IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
4 2 . THE EVIL ACTS AND END OF THE ASSASSINS ,MARCO POLO
VA orders them to kill that man' whom he described. They go immediately and do their TA lords command. Then those who escape return to court to their lord; for some VA LT there are sometimes who are taken and slain; after they have killed the man. And if one was caught he wished to die, believing that he would come back to this Paradise.'
HOW THE ASSASSINS ARE TRAINED TO DO EVIL. And when those who are escaped are come back to their lord, they tell him that they had performed the duty well. The Old Man makes great rejoicing and great feasting for them. And he well knew him who had shown greater courage, for he
VA had sent some of his men after each one secretly when they went that they might be able to tell him which is the boldest and best to kill a man. And when the Old Man wished to have any lord or any other man killed he took some of these his assassins and sends them where he wished, and told them that he wished to send
FB them carried by his angels to Paradise, and that they go to kill such a man, and if they should die that they will go immediately to Paradise. Those to whom this was commanded by the Old Man did it very willingly more than anything that they could do; and they went and did all that the Old Man commanded them
VA for the great desire that they had that they might come back to Paradise. And in this way no man escaped who was not killed when the Old Man of the Mountain wished.
VB And if it happened that the first man died before the command of the Old Man was carried out, he sent a second, & so on till his enemy was killed. And thus did these villains do mischief.
z Moreover I tell you quite truly that very many kings and many barons [i9bl made
FB him presents and were on good terms with him to have peace and friendship with him
z for fear that he should have them killed. And this was because the people were not then under one rule, but divided in hearts and purposes. Now I have told you of the doings of the Old Man of the Mountain and of his assassins. Now I shall tell you how he was destroyed and by whom. And also I wish to tell you another thing about him
R which I had left. For I tell you that this Old Man had made hint two deputies who
R were subject to him and observed all his manners and his customs[and]the same order with the young men whom he sent. And the one he sends into the regions of
R Domas and the other he sends into Curdistan; and however great a man he might be, if he were an enemy of the said Old Man he could not escape that he should not be killed..
VB The said Old Man was subject to the dominion of the lord Ulau, of which lord I have told
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I eel homes FA: tel Perhaps read tel
2 FA,FB have the above to the same effect but partly in direct speech. For instance, FB,
fol. 2,7r0: Alez si occiez celle personne. Et quant vous serez retourne je vous feray porter par mes angel( en paradis
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