Note 304 — JUDAR[257] AND HIS BRETHREN.
Richard Francis Burton translation · Edition 2
The red habit is a sign of wrath and vengeance and the Persian Kings like Fath Ali Shah, used to wear it when about to order some horrid punishment, such as the “Shakk”; in this a man was hung up by his heels and cut in two from the fork downwards to the neck, when a turn of the chopper left that untouched. White robes denoted peace and mercy as well as joy. The “white” hand and “black” hand have been explained. A “white death” is quiet and natural, with forgiveness of sins. A “black death” is violent and dreadful, as by strangulation: a “green death” is robing in rags and patches like a dervish; and a “red death” is by war or bloodshed (A. P. ii. 670). Among the mystics it is the resistance of man to his passions.