Unknown

“ So the master of the police refrained from slaying him and said to the third, “Who art thou?” Quoth he, “I am the son of him who plungeth through the ranks [9] with his might and correcteth [10] them with the sword, [11] so that they stand straight; [12] his feet are not loosed from the stirrup, [13] whenas the horsemen on the day of battle are weary.” So the master of police held his hand from him also, saying, “Belike, he is the son of a champion of the Arabs.” ”

“ Most of the anecdotes of his brutality and tyranny, which abound in Arab authors, are, in all probability, apocryphal. ↑ Used, by synecdoche, for “heads.” ↑ i.e. the governed, to wit, he who is led by a halter attached (metaphorically of course) to a ring passed through his nose, as with a camel. ↑ i.e. the governor or he who is high of rank. ↑ i.e. their hair, which may be considered the wealth of the head. ”