CHAPTER III

The ethico-didactic books in the Fihrist (315, 19-316, 25) 38

They are almost exclusively of Persian origin 38


_ETHICO-DIDACTIC LITERATURE OF IRAN_

Opinion on the importance of the influence of ethical and didactical
works of the Sasanian times on the literature of this class of early
Moslem epoch, generally speaking has been expressed in scientific works
and has found admittance into a few general surveys of Persian
literature. To the literary monuments go back a number of books on what
is called _Adab_, good behaviour or agreeable manners, in modern Persian
literature. Besides several literary monuments of later ages,[1] for the
solution of this question, capital importance attaches to the
information given in the _Fihrist_ of an-Nadhim which is the fundamental
source of the history of entire Arabic literature bearing on our period.
Further on we shall draw upon this work with the object of determining
this species of literary tradition in Arabic books of the first
centuries of Islam.

[Footnote 1: P. Horn, Geschichte der persischen Letteratur, _(Die
Letteraturen des Ostens in Finzeldarslellungen_ Bd VI) 38, and _Die
Mittelpersische Letteratur_, 237.]

Great importance for this problem lies in that portion of the Fihrist