Note 3 — Chapter V

Note 3. The appeal to Ezra's ass, which alludes to a tradition believed by the Muslims, as it is mentioned in the Ḳur-án, is omitted in the Cairo edition. The story is this:—'Ozeyr, or Ezra, "riding on an ass by the ruins of Jerusalem, after it had been destroyed by the Chaldeans, doubted in his mind by what means God could raise the city and its inhabitants again; whereupon God caused him to die, and he remained in that condition a hundred years; at the end of which, God restored him to life, and he found a basket of figs and a cruise of wine that he had with him, not in the least spoiled or corrupted; but his ass was dead, the bones only remaining; and these, while the Prophet looked on, were raised and clothed with flesh, becoming an ass again, which, being inspired with life, began immediately to bray."323