In the study of the religions of old Iran, French scholars have done a great deal. Anquetil Duperron was the first European who spent 16 years of his life to study in India the Zoroastrian texts and finally he published in 1771 his important book called “Zend-Avesta, Ouvrage de Zoroastre. Traduit en Francais sur L’original Zend, avec des Remarques”.

Darmesteter followed on his foot-steps and published in 1880 “Ormozd et Ahriman, leurs origines et leurs histoires.”

In 1734 already a book had been published by Jean de Bosobere about “the History of Manicheism” and this interested Victor Hugo to such an extent that we are told by Maurice Barres that he was a Manichean at heart.

Victor Hugo in his book entitled “Dieu” recites:

Deux dieux, dit Zoroastre, un desordre normal. L’etre, c’est, le combat du bien contre le mal

In another piece in the same book “Le Manicheism” Victor Hugo expresses indeed his own faith. Jerome and Jean Tharaud published quite a number of poems all based on Iranian literature such as “La Cruche de Khayyam,” “Le Poete et Le Roi,” “Evangile selon Sa’adi,” “La Marchard et le Roi,” “La Tombe du poete”, “Le Perroquet du Sage”, “Une Histoire uncroyable”, “Le Sage et le Mongole” and “Le Prince et La Mort”.

Paul Fort (born in 1872) one of the celebrated French poets of the present century, who visited Tehran on the occasion of the millenary celebrations of Firdowsi, published for that occasion a poem entitled “Ode en l’honneur de Ferdousi,” in which after praising Ferdowsi goes on to add:

Tout le Choeur des Muses Gauloises,

Chantant nuage et lueurs,

Traversant l’azur, tout le choeur,

de nos sages, de nos soufis,

de Villon, Ronsard, La Fontaine,

Chenier, Baudelaire et Verlaine,

Nerval, Musset, ce La martine,

cet Hugo dont je ne fais fi,

Quelques milliers d’autres ma fi!

d’où vient sous la lune argentine

Ce Grand murmure de louanges

Plus melodieux que vol d’anges

Ou le concert du Paradis,

Vers le pur souvenir d’Hafiz,

d’Omar Khayyam, de Sa’adi,

de légions d’autres encore,

Attar, Sehâbi, Qéttali,

Abou-Said ou Gazâli,

Chantres d’Ispahan, de Mysore,

de Chiraz plu doux que l’aurore.

Bien vrai, que depuis tant d’années.

Muses de France et de l’Iran,

à se chèrir predestinées, S’entre-guettaient.

Et l’Orient devant qu’aient bondi les Croisades

embaumait l’air de l’Occident,

et faisait, sur nos hivers blancs,

pleuvoir ses roses en cascades.

Tant qu’il vint à notre patrie,

nos arts et nos litératures,

de la Grèce beauté, mesure,

de la Perse charm et féerie.

In America the East was taken up by Irving who, greatly familiar with Persian tales, created Sleeper story in Rip Van Winckle. Emerson admired Sa’adi to such an extent that he frequently used his name as a “nom de plume.” Omar Khayyam of-course is as much read and enjoyed in the United States as in England. Many various editions of Omar Khayyam have appeared in America. It is one of the books that is indeed very popular with old and young in that continent.

www.mihanfoundation.org/literature/17th.html

Part V Part I