The Arabian Nights Entertainments. Volume 01. UnknownЧитать онлайн книгу.
as thou hast told me, thou mayst very well stay there till the day of judgment. I begged thee, in God's name, not to take away my life, and thou didst reject my prayers; I am obliged to treat you in the same manner.
The genie omitted nothing that could prevail upon the fisherman: Open the vessel, says he, give me my liberty, I pray thee, and I promise to satisfy thee to thy own content. Thou art a mere traitor, replies the fisherman, I should deserve to lose my life, if I be such a fool as to trust thee; thou wilt not fail to treat me in the same manner as a certain Grecian king treated the physician Douban. It is a story I have a mind to tell thee, therefore listen to it.
THE STORY OF THE GRECIAN KING, AND THE PHYSICIAN DOUBAN.
There was in the country of Zouman, in Persia, a king whose subjects were originally Greeks. This king was all over leprous, and his physicians in vain endeavoured his cure; and when they were at their wits end what to prescribe him, a very able physician, called Douban, arrived at his court.
This physician had learned his science in Greek, Persian, Turkish, Arabian, Latin, Syrian, and Hebrew books; and, besides that he was an expert philosopher, he fully understood the good and bad qualities of all sorts of plants and drugs. As soon as he was informed of the king's distemper, and understood that his physicians had given him over, he clad himself the best he could, and found a way to present himself to the king: Sir, says he, I know that all your majesty's physicians have not been able to cure you of the leprosy; but if you will do me the honour to accept my service, I will engage myself to cure you without drenches or external applications.
The king listened to what he said, and answered, if you are able to perform what you promise, I will enrich you and your posterity; and, besides the presents I shall make you, you shall be my chief favourite. Do you assure me, then, that you will cure me of my leprosy, without making me take any potion, or applying any external medicine? Yes, sir, replies the physician, I promise myself success, through God's assistance, and to-morrow I will make trial of it.
The physician returned to his quarters, and made a mallet, hollow within, and at the handle he put in his drugs: He made also a ball in such a manner as suited his purpose, with which, next morning, he went to present himself before the king, and, falling down at his feet, kissed the very ground. Here Scheherazade, perceiving day, acquainted the sultan with it, and held her peace.
I wonder, sister, says Dinarzade, where you learn so many things. You will hear a great many others to-morrow, re-* 045.txt– plies Scheherazade, if the sultan, my master, will be pleased to prolong my life further, Schahriar, who longed as much as Dinarzade to hear the sequel of the story of Douban the physician, did not order the sultaness to be put to death that day.
THE TWELFTH NIGHT.
The twelfth night was pretty far advanced, when Dinarzade called, and says, Sister, you owe us the continuation of the agreeable history of the Grecian king and the physician Douban. I am very willing to pay my debt, replies Scheherazade, and resumed the story as follows.
Sir, the fisherman, speaking always to the genie, whom he kept shut up in his vessel, went on thus: The physician Douban rose up, and, after a profound reverence, says to the king, he judged it meet that his majesty should take horse, and go to the place where he used to play at the mell. The king did so, and when he arrived there, the physician came to him with the mell, and says to him, Sir, exercise yourself with this mell, and strike the ball with it until you find your hands and your body in a sweat. When the medicine I have put in the handle of the mell is heated with your hand, it will penetrate your whole body; and as soon as you shall sweat, you may leave off the exercise, for then the medicine will have had its effect. As soon as you are returned to your palace, go into the bath, and cause yourself to be well washed and rubbed; then go to bed, and, when you rise to-morrow, you will find yourself cured.
The king took the mell, and struck the ball, which was returned by his officers that played with him; he struck it again, and played so long, till his hand and his whole body were in a sweat, and then the medicine shut up in the handle of the mell had its operation, as the physician said. Upon this the king left off play, returned to his palace, entered the bath, and observed very exactly what his physician had prescribed him.
He was very well after; and next morning, when he arose, he perceived, with as much wonder as joy, that his leprosy was cured, and his body as clean as if he had never been attacked with that distemper. As soon as he was dressed, he came into the hall of public audience, where he mounted his throne, and showed himself to his courtiers, who, longing to know the success of the new medicine, came thither betimes, and, when they saw the king perfectly cured, did all of them express a mighty joy for it. The physician Douban, entering the hall, bowed himself before the throne wiih his face to the ground. The king, perceiving him, called him, made him sit down by his side, showed him to the assembly, and gave him all the commendation he deserved. His majesty did not stop here; but, as he treated all his court that day, he made him to eat at his table atone with him. At these words Scheherazade, perceiving day, broke off her story. Sister, says Dinarzade, I know not what the conclusion of this story will be, but I find the beginning very surprising. That which is to come is yet better, answered the sultaness, and I am certain you will not deny it, if the sultan gives me leave to make an end of it to-morrow night. Shahriar consented, and rose very well satisfied with what he had heard.
The Thirteenth Night.
Dinarzade, willing to keep the sultan in ignorance of her design, cried out, as if she had started out of her sleep, 0 dear sister, I have had a troublesome dream, and nothing will sooner make me forget it than the remainder of the story of the Grecian king and the doctor Douban. I conjure you, by the love you always bore me, not to defer it a moment longer. I shall not be wanting, good sister, to ease your mind; and, if my sovereign will permit me, I will go on. Schahriar, being charmed with the agreeable manner of Scheherazade's telling her story, says to her, You will oblige me no less than Dinarzade, therefore continue.
The Grecian king (says the fisherman to the genie) was not satisfied with having admitted the physician Douban to his table, but towards night, when he was about dismissing the company, he caused him to be clad in a long rich robe, like unto those which his favourites usually wore in his presence; and, besides that, he ordered him two thousand sequins. The next day, and the day following, he was very familiar with him. In short, this prince, thinking that he could never enough acknowledge the obligations he lay under to that able physician, bestowed every day new favours upon him. But this king had a grand vizier that was avaricious, envious, and naturally capable of all sorts of mischief; he could not see, without envy, the presents that were given to the physician, whose other merits had begun to make him jealous, and therefore he resolved to lessen him in the king's esteem. To effect this, he went to the king, and told him in private that he had some advice to give him which was of the greatest concernment. The king having asked what it was, Sir, said he, it is very dangerous for a monarch to put confidence in a man whose fidelity he never tried. Though you heap favours upon the physician Douban, and show him all the familiarity that may be, your majesty does not know but he may be a traitor at the same time, and came on purpose to this court to kill you. From whom have you this, answered the king, that you dare tell it me? Consider to whom you speak, and that you advance a thing which I shall not easily believe. Sir, replied the vizier, I am very well informed of what I have had the honour to represent to your majesty, therefore do not let your dangerous confidence grow to a further height; if your majesty be asleep, be pleased to awake; for I do once more repeat it, that the physician Douban did not leave the heart of Greece, his country, nor come hither to settle himself at your court, but to execute that horrid design which I have just now hinted to you.
No, no, vizier, replies the king, I am certain that this man, whom you treat as a villain and a traitor, is one of the best and most virtuous men in the world; and there is no man I love so much. You know by what medicine, or rather by what miracle, he cured me of my leprosy; if he had a design upon my life, why did he save me? He needed only to have left me to my disease; I could not have escaped; my life was already half gone; forbear, then, to fill me with any unjust suspicions. Instead of listening to you, I tell you, that from this day forward I will give that great man a pension of a thousand sequins per month for his life; nay, though I did share with him all my riches and dominions, I should never pay him enough for what he has done me; I