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| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
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. CHAP. XXIII. THE OLD MAN OF TIIE MOUNTAIN
139
locality often comes to be called ` The Place of the Solitary Tree.' " (J. R. G. S. XXIX. 345 ; Ferrier, 69-76 ; Fraser, 343 ; Ritter, VIII. 332, XI. 512 seqq. ; Della Valle, I. 703 ; De Sacy's Abdallatif, p. 81 ; Khanikof, Not. p. 38.)
[See in Fr. Zarncke, Der Priester Johannes, II., in the chap. Der Baum des Seth, pp. 127-128, from MS. (14th century) from Cambridge, this curious passage (p. 128) :
Tandem rogaverunt eum, ut arborem siccam, de qua multum saepe loqui audierant, liceret videre. Quibus dicebat : ` Non est appellata arbor sicca recto nomine, sed arbor Seth, quoniam Seth, filius Adae, primi patris nostri, earn plantavit.' Et ad arborem Seth fecit eos ducere, prohiberas eos, ne arborem transmearent, sed [si ?] ad patriam suai redire desiderarent. Et cum appropinquassent, de pulcritudine arboris mirati sunt ; erat enim magnae immensitatis et miri decoris. Omnium enim colorum varietas inerat arbori, condensitas foliorum et fructuum diversorum ; diversitas avium omnium, quae sub coelo sunt. Folia vero invicem se repercutientia dulcissimae melodiae modulamine resonabant, et ayes amoenos cantus ultra quam credi potest promebant ; et odor suavissirnus profudit eos, ita quod paradisi amoenitate fuisse. Et cum admirantes tantarn pulcritudinem aspicerent, unus sociorum aliquo eorum maior aetate, cogitans [cogitavit ?] intra se, quod senior esset et, si inde rediret, cito aliquo casu mori posset. Et cum haec secum cogitasset, coepit arborem transire, et cum transisset, advocans socios, iussit eos post se ad locum amoenissimum, quern ante se videbat plenum deliciis sibi paratum [paratis ?] festinare. At illi retrogressi sunt ad regem, scilicet presbiterum Iohannem. Quos donis amplis ditavit, et qui cum eo morari voluerunt libenter et honorifice detinuit. Alii vero ad patriam reversi sunt. "—In common with Marsden and Yule, I have no doubt that the Arbre Sec is the Chínár. Odoric places it at Tabriz and I have given a very lengthy dissertation on the subject in my edition of this traveller (pp. 21-29), to which I must refer the reader, to avoid increasing unnecessarily the size of the present publication. —H. C.]
CHAPTER XXIII.
CONCERNING THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN.
MULEHET is a country in which the Old Man of the
Mountain dwelt in former days ; and the name means
" Place of the Aram." I will tell you his whole history
as related by Messer Marco Polo, who heard it from
several natives of that region.
The Old Man was called in their language ALOADIN.
He had caused a certain valley between two mountains
to be enclosed, and had turned it into a garden, the
largest and most beautiful that ever was seen, filled with
every variety of fruit. In it were erected pavilions and
palaces the most elegant that can be imagined, all
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