And I loved her that she did pity them.”
(Othello, Act. 1, Sc. 3)
[247]. This picture is highly suggestive of the Demon King of Ceylon, who is so prominent in Hindu mythology, especially in the Ramayana.
[248]. Firdusi thought proper to bestow upon his hero a gigantic stature and marvelous physical powers, but other classic writers have done the same. It will be remembered that Hercules had but completed his eighth month before he strangled the serpents that Juno sent to devour him, and Homer says of Otus and Ephialtes:
“The wondrous youths had scarce nine winters told,
When high in air, tremendous to behold,
Nine ells aloft they reared their towering heads,
And full nine cubits broad their shoulders spread.
Proud of their strength and more than mortal size,
The gods they challenge and affect the skies.”