‘The travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508’ [‎122] (159/492)

ADVANTAGES OF TRAVEL. 1
Go, traverse distant lands, in each you'll find
Some in the place of those you leave behind :
Some, it may chance, of more congenial hearts,—
Sympathy is life's charm,—its % bane ennui,—
No honour lies in inactivity,—
Then quit your home, go, range in foreign parts.
The stagnant puddle foul and fetid grows,
Healthful and clear the running fountain flows :
Unless the changes of the moon on high
Revealed the future to the sage's eye,
He would not watch her aspect in the sky :
Unless he left his den, the forest-king
Would win no trophies of the sylvan war :
Unless the arrow parted from the string,
It could not hit the destined mark afar :
The Tibr* when from its native mine cast forth.
Appears as vile unprofitable earth;
The aloes-wood enjoys but slight esteem
In its own land,—mere fuel for the hearth ;
Let either quit the country of its birth.
The one, an ore all-coveted we deem.
The other, a perfume of priceless worth.
1 Translated from the Arabic. For the English versification, the Editor is
indebted to the Rev. P. G. Hill.
2 Tihr means unwrought gold, either in the form of dust or nuggets. The
word is also applied to designate native ores generally.