more fast away.

Yet tho' thou fled'st away so fast,
I can recall thee if I will;
For I can talk of what is past,
And while I talk, enjoy thee still.

_Ebn Alrabia_.

ON LOVE[39]

I never knew a sprightly fair
That was not dear to me,
And freely I my heart could share,
With every one I see.

It is not this or that alone
On whom my choice would fall,
I do not more incline to one
Than I incline to all.

The circle's bounding line are they,
Its centre is my heart,
My ready love the equal ray
That flows to every part.

_Abou Aly_.

[39] Abou Aly flourished in Egypt about the year 530, and was equally
celebrated as a mathematician and as a poet.

A REMONSTRANCE WITH A DRUNKARD[40]

As drench'd in wine, the other night,
Zeid from the banquet sallied,
Thus I reprov'd his drunken plight,
Thus he my prudence rallied;

"In bev'rage so impure and vile,
How canst thou thus delight?"--
"My cups," he answer'd with a smile,
"Are generous and bright."

"Beware those dang'rous draughts," I cried,
"With love the goblet flows"--
"And curst is he," the youth replied,
"Who hatred only knows."

"Those cups too soon with sickness fraught
Thy stomach shall deplore"--
"Then soon," he cried, "the noxious draught
And all its ills are o'er."

"Rash youth, thy guilty joys resign."
"I will," at length he said,
"I vow I'll bid adieu to wine
As soon as I am dead."

_Yahia Ben Salamet_.

[40] This author was a native of Syria, and died at Miafarakir in the
year of the Hegira 553.

VERSES[41]

Tho' such unbounded love you swear,
'Tis only art I see;
Can I believe that one so fair
Should ever dote on me?

Say that you hate, and freely show
That age displeases youth;
And I may love you when I know
That you can tell the truth.

_Caliph Almonklafi Laimrillah_.

[41] Almonklafi was the thirty-first Caliph of the house of Abbas, and
the only one who possessed any real authority since the reign of
Radhi. These lines were addressed to a lady who pretended a
passion for him in his old age.

ON PROCRASTINATION[42]

Youth is a drunken noisy hour,
With every folly fraught;
But man, by age's chast'ning power,
Is sober'd into thought.

Then we resolve our faults to shun,
And shape our course anew;
But ere the wise reform's begun