shall we inscribe upon the urn at his tomb." He replied:
"Verses of the holy Koran are of such superior reverence and dignity
that they should not be written in places where time might efface,
mankind tread upon, or dogs defile them; yet, if an epitaph be
necessary, let these two couplets suffice:--I said: 'Alas! how grateful
it was proving to my heart, so long as the verdure of thy existence
might flourish in the garden.' He replied: 'O my friend, have patience
till the return of the spring, and thou may'st again see roses
blossoming on my bosom, or shooting from my dust.'"

XVII

A holy man was passing by a wealthy personage's mansion, and saw him
with a slave tied up by the hands and feet, and giving him chastisement.
He said: "O my son! God Almighty has made a creature like yourself
subject to your command, and has given you a superiority over him.
Render thanksgiving to the Most High Judge, and deal not with him so
savagely; lest hereafter, on the day of judgment, he may prove the more
worthy of the two, and you be put to shame:--Be not so enraged with thy
bondsman; torture not his body, nor harrow up his heart. Thou mightest
buy him for ten dinars, but hadst not after all the power of creating
him:--To what length will this authority, pride, and insolence hurry
thee; there is a Master mightier than thou art. Yes, thou art a lord of
slaves and vassals, but do not forget thine own Lord Paramount--namely,
God!" There is a tradition of the prophet Mohammed, on whom be blessing,
announcing:--On the day of resurrection, that will be the most
mortifying event when the good slave will be taken up to heaven, and the
wicked master sent down to hell:--"Upon the bondsman, who is subservient
to thy command, wreak not thy rage and boundless displeasure. For it
must be disgraceful on the day of reckoning to find the slave at liberty
and the master in bondage."

XVIII

One year I was on a journey with some Syrians from Balkh, and the road
was infested with robbers. One of our escort was a youth expert at
wielding his shield and brandishing his spear, mighty as an elephant,
and cased in armor, so strong that ten of the most powerful of us could
not string his bow, or the ablest wrestler on the face of the earth
throw him on his back. Yet, as you must know, he had been brought up in
luxury and reared in a shade, was inexperienced of the world, and had
never travelled. The thunder of the great war-drum had never rattled in