Part 13 (1/2)
Nipped in the vice it kicks like a wild camel That will no touch allow-- Like a wild camel, so it creaks in bending And splits the bender's brow!”[226]
The _Mu'allaqa_ ends with a eulogy, superb in its extravagance, of the poet's tribe:--
”Well wot, when our tents rise along their valleys, The men of every clan That we give death to them that durst attempt us, To friends what food we can; That staunchly we maintain a cause we cherish, Camp where we choose to ride, Nor will we aught of peace, when we are angered, Till we be satisfied.
We keep our va.s.sals safe and sound, but rebels We soon force to their knees; And if we reach a well, we drink pure water, Others the muddy lees.
Ours is the earth and all thereon: when _we_ strike, There needs no second blow; Kings lay before the new-weaned boy of Taghlib Their heads in homage low.
We are called oppressors, being none, but shortly A true name shall it be![227]
We have so filled the earth 'tis narrow for us, And with our s.h.i.+ps the sea![228]
[Sidenote: ?arith b. ?illiza.]
Less interesting is the _Mu'allaqa_ of ?arith b. ?illiza of Bakr.
Its inclusion among the _Mu'allaqat_ is probably due, as Noldeke suggested, to the fact that ?ammad, himself a client of Bakr, wished to flatter his patrons by selecting a counterpart to the _Mu'allaqa_ of 'Amr b. Kulthum, which immortalised their great rivals, the Banu Taghlib. ?arith's poem, however, has some historical importance, as it throws light on feuds in Northern Arabia connected with the antagonism of the Roman and Persian Empires. Its purpose is to complain of unjust accusations made against the Banu Bakr by a certain group of the Banu Taghlib known as the Araqim:--
”Our brothers the Araqim let their tongues Against us rail unmeasuredly.
The innocent with the guilty they confound: Of guilt what boots it to be free?
They brand us patrons of the vilest deed, Our clients in each miscreant see.”[229]
A person whom ?arith does not name was 'blackening' the Banu Bakr before the King of ?ira. The poet tells him not to imagine that his calumnies will have any lasting effect: often had Bakr been slandered by their foes, but (he finely adds):--
”Maugre their hate we stand, by firm-based might Exalted and by ancestry-- Might which ere now hath dazzled men's eyes: thence scorn To yield and haughty spirit have we.
On us the Days beat as on mountain dark That soars in cloudless majesty, Compact against the hard calamitous shocks And buffetings of Destiny.”[230]
He appeals to the offenders not wantonly to break the peace which ended the War of Basus:--
”Leave folly and error! If ye blind yourselves, Just therein lies the malady.
Recall the oaths of Dhu 'l-Majaz[231] for which Hostages gave security, Lest force or guile should break them: can caprice Annul the parchments utterly?[232]
[Sidenote: 'Antara.]
'Antara b. Shaddad, whose father belonged to the tribe of 'Abs, distinguished himself in the War of Da?is.[233] In modern times it is not as a poet that he is chiefly remembered, but as a hero of romance--the Bedouin Achilles. G.o.ddess-born, however, he could not be called by any stretch of imagination. His mother was a black slave, and he must often have been taunted with his African blood, which showed itself in a fiery courage that gained the respect of the pure-bred but generally less valorous Arabs. 'Antara loved his cousin 'Abla, and following the Arabian custom by which cousins have the first right to a girl's hand, he asked her in marriage. His suit was vain--the son of a slave mother being regarded as a slave unless acknowledged by his father--until on one occasion, while the 'Absites were hotly engaged with some raiders who had driven off their camels, 'Antara refused to join in the melee, saying, ”A slave does not understand how to fight; his work is to milk the camels and bind their udders.” ”Charge!” cried his father, ”thou art free.” Though 'Antara uttered no idle boast when he sang--
”On one side n.o.bly born and of the best Of 'Abs am I: my sword makes good the rest!”
his contemptuous references to 'jabbering barbarians,' and to 'slaves with their ears cut off, clad in sheepskins,' are characteristic of the man who had risen to eminence in spite of the stain on his scutcheon. He died at a great age in a foray against the neighbouring tribe of ?ayyi'. His _Mu'allaqa_ is famous for its stirring battle-scenes, one of which is translated here:--[234]
”Learn, Malik's daughter, how I rush into the fray, And how I draw back only At sharing of the prey.
I never quit the saddle, My strong steed nimbly bounds; Warrior after warrior Have covered him with wounds.
Full-armed against me stood One feared of fighting men: He fled not oversoon Nor let himself be ta'en.
With straight hard-shafted spear I dealt him in his side A sudden thrust which opened Two streaming gashes wide,
Two gashes whence outgurgled His life-blood: at the sound Night-roaming ravenous wolves Flock eagerly around.
So with my doughty spear I trussed his coat of mail-- For truly, when the spear strikes, The n.o.blest man is frail--
And left him low to banquet The wild beasts gathering there; They have torn off his fingers, His wrist and fingers fair!”
[Sidenote: Zuhayr.]
While 'Antara's poem belongs to the final stages of the War of Da?is, the _Mu'allaqa_ of his contemporary, Zuhayr b. Abi Sulma, of the tribe of Muzayna, celebrates an act of private munificence which brought about the conclusion of peace. By the self-sacrificing intervention of two chiefs of Dhubyan, Harim b. Sinan and ?arith b. 'Awf, the whole sum of blood-money to which the 'Absites were ent.i.tled on account of the greater number of those who had fallen on their side, was paid over to them. Such an example of generous and disinterested patriotism--for Harim and ?arith had shed no blood themselves--was a fit subject for one of whom it was said that he never praised men but as they deserved:--
n.o.ble pair of Ghay? ibn Murra,[235] well ye laboured to restore Ties of kindred hewn asunder by the b.l.o.o.d.y strokes of war.
Witness now mine oath the ancient House in Mecca's hallowed bound,[236]