an word for "ostrich" is [Arabic], literally
"camel-bird."

Again, to cite from other _Stufen_, Firdausi's lines, already used by
Goethe in his _Divan_ (see p. 25 above), furnish the text for a moral
poem, p. 487 (18). The Persian notion of the peacock being ashamed of
his ugly feet (cf. _Gul._ ii. 8, _qit'ah_) is put to a similar use on p.
463 (162). Some poems are moralizingly descriptive of Indic customs,
e.g., p. 157 (11), where reverence for the _guru_ or "teacher" is
inculcated (cf. _Manu_ ii, 71, 228) and pp. 10, 11 (18, 19), where the
conditions are set forth under which the Vedas may be read (cf. _Manu_
iv. 101-126, or _Yajn._ i. 142-151). A comparison is instituted between
the famous court of Vikramaditya and his seven gems, of which Kalidasa
was one, and that of Karl August of Weimar and his poetic circle, p. 148
(39).

Trivial and empty rhyming is of course abundant in such an uncritical
mass of verse, and we also meet with insipid puns, like that on the
Arabic word _din_, "religion," and the German word _dienen_, p. 498
(48).

These examples, we believe, will suffice for our purpose. With the
philosophical part of the _Weisheit_ we are not here concerned.

* * * * *

A great many Oriental poems are scattered throughout the collection
which bears the title of _Pantheon_ (vol. vii.). We may mention "Die
gefallenen Engel," p. 286, the legend of Harut and Marut, "Wischnu auf
der Schlange," p. 286, "Die nackten Weisen," p. 287, and others. Some
poems in this collection are in spirit akin to the _Oestliche Rosen_,
e.g. "Becher und Wein," p. 291, "Der Traum," p. 283, and the
"Vierzeilen," pp. 481, 482. Besides this, the _gazal_-form occurs
repeatedly, e.g. "Fruehlingshymne," p. 273. So fond does Rueckert seem to
have been of this form, that he employs it even for a poem on such an
unoriental subject as Easter, p. 189 (2).

This collection is furthermore of interest from the biographical side,
as often giving us Rueckert's opinions. Thus we find evidence that he was
by no means onesidedly prejudiced in favor of things Oriental. Referring
to the myth of fifty-three million Apsarases having sprung from the
sea,[190] he states (p. 24), that if he were to be the judge, these
fifty-three million nymphs bedecked with jewels would have to bow before
the one Aphrodite in her naked glory. And again in "Rueckkehr," p. 51,
the poet confesses that having wandered to the East to forget his