Moreover, he outshone all the people of his
time for the excess of his beauty; so that, whenever he went
abroad on any occasion, all who saw him were ravished with him
and made verses in his honour, and even the virtuous were seduced
by his brilliant loveliness. Quoth the poet of him:
A tender branch, that from the breeze hath ta'en its nourishment!
I clipped him and straightway became drunk with his sweetest
scent;
Not drunken with the drunkenness of one who drinketh wine, But
with the honey of his mouth fulfilled of languishment.
All loveliness comprised is within his perfect form, So that o'er
all the hearts of men he reigns omnipotent.
By God, forgetfulness of him shall never cross my mind. What
while I wear the chains of life, nor even when they're rent!
Lo, if I live, in love of him I'll live; and, if I die Of
love-longing for him, I'll say, "O rare! O excellent!"
When he reached his eighteenth year, the tender down began to
invade the table of his rosy cheeks, which were adorned by a
black mole like a grain of ambergris, and he captivated the minds
and eyes of all who looked on him, even as says of him the poet
in the following verses:
He is become the Khalif of beauty in Joseph's place; The hearts
of all lovers dread him, whenas they see his grace.
Pause thou with me and fasten thy gaze on him! thou'lt see The
sign of the Khalifate set in sable[FN#120] on his face.
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