p. ^^ and jo. 
 
 a There
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 119 
 
 There are not in this fpecimen any difficulties which the 
 following mode of writing will not, I believe, explain, 
 
 « Sbral-az djt khuhan SlJhyl'Ji." 
 
 The points of the firfl letter Shin are confufed; the final 
 NuK in Khoobawi wants its diacritical point, and over that word 
 is thrown the beginning of the laft word Selfebeel. 
 
 WINE, at all times grateful to the Perfians, becomes doubly 
 acceptable, when prefented by the hand of a lovely cup-bearer. 
 We accordingly find that of the lyric compofitions of Hafiz, 
 Jami, Sadi, and others, many begin with an addrefs to the 
 Saii'ky, or young perfon, whofe office is to fill the goblets, 
 and prefent them to the guefl;s. I have given, in another part 
 of this work, an extradl from one of Sadi's Odes, in which he 
 fays, that, " the cup, if touched by the lips of the fair nymph 
 •• who offers it, would overflow with the fweeteft beverage :" 
 here the fame poet affirms, " that the juice of the grape, would 
 " ailumc a divine nature, if prefented by a beautiful attendant ;" 
 for the fountain SelfebeeU is one of thofe, fuppofed to rife in the 
 garden of celefiial Paradife. 
 
 " How
 
 120 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 " How can wine," (fays 'J ami, in a fonnet addrefled to his 
 miftrefs) " though forbidden on every other occafion, be dcem- 
 " ed unlawful, when offered by thy hand ?" 
 
 " Sbraub'ra keh be her jaw haram midarend, 
 " higher az deji-i too bajhiid haram chun gueem." 
 
 And the poet Khofric, in his Divaun, fays, that, "if he 
 " could find but fome drops of wine in the cup which had 
 " been touched by the lips of his beloved, he could with thofe, 
 " as with a powerful charm, induce the mofl religious men to 
 " forget their vows of abftinence, and indulge in the forbidden 
 " joys of wine." 
 
 " Juraat gher biyabem az leb-i 100,'' &c. 
 
 The Perfians, from the earlieft ages, luxurious, and devoted 
 to convivial pleafures, have not been prevailed on by the pre- 
 cepts of the Koran, nor influenced by the example of the more 
 auftere Arabians, toabftain from wine, which their country in 
 general, and efpecially the province of Shirauz, produces in 
 abundance, and of mofl excellent quality : (See Chapter II. 
 p. 26 ;) to this all travellers bear witnefs, and particularly the 
 German Ambafladors, who were fent from the Duke of Hol- 
 flein, into Perfia, about the year 1637: they delight in de- 
 fcribing the frequent entertainments, and drunken feafts to 
 which they were invited, and the wine they received in pre- 
 
 ^ fents :
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. iji 
 
 fents : they relate alfo the death of one courtier, in confequencc 
 of exceffive drinking*. 
 
 A CELEBRATED Italian traveller, a little before that time, 
 fpeaking of the Perfians, declares, that they never fail at quaffing 
 excellent wine, •' £ Ji Ji^ ^^^^^ fp^Jf^ ^ tavola della matina in fin* 
 " alia /era bevendo fetnpre vino e chi piii ne bee e piii, galant- 
 " huomo,*'&cc. "and they often," he adds, " remain at table from 
 " morning till night, and he who fwallows moft of it, is reckon- 
 ♦' ed the fineft fellow-f-." Indeed, if we may believe another 
 ingenious European, who feems perfectly acquainted with the 
 manners and difpofition of the Perfians, thofe only abftain from 
 wine, who cannot afford the means of indulging in it, and are 
 indebted to indigence alone, for their reputation of fobriety;}:. 
 
 In the courfe of this work, the reader will find fome other 
 extradls and obfervations on the fame fubjedt. I fliall only 
 remark, in this place, that in the Diftionaries, there are found 
 above an hundred words (Perfian and borrowed from the Ara- 
 bic) to exprefs wine, and its derivatives. 
 
 • See the " Travels of the Ambafladors, Sec." By Olearius. 
 
 f " Viaggi di Pietro dcIla Valle," p. zgo. Quarto, Rome, 1658. 
 
 I Angelo's " Gazophylacium PerCcum," p. 397. 
 
 R PLATE
 
 laa PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 PLATE VII. No. 3. 
 
 " Keneezy feyah-chejhm-, va pakeezeh rooee, 
 " Gulendaum va Jheker-leb^ va Mujhke-booee." 
 
 " A damfel, black-ey'd, and fair-faced, 
 
 " (With) rofy checks, fugar'd lips, and mufky fragrance." 
 
 In the word Keneezy, the medial Ta is fcarcely marked by 
 any indenture, and the fame may be obferved of the Ya in Fakee^ 
 zeh. The final Ta mKerieezy, andthofe at the end of both lines, 
 want their diacritical points. The Za of Keneezy, and of 
 Pakeezehy is to be known merely by its point. In the word 
 Chepim, the llroke of Shin is a continuation of the lower ftroke 
 of Chiniy without any diftindlion; In the hollow of Gaf in 
 Guly is placed the Alif of Endaum : and the lafl word 
 Mujhkbooee, is begun above the line, and over the preceding 
 Waw, which itfelf is irregularly thrown above the word Leb. 
 Thefe lines, are thus written in the original fpeUing : 
 
 " Knyzy Jyh chjijm u pakyzh my, 
 " Gl andam u Jhkrlb « mfhkbuy." 
 
 Between the lines arc placed thofe little reverfed com- 
 mas ; figures, which, as I before remarked, are ufed to diftin- 
 guifh poetry when it follows profe. 
 
 AMONG
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 123 
 
 AMONG the chief beauties of the Perfian language, is the 
 very great facility with which compound adjedlives may be 
 formed, " in the variety and elegance of which," (to ufe the 
 words of Sir William Jones*) " it furpaffes not only the Ger- 
 " man and Englifli, but even the Greek;" and the five com- 
 pound epithets, that occur in the fpecimen before us, will, in 
 fome meafure, illuftrate the obfervations of that excellent 
 grammarian, on the application of fuch compounds by the 
 Perfian poets. The firft expreflTes the general tafte of the 
 Afiatics, in their admiration of black, or dark-coloured ej'es, 
 which, in their defcriptions of aperfed: beauty, are almoft always 
 enumerated among the mofi: powerful and ftriking charms. 
 The poet Hqfiz, of Shirauz, in the lafl: couplet of a beautiful 
 fonnet, ufes the epithet, Seyah-chefom, in the plural, as a fub- 
 ftantive, and boafi:s that " his poetry occafioned feflivity 
 " and fmiles among the black-eyed nymphs of CaP^mere, and 
 the lovely maids of Samarcand-f. 
 
 * Jones's Perf: Grammar, third Edit. p. 70 and 79. 
 + The fonnet, from which this paiTage is taken, and (he elegy quoted in page 76, have 
 never publicly appeared in a tranflation ; indeed, of the poems which compofethe Divaun, 
 of Hafiz, that mod excellent of lyric poets, although they amount in number to nearly fix 
 hundred, fcarce thirty, as I believe, have yet been publifhed, with a verfion, in any Euro- 
 pean tongue : an edition of this celebrated poet's works, to be comprifed in one folio 
 volume, was undertaken at Calcutta, in the beginning of the year 1 790, containing the 
 original Perfian text, and an introdudlory account of Ha/z : in ihe }car 17-^1, the Baron 
 
 R 2 Reviczkv,
 
 124 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 " Az Jhaar-'e Hafiz i Shirauz mikhendtnd va mireck/end 
 " Seyah-chejhmauni Cq/hmeery va turkatin-e Samarcandy." 
 
 And in the firfl line of another Ode, he exclaims, 
 
 " Mera muhur Seyah-chejhmaun ze dil biroon nekhahedJJjud." 
 
 " The impreffion which black-eyed damfels have made on my 
 heart, will never be effaced." 
 
 The word Hawer, or Hour^ in the Arabic language, fig- 
 nifies a beautiful woman's fine black-eye; and thence have the 
 virgins of Paradife derived their name*. In fhort, among the 
 eaftern writers, the epithet " Black-eyed " feems to be fyno- 
 nymous with " beautiful-\." 
 
 Reviczky, publifhed at Vienna, in one volume, oftavo, fixteen of liis odes, with a Latin 
 tranflation, profe and verfe, under the title of " Specimen Poe/eos Per/toe, &.c." a learned 
 and valuable work, extremely rare ; from which Mr. RicharJfon chiefly formed his 
 " Specimen of Perfian Poetry," in one volume, quarto, 1774, containing three of the odes, 
 with an EngliQi paraphrafe in verfe, a literal profe tranflation, and feveral excellent notes; 
 and Mr. Nott, his " SeleaOda from the Perfan Poa, Hafiz, &c." quarto, 1787 ; but the 
 moft happy tranflations of this poet's works, are fcattered through the writings of Sir 
 William Jones, his •' lUfloirede Neider Chah," in French, quarto, and in Englifli, oftavo, 
 1773 ; his Perfian Grammar, his Latin Comment.iries on Afiatic poetrj', odlavo, 1774, 
 and his " Pums and Tranjlations from the Afiatic Languages, octavo, (fecond edition) 
 
 '777- 
 
 * See the Koran, Chap, of the mountain, the judgement, the merciful, &c, 
 
 + Tbe women ufe artificial means to give a dark appearance to their c) es ; a French 
 
 traveller informs us, that they fet little value on blue, grey, or hazel eyes ; the black 
 
 alone are admired among the Perfians. — " Les yeux bleus, gris ou cenJrez ne font pas 
 
 *' Icsplus beaux felon elles, ce font les noirs." — Sanfon Voyage de Peife.91. Duod. 1695. 
 
 The
 
 Chap. VI.j PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 125 
 
 The Greeks, like the Perfians, were fond of employing the 
 Rofe in the formation of epithets applicable to beauty. I have 
 before obferved (fee the Introdudlion) the efteem in which that 
 fweet flower was held by the ancients. 
 
 Anacreon, in a delightful ode, exprefsly written in praife 
 of the Rofe, enumerates feveral familiar compound epithets 
 in which the Poets ufe it. 
 
 " Po5o%jBS ?£ ACp^oSi'ru" &C.* 
 
 " Rofy-fingered Aurora; Nymphs with rofy arms ; and rofy 
 " complexioned Venus," &c. 
 
 The epithet here applied to the Nymphs, "■ Rofy 
 " armed," may perhaps, feem a little flrange to the Englilli 
 reader, but in Perlian he will find many equally difagreeing 
 with his idea of beauty ; as " Mah-rooee" Moon-faced, &c. 
 an epithet for which I believe, few of our fair country- 
 women would thank a lover, although a Perfian miftrefs 
 would be highly flattered by its application. Thus the poet 
 Anvdri ufes it in a pafl;ige of his Divaun, where he defcribes 
 a favourite and beautiful damfel, as " refembling the grace- 
 
 + Anacreon, Ode 55. 
 
 •• ful
 
 126 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap VI. 
 
 " ful Cyprefs in perfon, with a face lovely as the raoon, legs 
 «' fair as poliflied filver, and rofy check'd." 
 
 " Seroo-ked Mab-e-rooee Seem-fauk va Gut-izaur*." 
 
 But the Perfian Poets have not an exclufive privilege of 
 ufing thofe flowery compound epithets in their defcriptions of 
 beauty; the writers of profe, indulge to excefs in the applica- 
 tion of them : thus in an original and curious romance, now 
 before me, a wandering Dervifli, in the relation of his adven- 
 tures, defcribes a certain palace, into which he entered, and 
 beheld a gallery or falloon, full of the mod lovely females, 
 — " beautiful European idols,"-f- all with faces dazzling as the 
 " fun, ferene as the moon, elegant in perfon; with bofoms 
 " fragrant as jeffamine ; with flowing ringlets defcending to 
 '• their waifl:s ; all like Venufes of Cheen (or Tartary) — fo 
 '• beautiful as to excite the envy of the moon; lovely crea- 
 '* tures, the delight of the heart, graceful in ftature, rofy 
 
 * I have already mentioned (p. 19.) and not without a difgraceful infinuation, the 
 Divaun of the ancient and excellent Javari : a work almoft totally unknown to Europeans, 
 though honourably quoted by the firil writers of the Eait. 
 
 + The word Sfnem and Su//, are ufed by the Perfians in their amorous conipofiiions, 
 to exprefs the objeft of their love and adoration, as the Italians ufe the word IJol}, on 
 the fame occafion. 
 
 2 cheeked
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 127 
 
 *' cheeked and moon-faced, with looks like the timid glances 
 " of the fawn*; black eye lafhes, foftly-clofed lips; necks 
 " fair as filver, with ringlets dark and fragrant as muik, 
 " forming fnares ; mouths like the buds of rofes, accents elo- 
 " quent and fweet." 
 
 This defcription, in the original, is a continued ftring of 
 epithets ; which it would be impoffible to tranflate literally 
 into any European language without grofs barbarifms, as the 
 Perfian fcholar will be convinced of, on reading the following 
 lines, containing the palTage, as in the manufcript-f-. 
 
 " Na%nneen Jenemaun Ferin^y, hemeb khorjheed leka, va hemeh meb- 
 " peiker, hemeh nazuk endam, va hemeh feemeen ber, va hemeh keijooy 
 " diraz va hemeh mooee kemer, hemeh %ehreh Cheen va hemeh rijhk kumr, 
 " nazuneen dilaratny, nazuk endamy, gulizaur, mah-e-rokhsaury, ahu- 
 " negahy, mezkdn feyahy, bejleh lehy, feem-ghebgiihy, miifljkeen mooey, 
 " kumendkeifocy, ghwicheh dehanny,Jhireen ziibauny." 
 
 * The Ahu, which I have tranflatedy}7xi'», according to a learned naturalift (Koempfer 
 Amen. Exot. p. 404) differs only from the Stag in being bearded and having horns with- 
 out branches; the fuUnefs and fweetnefs of this creature's eye, are fubjefts of innumerable 
 allufions among the Perfian Poets in their defcriptions of female beauty. 
 
 + A large Oftavo volume, entitled the " Kiffeh cliehar Dervifh" or Romance of 
 the Four Dervifes," — an ingenious and entertaining collection of narratives, interfperfed 
 with fragments of poetry, gazels, or fliort fonnets, quotations from Hafez, and other 
 poets, &-C. 
 
 Of
 
 128 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 Of the epithet, exprefling a mufky odour, ufed, as in the 
 fpecimen, by the poet Nezami, and in the profe paflage juft 
 quoted, I Ihall remark, that coftly and moft cxquifite perfunies 
 are efteemed the firfl among Afiatic luxuries ; mulk, ambergris, 
 and the wood of aloes, generally form part of the magnificent 
 offerings from one prince to another*. So fond of aromatic 
 and highly fragrant ointments were the ancients, that many 
 writers have made their excefTive indulgence in the ufe of per- 
 fumes, the fubjedl of learned differtations-f-, and this, like a 
 rivulet from its fount, and many other branches of Afiatic effe- 
 minacy, flowed through the furrounding nations, and found 
 their way even into Greece and Rome, from Perfia, or Affyria, 
 the great fource of Eaftern luxury and refinement J. 
 
 Among the fenfual delights of the Mahometan Paradife, 
 we learn from the Koran, that mulk is to contribute its power- 
 
 * See " Mirchond's HiftoriaPriorum Regum Perfarum, Note, p. 134, 4to. Vienna. 
 1782, and Gladwin's Narrative of the Tranfaftions in Bengal, p. 53, 56, &c. 8vo. Cal- 
 cutta, 1788. 
 
 + Caufabon, Demfter, Rhodiginus, and others, quoted by Martin Geier, in his Treatife 
 " de Ebrasorum luflu," third edition, duod. Franc. 1683, p. 395, where hefpeaksof the 
 luxuries of the Greeks, Syrians, Babylonians, ice. 
 
 + The fafliion of feveral garments, and the ufe of coftly ornaments, were borrowed 
 from the Afiatics, by the ancient Grecians. " At non intra folos Orientis fines mos 
 " geftandi compedes, fe continuit, fed in Grxciam quoque emanavit j nempe ut fequentia 
 " pluribus docebunt, magna luxus et Veftium Orientalium pars ex Perfia ad Gracos 
 " perlata." Schraederi Comment, de Veftitu Mulierum Hebraarum, publilhed by 
 Schultens, 410. Leyden, 1745, p. 14. 
 
 ful
 
 Chap. VI.J PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 129 
 
 ful odour, for with that fragrant fubftance, are to be feal'd the 
 veffels containing the celeilial beverage of the faithful, that 
 wine which is to recompenfe the pious mufulman for his 
 abftinence in this tranfitory ftate. *' Khatemaho mijkon" &c. 
 (See the Koran, Chap. 83, verfe 26.) 
 
 I HAVE already mentioned (p. 62,) the high efleem in 
 which thofe perfumes are held by the Afiatics. I fliall, in this 
 place only remark, that however fond the Perfians may be of 
 the fweet fragrance of the rofe and jeffamine, the ftronger odours 
 of mulk and ambergris, areftill witli them the favourites of the 
 toilet. Thefe among us, are now but little ufed for the purpofes 
 of perfume j mufk has long been fupplanted by the milder vege- 
 table preparations, the animal fragrance being ufed only in 
 medicinal compofitions : *' It is thus, fays Goldfmith," (fpeak- 
 ing of thofe perfumes no longer fafhionable, though once regard- 
 ed as effential to elegance.) *' that things which become necefla- 
 " ry, ceafe to continue pleafing, and the confcioufnefs of their 
 ** ufe, deftroys their power of adminiflering delight*. 
 
 * Goldfmith's Hiftory of the Earth and Animated Nature. Mulk animal, vol. 3, 
 
 S PLATE
 
 13© PERSIAN MISCELLANIES'. [Chap. VL 
 
 PLATE VII. No. 4. 
 
 *' Z'yunaniaun organoon-e zun pefy 
 " Keh burdeud hoojh az dil-e her kefy." 
 
 *« Of the Grecians were many performers on the organ, who deprived of 
 ** undcrftanding the minds of every one." 
 
 IN this fpecimen it is to be remarked, that the points of 
 medial ya are blended together : that final ya is defcribed 
 without points ; that the final nun of Organoon having been 
 omitted in its proper place, is written below the line, and that 
 the points of all the letters are thrown very high above or 
 below the line. In the fecond line three different figures of 
 the letter ha occur, which the following letters will point 
 out. 
 
 *' Z'yunanyan argnun zn pfy, 
 " Kh brdnd hufli az dl hr kfy. 
 
 Over hurdend is placed the orthographical mark damma 
 giving the found of or « : and under the word diU is placed 
 another, Cafra, giving that of i or ee^ and denoting that a 
 
 genitive
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 131 
 
 genitive cafe follows *^ dil-i-bcrkefy, the heart of every one." 
 Each member of the couplet is feparated from the other by a 
 . ruled line (which is generally of red or blue ink, fometimes of 
 gold) the work being all vcrfe, from which the fpecimen is 
 given. Little figures like commas, as in the lafi: Number, 
 diflinguifh verfes when fcattercd through profe. 
 
 THE powers of mufic, which have been felt and acknow- 
 ledged in all ages, and in tvtxy country, have never, perhaps, 
 been fo well defcribed as in that admirable compofition of 
 Dryden, in which we read of its wonderful effeds at 
 
 *< The Royal Feaft for Perfia won, 
 *' By Philip's warlike fon." 
 
 The fpecimen before is extracfled from the Slander -Nameh 
 or hiftory of Alexander, the warlike fon of Philip, where, 
 defcribing a truly royal feaft, the poet Nazami, enumerates 
 the various forts of mufical inftruments, peculiar to feveral 
 nations, which were collected there, and contributed their 
 harmony to the delights of this very fplendid entertainment. 
 I have feleded from the original paffagc, that line which 
 
 S 2 mentions
 
 132 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VL 
 
 mentions the organs of the loniatu or Greeks* and the Ikill 
 of the performers on that inftrument, which " ravifliad the- 
 fenfcs of all that heard its tones." 
 
 Whatever may be the inftrument, here called by the. 
 name of Aiirganoon, the following extradl from a Perfian 
 Lexicon, will flaew the high opinion entertained of it by the 
 Afiatics, who afcribe its invention to one o£ the greatefl 
 Philofophers of ancient Greece. 
 
 " Atirganoon,.Organey ^c. naum-e-fauzy eft keh AJJatoon wafia ejl 
 " waakjer u aghb Roomiatin u Nazary darend." 
 
 " Organoon, &c. the name of a mufical inftrument which 
 " Plato invented, and which is chiefly in ufe among the Europeans 
 " and Chriftians." 
 
 It is, I fear, almoft impoffible to afcertain what may have 
 been the authorities of our Perfian poet, in his defcription of the 
 
 * It appears to me that the word loitauH, for Grtciaus, (like a multitude of other Per- 
 fian *ords) has continued unahered fincethe days of Ariftophanes. In his Greek laonan 
 the letter u may have inadvertently been written for n or this letter omitted by the fcribes, 
 after the former ; but without correftion or alteration, the Greek word exaftly exprefTcs 
 the fame broad termination of many Perfian plurals, with thofe given by an old Gram- 
 marian, who ufes Ademaa, or Ademon, from Adem, a man ; 0»aa from On [aun) that; 
 Itiaa from In [een) this, &c, 1 fhail take a future occafion to dwell on the fubjefl of this 
 note, and refer the reader to A illuphanes's play " AXAPNH2, Aft. i. So, 3. and to 
 " Father Ignatius's Gram : Ling: Perfica, 4to. Rome, \ii9\, p. 11,21,26. 
 
 royal
 
 Chap. VI.} PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. i^^ 
 
 royal feafl j he boafls in the introdudlion to his hiftory, that he 
 Gompiled it from the various works, in different languages, on 
 the fubjedl of his hero, Alexander: " I augmented it," he 
 fays, ** from the chronicles of Jews, Chriftians, and Pehla- 
 " vians ; I feledted, from each volume, the moft curious 
 " paffages j from every nut-fhell, I extracted the kernel, and 
 " from the whole, I formed this treafury of a compilation*." 
 I fhall not here attempt to enquire into the poet's meaning, in 
 the pafTage jufl quoted; nor fhall I, in this place, offer any 
 conjectures on thofe works, to which he alludes, written in the 
 Hebrew, Greek, or Latin, and ancient Perfian tongues, for 
 fuch I prefume, he means, by Te/joody, Nazrany, and Pehlav). 
 
 That Alexander delighted in mufic, we learn from the 
 hiftorians of Greece and Rome ; Timotheus accompanied him 
 into Perfia, and charmed him with his Phrygian airsj he made, 
 his female captives fing to him after their manner, &c. &c. 
 But I fliall not here encroach on the department of the anti^ 
 quary, nor anticipate fome hiftorical obfervations, which I, 
 purpofe offering in a future work, 
 
 , • See fome obfervations on this Work, in p. 78, Chapter V. 
 
 PLATE
 
 134 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VL 
 
 PLATE VII. No. 5. 
 
 ■*' Kecjl aun laabet-Uhhendaun hh privar berefl, 
 *' Keh krawr az dil-e deewaneh biyekbar bereft'* 
 
 « Who is that fmiling charmer that moved by like an angelj fo that tranquillity 
 *' at once fled from each diftraded heart?" 
 
 Thus written, according to the original orthography s 
 
 " Kyft anlabt khndan kh pry uar brft, 
 *' Kh krar az dl dyuanh bykbar brft." 
 
 In this diftich, the reader will remark, that the points of final 
 tat in thefirft word, are placed at the extremity of that letter, 
 though generally we find them in the centre. The point of 
 Nun, in the fecond word Aioi, is above the letter : that of final 
 Nun, in Khendaun, in the center of it. The points of pa in 
 Pm, are much below the line, and the word Bereft, both in the 
 firftand fecond lines is divided, and partly written above the line. 
 The ftroke of Caf in the firft word of the fecond line, is drawn 
 acrofs the red ruling, which divides the members of couplets 
 from each other. 4 
 
 OF
 
 Thtfe Yin. 
 
 ."ir/ 
 
 r . , ; ♦ . H" i^ 
 
 X-J^'v^j 
 
 <-^^ 
 
 \^. 
 
 #• _f^ ^ - t 
 
 C'^^-^jV^' 
 
 •^'-'jl 
 
 
 '&, V j...i ^••- ^;-^^-^.^^>>y 
 
 ,i.<-a 
 
 .T''4 
 
 
 X^-^ 
 
 r*^ 
 
 • • • ^ ; ^ 
 
 -y^.^ff 
 
 ;^. 
 
 >/ V 
 
 • • 
 
 :^ U"U^ 
 
 tTt.^' 
 
 
 , i."'/
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 135 
 
 OFthis couplet, which begins a beautiful fonnet in the Divan 
 of Sadi, I fhall confine my obfervations to one word, I mean 
 that which I have tranflated. Angel, for want of a better term 
 to exprefs my idea of the Perfian Peri, a being, which as I al- 
 ready obferved*, may be ftyled the faireft creature of poetical 
 imagination ; but of which, I have never feen, nor indeed, is it 
 reafonable to expedt, any fatisfadlory definition. 
 
 For on the fubjedl of fictitious beings, as every perfon is 
 at liberty to form what idea will moft pleafe, fo we might 
 naturally expedl to find various opinions, entertained by the 
 poets of the Peri fpecies. 
 
 Without deftroying the general and principal charadler- 
 iftics of gods and goddeffes, the Greek and Roman poets,, 
 afllgn to each, properties and attributes, as befl fuit the imme- 
 diate purpofe of their poems : and we accordingly find fcarce 
 any of the claffical divinities free from fome degrading flain. 
 Their celeflial minds were adluated by the moft irregular 
 paflions, they were vindictive, cruel, and unrelenting in their 
 anger-f-, and guilty of every debauchery and fcandalous excefs, 
 that could difgrace even mortals i 
 
 But the Perfian Peries, however vaguely defined as to fpe- 
 eies and appearance, are uniformly defcribed, as beneficent^ 
 
 * See " Introduflion." 
 + " Tantsne animis celeftibus irx." Virg, 
 
 beautiful.
 
 136 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VL 
 
 beautiful, and mild ; and if the elegant Marmontel*, hadrea- 
 fon to lament the decline of the Fairy Syftem among us, furcly 
 the abfcnce of the Perfian Peries, is much more to be regretted ; 
 of whom, none were mifchievous or malignant, like many of 
 the Fairies, none deformed or diminutive; but all fo amiable 
 in difpofition, and fo lovely in afped:, as to be the dired: con- 
 traft, or oppofite to the Dives, a race of cruel, hideous, and 
 wicked creatures of the imagination, as oppofite as vice and 
 virtue, or any qualities perfe(5tly incompatible-f. Thus the 
 poet Jam), exprefles his aftonifliment, that, " one of thofe 
 evil fpirits could be an inmate with a Peri" 
 
 ** Kehdeewy ba Peri hemkbaneh ha/hy." 
 
 Notwithstanding this excellence of their nature, the 
 Perfian Peries feem to be a diftindl fpecies of imaginary beings, 
 and I know not any clafs of airy creatures, in which they can, 
 with exaft propriety be ranked. 
 
 * " J '21 grand regret a la feerie, c'etbit pour les imaginations vive une fourcc des 
 " plaifirs innocens, et la maniere la plus honnete de faire d'agreables fonges, &c. &c." 
 See Marmontel's Contes Moraux, Alcidonis. 
 
 f On the fubjeft of the Dives, I have offered ferae remarks, in the accomit of Rullam's 
 combat with the Pive Sepeed, given in the Explanation of No. i, Plate VI. Although 
 1 have there faid, in general terms, that the Peries were females, yet there are a few excep- 
 tions ; Mr. Richardfon, in his DilTertation, mentions one, and in a manufcript before me, 
 the words, Murd, a man, and Peri, arc indifferently ufed, in defcribing the apparition of 
 ,an aerial fpirit. 
 
 However
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 137 
 
 However they may correfpond in beauty with our idea 
 of angels, they cannot well be fuppofed thofe beings whom the 
 Hebrews calledox'^D and the Greeks AyyeAo;; fince of both words, 
 the theme is *' to fend," for the Peries are not commifTion- 
 ed from above on any occafion; befides, the Perfians have the 
 term, " Feri/hleh*" to exprefs the diftind: race of angels, or 
 heavenly melTengers. 
 
 They cannot be clafled among the ry^'W " the rapt Seraph 
 *' that adores and burns j" nor among the D''n'nD " winged 
 *' Cherubs," for they are not faid to have any place in heaven. 
 There is alfo another fpecies of rational creatures, whom the 
 • Ancient Hebrews, called Shedeem, Dnty but with whom the 
 Peries do not exa(5lly correfpond ; they, in fome refpedls, 
 refembled angels, having wings, and a knowledge of future 
 events, and were but too like the human race, in requiring fub- 
 ftantial food, and being mortal-f-. Nor do the Peries anfwer 
 to thofe intelligences whom, the Platonics called Dceinofis, from 
 A^vijxwv, Scie?is, Wife, &c. nor to the Genii of the Romans, who 
 watched over mortals, given from their birth {a gignendo) into 
 their charge ; nor are they by any means thofe celeflial virgins, 
 whofe charms are to reward the pious mufulman in a future 
 flate, and whom the Arabs call " Hourly Yet, thofe gentle 
 
 • From " Ferijiaden," to fend. ^ 
 
 + Millii Diff. de Mohammedifmo, &c. p. ij. The word Shedeem, is found only in the 
 plural. See Pagninus'sThefaurus Ling. Sanfla;." 
 
 T beings.
 
 138 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES, [Chap. VI. 
 
 beings, pofleffing exquifite beauty, the poet Sadi^ knows not, 
 " whether his miftrefs be an Houri of Paradife, an angel, a 
 •' daughter of man, or a Peri." 
 
 "' Houri nedaunem ya mttl/uk firzendeh audim ya Peri.'' 
 
 To continue this negative defcription of the Perfian Peries, 
 I find, that they by no means accord with our Shakfpeare's 
 idea of the Fairy race. However fond they may be of per- 
 fumes, (and fragrant odours are their only nourifhment) we do 
 not read of their being employed in 
 
 " Killing cankers in the miiflc-rofe buds." 
 
 Nor of their being compelled 
 
 •• To ferve the Fairy Qiieen, 
 
 " To dew her orbs upon the green," &c. 
 
 " They muft go feek fome dew-drops here and there, 
 
 " And hang a pearl in every cowflips ear*," 
 
 I CANNOT difcovcr, that the Perfian Peries, have ever been 
 fuppofcd fo diminutive in flature, as to " war with Rere mice 
 " for their leathern wings-j-, to pafs through key-holes;};, or to 
 hide in the bells of flowers§. But the fublime idea, which 
 
 ♦ Midfummer Night's Dream. + Ibid. + Gay's Fable, " The Nurfe and the Fairy." 
 
 § " Where the bee fips, there lurk I, 
 
 " In a cowflip's bel) I lie, &c." Shakfptare' s Temfeft. 
 
 Milton
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. ' 139 
 
 Milton entertained of a fairy vifion, correfponds rather with 
 that which the Perfian poets have conceived of the Peries : 
 
 " Their port was more than human as they flood 
 
 " 1 took it for a fairy vifion, 
 
 " Of fome gay creatures of the element, 
 
 " That in the colours of the rainbow live, 
 
 " And play in th' plighted clouds — I was awe-nruck, 
 
 " And as I pafs'd, I worth ipM*." 
 
 This fine paflage, gives me, I confefs, a much clearer idea 
 of the h'ght, airy, yet fublimely beautiful Peries, than any other 
 I have met with. 
 
 The ingenious Mr Richardfon informs us, that although 
 fuppofed to live very long, the Peries are not faid to be 
 exempt from the common fate of mortals-f-j their exiftence, 
 probably is not to clofe but with the final difTolution of this 
 univerfe; for if we may believe Ariofto, " No fairy can die 
 " as long as the fun moves round, or tloe heavens remain in 
 " their prefent ftate." 
 
 " Morir non puote alcun' Fata mai, 
 
 " Fin ch'l Sol gira o il ciel non muta ftiloj." 
 
 * Milton's Comus. 
 
 f Differtation prefixed to the Arab, and Perfian DitS, p. 36. 
 
 f Orlando Fariofo, Canto x. p. 56. 
 
 T2 My
 
 I40 • PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VL 
 
 My obfervations hitherto having tended principally to 
 fiaovv what the Pcrfian Pcries are not like, I (hall candidly 
 acknowledge my inability of afcertaining what they may be 
 faid to refemble ; that exquifite beauty is their moft obvious 
 charadleriftic, appears from the poets, who, when they wifh 
 to compliment, in the moft flattering manner, an admired 
 objedl, compare her to one of this aerial race. I have no 
 doubt that the name is derived (as that of our Fairy) from the 
 Hebrew iJiB, beauty, elegance, &c.* and I can venture to affirm 
 that he will entertain a pretty juft idea of a Perfian Pery , who 
 Ihall fix his eyes on the charms of a beloved and beautiful 
 miftrefs, 
 
 PLATE VII. No. 6. 
 
 " Baug'-t-umretra mebad khuzaiin."— 
 " Shauk-e-umry too aimiin az ferghend." 
 
 ♦' May the garden of thy life, never feel the winds of autumn." 
 " May the branch of thy tree of life be free from the ivy of decay." 
 
 IN the firft word of this example, the tail of final Ghain is 
 brought between the initial (^<7, and its point. The three letters 
 
 * See " Introduction." 
 
 of
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 141 
 
 o 
 
 of umr, in both lines, are fo connedled as nearly to render the 
 
 o 
 
 word perpendicular ; the Ra in iira, is almofl: a continuation 
 of the ftroke of ta, and the ba in mebad, is to be known 
 merely by its point j the final nun in Khuzaiin, is very open 
 at the top, and its point thrown high above the line. 
 
 In the fecond line the points of Shin, in the firfl: word, are 
 confufedly exprefled, as thofe alfo of la in the word too. In 
 aimun the points of ya are not exadlly under that letter ; and 
 that of final nun is at a great height above the line. In 
 jerghund, the point of 7iun is placed over the lafl letter Da j 
 the lines in the original order of words and letters are thus : 
 
 *' Bagh amr tra mbad khzan" — 
 " Shakh amry tu aymn az frghnd." 
 
 IN the mofl: admired fpecimens of their epiflolary com- 
 pofitions, we generally find that the Perfians introduce bene- 
 didlions fimilar to that given in the annexed plate : and as 
 they are extremely fludious of elegant and flowery language, 
 even in the mofh familiar correfpondence, feveral ingenious 
 and learned men, have employed their talents in compofing 
 models of letters on various fubjedls, and fuitable to every 
 clafs and defcription of writers j among thofe, Herkern and 
 Eujoofyy have compiled the mofl excellent InJJoasy or forms of 
 4 letter
 
 14^ PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VL 
 
 • 
 
 letter writing ; the Infha-i-Herkern has been publiflied with an 
 Englifli verfion* ; that of Eufofy, ftill remains in manufcript ; 
 from one of the letters in a fine copy of this work now before 
 me, I fiiall extradl the following couplet, from which, as 
 from the greater number of paffages fcattered through the 
 works of this nature, one woulJ fuppofe that annong the 
 Afiatics, longevity was efteemed the greatcft blcffing heaven 
 could bc(low a friend. 
 
 " Bad jabet bikyas, had feyfet bikeraun." 
 
 " Badghurret bee zuwal.,va bad umret javedaun." 
 
 *' May you be exalted to a ftation of unbounded dignity! 
 '< May your affluence and profperity be infinite ! 
 " May your dawning morn never fet in night, 
 
 " And may thy life be eternal !" 
 
 « 
 
 The original beauty of the eaftern benedidlion given in 
 the fpecimen, has induced me to prefent it to the reader : it is 
 given from a Perfian poet, in a manufcript Ferhung, or 
 Didlionary, under the article '■'■ Fei-ghendeh" ox " Ferghend" 
 which fignifies " Ivy." Having mentioned the pernicious 
 quality of this plant, which renders barren, and finally deflroys 
 each tree thai it embraces, the Lexicographer quotes the 
 couplet here given, fo illuftrate his definition. 
 
 * " Injhai Herktrn," The forms of Herkern, quarto, Calcutta, 1781. by Dr. 
 francis Balfour, Perfian and Englifh. 
 
 PLATE
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 143 
 
 rt.ATE VIII. No. I. 
 
 " Behdur khoormejlf ay gulkuja'ee-y?" 
 " Keh beeny bulbuldnra naulch ve fooz." 
 
 « 
 " The fprlng is delightful ! oh rofe, where haft thou been ? Doft thou not 
 ' hear the lamentations of the nightingale, on account of thy delay ?" 
 
 THE reader will remark, that in thefe lines, many letters 
 are reprefented as mere hair-ftrokes ; and that others in their 
 flourifhes afFedl a ftrong and heavy turn. The letters in the 
 original order are as follow : 
 
 " Bhar khurmfl ay gl kjayy ; 
 " Kb byny blblanra nalh u fuz." 
 
 The point oi Ba in the firft word is not exad:ly in its pro- 
 per place; nor that of J^^a in the next word, of which the 
 m/i rife above preceding ra, in Kujayy ; the point of yim is 
 thrown to the left of its letter, and the two firft letters placed 
 over the hook of the preceding Lam. In the fecond line the 
 points of ba and ya, in Beeny, are placed together ; and that 
 
 of
 
 144 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VL 
 
 of Nioi, not exadly over the body of that letter, -which is ex- 
 prefled by a turned flroke running into the flourifli of final ya. 
 In Bulbulanra^ the ra is brought in almoft a flraight line ; 
 the ha of Nauleh'is a fhort turn of the pen ; and the flroke of 
 Sin in Si/z, is thrown over the preceding copulative Waw. The 
 accents of Na/eh, arfe marked by the Fathas, placed over that 
 word ; and over Kujayy in the firft line is the mark Haftiza, 
 denoting the fecond perfon fingular of a compound preterite. — 
 See Jones's Grammar, p. 1 1. 
 
 IN this Couplet, by the Poet Sadi, are comprifed three of 
 the moft favourite fubjedts of Perfian Song; the Delights of 
 Spring, the Beauty and Fragrance of the Rofe, and the Melody 
 of the Nightingale. The Rofe, as I have before obferved, is 
 fuppofed allegorically to be the miftrefs of that fweet bird : 
 and the Poet here chides the flower for its late appearance, 
 although, as he fays, " the Spring was delightful, and the 
 Nightingale lamenting the abfence of the Rofe." Among 
 the Perfians it has ever been the objedl of elegant luxury to 
 gather the firft rofe of fpring ; to watch its opening, and en- 
 joy its maturer bloomy and to catch the laft breath of its de- 
 parting fvveetnefs. Thus Horace, exprefting his diflike to 
 
 the
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 145 
 
 the cuftoms of the Peifians, defires his attendant to feek no 
 longer like them, *' the place where might be found the lateft 
 lingering rofe." 
 
 " Mitte fectari Rofa quo locorum." 
 " Sera moretur." 
 
 The Mahometans, and particularly the Turks, entertain 
 a kind of religious veneration for the rofe ; they believe that 
 it firft fprang from the fweat of their Prophet, and therefore 
 they fuffer not its leaves to be trampled under foot*. The 
 Ancients afcribed the origin of this fweet flower to the blood 
 of Venus ; and to the warmth of her kifs, a modern Latin 
 poet affirms the rofe is indebted for its glowing tints "f-. 
 
 To what has been faid of the Nightingale in a former part 
 of this volume, I lliall add one obfervation : that although the 
 word Bulbul\% the name of a Bird, not anfwering in every re- 
 fped to our Nightingale, yet its voice being of the fame plain- 
 
 • •' Sed nee Rofarum folia humi jacerepatiuntur," &c. — (De Tureis) Aug. Bufbequii. 
 Epift. I. 
 
 + " O quoties dixit talis Adonis erat ! 
 " Sed placidam pueri metuens turbare quietem 
 
 " Fixit vicinisbafia mille rofis. 
 *•■ Ecce talent illae, cupidsque per ora Diones," &c. &c. 
 
 Joan. Secundi Bas. I. 
 
 U tive
 
 146 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES, [Chap. VL 
 
 tive flrain, and it refembling that bird, in the extraordinary 
 circumftance of finging by night, there is no word which can 
 convey a clearer idea of the Perfian Bulbul, than that which 
 I have adopted in the tranflation. 
 
 The plaintive melody of this fweet bird is not, however, 
 in the Eaft, fufpended during the day-time, as in our colder 
 climate : on the contrary, as its love-laboured fong is heard at 
 the firfl dawn, the Perfians call it the " Bulbul Suhury," ox 
 Early Nightingale; and " Taer Subuh" or the " Bird of 
 Morn." Even in the Southern parts of Europe, the Night- 
 ingale's voice is often heard by day : A very ancient and inte- 
 refting French Poet thus begins one of his love-fongs, or 
 Chanfons : * 
 
 " La douce voix du rofignol fauvage 
 
 " Qu'oi nuit & jor cointoier & tentir, 
 
 " Me radoucit mon cuer& rafouage, &c." \ 
 
 Chanfon. XVIII. 
 
 • Raoul de Coucy, whore Hiftorical Memoirs, publilhed 1781 , in Paris, two volumes, 
 I zmo. form one of the moft romantic and affefting ftories of the age of Chivalry. The 
 melancholy conclufion of his amours with the fair but unfortunate Gabrielle de Vergi, 
 are too well confirmed by authentic and hiftoric proofs, to allow one's mind the confolation 
 ufual after perufing a narrative of fiftitious woe. 
 
 + " The fweet voice of the wild Nightingale," 
 
 " Whom I hear by night and day amufing himfelf and finging," 
 " Soothes the anguifh of my heart, and confoles me," &c. 
 
 An
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 147 
 
 An Englifli traveller of the lafl century, writing from Shi- 
 rauz, feems infpired by the Perfian climate, and adopts the 
 flowery language of the country. " The Nightingale," fays 
 he, " fweet harbinger of light, is a conflant cheerer of thefe 
 groves : charming with its warbling flrains the heavieft foul 
 into a pleafing ecftacy*;" but it is unnecefTary to dwell on the 
 charms of ** this feathered voice " as it has been ftyled by the 
 Italians-f-, and I refer the Englifh reader to the learned New- 
 ton's Notes on the Seventh Book of Paradife Loft, where he 
 enumerates the various paffages in which the immortal Milton 
 has delighted to celebrate the praifes of ^'- the Solemn Night- 
 ingale" 
 
 PLATE VIII. No. 2. 
 
 " Burf-e-peery mi nejheened her fer'em, 
 " Hemchunaun tubaa'm juvani mikened." 
 
 " The fnows of age defcend upon my head, 
 .'« Yet from the gaiety of my difpofition I ftill am young." 
 
 * Doftor Fryer's Travels in Perfia. i68i. Folio. Page 243. 
 f " Una <voce pennata" 
 
 U 2 I'HE
 
 148 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 THE reader who has perufed with attention the obferva- 
 tions fcattered through the preceding pages, will find, I believe, 
 very little difficulty in analyzing the letters of this fpecimen, 
 which in the original order Hand thus : 
 
 " Brf pyry my ndiynd br frm." 
 
 " Hmchnan tbaam Juvany myknd." 
 
 In the word Peery, the medial ya is fcarcely marked by 
 any indenture, and its points are placed along with that oi pa, 
 written with one inftead of three ; the Sin in the laft word 
 Serm, rifes above the line. In the fecond line the letters ha, 
 mim, and chini, in the firft word, are nearly perpendicularly 
 placed ; and one point fupplies the place of three in chim ; 
 the final ftiim in Tubaam, hangs by a turned ftroke from the 
 preceding ain. In the word 'Juvany, the point over 'NiiUt is 
 its only diftinilion. In the laft word, Mikend, a long dafli 
 fills up the line, and unites the n with the final d. 
 
 SO unwilling is the Lyrick Sadi to acknowledge, that his 
 fpirits were impaired by years, that, although hoary Time had 
 fixed his fnowy emblems on the Poet's head, he yet affirms, 
 
 that
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 149 
 
 that from the natural vivacity of his difpofition, he ftill was 
 young. Such vi'as the kind of perfonage Anacreon loved. 
 
 " iiKu yepovTU re^vov, &C." 
 " Who," he fays, in nearly the words of our Perfian Poet, 
 
 " Is old indeed, as to his fnowy locks, but young in fpirits and dif- 
 " pofuion." 
 
 From this couplet of the Greek Poet, as the learned Da- 
 cier has remarked, is borrowed that paffage of Plautus. 
 
 " Si albus capillus hie videtur, neutiquam ingenio eft fenexf." 
 
 Which may be tranflated nearly, in the words of the 
 Perfian fpecimen before us, as well as of the Greek lines, 
 from which it was originally borrowed. 
 
 • Anacreon, Ode xlvii. 
 f Plaut. Miles Gloriofus, Ad. iii. Sc. i. 
 
 PLATE
 
 150 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VL 
 
 PLATE VIII. No. 3. 
 
 " Nughmiil-e inuireb khoo/hkaw hem^ pend eji ve kulaiim, 
 " Sdgheryfawky mehroo heme futeh eft ve kufiad." 
 
 " The melody of the fweet-finging mufician is all our care, and the 
 
 burden of our convcrfation, 
 " The goblet of the lovely moon-faced cup-bearer, is our only 
 
 fubjedl of triumph and caufe of exultation." 
 
 IN this fpecimen the reader will obferve, that the final 
 ta in the firft word is exprefled by the letter ha ; that the 
 ftroke of Shin in Kboojb, comes between the Kba and its 
 points. In Hemehy are defcribed two forms of ha ; the points 
 of pa in Pend, are not exadtly under that letter ; and the word 
 Ktilaum, is placed above the line, and over waw and ejl preced- 
 ing. In the fecond line the letter ra, in the firft word, hangs 
 obliquely from the Chain % and in the word Mehroo, the ra is 
 a hair-ftroke, connected by a turn of the pen with the medial 
 ha. In Hemeh are defcribed two ha's, differing a little from 
 thofe in the fame word, occurring in the firfl: line; the medial 
 ta in Futtehejl, is fiiddenly joined to the hha by a long ftroke : 
 over the^ is placed iscaw, and above that copulative is the laft 
 
 5 word
 
 Chap. VI] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 151 
 
 word Kujhad, in which the Caf\% described with a very long 
 upper ftroke, the lower one running abruptly into the indentures 
 oi Shin : the lines are thus written in the original fpelling : 
 
 " Nghmh mtrb khufhku hmh pnd ft u klam." 
 " Sagry faky mhru hmh fthhft u kfhad." 
 
 IN this couplet, the poet Shah Cafsem Anver, has defcribed 
 the general tafte of the Perfian voluptuaries, who delight 
 in their feafts to unite the pleafures of wine, with the charms 
 of mufic, and to heighten the luxurious enjoyments of the 
 banquet by the prefence of fome beloved or beautiful obje(5t. 
 Whether it be that the climate infpires a fuperior degree of 
 voluptuousnefs, it is certain that in Perfia, fenfual pleafures are 
 purfued with greater eagernefs than in mofl: other countries; few 
 tenants of that luxuriant foil being unaffedled by the foft pro- 
 penfity, — " We are fond of wine," fays a Perfian poet,* — 
 *' wanton, diflblute and with rolling eyes ; but who is there 
 *• in this city that has not the fame vices ?" and the general 
 difTipation is thus mentioned by a profe writer: •' They were 
 «' immerfed in pleafure and delight, and were conllantly 
 " lillening to the melody of the lute and of the cymbal. -j-" 
 
 • Quoted in Jones's Perfian Grammar, p. 34, 
 + Ibid, p. 42. 
 
 In
 
 152 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 In Anacreon's beautiful ode on the fubjedl of a feafl:, 
 Bacchus or wine is thus alTociated with mufic and with love*. 
 
 *' lA«po; vi'uijJ-ev oivov, 
 cc 
 
 " Tov oKag xoSovvra fj-oKjat 
 
 " Tov OjU-OTjoTTOv Epwr/' * 
 
 " Tov cpajxcvov KuOv^pvic,' 
 
 " Let us gaily drink wine, and fing the praifes of Bacchus, who 
 " invented the mazy dance, who delights in every knd of mufic ; 
 " him who is congenial with Love, and is fo dear to Venus." 
 
 And the poet Hafiz, in a beautiful Sonnet, wonders that 
 a man can aik any greater blefling from fortune, than permiiTion 
 to indulge in wine, and play with the difhevelled ringlets of his 
 miflrefs. 
 
 " Hafiz digur cbeh mitulhy az naim-i dtihur 
 " Mei mikhoory va turreh-e dildar ynikejhy." 
 
 * Anacieon, Ode xli. 
 
 Those
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 153 
 
 Those who have travelled in Perfia, defcribing feafts and 
 entertainments, relate, that muficians, both vocal and inftru- 
 mental, generally attended : that handfome pages carried round 
 the wine, and that finging and dancing women were provided, 
 the venality of whole charms, befides the exercife of their pro- 
 feflional talents, completed the luxury of the Perfian banquet. 
 
 PLATE VIII. No. 4. 
 
 " Sawkee-t-Jeemten che khujhy ? k:e%. — 
 " Awb-i-Jhadee ber 'autijh-i ghum reez" 
 " Boofeh ber kunar-e faugher zen*, 
 " Pes bekurd aun Jheraub Jhehed auTneez." 
 
 " Oh cupbearer ! with a body fair as filver,why doft thouflumber — arife 
 
 *' And pour the water of delight on the fire of anguifli:" 
 
 " Fix a kifs on the brim of the cup, 
 
 " And the wine will then be fweet as if mixed wiA honey," 
 
 IN this fpecimen, which is from a very plain, but fuf- 
 ficiently accurate manufcript, the reader will not perceive any 
 fine hair-ftrokes or flourifhes, or intricate combinations of letters : 
 the four lines as written according to Perfian orthography are 
 
 • In one of the MS. copies before me, of Sadl's Divaun, the imperative Neh, from 
 Nehaden, to place, isufedinfteadof ««, irom xeden, to fix, to ftrike, &c, &c. 
 
 X " Saky
 
 154 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 ♦' Saky fymtn chh khlby khyz, 
 " Ab fhady br atfh ghm ryz, 
 " Bufli br knar faghr zn, 
 •' Ps bkrd an flirab (hhd amyz." 
 
 The firft word exhibits the letters Sin znd Alif, fo defcribed 
 as to form a femicircle or bow ; the points of Kafznd ya, (as of 
 /a, Sec. throughout the fpecimen) are blended together; the S/n 
 of Seemten is a very long dafh of the pen, and the jj is turned 
 fuddenly into the mim ; the final nun is very open at the top ; 
 cheh is exprefled with only one point for chim, and a very 
 fliort turn for the final ha. In Khejby no mark of diflincflion 
 is exprefifed between the Kha and Sin ; the point of ba is not 
 exadlly under that letter j and in Kheez, the middle ya is only 
 known by its points ; the point of z is not in its proper place. 
 As in Sawky, of the firft line, the Shin and AUfoi Shady in 
 the fecond are formed into a femicircle ; the ta of Autejhy has 
 not its points exadtly over it, nor arc thofe o^ ya in Reez exa(flly 
 under that letter. 
 
 In the third line, the letters Sin and Ha of Boqfeh, are 
 nothing more than a curved ftroke with a fhort concluding 
 hairftroke : in Kunar, the point of Nun is over the Ahy; the 
 Alifoi Sagher feems to be only a little upright termination of 
 the Sin : the Ra is a ftraight ftroke proceeding from the lower 
 part of Chain, 
 
 In
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 155 
 
 In the fourth h'ne it is to be obferved that the Shin of 
 Shravby is expreffed by a very fhort, and flightly indented 
 flroke J the points confufed; and that over the final ba is 
 placed the Sl.in of Shehed. In this word, betv/een the ha and 
 final da, is a long turned flroke : In Aumeez, the medial ya is 
 principally diftinguifhed by its points, very little care being 
 taken to exprefs the body of that letter. 
 
 ON the compound Epithets of the Perfians, I have al- 
 ready offered fome obfervations : and when the reader, (who 
 may think ftrange that which the Poet Sadi here ufes, (Silver- 
 bodied) recolleits thofe which the Grecians applied to ad- 
 mired females, he will be eafdy reconciled to the Perfian 
 idiom, which delights in the compofition of fimilar epithets. 
 The Poet here, that he may drown the pangs of grief or trou- 
 ble, occafioned probably by love, afks the cup bearer for wine, 
 which, by a beautiful Periphrafis, he calls, '* the Water of 
 •' Gladnefs, or of Joy*." This metaphorical phrafeology, 
 has been, from the earlieft ages, in ufe among the Afiatics : 
 
 * The wine touched by his Miftrefs's lips, thePeet fays, will be fweet as if " mixt 
 with honey." It is not improbable, that the Afiatics aflually infufe fome fweet fubftances 
 with their wine, and it is certain that the Perfians blend fragrant and aromatic com- 
 pofitions with their favourite liquors. (See p. 42,) The exceffive luxury of the ancient 
 Greeks in this refpeft, is noticed by iElian, (Lib. xii. Cap, 31). " T/ Jj, ax nmi» nn 
 " EWvJici Tgu^Si aTroSsi^ir ; f-'f J" V*f o'noy iJ,'yyvyris, SiC," 
 
 X 2 and
 
 156 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 thus, in the Syriac Language, Echo has been happily ftyled 
 •' the Daughter of Voice." 
 
 That the kifs of a beloved miftrefs would add fweet- 
 nefs to the wine, is an idea very natural to a lover, and familiar 
 to the poets. The fecond couplet of this Tetraftich may be 
 nearly tranflated in the words of that well-known Englifh 
 Song. 
 
 " And when her lips the brim had preft, 
 " The cup with ne£tar flow'd." 
 
 The amorous Ovid wiflied to be the firfl: to feize on the 
 cup which his Miftrefs had jufl laid down, and would apply 
 his lips to that part of it which her's had touched. 
 
 " ^la tu reddideris ego primus pocula/umam." 
 " Et qua tu biberis hac ego parte bibam*." 
 
 The jealous Queen of Heaven, as we read in Lucian, 
 thus upbraided the inconftant Jove : "You drink from that 
 " part of the cup, which my rival's lips have touched ; fo that 
 " you blend a kifs with the nedtar which you imbibe f." 
 
 And the reader will find in the Greek Romance of Achilles 
 Tatius X, a charming defcription of the pleafure which Chto- 
 
 * Ovid, Amorum, Lib. i. Elegy 4. 
 t " Tlmis, o^EV nal avras tirii, iiy E»9a wfoo-iif/iAwo-t ra. xn'Xl, ivct x, •jriVpt «'/x« «> ^iXJf." 
 
 J Eyai St £7r/T)jf))(7ai to (xej^vj &c,— See the loTes of Clitophon and Leucippe, by 
 Achilles Tatius— Book II. 
 
 phon
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 157 
 
 phon received from the kindnefs of his fair Leucippe, who re- 
 peatedly imprinted kiffes on the cup, which {lie knew her 
 lover was to receive from the attendant Satyr *. 
 
 PLATE Vm. No. 5. 
 
 " Beraumed bad-i feba va booee-i noorooz." 
 *' The Weftern gale returns, and the fragrance of fpring." 
 
 IN this fpecimen, the letter Sad, of Seba, is joined to Ba 
 by a long dafh, which only ferves to fill up the line, and per- 
 haps, is confidered as ornamental. The point of Ba, is placed 
 in the hollow of final Hha. The points of letters in this 
 fpecimen, are of that fquare or diamond-like form, which I 
 have beforementioned, in Chapter III. 
 
 THAT the rofe's fragrance, and the melody of the querulous 
 nightingale, were among the Perfian poet's favourite themes, I 
 
 » «« More amantuira," (fays a learned commentator) " quifibi rebus ab amatis miflis, 
 ofcula figere amanf" — Pet, Moll's Notes on Daphn, and Chloe, 20, 
 
 have
 
 158 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 have already, perhaps, too frequently remarked ; I Ihall here, 
 for thelafl time, mention them, and obferve, that the refrefli- 
 ing weftern breeze, to which the flower lends its delightful 
 odour, is found to be equally the fubjedl of Perfian poetry : 
 being, with the Nightingale and Rofe, the welcome harbinger 
 of Spring. 
 
 To the luxurious Afiatic, the approach of that feafon is 
 inconceivably grateful, which reflores to him, the genial 
 warmth of his native climate, with all thofe pleafurcs that 
 follow in the train of Spring. The poets of every age and 
 country, have delighted to fing the praifes of the new year*. 
 Anacreon, in a beautiful paffage, defcribes the " Graces, as 
 " furnifhing themfelves with rofes, on its appearance-f-." 
 Innumerable are the Perfian odes and fonnets, in praife of this 
 fweet feafon, which begin like that of Sadi, (whom the pre- 
 fent fpecimen is taken from,) and, which may be almoft lite- 
 rally tranflated in the words of Petrarch;};. 
 
 " Zefiro toma e /' hel tempo rimena.'' 
 
 * " There is, I believe," (fays Doftorjohnfon.) '« fcarce any poet of eminence, who 
 " has not left fome teftimony of his fondncfs for the flowers, the zephyrs, and the warblers 
 " of the Spring ; nor has the moft luxuriant imagination, been able to defcribe the fere- 
 " nity, and happinefs of the golden age, otherwife, than by giving a perpetual fpring, as 
 " the higheft reward of uncorrupted innocence." Rambler, No. 5. 
 
 This learned writer, here alludes to the " Vertrat teiermtm," of Ovid's Met, Lib. 1. 5. 
 
 t iSt mus I'afoj ^a»8yT»j," &c, Od e 37. \ Petrarch : Part I. Sonnet 269. 
 
 5 I MUST
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 159 
 
 I MUST here remark, that, in the manufcript, from which 
 this fpecimen is extrafted, the prepofition Ber, was omitted by 
 the original tranfcriber. But fome critical reader having fup- 
 plied it in the margin, I have followed his example, and adopt- 
 ed it, more efpecially, as it feems neceflary to exadlnefs of 
 fcanfion. 
 
 PLATE Vin. No. 6. 
 
 
 " Sazvkya fuzli behaur too mubaruck bajhiid,'" 
 
 Oh cup-bearer ! may thy youth, fweet feafon of thy fpring, be 
 happy." 
 
 THE Sin in Sawkya, is a long waving flourifti ; the points 
 of medial Ta are not exadlly under that letter ; the point of 
 Fa, in Fuzl, appears rather belonging to the next letter ; that 
 of Ba, in Behdr, is placed under the Ha. In Mubaruck, the Bu 
 is a little turned flroke ; the upper limb of Caf does not join 
 the perpendicular, and in the hook of Caf, is placed the Ba, of 
 Bajhud ; the final D, in BaJJoud, is only an abrupt termination 
 of the Shin. The line, in Perfian orthography, is thus : 
 
 " Sakya fjl bbar tii mbark bajhd.' 
 
 IN
 
 i6o PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 IN this fpccimen I have given the words of a Perfian air, 
 which, though in a flyle of melody by no means famihar 
 to an European ear, pofTefles a confiderable (hare of fim- 
 plicity and fweetnefs. On the fubjedl of mufic among 
 the ancient Perfians, which, with their painting, cele- 
 brated by Nizam), Sir William Jones believes to have perifli- 
 ed irrecoverably*, I fhall here be filent. The fame learned 
 Orientalift, is however, of opinion, that by a corred: ex- 
 planation of the befl books on the Arabian and Perfian fyftems 
 of mufic, much of the old Greek theory may be recovered ; and 
 he believes, that the Perfian fyftem, like that of the Hindus, 
 has been formed on truer principles than our own j and that 
 *' all the (kill of the native compofers is diredied to the great 
 " object of their art, /Ae natural exprejfion of Jlrong pajfions^ 
 " &ct." 
 
 I MUST here, however, remark, that the Arabians are faid 
 to be indebted for their knowledge of mufic to the more refined 
 Perfians ; the variety and powers of their mufical inftruments 
 are flrongly and beautifully defcribed in a fhort Poem of Ha- 
 fiz, at the end of his Divaun, entitled the " Addrefs to the 
 " Mufician," or " Miighenny Nameh.l^" Chardin fpeaks 
 
 * Sir Wm. Jones's Anniverfary Difcourfe on the Perfians, 1789. 
 
 + Ibid, on the Literature of Afia, 1785. 
 X Of this Poem I (hall fpeak more particularly in a future work. 
 
 fcientifically
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. i6i 
 
 fcientifically of mulic, as cultivated by the Perfians : M. Le 
 Bruyn has defcribed fome of their inftruments : twenty-two of 
 which the excellent Koempfer has given engraved reprefenta- 
 tions ofj and the moft learned Cafiri, defcribing an ancient 
 Arabic manufcript, informs us, that it contains a catalogue 
 of mufical inftruments, to the number of thirty-one j for the 
 moft part, he fays, originally Perfian*. 
 
 The origin of feveral inftruments, and the hiftory of 
 the various modes of Perfian mufic, are ingenioufly treated of 
 by Nakihebi, in his Tooti-Nameh^ or " Tales of a Parrotf." 
 
 Of the Perfian fong given in the fpecimen, the mufical 
 notes were, with the words, communicated to me by an in- 
 genious friend refident in the Eaft : from him I received at 
 the fame time, the following little Gazzel, or Love Song, the 
 
 * Seethe Travels of Chardin and Le Bruyn. The plate given in Kocmpfer's Arae. 
 nitates Exotic*, p. 741, and the Bibliotlieca Arabico-Hifpana, &c. of Cafiri, Vol. i. 
 527. — See alfo, Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Article " An gam." 
 
 t Of this very entertaining work, which contains fifty-two chapters, thirty-five of 
 the tales have been abridged, and diverted of their chief difficulties, by Mahoramed 
 Kadery, and printed with a literal Engli(h Verfion, oppofite the Perfian text, in one vo- 
 lume oflavo, at Calcutta, 1792. In the fame year alfo, a moll excellent Englifh tran- 
 flationofthe firfl: part of this work was p-jbliflied in London, by the Rev. Mr. Gerrans, 
 in oflavo. The beautiful imagery and flowery diftion of the original, are judicioafly 
 retained in this tranflation, and it is to be hoped, that t!ic learned gentleman will foon 
 favour the public with a fecond volume. 
 
 Y notes
 
 i6a PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap VL 
 
 notes of which he committed to paper, from the voice of 
 thofe Tinging girls of Ca/I.vnerc*; who wander from that de- 
 lightful valley over the various parts of India ; and I fliould 
 have here gratified my mufical readers with the original notes 
 of both thefe Eaftern compofitions, but that my friend, whofe 
 exquifite {kill, both practical and theoretic, qualifies him ad- 
 mirably for the talk, has long been engaged in the fludy of 
 oriental mufic, and has formed a large colledion of Melodies, 
 Perfian, Hindi^i, and Caflimerian, which he will, probably, 
 in a fhort time, offer to the public. 
 
 The words of the Calhmerian Gazel, are thefe, 
 
 " At doft, agurjaun ttilbee, 
 
 " Jaun be loo bakhjhem" 
 
 " Sweet Miftrcfs! if you feek a Lover's heart and foul, behold I give 
 " thee mine !'* 
 
 These fimple words feem borrowed from a line beginning 
 one of Sadi's Odes, 
 
 " Gurjiiun tulbee fuda-y-jaunet ^ &c." 
 
 * The province of Caflimere ; where the Indians place their imaginary Paradife,— 
 " Ejus modi beatitudinis locus, &c." — See Hyde's Relig. Vet, Perf. 173. Oxf. 1700; 
 and the admirable account of this interefting country, in Major Rennels' Memoirs of the 
 Map of Hindooftan, p. 13Z, &c„ 
 
 • And
 
 Chap. VI.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 163 
 
 And here I cannot but obferve the extreme facihty with 
 which a Perfian lover gives up his heart, his foul, his life, to 
 a beloved Miftrefs. He offers them for the earth on which 
 fhe treads ; and if fhe does not appear, his foul abandons his 
 body. Thus in a valuable copy of the Divaun of Sendi, 
 (a poet, whofe name is fcarcely known in Europe) the Lover 
 declares, that " Life forfakes his frame when his beloved 
 *' is no longer near him; as the nightingale takes wing from 
 *' the garden, on the difappearance of the rofe." 
 
 " Jaun rift az ten chun ber men yar n'layed, 
 *' Bulbulherud gul chu beguhar niayed" 
 
 The Poet Jami fays, in one of the beautiful Sonnets that 
 compofe his Divaun, '« my inanimated body, it is true, con- 
 " tinues here : but my foul accompanies the fair objed: of my 
 " love, where'er Ihe goes." 
 
 " Beher menziJ ieh jaunaun men aunja-ejl, 
 " Ten' em cenja vely jaun inen aunja-eji" 
 
 And Hafez, in the beginning of an admirable Ode, incul- 
 cating perfeverance in amorous purfuits, declares " that he 
 •' will either refign his exigence, or fucceed in the accom- 
 " plifliment of his defires,"
 
 i64 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 " Deft az iulb nedarem ta kam-i men berayed, 
 •' Ya ten refcd bejaunaun ya jaun az ten berayed." 
 
 The exquifite play here, on the words yaun and yautiaun, 
 to be fully comprehended only by a proficient in the Perfian, 
 bids defiance to any adequate tranflation in our tongue, yan- 
 naun, a name which the lover not unfrequently beftows on the 
 fair caufe of all his happinefs, is evidently derived from yaun, 
 the foul, life, &c. and correfponds with the ?uvi uen 4/u%vi, of the 
 Greeks and the endearing terms ** vitamia, anima mia,'* of the 
 Italians. 
 
 CHAPTER
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 165 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 JJUK/l tUT fee uhuJJjlum ; Nukkuleli az Shaikh Aouz Scllavieh Bagdady, . 
 (ruhmei allah-alyeh) keh guft, Sheneed'tm az walid khood keh ivekta 
 der ker}'ei a Shaikh Metrhazray (rezy allah annaho) jeraud azeem, 
 eeauny mellek bufiaur mikuzejht : chendankeb temam pujheedeh Jhudeb 
 hived, Va mekuddum ijhaun murdy buved fxro%>aur her yek jeraud: 
 ba'auvaiiz migoft. " La llldhilla allaho, Mohammed rufool allahi, 
 coll nimet femin allah." her jaitneb keh aun murd toocheh mi kurd mellek 
 diimbal mirift : bdad az aun. Shaikh Metrhazray derfehn-e zawiet khood 
 beroon anmed ; va neda kurd; " Ta jenood allahi arjda minhuna!*^ der 
 haul aun mellek heme baz kejfjiend xva aun murd az huwa hemchu ikhaub 
 pei/h JJjaikh auftad. Shaikh fermood aun murdra, " keh tera che baisjhiid 
 " keh begheer auzen bebeldet men geiejhty ?" — aim murd der pay Shaikh 
 aiiflady umi boofed u azur mickhaiijl, u ijligfaur mikurd ta amikeh Shaikh 
 khojhnud shud va aunche az fiilub kurdeh buved baz dad; u fermiid 
 " berkheez u berbo" der haul aun murd baz der huwa pereed u rift hemchu. 
 teer, va aun mellek der belaud-e Irak auftad va khiilky aunra giriftend va 
 hit khood mi Jaukht end. 
 
 ANECDOTE
 
 1 66 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VIL 
 
 « 
 
 ANECDOTE THE THIRTY EIGHTH, 
 
 (i. e. Of the Original Perfian Manufcript.) 
 
 It is related of the Shaikh Aoufs Scllameh, of Bagdad, 
 (the mercy of God be on him,") that he faid, " I have heard 
 from my father, that once over the town, where Shaikh 
 Meterbazray refided, (on whom be the peace of God,) 
 there pafled an immenfe flight of locufls, fo numerous, that 
 the whole country was nearly covered with them : and 
 in the front of them, there was a man, riding upon a 
 locuft, and he called out with a loud voice, •* there is no God, 
 " but God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God; and is 
 " not every blcfllng from God ?" And to whatfoever fide 
 that man dirccfted his flight, the fwarm of locufls followed him. 
 Then the Shaikh Meterbazray came forth into the court of his 
 hermitage, and cried aloud, " O ye armies of the Lord, retire 
 *' from this place 1" inftantly the locufts retreated, and the man 
 defcended from the air like an eagle, and fell at the feet of the 
 Shaikh : and the Shaikh faid to the man, *' wherefore haft 
 "thou without permifl~ion, paffed over" the place where I 
 " refide ?" and the man fell at his feet and kiffed them, and 
 repented, and intreated pardon, infomuch, that the Shaikh was 
 appeafed, and all that the locufl:s had deftroyed, was reftored, 
 ,and the Shaikh faid, ♦• arife and depart :" At that moment, 
 
 4 the
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 167 
 
 the man darted into the air, with the fwiftnefs of an arrow, 
 and the locufts defcended on the plains of Irak, and the inha- 
 bitants thereof took them, and made them their food." 
 
 THE manufcriot, from which this anecdote has been ex^ 
 tradted, is written in a ftyle, neither very correcft, nor elegant ; 
 but I thought it neceffary, that the reader fliould render himfelf 
 acquainted with writing of that defcription, in which he will 
 find but too many Oriental works tranfcribed. Before I proceed 
 to analyze the graphical difficulties of this fpecimen, I fliall 
 give the lines, containing exadlly the words and letters of the 
 original Perfian, arranged in their proper order ; and, I would 
 advife the reader, for his own convenience, and to facilitate his 
 reference to the engraved fpecimen, to number the lines in the 
 margin of the plate, fo that they may correfpond with the 
 following i 
 
 1. Hhkayt fy u hflitm — Nklft az Shykh auzz Slamh Bgdady rhmt allh 
 
 alyh 
 
 2. kh gft flinydm az wald khud kh wkty dr kryh Shykh Mtrbazray rfy allh- 
 
 anh 
 
 3. jradazym yany mlkh bfyar mygzfht chndankh tmam purtiydhfhdh 
 
 4. bud u mkdm ayfliaa mrdy bud fuar br yk jrad b'auaz mygfc laallh ala 
 
 allh 
 
 S- Mhhmd.
 
 i68 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VIL 
 
 5. Mhhmd rful allh kl namt fmn allh hr janb kh anmrd tuchh mykrd mlkh 
 dnbal au 
 
 6. myrfc bad az an Shykh Mtrbazray dr flin zauyh khud brun amd u nda 
 
 7. krd ya jnud allh arjay mn hna dr hal anmlkh hmh baz kflitnd u an mrd az 
 
 hua 
 
 8. hmchu akab py(h Shykh aftad Shykh frmud anmrdra kh tra chh baas fhd kh 
 
 bghyr 
 
 9. aznbbldh mn gdflity an mrd drpay Shykh aftad u my bufyd u azr 
 
 10. mykhuaft u aftgfar mykrd taankh Shykh khflinud flid u anchh az u flb krdh 
 
 1 1 . bud baz dad u frmud brkhyz u bru dr hal anmrd baz dr hua pryd u rft 
 
 hmchu tyr 
 .1 2. U an mlkh dr blad ark aftad u khlky anra grftnd u kut khud my fakhtnd. 
 
 "U^iTH the affiftance of thefe printed lines, the reader, who 
 has attended to the remarks in the fecond, third, and fourth 
 Chapters, will find I hope, but few difficulties in the engraved 
 fpecimen ; thofe which remain for me to explain, appear to be 
 the following words, in the 
 
 Firfl line : — Hiijhtum, written partly over the preceding Sy 
 and Waw, and begun with a little turned ha ; the flroke of 
 Shin in Shaikh, comes between that of z in az, and its point ; 
 in BagdaJy, the point of ia, is placed under the firft da ; in 
 Rehmet, the points over final ha, (which make it A/,) are placed 
 over the Hha ; the fecond ham in Allah, is very fliort, and in 
 Aleyeh, above the line, no points are expreffed for ya. 
 
 Second line : — No points to fa and /a, in Goff ; the Alif 
 of az, touches the final Mim, of Sheneedehm ; in Keryet, the 
 
 ra
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 169 
 
 ra hangs almoft perpendicularly from the Kaf; in Rcfy, the ra 
 is a little oblique ftroke, lying over the preceding letter j in the 
 lafl word, Annahoy which is above the line, the point of 'Nun 
 is placed over the long unmeaning dafli between that letter 
 and final ha. 
 
 Third line-. — In yerad, the m is a continuation of the lower 
 part of Jim ; the initial ya, in Eeauny, is fo long, as to appear 
 like an /; the Nun is a turn of the pen, with a point over ; 
 Melhh is written fo clofe, and crowded, that the tail of Kha, 
 touches that of the final ya, of Eeauny, the point of Kha is 
 very high above it ; under Bejiaur are placed three fuperfluous 
 points, for thofe of ba and ya are not omitted ; the point of 
 . Zal, in Mikuzajht, almoft touches that letter j in Chcndankeh, 
 the point of the fecond Nun is feparatcd from its letter by the 
 flroke of Caf; the points of ta, in Tanam, almoft touch the 
 Alif; the ftroke of Shin, touches the initial pa, in Pujljcedch ; 
 pa has but one point. Shudeh above the line. 
 
 FourJh line :■ — In Jjhaun, the points of Shin are irregularly 
 placed j no points to final ya in Murdy, nor to that letter, when 
 final, throughout the fpecimen ; the point of l^a, in Buved, un- 
 der the Wa'w ; over .the words Ba* avauz, is placed the ortho- 
 graphical mark, Medda ; as the A/if of 6a is fuppreffed, and 
 the letter h joined at once to the A/if of Avauz, it fliould be 
 Ba avauz ; for the z of this word, no point is exprelled ,• in 
 Migoft, the points of ya are throAvn under the fo, which is 
 
 Z crowded
 
 170 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. Vlf. 
 
 crowded into the hollow of Gaf; the three laft letters oi Allah 
 are above the line. 
 
 Fifth line: — Over the word Allah, which occurs twice in 
 this line, is placed the mark Tefidid; the ta, in Niniet, exprcf- 
 fed by final ha, with points ; in Semen, the tail of Nun touches 
 the point : the h, in Her, appears like an initial Mim : the words 
 Aun and Murd are joined; the Nun, which fhould be final, 
 being placed before the Mijn, as initial. (See p. 6i. and 62.) 
 
 Sixth line: — In the word Mi rift, a little rtroke is negli- 
 gently brought from the end of final ta, and touches the 
 points. Shaikh is thrown over the words az aun, and Sehn 
 over the preceding dr-, the za of Zawiyet is placed over the 
 final Nun of Sehn; the point of Kha, in Khud, is over the Waw, 
 and that of Nun, in the laft word Neda, is rather over the pre- 
 ceding copulative Waw. 
 
 Seventh line: — In fenud the points of Jim and Nun are 
 not regularly placed : in Arjaa, the firfl iyllable comes 
 between the letter fim and its point : a blot in Min : a long 
 turned ftroke between the n and Alif of Hena : in Kufhtend 
 the points of ta and Nun are blended together ; and the letter 
 ha, of Huwa, comes between the points of za, in az, and its 
 letter. 
 
 Eighth line : — In Hemchu one point for three in Chim ; the 
 tail of final ba, in Ykab, touches the pa in Pei/h, which is de- 
 fcribed withgut any points for Shin j the Da/, of Aftad, in the 
 
 hollow
 
 Chap* Vli.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES, 171 
 
 hollow oi Shaikh i the point o^ Nun, in Aunmurdra, is over the 
 Mim } the points of Sa, in 6a/s, con fu fed ; that of Chain, in 
 Begheer, not exadtly over its proper letter. 
 
 Ninth line-. The points of the two has, in Bebeldeh, are joined ; 
 men badly expreffed ; the points of /^, in Aftad, are placed over 
 the Alif', and under the word boofeed, are three fuperfluous 
 points. (See page 52.) 
 
 Tefith line: — The Waw, after Mikhaujl, fo defcribed as to 
 feem belonging to the following word, IJiigfaiir, of which 
 the initial Alif is under the flroke of Sin ; and three fuper- 
 fluous points are alfo placed under this word ; in Aunkeh the 
 ftroke oiCafh between Nun and its point ; the points of Kha, 
 Shin, and Nun, in Kho/hnud, are confufedly thrown together, 
 one point for Chim in Auncheh, and no upright body for Nun. 
 
 Eleventh line : — In the word Kheez, the points of Khs and 
 Zu are united j the Waiv, after Pereed, appears like a Dal, and 
 feems to belong to the next word Rift ; Hemchu is almoil 
 perpendicular ; one point for Chim : the ya, in Tccr, a flight 
 turn of the pen. 
 
 Twelfth line : — The point of iV, in Aun, touches the letter; 
 that of Ba, in Belad, not under its proper letter ; the Ra, of 
 Irak, comes fuddenly from the Ain, the Kaf very much 
 hooked : in Khulky the points of Kaf almod touch the Lam ; 
 the points of Ta, and Nun, in Griftend, blended ; as are thofe of 
 ■the lafl; word Saukhtend, of which the Alif is not flraight. 
 
 Z 2 There
 
 172 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Ciiap.VIL 
 
 There is not, I believe, any combination of letters, or in- 
 rtance of irregularity in this fpecimen, which may not be found 
 minutely analyzed in the former chapters of this work, to which 
 the reader mxift often turn, if he wiflies to render himfelf mafles 
 of coarfely written Talik. 
 
 W HEN I afTure the reader that this fpecimen of miraculous 
 anecdotes has not been extrad:ed from the original colledlion, 
 as poflefTing a greater fhare of abfurdity than the others, he will 
 endeavour to perfuade himfelf with me, for the honour of 
 mankind, that the credulity of extreme ignorance alone, could, 
 in any age or country, have been amufed by fuch idle fic- 
 tions ; and he will lament, that fuperflition, or a knavifh defire 
 of impofing on the multitude, could induce any perfon, parti- 
 cularly a writer of eminence, to mif-fpend his time in the com- 
 pilation, and I may fay, the compofition, of fuch tales. 
 
 Yet we find, that in works of this nature, Taje'i a/ Temini, 
 a celebrated Arabian author, employed his pen, and has left 
 voluminous records, of the miracles performed by his com- 
 patriot faints. Of one among thefe, furnamed Shaikh 
 
 Abdelcadery
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 173 
 
 Abdelcader*i\\.t has written the hfe in a diflindl volume ; but of 
 many others, inferior perhaps in piety, or wonder-working 
 powers, he has given a confiderable number of anecdotes, col- 
 lediedin the work called *' Roud'ar'yaheen" or the " Garden 
 " of odoriferous Herbs ;" from a tranflation of this work, into 
 the Perfian language, I have extraded the fpecimen here 
 
 given. 
 
 This Perfian tranflation contains two hundred feclions; 
 in each, one anecdote, but in fome, two or three fliort ftories 
 of the fame faint are related under one head ; and in many, are 
 given lines of Arabic poetry, always on moral or religious fub- 
 jeds, of which there is not any tranflation. In favour of the 
 ftyleand language of this work, 1 can fay but little : a fuperfi- 
 eial knowledge of Perfian will enable the reader to perceive 
 that the tranflator, long habituated probably to the perufal of 
 Arabic writings, has negligently adopted words and idioms 
 from that tongue, which thofe of the Perfian would have ex- 
 prefTed as well. 
 
 * The word Shaikh, fignifies not only an ancient, and venerable perfonage, as in the 
 fpecimen ; but often means the head, or chief man, of a tribe or family. The fcrupulous 
 piety of the Mahometans will not permit the names of any faint, or holy elder, to be 
 written or uttered, without the benedidion fuitable to his rank, or degree of fandlity, al- 
 though the name were to occur frequently in the fame page or difcourfe ; two inftances of 
 thefe benedidliona are given in the fpecimen. 
 
 But
 
 174 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. {Chap. VIL 
 
 But many of thefe anecdotes prefent curious and original 
 picflures of the domeflic life and manners of the Arabs : and 
 could they be diverted of the difgufling fuperftition, which 
 prevails through all, would furnifli, in a tranflation, fome ufeful 
 hints on the geography, cuftoms, and natural hiflory of 
 Arabia. 
 
 On the fubje(fl of the miracle, recorded in the anecdote be- 
 fore us, I fliall offer a few obfervations ; though fortunately for 
 the inhabitants of thefe northern climates, the natural hiftory of 
 the locuft, is to them, a matter of fmall concern; but the ha- 
 voc and defolation which attend this winged peft, wherefoever it 
 dire<5ls its flight, feem to juftify the Arabian faint, in addrefllng 
 them, as the " forces of the Lord," for, like a numerous 
 and well ordered army, commiffioned by offended heaven, to 
 inflidl famine and its horrors on fome devoted land, thefe de- 
 flrudive animals defcend, as it were, from the clouds, and 
 lighting on the green fields, devour all the tender plants and 
 growing herbage, and render vain the labours of the hufband- 
 man. 
 
 ■Father Angelo mentions the clouds of locufls, eclipf- 
 ing the fun, which pafs from Arabia into Perfia ; the alarm of 
 the inhabitants, and the means they ufe to prevent the lighting 
 of thofe deftrudiive animals on their fields; he alfo defcribes 
 the fmall birds which devour them with incredible expedition 
 
 and
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 175 
 
 and avidity, and the equal degree of" GuJIo," with which the 
 Arabians eaf a difla of locufts boiled in water and fait.* 
 
 From the order and regularity of their flight, the confufed 
 buzzing and noife occalioned by their wings, the terror they 
 infpire, and other circumftances, we find, that by the mofl 
 ancient writers, locufts have been compared to a powerful army, 
 going forth to battle, with the tumult of chariots, and war 
 horfes. In a mofl; learned and elaborate eflay, the celebrated 
 Bochart has quoted various parts of Scripture, in which they 
 
 *'Gazoph. Periicum, Art. Locufta, 201 202, " In Arabia tutti quanti mangxano qufjle 
 locujle confommo gujio, l^c." The following extraft from a very refpeftable traveller will 
 feive to exprefs the defolation and mifery attendant on thofe unwelcome vifitants. " Les ■ 
 «• habitans de la campagne et des villcs d'alentour avoient ete ruines par des fauterelles, 
 "^ qui etoient venues fondre fur leurs terres, apres avoir manges toutes les femailles de la 
 " Judea et de la Paleftine : elles avoient devote les bleds, les colons, et toutes leurs 
 " denrees, et affame cette province a un point que, n'aiant rien pu recueillir I'annce precc- 
 " dente, ces pauvres paifans n'etoint plus en etat de paier au Beig ce qu'ils devoient tons 
 " les ans an Grand Seigneur." A ferious revolt was the natural confequence of the in- 
 folvency of thofe unfortunate peafants, as the Beig, or Viceroy above-mentioned, en- 
 deavoured to enforce the payment of the ufual tribute to the Grand Signior. — See the 
 " Voyage au Camp du Grand Emir :" — ^" park Chevalier D'Ar^'ieux," p. 9 1 . Odl. Paris, 
 
 J717. 
 
 This work has appeared in Englilh, and a moft excellent trandation of it into the Dutch 
 language, with learned and ingenious notes; was publiflied at Utrecht, in one vol. oflavo, 
 1780, by the Rev. G Kuipers, Preacher of Dort, in Holland, under the title of " Reis 
 ♦• iiaar den Gnoten Emir" 
 
 are
 
 176 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VII. - 
 
 are fo defcribcd, particularly the books of Joel, Amos, 
 Job, &c.* But the authority of the Arabian Shaikh for ftyling 
 them, as in the anecdote before us, " the armies of the Lord," 
 feems to be the following tradition, handed down by Mahome- 
 tan authors-f. Their prophet, fay they, forbade that locufts 
 fliould be killed J for one of them falling on a certain time 
 into his hands, he found written on the creature's wings, 
 " Nehen jenud allah nl\ikber, &rV." " We are the army of the 
 *' mighty God : we have each ninety and nine eggs, and had we 
 ♦' but the hundredth we would confume the world, and all that 
 ♦• it contains." We find, however, that notwithflanding the 
 prohibition of the Arabian Prophet, the inhabitants of Irak, 
 (the ancient Chaldea) like the Hebrews of old, | and St John in 
 the vvildernefs of Judea,§ ufed thefe animals as food; and I 
 believe the cuflom of eating them prevails all over Africa and 
 Afia. Leo Africanus, after defcribing the immenfe fvvarms of 
 locufls that infefled Barbary, intercepting the very fun-beams, 
 adds, that they are not efteemed by the people of Lybia and 
 Arabia Deferta as a bad omen ; for tliey dry them in the fun, 
 pulverife, and eat them.|| 
 
 * Hierozoicon : Chap. iv. book iv. 
 + Al-Damir, Ebn'Omar, &-c, — See Bochart's Hierozoicon, b.iv. chap. iv. 
 :;: Leviticus. J St. Matthew. 
 
 |] Leo Africanus, Book ix; a difh of locufts, fo prepared, is called in Arabic 
 -" luehifet-" ihey are eaten plain, or mixed with fat. — See Richardfon's Diftionaryj voJ. \. 
 2075. 
 
 4 Of
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 177 
 
 Of the two hundred anecdotes contained in the original 
 ■work of Tafe'i al Yemini, many fcem to have been borrowed 
 from the traditions of other countries. Several of the Arabian 
 Saints reftored fight to the blind, hearing to the deaf ; nay, 
 fome had the power of railing from the dead. But I fliall for- 
 bear to draw any invidious parallel between our Mahometan 
 miracles, and thofe legends which amufed the bigotted and fu- 
 perftitious, in the ages of European darknefsj nor fliall I ope 
 the ponderous volume in which thefe are recorded, and which 
 lies covered with the duft of oblivion, even on the monaftic 
 flielf. It is to be hoped, that fuch fidtions can no longer amufe 
 the credulity of mankind : and that the Arab of the prefent 
 day, whofe belief is the Creed of pure Theifm*, (when di- 
 verted of its abfurd conclufion.-f-) can find but little pleafure in 
 the perufal of thofe tales, which afcribe to mortals thepofleflion 
 of fuch power as can be the attribute of GOD alone. 
 
 * « La Allah ilia Allah!"' There is no Go d but Go d ! 
 + " Wavi Muhammud Rffiiil Allah ;" and Mahomet is the Prophet of G o d. 
 
 A a CHAP-
 
 178 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VII. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 *' £iya ayyjhk^ par of soon va neerunh, 
 
 *' Kth bajhud haritoa kehfuluh va kehjung. 
 
 " Gahy furzaneh ra dlwdnehfazee, 
 " Gahy diwaneh ra furzaunehfazet . 
 
 * Chu her %ulf-i peri-rooyaun nehy bund, 
 *' Bezunjeer-ajunoon auftad khruydmund : 
 
 " TFa gur az aun zulfbundy berkujhaeeyy 
 *• Cheraugi-aM yabed rujhenay. 
 
 " Xeleekha yek/beby heefabr va beehoofh, 
 
 " Beghumm hemzad u ba mehennet hem agoojht 
 
 " Zejaum-i derd, durd ajhaumeey Kurd, 
 « Zefooz-i yjbk bee araumeey herd," 
 
 « Come,
 
 Chap. VIL] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 179 
 
 " Come, oh Love, with all your fafcinations and deceitful charms ; you who are 
 " the promoter of concord and of ftrife. 
 
 " At one time you make the wife man filly ; and at another time you infpire 
 " wifdom into the fool. 
 
 *' When you place your fnare in the ringlets of beautiful damfels, the wifeft 
 " man falls into the fetters of infanity; 
 
 *' But if you fhould loofe this fnare from the fair one's ringlets, the lamp of rea- 
 " fon will refume its light. 
 
 -« Zeleekha, one night, impatient and diftraded : the twin-fifter of afflidion, 
 " and to whom forrow was as a familiar friend, 
 
 *' Drank to the very dregs of the cup of wretchednefs, and from the burning 
 " anguifli of paflion pafTed the night without repofe." 
 
 AS I gave in the lafl: fpecimen a page of profe, rather 
 coarfely written, I fhall conclude this work by prefenting to 
 the reader, fix couplets of Perfian Poetry, from a manufcript, 
 of which the writing is corredt, and the combinations of let- 
 ters formed with fome degree of elegance. The original order 
 
 is as follows : 
 
 T. 
 
 1. Bya ay afhk pr afsun u nyrnk 
 
 2. Kh bafhd kar tu kh flhh u kh jnk. 
 
 Aa2 II.
 
 i8o PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VlL 
 
 II. 
 
 3. Ghy frzaiihra dyuanh fazy 
 
 4. Ghy dyuanhra frzanh fazy. 
 
 III. 
 
 5. Chu br zlf pry ruyan nhy bnd 
 
 6. Bznjyr jnun aftad khrdmnd. 
 
 IV. 
 
 7. U gr zan zlf bndy brkfhayy 
 
 8. Chragh akl yabd rufhnayy. 
 
 V. 
 
 9. Zlykha ykfhby byfbr u byhufli 
 
 10. Bghm hmzad u ba mhhnt hmaghufti. 
 
 VI. 
 
 11. Z jam drd did afhamyy krd 
 
 12. Zfuz afhk by aramyy krd. 
 
 THAT the reference from this fchemc to the plate may 
 be more eafy to the reader, I have numbered every couplet, and 
 diftinftly, the lines of each couplet ; and, I think he will find 
 it ufeful to mark, in like manner, the Roman figures with his 
 pencil, in the margin of the plate. I fhall not be very minute 
 in my obfervations on this fpecimen, as I fuppofe the fludent 
 to be, by this time, pretty nearly maflcr of the chief difficulties 
 
 of
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. i8i 
 
 of the Talik hand; and as I am befides of opinion, that it will 
 be for his advantage, to decipher the lines before him, by 
 means of the printed fcheme juft given, and frequent reference 
 to the former chapters of this work; it being certain that, that 
 knowledge, which is the refuli of our own labours, and diligent 
 inquiry, finks deeper into the memory, than that which we 
 carelefsly borrow from another. 
 
 I SHALL only remark, that the points of i>a and ya, are 
 generally blended, as in Bi'ya, (the ift line) and in Beefabr and 
 Beehoojljy (9th line) j alfo thofe of jim and ya in the word Ziin- 
 jeer, (6th line) ; a long dafh unites two letters in fome words, 
 as in Furzauneh, (3d and 4th lines) and in Akl, (8th line) in 
 which word, the points of Kaf are placed over the dafh, and 
 the hook of Lam touches the ya of the next word Tabed ; the 
 point of jim in Junk, (2d line) is placed under the Gaf; and 
 in the. words Deewaneh Sqfy of the (3d line), the point of za 
 is placed over the Sini in the hollow of final nan, in Rooeeaun 
 f 5th line) is placed the final ya of Nehy ; and in Bezunjeer, 
 (6th line) the point oi nun is over the ra ; the points of fome 
 letters are placed perpendicularly one over the other, as in YJJok, 
 (iftline) and Ki/f^ayy, (7th line) ; the word Derd is dillin- 
 guiflied from Durd, in the nth line, by the Fatha over it, the 
 latter having Drfww^ ; fee Chapter IV. p. 68. A catch-word 
 (Kejhiid,) leads to the next page, as I before obferved, Chap- 
 ter IV. 
 
 In
 
 i82 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VU. 
 
 In amore haec omnia infunt vitia, 
 Sufpiciones, inimicitiae, inducije, injarias 
 Bellum pax rurfum, 
 
 Terent. Eun. I. I. 
 
 r OR the fpecimen of Perfian writing, which is to conclude 
 this work, I have chofen the beginning of a Chapter, in the 
 celebrated poem, '' Eujef iie Zekekha*" of which the title has 
 been already given in Plate V, No. 5. 
 
 The loves of the Hebrew Patriarch, Jofeph, with the fair 
 Zeleekha, who, in the Old Teftament, is called the wife of 
 Potiphar, and by fome Arabian hiftorians, Rail-f , are the fub- 
 jed of this poem. The author, whofe name is Jami;}:, a writer 
 
 * So are thefe names pronounced, as I have been aflured in the letter of an ingenious 
 -correfpondent from the Eaft ; but they have been written in various ways by many learned 
 Orientalifts ; Eufoof, Jufuf, Zulikha, Zoleikha, &c. 
 
 + See Notes to Sale's Koran, Chapter Jofeph ; befides the original Quarto, and that 
 in two volumes Oftavo ; of this valuable work, a new edition has appeared this year, 
 ( '795) ^' Bath, in Octavo, two volumes. Neither does the Old Teftament, nor the Koran, 
 mention the name of Jofeph's miftrefs ; but all the later Afiatic writers agree, in calling 
 her Zeleekha. 
 
 J Sec an account of Jami, page 17, &c. 
 
 A. of
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 183 
 
 of the firft clafs, has decorated, with all the graces of poetry, 
 the romantic ftory of the youthful Canaanite, as related in the 
 Koran*, where indeed, we find it ftrangely altered from the 
 original Mofaic narrative ; but the charms of the Egyptian 
 lady, which the poet celebrates, as well as her name, are 
 neither recorded in the Old Teflament-f , nor fpoken of by 
 Mohammed : her paffion, however, for Jofeph, and her beau- 
 ty, are the fubjedl of many poems, ranked among the fineft 
 compofitions in the languages of Afia. A Turkifh writer;|:, 
 declares that, 
 
 " Temam viefridehi Zeleekhaden koozuk khaloon yugbidy." 
 
 " In all Egypt, there was no Woman more beautiful than 
 *' Zaleekha;" and the charms of Jofeph, theAdonis of theEaft, 
 are become proverbial, and alluded to by all the Lyrick poets 
 
 * In fupport of a favourite fyftem, the moft learned men often adduce extraordinary, 
 arguments : a very ingenious writer has drawn a clofe parallel between our Jofeph of 
 the Scriptures, and the Proteus of prophane hiftory, in a work, profeffedly written to prove, 
 that Herodotus, while defcribing the affairs of Kgypt. was the inconfcious hiftorian of 
 the Jewilh people. See Herodote Hiflarien du peuple Hehren fans le /avoir," Second 
 
 Edition, Liege, 1790, p. 23, Oiflavo. This work, however, is only a defence of the 
 ** Hiftoire Veritable dts Terns Fabuleux" by the Abbd Guerin du Rocber, in 3 vols. 
 
 + GeneCs, xxxix. Src. 
 $, Quoted in " Seaman's Turkiih Grammar, p. 22, Quarto, Oxford, 1670. 
 
 in
 
 i84 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VII, 
 
 in their gazels or fonnets, as well as by thofe who have made 
 his ftory the fubjed: of longer and more regular poems ; thus 
 ■Hafez in a charming ode, addreffing fome beautiful youth, 
 declares, that " all the world pronounced him the Jofeph of 
 •' the age," a fecond Adonis j 
 
 " Go/tend khulayek keh loo^eey Eufoof fany .''* 
 
 And, in another ode, he ftyles him the '♦ Moon of 
 Canaan." 
 
 «£ 
 
 *' Mah-i Canaani men mujnedy Mefr ani loojhudj 
 " Gahi auneji kch pedriidi kuni zendaunra." 
 
 <» 
 " O my moon of Canaan ! the throne of Egypt is thine own, 
 
 " This is the time that thou fliouldft bid farewell to prifon*." 
 
 The 
 
 / 
 
 * The firft h'ne of this couplet is given in the Perfian Grammar, by Sii Wm Jones ; 
 I have here, for the laft time, quoted the name of him whofe writings induced me to 
 deviate from the beaten paths of clafiic learning, and to wander among the flowery fields 
 of Afiatic literature : A name already fo celebrated by happier pens than mine, that it is 
 unneceflary to enumerate in this place the various original compofitions in Latin, Englifh, 
 and French, of the voluminous Jones : his admirable tranflations from the Arabian, Per- 
 iian, and Sanfcrit languages, his learned writings as a Lawyer, and his elegant produftions 
 as a Poet. The univerfality of his genius is acknowledged by many contemporary writers, 
 and fo great was his flock of acquired knowledge, that the name of Sir William Jones, 
 M fufficient toexprefs thehigheft degree of intelleflual excellence that'a human being -could 
 
 attain.
 
 Chap. VII.J PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 185 
 
 The iinprifonment of Jofeph, here alluded toby Hafez, 
 affords fubjedt for fome very interefting chapters of that poem 
 ofjaumi, from which the fpecimen is extracted ; the ena- 
 moured Zeleekha is there fuppofed to declare, that 
 
 " Chu icendatin jauy-i infaun Gul azaur 5/?, 
 " Neh zendaun-, bel keh khurmi nuhuhaur eji. " 
 
 " When a prifon becomes the refidence of fuch a lovely rofe-cheeked mor- 
 « tal, it lofes all the horrors of a prifon, and poflefles all the charms of fpring." 
 " But," 
 
 Adds fhe in another place. 
 
 attain. His eulogium, and his elegy, have lately fallen from the pens of Hay ley the poet, and 
 Maurice, the learned author of the " Indian Antiquities." But the brevity and fingular 
 beauty of the Epitaph, written by a brother judge (Sir Wm. Dunkln), induce me topre- 
 fentit to the reader as tlie belt conclufion of this note : 
 
 Gulielmus Jones eques : Cur. fup. in Bengal ex judicibns unas; 
 
 Legum peritus,tid usque interpres: 
 
 Omnibus benignus, 
 
 Nullius fautor : 
 
 Virtute, fortitudine, fuavitate morum 
 
 Nemini Secndus : 
 
 Seculi eruditi longe primus, 
 
 Ibat ubi folum plura cognofcere Fas eft. 
 
 27 April, 1794. 
 
 Bb «If
 
 i86 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VIL 
 
 " If in paradife we were not to behold the face of the perfon we adore, 
 " paradife itfelf would appear dreary to a longing lover's eye." 
 
 " Bulu lee rooee y jaunaun gur bch!J}}t-cJ}, 
 " Bechejhim-i aupek-i mujhtak zujhl-eji" 
 
 On the fubjed: of the former couplet, I fhall remark, that 
 the idea of a dungeon or any other difagreeable place, made 
 delightful when inhabited by the objedl of one's love, feems 
 fo natural to thofe really affeded by that paffion, that I 
 believe it will be found in the poetry of every age and nation 5 
 few have fo fvveetly exprefled a thought of this nature, as the 
 amorous Tibullus, 
 
 " Sic ego fecretis poflum bene vivere fylvis, 
 " Qua nulla humano fit via trita pede, 
 " Tu mihi curarum requies, tn no£te vel atra, 
 ** Lumen, etin folis tu mihi turba locis*." 
 
 This beautiful pafTage has Hammond, the gentle difcipic 
 of the Latin Poet, thus happily paraphrafed ; though perhaps 
 no verfion into another tongue can do juftice to the Curarum 
 requies and the turba of the original. 
 
 * Tibull: Eleg. ij :— Ad Amicam, Lib. iv. 
 
 « With
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 187 
 
 " Wiih thee in gloomy defarts let me dwell, 
 " Where never human footftep mark'd the ground, 
 " Thou light of life 1 all darknefs can'ft expeJ, 
 " And feem a world with folitude around." 
 
 On the fubjed: of the lafl; quoted Perfian couplet of Jaumi, 
 I muft again introduce Tibullus, who has beautifully antici- 
 pated the idea of a Mahometan paradife ; of which I believe 
 the black-eyed Houries conflitute the principal felicity. The 
 Poet and the Prophet are alike rewarded with the fmiles of 
 beauty j a celeftial virgin receives into her bofom, the ardent 
 Afiatic, and Venus herfelf conduds the amorous Roman into 
 the Elyfian bowers. 
 
 " Sed me, quod facilis tenero fum Temper amori, 
 " Ipfa Venus campos ducet in Elyfios*." 
 
 To return to the hiftory of Jofeph, I (hall mention one, 
 among the various poems and romances that have been founded 
 on it : a work, in the Englifh language, which, as well as its 
 author, is but little known, I mean the curious poem, *' Egypt's 
 Favorite," by Sir Francis Hubert, Knt. (printed in Duod. 
 London, 1 63 1.) It follows one, in the copy before me, by 
 
 * TibuU, Lib. i. Eleg. 3. admiffalam. 
 
 B b 55 the
 
 r88 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VIL 
 
 the fame author, intitled, " The Hiftorie of Edward the 
 •♦ Second, furnamed Carnarvon, one of our Englifh kings, 
 *' together with the fatall down-fall," &c. &c. printed in 
 1629. This is not the place to prefent the reader with an ex- 
 trad from the latter work, which is ingenious and interefting. 
 But the poem of '• Egypt's Favorite," is divided into four 
 parts, viz : 
 
 " Jofephus in Puteo ; — or. The Unfortunate Brother, 
 " Jofephus in Gremio; — or. The Chafle Courtier, 
 " Jofephus in Carcere j — or. The Innocent Prifoner, 
 *' Jofephus in Summo ; — or. The Noble Favorite ; 
 " Together with Old Ifrael's progrefs into the Land of 
 " Gofhen." 
 
 As a fpecimen of this extraordinary poem, I fliall give a 
 few lines from the fecond part, in which Jofeph begins the 
 account of his misfortunes, and the original caufe of hisimpri- 
 fonment, alluded to in the Perlian couplets before quoted : 
 
 XV. 
 
 " My lady-miftrefle caft an amorous eye 
 " Upon my forme, which her affections drew ; 
 " Shce was Love's martyr, and in flames did frye, 
 " But (like a woman) did that love puifue, 
 
 XVI. 
 " Wifely and cunningly, &c. &c. 
 
 And
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 189 
 
 And he thus begins the third part of his ftory : 
 
 " From hopes of court to horrors of a jayle, 
 
 " From great refpedl, from friends, from wealth, from place : 
 
 " Unto a loathfome dungeon without bayle, 
 
 " A wofuU fall — yet this was Jofeph's cafe." &c. 
 
 But I fliall conclude my obfervations on the Hiftory of the 
 Hebrew Patriarch, and clofe this volume, by remarking, that the 
 Perfian Romance, has altered many circumflances, even from 
 the Koran ; and that the cataftrophe, in particular, of the he- 
 roine's amorous fchemes, fo difgraceful, according to the records 
 of Mofes, and of Mohammed, is defcribed by the poet Jami, as 
 crowning her paflion with fuccefs, and uniting her in marriage 
 with the obje(^ of her love. 
 
 SUCH
 
 I90 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VII. 
 
 i^UCH are the obfervations on Perfian manu- 
 fcripts, which I promifed to the reader, in the beginning of this 
 work, with my own remarks, and the quotations from other 
 writers, which I have profufely fcattered through it, in the 
 form of fhort and diftindl efTays, hoping thereby, to relieve the 
 reader, and diverfify, in fome meafure, the barren Lxmenefs of 
 my original fubje<fl. The number of examples might have 
 been augmented, and this volume fwelled to a much greater 
 bulk, by fpecimens of highly ornamented manufcripts ; but 
 neither have I had leifure for addmg more, nor do fuch addi- 
 tions feem necefTary ; for as I have already obferved, the princi- 
 ples of Perfian writing are exactly the fcmie, whether the 
 letters be formed with elegance and tafte, or fcrawled with in- 
 accuracy and difregard of beauty. 
 
 Such as it is, I prefent this Effay to the public; but too 
 confcious of its manifold defe<fls, and of my own inability, 
 from want of time to render it more corredl ; let the indulgent 
 reader receive it as a work, begun without any intention of 
 publication, irregularly continued amid the duties and diflipa- 
 tions of a military life, and now, abruptly concluded, on the eve 
 of embarkation for an hoftile (hore : I offer it, with the hope 
 alone, that it may prove ufeful, till fome other perfon fhall 
 have improved on my plan, or framed a better. 
 
 5 After
 
 Chap. VII.] PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. 191 
 
 After all, a few weeks ftudy of good authors, and fre- 
 quent tranfcribing from corredl originals, will render this work, 
 or any other of the fame kind, unneceffary ; but the induftry 
 of others, and our own wifties, will be vain, without applica- 
 tion and perfeverance. 
 
 Chester, 
 March 27, 1794. 
 
 London, 
 September^ 1795. 
 
 OINCE my return from the Continent, I have 
 been induced to make fome alterations, and to infert a few 
 quotations from books, printed during the prefent year, in the 
 original manufcript, which was clofed, as the reader may have 
 perceived, early in the laft. Before I finally difmifs it, I fliall 
 mention another circumftance in the hiftory of this work, be- 
 caufe, while it points out the chief fource of its faults, it may 
 ferve, perhaps, as an extenuation of them; it is, that, until 
 offered to the world in its prefent form , this ElTay has not fallen 
 under the infpetflion of any human eye but that of the author. 
 
 Had
 
 193 PERSIAN MISCELLANIES. [Chap. VII. 
 
 Had I folicited the afTiftance of thofc among my friends, 
 who were celebrated for eloquence, or diftinguiflied by profun- 
 dity of learning, this work, might now, perhaps, boaft of 
 didlion more refined, and be enriched with fragments of clafli- 
 cal erudition. But, when I confidered, that, within the circle 
 of my acquaintance. Oriental Literature had been but little cul- 
 tivated, and the languages of Afia almoft totally unknown, I 
 became apprehenfive that fufficient attention might not be paid 
 to the general defign of my work, and that its chief objed: 
 might be altogether forgotten, while one would reduce, and 
 another add ; feme advife total reje(5tion of paffages, and fome 
 fuggefl: partial alteration. I therefore early refolved to 
 charge myfelf alone with the burden of refponfibility for all 
 its faults ; and, as I (hall fubmit, without a murmur, to the 
 correcting lafh of criticifm, nor attempt to throw it from my- 
 felf on others, fo I indulge the hope of poflcffing, undivided, 
 whatever recompenfe of approbation the public fhall beftow 
 on one who has honeftly endeavoured to pleafe, and to in- 
 ftrudt. 
 
 A VOCABU-
 
 VOCABULARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ARABIC AND PERSIAN WORDS 
 
 WHICH OCCUR IN THIS WORK. 
 
 ^FAK, univerfe, quarters of the 
 world 
 Afrajiaub, a proper name 
 Afsoon, charms, fafcination 
 Afiaub, the fun 
 Agleb, fuperior, mofl: part 
 AgooJIi, embrace, the bofom 
 Agur, or Gur, if 
 Aherimaun, the Devil 
 Aitnun, free, exempt 
 A'i, or Ay, Oh ! Ho ! 
 Aj%, weakj imbecilHty 
 Akber, mofl: great, powerful 
 Akl, reafon, fenfe 
 Akfer, in general, moft part 
 Al, Arab, article, " the" 
 
 Aley-hi, to, or, upon him 
 
 Allah, God 
 
 Am, I am 
 
 Amber, ambergris, amber. 
 
 And, they are 
 
 Andijlieh, thoughts, anxiety 
 
 Anduh, grief, trouble, &c. 
 
 Ankaboot, fpider 
 
 Annaho, on him, to him 
 
 Ar, for Agur, if 
 
 Araumy, refl:, repofe 
 
 Arjaa, retire, Arab. Imjier. 
 
 Arzoo, defire, wifli 
 
 AJhaimeey, a draught 
 
 AJJik, a tear 
 
 Afljtifteh, enamoured, perplexed 
 
 Afip, a horfe 
 
 Cc
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 4/?, or Eft, he Is, it is 
 
 Aii.b, water 
 
 Andmy, a human creature, a man 
 
 Auftadeh-den, fallen, to fall 
 
 Aumedeji, from 
 
 Aumedun, to come 
 
 Aiimeez, partic. of 
 
 Atimeek/ittin, to mix 
 
 Aumeed'um, my hope 
 
 Ami, that 
 
 Atinche, that which 
 
 Aunchunatin, thus, fo, &c. 
 
 Anakeh, he, or flie v.lio, 
 
 Aunja, there, in that place 
 
 Auiira, oblique cafe of Am. 
 
 AnJIiek, a lover 
 
 AuiiJIi, fire 
 
 Aiivauz, a clamour, noife 
 
 Aiiwnrd, he brought, from An- 
 
 wiirden, to bring 
 Auzen, leave, permiffion' 
 Awlad, children, race, &c. 
 Az, from, of, than 
 Azem, and Azcem, great, large 
 Aztir, forgivenefs, pardon. 
 
 B. 
 
 Ba, with 
 
 Baad, after, afterwards 
 Baad az aim, after that, then 
 Bad, let it be, Mebad, let there 
 be not 
 
 Bad, the wind, Bade-e Suba, the 
 
 Zephyr 
 Bagdad)', a perfon of Bagdad 
 Bah, occafion, caufe 
 BakJIiem, I would give 
 Ba/a, above, upon 
 BalkJi, the capital of ChoralTan 
 Bar, a load, a time, turn, &:c. 
 BaJJiud, he, or it may be 
 BaJJiy, you may be 
 Bang, a garden 
 Baz, again 
 
 Bazy, or Bauzy, play, fport 
 Bebe/det, coiriY). ofb, in, to, on, and 
 Beldet, a town, village, 8ic. 
 ^t"!?, without 
 Beeiied, he fees 
 5f«ry, you fee, obfervc 
 Beeroon, out, out of 
 Befatha, with the mark Fatkd 
 Begheer, without 
 Behaur, or Buhaur, the fpring 
 Beher, to, or in all, every 
 Beheter, better 
 BehiJJit, Paradife 
 Beiya, come, ho ! bring thou 
 Bekurd, is made, rendered 
 Belaud, towns, diftrifts 
 Bemen, to me 
 
 Belkeh, but, however, but if 
 Bemaned, remains, let remain 
 Ber, on, upon, the bofom
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 Beray, for, on account of 
 Berayud, arifes, goes, fucceed, 
 
 &c. 
 Bergirift, took up, &c. 
 Berift, went, departed 
 Berkheez, arife thou 
 Berkujliay, you open, loofe 
 Beroo, go, go away 
 Berud, goes away 
 Bejiatir, much, many, Sic. 
 Befteh, bound, clofed 
 Betoo, to, in, or with you 
 Beyekbar, at one time, at once 
 Bezungeer, in, or to the chain 
 Bikeraun, infinite, ineftimable 
 Bikyas, without bounds 
 BirooH, out, out of 
 Biya, come ! bring, &c. 
 Bokhara, a city 
 Booce, fmell, perfume 
 Boomy, the owl 
 Boofedun, to ki£s 
 Boofeh, a kifs 
 Buee, or Booe, fmell, &c. 
 Bu/iaur, or Behaur, fpring 
 Bulbul, the Perfian Nightingale 
 Buke, yes, but, however 
 Bund, a fetter, fnare, bonds, &c. 
 Burden, to bear, carry 
 Burf, fnow 
 
 Btived, or Bood, he was, it was 
 Buzruk, great, large 
 
 Caf, a fabulous mountain 
 
 Canaan, Paleftine 
 
 C/ii, or C/ieA, who, what, where- 
 fore, why, v/hom, &c. 
 
 Chehar, four 
 
 Chehel-Minar, the forty pillars, or 
 the ruins of ancient Perfepolis 
 
 Chehreh, face, air, mien, &c. 
 
 Chekur, the heart, liver, 8ic. 
 
 Chenaun, fo, fuch, &c. 
 
 ChenauHcheh, thus, in the fame way 
 
 ChendaT.nk^h, as many as, more as, 
 &c. 
 
 Cheraugk, lamp, torch, candle,&c. 
 
 Cherekh, fphere, circle^ &;c. 
 
 Chejkim, the eye 
 
 CheJIiimhay , pi. the eyes 
 
 Chu, as like, when 
 
 Chun, when, fince, as, like, &c. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dad, equity, he gives, a gift 
 Damen, a fold, hem, fkirt 
 Danijlun, to know 
 Dara, Darius, King of Perfia 
 Daree-nd, you have, they have 
 Dajlitun, to have, hold 
 Daughy, a fear, wound, mark 
 Dehauny, the mouth 
 Deed, he faw 
 Diiden, to fee 
 
 C c z
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 Deedeh, particip. feen, eye 
 Deeve, a Daemon, Evil Spirit 
 Deezvmaiek, infanc, mad, foolifh 
 Der, in, upon, into, &c. 
 Derd, affli£tion, grief 
 Der'iay, waves, fea 
 Dening, delay, hefitation 
 DeJ, the hand 
 Digur, other, elfe 
 Dil, the heart 
 Dilaraumy, reft of the heart 
 Dildar, pofTeffing the heart, a 
 
 miftrefs 
 Di/fereeb, deceiving the heart 
 Dilruba, raviflihig the heart 
 Diraz, long 
 Doo, or Du, two 
 Door, or Dur, far 
 JDqft, the hand, a friend, miftrefs 
 Dojlek, handful, a nofegay 
 Dtthur, fortune 
 
 Dumbal, tail, track, veftige, rere 
 Dur, far 
 
 Dttrd, dregs, fediment 
 Dureegli, alas ! 
 Durujly, truth, fincerity 
 Dufet, a miftrefs, a friend. 
 Dyar, houfes, manfions 
 
 E. 
 
 Eaunee, that is to fay, viz. 
 Een, or aeUi this, Eenja, here 
 
 Endam, form, ftature, &c. 
 
 EndiJJieh, fee Andijlieh 
 
 EJJi, his, or hers, added to nouns, 
 
 as Jemaul-eJJi, his beauty 
 EJl, or aj, he, fhe, or // is. 
 
 F. 
 
 Fatha, an orthographical mark 
 
 Femin, but from, &c. Arab. comp. 
 of the particle of and »//«, 
 from, &c. 
 
 Ferda, to-morrow 
 
 Fereeb, deceiving 
 
 Ferghend, ivy 
 
 Feringy, European 
 
 Ferijk, a bed, couch, cufhion 
 
 FeriJJiteh, an angel, meflenger 
 
 Feyfet, grace, plenty 
 
 Fermuden, or Firmnden, to com- 
 mand, to fay, &c. 
 
 Fi, in 
 
 Firaukk, abundant, large, &c. 
 
 Firzendeh, a fon, child, offspring 
 
 Font, or Foru, down, below, &c. 
 
 Fuday, a ranfom, price 
 
 Furzaunek, wife, learned, &c. 
 
 Fuji, Fujl-i behaur, fpring, feafon 
 
 Futtak, vi£tory. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gahy, time, at one time, oppor- 
 tunity
 
 VOCABULARY, 
 
 Geety, the world 
 Gerckeh, although 
 GeJJity, a fliip, a boat 
 Ghebguby, neck, chin, jaw 
 Ghemm, grief, trouble 
 Ghemzeh, a glance, wink 
 Gkul, an imaginary monfter 
 Ghunckeh, a bud, rofe-bud 
 Gkurret, Aurora, dawn 
 Gueem, I may, fay 
 Giriften, or Gooriftun, to take, 
 
 feize 
 Goft, or Guft, he faid, fpoke 
 Goftend, they faid, &c. 
 Gohir, a gem, a jewel 
 GtideJJitun, or Giiza/Iitun, to pafs 
 
 by 
 Gttftar, a fpeech, a word 
 G/V, a rofe, a flower 
 Gulaub, rofewater 
 Gtdazaur, rofy cheeked 
 Gnlendaum, rofy hue 
 Gu/JJien, a rofe garden 
 Gulzar, a bed of rofes 
 Gtimariden, to compel, to gnafli 
 
 the teeth, &c. 
 GimauH, a doubt, opinion 
 Gunge, a treafure 
 Gurdaniden, to caufe to be done 
 GuzeJJitun, to pafs by, or near 
 Guzaf, vanity, an idle foolifh 
 
 faying 4 
 
 H. 
 
 Hail, terrible, dreadful, horrible 
 Haram, forbidden 
 Hajyl, gain, refult, advantage 
 Haul, condition, time, prefent 
 Hedees or Hedys, news, ftory, 
 
 &c. 
 Heech, none, no, never, not at all 
 Hekayet, ftory, narration 
 Hekyket, truth, reality 
 Hem, together, with 
 Hemchu, like, as 
 
 Hemchinaun, thus, in this manner 
 Hemchunaiink, in like manner as 
 Hemeh, or hemei all, every 
 Hemidoon, fo, in like manner, 
 
 always 
 Hem Kaiineh, of the fame houfe 
 
 living together 
 Hemrah, a companion 
 Hemzad, born together, partners 
 Hena, or i/ww, here, this place 
 Her, every, all, both 
 Her doo, both the one and the 
 
 other 
 Hereer, filken fluff 
 Heyhat, a dcfart 
 Hezret, majefty, dignity 
 Hind, India, Hindooftan 
 Hoo/li, underftanding, fenfe, reafon 
 Houri, a virgin of paradife 
 Huna, fee Hena
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 HuJJitum, the eig-lith 
 Huzva, the air 
 
 I. 
 
 Ikaub, an eagle 
 Ilia, unlefs, but, 
 Imrooz, to day, this day, 
 ImJJieb, this night 
 Injaun, a man, human creature 
 Irak, -Chaldea 
 
 Irem, a fabulous garden of delight 
 IJ/muh, they, them, &c. 
 IJigfaur, repentance, afking par- 
 don 
 Jjlik or Y/^k, violent love 
 IJl'tkbatil, futurity meeting, &c. 
 Ijm, a name 
 Izaur, the cheek, face. Sec. 
 
 Janeb, the fide, part 
 Javab, an anfwer 
 Jauee, a place 
 Jaum, a goblet, cup 
 Jaun, the foul, life 
 Jaimaun, lovely v/oman, miftrefs 
 Jaunet, thy foul 
 yauvedaun,.£\.exna], perpetual 
 Jawy, a ftrcam, river 
 Jemaul, beauty, elegance 
 Jenud, armies, troops 
 Jeraud, the locuft 
 
 Jung, war, battle, fight 
 Junoon, madnefs, infanity 
 Juvauny, youth 
 Juz, except, but, &c. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kaum, w^ifli, defire, &c. 
 
 Kamiis, the ocean, title of a ce- 
 lebrated Arabic Dictionary, 
 tranflated and publiflied by 
 Golius 
 
 Kar, work, bufincfs, labour 
 
 KaJJigy, would to heaven 
 
 Ked, ftature 
 
 Kee or Ky, who 
 
 Kek, who, how, which, for, be- 
 caufe that 
 
 Keifooy, locks, ringlets 
 
 Kemaun, a bow 
 
 Kemer, waifi: 
 
 Keneezy, a girl, a damfel 
 
 Kerar, firmnefs, tranquillity 
 
 Kerm, generofity, humane 
 
 Keryet, a city or town 
 
 Kejleraniden, to caufc to be fpread 
 as a carpet or couch 
 
 Kejlerd, fpread 
 
 Kes, fome one, any one, a perfon 
 
 Kejliud, fhe opened 
 
 Kefimet, fhare, portion 
 
 Khaneh, a houfe 
 
 Keyfar, Cefar, a monarch
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 Khan, an inn, family, a table 
 KhaUmalio, their feals, Arab 
 Khar, a thorn 
 Khara, a hard ftone 
 Khater, difpofition, inclination 
 Khaiib, a bed, fleep, dream 
 Khaukk, earth, clay 
 Khauhed, 3d p. fing. from 
 Khaiijlen, to alk, wilh, defire 
 Kheez, arife thou 
 Khendaun, fmiling, charming 
 Kkeyaid, fancy, imagination 
 Khoob, fair, beautiful, good 
 Khoobaun, plural of Khoob 
 Khood, felf, ones own 
 Khoon, blood 
 Khoord, eats 
 
 Khoorm, delightful, pleafant 
 KhooJIi, fweet, pleafant 
 Khoo/It Kit, or Kaw, a fweet finger 
 Khorflieed, the fun 
 Khojhmid, appeafed, fatisfied 
 Khulayek, the fame as 
 Khiilky, the people, inhabitants 
 Khriiydmund, wife, learned, pru- 
 dent 
 Khujhy, thou flumbereft 
 Khiizaiin, autumn, the fall of the 
 
 leaf 
 Kohen, old, ancient 
 Kol, every, all 
 Kuja, where, wherefoever 
 
 Kulaum, words, difcourfe, fpeech. 
 Kiimbed, a vault, arch, tower, 
 
 8cc. 
 Kumend, fnare, noofe 
 Ktimr, full moon 
 Kunar^ a brim, border, embrace, 
 
 &c. 
 Kuni, thou doeft 
 Kurdeh, done, participle 
 Kufar, a palace, Sec. 
 KuJIiad, gladnefs, rejoicing 
 Kufliayy, thou openeft, loofeft,&c,- 
 KiiJJiteh, killed 
 KuJJitend, they became, &c. 
 Kut, food, nourifhment 
 
 L. 
 
 Z,^, not, no, &c. 
 
 Laabet, a charmer, alluring by 
 
 beauty 
 Lakh, a tulip 
 LaJJikur, an army 
 Z,^^, the lip 
 Leiken, but 
 L^/^rt, face, form, &c. 
 
 M. 
 
 Mah, the moon 
 
 Mah-e-peikur, fair-faced as the 
 
 moon 
 Mahy, a fifli 
 Mandeh, remained
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 Many, thou remained, alfo the 
 
 name of a famous painter 
 Maun, a family eftate 
 Maunend, like, refcmbling 
 Mebad, let there not be 
 Me ber, do not bear, fupport 
 Meh-roo, Moon-faced, lovely 
 Mehejur, cut off", forfaken, fepa- 
 
 rated 
 Me'i, wine 
 
 Mehunnet, affliftion, calamity 
 Mekaiim, place, ftation 
 Mekuddem, preceding, before, &:c. 
 Melal, grief, vexation 
 Mellek, the Locuft 
 Memkin, poffible 
 Memkin Nebuved, could not poffi- 
 
 bly be 
 Men, (Perf:) I, me, mine 
 Men or Min, (Arab:) from, than 
 Menzil, a manfion, refidence 
 Mejliryk, the Eaft 
 Mefr, Egypt, Cairo 
 Mezkan, eye ladies 
 Mihr, the Sun, a feal 
 Mikend, he a£ls the part of, does, 
 
 they do, make, &c. 
 Mikejhy, thou loofefl, diflieveleft 
 MikezeJJiet, or Miguzejht, paffes 
 
 by 
 
 Mikhaujl, intreats, willies for 
 Mikhoory, thou driukeft 
 
 Minar, Minaur, a turret, column 
 Mijk or Mijlion, (Arab:) mulk 
 Miroom, I go, I am going 
 Mijl, equal to, like 
 Mizend, (Nubet,) he fets the 
 
 watch, &:c. 
 Moonis, companion 
 Mooee, locks, hair, ringlets 
 Mubaruck, happy, profperous 
 Mugur, perhaps, unlefs 
 Miihammed, Mahomet 
 Muheyia, prepared, arranged 
 Mulhik, an angel 
 Murd, a man 
 Mtijhkeen, mufky 
 MuJJitak, longing for, defirous 
 Miijk, mulk 
 Mujnud, the throne 
 Miitrib, a minftrel, mufician 
 
 N. 
 Na, negative, particle, prefixed, 
 
 as, in 
 Na-aumeed, hopelefs, not hoping, 
 Nairn, gift, blefling 
 NakkaJJi, pifture, painter, &c. 
 Nam, or Naum, a name 
 Nameh, a book, letter, hiftory 
 Nauleh, lamentation, murmurs, 
 
 plaintive notes 
 Naur HZ, or Nurooz, firft day of 
 
 Spring
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 Nazramiy, a Chrlftian 
 Nazuk, graceful, lovely 
 Nazuneen, graceful, elegant 
 Nebuved, was not 
 Neda, exclamation, clamour 
 Nedarem, I hold not, &c. 
 Nedaimem, I know not 
 Nedeedeh, not feen 
 NeeruHg, charms, fpels 
 Negahy, look, glance 
 Nehaden, to place 
 Nehen, A. we 
 Nek, not, alfo, place thou 
 Ne/iy, you may place 
 Nekhauhem, I do not wifh, aflc 
 Nekkauhed, does not wifli, alk 
 Nekhet, fmell, perfume 
 Nekuned, they do not, make not, 
 NeJJiayed, it is not meet, fit 
 Ne/heeneed, he heard not 
 Nefret, fplendor, beauty 
 Niayed, does not come, go 
 Nimet, benefits, bleflings 
 Nifeem, a gale, breeze 
 NiJJieJiun, to fit 
 
 NiJJiki, Arabic, hand-writing 
 Noah, a proper name 
 Noorooz, the firft day of Spring 
 NubeJiaur, the New Year, Spring 
 Niibet, a turn, time, watch 
 NugJimet, melody, mufic 
 Nukkul, tradition, narration 
 
 Numoodun, to fhow 
 
 Nutvattn, it 'u impoffible, cannot 
 
 Nuzi'm, verfes, poetry. 
 
 O. 
 
 O, or Oee, he, fhe, it, his. Sec. 
 Ora, to him, her, &c,him, it, 84c. 
 
 her 
 Organoon, a mufical inftrument 
 Oitar, effence, perfume 
 
 Pa, or Pauee, the foot 
 
 Padir, father 
 
 PadiJJiah, or Padtjliaw, a king 
 
 Pahlav), the ancient language of 
 
 Perfia 
 Pakeezeh, fair, pure, lovely 
 Paureh, or Parek, a bit, piece, 
 
 part 
 Pechegaun, infants, children 
 Pedrudy Kirdun, to bid farewell 
 Peer, old, an old man 
 Peery, old age 
 Peikiir, the face, form, &c. 
 Peijlt, before 
 Pend, counfel, advice 
 Pereeden, to fly in the air 
 Perdeh, or Pordeh, a curtain, veil, 
 
 hangings 
 Pery, a fairy, angel 
 Pes, after, then 
 Dd
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 Pejy, many, more, &c. 
 
 Picheeden, to twift, bend, involve 
 
 Pidaw, openly, manifeftly, &;c. 
 
 Pihen, wide, ample 
 
 Por, full 
 
 Pordehdary, a chamberlain, or 
 
 holder of the curtain 
 PuJIieedeh, clothed, covered 
 
 R. 
 
 Raheem, merciful, compaflionate 
 
 Rahman, merciful 
 
 Raoud, or Rouz, a garden 
 
 Reehattn, fragrant herbs 
 
 Reekfend, they dance, leap 
 
 Reez, pour out 
 
 Refy, benediftion, blefllng 
 
 Refed, comes to 
 
 Rift, went, departed 
 
 Rijk, envy 
 
 Rood, or Rtid, a river, firing of a 
 mufical inftrument 
 
 Rooee, the face 
 
 Roomiaun, the Grecians, Euro- 
 peans 
 
 Ruah, a fpirit, breath 
 
 Rud, a river, firing of a mufical 
 inftrument, he goes 
 
 Ruhmet, mercy, compaflion 
 
 Rung, colours, complexion 
 
 RuJJienay, fplendor, light 
 
 Rufool, prophet, ambafTador 
 
 Ruvan, running, flowing 
 Ryaheen, odoriferous herbs 
 
 S. 
 
 Saaty, a while, fpace of time 
 
 Sabr, patience 
 
 Sad, an hundred 
 
 Sddi, or Saadi, a poet's name 
 
 Sagher, a cup, goblet 
 
 Salam, falutation, peace, fafety 
 
 Sauktun, to do, make, prepare 
 
 Sauky, a cup bearer, water-carrier 
 
 Sauny, fecond 
 
 Sauz, any mufical inftrument 
 
 Sazee, thou makefl 
 
 Seba, zephyr 
 
 See, thirty 
 
 Seemeen, filvery, made of filver, 
 
 Seemtett, filver-bodied 
 
 SeA, or Stth, three 
 
 Se/m, a court-yard, a fquare 
 
 Sekra, a defart 
 
 Sekrauny, defarts 
 
 Sekkttn, difcourfe, words, &c. 
 
 SeJfebeel, a celeftial fountain 
 
 Seneman, idols 
 
 Sejieed, white 
 
 Ser, the head, top, extremity, &c. 
 
 Seranjaum, end, conclufion 
 
 Serijktek, compounded, formed 
 
 Seyak, black 
 
 Sikander, Alexander
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 Shady, gladnefs, joy 
 
 Shah, or Shaw, a king 
 
 Shaar, poetry, verfe 
 
 Shah-var, royal, belonging to, or 
 like a king 
 
 Shaikh, an elder, a chief 
 
 Shawk, a tender branch 
 
 Sheb, night 
 
 Sheh, for Shah, a king 
 
 Shehed, honey 
 
 Sheher, a city 
 
 Shekhejleh, broken 
 
 Shekur, fugar 
 
 Shemda,2L candle, taper, &c. 
 
 Sheneeden, to hear 
 
 Sheraiib, wine, fherbet, li- 
 quor 
 
 Shimjhad, the box tree 
 
 Shirauz, a famous city 
 
 Shireen, fweet, pleafant 
 
 Shraub, wine, liquor 
 
 Shud, was, he, flie, it was, 
 &c. 
 
 Shudun, to be 
 
 Shiiky, mirth, jollity 
 
 Sooee, towards 
 
 Sooz, burning, tormenting 
 
 Suim, the third 
 
 Sultaun, prince, fultan 
 
 Su/ub, plundered, deftroyed 
 
 Suluh, peace, concord 
 
 Suw-waur, horfeman, riding 
 
 Ta, that, until, in order that 
 Tnbaun, bright, fliining 
 Takht, a throne 
 Tdlyk, hanging, the Perfian hand 
 
 writing 
 Tawk, power, ftrcngth 
 Teer, an arrow, the Tigris 
 Temajha, lliow, entertainment 
 Temaum, intire, whole, complete 
 Ten, the body 
 Tenha, alone 
 Tenk, narrow, barren 
 Tera, oblique cafe of too, thou 
 TeJIym, fainting, granting 
 Too or tit, thou, you, thine 
 Toockeh, turning, converfion 
 Tubaa, nature, genius, difpofition 
 Tulby, thou feekeft, from 
 Tulbeedun, to feek 
 Tulb Kirdun, to feek 
 Turkaun, turks, beautiful perfons 
 Turreh, ringlets, locks, &;c. 
 
 V. U. 
 
 Va, Vaw, Ve, M^aw, U, and 
 Far, added to nouns, denotes 
 
 fimilitude, as Peri-var, like a 
 
 fairy 
 Fely, but 
 
 Ulfety, familiarity, fociety 
 Umr, life
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 W. 
 
 fValid, parent, progenitor 
 Wallah, by God ! oh Gob ! 
 fVaw, the copulative and 
 fVazia, eftablifliing, legiflating 
 PTehifet, a dilh of locufts 
 WehiJJiet, affli£lion 
 Wekt, feafon, time 
 JVekta, once upon a time 
 
 Ya Arab: oh ! ho ! 
 Ya, Pers: or 
 Yabed, may find, from 
 Yaften, to find 
 Yar, a friend, a miftrefs 
 Yehoody, a Jew 
 Yek-JIieby, one night 
 Yeky, one, a fingle one 
 Yeminy, belonging to Arabia, Fe- 
 lix 
 YJIi, mirth, joy 
 Yunaniaun, lonians, Greeks 
 
 Xawiyet, hermitage, cell-cloy- 
 
 fter 
 Ze, for Az, from, of, &c. 
 Zeeba, elegant, graceful, &c. 
 Zeer, under 
 
 Zemeen, ground, country, land 
 Zendaun, a prifon 
 Zendeh-am, I am alive 
 Zendegy, exiftence, life 
 Zehreh, Venus 
 Zoormund, powerful, ftrong 
 Zubauny, tongue 
 Zulf, a ringlet, lock of hair 
 Zunjeer, a chain, fetter 
 Zun, a woman 
 Zun, a ftriker, player on, as 
 
 Organoon Zun, a player on 
 
 the organ 
 Zujht, deformed, hideous, unplea- 
 
 fant, ugly, &c. 
 Zuwal, declenfion, fetting of the 
 
 fun 
 
 GENERAL
 
 GENERAL TABLE 
 
 OP 
 
 c o 
 
 TENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Adonis, 183.184 
 
 Afrafiab, Introd, xiv. 
 
 Ahafuerus, 9° 
 
 Ahu, or fawn 127 
 
 Alcoran, fee " Koran" 
 Alexander, Introd. xi. 52, 74, 75, 96, 
 116, 131, 133 
 
 Allegory, Introd xx. xxxii 
 
 Amorous, fee " Erotick" 
 Anacreon, Introd.xxiii.xxx, 125, 149, 
 
 152, 158 
 
 Ancient Poetry, Introd xix. 
 
 Angels, 87,135, 137 
 
 Antiques found, Introd xvi. 
 
 Anvari, (the poet) 19, 21, 125 
 
 Arabia, temple difcovered in the defarts 
 
 of, Introd xvi 
 
 Arabian mulic, 160 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Arabian Saints, 166, 172 
 
 Writers, inacurate 84 
 
 Araxes (River) .....lOl 
 
 Ariofto, 139 
 
 Ariftophanes, u ..132 
 
 Armenia, 102 
 
 Artaxerxes, '. .- 98 
 
 Afp, (the word) a common termina- 
 nation of proper names 14 
 
 BABYLON, Introd. xvii, 104, 105, 
 
 106, 109 
 
 Bacchanalian, Introd xx, 18 
 
 Balkh, 99 
 
 Barbary, 31, 32,176 
 
 Beauty, 26, 86,87, no, 113, 123, 
 126,134,137, 138, 140,150 
 
 151. 179 
 Behariftan, 17
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Benedi£lion, (Pcrfian) 140, 142 
 
 Black Eyes, 123, 124, 127, 187 
 
 Bokhara 49> ^°^ 
 
 Bulbul, lee" Nightingale" 
 
 CAF, a fabulous mountain, 54 
 
 Cairo, 107 
 
 Canaan, 184 
 
 Cafhmere 162 
 
 writer of, 115 
 
 • Nvmphs of 123 
 
 Singing Women of, . - 1 62 
 
 Cafpian Sea, loi 
 
 Caflem, (the poet) 21 
 
 Caftle of the white giant, 98 
 
 Chaldaick, Introd. x\x, 105, 106, 
 109, no, 117 
 Chehelminar, (fee Perfepolis) 
 
 Cherub 137 
 
 Combat of Ruftam, with the Decve 
 
 Sepeed, 93, 97 
 
 with Sohraub, 115 
 
 Conclufion of Arabic and Perfian 
 MSS. like the early printed 
 
 books in Europe 71 
 
 Conftantinople, Introd xiv. 
 
 Creed, ( Mahometan ) 177 
 
 Cufa, or Chaldea,. gg, 105 
 
 Cufick 188 
 
 Cuthites, 1 09 
 
 Cyrus, Introd xv. 
 
 DARIUS,. 3, 23, 79, 16. Introd. xiv. 
 Dates, according to Mahometan aera 88 
 Dsemon, (See Deeve) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Deeve or Dive, 92,95,98, 136 
 
 Sepeed, or white giant, 98 
 
 Dejleh (river Tigri3)99, 102, 103, 108 
 
 Deri, I 
 
 Devil, (names of) 9^ 
 
 Devotion, 19 
 
 Diana's temple at Perfepolis, Introd. 
 
 xvii. 
 Dictionary (Perfian) Introd xxvi. 
 
 ECHO, "the daughter of Voice" 156 
 Egypt, .83, icy, 109, 183, 184, 188 
 
 Elegiac, Introd xx. 20 
 
 Elegy, 76, 185 
 
 Enthufiafm, in Devotion and Love. 18 
 
 Epitaph of Sir Wm Jones, 185 
 
 Epithets, 122, 123, 125, 155 
 
 Erotick, Introd xxi. 13 
 
 Errors in MSS 6, 7,9 
 
 Eulogium on Sir Wm. Jones, 184 
 
 Euphrates, fee '' Frat," 
 
 Eufoofy (Inlhai) 141 
 
 FAIRY, fee « Pery," 
 
 vifion of Milton 1 39 
 
 Ferdufi, or Firdaufi, 78, 81, 94, 95, 
 97, 112,115. Introd. xxiii. 
 Frat or Forat, the river 
 Euphrates, 99, 1 04, 1 05, 1 09 
 
 GABRIELLEDE VERGY,..i46' 
 
 Ganges, (River) 107, no 
 
 Ghul, (a Daemon) 96 
 
 Giant, (the white) ^8 
 
 Gihoon, (river Oxus) 49, 99,100, lOi
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GOD, name in Perfian, Arabic, 
 Affyrian, ancient language of 
 
 the Guebres, &c 34. 
 
 Greek and Perfian poetry, compared 
 
 IntroJ xxii. xxiii. 
 
 Dialers 118 
 
 Muficians, 130 
 
 Mufic, 160 
 
 Scribes, ..... --39 
 
 Writings,.. -75, 78, 103,117 
 
 Tranflations of Perfian manu- 
 
 fcripts, Introd. xi. 
 Gumaun, . 49 
 
 HAFIZ, or Hafez, 21, 28, 49, 76, 
 
 119, 123, 152, i6o, 163, 184, 
 
 185, Introd. xxiii. 
 
 Hebrew, 14, 30, 44, 65, 78, 96, 105 
 
 Introd. XXX. 106, 108, 117, 
 
 "8, 133, 137 
 
 Herkern, (Infliai) 141 
 
 Hindooftan, 4, 6, loi 
 
 Horfe, (fee Afp) 
 
 Houries, 62, 87, 124, 137, 187 
 
 JAMI, (the Poet) 17, 18, 20, 21, 82, 
 83, 88, 104, 119, 136, 163, 
 183,185, 187,189 
 Jaun and Jaunaun, play on the words, 
 
 164 
 
 Impurities, I9> S8 
 
 Indelicate Verfes, 19 
 
 India, 5,6, 106 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Indian Munfliies, 6 
 
 Mufic 160 
 
 Indus River, . loi 
 
 Infcriptions, Pcrfspolitan 2, 4, 98 
 
 Cufic, 88 
 
 Inft'uments of Mufic, .130, 160, 161 
 
 Johannes Secundus, 145 
 
 Jones, Sir William, 184 
 
 lonians, (Greeks) 132 
 
 Jofeph, 16, 18, 67, 82, 182, i8}., 185, 
 
 187, &c. 
 
 Irak, or Chaldea, 103, 167, 176 
 
 Iraun, or Perfia, 6, loi, 115 
 
 Irem, (the Garden of) 65 
 
 Ifaphan, (City of) 27,28 
 
 Italian, like Perfian, Introd xxi 
 
 Cuftoms, like Perfian, Introd. 
 
 xxii 
 
 Ivy, 142 
 
 KARE, (or Ciaro) 107 
 
 Kemalleddin, (the Poet) 28 
 
 Kahcani, (the Poet) 103 
 
 Khofroo, (the Poet) 21, 120 
 
 Kifs, 152. 153' 156 
 
 Kifs of Venus, 145 
 
 Koran, i, 56, 65, 69, 74, 81, 106, 
 
 120, 124, 128, 129, 182, 183, 189 
 
 Kumaun .49 
 
 LEGENDS, 177 
 
 Letter-writing, 141 
 
 Library, Introd xxii. 12
 
 TABLE OF 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Locufts, i66, 174, 175 
 
 Love, Introd.xxxi, 18, 19, 20, 82, 83, 
 
 114, 146, 152, 161, 163, 179, 
 
 182, 186 
 Luxuries, tranfpalnted intoGreece, 1 28 
 
 ofShirauz, 27 
 
 Perfian 151, 153 
 
 Lybia, 176 
 
 Lyric, Introd. xxiii, 19, 21, 148, 184 
 
 MAGIC, Introd xiii. xx, 106 
 
 Mahomet, fee Mohammed 
 
 Mahometan Creed, 177 
 
 Saints, 166, 173 
 
 Man, in a general and particular 
 
 fenfe 35 
 
 Mani, the painter and Herefiarch, 51, 
 
 Maufolea at Perfepolis, Introd. xviii 
 
 Medes, 104 
 
 Mefliah, 88 
 
 Miracles, 166, 174, 177 
 
 Miraculous Anecdote, 166 
 
 Mohammed, or Mahomet, i, 81, 183, 
 
 189 
 Moors of Barbary. or Weftern Arabs, 
 
 31. 32.176 
 
 Mofellay, (the Bower of) 28 
 
 Mofes, 1 83, 189 
 
 Munfliies, (or Moonfhies) . 6 
 
 Mufic, Introd. xx. xxxi, 113, 130, 
 
 I3'> 132, 133)IS0> 1511152, 
 160 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Mufk, 62,122,127, 128 
 
 NADIR SHAH ,..g 
 
 Nakhfhebi, i6» 
 
 Nameh, (Mughenny) oraddrefs to the 
 
 Mufician, 160 
 
 Nameh, (Shah) or Book of Kings, 
 
 Introd. xxxi, 80,94,97, 112 
 Nameh, (Skander) or Hiftory of 
 
 See Alexander, Introd. xxxi 
 Nameh, (Tooti)or Talesof a Parrot, 
 
 i6r 
 
 Naffer ben Hareth, 8i 
 
 Nezami, (the Poet) Introd. xi, 7, 
 
 23>5', 52,75.76, 77, 79, 
 96, 131, 160 
 
 Nightingale, 48, 88. 91, 143, 145, 
 147, '57- 158, Introd. xxx. xxxii 
 
 Nile, 1 07, 108, 109 
 
 Nizami, fee Nezami 
 
 Noah, 56 
 
 Numerical Figures, 70, 87 
 
 Nymphs of Cafhmere, 123 
 
 ODE by Jam!, 20 
 
 Organ 140, 1 32 
 
 PAHLAVI, or Pehlavi, 3, 106, 133, 
 
 Introd. xi, xix 
 
 Painting, Introd. xii, 6, 10, 51, 52, 97 
 
 Palace, Introd xiii. xv. 114 
 
 Paradife, 62, 65,9.9, i°^> '°7, ^o8> "o, 
 118,124,128, 186, 187 
 5
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Parrot, (Tales of a) i6i 
 
 Pehlavi, 3, ic6, 133 
 
 Perfumes, 62, 113, 127, 128, 129, 
 138, Introd. XXX. 
 Peries, 62, 86, 95, 134, 1^,8, 140, In- 
 trod. XXX 
 Perfepolis, 2, 3. 98, 114, Introd. xv. 
 
 Perfepolitan Infcriptions, 2,4, 98, 
 
 Perfia, or Iraun, 6, lOi, 115 
 
 Perfian Literature, ftyled " foft and 
 
 " elegant," Introd xxi 
 
 Pery, fee Peries, 
 
 Petrarch, Introd xxi, 158 
 
 Philip of Macedon, 79, 131 
 
 Piety, 19 
 
 Plato, 132 
 
 Pomp of Perfian Kings, Introd xiii. 
 
 Potiphar, 182 
 
 Price of Manufcripts, 8, 9 
 
 Princefs of Sitemgan, Introd. xvii, 113 
 Pronunciation of Eaftern Words, In- 
 trod. xxvii 
 
 RAIL, 182 
 
 Raoul de Coucy, 146 
 
 Religious, 18 
 
 Rivers, held in veneration, 109 
 
 River Araxes, loi 
 
 Euphrates, 99, 104, 109 
 
 Gihon 100, 102 
 
 Ganges, 107,110 
 
 laxartes, „ 102 
 
 Indus, 10 1 
 
 Nile, 107, 108, 109 
 
 PAGE 
 
 River Oxus, 100, 102 
 
 Sihoon, .....102, r04 
 
 Tigri?, 99, 102, 103, 108 
 
 Roknabad, 28 
 
 Romance of the four Dtrvi flics, 126, 
 
 127 
 
 Romances, Introd. xxxii. 54, 80, 81, 
 
 82, 98, 126 
 
 Rofe, called " the flower," per excel- 
 
 Icntiam, 33 
 
 Rofe water, 42 
 
 Rofes, (Ottar of) 42, 26, 88, 91, 125, 
 127, 129. 143, 145, 157, 158, 
 Introd. xxxi. 
 
 Roxana, 117 
 
 Ruftam, the Perfian Hero, Introd. 
 
 xvii. 80, 81, 92, 93,96, 97, 110, 
 
 112, 114 
 
 SADI, (the poet) Introd. xxxii, 19, 2r, 
 
 28, 54. 56. 57' 58 
 
 his portrait, 59 
 
 works, 85, 86, 91, 103, iig, 
 
 144, 148, 155, 158 
 
 Saints, 166, 173 
 
 Samarcand, 123 
 
 Sanfcrit, 109, 184 
 
 Sawky (or cup-bearer). 119, 150, 153, 
 159, Introd. xxxi 
 
 Science, Introd xxxi 
 
 Scythia orTouran loi 113, 115 
 
 Selfebeel, (a fountain) 118 
 
 Scnai (the Poet) 2r, 163 
 
 Seraph, 137 
 
 Ee
 
 TABLE OF 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Shah CalTem Anvcr (the Poet) 151 
 
 Shah Namch, 80, 94, 97, 112 
 
 Shaikh, 173 
 
 Shirauz, 26, 28, 56, 59, 97, 98, 120, 
 
 123, 147 
 
 Slmurgh, a fabulous animal, 54 
 
 Singing women, 153 
 
 Sitemgan, 133 
 
 Skandcr, (fee Alexander) 
 
 Sohraub, 80, 115 
 
 Sonnet of Jam!, 20 
 
 Sonnets of Petrarch, Introd xxi 
 
 Spring, Introd. xxxi, 91, 143, 157, 
 158, 159, 185 
 
 Studious fthe Perfians) 7 
 
 Sun, 33. 46 
 
 TALE S of a Parrot, 161 
 
 Tapeftry, 113 
 
 Temple difcovered in the dcfart of 
 
 Arabia, Lnrod xvi 
 
 Temple of Diana, Litrod xvii 
 
 Tooti Nameh, or " Tales of a Par- 
 rot," 161 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Touraun or Scythia, ..lot 
 
 "3>'«S 
 Turkifh writer. 183 
 
 VENUS, 125, 126, 145, 152, 187 
 
 Venus's Kifs, 145 
 
 WESTERN ArabF,....3i, 37, 176 
 Wine, Litrod. xxxi. 26, 113, 118, 119, 
 
 120, 129, 150, 151,152, 153, 
 
 155. 156 
 Women, beautiful at Shirauz, 26 
 
 Dancing, 153 
 
 Singing, 153,162 
 
 YAFEI AL YEMINI, an Arabian 
 writer, 172,177 
 
 ZELEEKHA,. . .16, 18,67, 82, 179 
 
 Zend, 3,4, 37 
 
 Zendavefta, 37 
 
 Zeratuflit, "] 
 
 Zerdehufht, J. 3)25)37 
 
 Zoroafter, J 
 
 FINIS.
 
 THE 
 
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 Frontifpiece 
 
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 VII. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 IX. 
 
 23 
 
 45 
 
 53 
 
 73 
 92 
 
 116 
 
 143 
 165
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page xxi Introduftion, Note, for ilk, read illie. 
 
 20 Line 4, for Jiyel, read Jlyle. 
 
 — — 35 the laft, for on read QlK 
 
 88 22, for Padua, read Pavia. 
 
 157 16, for amantuim, read amantium. 
 
 185 20, (or fecndus, read fecundus. 
 
 186 3, for Bu/u, read Bu/ee. 
 
 ii>. ii. for bchijht, read bekiJJit. 
 
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