[411]. They are not, however, so apathetic as some travellers have supposed; for it is not uncommon to see them weep; and such a demonstration of feeling is not considered by them as unmanly: even heroes are frequently represented, in their romances and histories, as weeping under heavy affliction.
[412]. Chap. ii., ver. 191.
[413]. Literally, “your hands;” but in the Commentary of the Geláleyn, the meaning is said to be “yourselves.”
[414]. I think it proper to remark here, that I have good reason for believing Burckhardt to have been misinformed when stating (see his “Arabic Proverbs,” No. 393) that children in the East (in Egypt, etc.) torture serpents by putting them into a leather bag, then throwing unslaked lime upon them, and pouring water on it. I find no one who has heard of such cruelty; and it is not likely that boys in this country would dare to put a serpent in a bag (for they are excessively afraid of this reptile), or would give several piasters for a bag to destroy in this manner. The proverb upon which this statement is founded perhaps alludes to a mode of destroying serpents; but not for sport.
[415]. “The oppression of the Turks, rather than the justice of the Arabs,” is a proverb often heard from the mouth of the Arab peasant; who, in this case, applies the term “Arabs” to his own class, instead of the Bedawees, to whom it now usually belongs. See Burckhardt’s “Arabic Proverbs,” No. 176.
[416]. D’Herbelot mentions a somewhat similar case, in which a Turk, having buried a favourite dog with some marks of respect, in his garden, was accused, before the Kádee, of having interred the animal with the ceremonies practised at the burial of a Muslim, and escaped punishment (perhaps a severe one) by informing the judge that his dog had made a will, leaving to him (the Kádee) a sum of money.—(Bibliothèque Orientale, art. Cadhi.)
[417]. See Burckhardt’s Notes on the Bedouins, etc., 8vo edition, vol. i. pp. 179 and 180.
[418]. It has been remarked that this is inconsistent with the undeniable gratitude which the Arabs feel towards God. To such an objection they would reply, “We are entitled to the good offices of our fellow-creatures by the law of God; but can claim no benefit from our Maker.” I once afforded a refuge to a Bedawee who was in fear for his life; but on parting, he gave me not a word of thanks: had he done so, it would have implied his thinking me a person of mean disposition, who regarded a positive duty as an act imposing obligation. Hence the Arab usually acknowledges a benefit merely by a prayer for the long life, etc., of his benefactor.
[419]. The name which they give to it is “’eysh,” which literally signifies “life.”
[420]. Page 46.