PARKE, AUSTIN, AND LIPSCOMB, INC. NEW YORK LONDON
This Volume is one of a complete set of the Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East, consisting of fourteen volumes. In Volume I of the series will be found a certificate as to the limitation of the edition and the registered number of this set.
Copyright, 1917, Parke, Austin, and Lipscomb, Inc.
[Illustration: THE SLAVE GIRL OF ABU ZAYD.
"_Behold I had a slave girl, elegant of shape, Smooth of cheek, patient to labor._" AL HARIRI, The Eighth Assembly.]
THE SACRED BOOKS AND EARLY LITERATURE OF THE EAST
_In Translations by_ E. J. W. GIBB of the Royal Asiatic Society; STANLEY LANE-POOLE, Litt.D., Professor of Arabic, Trinity College, Dublin; ARMINIUS VAMBERY, LL.D., Professor of Oriental Languages, University of Budapest; THOMAS CHENERY, M.A., Former Professor of Arabic at Oxford University; ERNEST RENAN, Former Professor of Hebrew, College of France; CLAUD FIELD, M.A.; and other authorities.
_With brief Bibliographies by_ PROF. CHARLES C. TORREY, LL.D., and PROF. EDWARD H. JOHNS, Ph.D.
_With an Historical Survey and Descriptions by_ PROF. CHARLES F. HORNE, PH.D.
PARKE, AUSTIN, AND LIPSCOMB, INC. NEW YORK LONDON
"_There never was a false god, nor was there ever really a false religion, unless you call a child a false man._"—MAX MÜLLER.
PAGE INTRODUCTION—How the Teaching of Mohammed Spread into Many Lands and Created Many Literatures 1
Or Holy Traditions of Mohammed (A.D. 850-890) 9
_The Chief Work of the Arabs' Chief Scientist._
Al Biruni's "Existing Monuments" (A.D. 1040) 92
_The First Effort at Scientific Study of the Past._
Al Ghazali's "Rescuer from Error" (A.D. 1106) 102
_The Spiritual Autobiography of a Great Teacher._
Zamakhshari's "Kashshaf," or "Discoverer of Truth" (A.D. 1140) 134
The "Assemblies" of Al Hariri (A.D. 1122) 145
_The Most Renowned Piece of Pure Literature in Arabic._
Al Maqqari's "Breath of Perfumes" (A.D. 1628) 241
VII.—LOVE POETRY OF THE SPANISH MOORS 243
The Queen of Night, an Old Folk-lore Tale 262
The Earliest Turkish Poem (A.D. 1332) 272
Book of Alexander the Great (A.D. 1412) 273
The "Mirror of Countries" (A.D. 1556) 332
The Slave Girl of Abu Zayd _Frontispiece_
HOW THE TEACHING OF MOHAMMED SPREAD INTO MANY LANDS AND CREATED MANY LITERATURES