Sarepta

“ Listen; I have a plan in my heart that will outwit the gods; but Sestra, you too must pray well; and in a very little while we shall be able to fall into each other’s arms far away from the power of the gods that I have made out of the reverence of my soul’s sorrow. Maybe, O Sestra, I know that the great White God of Langi is a kind god, but still, Atua, Kauhilo, and Pelé have been kind to me—I am cured of the kilia (leprosy) . ’Tis the gods who have done this thing to me, so how can I sin in their sight?”
“Cured! Hast thou no fear of anything?” Sestrina gasped. ”

“ One of the brothers of Darius, Artaphernes, was satrap of Sardes, and three of the king’s sons, Achemenes, Ariabignes, and Masistes, were satraps of Egypt, Ionia, and Bactriana respectively. *** To understand how well established was the custom of bestowing satrapies on those only who were allied by marriage to the royal house, it is sufficient to recall the fact that, later on, under Xerxes I., when Pausanias, King of Sparta, had thoughts of obtaining the position of satrap in Greece, he asked for the hand of an Achæmenian princess. ”

“ Under these influences the ferocious fanaticism of the Saracens abated, their manners were polished, their thoughts elevated. They overran the realms of Philosophy and Science as quickly as they had overrun the provinces of the Roman Empire. They abandoned the fallacies of vulgar Mohammedanism, accepting in their stead scientific truth.
In a world devoted to idolatry, the sword of the Saracen had vindicated the majesty of God. The doctrine of fatalism, inculcated by the Koran, had powerfully contributed to that result. “No man can anticipate or postpone his predetermined end. ”

“ For the Tathâgata, Sâriputra, who is rich in treasures and storehouses of abundant knowledge, powers, and absence of hesitation, is able to teach all beings the law which is connected with the knowledge of the all-knowing. In this way, Sâriputra, one has to understand how the Tathâgata by an able device and direction shows but one vehicle, the great vehicle.
And on that occasion the Lord uttered the following stanzas:
39. A man has [16] an old house, large, but very infirm; its terraces are decaying and the columns rotten at their bases. ”

“ No sooner did Gangadatta see the Serpent than he thought, "If I take this Black Serpent back to my Well, I shall be able to destroy all my Heirs."
So thinking, Gangadatta went to the mouth of the hole and called to the Serpent, "Come here, Priyadarsana, come here!" When the Serpent heard himself called, he said to himself, "Whoever calls me is certainly not one of my species, for this is not the voice of a Serpent. I have no ties of friendship with any other creature in the world. ”

“ Comparing Samprati with Aśoka in respect of the propagation of the faith in non-Áryan countries the Áchárya writes: ‘In Páṭaliputra flourished the great king Samprati son of Kunála lord of Bharata with its three continents, the great Arhanta who established viháras for Sramaṇas even in non-Áryan countries.’7 It would appear from this that after Aśoka the Mauryan empire may have been divided into two, Daśaratha ruling Eastern India, and Samprati, whom Jaina records specially mention as king of Ujjain, ruling Western India, where the Jain sect is specially strong. ”

“ Behind every tree and rock a Saracen seemed to be hidden, and in a moment the whole pass was alive with men in mortal strife.
Surely never in any fight were greater prodigies of valour performed than those of Roland and his comrades. Twelve Saracen kings fell before their mighty swords, and many a Saracen warrior was hurled down the cliffs to pay for the lives of the men of France whom they had trapped to their death. ”

“ HOW RAJA RASÂLU JOURNEYED TO THE CITY OF KING SARKAP Now, after he had reigned a while in Hodinagari, Rasâlu gave up his kingdom, and started off to play chaupur with King Sarkap. And as he journeyed there came a fierce storm of thunder and lightning, so that he sought shelter, and found none save an old graveyard, where a headless corpse lay upon the ground. ”

“ Then come the Nâgas,1157 the Sarpas, Serpents or Seraphs. These, again, show their character by the hidden meaning of their glyph. In [pg 527] mythology they are semi-divine beings with a human face and the tail of a dragon. They are therefore, undeniably, the Jewish Seraphim (compare Serapis, Sarpa, Serpent) ; the singular being Saraph, “burning, fiery.” Christian and Jewish angelology distinguishes between the Seraphim and the Cherubim or Cherubs, who come second in order: Esoterically, and kabalistically, they are identical ”

“ There is a wonderful, a sad, descent from the Saracen conqueror to a benighted Mahdist. The contrast between a chief of Arabian troopers and such a chief as Tippoo Tib is enough to show degeneracy of the most ultra type. The brave, fiery Saracen, sweeping along the coasts and through the deserts, was a being infinitely superior to anything he came in contact with. His progeny, after centuries of acclimatization and intercourse with the native populations, is a lazy, inferior being, a curse to his surroundings, not half such a man as the native whom he plunders and carries off as human booty. ”

“ The Persian title of Satrap, which continued to be used in Western India as late as the closing years of the fourth century A. D., is not recorded for Maurya times. But the monolithic pillars alone are enough to prove the reality of the Persian influence, and M. Le Bon seems to be right in maintaining that early Indian art was very largely indebted to Persia for its inspiration [37] . The Hellenistic decorative motives, acanthus leaves, and so forth, which are common in ancient Indian sculpture, may have come through either Persia or Alexandria, or by both Ways. ”

“ O! that the Great Spirit would give the Charming Serpent his voice of thunder—then would he stand upon the highest peak of the Alleghanies, with the forked lightning in his red right hand, and tell a listening and heart-struck world the wrong of his race. And, when all of every tribe of every people had come crouching in the valleys, and had filled up the gorges of the hills, then would the Charming Serpent hurl vengeance on the oppressor. But come,” said he, taking the candle in one hand, and myself by the other, “the Pawnee talks like a squaw. ”

“ Now when morning broke and Rasalu said he must continue his journey, the headless corpse asked him whither he was going, and when he said "to play chaupur with King Sarkap," the corpse begged him to give up the idea saying, "I am King Sarkap's brother, and I know his ways. Every day, before breakfast, he cuts off the heads of two or three men, just to amuse himself. ”

“ At that time when he came to the army, Abu Obeidah had sent Serjabil with four thousand horse towards Bostra, a city of Syria Damascena, and very populous, in which there were at that time twelve thousand horse. It was a great trading town, and much frequented by the Arabs. The governor’s name was Romanus, who, as soon as he heard that the Saracens were upon their march, went to meet them, and having asked Serjabil the reason of his coming, put to him several questions about Mohammed and his successor. ”

“ The governor invited the defenders of the temple of Serapis to attend in the market-place, where the emperor's sentence was to be read; and, on hearing what it was, they fled in all directions, so that the soldiers, who were sent to the temple, found nobody there to withstand them.
The idol of Serapis was of such vast size that it reached from one side of the temple to the other. It was adorned with jewels, and was covered with plates of gold and silver; and its worshippers believed that, if it were hurt in any way, heaven and earth would go to wreck. ”

“ From every lip, as but one voice, rose a cry of admiration, amazement, and delight, for Serapis stood revealed to his people.
The noble manhood of the god sat with dignity on a golden throne that was covered with a blaze of jewels; his gracious and solemn face looked down on the crowd of worshippers. The hair that curled upon his thoughtful brow, and the kalathos that crowned it were of pure gold At his feet crouched Cerberus, raising his three fierce heads with glistening ruby eyes. The body of the god—a model of strength in repose—and the drapery were of gold and ivory. ”

“ It was not long before woman began to figure prominently in the new history. Sapor I., son of Ardeshir, or the Sassanian Artaxerxes, as he is called, finding difficulty in bringing the province of Hatra under his sway, receives an overture from the daughter of Manizen, the ruler of Hatra, an ambitious young woman,--without moral scruples,--with intimation that if she were made Queen of Persia she would promise to betray her father's forces into Sapor's hands. The compact was faithfully carried out by the damsel ”

“ Sariputra rejoiced at these words. It was as if the truth had been revealed to him. "All that is born has an end," he thought. He thanked Asvajit, and, filled with hope, he went to find Maudgalyayana.
"Friend," said Maudgalyayana when he saw Sariputra, "friend, how serene is your countenance! How clear and radiant your glance! Have you obtained deliverance from death?" ”

“ Quatremère (ibid. 462) translated 'un carreau de satin olive,' taking zaitūn in its usual Arabic sense of 'an olive tree.') Also see Elliot, iv. 113.
SATRAP, s. Anc. Pers. khshatrapa, which becomes satrap, as khshāyathiya becomes shāh. The word comes to us direct from the Greek writers who speak of Persia. But the title occurs not only in the books of Ezra, Esther, and Daniel, but also in the ancient inscriptions, as used by certain lords in Western India, and more precisely in Surāshtra or Peninsular Guzerat. ”

“ Two stall- keepers who, by day, were accustomed to offer their wares for sale near the Serapeum to the pilgrims, met him close to the city.
"Did you see that panting object?" said one to the other as they looked after him. "If he were not shut up fast in his cell I could declare it was Serapion, the recluse."
"Nonsense," replied the other. "He is tied faster by his oath than by chains and fetters. It must be one of the Syrian beggars that besiege the temple of Astarte." ”

“ The last-discovered of the topes in India represents Serpent-worshippers gathered around their deity, holding their tongues with finger and thumb. No living form in nature could be so fitly regarded in that attitude. Not only is the Serpent normally silent, but in its action it has ‘the quiet of perfect motion.’ The maximum of force is shown in it, relatively to its size, along with the minimum of friction and visible effort. ”

“ There is our temple, there the bones of our forefathers have slept since we came to the banks of the Father of Waters,’ pleaded Big Serpent.
“‘Within the next moon comes the galley from the big village of the French. If White Apple is not then delivered to my soldiers, and your people gone, the great chief of the Natchez will be sent down the river, bound hand and foot, to rot in prison. Go. I have spoken,’ and Monsieur le Commandant waved Big Serpent out of his presence.”
“And do the Natchez submit? Will Big Serpent give up their beautiful village? Mon Dieu! It’s a shame! ”

“ At last, when the besieged had well considered the obstinacy of the Saracens; who, they had good reason to believe, would never raise the siege till they had taken the city, whatever time it took up, or whatever pains it might cost them; Sophronius the patriarch went to the wall, and by an interpreter discoursed with Abu Obeidah, telling him, that Jerusalem was the holy city, and whoever came into the holy land with any hostile intent, would render himself obnoxious to the divine displeasure. ”

“ Saracus, or Esarhaddon II. (?–606 B.C.) .—Saracus was the last of the long line of Assyrian kings. His reign was filled with misfortunes for himself and his kingdom. For nearly or quite seven centuries the Ninevite kings had lorded it over the East. There was scarcely a state in all Western Asia that had not, during this time, felt the weight of their conquering arms; scarcely a people that had not suffered their cruel punishments, or tasted the bitterness of their servitude. ”

“ Before the death of this noble Saracen, a base charge of appropriating to himself the public treasure was preferred against him, or encouraged, by Omar. It seems that among many others, one of the poets of the day, Assauth, the son of Keyss Kaundi, had celebrated the glory of Kaled in the following lines: ‘Thy irresistible valour hath hushed the raging tempest; in battle thou hast been armed with the tusks of the elephant and the jaws of the alligator; thy mace hath hurled the terrors of the day of judgment through the Roman provinces ”

“ Then everybody came running in to see what was the matter; and the father was so happy he carried Seraphita again to the church and they had another ceremony, and this time he paid even more gold, and there was a great festa in Granada.
‘You see, nobody but the mother knew that only Seraphita’s body was there, that she hadn’t any soul and never could have one; only the mother knew, and she could not be happy.
‘She grew very thin, and her smooth satin hair turned white on top, just where the Devil had laid his hand ”

“ The Historian speaks of a certain Person, who, in digging, happened unawares to cut an Asp with his Spade, and went mad upon it,—was taken into the House of Serapis, an Egyptian Idol,—the Relatives of the Patient praying the Spectrum of that Serpent might be destroyed,——which being accordingly done by Magick Art, the Man was cured.——By this we see, how highly Asps were venerated among the Egyptians, who not only suffer’d them to live, but to live in their Houses, where they were carefully fed, as Favourites of the Family [136] . ”