The thousand and one nights' Author:Edward William Lane Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: him; and thus that man's original prosperity was restored to him by the kindness of these two generous men. Anecdote of El-Ma-moon and a Learned Man It is ... more »said that there was not among the Khaleefehs of the descendants of El-'Abbas any more learned in all the sciences than El-Ma-moon. On two days in every week, he used to preside at discussions of the learned men; and the professors of religion and law, and the scholastic theologians, by whom the discussions were carried on, used to sit in his presence according to their several ranks and degrees. Now on one occasion, while he was sitting with them, there came in to his assembly a stranger, clad in white, tattered clothing, who seated himself at the lower end, behind the professors, in an obscure place. And when they began the discussion, and entered upon the consideration of the different propositions, — it being their custom to submit the proposition to the members of the assembly one after another, and for each who could offer some quaint addition to what others advanced, or some extraordinary, witty saying, to mention it, — the question was proposed to them by turns until it came to that stranger; whereupon he gave a reply better than the replies of all the professors; and the Khaleefeh approved it, and ordered that he should be raised from the place that he had taken to a higher one. Then, when the second question came to him, he gave a reply better than the first; and El-Ma-moon ordered that he should be raised to a place of higher dignity. And when the third question went round, he gave a reply better and more just than the two former replies; upon which El-Ma- moon ordered that he should sit near unto himself. And after the discussion was ended, the attendants brought the water, and the guests washed their hands; and...« less