سندبادنامه 354
English (machine translation) 354
- Language
- English
354.1
“Do not despair, even if no hope remains; / no one remains forever in the sorrow of time.
Even if she were the Rābiʿa of her time, I would cast a stone at the lantern of her chastity; and if,
like radiant Venus, she were atop the green vault of heaven, I would bring her into the snare with the grain of trickery.” Then the next day,
in the guise of female ascetics, she hung amulets around her neck, took a rosary, and took staff and leather water-flask in hand,
went to that woman's house, displayed herself to her with spiritual charisms and stations, and brought the woman's heart under the sway of her command and prohibition.
Every hour she would occupy herself with acts of obedience and perform supererogatory and voluntary devotions;
by day she would eat no food, as if she were one who fasts perpetually;
and if by chance she stayed the night in her chamber, she would break her fast with a barley loaf and restrict herself to just that,
saying: “Wheat was the cause of Adam's lapse,
while barley is the food of the prophets and the morsel of the saints.” She spent her time in this conduct and way of life,
until the woman's belief in her asceticism and righteousness, and her chastity and modesty, grew firmer day by day;
and her sincere devotion in religious and worldly actions became more apparent with every passing hour.
354.13
In short, by deceit, trickery, and sorcery, the ascetic brought the woman entirely under her control and said to herself:
354.15
[...]
354.16
15 The Story of the Lover, the Old Crone, and the Weeping Dog
Linked texts (1)
- سندبادنامه — Ẓahīrī Samarqandī, Persian