A literary history of Persia

THE CARMATHIANS 405monograph. Of the many interesting passagescited in thatlittle volume (a model of scholarlyresearch and clear exposition)the reader's attention is speciallydirected to thenarrative of a woman who visited the Carmathian camp insearch of her son (pp. 51-56) the ; poems composed by AbuTdhir al-Jannabf after the sack of Mecca (p. no) and Kufa(pp. 113-115); the scathing satire composed in Yamanagainst the Carmathian chief (pp. 160-161) the narrative of;a traditionist who was for a time a captive and a slave in thehands of the Carmathians (pp. 175-6) ;and the replies madeby a Carmathian prisoner to the Caliph al-Mu'tadid (pp. 256).That morally they were by no means so black as their Muslimfoes have painted them iscertainly true, but of the terriblebloodshed heralded by their ominous and oft-repeated formula" Purify them " (by the sword) there is unfortunately no doubtwhatever.We must now pass to an examination of the Isma'fH doctrinea doctrine typically Persian, typically Shfit, and possessed ofan extraordinary charm for minds of a certain type, and that byno means an ignoble or ignorant one. 1 And here I will citefirst of all the concluding paragraphs of an article which Icontributed in January, 1898, to the Journal of the RoyalAsiatic Societyon the Literature and Doctrines of the J^urhfiSect (pp. 88-9):"The truth is, that there is a profound difference between thePersian idea of Religion and that which obtains in the West. Hereit is the ideas of Faith and Righteousness (in different proportions,it is true) which are regarded as the essentials of Religion there it;isKnowledge and Mystery. Here Religion isregarded as a rule bywhich to live and a hope wherein to die ;there as a Key to unlockthe Secrets of the Spiritual and Material Universe. Here it isassociated with Work and Charity ;there with Rest and Wisdom.Here a creed is admired for its simplicity ;there for its complexity1 Cf, de Goeje, op. cit., p. 172,