The Project Gutenberg eBook, Persian Literature, Volume 1,Comprising The
Shah Nameh, The Rubaiyat, The Divan, and The Gulistan
, by Anonymous, et al

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Title: Persian Literature, Volume 1,Comprising The Shah Nameh, The
Rubaiyat, The Divan, and The Gulistan

Author: Anonymous

Release Date: November 26, 2003 [eBook #10315]

Language: English

Chatacter set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERSIAN LITERATURE, VOLUME
1,COMPRISING THE SHAH NAMEH, THE RUBAIYAT, THE DIVAN, AND THE GULISTAN
***

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PERSIAN LITERATURE

comprising

THE SHAH NAMEH, THE RUBAIYAT
THE DIVAN, AND THE GULISTAN

Revised Edition, Volume 1

1909

With a special introduction by
RICHARD J. H. GOTTHEIL, Ph.D.

SPECIAL INTRODUCTION

A certain amount of romantic interest has always attached to Persia.
With a continuous history stretching back into those dawn-days of
history in which fancy loves to play, the mention of its name brings to
our minds the vision of things beautiful and artistic, the memory of
great deeds and days of chivalry. We seem almost to smell the fragrance
of the rose-gardens of Tus and of Shiraz, and to hear the knight-errants
tell of war and of love. There are other Oriental civilizations, whose
coming and going have not been in vain for the world; they have done
their little bit of apportioned work in the universe, and have done it
well. India and Arabia have had their great poets and their great
heroes, yet they have remained well-nigh unknown to the men and women of
our latter day, even to those whose world is that of letters. But the
names of Firdusi, Sa'di, Omar Khayyam, Jami, and Hafiz, have a place in
our own temples of fame. They have won their way into the book-stalls
and stand upon our shelves, side by side with the other books which
mould our life and shape our character.

Some reason there must be for the special favor which we show to these
products of Persian genius, and for the hold which they have upon us. We
need not go far to find it. The under-current forces, which determi