Untitled

AVICENNA'S DIAGNOSIS OF LOVE ',
love with such-ar;jd-such a girl, so-aryd-so by name, in such-andsuch
a* house, in such-and-such a street, in such-and-such a
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'quarter: union with that girl is his remedy, and the sight of her>'
his cure." The patient,*who was listening, and heard all that'
Abu 'Alf .said, hid his, face in shames beneath the bed-clothes.
When they made enquiries, it was even as Abu 'All had said 1
.
Then they reported this matter to (^abus, who was mightily
amazed thereat and said, "
Bring him before me." So Abu 'All
ibn Sina was brought before Qabiis 2 .
, Now Qabus had a copy of Abu 'AHis portrait, which Sultan
Yamfnu'd-Dawla had sent to him. (A.) "Art thou ABu 'AH?"
enquired he.
"
Yes, O rnqst puissant Prince," replied the other.
Then Qabu? came 'down from his throne, advanced several paces
to meet Abu 'AH, embrace^ him, sat beside him on a cushion
before ^he throne, heaped favours upon him, and^enquired
of him
graciously, saying, "That most illustrious aijd accomplished man
and most perfect philosopher must without fail explain to me
ihe rationale of this treatment." "O Sire," answered Abu 'All,
" When I inspected his pulse and urine, I became convinced that
his complaint was love, and that he had fallen thus sick through
keeping his secret. Had I questioned him, he would not have
told me the truth; so I placed my hand on his pulse while they
repeated in succession the names of the different districts, and
wheji it came to the region of his beloved, love stirred him, the
movements of his pulse altered, and I knew that she was a
dweller in that quarter. Then I bade them name the streets, and
when he heard the street of his beloved the same thing occurred
again, so that I knew the name of the street also. Then I bade
them mention the names of the households in that street, and
the same phenomenon occurred when the house of his beloved
was named, so that I knew the house also. Then I bade them
mention the. names of its inhabitants, and when he heard the
name of his belqved, he was greatly affected, so that I knew the
'*
.
1
Compare the prepisely similar narrative in the first story of the first book of the
Mathnawi of Jalalu'd-Din Riimi, and also a passage in the section of the Dhakhira-i-
Khivdravm-shdhi (Book vi, Guftar i, Juz' i, ch. 3) dealing with the malady of love,
of which this is a translation
"
: Now J;he
lover's pulse is variable and irregular,
especially when he sees the object of his affections, or' hears her name, or gets tidings
of her. In this \%ay one can discover, in the case of one who conceals his love and the
name of his beloved, who iSjthe object of his passion, and that in the following way.
The physician should place his finger on the patient's pulse, and unexpectedly order
the names of those persons amongst whom it may be surmised that his sweetheart is
to.bs found to be it repeated, whereupon will appear from the patient's behaviour who
his beloved is, and what her name is. Avicenna (upon whom be God's Mercy) says:
'
I have tried this plan, and have succeeded by it in finding out who the beloved
object'was.' " 'Avicenna's actual words are quoted from the Qdmin on pp. ct^ V of
Jhe Persian notes.
2 We have it on Avicenna's own authority that he arrived in Jurjan just too late to
see Qabus, who had been deposed and cast into prison, where he was soon afterwards
put to death in 403/1012-1013. (See pp. C Vo i of the Persian notes.)
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