![INDIVIDUALBEHAVIOR AND UTILITY MAXIMIZATION
For most economists, individuals are the building blocks from which group actions emerge,
so it is important to understand what motivates them. The powerful assumption that economists
make is that individuals are motivated to maximize their own utility. Money provides utility,
but so do other things, such as love. In the sphere of economic development, money is usually
the most powerful motivator, but individuals also receive satisfaction from things such as
helping their community.
Adam Smith highlighted the importance of self-interest:
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our
dinner, but from their own self-interest [in trying to get these things]. … We address
ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self love, and never talk to them of our own
necessities but of their advantages.
According to Adam Smith, a market system creates rewards and incentives that encourage
utility-maximizing individuals to do what is in the public interest as if they were guided by an
“invisible hand.”
Disagreements about the extent to which individuals seeking their own self-interest actually
serve the public interest are at the heart of the debate between those who believe in “letting the
market operate” and those who believe that government involvement is important for
successful economic performance.
Economists also assume that individuals are rational in their efforts to maximize utility. The
rationality assumption is essential if economic models are to predict behavior. If individuals
did not act rationally, then all behavior could be explained as the result of irrational actions.
Students sometimes object to the concept of utility-maximizing man. One objection is based
on the mistaken idea that utility-maximizing behavior is selfish. In fact, economists recognize
that altruistic behavior can provide satisfaction to some individuals. The second objection is
that the utility maximizing assumption does not examine how tastes and preferences are formed
or why individuals differ in how they attain satisfaction. Economists tend to assume that
individuals have a set of preferences, but little attention is given to how preferences are
formed. It is likely that if economic life and social life were different, individuals would have
a different set of preferences. Urban and regional economists often rely on the work of
psychologists, sociologists, and planners, who are more informed about questions of
preference formation.
IDEOLOGICALPERSPECTIVES ON MARKET OPERATIONS
Economists explore two distinct types of questions. On the one hand, positive questions
address the world as it is. On the other hand, normative questions inquire about how things
should be or ought to be and involve value judgments. Economists disagree about appropriate
policies either because of different analyses of how the economy operates (positive) or
because they have different values (normative).
Sometimes policymakers are more concerned with economic growth than static efficiency,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-22-320.jpg)
![explanation: so I said to her, “I see thee to be of those who delight
in singing. Now I have a cousin, the son of my father’s brother, who
is fairer than I in face and higher of rank and better of breeding; and
he is the most intimate of Allah’s creatures with Isaac.” Quoth she,
“Art thou a parasite[179]
and an importunate one?” Quoth I, “It is for
thee to decide in this matter;” and she, “If thy cousin be as thou
hast described him, it would not mislike us to make acquaintance
with him.” Then, as the time was come, I left her and returned to my
house, but hardly had I reached it, ere the Caliph’s runners came
down on me and carried me before him by main force and roughly
enough.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul
continued:—And hardly had I reached my house ere the Caliph’s
runners came down upon me and carried me before him by main
force and roughly enough. I found him seated on a chair, wroth with
me, and he said to me, “O Isaac, art thou a traitor to thine
allegiance?” replied I, “No, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful!”
and he rejoined, “What hast thou then to say? tell me the whole
truth;” and I, “Yes, I will, but in private.” So he signed to his
attendants, who withdrew to a distance, and I told him the case,
adding, “I promised her to bring thee,” and he said, “Thou didst
well.” Then we spent the day in our usual pleasures, but Al-
Maamun’s heart was taken up with her, and hardly was the
appointed time come, when we set out. As we went along, I
cautioned him, saying, “Look that thou call me not by my name
before her; and I will demean myself like thine attendant.” And
having agreed upon this, we fared forth till we came to the place,
where we found two baskets hanging ready. So we sat down in them
and were drawn up to the usual place, where the damsel came
forward and saluted us. Now when Al-Maamun saw her, he was
amazed at her beauty and loveliness; and she began to entertain](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-28-320.jpg)
![him with stories and verses. Presently, she called for wine and we
fell to drinking, she paying him special attention and he repaying her
in kind. Then she took the lute and sang these verses:—
My lover came in at the close of night, ✿ I rose till he sat and remained upright;
And said “Sweet heart, hast thou come this hour? ✿ Nor feared on the watch and
ward to ‘light:”
Quoth he “The lover had cause to fear, ✿ But Love deprived him of wits and
fright.”
And when she ended her song she said to me, “And is thy cousin
also a merchant?” I answered, “Yes,” and she said, “Indeed, ye
resemble each other nearly.” But when Al-Maamun had drunk three
pints,[180]
he grew merry with wine and called out, saying, “Ho,
Isaac!” And I replied, “Labbayk’, Adsum, O Commander of the
Faithful,” whereupon quoth he, “Sing me this air.” Now when the
young lady learned that he was the Caliph, she withdrew to another
place and disappeared; and, as I had made an end of my song Al-
Maamun said to me, “See who is the master of this house”;
whereupon an old woman hastened to make answer, saying, “It
belongs to Hasan bin Sahl.”[181]
“Fetch him to me,” said the Caliph.
So she went away and after a while behold, in came Hasan, to
whom said Al-Maamun “Hast thou a daughter?” He said, “Yes, and
her name is Khadijah.” Asked the Caliph, “Is she married?” Answered
Hasan, “No, by Allah!” Said Al-Maamun, “Then I ask her of thee in
marriage.” Replied her father, “O Commander of the Faithful, she is
thy handmaid and at thy commandment.” Quoth Al-Maamun, “I take
her to wife at a present settlement of thirty thousand dinars, which
thou shalt receive this very morning; and, when the money has been
paid thee, do thou bring her to us this night.” And Hasan answered,
“I hear and I obey.” Thereupon we went forth and the Caliph said to
me, “O Isaac, tell this story to no one.” So I kept it secret till Al-
Maamun’s death. Surely never did man’s life gather such pleasures
as were mine these four days’ time, whenas I companied with Al-
Maamun by day and Khadijah by night; and, by Allah, never saw I
among men the like of Al-Maamun nor among women have I ever
set eyes on the like of Khadijah; no, nor on any that came near her](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-29-320.jpg)
![THE SWEEP AND THE NOBLE LADY.
During the season of the Meccan pilgrimage, whilst the people were
making circuit about the Holy House and the place of compassing
was crowded, behold, a man laid hold of the covering of the
Ka’abah[182]
and cried out, from the bottom of his heart, saying, “I
beseech thee, O Allah, that she may once again be wroth with her
husband and that I may know her!” A company of the pilgrims heard
him and seized him and carried him to the Emir of the pilgrims, after
a sufficiency of blows; and, said they, “O Emir, we found this fellow
in the Holy Places, saying thus and thus.” So the Emir commanded
to hang him; but he cried, “O Emir, I conjure thee, by the virtue of
the Apostle (whom Allah bless and preserve!), hear my story and
then do with me as thou wilt.” Quoth the Emir, “Tell thy tale
forthright.” Know then, O Emir, quoth the man, that I am a sweep
who works in the sheep-slaughterhouses and carries off the blood
and the offal to the rubbish-heaps outside the gates. And it came to
pass as I went along one day with my ass loaded, I saw the people
running away and one of them said to me, “Enter this alley, lest
haply they slay thee.” Quoth I, “What aileth the folk running away?”
and one of the eunuchs, who were passing, said to me, “This is the
Harim[183]
of one of the notables and her eunuchs drive the people
out of her way and beat them all, without respect to persons.” So I
turned aside with the donkey——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-third Night,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-31-320.jpg)
![said to myself, “If there be but five coppers here, it will buy me this
day my morning meal.” Then I left her, as though I were leaving
Paradise, and returned to my poor crib where I opened the kerchief
and found in it fifty miskals of gold. So I buried them in the ground
and, buying two farthings’ worth of bread and “kitchen,”[184]
seated
me at the door and broke my fast; after which I sat pondering my
case and continued so doing till the time of afternoon-prayer, when
lo! a slave-girl accosted me saying, “My mistress calleth for thee.” I
followed her to the house aforesaid and, after asking permission,
she carried me into the lady, before whom I kissed the ground, and
she commanded me to sit and called for meat and wine as on the
previous day; after which I again lay with her all night. On the
morrow, she gave me a second kerchief, with other fifty dinars
therein, and I took it and going home, buried this also. In such
pleasant condition I continued eight days running, going in to her at
the hour of afternoon-prayer and leaving her at daybreak; but, on
the eighth night, as I lay with her, behold, one of her slave-girls
came running in and said to me, “Arise, go up into yonder closet.” So
I rose and went into the closet, which was over the gate, and
presently I heard a great clamour and tramp of horse; and, looking
out of the window which gave on the street in front of the house, I
saw a young man as he were the rising moon on the night of fulness
come riding up attended by a number of servants and soldiers who
were about him on foot. He alighted at the door and entering the
saloon found the lady seated on the couch; so he kissed the ground
between her hands then came up to her and kissed her hands; but
she would not speak to him. However, he continued patiently to
humble himself, and soothe her and speak her fair, till he made his
peace with her, and they lay together that night.——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the scavenger
continued:—Now when her husband had made his peace with the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-34-320.jpg)
![young lady, he lay with her that night; and next morning, the
soldiers came for him and he mounted and rode away; whereupon
she drew near to me and said, “Sawst thou yonder man?” I
answered, “Yes;” and she said, “He is my husband, and I will tell
thee what befel me with him. It came to pass one day that we were
sitting, he and I, in the garden within the house, and behold, he
rose from my side and was absent a long while, till I grew tired of
waiting and said to myself:—Most like, he is in the privy. So I arose
and went to the water-closet, but not finding him there, went down
to the kitchen, where I saw a slave-girl; and when I enquired for
him, she showed him to me lying with one of the cookmaids.
Hereupon, I swore a great oath that I assuredly would do adultery
with the foulest and filthiest man in Baghdad; and the day the
eunuch laid hands on thee, I had been four days going round about
the city in quest of one who should answer to this description, but
found none fouler nor filthier than thy good self. So I took thee and
there passed between us that which Allah fore-ordained to us; and
now I am quit of my oath.” Then she added, “If, however, my
husband return yet again to the cookmaid and lie with her, I will
restore thee to thy lost place in my favours.” Now when I heard
these words from her lips, what while she pierced my heart with the
shafts of her glances, my tears streamed forth, till my eyelids were
chafed sore with weeping, and I repeated the saying of the poet:—
Grant me the kiss of that left hand ten times; ✿ And learn it hath than right hand
higher grade;[185]
For ‘tis but little since that same left hand ✿ Washed off Sir Reverence when
ablution made.
Then she made them give me other fifty dinars (making in all four
hundred gold pieces I had of her) and bade me depart. So I went
out from her and came hither, that I might pray Allah (extolled and
exalted be He!) to make her husband return to the cookmaid, that
haply I might be again admitted to her favours. When the Emir of
the pilgrims heard the man’s story, he set him free and said to the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-35-320.jpg)
![THE MOCK CALIPH.
It is related that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was one night restless
with extreme restlessness, so he summoned his Wazir Ja’afar the
Barmecide, and said to him, “My breast is straitened and I have a
desire to divert myself to-night by walking about the streets of
Baghdad and looking into folks’ affairs; but with this precaution that
we disguise ourselves in merchants’ gear, so none shall know us.” He
answered, “Hearkening and obedience.” They rose at once and
doffing the rich raiment they wore, donned merchants’ habits and
sallied forth three in number, the Caliph, Ja’afar and Masrur the
sworder. Then they walked from place to place, till they came to the
Tigris and saw an old man sitting in a boat; so they went up to him
and saluting him, said, “O Shaykh, we desire thee of thy kindness
and favour to carry us a-pleasuring down the river, in this thy boat,
and take this dinar to thy hire.”——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when they
said to the old man, “We desire thee to carry us a-pleasuring in this
thy boat and take this dinar;” he answered, “Who may go a-
pleasuring on the Tigris? The Caliph Harun al-Rashid every night
cometh down Tigris-stream in his state-barge[186]
and with him one
crying aloud:—Ho, ye people all, great and small, gentle and simple,
men and boys, whoso is found in a boat on the Tigris by night, I will
strike off his head or hang him to the mast of his craft! And ye had
well nigh met him; for here cometh his carrack.” But the Caliph and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-37-320.jpg)
![Ja’afar said, “O Shaykh, take these two dinars, and run us under one
of yonder arches, that we may hide there till the Caliph’s barge have
passed.” The old man replied, “Hand over your gold and rely we on
Allah, the Almighty!” So he took the two dinars and embarked them
in the boat; and he put off and rowed about with them awhile, when
behold, the barge came down the river in mid-stream, with lighted
flambeaux and cressets flaming therein. Quoth the old man, “Did not
I tell you that the Caliph passed along the river every night?”; and
ceased not muttering, “O Protector, remove not the veils of Thy
protection!” Then he ran the boat under an arch and threw a piece
of black cloth over the Caliph and his companions, who looked out
from under the covering and saw, in the bows of the barge, a man
holding in hand a cresset of red gold which he fed with Sumatran
lign-aloes and the figure was clad in a robe of red satin, with a
narrow turband of Mosul shape round on his head; and over one of
his shoulders hung a sleeved cloak[187]
of cramoisy satin, and on the
other was a green silk bag full of the aloes-wood, with which he fed
the cresset by way of fire-wood. And they sighted in the stern
another man, clad like the first and bearing a like cresset, and in the
barge were two hundred white slaves, standing ranged to the right
and left; and in the middle a throne of red gold, whereon sat a
handsome young man, like the moon, clad in a dress of black,
embroidered with yellow gold. Before him they beheld a man, as he
were the Wazir Ja’afar, and at his head stood an eunuch, as he were
Masrur, with a drawn sword in his hand; besides a score of cup-
companions. Now when the Caliph saw this, he turned and said, “O
Ja’afar,” and the Minister replied, “At thy service, O Prince of True
Believers.” Then quoth the Caliph, “Belike this is one of my sons, Al-
Amin or Al-Maamun.” Then he examined the young man who sat on
the throne and finding him perfect in beauty and loveliness and
stature and symmetric grace, said to Ja’afar, “Verily, this young man
abateth nor jot nor tittle of the state of the Caliphate! See, there
standeth before him one as he were thyself, O Ja’afar; yonder
eunuch who standeth at his head is as he were Masrur and those
courtiers as they were my own. By Allah, O Ja’afar, my reason is
confounded and I am filled with amazement at this matter!”——And](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-38-320.jpg)
![obey, O our lord,” answered he; and they companied him till they
came to a lofty and splendid palace set upon the firmest base; no
Sultan possesseth such a place; rising from the dusty mould and
upon the marges of the clouds laying hold. Its door was of Indian
teak-wood inlaid with gold that glowed; and through it one passed
into a royal-hall in whose midst was a jetting fount girt by a raised
estrade. It was provided with carpets and cushions of brocade and
small pillows and long settees and hanging curtains; it was furnished
with a splendour that dazed the mind and dumbed the tongue, and
upon the door were written these two couplets:—
A Palace whereon be blessings and praise! ✿ Which with all their beauty have
robed the Days:
Where marvels and miracle-sights abound, ✿ And to write its honours the pen
affrays.
The false Caliph entered with his company, and sat down on a
throne of gold set with jewels and covered with a prayer-carpet of
yellow silk; whilst the boon-companions took their seats and the
sword-bearer of high works stood before him. Then the tables were
laid and they ate; after which the dishes were removed and they
washed their hands and the wine-service was set on with flagons
and bowls in due order. The cup went round till it came to the
Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who refused the draught and the mock
Caliph said to Ja’afar, “What mattereth thy friend that he drinketh
not?” He replied, “O my lord, indeed ‘tis a long while he hath drunk
naught of this.” Quoth the sham Caliph, “I have drink other than
this, a kind of apple-wine,[188]
that will suit thy companion.” So he
bade them bring the cider which they did forthright when the false
Caliph, coming up to Harun al-Rashid, said to him, “As often as it
cometh to thy turn drink thou of this.” Then they continued to drink
and make merry and pass the cup till the wine rose to their brains
and mastered their wits;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-41-320.jpg)
![She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the false
Caliph and his co-sitters sat at their cups and gave not over drinking
till the wine rose to their brains and mastered their wits; and Harun
al-Rashid said to the Minister, “O Ja’afar, by Allah, we have no such
vessels as these. Would to Heaven I knew what manner of man this
youth is!” But while they were talking privily the young man cast a
glance upon them and seeing the Wazir whisper the Caliph said,
“’Tis rude to whisper.” He replied, “No rudeness was meant: this my
friend did but say to me:—Verily I have travelled in most countries
and have caroused with the greatest of Kings and I have companied
with noble captains; yet never saw I a goodlier ordering than this
entertainment nor passed a more delightful night; save that the
people of Baghdad are wont to say, Wine without music often leaves
you sick.” When the second Caliph heard this, he smiled pleasantly
and struck with a rod he had in his hand a round gong;[189]
and
behold, a door opened and out came a eunuch, bearing a chair of
ivory, inlaid with gold glittering fiery red and followed by a damsel of
passing beauty and loveliness, symmetry and grace. He set down
the chair and the damsel seated herself on it, as she were the sun
shining sheen in a sky serene. In her hand she had a lute of Hindu
make, which she laid in her lap and bent down over it as a mother
bendeth over her little one, and sang to it, after a prelude in four-
and-twenty modes, amazing all wits. Then she returned to the first
mode and to a lively measure chanted these couplets:—
Love’s tongue within my heart speaks plain to thee, ✿ Telling thee clearly I am
fain of thee;
Witness the fevers of a tortured heart, ✿ And ulcered eyelid tear-flood rains for
thee;
God’s fate o’ertaketh all created things! ✿ I knew not love till learnt Love’s pain of
thee.
Now when the mock Caliph heard these lines sung by the damsel, he
cried with a great cry and rent his raiment to the very skirt,
whereupon they let down a curtain over him and brought him a
fresh robe, handsomer than the first. He put it on and sat as before,
till the cup came round to him, when he struck the gong a second](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-42-320.jpg)
![time and lo! a door opened and out of it came a eunuch with a chair
of gold, followed by a damsel fairer than the first, bearing a lute,
such as would strike the envious mute. She sat down on the chair
and sang to her instrument these two couplets:—
How patient bide, with love in sprite of me, ✿ And tears in tempest[190] blinding
sight of me?
By Allah, life has no delight of me! ✿ How gladden heart whose core is blight of
me?
No sooner had the youth heard this poetry than he cried out with a
loud cry and rent his raiment to the skirt: whereupon they let down
the curtain over him and brought him another suit of clothes. He put
it on and, sitting up as before, fell again to cheerful talk, till the cup
came round to him, when he smote once more upon the gong and
out came a eunuch with a chair, followed by a damsel fairer than she
who forewent her. So she sat down on the chair, with a lute in her
hand, and sang thereto these couplets:—
Cease ye this farness; ‘bate this pride of you, ✿ To whom my heart clings, by life-
tide of you!
Have ruth on hapless, mourning, lover-wretch, ✿ Desire-full, pining, passion-tried
of you:
Sickness hath wasted him, whose ecstasy ✿ Prays Heaven it may be satisfied of
you;
Oh fullest moons[191] that dwell in deepest heart! ✿ How can I think of aught by
side of you?
Now when the young man heard these couplets, he cried out with a
great cry and rent his raiment, whereupon they let fall the curtain
over him and brought him other robes. Then he returned to his
former case with his boon-companions and the bowl went round as
before, till the cup came to him, when he struck the gong a fourth
time and the door opening, out came a page-boy bearing a chair
followed by a damsel. He set the chair for her and she sat down
thereon and taking the lute, tuned it and sang to it these couplets:—](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-43-320.jpg)
![When shall disunion and estrangement end? ✿ When shall my bygone joys again
be kenned?
Yesterday we were joined in same abode; ✿ Conversing heedless of each envious
friend:[192]
Trickt us that traitor Time, disjoined our lot ✿ And our waste home to desert fate
condemned:
Wouldst have me, Grumbler! from my dearling fly? ✿ I find my vitals blame will
not perpend:
Cease thou to censure; leave me to repine; ✿ My mind e’er findeth thoughts that
pleasure lend.
O Lords[193] of me who brake our troth and plight, ✿ Deem not to lose your hold
of heart and sprite!
When the false Caliph heard the girl’s song, he cried out with a loud
outcry and rent his raiment——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninetieth Night,
She said, When the false Caliph heard the girl’s song, he cried with a
loud outcry and rent his raiment and fell to the ground fainting;
whereupon they would have let down the curtain over him, as of
custom; but its cords stuck fast and Harun al-Rashid, after
considering him carefully, saw on his body the marks of beating with
palm-rods and said to Ja’afar, “By Allah, he is a handsome youth, but
a foul thief!” “Whence knowest thou that, O Commander of the
Faithful?” asked Ja’afar, and the Caliph answered, “Sawest thou not
the whip-scars on his ribs?” Then they let fall the curtain over him
and brought him a fresh dress, which he put on and sat up as before
with his courtiers and cup-companions. Presently he saw the Caliph
and Ja’afar whispering together and said to them, “What is the
matter, fair sirs?” Quoth Ja’afar, “O my lord, all is well,[194]
save that
this my comrade, who (as is not unknown to thee) is of the
merchant-company and hath visited all the great cities and countries
of the world and hath consorted with kings and men of highest
consideration, saith to me:—Verily, that which our lord the Caliph](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-44-320.jpg)
![hath done this night is beyond measure extravagant, never saw I
any do the like doings in any country; for he hath rent such and
such dresses, each worth a thousand dinars and this is surely
excessive unthriftiness.” Replied the second Caliph, “Ho thou, the
money is my money and the stuff my stuff, and this is by way of
largesse to my suite and servants; for each suit that is rent
belongeth to one of my cup-companions here present, and I assign
to them with each suit of clothes the sum of five hundred dinars.”
The Wazir Ja’afar replied, “Well is whatso thou doest, O our lord,”
and recited these two couplets:—
Virtue in hand of thee hath built a house, ✿ And to mankind thou dost thy wealth
expose:
If an the virtues ever close their doors, ✿ That hand would be a key the lock to
unclose.
Now when the young man heard these verses recited by the Minister
Ja’afar, he ordered him to be gifted with a thousand dinars and a
dress of honour. Then the cup went round among them and the
wine was sweet to them; but, after a while quoth the Caliph to
Ja’afar, “Ask him of the marks on his sides, that we may see what he
will say by way of reply.” Answered Ja’afar, “Softly, O my lord, be not
hasty and soothe thy mind, for patience is more becoming.” Rejoined
the Caliph, “By the life of my head and by the revered tomb of Al-
Abbas,[195]
except thou ask him, I will assuredly stop thy breath!”
With this the young man turned towards the Minister and said to
him, “What aileth thee and thy friend to be whispering together? Tell
me what is the matter with you.” “It is nothing save good,” replied
Ja’afar; but the mock Caliph rejoined, “I conjure thee, by Allah, tell
me what aileth you and hide from me nothing of your case.”
Answered the Wazir, “O my lord, verily this one here saw on thy
sides the marks of beating with whips and palm-fronds and
marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel, saying:—How came the
Caliph to be beaten?; and he would fain know the cause of this.”
Now when the youth heard this, he smiled and said, “Know ye that
my story is wondrous and my case marvellous; were it graven with](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-45-320.jpg)
![needles on the eye-corners, it would serve as a warner to whoso
would be warned.” And he sighed and repeated these couplets:—
Strange is my story, passing prodigy; ✿ By Love I swear, my ways wax strait on
me!
An ye desire to hear me, listen, and ✿ Let all in this assembly silent be.
Heed ye my words which are of meaning deep, ✿ Nor lies my speech; ‘tis truest
verity.
I’m slain[196] by longing and by ardent love; ✿ My slayer’s the pearl of fair
virginity.
She hath a jet black eye like Hindi blade, ✿ And bowèd eyebrows shoot her
archery;
My heart assures me our Imam is here, ✿ This age’s Caliph, old nobility:
Your second, Ja’afar hight, is his Wazir; ✿ A Sáhib,[197] Sahib-son of high degree:
The third is called Masrur who wields the sword: ✿ Now, if in words of mine some
truth you see,
I have won every wish by this event ✿ Which fills my heart with joy and gladdest
gree.
When they heard these words Ja’afar swore to him an ambiguous
oath that they were not those he named, whereupon he laughed
and said:—Know, O my lords, that I am not the Commander of the
Faithful and that I do but style myself thus, to win my will of the
sons of the city. My true name is Mohammed Ali, son of Ali the
Jeweller, and my father was one of the notables of Baghdad, who
left me great store of gold and silver and pearls and coral and rubies
and chrysolites and other jewels, besides messuages and lands,
Hammam-baths and brickeries, orchards and flower-gardens. Now
as I sat in my shop one day surrounded by my eunuchs and
dependents, behold, there came up a young lady, mounted on a
she-mule and attended by three damsels like moons. Riding up to
my shop she alighted and seated herself by my side and said, “Art
thou Mohammed the Jeweller?” Replied I, “Even so! I am he, thy
Mameluke, thy chattel.” She asked, “Hast thou a necklace of jewels
fit for me?” and I answered, “O my lady, I will show thee what I
have; and lay all before thee and, if any please thee, it will be of thy
slave’s good luck; if they please thee not, of his ill fortune.” Now I
had by me an hundred necklaces and showed them all to her; but](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-46-320.jpg)
![none of them pleased her and she said, “I want a better than those I
have seen.” I had a small necklace which my father had bought at
an hundred thousand dinars and whose like was not to be found
with any of the great kings; so I said to her, “O my lady, I have yet
one necklace of fine stones fit for bezels, the like of which none
possesseth, great or small.” Said she, “Show it to me,” so I showed it
to her, and she said, “This is what I wanted and what I have wished
for all my life;” adding, “What is its price?” Quoth I, “It cost my
father an hundred thousand dinars;” and she said, “I will give thee
five thousand dinars to thy profit.” I answered, “O my lady, the
necklace and its owner are at thy service and I cannot gainsay thee.”
But she rejoined, “Needs must thou have the profit, and I am still
most grateful to thee.” Then she rose without stay or delay; and,
mounting the mule in haste, said to me, “O my lord, in Allah’s name,
favour us with thy company to receive the money; for this thy day
with us is white as milk.”[198]
So I shut the shop and accompanied
her, in all security, till we came to a house, on which were manifest
the signs of wealth and rank; for its door was wrought with gold and
silver and ultramarine, and thereon were written these two couplets:
—
Hola, thou mansion! woe ne’er enter thee; ✿ Nor be thine owner e’er misused of
Fate;
Excellent mansion to all guests art thou, ✿ When other mansions to the guest are
strait.
The young lady dismounted and entered the house, bidding me sit
down on the bench at the gate, till the money-changer should arrive.
So I sat awhile, when behold, a damsel came out to me and said, “O
my lord, enter the vestibule; for it is a dishonour that thou shouldst
sit at the gate.” Thereupon I arose and entered the vestibule and sat
down on the settle there; and, as I sat, lo! another damsel came out
and said to me, “O my lord, my mistress biddeth thee enter and sit
down at the door of the saloon, to receive thy money.” I entered and
sat down, nor had I sat a moment when behold, a curtain of silk
which concealed a throne of gold was drawn aside, and I saw seated](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-47-320.jpg)
![sent for the Kazi and the witnesses and busied herself with making
ready; and, when they came, she said to them, “Mohammed Ali, bin
Ali the Jeweller, seeketh me in wedlock and hath given me the
necklace to my marriage-settlement; and I accept and consent.” So
they wrote out the contract of marriage between us; and ere I went
in to her the servants brought the wine-furniture and the cups
passed round after the fairest fashion and the goodliest ordering;
and, when the wine mounted to our heads, she ordered a damsel, a
lute-player,[199]
to sing. So she took the lute and sang to a pleasing
and stirring motive these couplets:—
He comes; and fawn and branch and moon delight these eyne ✿ Fie[200] on his
heart who sleeps o’ nights without repine;
Fair youth, for whom Heaven willed to quench in cheek one light, ✿ And left
another light on other cheek bright li’en:
I fain finesse my chiders when they mention him, ✿ As though the hearing of his
name I would decline;
And willing ear I lend when they of other speak; ✿ Yet would my soul within
outflow in floods of brine:
Beauty’s own prophet, he is all a miracle ✿ Of heavenly grace, and greatest shows
his face for sign:[201]
To prayer Bilál-like cries that Mole upon his cheek ✿ To ward from pearly brow all
eyes of ill design:[202]
The censors of their ignorance would my love dispel ✿ But after Faith I can’t at
once turn Infidel.
We were ravished by the sweet music she made striking the strings,
and the beauty of the verses she sang; and the other damsels went
on to sing and to recite one after another, till ten had so done; when
the Lady Dunya took the lute and playing a lively measure, chanted
these couplets:—](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-49-320.jpg)
![I swear by swayings of that form so fair, ✿ Aye from thy parting fiery pangs I
bear:
Pity a heart which burneth in thy love, ✿ O bright as fullest moon in blackest air!
Vouchsafe thy boons to him who ne’er will cease ✿ In light of wine-cup all thy
charms declare,
Amid the roses which with varied hues ✿ Are to the myrtle-bush[203] a mere
despair.
When she had finished her verse; I took the lute from her hands
and, playing a quaint and no vulgar prelude sang the following
verses:—
Laud to my Lord who gave thee all of loveliness; ✿ Myself amid thy thralls I
willingly confess:
O thou, whose eyes and glances captivate mankind, ✿ Pray that I ‘scape those
arrows shot with all thy stress!
Two hostile rivals water and enflaming fire ✿ Thy cheek hath married, which for
marvel I profess:
Thou art Sa’ír in heart of me and eke Na’ím;[204] ✿ Thou agro-dolce, eke heart’s
sweetest bitterness.
When she heard this my song she rejoiced with exceeding joy; then,
dismissing her slave-women, she brought me to a most goodly
place, where they had spread us a bed of various colours. She did
off her clothes and I had a lover’s privacy of her and found her a
pearl unpierced and a filly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and never in
my born days spent I a more delicious night.——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed
bin Ali the Jeweller continued:—So I went in unto the Lady Dunya,
daughter of Yahya bin Khalid the Barmecide, and I found her a pearl
unthridden and a filly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and repeated
these couplets:—](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-50-320.jpg)
![O Night here stay! I want no morning light; ✿ My lover’s face to me is lamp and
light:[205]
As ring of ring-dove round his neck’s my arm; ✿ And made my palm his mouth-
veil; and, twas right.
This be the crown of bliss, and ne’er we’ll cease ✿ To clip, nor care to be in other
plight.
And I abode with her a whole month, forsaking shop and family and
home, till one day she said to me, “O light of my eyes, O my lord
Mohammed, I have determined to go to the Hammam to-day; so sit
thou on this couch and rise not from thy place, till I return to thee.”
“I hear and I obey,” answered I, and she made me swear to this;
after which she took her women and went off to the bath. But by
Allah, O my brothers, she had not reached the head of the street ere
the door opened and in came an old woman, who said to me, “O my
lord Mohammed, the Lady Zubaydah biddeth thee to her, for she
hath heard of thy fine manners and accomplishments and skill in
singing.” I answered, “By Allah, I will not rise from my place, till the
Lady Dunya come back.” Rejoined the old woman, “O my lord, do
not anger the Lady Zubaydah with thee and vex her so as to make
her thy foe: nay, rise up and speak with her and return to thy place.”
So I rose at once and followed her into the presence of the Lady
Zubaydah and, when I entered her presence she said to me, “O light
of the eye, art thou the Lady Dunya’s beloved?” “I am thy
Mameluke, thy chattel,” replied I. Quoth she, “Sooth spake he who
reported thee possessed of beauty and grace and good breeding and
every fine quality; indeed, thou surpassest all praise and all report.
But now sing to me, that I may hear thee.” Quoth I, “Hearkening
and obedience;” so she brought me a lute, and I sang to it these
couplets:—](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-51-320.jpg)
![The hapless lover’s heart is of his wooing weary grown; ✿ And hand of sickness
wasted him till naught but skin and bone:
Who should be amid the riders which the haltered camels urge, ✿ But that same
lover whose beloved doth in the litters wone:
To Allah’s charge I leave that moon-like Beauty in your tents ✿ Whom my heart
loves, albe my glance on her may ne’er be thrown.
Now she is fain; then she is fierce: how sweet her coyness shows; ✿ Yea, sweet
whatever doth or saith to lover lovèd one!
When I had finished my song she said to me, “Allah assain thy body
and thy voice! Verily, thou art perfect in beauty and good breeding
and singing. But now rise and return to thy place, ere the Lady
Dunya come back, lest she find thee not and be wroth with thee.”
Then I kissed the ground before her and the old woman forewent
me till I reached the door whence I came. So I entered and, going
up to the couch, found that my wife had come back from the bath
and was lying asleep there. Seeing this I sat down at her feet and
rubbed them; whereupon she opened her eyes and seeing me, drew
up both her feet and gave me a kick that threw me off the couch,[206]
saying, “O traitor, thou hast been false to thine oath and hast
perjured thyself. Thou swarest to me that thou wouldst not rise from
thy place; yet didst thou break thy promise and go to the Lady
Zubaydah. By Allah, but that I fear public scandal, I would pull down
her palace over her head!” Then said she to her black slave, “O
Sawáb, arise and strike off this lying traitor’s head, for we have no
further need of him.” So the slave came up to me and, tearing a
strip from his skirt, bandaged with it my eyes[207]
and would have
struck off my head;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed
the Jeweller continued:—So the slave came up to me and, tearing a
strip from his skirt, bandaged with it my eyes and would have struck
off my head; but all her women, great and small, rose and came up](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-52-320.jpg)
![to her and said to her, “O our lady, this is not the first who hath
erred: indeed, he knew not thy humour and hath done thee no
offence deserving death.” Replied she, “By Allah, I must needs set
my mark on him.” And she bade them bash me; so they beat me on
my ribs and the marks ye saw are the scars of that fustigation. Then
she ordered them to cast me out, and they carried me to a distance
from the house and threw me down like a log. After a time I rose
and dragged myself little by little to my own place, where I sent for
a surgeon and showed him my hurts; and he comforted me and did
his best to cure me. As soon as I was recovered I went to the
Hammam and, as my pains and sickness had left me, I repaired to
my shop and took and sold all that was therein. With the proceeds, I
bought me four hundred white slaves, such as no King ever got
together, and caused two hundred of them to ride out with me every
day. Then I made me yonder barge whereon I spent five thousand
gold pieces; and styled myself Caliph and appointed each of my
servants to the charge of some one of the Caliph’s officers and clad
him in official habit. Moreover, I made proclamation, “Whoso goeth
a-pleasuring on the Tigris by night, I will strike off his head, without
ruth or delay;” and on such wise have I done this whole year past,
during which time I have heard no news of the lady neither
happened upon any trace of her. Then wept he copiously and
repeated these couplets:—
By Allah! while the days endure ne’er shall forget her I, ✿ Nor draw to any nigh
save those who draw her to me nigh:
Like to the fullest moon her form and favour show to me; ✿ Laud to her All-
creating Lord, laud to the Lord on high!
She left me full of mourning, sleepless, sick with pine and pain ✿ And ceaseth not
my heart to yearn her mystery[208] to espy.
Now when Harun al-Rashid heard the young man’s story and knew
the passion and transport and love-lowe that afflicted him, he was
moved to compassion and wonder and said, “Glory be to Allah, who
hath appointed to every effect a cause!” Then they craved the young
man’s permission to depart; which being granted, they took leave of
him, the Caliph purposing to do him justice meet, and him with the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-53-320.jpg)
![last, whereby the Caliph knew him to be a lover and severed from
his beloved and said to him, “Desirest thou that I restore her to
thee?” “This were of the bounty of the Commander of the Faithful,”
answered the youth and repeated these two couplets:—
Ne’er cease thy gate be Ka’abah to mankind; ✿ Long may its threshold dust man’s
brow beseem!
That o’er all countries it may be proclaimed, ✿ This is the Place and thou art
Ibrahim.[209]
Thereupon the Caliph turned to his Minister and said to him, “O
Ja’afar, bring me thy sister, the Lady Dunya, daughter of the Wazir
Yahya bin Khalid!” “I hear and I obey,” answered he and fetched her
without let or delay. Now when she stood before the Caliph he said
to her, “Dost thou know who this is?”; and she replied, “O
Commander of the Faithful, how should women have knowledge of
men?”[210]
So the Caliph smiled and said, “O Dunya, this is thy
beloved, Mohammed bin Ali the Jeweller. We are acquainted with his
case, for we have heard the whole story from beginning to end, and
have apprehended its inward and its outward; and it is no more
hidden from me, for all it was kept in secrecy.” Replied she, “O
Commander of the Faithful, this was written in the Book of Destiny; I
crave the forgiveness of Almighty Allah for the wrong I have
wrought, and pray thee to pardon me of thy favour.” At this the
Caliph laughed and, summoning the Kazi and witnesses, renewed
the marriage-contract between the Lady Dunya and her husband,
Mohammed Ali son of the Jeweller whereby there betided them,
both her and him the utmost felicity, and to their enviers
mortification and misery. Moreover, he made Mohammed Ali one of
his boon-companions, and they abode in joy and cheer and
gladness, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the
Sunderer of societies. And men also relate the pleasant tale of
186.
Arab. “Harrák,” whence probably our “Carack” and “Carrack” (large ship), in
dictionaries derived from Carrus Marinus.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/4456-250325064726-491611f7/85/Local-Economic-Development-Analysis-Practices-and-Globalization-55-320.jpg)
Local Economic Development: Analysis, Practices, and Globalization
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- 7. TO OUR FAMILIES—past, present, and future
- 8. Second Edition Local Economic Development Analysis, Practices, and Globalization John P. Blair Wright State University Michael C. Carroll Bowling Green State University
- 9. Copyright © 2009 by SAGE Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information: SAGE Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 E-mail: order@sagepub.com SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd. B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044 India SAGE Publications Ltd. 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Blair, John P., 1947– Local economic development: Analysis, practices, and globalization/John P. Blair, Michael C. Carroll.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4129-6483-8 (clot: acid-free paper) 1. Economic development. 2. Economic policy. 3. Local government. 4. Urban economics. I. Carroll, Michael C., 1958- II. Title. HD82.B5543 2009 338.9—dc22 2008003508 This book is printed on acid-free paper. 08 09 10 11 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Acquisitions Editor: Al Bruckner Editorial Assistant: MaryAnn Vail
- 10. Production Editor: Diane S. Foster Copy Editor: QuADS Prepress (P) Ltd. Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd. Proofreader: Eleni-Maria Georgiou Indexer: Diggs Publication Services Cover Designer: Gail Buschman Marketing Manager: Stephanie Adams
- 11. Contents Preface 1. Local Economic Development in a Global Market How Economists View the World Models and Assumptions Individual Behavior and Utility Maximization Ideological Perspectives on Market Operations How Markets Work Supply and Demand Supply, Demand, and Efficiency Markets Are Not Always Efficient The Role of Profits Economic Development Defined Careers in LED The Nature of Regions Types of Regions Local, National, and Global Economic Development Summary 2. Business Location, Expansion, and Retention Location Factors Inertia Transportation–Cost-Minimizing Models Production Costs National Political Climate and Stability Opportunity Creation The Decision-Making Process Motivations Practical Limitations on the Choice Process Steps in the Corporate Site Selection Process Changing Relative Importance of Location Factors Surveys of Location Factors Survey Findings Past to Present Conducting Business Retention and Expansion Programs Summary 3. Markets, Urban Systems, and Local Development Demand and Market Areas
- 12. Demand in a Spatial Setting Competition for Markets Threshold Demand and Range Determinants of Market Size The Urban Hierarchy and Urban System Central Places Goods and Services According to Urban Rank Changing Urban Patterns An Evaluation of the Central-Place Approach Considerations Extraneous to Central-Place Theory Empirical Evidence Globalization and Urban (City) Systems How to Measure Areas of Influence Survey Techniques Reilly’s Law of Retail Gravitation Probabilistic Models Retail Spending An Example Hinterland Expansion Strategies Summary 4. Economic Interdependence and Local Structure Agglomeration Economies Internal Agglomeration Economies Direct Sale/Purchase Linkages Localization Economies Urbanization Economies Recap Cluster Analysis Measures of Economic Structure North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Location Quotients Estimating Export Employment With Location Quotients Surveys to Determine Export Activities Coefficients of Specialization Occupational Structure Other Aspects of Regional Structure Summary 5. Regional Growth and Development Stages of Growth Industrial Filtering (Life Cycle Model) Adding New Work to Old
- 13. How Do Cities Move from One State to the Next? Circular Flow Diagram Elements of the Circular Flow Model Equilibrium and Change The Multiplier The Export Base Theory of Growth The Formal Income Model How to Operationalize the Export Base Approach Impact Studies and Export Base Forecasts Critique of the Export Base Approach Primacy of Exports Import Substitution Productivity Exports Not Always Exogenous Small Versus Large Regions Feedbacks Among Regions Nonbasic Activities May Not Increase Long-Run Instability of the Multiplier Excessive Aggregation Supply-Side Approaches Intermediate Inputs Entrepreneurship Capital Land (Environmental Resources) Labor Supply- and Demand-Side Approaches: A Synthesis Summary 6. Additional Tools for Regional Analysis Shift-and-Share Analysis An Application Critique Econometric and Simulation Models Econometric Models Caveats Importance-Strength Analysis Input-Output Analysis The Transactions Table The Table of Direct Coefficients The Table of Direct and Indirect Coefficients Input-Output Applications Summary
- 14. 7. Institutionalist Perspectives on Local Development External Benefits from Economic Development Job and Income Creation Fiscal Improvement Physical Improvements Who Benefits From Growth? Characteristics of Resource Supply Opponents of Growth Subsidies, Competition, and Economic Development Is Local Economic Development a Zero-Sum Game? Inefficiency and Oversubsidization Discretionary Versus Entitlement Subsidies Cost Minimization Versus Human Capital Strategies Social Capital and Economic Development Generic Economic Problems and Social Capital Ambiguous Reception of Social Capital Social Capital and Local Development Strategies Using Social Capital to Mitigate Economic Development Conflicts Social Network Analysis: Getting the Right People to the Table Targeting Development Efforts Cluster-Based Economic Development Summary 8. Local Economic Development in a Flattening World Models of Trade and Resource Flows Comparative Advantage Resource Mobility Economics of Migration Nonwage Factors Gravity Models Beaten-Path Effect and Intervening Opportunities Net and Gross Migration Retiree-Migrant Development Strategy Mobility of Capital Innovations and Ideas Spatial Diffusion Implications for Regional Development Mobility and Development Policy Jobs-to-People Versus People-to-Jobs Immigration and Urban Development Summary 9. Land Use
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- 16. What Gives Land Value? Land Rents and Value The Nature of Rent, Productivity, and Access Highest and Best Use The Land Development Process Developer Goals The Market Study Environmental Impact Statements Profit Feasibility The Development Decision Implications of Financial Analysis for LED Officials Land-Use Patterns The Monocentric City Model The Density Gradient Roads and Axial Development Agglomeration and the Multiple-Nuclear City Speculation Zones of Transition The Spreading of the Metropolis Evaluating Metropolitan Spread (Urban Sprawl) Land Use and Economic Development Tools Zoning and Its Critics Flexibility and Land-Use Regulations The Eminent Domain Controversy Rights to Land and Economic Development Summary 10. Housing and Neighborhood Development Fundamentals of Housing Economics Hedonic Pricing Uncertainty, Market Imperfections, and Competition Residential Location and Neighborhood Change The Filtering-Down Theory The Trade-Off Model The Cultural Agglomeration Model The Tiebout Model The Aggregate Economic Fallout Model Initiating and Perpetuating the Change Process Housing Policy Issues Rent Control Versus Market Forces Income Support Versus Housing Assistance Supply- Versus Demand-Side Assistance Ghetto Dispersal Versus Ghetto Improvement
- 17. Dwelling Unit Versus Neighborhood Development Linkage Between Local Housing and Global Financial Markets Retail and Commercial Neighborhoods The Social Economy of Neighborhoods Community Development Corporations Cooperatives Community Gardens Summary 11. Poverty and Lagging Regions The Nature of Poverty Conceptual Approaches Demographics of Poverty Spatial Concentrations of Urban Poverty Regional Linkages: The Spread and Backwash Effects Empirical Studies of Spatial Linkages Spatial Linkages and Theories of Spatial Poverty Policy Issues Strengthening Linkages Improving Productivity Addressing Wage Rigidities Employment Guarantee Schemes in India Income Support Summary 12. Local Governance, Finance, and Regional Integration Spatial Perspectives on Government Functions Distribution and the Race to the Bottom Local Allocation Public Transportation: An Example Size and Scope of Local Governments Economies and Diseconomies of Scale Decision-Making Costs Improving Government Efficiency Using Prices and Fees Local Taxation and Economic Development Accountability Intergovernmental Competition Intergovernmental Grants and Coordination Rearranging Functions Privatization Market-Based Reforms in Education Fiscal Impact and Benefit-Cost Studies
- 18. Fiscal Impact Studies Benefit-Cost Analysis Summary 13. Planning, Future Studies, and Development Policy The Future and Local Development Concern with Values and Attitudes Technological Change Systems Orientation Importance of Timing Planning Perspectives on LED The Planning Process Limits of Planning Planning and Future Studies Tools Delphi Forecasting Games Scenarios Environmental Scanning Summary References Index About the Authors
- 19. T Preface he practice of local economic development (LED) has grown significantly as changing local, national, and international events have elicited local responses. The purpose of this book is to present the economics of economic development in a manner accessible to economists and noneconomists. It is written with an understanding that successful economic development programs require knowledge from a variety of fields including planning, political science, finance, sociology, and marketing. Nevertheless, economic processes are at the heart of local development efforts. Practitioners and academics should understand how market forces combine with noneconomic variables to shape economies and affect community welfare. Information is presented in a straightforward manner. As a textbook, Local Economic Development will serve in either a development-oriented urban economics class or a regional development course. Concepts, theories, and tools are emphasized rather than specific programs. Programs change too frequently to provide a foundation. Theory without practice is sterile. Practice without theory is adrift. This revision has an international orientation. Ideas are presented to show that local institutional and cultural contexts can greatly influence the course of local development. Consequently, no homogeneous cultural setting is assumed. Instructors are tasked with fitting the concepts to specific local circumstances. Traditional topics such as location of activities, growth and development, economic structure, land use, neighborhood development, and governance are presented in ways that connect theory to “on-the-ground” realities. Theoretical discussions are not so abstract that the welfare of individuals and communities gets lost in the analysis. Economic problems including transportation, poverty, immigration, education, urban management, and housing are covered within the context of regional development. Numerous quantitative tools, including location quotients, shift-share analysis, local multipliers, input-output analysis, statistical modeling, cost-benefit studies, discounted cash flow analysis, and so forth are described in an easy to understand manner. The description of how to apply tools is sensitive to their limitations. Cutting-edge issues are integrated with traditional topics rather than treated as mere appendages. LED attracted us because it is “people centered” and analyses a world that we see everyday. The impacts of policies on how people live can be visualized. We hope that the subject will continue to be taught and studied in that sprit. Thanks are due to colleagues at our institutions. Particular thanks are due Fern Freeman and Pat Sherman, who provided important secretarial assistance. Also, the folks at Sage made major contributions. Al Buckner, MaryAnn Vail, and Diane Foster helped ramrod the manuscript through the marketing and production processes. Thanks also to Shamila Swamy and her team from QuADS Prepress (P) Ltd for their copyediting. Finally, appreciation is extended to our students, whose comments and insights contributed to the pedagogy.
- 20. T 1 Local Economic Development in a Global Market he vast majority of decisions affecting local economic development (LED) are made by private individuals or institutions. Often the decisions are made by persons living half a world away from the affected locality. These choices are generally made on the basis of self- interest after consideration of the costs and benefits. Many economic development practitioners seek to understand how market processes operate so that they can help their organizations make good decisions. Others seek to influence private economic decisions by affecting the real or perceived costs and benefits of decisions so as to stimulate economic development. In both cases, it is essential to understand how the market economy operates. This chapter describes how economists view economic activities and serves as a point of departure for understanding the development process. How Economists View the World Students who have not studied economics sometimes fail to understand the role of models and assumptions in economic analysis, the economist’s view of individual behavior, and how disagreements about policy can arise. A sketch of these important aspects of the economic paradigm will set the stage for further analysis. MODELS AND ASSUMPTIONS Economists often build deductive models to help understand economic processes. Models are deliberate simplifications of reality because the economy includes so many variables that interact with each other in so many ways that we can understand process only by focusing on a few variables at a time. The variables not under consideration are usually assumed to stay the same, the well-known “ceteris paribus” or “other things equal” assumption. For instance, when thinking about how quality of life may affect job growth, it is necessary to assume that the state of the national economy and other critical variables do not change when comparing areas. Otherwise, a city with very poor quality of life located in a fast-growing area might show higher job growth than a city with high quality of life in a slow-growing area. An important application of the “other things equal” assumption is found in the law of demand. It states that if the price of a good falls, the quantity individuals are willing and able
- 21. to consume will increase, holding other things equal. Figure 1.1 is a demand curve consistent with the law of demand; it slopes downward. Changes in tastes and preferences, incomes, the price of other goods, expectations, and market size could result in a situation where the relation between price and quantity demanded could appear to violate the law of demand. For instance, price and quantity demanded could increase at the same time if the size of the market also increased. Therefore, to focus only on the relationship between price and quantity sold, it is necessary to make explicit the assumption that everything stays the same except price and quantity. Students often object to the many assumptions that are incorporated in economic models because they are unrealistic. In reality, other things do not remain equal, so why do economists assume that they do? The value of the assumptions is that they provide a systematic framework for analysis, and they may be relaxed so that the impact of changing certain assumptions may also be analyzed. For instance, the assumption that the size of the market or incomes do not change may be replaced by the assumption that market size or incomes increase. Then it can be shown that increases in market size or incomes will shift the entire demand curve to the right (called an increase in demand). Figure 1.1 The Demand Curve NOTE: The demand curve shows how many units of a product consumers will purchase at various prices. Under some conditions, the demand curve represents social benefits. Thus, someone would value the 10th unit at $5. Changes in income, market size, price of other goods, preferences, and expectations could cause the demand to increase or decrease. Spatial economic models are often predicated on unrealistic assumptions, such as perfect knowledge, profit-maximizing behavior, uniform transportation costs, consumers with identical tastes, and homogeneous space. The insights gained from these models can be increased if consideration is given to how the models will be affected if the assumptions were changed. Changing the assumptions of a model provides insights about the variables that were being held constant.
- 22. INDIVIDUALBEHAVIOR AND UTILITY MAXIMIZATION For most economists, individuals are the building blocks from which group actions emerge, so it is important to understand what motivates them. The powerful assumption that economists make is that individuals are motivated to maximize their own utility. Money provides utility, but so do other things, such as love. In the sphere of economic development, money is usually the most powerful motivator, but individuals also receive satisfaction from things such as helping their community. Adam Smith highlighted the importance of self-interest: It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their own self-interest [in trying to get these things]. … We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages. According to Adam Smith, a market system creates rewards and incentives that encourage utility-maximizing individuals to do what is in the public interest as if they were guided by an “invisible hand.” Disagreements about the extent to which individuals seeking their own self-interest actually serve the public interest are at the heart of the debate between those who believe in “letting the market operate” and those who believe that government involvement is important for successful economic performance. Economists also assume that individuals are rational in their efforts to maximize utility. The rationality assumption is essential if economic models are to predict behavior. If individuals did not act rationally, then all behavior could be explained as the result of irrational actions. Students sometimes object to the concept of utility-maximizing man. One objection is based on the mistaken idea that utility-maximizing behavior is selfish. In fact, economists recognize that altruistic behavior can provide satisfaction to some individuals. The second objection is that the utility maximizing assumption does not examine how tastes and preferences are formed or why individuals differ in how they attain satisfaction. Economists tend to assume that individuals have a set of preferences, but little attention is given to how preferences are formed. It is likely that if economic life and social life were different, individuals would have a different set of preferences. Urban and regional economists often rely on the work of psychologists, sociologists, and planners, who are more informed about questions of preference formation. IDEOLOGICALPERSPECTIVES ON MARKET OPERATIONS Economists explore two distinct types of questions. On the one hand, positive questions address the world as it is. On the other hand, normative questions inquire about how things should be or ought to be and involve value judgments. Economists disagree about appropriate policies either because of different analyses of how the economy operates (positive) or because they have different values (normative). Sometimes policymakers are more concerned with economic growth than static efficiency,
- 23. particularly individuals involved in economic development. A community that operates inefficiently but grows rapidly may be better off in the long run than a community that maintains a high level of static efficiency but does not grow rapidly. Economic development policies are cast in a way that forces policymakers to choose between static efficiency and economic growth. Some critics of economic planning suggest that too much planning stunts growth because unemployed resources are necessary for innovation and the development of new products. Equity refers to fairness. When a policy change hurts some individuals but benefits others, questions of fairness arise. If income is tilted too much toward one group, it may be difficult to maintain social stability. Imbalances in the distribution of income may reduce economic prosperity. Economists are not very good at deciding which actions are more equitable, because such decisions cannot be made on scientific grounds. Nevertheless, the appropriateness of most changes must be decided, at least partly, on the basis of fairness. There are two alternative perspectives on the extent to which government involvement in the economy may improve economic welfare—conservative and liberal. The conservative perspective places a high value on economic freedom and economic efficiency. Many conservatives agree with Friedman (1962) that capitalism is necessary for political freedom. The analyses of conservative economists tend to show that the laissez-faire market works well. When competitive market conditions exist, individuals seeking their own self-interest act in society’s interest. Consequently, conservatives tend to oppose government involvement in regional and urban problems. Even when their analysis leads them to believe that market outcomes are imperfect, conservatives tend to believe that imperfect market outcomes are preferable to government-imposed solutions (which may also be imperfect). Liberal economists tend to place a high value on economic equity when viewing market operations as sometimes both inefficient and inequitable but still useful. Blinder (1987) referred to the liberal philosophy as combining respect for the efficiencies of the free market with concern for those the market leaves behind. Consequently, liberals tend to believe that government action is important for solving urban problems and securing a more equitable distribution of income. Fundamentally, liberals want to maintain the basic framework of market decision making; but they believe that there is substantial potential for government actions to improve market outcomes. In particular, government regulations and taxes may help when markets are not operating as they should. Conservatives and liberals constitute the mainstream of economic thinking. Both perspectives rely on the market to provide information and establish the basic incentives that encourage socially desirable behavior. Most of the policy issues discussed in this text are within the liberal-conservative framework. Radical economic analysis is outside mainstream thinking and often provides interesting challenges to traditional economic thinking. Radical economists are distrustful of the market. Many radical economists believe that the market is not an impartial mechanism that helps organized economic activities. Rather, the market is a means of social control. They are less concerned with whether market mechanisms are efficient than they are with whose interests the market serves. Government programs that affect economic outcomes often help the wealthy because the same interests that control the market also control government. Radicals tend to
- 24. see urban problems as a reflection of class conflicts. Radicals see greater government involvement in the economy, including direct ownership of productive resources, as a more preferable solution to problems than either a policy of laissez-faire or government modification of market outcomes. How Markets Work Markets are a process (not a place) through which buyers and sellers conduct transactions. Markets coordinate numerous economic decisions and provide incentives that influence behavior. To emphasize these important functions, Milton Friedman has claimed that no one in the world knows how to make a pencil. He meant that no one knows how to complete all the steps in the process—cutting the trees, mining the graphite, and so forth. Yet the market helps coordinate these decisions, and many more. Prices tell producers which components of the pencils are needed, what kinds of pencils folks want and provide an incentive for production and an incentive to use less. When the market is working well, the incentives generated by the market encourage individuals to behave in a way that benefits society. For instance, when a community’s economy starts to decline, local resources become idle. Prices of land, labor, intermediate goods, and other resources may fall. The declining prices send two signals. (1) If you own productive resources, do not bring them to this region because the resources can earn more elsewhere. Thus, new workers may not relocate to the area, and current residents may consider leaving. (2) At the same time, falling resource prices might encourage producers, wishing to employ resources, to consider relocating or starting in the region. The example of community decline illustrates a situation where the market is working well. However, the market does not always generate outcomes that are socially beneficial. When markets create suboptimal or perverse outcomes, government officials attempt to intervene. Sometimes the interventions involve small changes in incentives, or “tweaking” the market, and at other times the market may be completely overridden. Bartik (1990) contended that appropriate interventions in market outcomes is the hallmark of successful LED policy. Accordingly, an understanding of how markets operate is a prerequisite to understanding the forces that shape local economies and development policies. SUPPLY AND DEMAND Figure 1.2 illustrates how supply and demand operate. The demand curve shows how consumer purchases will be affected as prices change, other things being equal. Similarly, the supply curve shows the quantity of output producers would be willing and able to sell at various prices. The higher prices will induce businesses to produce greater output, other things equal. Let D0 be the operative demand curve. Price will be determined at the point where the quantity supplied and quantity demanded are equal, Point a in Figure 1.2. The price will be $5. At that price, consumers will produce 100 units, and consumers will purchase 100 units. At any other price, there will be either a shortage or surplus of the product. The $5 price is
- 25. considered an equilibrium price because once it is attained it will not change unless the supply or demand curves shift. It may take the market a long time to find the equilibrium price; so at any given time, the actual price may not be in equilibrium. Figure 1.2 Supply and Demand NOTE: The initial price and quantity of a product are determined by the initial demand and supply curves D0 and S, respectively. Equilibrium price and output will be $5 and 100 units, respectively. If demand increased to D1, price and output of the product would increase to $6 and 120 units, respectively. Suppose that economic development caused the population and incomes of residents to increase. As a result, the demand curve will increase from D0 to D1. Price and output will increase. Immediately, we can visualize one of the impacts of economic development on the demand for local products. Similarly, factors that increase the demand for the output of local establishments can contribute to LED. For example, if demand for American-made cars increased, communities with automobile production facilities would probably experience increases in employment as the output of automobiles increased. SUPPLY, DEMAND, AND EFFICIENCY When there are many well-informed buyers and sellers, prices and output levels are determined by the interaction of supply and demand. Competitive markets can be very efficient. Economists believe that the sum of individuals’ marginal private benefits (MPB) from consuming additional units of a product determines the demand curve in Figure 1.2. The demand curve slopes downward because benefits from additional units of a product fall as more units are consumed. Furthermore, if only the purchaser captures the benefits from the good or service, then the demand will reflect the benefits to society, the marginal social benefit (MSB). (The purchaser is part of society, so the benefits are considered social benefits.) Thus,
- 26. Visit https://ebookmass.com today to explore a vast collection of ebooks across various genres, available in popular formats like PDF, EPUB, and MOBI, fully compatible with all devices. Enjoy a seamless reading experience and effortlessly download high- quality materials in just a few simple steps. Plus, don’t miss out on exciting offers that let you access a wealth of knowledge at the best prices!
- 27. Other documents randomly have different content
- 28. explanation: so I said to her, “I see thee to be of those who delight in singing. Now I have a cousin, the son of my father’s brother, who is fairer than I in face and higher of rank and better of breeding; and he is the most intimate of Allah’s creatures with Isaac.” Quoth she, “Art thou a parasite[179] and an importunate one?” Quoth I, “It is for thee to decide in this matter;” and she, “If thy cousin be as thou hast described him, it would not mislike us to make acquaintance with him.” Then, as the time was come, I left her and returned to my house, but hardly had I reached it, ere the Caliph’s runners came down on me and carried me before him by main force and roughly enough.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-second Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul continued:—And hardly had I reached my house ere the Caliph’s runners came down upon me and carried me before him by main force and roughly enough. I found him seated on a chair, wroth with me, and he said to me, “O Isaac, art thou a traitor to thine allegiance?” replied I, “No, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful!” and he rejoined, “What hast thou then to say? tell me the whole truth;” and I, “Yes, I will, but in private.” So he signed to his attendants, who withdrew to a distance, and I told him the case, adding, “I promised her to bring thee,” and he said, “Thou didst well.” Then we spent the day in our usual pleasures, but Al- Maamun’s heart was taken up with her, and hardly was the appointed time come, when we set out. As we went along, I cautioned him, saying, “Look that thou call me not by my name before her; and I will demean myself like thine attendant.” And having agreed upon this, we fared forth till we came to the place, where we found two baskets hanging ready. So we sat down in them and were drawn up to the usual place, where the damsel came forward and saluted us. Now when Al-Maamun saw her, he was amazed at her beauty and loveliness; and she began to entertain
- 29. him with stories and verses. Presently, she called for wine and we fell to drinking, she paying him special attention and he repaying her in kind. Then she took the lute and sang these verses:— My lover came in at the close of night, ✿ I rose till he sat and remained upright; And said “Sweet heart, hast thou come this hour? ✿ Nor feared on the watch and ward to ‘light:” Quoth he “The lover had cause to fear, ✿ But Love deprived him of wits and fright.” And when she ended her song she said to me, “And is thy cousin also a merchant?” I answered, “Yes,” and she said, “Indeed, ye resemble each other nearly.” But when Al-Maamun had drunk three pints,[180] he grew merry with wine and called out, saying, “Ho, Isaac!” And I replied, “Labbayk’, Adsum, O Commander of the Faithful,” whereupon quoth he, “Sing me this air.” Now when the young lady learned that he was the Caliph, she withdrew to another place and disappeared; and, as I had made an end of my song Al- Maamun said to me, “See who is the master of this house”; whereupon an old woman hastened to make answer, saying, “It belongs to Hasan bin Sahl.”[181] “Fetch him to me,” said the Caliph. So she went away and after a while behold, in came Hasan, to whom said Al-Maamun “Hast thou a daughter?” He said, “Yes, and her name is Khadijah.” Asked the Caliph, “Is she married?” Answered Hasan, “No, by Allah!” Said Al-Maamun, “Then I ask her of thee in marriage.” Replied her father, “O Commander of the Faithful, she is thy handmaid and at thy commandment.” Quoth Al-Maamun, “I take her to wife at a present settlement of thirty thousand dinars, which thou shalt receive this very morning; and, when the money has been paid thee, do thou bring her to us this night.” And Hasan answered, “I hear and I obey.” Thereupon we went forth and the Caliph said to me, “O Isaac, tell this story to no one.” So I kept it secret till Al- Maamun’s death. Surely never did man’s life gather such pleasures as were mine these four days’ time, whenas I companied with Al- Maamun by day and Khadijah by night; and, by Allah, never saw I among men the like of Al-Maamun nor among women have I ever set eyes on the like of Khadijah; no, nor on any that came near her
- 30. in lively wit and pleasant speech! And Allah is All-knowing. But amongst stories is that of 175. Son of Ibrahim al-Mosili, a musician poet and favourite with the Caliphs Harun al-Rashid and Al-Maamun. He made his name immortal by being the first who reduced Arab harmony to systematic rules; and he wrote a biography of musicians referred to by Al-Hariri in the Séance of Singar. 176. This must not be confounded with the “pissing against the wall” of 1 Kings, xiv. 10, where watering against a wall denotes a man as opposed to a woman. 177. Arab. “Zambíl” or “Zimbíl,” a limp basket made of plaited palm-leaves and generally two handled. It is used for many purposes, from carrying poultry to carrying earth. 178. Here we have again the Syriac “Bakhkh un Bakhkh un ” = well done! It is the Pers. Áferín and means “all praise be to him.” 179. Arab. “A Tufayli?” So the Arab. Prov. (ii. 838) “More intrusive than Tufayl” (prob. the P.N. of a notorious spunger). The Badawin call “Wárish” a man who sits down to meat unbidden and to drink Wághil; but townsfolk apply the latter to the “Wárish.” 180. Arab. “Artál” = rotoli, pounds; and A pint is a pound All the world round; except in highly civilised lands where the pint has a curious power of shrinking. 181. One of Al-Maamun’s Wazirs. The Caliph married his daughter whose true name was Búrán; but this tale of girl’s freak and courtship was invented (?) by Ishak. For the splendour of the wedding and the munificence of the Minister see Lane, ii. 350-352.
- 31. THE SWEEP AND THE NOBLE LADY. During the season of the Meccan pilgrimage, whilst the people were making circuit about the Holy House and the place of compassing was crowded, behold, a man laid hold of the covering of the Ka’abah[182] and cried out, from the bottom of his heart, saying, “I beseech thee, O Allah, that she may once again be wroth with her husband and that I may know her!” A company of the pilgrims heard him and seized him and carried him to the Emir of the pilgrims, after a sufficiency of blows; and, said they, “O Emir, we found this fellow in the Holy Places, saying thus and thus.” So the Emir commanded to hang him; but he cried, “O Emir, I conjure thee, by the virtue of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and preserve!), hear my story and then do with me as thou wilt.” Quoth the Emir, “Tell thy tale forthright.” Know then, O Emir, quoth the man, that I am a sweep who works in the sheep-slaughterhouses and carries off the blood and the offal to the rubbish-heaps outside the gates. And it came to pass as I went along one day with my ass loaded, I saw the people running away and one of them said to me, “Enter this alley, lest haply they slay thee.” Quoth I, “What aileth the folk running away?” and one of the eunuchs, who were passing, said to me, “This is the Harim[183] of one of the notables and her eunuchs drive the people out of her way and beat them all, without respect to persons.” So I turned aside with the donkey——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-third Night,
- 32. She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the man:—So I turned aside with the donkey and stood still awaiting the dispersal of the crowd; and I saw a number of eunuchs with staves in their hands, followed by nigh thirty women slaves, and amongst them a lady as she were a willow-wand or a thirsty gazelle, perfect in beauty and grace and amorous languor, and all were attending upon her. Now when she came to the mouth of the passage where I stood, she turned right and left and, calling one of the Castratos, whispered in his ear; and behold, he came up to me and laid hold of me, whilst another eunuch took my ass and made off with it. And when the spectators fled, the first eunuch bound me with a rope and dragged me after him till I knew not what to do; and the people followed us and cried out, saying, “This is not allowed of Allah! What hath this poor scavenger done that he should be bound with ropes?” and praying the eunuchs, “Have pity on him and let him go, so Allah have pity on you!” And I the while said in my mind, “Doubtless the eunuchry seized me, because their mistress smelt the stink of the offal and it sickened her. Belike she is with child or ailing; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” So I continued walking on behind them, till they stopped at the door of a great house; and, entering before me, brought me into a big hall—I know not how I shall describe its magnificence— furnished with the finest furniture. And the women also entered the hall; and I bound and held by the eunuch and saying to myself, “Doubtless they will torture me here till I die and none know of my death.” However, after a while, they carried me into a neat bath- room leading out of the hall; and as I sat there, behold, in came three slave-girls who seated themselves round me and said to me, “Strip off thy rags and tatters.” So I pulled off my threadbare clothes and one of them fell a-rubbing my legs and feet whilst another scrubbed my head and a third shampooed my body. When they had made an end of washing me, they brought me a parcel of clothes and said to me, “Put these on”; and I answered, “By Allah, I know not how!” So they came up to me and dressed me, laughing together at me the while; after which they brought casting-bottles full of rose-water, and sprinkled me therewith. Then I went out with
- 33. them into another saloon; by Allah, I know not how to praise its splendour for the wealth of paintings and furniture therein; and entering it, I saw a person seated on a couch of Indian rattan—— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the sweep continued:—When I entered that saloon I saw a person seated on a couch of Indian rattan, with ivory feet and before her a number of damsels. When she saw me she rose to me and called me; so I went up to her and she seated me by her side. Then she bade her slave- girls bring food, and they brought all manner of rich meats, such as I never saw in all my life; I do not even know the names of the dishes, much less their nature. So I ate my fill and when the dishes had been taken away and we had washed our hands, she called for fruits which came without stay or delay and ordered me eat of them; and when we had ended eating she bade one of the waiting-women bring the wine furniture. So they set on flagons of divers kinds of wine and burned perfumes in all the censers, what while a damsel like the moon rose and served us with wine to the sound of the smitten strings; and I drank, and the lady drank, till we were seized with wine and the whole time I doubted not but that all this was an illusion of sleep. Presently, she signed to one of the damsels to spread us a bed in such a place, which being done, she rose and took me by the hand and led me thither, and lay down and I lay with her till the morning, and as often as I pressed her to my breast I smelt the delicious fragrance of musk and other perfumes that exhaled from her and could not think otherwise but that I was in Paradise or in the vain phantasies of a dream. Now when it was day, she asked me where I lodged and I told her, “In such a place;” whereupon she gave me leave to depart, handing to me a kerchief worked with gold and silver and containing somewhat tied in it, and took leave of me, saying, “Go to the bath with this.” I rejoiced and
- 34. said to myself, “If there be but five coppers here, it will buy me this day my morning meal.” Then I left her, as though I were leaving Paradise, and returned to my poor crib where I opened the kerchief and found in it fifty miskals of gold. So I buried them in the ground and, buying two farthings’ worth of bread and “kitchen,”[184] seated me at the door and broke my fast; after which I sat pondering my case and continued so doing till the time of afternoon-prayer, when lo! a slave-girl accosted me saying, “My mistress calleth for thee.” I followed her to the house aforesaid and, after asking permission, she carried me into the lady, before whom I kissed the ground, and she commanded me to sit and called for meat and wine as on the previous day; after which I again lay with her all night. On the morrow, she gave me a second kerchief, with other fifty dinars therein, and I took it and going home, buried this also. In such pleasant condition I continued eight days running, going in to her at the hour of afternoon-prayer and leaving her at daybreak; but, on the eighth night, as I lay with her, behold, one of her slave-girls came running in and said to me, “Arise, go up into yonder closet.” So I rose and went into the closet, which was over the gate, and presently I heard a great clamour and tramp of horse; and, looking out of the window which gave on the street in front of the house, I saw a young man as he were the rising moon on the night of fulness come riding up attended by a number of servants and soldiers who were about him on foot. He alighted at the door and entering the saloon found the lady seated on the couch; so he kissed the ground between her hands then came up to her and kissed her hands; but she would not speak to him. However, he continued patiently to humble himself, and soothe her and speak her fair, till he made his peace with her, and they lay together that night.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the scavenger continued:—Now when her husband had made his peace with the
- 35. young lady, he lay with her that night; and next morning, the soldiers came for him and he mounted and rode away; whereupon she drew near to me and said, “Sawst thou yonder man?” I answered, “Yes;” and she said, “He is my husband, and I will tell thee what befel me with him. It came to pass one day that we were sitting, he and I, in the garden within the house, and behold, he rose from my side and was absent a long while, till I grew tired of waiting and said to myself:—Most like, he is in the privy. So I arose and went to the water-closet, but not finding him there, went down to the kitchen, where I saw a slave-girl; and when I enquired for him, she showed him to me lying with one of the cookmaids. Hereupon, I swore a great oath that I assuredly would do adultery with the foulest and filthiest man in Baghdad; and the day the eunuch laid hands on thee, I had been four days going round about the city in quest of one who should answer to this description, but found none fouler nor filthier than thy good self. So I took thee and there passed between us that which Allah fore-ordained to us; and now I am quit of my oath.” Then she added, “If, however, my husband return yet again to the cookmaid and lie with her, I will restore thee to thy lost place in my favours.” Now when I heard these words from her lips, what while she pierced my heart with the shafts of her glances, my tears streamed forth, till my eyelids were chafed sore with weeping, and I repeated the saying of the poet:— Grant me the kiss of that left hand ten times; ✿ And learn it hath than right hand higher grade;[185] For ‘tis but little since that same left hand ✿ Washed off Sir Reverence when ablution made. Then she made them give me other fifty dinars (making in all four hundred gold pieces I had of her) and bade me depart. So I went out from her and came hither, that I might pray Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) to make her husband return to the cookmaid, that haply I might be again admitted to her favours. When the Emir of the pilgrims heard the man’s story, he set him free and said to the
- 36. bystanders, “Allah upon you, pray for him, for indeed he is excusable.” And men also tell the tale of 182. I have described this scene, the wretch clinging to the curtain and sighing and crying as if his heart would break (Pilgrimage iii. 216 and 220). The same is done at the place Al-Multazam, “the attached to;” (ibid. 156) and various spots called Al-Mustajáb, “where prayer is granted” (ibid. 162). At Jerusalem the “Wailing place of the Jews” shows queer scenes; the worshippers embrace the wall with a peculiar wriggle crying out in Hebrew, “O build Thy House, soon, without delay,” etc. 183. i.e. The wife. The scene in the text was common at Cairo twenty years ago; and no one complained of the stick. See Pilgrimage i., 120. 184. Arab. “Udm, Udum” (plur. of Idám) = “relish,” olives, cheese, pickled cucumbers, etc. 185. I have noticed how the left hand is used in the East. In the second couplet we have “Istinjá” = washing the fundament after stool. The lines are highly appropriate for a nightman. Easterns have many foul but most emphatic expressions like those in the text: I have heard a mother say to her brat, “I would eat thy merde!” (i.e. how I love thee!)
- 37. THE MOCK CALIPH. It is related that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was one night restless with extreme restlessness, so he summoned his Wazir Ja’afar the Barmecide, and said to him, “My breast is straitened and I have a desire to divert myself to-night by walking about the streets of Baghdad and looking into folks’ affairs; but with this precaution that we disguise ourselves in merchants’ gear, so none shall know us.” He answered, “Hearkening and obedience.” They rose at once and doffing the rich raiment they wore, donned merchants’ habits and sallied forth three in number, the Caliph, Ja’afar and Masrur the sworder. Then they walked from place to place, till they came to the Tigris and saw an old man sitting in a boat; so they went up to him and saluting him, said, “O Shaykh, we desire thee of thy kindness and favour to carry us a-pleasuring down the river, in this thy boat, and take this dinar to thy hire.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when they said to the old man, “We desire thee to carry us a-pleasuring in this thy boat and take this dinar;” he answered, “Who may go a- pleasuring on the Tigris? The Caliph Harun al-Rashid every night cometh down Tigris-stream in his state-barge[186] and with him one crying aloud:—Ho, ye people all, great and small, gentle and simple, men and boys, whoso is found in a boat on the Tigris by night, I will strike off his head or hang him to the mast of his craft! And ye had well nigh met him; for here cometh his carrack.” But the Caliph and
- 38. Ja’afar said, “O Shaykh, take these two dinars, and run us under one of yonder arches, that we may hide there till the Caliph’s barge have passed.” The old man replied, “Hand over your gold and rely we on Allah, the Almighty!” So he took the two dinars and embarked them in the boat; and he put off and rowed about with them awhile, when behold, the barge came down the river in mid-stream, with lighted flambeaux and cressets flaming therein. Quoth the old man, “Did not I tell you that the Caliph passed along the river every night?”; and ceased not muttering, “O Protector, remove not the veils of Thy protection!” Then he ran the boat under an arch and threw a piece of black cloth over the Caliph and his companions, who looked out from under the covering and saw, in the bows of the barge, a man holding in hand a cresset of red gold which he fed with Sumatran lign-aloes and the figure was clad in a robe of red satin, with a narrow turband of Mosul shape round on his head; and over one of his shoulders hung a sleeved cloak[187] of cramoisy satin, and on the other was a green silk bag full of the aloes-wood, with which he fed the cresset by way of fire-wood. And they sighted in the stern another man, clad like the first and bearing a like cresset, and in the barge were two hundred white slaves, standing ranged to the right and left; and in the middle a throne of red gold, whereon sat a handsome young man, like the moon, clad in a dress of black, embroidered with yellow gold. Before him they beheld a man, as he were the Wazir Ja’afar, and at his head stood an eunuch, as he were Masrur, with a drawn sword in his hand; besides a score of cup- companions. Now when the Caliph saw this, he turned and said, “O Ja’afar,” and the Minister replied, “At thy service, O Prince of True Believers.” Then quoth the Caliph, “Belike this is one of my sons, Al- Amin or Al-Maamun.” Then he examined the young man who sat on the throne and finding him perfect in beauty and loveliness and stature and symmetric grace, said to Ja’afar, “Verily, this young man abateth nor jot nor tittle of the state of the Caliphate! See, there standeth before him one as he were thyself, O Ja’afar; yonder eunuch who standeth at his head is as he were Masrur and those courtiers as they were my own. By Allah, O Ja’afar, my reason is confounded and I am filled with amazement at this matter!”——And
- 39. Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph saw this spectacle his reason was confounded and he cried, “By Allah, I am filled with amazement at this matter!” and Ja’afar replied, “And I also, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful.” Then the barge passed on and disappeared from sight; whereupon the boatman pushed out again into the stream, saying, “Praised be Allah for safety, since none hath fallen in with us!” Quoth the Caliph, “O, old man, doth the Caliph come down the Tigris-river every night?” The boatman answered, “Yes, O my lord; and on such wise hath he done every night this year past.” “O Shaykh,” rejoined Al-Rashid, “we wish thee of thy favour to await us here to-morrow night and we will give thee five golden dinars, for we are stranger folk, lodging in the quarter Al-Khandak, and we have a mind to divert ourselves.” Said the oldster, “With joy and good will!” Then the Caliph and Ja’afar and Masrur left the boatman and returned to the palace, where they doffed their merchants’ habits and, donning their apparel of state, sat down each in his several stead; and came the Emirs and Wazirs and Chamberlains and Officers; and the Divan assembled and was crowded as of custom. But when day ended and all the folk had dispersed and wended each his own way, the Caliph said to his Wazir, “Rise, O Ja’afar, let us go and amuse ourselves by looking on the second Caliph.” At this, Ja’afar and Masrur laughed, and the three, donning merchants’ habits, went forth by a secret postern and made their way through the city, in great glee, till they came to the Tigris, where they found the greybeard sitting and awaiting them. They embarked with him in the boat and hardly had they sat down before up came the mock Caliph’s barge; and, when they looked at it attentively, they saw therein two hundred Mamelukes other than those of the previous night, while the link-bearers cried aloud as of wont. Quoth the Caliph, “O Wazir, had I heard tell of this, I had not
- 40. believed it; but I have seen it with my own sight.” Then said he to the boatman, “Take, O Shaykh, these ten dinars and row us along abreast of them, for they are in the light and we in the shade, and we can see them and amuse ourselves by looking on them, but they cannot see us.” So the man took the money and pushing off ran abreast of them in the shadow of the barge——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid said to the old man, “Take these ten dinars and row us abreast of them;” to which he replied, “I hear and I obey.” And he fared with them and ceased not going in the blackness of the barge, till they came amongst the gardens that lay alongside of them and sighted a large walled enclosure; and presently, the barge cast anchor before a postern door, where they saw servants standing with a she-mule saddled and bridled. Here the mock Caliph landed and, mounting the mule, rode away with his courtiers and his cup- companions preceded by the cresset-bearers crying aloud, and followed by his household which busied itself in his service. Then Harun al-Rashid, Ja’afar and Masrur landed also and, making their way through the press of servants, walked on before them. Presently, the cresset-bearers espied them and seeing three persons in merchants’ habits, and strangers to the country, took offence at them; so they pointed them out and brought them before the other Caliph, who looked at them and asked, “How came ye to this place and who brought you at this tide?” They answered, “O our lord, we are foreign merchants and far from our homes, who arrived here this day and were out a-walking to-night, and behold, ye came up and these men laid hands on us and brought us to thy presence; and this is all our story.” Quoth the mock Caliph, “Since ye be stranger folk no harm shall befal you; but had ye been of Baghdad, I had struck off your heads.” Then he turned to his Wazir and said to him, “Take these men with thee; for they are our guests to-night.” “To hear is to
- 41. obey, O our lord,” answered he; and they companied him till they came to a lofty and splendid palace set upon the firmest base; no Sultan possesseth such a place; rising from the dusty mould and upon the marges of the clouds laying hold. Its door was of Indian teak-wood inlaid with gold that glowed; and through it one passed into a royal-hall in whose midst was a jetting fount girt by a raised estrade. It was provided with carpets and cushions of brocade and small pillows and long settees and hanging curtains; it was furnished with a splendour that dazed the mind and dumbed the tongue, and upon the door were written these two couplets:— A Palace whereon be blessings and praise! ✿ Which with all their beauty have robed the Days: Where marvels and miracle-sights abound, ✿ And to write its honours the pen affrays. The false Caliph entered with his company, and sat down on a throne of gold set with jewels and covered with a prayer-carpet of yellow silk; whilst the boon-companions took their seats and the sword-bearer of high works stood before him. Then the tables were laid and they ate; after which the dishes were removed and they washed their hands and the wine-service was set on with flagons and bowls in due order. The cup went round till it came to the Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who refused the draught and the mock Caliph said to Ja’afar, “What mattereth thy friend that he drinketh not?” He replied, “O my lord, indeed ‘tis a long while he hath drunk naught of this.” Quoth the sham Caliph, “I have drink other than this, a kind of apple-wine,[188] that will suit thy companion.” So he bade them bring the cider which they did forthright when the false Caliph, coming up to Harun al-Rashid, said to him, “As often as it cometh to thy turn drink thou of this.” Then they continued to drink and make merry and pass the cup till the wine rose to their brains and mastered their wits;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,
- 42. She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the false Caliph and his co-sitters sat at their cups and gave not over drinking till the wine rose to their brains and mastered their wits; and Harun al-Rashid said to the Minister, “O Ja’afar, by Allah, we have no such vessels as these. Would to Heaven I knew what manner of man this youth is!” But while they were talking privily the young man cast a glance upon them and seeing the Wazir whisper the Caliph said, “’Tis rude to whisper.” He replied, “No rudeness was meant: this my friend did but say to me:—Verily I have travelled in most countries and have caroused with the greatest of Kings and I have companied with noble captains; yet never saw I a goodlier ordering than this entertainment nor passed a more delightful night; save that the people of Baghdad are wont to say, Wine without music often leaves you sick.” When the second Caliph heard this, he smiled pleasantly and struck with a rod he had in his hand a round gong;[189] and behold, a door opened and out came a eunuch, bearing a chair of ivory, inlaid with gold glittering fiery red and followed by a damsel of passing beauty and loveliness, symmetry and grace. He set down the chair and the damsel seated herself on it, as she were the sun shining sheen in a sky serene. In her hand she had a lute of Hindu make, which she laid in her lap and bent down over it as a mother bendeth over her little one, and sang to it, after a prelude in four- and-twenty modes, amazing all wits. Then she returned to the first mode and to a lively measure chanted these couplets:— Love’s tongue within my heart speaks plain to thee, ✿ Telling thee clearly I am fain of thee; Witness the fevers of a tortured heart, ✿ And ulcered eyelid tear-flood rains for thee; God’s fate o’ertaketh all created things! ✿ I knew not love till learnt Love’s pain of thee. Now when the mock Caliph heard these lines sung by the damsel, he cried with a great cry and rent his raiment to the very skirt, whereupon they let down a curtain over him and brought him a fresh robe, handsomer than the first. He put it on and sat as before, till the cup came round to him, when he struck the gong a second
- 43. time and lo! a door opened and out of it came a eunuch with a chair of gold, followed by a damsel fairer than the first, bearing a lute, such as would strike the envious mute. She sat down on the chair and sang to her instrument these two couplets:— How patient bide, with love in sprite of me, ✿ And tears in tempest[190] blinding sight of me? By Allah, life has no delight of me! ✿ How gladden heart whose core is blight of me? No sooner had the youth heard this poetry than he cried out with a loud cry and rent his raiment to the skirt: whereupon they let down the curtain over him and brought him another suit of clothes. He put it on and, sitting up as before, fell again to cheerful talk, till the cup came round to him, when he smote once more upon the gong and out came a eunuch with a chair, followed by a damsel fairer than she who forewent her. So she sat down on the chair, with a lute in her hand, and sang thereto these couplets:— Cease ye this farness; ‘bate this pride of you, ✿ To whom my heart clings, by life- tide of you! Have ruth on hapless, mourning, lover-wretch, ✿ Desire-full, pining, passion-tried of you: Sickness hath wasted him, whose ecstasy ✿ Prays Heaven it may be satisfied of you; Oh fullest moons[191] that dwell in deepest heart! ✿ How can I think of aught by side of you? Now when the young man heard these couplets, he cried out with a great cry and rent his raiment, whereupon they let fall the curtain over him and brought him other robes. Then he returned to his former case with his boon-companions and the bowl went round as before, till the cup came to him, when he struck the gong a fourth time and the door opening, out came a page-boy bearing a chair followed by a damsel. He set the chair for her and she sat down thereon and taking the lute, tuned it and sang to it these couplets:—
- 44. When shall disunion and estrangement end? ✿ When shall my bygone joys again be kenned? Yesterday we were joined in same abode; ✿ Conversing heedless of each envious friend:[192] Trickt us that traitor Time, disjoined our lot ✿ And our waste home to desert fate condemned: Wouldst have me, Grumbler! from my dearling fly? ✿ I find my vitals blame will not perpend: Cease thou to censure; leave me to repine; ✿ My mind e’er findeth thoughts that pleasure lend. O Lords[193] of me who brake our troth and plight, ✿ Deem not to lose your hold of heart and sprite! When the false Caliph heard the girl’s song, he cried out with a loud outcry and rent his raiment——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninetieth Night, She said, When the false Caliph heard the girl’s song, he cried with a loud outcry and rent his raiment and fell to the ground fainting; whereupon they would have let down the curtain over him, as of custom; but its cords stuck fast and Harun al-Rashid, after considering him carefully, saw on his body the marks of beating with palm-rods and said to Ja’afar, “By Allah, he is a handsome youth, but a foul thief!” “Whence knowest thou that, O Commander of the Faithful?” asked Ja’afar, and the Caliph answered, “Sawest thou not the whip-scars on his ribs?” Then they let fall the curtain over him and brought him a fresh dress, which he put on and sat up as before with his courtiers and cup-companions. Presently he saw the Caliph and Ja’afar whispering together and said to them, “What is the matter, fair sirs?” Quoth Ja’afar, “O my lord, all is well,[194] save that this my comrade, who (as is not unknown to thee) is of the merchant-company and hath visited all the great cities and countries of the world and hath consorted with kings and men of highest consideration, saith to me:—Verily, that which our lord the Caliph
- 45. hath done this night is beyond measure extravagant, never saw I any do the like doings in any country; for he hath rent such and such dresses, each worth a thousand dinars and this is surely excessive unthriftiness.” Replied the second Caliph, “Ho thou, the money is my money and the stuff my stuff, and this is by way of largesse to my suite and servants; for each suit that is rent belongeth to one of my cup-companions here present, and I assign to them with each suit of clothes the sum of five hundred dinars.” The Wazir Ja’afar replied, “Well is whatso thou doest, O our lord,” and recited these two couplets:— Virtue in hand of thee hath built a house, ✿ And to mankind thou dost thy wealth expose: If an the virtues ever close their doors, ✿ That hand would be a key the lock to unclose. Now when the young man heard these verses recited by the Minister Ja’afar, he ordered him to be gifted with a thousand dinars and a dress of honour. Then the cup went round among them and the wine was sweet to them; but, after a while quoth the Caliph to Ja’afar, “Ask him of the marks on his sides, that we may see what he will say by way of reply.” Answered Ja’afar, “Softly, O my lord, be not hasty and soothe thy mind, for patience is more becoming.” Rejoined the Caliph, “By the life of my head and by the revered tomb of Al- Abbas,[195] except thou ask him, I will assuredly stop thy breath!” With this the young man turned towards the Minister and said to him, “What aileth thee and thy friend to be whispering together? Tell me what is the matter with you.” “It is nothing save good,” replied Ja’afar; but the mock Caliph rejoined, “I conjure thee, by Allah, tell me what aileth you and hide from me nothing of your case.” Answered the Wazir, “O my lord, verily this one here saw on thy sides the marks of beating with whips and palm-fronds and marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel, saying:—How came the Caliph to be beaten?; and he would fain know the cause of this.” Now when the youth heard this, he smiled and said, “Know ye that my story is wondrous and my case marvellous; were it graven with
- 46. needles on the eye-corners, it would serve as a warner to whoso would be warned.” And he sighed and repeated these couplets:— Strange is my story, passing prodigy; ✿ By Love I swear, my ways wax strait on me! An ye desire to hear me, listen, and ✿ Let all in this assembly silent be. Heed ye my words which are of meaning deep, ✿ Nor lies my speech; ‘tis truest verity. I’m slain[196] by longing and by ardent love; ✿ My slayer’s the pearl of fair virginity. She hath a jet black eye like Hindi blade, ✿ And bowèd eyebrows shoot her archery; My heart assures me our Imam is here, ✿ This age’s Caliph, old nobility: Your second, Ja’afar hight, is his Wazir; ✿ A Sáhib,[197] Sahib-son of high degree: The third is called Masrur who wields the sword: ✿ Now, if in words of mine some truth you see, I have won every wish by this event ✿ Which fills my heart with joy and gladdest gree. When they heard these words Ja’afar swore to him an ambiguous oath that they were not those he named, whereupon he laughed and said:—Know, O my lords, that I am not the Commander of the Faithful and that I do but style myself thus, to win my will of the sons of the city. My true name is Mohammed Ali, son of Ali the Jeweller, and my father was one of the notables of Baghdad, who left me great store of gold and silver and pearls and coral and rubies and chrysolites and other jewels, besides messuages and lands, Hammam-baths and brickeries, orchards and flower-gardens. Now as I sat in my shop one day surrounded by my eunuchs and dependents, behold, there came up a young lady, mounted on a she-mule and attended by three damsels like moons. Riding up to my shop she alighted and seated herself by my side and said, “Art thou Mohammed the Jeweller?” Replied I, “Even so! I am he, thy Mameluke, thy chattel.” She asked, “Hast thou a necklace of jewels fit for me?” and I answered, “O my lady, I will show thee what I have; and lay all before thee and, if any please thee, it will be of thy slave’s good luck; if they please thee not, of his ill fortune.” Now I had by me an hundred necklaces and showed them all to her; but
- 47. none of them pleased her and she said, “I want a better than those I have seen.” I had a small necklace which my father had bought at an hundred thousand dinars and whose like was not to be found with any of the great kings; so I said to her, “O my lady, I have yet one necklace of fine stones fit for bezels, the like of which none possesseth, great or small.” Said she, “Show it to me,” so I showed it to her, and she said, “This is what I wanted and what I have wished for all my life;” adding, “What is its price?” Quoth I, “It cost my father an hundred thousand dinars;” and she said, “I will give thee five thousand dinars to thy profit.” I answered, “O my lady, the necklace and its owner are at thy service and I cannot gainsay thee.” But she rejoined, “Needs must thou have the profit, and I am still most grateful to thee.” Then she rose without stay or delay; and, mounting the mule in haste, said to me, “O my lord, in Allah’s name, favour us with thy company to receive the money; for this thy day with us is white as milk.”[198] So I shut the shop and accompanied her, in all security, till we came to a house, on which were manifest the signs of wealth and rank; for its door was wrought with gold and silver and ultramarine, and thereon were written these two couplets: — Hola, thou mansion! woe ne’er enter thee; ✿ Nor be thine owner e’er misused of Fate; Excellent mansion to all guests art thou, ✿ When other mansions to the guest are strait. The young lady dismounted and entered the house, bidding me sit down on the bench at the gate, till the money-changer should arrive. So I sat awhile, when behold, a damsel came out to me and said, “O my lord, enter the vestibule; for it is a dishonour that thou shouldst sit at the gate.” Thereupon I arose and entered the vestibule and sat down on the settle there; and, as I sat, lo! another damsel came out and said to me, “O my lord, my mistress biddeth thee enter and sit down at the door of the saloon, to receive thy money.” I entered and sat down, nor had I sat a moment when behold, a curtain of silk which concealed a throne of gold was drawn aside, and I saw seated
- 48. thereon the lady who had made the purchase; and round her neck she wore the necklace which looked pale and wan by the side of a face as it were the rounded moon. At her sight, my wit was troubled and my mind confounded, by reason of her exceeding beauty and loveliness; but when she saw me she rose from her throne and coming close up to me, said, “O light of mine eyes, is every handsome one like thee pitiless to his mistress?” I answered, “O my lady, beauty, all of it, is in thee and is but one of thy hidden charms.” And she rejoined, “O Jeweller, know that I love thee and can hardly credit that I have brought thee hither.” Then she bent towards me and I kissed her and she kissed me and, as she caressed me, drew me towards her and to her breast she pressed me.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-first Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Jeweller continued:—Then she bent towards me and kissed and caressed me; and, as she caressed me, drew me towards her and to her breast she pressed me. Now she knew by my condition that I had a mind to enjoy her; so she said to me, “O my lord, wouldst thou foregather with me unlawfully? By Allah, may he not live who would do the like of this sin and who takes pleasure in talk unclean! I am a maid, a virgin whom no man hath approached, nor am I unknown in the city. Knowest thou who I am?” Quoth I, “No, by Allah, O my lady!”; and quoth she, “I am the Lady Dunyá, daughter of Yáhyá bin Khálid the Barmecide and sister of Ja’afar, Wazir to the Caliph.” Now as I heard this, I drew back from her, saying, “O my lady, it is no fault of mine if I have been over-bold with thee; it was thou didst encourage me to aspire to thy love, by giving me access to thee.” She answered, “No harm shall befal thee, and needs must thou attain thy desire in the only way pleasing to Allah. I am my own mistress and the Kazi shall act as my guardian in consenting to the marriage contract; for it is my will that I be to thee wife and thou be to me man.” Then she
- 49. sent for the Kazi and the witnesses and busied herself with making ready; and, when they came, she said to them, “Mohammed Ali, bin Ali the Jeweller, seeketh me in wedlock and hath given me the necklace to my marriage-settlement; and I accept and consent.” So they wrote out the contract of marriage between us; and ere I went in to her the servants brought the wine-furniture and the cups passed round after the fairest fashion and the goodliest ordering; and, when the wine mounted to our heads, she ordered a damsel, a lute-player,[199] to sing. So she took the lute and sang to a pleasing and stirring motive these couplets:— He comes; and fawn and branch and moon delight these eyne ✿ Fie[200] on his heart who sleeps o’ nights without repine; Fair youth, for whom Heaven willed to quench in cheek one light, ✿ And left another light on other cheek bright li’en: I fain finesse my chiders when they mention him, ✿ As though the hearing of his name I would decline; And willing ear I lend when they of other speak; ✿ Yet would my soul within outflow in floods of brine: Beauty’s own prophet, he is all a miracle ✿ Of heavenly grace, and greatest shows his face for sign:[201] To prayer Bilál-like cries that Mole upon his cheek ✿ To ward from pearly brow all eyes of ill design:[202] The censors of their ignorance would my love dispel ✿ But after Faith I can’t at once turn Infidel. We were ravished by the sweet music she made striking the strings, and the beauty of the verses she sang; and the other damsels went on to sing and to recite one after another, till ten had so done; when the Lady Dunya took the lute and playing a lively measure, chanted these couplets:—
- 50. I swear by swayings of that form so fair, ✿ Aye from thy parting fiery pangs I bear: Pity a heart which burneth in thy love, ✿ O bright as fullest moon in blackest air! Vouchsafe thy boons to him who ne’er will cease ✿ In light of wine-cup all thy charms declare, Amid the roses which with varied hues ✿ Are to the myrtle-bush[203] a mere despair. When she had finished her verse; I took the lute from her hands and, playing a quaint and no vulgar prelude sang the following verses:— Laud to my Lord who gave thee all of loveliness; ✿ Myself amid thy thralls I willingly confess: O thou, whose eyes and glances captivate mankind, ✿ Pray that I ‘scape those arrows shot with all thy stress! Two hostile rivals water and enflaming fire ✿ Thy cheek hath married, which for marvel I profess: Thou art Sa’ír in heart of me and eke Na’ím;[204] ✿ Thou agro-dolce, eke heart’s sweetest bitterness. When she heard this my song she rejoiced with exceeding joy; then, dismissing her slave-women, she brought me to a most goodly place, where they had spread us a bed of various colours. She did off her clothes and I had a lover’s privacy of her and found her a pearl unpierced and a filly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and never in my born days spent I a more delicious night.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-second Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed bin Ali the Jeweller continued:—So I went in unto the Lady Dunya, daughter of Yahya bin Khalid the Barmecide, and I found her a pearl unthridden and a filly unridden. So I rejoiced in her and repeated these couplets:—
- 51. O Night here stay! I want no morning light; ✿ My lover’s face to me is lamp and light:[205] As ring of ring-dove round his neck’s my arm; ✿ And made my palm his mouth- veil; and, twas right. This be the crown of bliss, and ne’er we’ll cease ✿ To clip, nor care to be in other plight. And I abode with her a whole month, forsaking shop and family and home, till one day she said to me, “O light of my eyes, O my lord Mohammed, I have determined to go to the Hammam to-day; so sit thou on this couch and rise not from thy place, till I return to thee.” “I hear and I obey,” answered I, and she made me swear to this; after which she took her women and went off to the bath. But by Allah, O my brothers, she had not reached the head of the street ere the door opened and in came an old woman, who said to me, “O my lord Mohammed, the Lady Zubaydah biddeth thee to her, for she hath heard of thy fine manners and accomplishments and skill in singing.” I answered, “By Allah, I will not rise from my place, till the Lady Dunya come back.” Rejoined the old woman, “O my lord, do not anger the Lady Zubaydah with thee and vex her so as to make her thy foe: nay, rise up and speak with her and return to thy place.” So I rose at once and followed her into the presence of the Lady Zubaydah and, when I entered her presence she said to me, “O light of the eye, art thou the Lady Dunya’s beloved?” “I am thy Mameluke, thy chattel,” replied I. Quoth she, “Sooth spake he who reported thee possessed of beauty and grace and good breeding and every fine quality; indeed, thou surpassest all praise and all report. But now sing to me, that I may hear thee.” Quoth I, “Hearkening and obedience;” so she brought me a lute, and I sang to it these couplets:—
- 52. The hapless lover’s heart is of his wooing weary grown; ✿ And hand of sickness wasted him till naught but skin and bone: Who should be amid the riders which the haltered camels urge, ✿ But that same lover whose beloved doth in the litters wone: To Allah’s charge I leave that moon-like Beauty in your tents ✿ Whom my heart loves, albe my glance on her may ne’er be thrown. Now she is fain; then she is fierce: how sweet her coyness shows; ✿ Yea, sweet whatever doth or saith to lover lovèd one! When I had finished my song she said to me, “Allah assain thy body and thy voice! Verily, thou art perfect in beauty and good breeding and singing. But now rise and return to thy place, ere the Lady Dunya come back, lest she find thee not and be wroth with thee.” Then I kissed the ground before her and the old woman forewent me till I reached the door whence I came. So I entered and, going up to the couch, found that my wife had come back from the bath and was lying asleep there. Seeing this I sat down at her feet and rubbed them; whereupon she opened her eyes and seeing me, drew up both her feet and gave me a kick that threw me off the couch,[206] saying, “O traitor, thou hast been false to thine oath and hast perjured thyself. Thou swarest to me that thou wouldst not rise from thy place; yet didst thou break thy promise and go to the Lady Zubaydah. By Allah, but that I fear public scandal, I would pull down her palace over her head!” Then said she to her black slave, “O Sawáb, arise and strike off this lying traitor’s head, for we have no further need of him.” So the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip from his skirt, bandaged with it my eyes[207] and would have struck off my head;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-third Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed the Jeweller continued:—So the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip from his skirt, bandaged with it my eyes and would have struck off my head; but all her women, great and small, rose and came up
- 53. to her and said to her, “O our lady, this is not the first who hath erred: indeed, he knew not thy humour and hath done thee no offence deserving death.” Replied she, “By Allah, I must needs set my mark on him.” And she bade them bash me; so they beat me on my ribs and the marks ye saw are the scars of that fustigation. Then she ordered them to cast me out, and they carried me to a distance from the house and threw me down like a log. After a time I rose and dragged myself little by little to my own place, where I sent for a surgeon and showed him my hurts; and he comforted me and did his best to cure me. As soon as I was recovered I went to the Hammam and, as my pains and sickness had left me, I repaired to my shop and took and sold all that was therein. With the proceeds, I bought me four hundred white slaves, such as no King ever got together, and caused two hundred of them to ride out with me every day. Then I made me yonder barge whereon I spent five thousand gold pieces; and styled myself Caliph and appointed each of my servants to the charge of some one of the Caliph’s officers and clad him in official habit. Moreover, I made proclamation, “Whoso goeth a-pleasuring on the Tigris by night, I will strike off his head, without ruth or delay;” and on such wise have I done this whole year past, during which time I have heard no news of the lady neither happened upon any trace of her. Then wept he copiously and repeated these couplets:— By Allah! while the days endure ne’er shall forget her I, ✿ Nor draw to any nigh save those who draw her to me nigh: Like to the fullest moon her form and favour show to me; ✿ Laud to her All- creating Lord, laud to the Lord on high! She left me full of mourning, sleepless, sick with pine and pain ✿ And ceaseth not my heart to yearn her mystery[208] to espy. Now when Harun al-Rashid heard the young man’s story and knew the passion and transport and love-lowe that afflicted him, he was moved to compassion and wonder and said, “Glory be to Allah, who hath appointed to every effect a cause!” Then they craved the young man’s permission to depart; which being granted, they took leave of him, the Caliph purposing to do him justice meet, and him with the
- 54. utmost munificence entreat; and they returned to the palace of the Caliphate, where they changed clothes for others befitting their state and sat down, whilst Masrur the Sworder of High Justice stood before them. After awhile, quoth the Caliph to Ja’afar, “O Wazir, bring me the young man”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the Caliph to his Minister, “Bring me the young man with whom we were last night.” “I hear and obey,” answered Ja’afar and, going to the youth, saluted him, saying, “Obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid.” So he returned with him to the palace, in great anxiety by reason of the summons; and, going in to the King, kissed ground before him; and offered up a prayer for the endurance of his glory and prosperity, for the accomplishment of his desires, for the continuance of his beneficence and for the cessation of evil and punishment; ordering his speech as best he might and ending by saying, “Peace be on thee, O Prince of True Believers and Protector of the folk of the Faith!” Then he repeated these two couplets:— Kiss thou his fingers which no fingers are; ✿ Keys of our daily bread those fingers ken: And praise his actions which no actions are; ✿ But precious necklaces round necks of men. So the Caliph smiled in his face and returned his salute, looking on him with the eye of favour; then he bade him draw near and sit down before him and said to him, “O Mohammed Ali, I wish thee to tell me what befel thee last night, for it was strange and passing strange.” Quoth the youth, “Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful, give me the kerchief of immunity, that my dread may be appeased and my heart eased.” Replied the Caliph, “I promise thee safety from fear and woes.” So the young man told him his story from first to
- 55. last, whereby the Caliph knew him to be a lover and severed from his beloved and said to him, “Desirest thou that I restore her to thee?” “This were of the bounty of the Commander of the Faithful,” answered the youth and repeated these two couplets:— Ne’er cease thy gate be Ka’abah to mankind; ✿ Long may its threshold dust man’s brow beseem! That o’er all countries it may be proclaimed, ✿ This is the Place and thou art Ibrahim.[209] Thereupon the Caliph turned to his Minister and said to him, “O Ja’afar, bring me thy sister, the Lady Dunya, daughter of the Wazir Yahya bin Khalid!” “I hear and I obey,” answered he and fetched her without let or delay. Now when she stood before the Caliph he said to her, “Dost thou know who this is?”; and she replied, “O Commander of the Faithful, how should women have knowledge of men?”[210] So the Caliph smiled and said, “O Dunya, this is thy beloved, Mohammed bin Ali the Jeweller. We are acquainted with his case, for we have heard the whole story from beginning to end, and have apprehended its inward and its outward; and it is no more hidden from me, for all it was kept in secrecy.” Replied she, “O Commander of the Faithful, this was written in the Book of Destiny; I crave the forgiveness of Almighty Allah for the wrong I have wrought, and pray thee to pardon me of thy favour.” At this the Caliph laughed and, summoning the Kazi and witnesses, renewed the marriage-contract between the Lady Dunya and her husband, Mohammed Ali son of the Jeweller whereby there betided them, both her and him the utmost felicity, and to their enviers mortification and misery. Moreover, he made Mohammed Ali one of his boon-companions, and they abode in joy and cheer and gladness, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. And men also relate the pleasant tale of 186. Arab. “Harrák,” whence probably our “Carack” and “Carrack” (large ship), in dictionaries derived from Carrus Marinus.
- 56. 187. Arab. “Gháshiyah” = lit. an étui, a cover; and often a saddle-cover carried by the groom. 188. Arab. “Sharáb al-tuffáh” = melapio or cider. 189. Arab. “Mudawwarah,” which generally means a small round cushion, of the Marocco-work well known in England. But one does not strike a cushion for a signal; so we must revert to the original sense of the word “something round,” as a circular plate of wood or metal, a gong, a “bell” like that of the Eastern Christians. 190. Arab. “Túfán” (from the root tauf, going round) a storm, a circular gale, a cyclone; the term universally applied in Al-Islam to the “Deluge,” the “Flood” of Noah. The word is purely Arabic; with a quaint likeness to the Gr. τυφῶν, in Pliny typhon, whirlwind, a giant (Typhœus) whence “Typhon” applied to the great Egyptian god “Set.” The Arab word extended to China and was given to the hurricanes which the people call “Tae-foong,” great winds, a second whimsical resemblance. But Sir John Davis (ii. 383) is hardly correct when he says, “the name typhoon, in itself a corruption of the Chinese term, bears a singular (though we must suppose an accidental) resemblance to the Greek τυφῶν.” 191. Plurale majestatis acting superlative; not as Lane supposes (ii. 224) “a number of full moons, not only one.” Eastern tongues abound in instances beginning with Genesis (i. 1), “Gods (he) created the heaven,” etc. It is still preserved in Badawi language and a wildling greatly to the astonishment of the citizens will address his friend “Yá Rijál” = O men! 192. Arab. “Hásid” = an envier: in the fourth couplet “Azúl” (Azzál, etc.) = a chider, blamer; elsewhere “Lawwám” = accuser, censor, slanderer; “Wáshí” = whisperer, informer; “Rakib” = spying, envious rival; “Ghábit” = one emulous without envy; and “Shámit” = a “blue” (fierce) enemy who rejoices over another’s calamities. Arabic literature abounds in allusions to this unpleasant category of “damned ill-natured friends;” and Spanish and Portuguese letters, including Brazilian, have thoroughly caught the trick. In the Eastern mind the “blamer” would be aided by the “evil eye.” 193. Another plural for a singular, “O my beloved!”
- 57. 194. Arab. “Khayr” = good news, a euphemistic reply even if the tidings be of the worst. 195. Abbás (from ‘Abs, being austere; and meaning the “grim-faced”) son of Abd al-Muttalib; uncle to Mohammed and eponym of the Abbaside Khalifahs. A.D. 749 = 1258. 196. Katíl = the Irish “kilt.” 197. This has been explained as a wazirial title of the time. 198. The phrase is intelligible in all tongues: in Arabic it is opposed to “dark as night,” “black as mud” and a host of unsavoury antitheses. 199. Arab. “Awwádah,” the popular word; not Udíyyah as in Night cclvi. “Ud” liter. = wood and “Al-Ud” = the wood is, I have noted, the origin of our “lute.” The Span. “laud” is larger and deeper than the guitar, and its seven strings are played upon with a plectrum of buffalo-horn. 200. Arab. “Tabban lahu!” = loss (or ruin) to him. So “bu’dan lahu” = away with him, abeat in malam rem; and “Suhkan lahu” = Allah and mercy be far from him, no hope for him! 201. Arab. “Áyah” = Koranic verset, sign, miracle. 202. The mole on cheek calls to prayers for his preservation; and it is black as Bilal the Abyssinian. Fajran may here mean either “A-morning” or “departing from grace.” 203. i.e. the young beard (myrtle) can never hope to excel the beauties of his cheeks (roses). 204. i.e. Hell and Heaven.
- 58. 205. The first couplet is not in the Mac. Edit. (ii. 171) which gives only a single couplet; but it is found in the Bres. Edit. which entitles this tale “Story of the lying (or false = kázib) Khalífah.” Lane (ii. 392) of course does not translate it. 206. In the East cloth of frieze that mates with cloth of gold must expect this treatment. Fath Ali Shah’s daughters always made their husbands enter the nuptial bed by the foot end. 207. This is always done and for two reasons; the first humanity, that the blow may fall unawares; and, secondly, to prevent the sufferer wincing, which would throw out the headsman. 208. Arab. “Ma’áni-há,” lit. her meanings, i.e. her inner woman opposed to the formal seen by every one. 209. Described in my Pilgrimage (iii. 168, 174 and 175): it is the stone upon which the Patriarch stood when he built the Ka’abah and is said to show the impress of the feet; but unfortunately I could not afford five dollars entrance-fee. Caliph Omar placed the station where it now is; before his time it adjoined the Ka’abah. The meaning of the text is, Be thy court a place of pious visitation, etc. At the “Station of Abraham” prayer is especially blessed and expects to be granted. “This is the place where Abraham stood; and whoever entereth therein shall be safe” (Koran ii. 119). For the other fifteen places where petitions are favourably heard by Heaven see ibid. iii. 211-12. 210. As in the West, so in the East, women answer an unpleasant question by a counter-question.
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