[FOOTNOTES to THE DIVAN]
[Footnote 1: "The traveller of the Pathway"—the Magian, or Shaikh. In former times wine was chiefly sold by Magians, and as the keepers of taverns and caravansaries grew popular, the term Magian was used to designate not only "mine host," but also a wise old man, or spiritual teacher.]
[Footnote 2: An allusion to the dimple and moisture of the chin, considered great beauties by Orientals.]
[Footnote 3: Jem or Jemshíd, an ancient King of Persia. By Jem and his Sákí are to be understood, in this couplet, the King of Yazd and his courtiers.]
[Footnote 4: By the azure cowl is implied the cloak of deceit and false humility. Háfiz uses this expression to cast ridicule upon Shaikh Hazan's order of dervishes, who were inimical to the brotherhood of which the poet was a member. The dervishes mentioned wore blue to express their celestial aspirations.]
[Footnote 5: The disciples of Shaikh Hasan. Háfiz had incurred their displeasure by the levity of his conduct.]
[Footnote 6: In the "Gulistan" of Sa'di a philosopher declares that, of all the trees, the cypress is alone to be called free, because, unlike the others, it is not subject to the vicissitudes of appointed place and season, "but is at all times fresh and green, and this is the condition of the free.">[
[Footnote 7: In some MSS. we read: "The mirror of Sikander is the goblet of Jem." King Jem, or Jemshíd, had a talismanic cup: Sikander, or Alexander, had inherited from pre-Adamite times a magic mirror by means of which he was enabled to see into the camp of his enemy Dárá (Darius). Háfiz here informs us that the knowledge imputed to either king was obtained by wine.]
[Footnote 8: Referring to wine, which in the Koran is declared to be the
Mother of Vices.]
[Footnote 9: Korah, Kore, or Kárun, the Dives of his age, was an alchemist. He lived in an excess of luxury and show. At the height of his pride and gluttony he rebelled against Moses, refusing to pay a tithe of his possessions for the public use. The earth then opened and swallowed him up together with the palace in which he dwelt. (See Koran, chap, xxviii, and, for the Bible narrative, The Book of Numbers, chap, xvi.)]