CHAPTER XVIII.

Account of the Assembling of the Animals' Representatives.

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N the morning, the representatives of all the animals, having come from every country, assembled together, and the King of the Jins came and sat in the public hall to decide the quarrel. The attendants, in obedience to orders, made proclamation" Let all the complainants and seekers of redress, upon whom tyranny has been exercised, come forward and attend, for the King has taken his seat to pass a decision in the case, and the judges and lawyers are in attendance."

As soon as this notice was heard all the animals and men, who had assembled from every side, fell into ranks and stood before the King-making their obeisances and paying their respects, they began to offer their benedictions. The King regarded every side, and perceived that a multitude1 of every sort and kind, in great numbers, was in attendance. Lost in astonishment, he remained silent for a moment. After that, turning towards a sage of the Jins, he said, "Do you see this wonderful and extraordinary assemblage of beings?"

He said, “ O King, I see and behold them with the eye of my heart. The King, having seen them, is amazed, but I am wondering over the wisdom and power of that all-wise Creator who created them, and formed for them shapes of so many varieties and kinds. He always nourishes them, and gives them sustenance. He preserves them from every danger; moreover, they are (ever) present to His omnipresent know1 Khilkat--lit. "a creation."

ledge, for when God Almighty concealed Himself from the eyes of men of discernment behind the veil of His splendour, where the imaginations of thought and fancy cannot reach, He made manifest those miracles that every person of intelligence might behold them; and whatever there was behind his veil of mystery he brought forth into the field of visibility, that men of perception, having seen it, might acknowledge His miraculous art, His incomparability, might, and unity,1 and should not be in want of proofs and arguments.

"And the forms which are visible in the corporeal world are the similitudes and counterparts of those forms which exist in the world of spirits. But the forms which are in that world are bright and transparent, and these are dark and dense. Like as in pictures, there is a resemblance in every limb to the animals of which they are portraits, in the same way these forms also bear a likeness to those forms which exist in the world of spirits; but those forms are motive powers, while these are set in motion.2 Those creatures which are lower in degree than these are without instinct, motion, and tongue, whilst these have instincts. Those forms which are in the eternal world live eternally, but these are mortal and perishable."

After that he stood up and delivered this speech—“ Praise is due to that Creator who by His omnipotence made all creatures manifest, and produced in this world a creation of so many varieties and kinds; who having brought into existence all those created things to (the comprehension of) which the intelligence of no created being can attain, He displayed to the eye of every man of discernment the splendour of the light of His miraculous art. Having bounded the expanse of the world on six sides, He made time and place for the comfort of (His) creatures. Having formed many degrees in the heavens, he appointed angels to each. On animals he 1 Yaktái-oneness. 2 Active and passive.

bestowed forms and shapes of many varieties, and from the bountiful house of (His) munificence He granted them blessings of every sort and kind. To those who pray and supplicate with tears He has of His boundless favour granted the honour of near approach (to Himself); but those who allow their finite intellects to pry into His nature he has hurled amazed and stupified into the valley of perdition.

“Having, prior to Adam, formed the Jins from burning fire, He gave them surprising and transparent forms; and bringing forth all creatures from the hidden chambers of nonentity, He bestowed upon them divers qualities and different ranks. To some He gave a dwelling-place in the highest of the highest heavens, some He cast down into the lowest depths, and some He placed between these two degrees. And every one in this bed-chamber of the world He has led by the lamp of prophecy into the royal road of salvation. Praise and thanks be to Him who dignified us with the grandeur of the true faith and Islam, and made us rulers on the face of the earth, and allotted to our kings the blessings of knowledge and clemency."

When the sage had finished the delivery of this discourse, the King looked towards the congregation of the men. Seventy men were standing there, all different in person, and clothed in many sorts of garments. Among them there was visible a handsome person, erect in stature, whose whole body was symmetrical. He (the King) asked the wazír who this person was, and he replied, " He is an inhabitant of Irán, and lives in the territory of 'Irák." The King said, "Tell him to say something." The wazír made a sign to him. He, having paid his respects, delivered a speech, of which this is the epitome :

"Praise be to God, who for our dwelling-place gave us those cities and villages whose climate is superior to that of the whole world, and who bestowed on us superiority over

most of His servants. Praise and laudation be to Him who gave us intellect and intelligence, thought, wisdom, and prudence; all those various talents, under whose guidance we established rare arts and wonderful sciences. He gave to us empire and prophecy; from our race all these prophets were born, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad the Pure, (the peace of God be upon him, and rest!) In our tribe many kings of great dignity have been born, Farídún, Darius, Ardashír, Bahrám, Naushírwán, and several kings of the Sassanian line, who regulated the kingdom and government, army and people. We are the quintessence of all men, and men are the quintessence of animals. Briefly, of the whole world we are the essence of the essence.1 Praise is due to him who bestowed upon us the most perfect blessings, and gave us talents surpassing all living beings."

When this man had ended the delivery of his oration, the King looked towards all the sages of the Jins, and said, "Have you any answer to give to this man who has set forth his own excellences, and has made his boast of them?" They all said, “He speaks the truth." But the Sahibu-l'azímat who did not allow any one to speak before (he had said) his own say, turned towards the man, and wanted to give an answer to all those statements, and to detail the ignominy and errors of the men. Addressing the sages, he said, “This man has omitted many matters in his speech, and has made no mention of several great kings.” The King told him to state them.

He said:" This 'Irákí has omitted to say in his speech, through us the Deluge came upon the world, and as many animals as were on the face of the earth were all drowned-men of our race excited great discord, their intellects were deranged, and all the wise men were bewildered. Among us, Nimrod, the tyrannical king, was born, who cast Abraham 1 Crême de la crême.

the friend of God into the fire. From our race Nebuchadnezzar appeared, who destroyed the Holy Temple of Jerusa lem, committed the Old Testament to the flames, slaughtered the descendants of Solomon the son of David, and all the children of Israel, and drove out the race of 'Adnán from the banks of the Euphrates into the woods and mountains. He was very tyrannical and bloodthirsty, and was always engaged in bloodshed."

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The King said, Why should this man have stated all these matters? There was no benefit to him from so speaking; rather it is all a condemnation of himself." The Sáhibu-l'azímat replied, “It is far from justice and equity that at the time of a dispute one should set forth all one's own excellences and conceal one's faults, making neither repentance nor apology."

After this the King again looked towards the assembly of men, and among them there appeared a person of wheatcoloured complexion, thin, slender, with a long beard, and a waist-cloth fastened by a red string round his loins. He asked the wazír who it was? and he replied, "This is a Hindu, who dwells in the island of Ceylon.” The King said, "Tell him also to relate something about his affairs.” Accordingly, in compliance with the King's command, he also spake :

"Thanks are due to Him who for us granted an extensive and superior country, where the nights and days are always equal, where there is never excess of cold or heat, where the temperature is agreeable, the trees fine and green, the grass all medicinal, the mines of jewels endless, the herbage edible vegetables, the wood sugar-cane, the pebbles rubies and topazes, the animals fat and sleek, such as the elephant, which is fatter and bigger in body than all beasts. Adam also draws his origin from thence, and in like manner all animals-for the source of all is under the equator.

In our