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and-fifty.” Quoth the King, “Thou art right. Canst thou tell me the points of excellence in beauty?” “Yes,” answered Bedreddin, “Brightness of face, purity of skin, shapeliness in the nose, softness in the eyes, sweetness in the mouth, elegance in speech, slenderness of shape and quickness of wit; and the perfection of beauty is in the hair. And indeed Es Shihab el Hijazi has brought them all together in the following doggrel:
Say to the face, “Be bright,” and to the skin, say, “See, I show thee what befits thee best: ’tis purity.”
For elegance of shape the nose we chiefly prize, And languor soft it is, that best becomes the eyes.
Then say unto the mouth, “Sweetness, but mark thou me; Let fragrancy of breath fail never unto thee.”
Chaste be the speech, the shape be slender and well knit, And quickness mark the thought, the manners and the wit.
Then say that in the hair is ever beauty’s prime. Give ear to me and eke forgive my doggrel rhyme.
The Sultan rejoiced in his converse and said to him, “What is the meaning of the popular saying, ‘Shureih is more cunning than the fox’?” “Know, O King,” answered Bedreddin, “may God aid thee! that Shureih[1] was wont during the days of the plague, to go out to Nejef, and whenever he stood up to pray, there came a fox, which would plant itself over against him and distract him from his devotions by mimicking his movements. This went on for some time, till the man became weary of it; so one day he took off his shirt and put it on a cane and shook out the sleeves. Then he set his turban on top of the cane and tied a girdle round the middle of the effigy and planted it in the place where he used to say his prayers. Presently up came the fox, according to his wont, and stood over against the figure; whereupon Shureih came behind him and took him: hence the saying.” When the Sultan heard Bedreddin’s explanation, he said to his
- ↑ A well-known legist and Cadi of Cufa in the seventh century.
