women. During the great fairs at Mecca
and Okadh (Okâz) poetic contests were
held before the people, as at the Grecian
games, and the prize-poems were written
over again in golden letters. Among the
famous poets of this early time were
Na-begha and Kaab-ben-Zohair, whose verses
are remarkable for pathos and rich imagery,
and glow with love and hate. Literature,
science and art flourished under the caliphs
(750-1258 A. D.). They were most
generously fostered by Almansor (754—775) and
the famous Haroun-al-Rashid (786-808).
Translations were made from the best
Greek, Syriac and old Persian writers,
schools founded and libraries gathered.
While Europe was buried in the dark ages,
the Arabians became a cultured race, and
that almost as rapidly as the Mohammedan
conquest had been achieved. The Arabs
took the lead in geography, and refounded
medicine, Avicenna's Canon of Medicine
being the only handbook on the subject
for a long time. Theology and law were
based on the Koran. The collection of
traditions, known as the Sunna, which gives
an account of the sayings and doings of
Mohammed, also is an authority. The most
celebrated of the commentators on these
books were Zamakhahari and Baidhawi. In
philosophy the chief study of the Arabs
was Aristotle, and their most famous
commentator on him was Averroes, who wrote
at the end of the 12th century. Albateni,
who died in 929, was the greatest of their
astronomers. In mathematics they introduced
from India the numerals now in use,
besides developing algebra and trigonometry.
Perhaps the greatest historian was
Masudi (died in 957), who called his work
Golden Meadows. Motanebbi and
Abu-Teman gathered the old poems that make
up the collection Hamasah; Busiri's Bordah
is a work in praise of Mohammed; and
Azeddin's poem of The Birds and the Flowers
was very popular. Harivi, who died in
1121, was famous for his novels, written in
rhyming prose like the Koran. Romances
and legendary tales abounded. The most
famous were The Arabian Nights’
Entertainments, The Exploits of Antar, The
Exploits of the Champions and The Exploits
of Bibars. From these books the tales of
fays, charms, sorceries and enchantments
passed into the poetry of the west. How
the stories of The Arabian Nights’
Entertainments came to be told is noted by an
Arabian historian. A Persian king used to
marry a new bride every day, and kill her
next morning. One wife was Scheherazade,
who had understanding and prudence. As
they sat together she began a tale, and
late at night she broke it off at so
interesting a point that the king next morning
spared her life and at night begged her
to go on with her tale. So she did for a
thousand nights. Meantime she bore him
a child. Presenting the child, she told of
the craft she had used; and the king, whose
love she had now gained, admired her sagacity
and let her live. The book, we are told, was
written for the Persian princess Homai,
whose mother appears to be the Esther of
the Bible. The Arabians obtained these
stories from the Persians; additions were
also made of Indian and Arabian tales.
The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments has
been more read than any other book of
tales ever written.
Italian Literature
The literary language of Europe, especially of Italy, during the middle ages was Latin. It was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), who by a sublime masterpiece revealed the power and compass of the Italian tongue. That masterpiece is the Divine Comedy. Petrarch (1304-74) and Boccaccio (1313-75) with him form the trio who made the 14th century the golden age of Italian literature. Italy is the only country in which literature reached its height in its opening period. Petrarch lives in fame, not because of his many Latin books, but by reason of the unequaled beauty of his songs and sonnets, written in the despised tongue of the people. Boccaccio made a lasting place for himself among his country's great writers by his Decameron and other tales, which formed the standard of perfect Italian prose.
The revival of classical learning made the cities of Italy, especially Florence, centers of letters. On the Family is the best-known work of Alberti (1404-72), who excelled as architect, poet and prose-writer. The best work at this time consisted of narrative poems, the great names being Ariosto, the author of Orlando Furioso, and Boiardo. Machiavelli (1469-1527) was the leading historian, his Prince being translated into most modern languages. The graphic biography of Benvenuto Cellini (1500-71) the artist is a valuable picture of the times. The Pastor Fido of Giovanni Guarini (1537-1612) and the Aminta of Tasso (1544-95) are able dramas. Tasso, whose great poem was Jerusalem Delivered, ended the period in which Italian literature had been pre-eminent in Europe.
The foremost Italian of the 17th century was Galileo, whose scientific writings are penned in clear and pure prose. Alfieri, who wrote at the end of the 18th century, is the only great tragic writer that Italian literature possesses; and Manzoni, a writer of the 19th century, produced the only great Italian historical novel, The Betrothed. Silvio Pellico is known by My Prisons, his touchingly natural account of his imprisonment by the Austrians. The historians of the 19th century were Balbo, Capponi and Cantu. The eloquence and pure style of Mazzini's political writings make them valuable literature. Good poetry has been
