[15] Bal’am-bin-Bā’ūr.
[16] ‘Uj-bin-‘Unuq. He is said, in the Talmud, to have been a monstrous giant. The ‘Adīs, we are told, were from sixty to one hundred cubits high. Compare Numbers xiii. 33.
[17] Koran, v. 29.
[18] Koran, vii. 175.
[19] A mysterious being, of the number of the prophets, who appears to and aids Moslems in distress; he is frequently mentioned in Mahometan fiction, where he plays a part similar to that of Elijah in the Talmud.
[20] Compare Boethius thus translated by Chaucer: All thynges seken ayen to hir propre course, and all thyngs rejoysen on hir retourninge agayne to hir nature.
[21] The emerald was supposed to have the effect of blinding snakes when they looked upon it.
[22] There is an Eastern myth to that effect.
[23] Joseph is the type of youthful beauty.
[24] A fabulous bird of great size. Solomon, it should be said, according to the Talmudic and Koranic legends, was acquainted with the language of beasts and birds, with whom he used often to converse.