Читать книгу Leg over Leg - Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq - Страница 7

الفصل الثانى

ڡي سلام وكلام

Chapter 2

A Salutation and a Conversation

2.2.1

عمتَ صباحا يافارياق * كيف انت * وكيف رايت الاسكندرية * هل تبيّنت نسآها من رجالها فان النسآ فى بلدكم لا يتبرقعن * وكيف وجدت مآكلها ومشاربها وملابسها وهوآها ومآها ومنازلها واكرام اهلها للغربآء * الم يزل براسك الدُوار * وعلى لسانك هجو الاسفار * قال اما موقع المدينة فانيق لكونه على البحر * وقد زادت بهجة بكثرة الغربآ فيها فترى روس ناس مغطاة بطراطير * واخرى بطرابيش * واخرى بكمام وغيرها بمقاعط * واخرى ببرانس وغيرها بعمائم * واخرى باَصناع وغيرها بعصائب * واخرى بعَمارات وغيرها بمداميج * واخرى بنِصاف وغيرها بقبّعات * واخرى بقلانس وغيرها ببراطل * واخرى بسُبوب وغيرها باراصيص(١)(١) الاُرصوصة قلنسوة كالبطيخة * * واخرى باراسيس وغيرها بخنابع * واخرى بقنابع وغيرها بدَنّيّات واخرى بصواقع * وغيرها بصُمُد واخرى بصوامع * وغيرها بمشامذ واخرى بمشاوذ * وغيرها ببرانيط على شكل الشقيط والشبابيط والضفاريط والضماريط والقلاليط والعضاريط والعذافيط والعماريط والقماعيط *

“Good morning, Fāriyāq! How are you and how do you find Alexandria? Have you learned to tell its women from its men (for the women in your country do not veil their faces)? And how do you find its food and drink, its clothes, its air and water, its parks, and how its people honor strangers? Is your head still swimming, your tongue with disparagement of travel still brimming?” Replied he, “So far as the city’s situation is concerned, it’s elegant because it’s on the sea, and the number of foreigners it contains adds to its brio: in it you see some people whose heads are covered with tall pointed hats and others with tarbushes, some with round caps and others with maqāʿiṭ turbans, some with burnooses and others with ordinary turbans, some with aṣnāʿ turbans and others with fillets, some with headgear of a generic nature²⁶ and others with madāmīj turbans, some with sailors’ caps and others with hoods, some with caps and others with bonnets, some with further turbans and others with watermelon-shaped(1)(1) The arṣūṣah (plural arāṣīṣ) is a cap like a watermelon. and cantaloupe-shaped caps,²⁷ and others with head scarves large and small, some with judges’ tun-caps²⁸ and others with antimacassars,²⁹ some with undercloths for turbans and others with head rags, some with the turban under the name mishmadh and others with the turban under the name mishwadh, and some with Frankish hats shaped like earthenware jars, or carp, or the creases between the cheek, nose, and eye, or the crevices between the same, or the children of the jinn, or armpit sinews, or white varan lizards, or disreputable demons, or babies’ clouts.

2.2.2

ومنهم من له سراويلات طويلة مفرسخة تكنس ما خلفه وما قدّامه * ومنهم من لا سراويلات له فبُعثُطه بادٍ والناس يتمسّحون بما امامه * ومنهم من له تبّان * ومنه من له اِتْب * ومنهم بوَثْر ومنهم بهِميان * ومنهم برجِلْ (السراويل الطاق) ومنهم باَنْدَرْوَرْد ومنهم بدِقْرارة او دُقْرور * ومنهم من يركب الحمير والبغال * وغيرهم على الخيل والجمال * والابل فى ازدحام * والناس فى التطام * فينبغى للسائر بينهم ان لا يفتر على الدعآ بقوله اللهم اَجِر * اللهم احفظ * اللهم الطف * توكلت على الله * استعنت بالله * اعوذ بالله *

“Some of them have long saggy drawers that sweep the ground behind and before them and some have no drawers at all, so that their anuses are on display and the people pass their hands over what is in front of the latter.³⁰ Some of them have short breaches and some drawers without legs, some of them have drawstrings and some have belts, some have leggings (drawers made of one piece of material) and others have underwear,³¹ some have boxers and others briefs. Some ride mules and asses, others dromedaries and horses. Camels are on every side, people collide. One moving among them must never slacken in his pious exclamations,³² saying, ‘God protect! God preserve! God be kind! I have put my trust in God! I seek God’s help! I seek refuge with God!’

2.2.3

فاما براقع النسآء فهى وان كانت تخفى جمال بعضهن الا انها تريح العين ايضا من قبح سائرهن * غير ان تستّر القبيحات اكثر * لان المليحة لا يهون عليها اذا خرجت من قفصها ان تطير فى الاسواق من دون ان تمكّن الناظرين من رؤية ملامحها * لينظروا حسنها وجمالها ويكبّروا لافترارها * فيقولوا ما شا الله * تبارك الله * جل الله * الله الله * حتى اذا رجعت الى منزلها اعتقدت ان جميع اهل البلد قد شُغفوا بها حبا * فباتت تنتظر منهم الهدايا والصِلات * والاشعار والمواليات * فكلما غنَّى مغنّ انصتت الى غنائه وسمعت اسمها يتشَبَّب به * فاذا بكرت فى اليوم القابل الى الاسواق ورات الناس مكبّين على اشغالهم تعجبت من بقآئهم اصحّآ قادرين على السعى والحركة *

“As for women’s face veils, if they conceal the beauty of some, at least they relieve the eye of the ugliness of the rest. It is, however, the ugly ones who most often cover their faces, for the pretty ones think it a pity, when they leave their cages, to fly through the markets without the onlookers being able to see their charms’ array, behold their comeliness, and make much ado over the beauty on display, saying, ‘As God wills!³³ God be blessed! How mighty is God! O God, O God!’ When such a one returns to her house, she believes that all the inhabitants of the city have fallen passionately in love with her and sits there expecting them to send her gifts and tokens of esteem, verses and sonnets with an amatory theme. Whenever anyone raises his voice in song, she cocks an attentive ear and believes she hears him rhapsodizing over her name, and if, then, she sets off early the following day to the marketplace and finds everyone busy with their work, she’s amazed that they’re still conscious and capable of effort and action.

2.2.4

فزادت لهم فى كشف مسافرها * وقسامتها ومحاجرها * وفتنتهم باشاراتها وايمائها * ورأراتها وايبائها * ورمزها ولمزها * وهَجلها وغمزها * وغنجها ودلالها * وتيهها وعجبها * وزهوها وشكلها * وتدعّبها وتصعيرها * ودعلجتها ودغنجتها * وتبغنجها ودهمجتها * وشزرها وخزرها * وشنَفها وحدقلتها * وشفونها وازلاقها * واستكفافها واستشفافها * واستيضاحها واستشرافها * وخلاعتها وخُيَلائها * وتمايلها وتهاديها * وتغدّنها وتعاطفها * وتثنّيها وتاوّدها * وتدكّلها وتخوّدها * وتذيّلها وتعيّلها * وتفتّلها وتقتّلها * وتذبلها وترفلها * وتبخترها وتخطلها * وتفختها وتدهكرها * وتبهكنها وتهذخرها * وتخلعها وتفككها * وميْحها وحَكَكها^١ * وتدأديها وتغطرفها * وتوذفها وتغضفها * ودألها ووهازتها * والّها وهَوادتها * وخيزلاها وخيزراها * وزاْنباها واُوَزّاها * ومُطَيطآئها وكِرْدَحائها * وهَبَيَّخَاها وعِجِّيْساها * وهِرْبذاها وحَيَداها * وهَبَصاها وجِيِضّاها * وفَنْجلاها وهِبِلّاها * وخِبقاّها ودِفِقاّها * وعَرْقلاها وهِمِقّاها * وعَمَيْثَليَّتها وقِمَطْراها * وسِبَطْراها * وتبدحها وترنحها * وخندفتها وخزرفتها * وخظرفتها وبادلتها * وبحدلتها وبهدلتها * وذحذحتها وحرقلتها * وحركلتها وهركلتها * ورابلتها ورهبلتها * وقهبلتها وكسملتها * وقندلتها وحنكلتها * وعردلتها وهيقلتها * وخذعلتها ودربلتها * وزيحلتها ووكوكتها * وكوكوتها * ووذوذتها * وذوذوتها زوزكتها * ورهوكتها وفرتكتها * ومكمكتها ورهدنتها * وكتكتتها وبرقطتها * وقرمطتها وحرقصتها * وزهزمتها وحذلمتها * ودعرمتها وزهلقتها * وترهيئها وتعمّجها * وتبهرسها وتهبرسها * وتغطرسها * وتهطرسها * وتكدسها وترهوكها * وتهالكها وتهكيلها * وتفركها وتومّزها * وتهيّمها واُنُفها * ورَسَمها وزَوْفها * وزيَفْها وهَوْجلها * وحَتَكانها وعَيَكانها * وزَيَكانها وزَوَكانها * ورفلانها وملدانها * وزيَفانها وذالَانها * ورَيَسانها وكتفانها * وميسانها وتزابيها * وهَمَذانيّها وتثرطلها * وتعذلقها وتخزلجها * وحَقَطها ولَبَطها * وبفزّها وقفزها ونقزها مقبلة مدبرة * وزاد طمعها ايضا فى الهدايا * قال وقد نظمت فى البرقع بيتين ما اظن احدا سبقنى اليهما وهما *

لا يحسب الغِرُّ البراقع للنسا	منعا لهن التمادى فى الهوى
ان السفينة انما تجرى اذا	وُضع الشراع لها على حكم الهوا

١ ١٨٥٥: وحَككَها.

“She therefore shows off more of her hidden charms, her elegance, and her forbidden fruits. She bewitches them with her gestures and nods, her eye-rolling and her gestures behind her back, her expressive looks and glances, her come-hither winks and cow eyes, her billings and cooings, her haughtiness and conceit, her vanity and coquetry, her playfulness and her turning aside of her cheek in pride, her comings and goings and goings and comings, her demurrals and her mincing walk, her glances to the side and her glances askance, her looks of surprise and swivelings of her eyes, her backward glances of spite or surprise and her angry looks, her peepings through her fingers against the sun to see³⁴ and her turnings to observe what lies behind her, her shading of her eyes against the sun to see and her peering through her fingers against the sun to see, her wantonness and her conceitedness, her staggering and swaying, her tottering and strutting, her bending and bowing, her coyness and bough-like curvaceousness, the trailing of her skirts over the ground as she walks and her sweeping by, her turning of her face aside as she proceeds and her walking with a swinging gait, her stepping out manfully and her walking proudly in her clothes, her ambling and her rambling, her stepping like a pouting pigeon and her rolling gait, the swinging of her mighty buttocks and her sashaying, the insinuating wriggling of her shoulders, her pretty waddling and the way she walks as though she were short, her shaking of her shoulders, her sprinting and her haughtiness (especially in walking), her taking short steps and her sinuosity, her ponderousness and her modesty of deportment, her hastening and her willowiness, her slowness of motion and her looseness of motion, her slow stepping and her skipping from foot to foot, her stretching out her hands as she paces and her walking with short steps, her swaying and her slowness, her walking proudly like a high priest of the Parsees and her sudden startings off the road, her sprightly running and her bending as she walks, her languishing gait and her strutting, her galloping and her striding out, her stalking and her swaying from side to side, her nonchalant sauntering and her walking with the limbs held close to the body, her swaggering, her walking finely and loosely and her staggering as though intoxicated, her walking with her thighs far apart kicking up her feet and her walking with a swing, her striding fast and her rushing, her skelping and her stepping quick, her tripping quickly along with short steps and three other ways of walking, each with a difference of one letter, and her walking nicely, her limping and a fourth way of walking with yet another letter changed³⁵ and her walking making her steps close together, her gliding and her walking slowly, her shambling and a fifth way of walking, with further letters changed,³⁶ her walking with tiny steps³⁷ and her shuffling, her walking with conceit and her walking as though too weak to take long strides, her running with short steps and her walking fast, her disjointed walking and the moving of her buttocks and sides as she walks, the looseness of her joints as she walks and her walking with close steps, her walking with a rolling gait and her slowness and turning in walking, her walking fast with close steps and her close stepping, her walking with steps as close as closely written letters and her walking with steps as close as rapidly uttered words, her hopping like a shackled camel and her rolling walk, her walking with small hurried steps and her moving like a fast, well-gaited donkey, her easy pacing and her twisting and turning, her marching proudly (spelled two ways),³⁸ her walking arrogantly and her tottering, her walking so fast that her shoulders shake and her cleavage rises and her moving like a wave, her walking as though falling onto a bed and her walking proudly like a horse, her walking like an effeminate man and her fast, agitated walking, her handsome way of walking and the same said another way,³⁹ the beauty of her walk and her walking like a dove dragging its wings and tail on the ground, her walking like a pouting pigeon and her floppy walking, her walking with close, fast steps, moving her shoulders, her swashbuckling and stepping like a crow, her nubile grace, her hastening as she sways and her running with close steps, her lion-like pacing and her hurrying, her swaying as she walks and her walking slowly with long steps, her walking finely and the way she drags her skirts behind her, her active way of walking and her racing, her nimbleness and her knock-kneed running, her starting like a scared gazelle and and her leaping, and her jumping up and down in place and her facing forward and facing backward—and all the time her appetite for presents grows. I have composed two lines⁴⁰ on the face veil that are, I believe, without precedent:

Only a fool would think to keep a girl

From love’s pursuit with nothing but a veil:

Not till the cloth’s been set to the wind

Is the ship in a state to sail.

2.2.5

فاما رجالها فان للترك سطوة على العرب وتجبرا * حتى ان العربى لا يحلّ له ان ينظر الى وجه تركى كما لا يحل له ان ينظر الى حُرَم غيره * واذا اتفق فى نوادر الدهر ان تركيا وعربيا تماشيا اخذ العربي بالسُنّة المفروضة * وهى ان يمشى عن يسار التركى محتشما خاشعا ناكسا متحاقرا متصاغرا متضائلا قافّا متقبضا متقبصا متقفصا متشمصا متحمصا متحرفصا مكتزّا متكاولا متازّحا متقرفعا متقرعفا مقرعفّا متقفّعا متكنبثا مقعنصرا متقوصرا مستزمرا معرنفطا مقرنفطا متجعثما متجعثنا مرزئمّا مرمئزّا مقمئنّا مكبئنّا متحنبلا متقاعسا مراعزا مكردَحا متضامّا متعصعصا متزازئا مقرنبعا مدنقِسا مطمرِسا مطرمسا متكرفسا منقفشا معقنفشا متحويا معرنزما متخشّلا آزِما لازبا كاتعا كانعا متشاجبا مُصَعْنبا مُجَرْبزا مجرمزّا متدخدخا * فاذا عطس التركى قال له العربى رحمك الله * واذا تنحنح قال حرسك الله * واذا مخط قال وقاك الله * واذا عثر عثر الآخر معه اجلالا له وقال نعشك الله لا نعشنا *

“As for the city’s men, the Turks boss the Arabs around like tyrants. The Arab is as much forbidden to look into the face of a Turk as he is into that of another man’s wife. If by some quirk of fate a Turk and an Arab should walk together, the Arab will follow the custom that has been imposed, namely of walking on the Turk’s left-hand side out of modesty and submission, head bent in self-derision, making himself as small and as thin as possible, shriveling, shrunken, unextended, drawing into himself, shrinking, cowering, tightly compressed, withered, making himself as short as possible, walking slowly and curled over himself, puckered, suckered, snookered, desiccated, tight as a miser, crouching, hugging himself to himself, making himself as small as possible, sucking in his sides and holding his buttocks tight, retracting and contracting, quaking and frozen in place, depressed, head and elbows pulled in, head bowed, aloof, dispirited, humiliated, regimented, intimidated, terrified, petrified, eyes downcast, recoiling and regressing, cringing, curled into a ball like a spider, debased [?],⁴¹ twisted, coiled upon himself like an old snake, bent over in abjection, drawing back, cleaving, constricting himself and restricting himself, pulling back, holding back, compressing, repressing, and constringeing himself. If the Turk sneezes, the Arab tells him, ‘God have mercy on you!’ If he clears his throat, he tells him, ‘God protect you!’ If he blows his nose, he tells him, ‘God guard you!’ And if he trips, the other trips along with him out of respect and says, ‘May God right you and not us!’

2.2.6

وقد سمعت ان الترك هنا عقدوا مجلس شورى استقر رايهم فيه لدى المذاكرة على ان يتخذوا لهم مركبا وطيئا من ظهور العرب فانهم جرّبوا سروج الخيل وبراذع الجمال واكفها واقتاب الابل وبواصرها وحُصُرها وسائر انواع المحامل من

كِفْل	مركب للرجال *
وشِجار	مركب يتخذ للشيخ الكبير ومن منعته العلّة من الحركة *
وحِدْج	مركب للنسآ كالمحفّة *
واَجْلح	هودج ما له راس مرتفع *
وحَوْف	شى كالهودج وليس به *
وقَرّ	مركب للرجال والهودج *
ومحِفَّة	مركب للنسا *
وفرْفار	مركب من مراكب النسا *
وحَمْل	هودج *
وحِلال	مركب للنسآ *

“I have heard that once the Turks here held a consultative assembly at which, upon deliberation, they decided that they would use the backs of the Arabs as a comfortable conveyance, for they had tried horse saddles and camel saddles (both bardhaʿahs and ikāfs, as well as qitbahs and bāṣars⁴²) and their riding mats, and all other kinds of carrying devices, namely,

the kifl,	[a kind of saddlecloth] “a thing for men to ride on”
or the shijār,	“a conveyance for an old man or anyone whom illness prevents from moving”
or the ḥidj,	“a conveyance for women resembling the miḥaffah”
or the ajlaḥ,	“a camel litter that does not have a high peak”
or the ḥawf,	“something that resembles a litter but is not one”
or the qarr,	“a conveyance for men, or a hawdaj”
or the miḥaffah,	“a conveyance for women”
or the farfār,	“a conveyance for women”
or the ḥaml or ḥiml,	“a camel litter”
or the ḥilāl,	“a conveyance for women”

2.2.7

وكَدْن	مركب لهن *
وقَعْش	مركب كالهودج *
ومَحارة	شبه الهودج *
وقَعَدة	مركب لهن *
وكَتْر	الهودج الصغير *
وميثرة١	ج مواثر مراكب تتخذ من الحرير والديباج *
ورِجازة	مركب اصغر من الهودج *
وعَرِيش	كالهودج *
وعَبِيْط	مركب *
وحِزْق	مركب شبيه بالباصَر *
وبُلْبُلة	هودج للحرائر *
وحِقْل	هودج *
وتَوْأمة	من مراكب النسآ ج تَوْأمات *
وفَوْدج	الهودج ومركب العروس *

ومن رَحْل وعجلة وعرش وشَرْجَع ومِزفّة ومِنصَّة وسرير ونعش فوجدوها كلها لا تصلح لهم *

١ كذا في القاموس وفي ١٨٥٥: المئثرة.

or the kadn,	“a conveyance for women”
or the qaʿsh,	“a conveyance like a camel litter”
or the maḥārah,	“something like a camel litter”
or the qaʿadah,	“a conveyance for women”
or the katr,	“a small camel litter”
or the mītharah,	“plural mawāthir: things that people ride on made of silk or brocade”
or the rijāzah,	“a conveyance smaller than a camel litter”
or the ʿarīsh,	“something like a camel litter”
or the ʿabīṭ,	“a conveyance”
or the ḥizq,	“a thing people ride on resembling the bāṣar”
or the bulbulah,	“a camel litter for noble people”
or the ḥiql,	“a camel litter”
or the tawʾamah,	“a conveyance for women; plural tawʾamāt”
or the fawdaj,	“a camel litter; a conveyance for a bride”

or saddles, wheels, thrones, dead men’s stretchers, bridal litters, podiums, beds, and biers, and found that none were good enough for them.

2.2.8

ورايت مرة تركيا يقود جوقة من العرب بخيط من الكاغذ وهم كلهم يقودون له * استغفر الله مرادى ان اقول ينقادون له * ولم ادرِ ما سبب تكبّر هولآ الترك هنا على العرب * مع ان النبى صلٓعم كان عربيا * والقرآن انزل باللسان العربى * والائمّة والخلفاء الراشدين * والعلمآ كانوا كلهم عربا * غير انى اظن ان اكثر الترك يجهل ذلك فيحسبون ان النبى صلٓعم كان يقول شويله بويله * او بقالم قبالم * او

غطالق قاپ خى دلها	طغالق پاق يخ بلها
صفالق پاه خشت وكرد	فصالق هاپ دركلها
دخا زاوشت قلدى نڴ	خدا شاوزت قردلها
اشكلر هم كبى والله	قلاقلها بلابلها

لا والله * ما هذا كان لسان النبى ولا لسان الصحابة والتابعين والائمة الراشدين رضى الله عنهم اجمعين الى يوم الدين امين وبعده امين *

“Once I saw a Turk leading a band of Arabs with a thread of paper⁴³ while all of them were ‘leading’ him . . . . Whatever am I saying? I meant ‘were being led by him.’⁴⁴ I have never been able to work out the reason for the sense of superiority felt by these Turks here with regard to the Arabs, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was an Arab, the Qurʾan was revealed in Arabic, and the imams, Rightly-guided Caliphs, and scholars of Islam were all Arabs. I think, though, that most Turks are unaware of these facts and believe that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say şöyle böyle (‘thus and so’) and bakalım kapalım (‘let’s see-bee’)⁴⁵ and

Ghaṭālıq⁴⁶ chāp khay dilhā

Ṭughālıq pāq yakh balhā

Ṣafālıq pāh khusht wa-kurd

Faṣālıq hāp daraklahā

Dakhā zāwusht geldi nang

Khudā shawizt qardlahā

Eshekler hem gibi va-llāh

Qalāqiluhā balābiluhā

“Never, I swear, was the language of the Prophet so, nor that of the Companions or the generation that followed them or the Rightly-guided Imams, God be pleased with them all unto the Day of Resurrection, amen and again amen!

2.2.9

فاما ماوها فما احسن راسه وانجعه * الا انه قذر الذنب تنجسه حيوانات الارض باجمعها * وطيور السمآء بجملتها * حتى ان سمك البحر اذا اصابته هيضة طفر الى راس هذا الذنب فالقى فيه ما اثقله *

“As for the city’s waters, what a fine and wholesome head is theirs! Though, on the other hand, what a filthy tail!⁴⁷ All the animals of the earth and every fowl of the sky pollutes it; even the fish of the sea, when they catch a summer cholera, leap on top of this tail and vomit onto it whatever it is that’s making them sick.

2.2.10

فاما اكلها فالفول والعدس والحمص والزِنّ والدَوْسر والقُرَيْنآ والخَرْفَى والجُلْبان والباقِلَّى والحُنْبُل والدَجْر والخُلَّر والبُلْس والبِيْقة والترمس والخُرَّم والشُبْرُم واللوبيآ وكل ما يحبنطى به البطن * وذلك ان اهلها لا يرون فى الخمائص حسنا * حتى ان النسآ فيما بلغنى يتخذن معجونا من الجُعَل وياكلنه فى كل غداة لكى يسمنَّ ويكون لهن عُكَن مطويات *

“The food they eat there is fava beans, lentils, chickpeas, darnel seed and darnel weed, water clover, kharfā vetch, julbān vetch, broad beans, the fruit of the ghāf tree, the black-eyed pea called dajr, khullar vetch, buls lentils, bitter vetch, lupine, the black-eyed peas called khurram, shubrum-lentils, black-eyed peas tout court, and everything else that makes the belly distend. This is because its people find nothing good in an empty stomach. It has even been reported to me that the women use a paste made of dung-beetles, eating some every morning so that they may grow fat and develop overlapping belly folds.

2.2.11

واضّر ما لاقيت فيها قَيْعَر قيعار * قدم اليها من بعض البلاد الحميرية وتعرف بجماعة من النصارى فيها * فصار يدخل ديارهم ويسامرهم * فلما لم يجد عند احدهم كتابا اقام نفسه بينهم مقام العالم فقال انه يعرف علم الفاعل والمفعول وحساب الجُمَّل * واتخذ له كتبا بعضها من غير ابتدآء وبعضها بغير ختام وبعضها مخروم او ممحو * فكان اذا خاطبه احد فى شى عمد الى بعض هذه الكتب ففتحه ونظر فيه ثم يقول * نعم ان هذا الشى هو من الاشيآ التى اختلف فيها العلمآ * فان بعض مشايخنا فى الديار الحميرية يتهجاه كذا * وبعضهم فى الديار الشامية كذا * ولمّا يستقرّ رايهم عليه فاذا استقرّ فلا بد من ان يخبرونى به *

“The most noxious thing I came across there was Qayʿar Qayʿār.⁴⁸ He came to the city from the Himyaritic lands⁴⁹ and made the acquaintance of a group of Christians there, to whose houses he would repair, spending the evenings with them. Finding that they had no scribes among them, he appointed himself their scholar and said that he knew the science of ‘subjects’ and ‘objects’⁵⁰ and of chronograms.⁵¹ He got hold of a few books, some of which were missing their beginnings and some their ends, some of which were worm-eaten and some so faint as to be illegible, and if anyone asked him about anything, he’d turn to one of these, open it, gaze upon it, and then say, ‘As I thought. This is one of those things over which scholars differ. Thus some of our shaykhs in the Himyaritic lands interpret it this way and some of them in the Damascene territories that, and they have yet to reach a consensus. When they do, they will certainly let me know.’

2.2.12

قال الفارياق وقد سمعت مرة مَن استفزّه باعث من الشغل يساله عن الوقت * فقال له ساعة وخمس دقائق اما الساعة فقد اشتق منها الساعى وعيسى * اما الساعى فلكون السعى كله يتوقف على الساعات * اذ لا يمكن لاحد ان يعمل عملا خلوّا من الوقت * فان جميع الافعال والحركات محصورة فى الزمان كانحصار— ثم ادار نظره ليشبّهه بشى فراى كوزا لبعض الصبيان * فقال كانحصار المآ فى هذا الكُزّ * ثم راى زنبيلا لصبىّ اخر فقال او كانحصار غدآ هذا الولد فى هذا الزبّيل * واما عيسى فلكونه اشتمل على جميع المعارف والعلوم اشتمال الساعة على الدقائق * ثم ان قولى خمس حقيقة معناه اربعة بعدها واحد او ثلثة قبلها اثنان ولك ان تعكس * وانما قالوا خمس دقائق ولم يقولوا خمسة طلبا للتخفيف والعجلة فى الكلام * فان بطول الالفاظ يضيع الوقت * وقولى دقائق هو جمع دقيقة وهو مشتق من الدقيق للطحين * اذ بينهما شبه ومناسبة بجامع النعومة * ثم ان هناك الفاظا كثيرة تدل على الوقت وهى المسآ والليل والصبح والضحى والظهر والعصر والدهر والابد والحين والاوان والزمن * اما الستّ الاولى ففيها فرق واما الاخيرة فلا * فاعترضه رجل من اولئك الكبرآ وقال قد رابنى يااستاذنا ما قلت * فان كلّا من جاريتى وستّها لها فرق * فضحك الشيخ من حماقته وقال له ان كلامى هنا فيما حواه الزمان لا فيما حواه المكان * فساله آخر قائلا اين جامع النعومة هذا الذى ذكرت ان فيه الدقيق * فضحك ايضا وقال اعلم ان لفظة جامع تسمَّى عندنا معاشر العلمآ اسم فاعل اى الذى يتولى فعل شى ايّا كان * لكنى طالما عزمت على ان اناقشهم فى هذه التسمية * لان من يموت او ينام مثلًا لا يصح ان يقال فيه انه فاعل الموت او النوم * فقولى جامع على القاعدة المعلومة عندنا هو اسم لمن جمع شيا * حتى ان الكنيسة يصح ان يطلق عليها لفظ الجامع لانها تجمع الناس * فلما قال ذلك اكفهرت وجوه السامعين * قال فسمعت بعضهم يجمجم قائلا * ما اظن الشيخ صحيح الاعتقاد بدين النصارى * فقد اصابت اساقفتنا فى حظرهم الناس ان يتبحّروا فى العلوم ولا سيما علم المنطق هذا الذى يذكره شيخنا * فقد قيل من تمنطق تزندق * ثم انصرف عنه الجميع مدمدمين *

“Once,” the Fāriyāq continued, “I heard someone who was bothered about some urgent business ask him the time, and the man told him, ‘Such-and-such an hour and five minutes. Now, as to the word sāʿah (“hour”), from it are derived the words sāʿī (“errand boy”; literally “one who strives” or “makes effort”) and ʿĪsā.⁵² Sāʿī is so derived because all effort depends on the hours, for no-one can undertake any work outside the confines of time. All acts and motions are confined within time, just as . . .’ and he looked about him for something to use as a comparison and caught sight of a tin mug belonging to some child and said, ‘. . . water is confined within this p’tch’r.’⁵³ Then he saw a palm-leaf basket belonging to some other child and said, ‘Or like this child’s lunch in this b’sk’t. As for ʿĪsā, it is so derived because ʿĪsā contained within himself all knowledge and branches of learning as completely as the hour contains the minutes. Note too that, when I say “five,” the real meaning is “four plus one” or “two plus three” or vice versa. They say khams daqāʾiq (“five minutes”) and not khamsah daqāʾiq in pursuit of a more concise form and faster speech,⁵⁴ for the longer the words you use the more time you waste. The word daqāʾiq (“minutes”) that I just employed is the plural of daqīqah, which derives from the daqīq (“flour”) that is milled, for they resemble and correspond to one another in that each is a “congregator of fineness” (jāmiʿ al-nuʿūmah).⁵⁵ There are many words that refer to time, namely masāʾ (“evening”), layl (“night”), ṣubḥ (“morning”), ḍuḥā (“forenoon”), ẓuhr (“noon”), ʿaṣr (“late afternoon”), dahr (“epoch”), abad (“eternity”), ḥīn (“point of time”), awān (“right time, season”), and zaman (“period”). The first six have “partings,”⁵⁶ the others do not.’ Here, one of the important men who were present raised an objection, saying, ‘I am confused, dear professor, by what you say. Both my slave girl and her mistress have partings!’ The shaykh laughed at the man’s foolishness and told him, ‘My words here relate to the domain of time, not that of place.’ Then another asked him, ‘Where’s this Nuʿūmah Mosque that you said has the flour in it?’⁵⁷ The man laughed again and said, ‘To us scholars, the word jāmiʿ is known as an “active participle,” meaning that it assumes the doing of something, whatever it might be (albeit for a long time I’ve had it in mind to discuss this terminology with them because someone who dies, or falls asleep, for example, cannot correctly be said to be “doing death” or “doing sleep”); when I used jāmiʿ, then, it was in accordance with the rule as recognized by us, namely as a noun descriptive of that which congregates a thing. It would be perfectly correct to apply the word jāmiʿ even to a church, because it congregates (yajmaʿu) the people.’ When he said this, the faces of his listeners turned dark.” The Fāriyāq resumed, “I then heard one of them muttering, ‘I do not believe the shaykh holds a correct Christian belief. Our bishops were right to forbid people to delve deeply into the sciences, and especially this science of logic that our shaykh refers to. How rightly is it said, “He who practices logic practices unbelief!”’ Then they all left him, muttering under their breath.

2.2.13

وساله مرة قسيس عن اشتقاق الصلوة * فقال هى مشتقة من الاصلآ لان المصلى يحرق الشيطان بدعائه * فقال له القسيس اذا كان ماوى الشيطان سقر مذ الوف سنين ولم يحترق فكيف تحرقه صلوة المصلّى * فتناول بعض الكتب ليقتبس منه جواب ذلك فاذا به يقول * قال احد علمآء الرهبان الاحتراق على نوعين * احتراق حسّى كمن يحترق بالنار * ومعنوىّ كمن يحترق بحبّ العذرة * ثم وقف وتاوّه قائلا * قد اخطأ سيدنا الراهب * لان العذرآ يجب مدّها * فقال القسيس وقد حنق عليه كيف يجب مدّها اذا لم تشأ * قال ويلى عليك انت الآخر لا تعرف المدّ والقصر فى الكلام واطفال الحارة فى بلادنا يعرفون ذلك * قال بلى ان اقتصار الكلام مع من يخطّى الرهبان مزية * ثم تولى من عنده مدمدما *

“And once a priest asked him about the etymology of the word ṣalāh (‘prayer’) and he said, ‘It derives from the word iṣlāʾ (“burning”) because the one who prays “burns” the Devil with his prayers.’ The priest asked him, ‘If the Devil has dwelt in hell fire these thousands of years without being burned up, how can prayer burn him?’ so the man picked up one of the books to extract from it an answer and declared, ‘A certain learned monk has said, “Burning is of two kinds: physical burning, as when someone is burned by fire, and figurative burning, as when someone is ‘burned’ by love as practiced by the tribe of ʿUdhrah.”’ Then he paused and sighed, saying, ‘Our Lord the monk was in error, because ʿadhrāʾ has to be stretched out at the end.’⁵⁸ The priest, enraged by the thought that the Virgin could be stretched out if she did not so desire, declared, ‘Woe unto you! You’re another who doesn’t know the rules for the use of long and short vowels at the end of words, when the very children playing in the alleys in our country know them! Truly, it’s a good idea to keep to a minimum one’s conversations with those who accuse monks of error.’ Then he turned and left him, muttering under his breath.”

2.2.14

قال الفارياق وقال لى مرة قد يظهر لى ان حق استعمال دعا اذا اريد به معنى الصلوة ان يتعدّى بعلى * فيقال دعوت عليه كما يقال صليت عليه * قال فقلت له لا يلزم من كون فعل يوافق فعلا آخر فى معناه ان يوافقه فى التعدية * فغصّ بذلك ولم يفهمه * وشكا اليه مرة رجل من معارفه اسهالا آلمه * فقال له يغالطه او يسلّيه * احمد الله على ذلك ليتنى مثلك * قال كيف هو ان طال قتل واسال الجسم كله * فقال له انه منّة من الله * الم تسمع كل ملهوف يقول يارب سهل * فقال التاجر انا ما عنيت التسهيل بل الاسهال * فقال هما بمعنى واحد لان افعل وفعّل كلاهما ياتيان للتعدية * كما تقول انزلته ونزّلته * ولان كلّا من التسهيل والاسهال فيه معنى السهولة *

The Fāriyāq went on, “And once he told me, ‘My studies have shown me that the proper way to use the verb daʿā, if one intends the meaning of “to pray,” is to follow it with the preposition ʿalā. Thus one should say daʿawtu ʿalayh, just as one says ṣallaytu ʿalayh.’⁵⁹ I told him, ‘Just because two verbs have the same sense doesn’t mean they should be followed by the same preposition,’ but this was too much for him; he couldn’t get his head around it. And once a man he knew complained to him that a bout of diarrhea was causing him pain, and he said to him—either to correct him or to amuse him—‘Thank God for it! I wish I were like you.’ ‘How can that be?’ said the first. ‘If it goes on too long, it is fatal and carries the whole body off with it.’ He replied, ‘It is a blessing from God. Do you not hear how everyone who has a worry says, “Lord, make it pass easily”?’ The merchant replied, ‘I’m not worried about things passing easily, I’m worried about things passing through my bowels too easily.’ ‘It comes to the same thing,’ the first told him, ‘because verbs of the pattern afʿala and those of the pattern faʿʿala both lend transitivity—one says either anzaltuhu (“I sent it down”) or nazzaltuhu (ditto)—and because both tashīl and ishāl contain the sense of “ease.”’⁶⁰

2.2.15

وكتب مرة الى بعض المطارين العظام * المعروض ياسيدنا بعد تقبيل اردافكم الشريفة * وحمل نعالكم المنيفة اللطيفة * الظريفة النظيفة الرهيفة العفيفة الموصوفة المعروفة المخصوفة * قال فقلت له ما اردت بالارداف هنا * فقال هى فى عرف المطران بمعنى الراحة * ثم لم يلبث ان بعث اليه ذلك المطران ببركة وكتاب اطرا فيه على علمه وفضائله جدا فمما كتب اليه * قد قدم علىّ مكتوبكم الابنىّ وانا خارج عن الكنيسة فما قراته حتى دخلت الصومعة واولجت فيها * فلما اتيت على اخراه علمت انك صاحب الفضول * مولف الفصول * جامع بين الفروع والاصول * طويل اللسان * قصير اليدان * (عن المحرمات) واسع الجبين * عميق الدين * عريض الصدر * مجوف الفكر * وكتب فى آخره * اطال الله بقاك * وقباك * وهنّاك ومنّاك * والسلام ختام * والختام سلام * والبركة الرسولية تشملكم اولا وثانيا الى عاشرا * فجعل يبدى هذا الكتاب لجميع معارفه وخصوصا لمن كانوا خرجوا من عنده مغضبين لتقريره عن لفظة الجامع * فلما وجدوها فى كلام المطران زال عنهم الاشكال والريب فى صحة استعمالها * وزاد الرجل عندهم وجاهة وجلالًا *

“And once he wrote to one of the great metropolitans, ‘My request, Your Grace, after kissing your noble buttocks and raising your elevated, sophisticated, delectated, de-germinated, etiolated, uncontaminated, well-soled, much extolled, and often resoled slippers is . . .’—at which point I asked him, ‘What do you mean here by “buttocks?”’ and he replied, ‘In the usage of the metropolitans, it means “hand.”’ In no time at all, the same metropolitan had sent him back his blessings and a letter praising him hugely for his learning and virtues, of which the following is an excerpt:⁶¹ ‘Your sodomitical missive reached me when I was outside the church, and I could read it only after I’d entered my cell and penetrated it. When I came to the shittiest part of it, I realized that you were possessed of excrements, a creator of pestilence, a “congregator” of both the branches of knowledge and its roots, long of tongue and with ’ands too short (to do any wrong), with a broad little brow, deeply in debt, wide of waistcoat, of ideas bereft.’ At the end of it he wrote, ‘May God prolong your life and livery, grant you happiness, and awaken your hopes! In conclusion, our greetings, and a greeting for our conclusion. May the grace of the apostles embrace you, once, twice, and all the way up to ten!’ The man made a habit of showing this letter off to all his acquaintances and especially those who had left him in anger over his interpretation of the word jāmiʿ. In view of the metropolitan’s words, these were thenceforth relieved of all confusion and doubt as to the correctness of how to use it, and the man increased in dignity and venerability in their eyes.

2.2.16

فاما سوالك عن كرم اهل هذه البلدة فانهم كانوا فى ظهور آبائهم على غاية من السماحة والجود * الا انهم لما برزوا الى عالم التجارة وخالطوا اصحاب هذى البرانيط اخذوا عنهم الحرص والبخل واللئامة والرَثَع * بل برّزوا على مشايخهم * وانهم اذا ضمهم مجلس لم يكن منهم الا الحديث عن البيع والشرآ * فيقول احدهم قد جآنى اليوم جندىّ من الترك فى الصباح ليشترى شيا فتطيرت من صباحه واستفتاحه * اذ لا يخفى عنكم ان الجندى يستدين ولا يقضى دينه * واذا تكرم بنقد الثمن فما يعطى التاجر الا نصفه * فقلت له ما عندى مطلوبك ياافندى * وانما اردت تفخيمه بهذا اللقب ليتادب معى * فما كان منه الا ان دخل الحانوت وبعثر البضاعة كلها واخذ ما اراد منها وما لم يرد * ثم ولّى وهو يسبنى * فيقول آخر وانا ايضا جرى لى مع سيدة من نسآء الترك واقعة * وذلك انها بكرت علىّ اليوم وهى تنوء بحليّها * واقبلت باسمة الىّ وقالت هل عندك ياسيدى حرير مزركش * قلت وقد استبشرت عندى * فقالت ارنى المتاع فاريتها اياه * فتداركتنى بالخفّ وقالت امثلى يرى هذا * ارنى غير ذلك * فاريتها ما اعجبها فاخذته وقالت ابعث معى من يقبض الثمن * فبعثت غلامى فتبعها حتى دخلت دارا كبيرة وامرت حاجبها بضرب الغلام وايلامه * الا ان الحاجب لما كان من الترك وراى الغلام امرد لم يطاوعه قلبه على ضربه لكن انفذ فيه امر سيدته بما اوصل من الاذى والالم * وهكذا ينقضى نهارهم بالمكروه وليلهم بذكره * واظن ان التاجر يطرب بمجرد ذكر البيع والشرآ وان لم يكن فيه ربح *

“Turning now to your question concerning the hospitability of this town, in the days of their first forefathers they were exceedingly liberal and generous. However, when they started to excel in the world of commerce and to mix with the people of those Frankish hats that you wot of, they caught from them their reticence, miserliness, bad faith, and avarice; indeed, they’ve come to surpass their teachers. When they find themselves gathered together, the only talk they make is of buying and selling. One will say, ‘Today, a Turkish trooper came to me in the morning to buy something, which I took as an evil omen for the morning and for the start of business, for, as you well know, troopers incur debts but don’t pay them, and if they’re gracious enough to provide the price in cash, they give the merchant only half. So I told him, “I don’t have what you’re looking for, effendi” (showing him the deference of this title solely in the hope that he would treat me politely). No sooner did he hear my words than he entered the store and threw the goods everywhere, taking what he wanted and what he didn’t. Then he left, shouting insults.’ Another will say, ‘I too had a run-in with a Turkish lady. She sailed in early today, wallowing under the weight of her jewelry, approached me smiling, and said, “Have you, sir, any brocaded silk?” Taking a happy omen from her coming, I said, “I have.” “Show me the goods,” she said, so I showed them to her. Then she leaned forward and gave me a slap with her slipper, saying, “Is one such as I to be shown such stuff? Show me something else,” so I showed her something that she liked, and she took it, saying, “Send someone with me to collect the money,” so I sent my young servant, who followed her till she entered a large house, where she ordered her steward to give the boy a sound drubbing. The steward, however, being a Turk and seeing that the lad was comely and smooth, couldn’t find it in his heart to beat the boy, but implemented his mistress’s command in a different way that nevertheless brought him both injury and pain.’ Thus they pass their days in evil ways and their nights in going over them. I think merchants go into ecstasies simply at the mention of buying and selling, even if they aren’t making a profit.

2.2.17

فاما ما جرى لى بعد وصولى فانى نزلت عند خرجى من اصحاب صاحبى الاول * فتبوأت حجرة بالقرب من حجرته * فكنت اسمعه كل ليلة يضرب امراته بآلة فتبدى الانين والحنين * والرنين والخنين * فكان يهيجنى فعله الى البطش به * وكثيرا ما فكرت فى ان اقوم من فراشى لكنى خشيت ان يصيبنى ما اصاب ذاك الاعجمى المتطبب الذى جاور قوما من القبط * وانه سمع ذات ليلة صراخ امراة من جاراته فظن ان لدغتها عقرب وذلك لكثرة وجود العقارب فى بيوت مصر * فقام الى قنينة دوآ تابطها واقبل يجرى * فلما فتح الباب وجد رجلا على امراة يعالجها باصبعه كما هى عادة القوم * فلما راى الطبيب ذلك دهش فوقعت القنينة من يده وانكسرت *

“As to what befell me after my arrival, I put up at the home of a Bag-man who was the friend of my previous friend. I occupied a room close to his and each night would hear him beating his wife with some implement, while she produced moans and groans, sighs and nasal cries. His acts roused the desire in me to give him a hiding, and I often thought of getting out of bed but was afraid that it would be for me as it was for the Persian who practiced medicine and lived next door to a community of Copts: one night he heard one of his neighbor-women screaming. There being so many scorpions in the houses of Egypt, he thought one must have stung her, and, fetching a flask of medicine, placed it under his arm and set off in her direction at a run. When he opened the door, though, he found a man lying on top of the woman and treating her with his finger, after the custom of that people. When the doctor saw this, he was amazed, and the flask fell from his hand and was broken.

2.2.18

وكان هذا الخرجى ابيض اللون ازرق العينين مع صغر واستدارة فيهما * دقيق ارنبة الانف^١ مع عوج فى قصبته * غليظ الشفتين * وانما تكلفت لوصفه لك ليبقى نموذجا عندك تقيس عليه جميع من تراه من الخرجيين وغيرهم * وكان قد اتخذ فوق سطح منزله هرما صغيرا مرصوفا من قنانى الخمر الفارغة * فكان سطحه اعلى سطوح الجيران * قال ثم عنّ له يوما ان يكلفنى انشآ خطبة فى مدح الخرج لكى اتلوها فى مخطب صغير كان قد استاجره * فلما فرغت منها عرضتها عليه فذهب بها الى قيعر قيعار * فقال له ما مرادك ان تصنع بهذه الاحجيّة الخرجية * قال يتلوها منشئها على الناس فما رايك فيها * قال هى حسنة الا ان عيبها هو ان لا يفهمها احد الا انا وهو * ونحن قد قراناها فلا موجب لاعادتها * فعدل عن ذلك *

١ ١٨٥٥: الالف.

“This Bag-man had white skin and blue eyes that were both small and round. His nose had a finely molded tip and went crooked at the bridge, and his lips were thick. I tell you these details only so that they can remain with you as a prototype against which to measure any other Bag-men or others you may see. On the roof of his house he had made a small, pyramid-shaped stack of empty bottles of alcohol, the roof being higher than those of his neighbors. One day it occurred to him to set me the task of composing a sermon in praise of saddlebags that I was to deliver at a small oratory he had hired. When I finished, I submitted it to him, and he took it to Qayʿar Qayʿār. ‘What do you intend to do with this baggish rigmarole?’ the latter asked him. ‘I intend the one who composed it to deliver it to the people. What do you think of it?’ ‘It’s good,’ he said, ‘but it does have one drawback, which is that nobody will understand it except him and me, and we’ve both already read it, so there’s no call to have it read out again.’ Consequently the man gave up the idea.

2.2.19

قال واتفق لى وانا مقيم عنده انى خرجت فى عشية من عشايا الصيف البهيجة امشى وحدى وبيدى نسخة الدفتر * ولما كان راسى قد حفل بالافكار فيما انا عليه من فرقة الاهل والاحباب وذكر الوطن * والتغرّب عنه لغير سبب من اسباب المعاش سوى لخصام سوقى وخرجى على قال وقيل * اوغلت فى المشى فانتهيت الى ظاهر المدينة وكان يتبعنى رجل قد راى نسخة الدفتر فعرفها فاضمر ليمنينَّنى بداهية * فاقبل الىّ يكلّمنى ثم عطف بى يمنة ويسرة وهو يعللنى بالكلام حتى انتهينا الى مكان خال * فتركنى هناك وقال لى ان علىّ ان اقضى هنا مصلحة * فحاولت الرجوع الى مقرّى واذا بسرب عظيم من الكلاب جرت وهى تنبحنى ودنت منى * فهوّلت عليها بالكتاب فهجمت علىّ هجمة السوقى على الخرجى * ثم تحاصّوا جسمى وثيابى والكتاب فبعضهم عضّ * وبعضهم اَدْمَى * وبعضهم جرّ * وبعضهم تهدّد فى المرة الثانية * فما كدت اتملّص من بين ايديهم الا وثوبى وجلدى ممزق على ممزق * وقد مزّق الدفتر ايضا اوراقه وجلده * فلما رجعت الى منزلى ورآنى الخرجى على هذه الحالة لم يكترث بشانى او انه لم يرنى من فرط اشتغاله بالخرج * وانما علم انى رجعت خلوا من الدفتر فاعتقد انى اعطيته لاحد * ففرح بذلك جدا ورغب فى ان يجعلنى عنده فى مصلحة خرجية * لكن راى من الواجب ان يشاور صاحبه فمن ثم كتب اليه فى شانى * فابى ذاك وقال لا بد من تسفيرى الى الجزيرة * لان النية استقرت على هذا من قبل * وما حسن تغيير النيات * فعزم مضيفى على اجرآء ذلك وها انا منتظر السفينة *

“It also happened that one delightful summer’s evening when I was staying with him, I went out to take a walk on my own, a copy of the ledger in my hand. My head being filled with thoughts of how I was separated from my family and friends and with memories of my homeland and of how I had been exiled from it not for any reason linked to ordinary affairs but because of a feud between Market-man and Bag-man over polemical matters, I kept on walking until I ended up on the outskirts of the city, to which I had been followed by a man who, having seen the copy of the ledger and recognized it, had privately decided to bring a disaster down on my head. Now he approached me, spoke to me, and led me left and right, distracting me with talk, until we arrived at an empty wasteland, where he left me, telling me that he had to see to some business. I tried to return to where I was staying but suddenly found myself face to face with a huge pack of dogs that had run up, barking at me, and were closing in. I tried to scare them off with the book, but they attacked me like a Market-man attacking a Bag-man and divided my body, my clothes, and the book between them, as creditors might a debtor’s possessions, some biting, some drawing blood, some dragging me, and some threatening to come back for more. I managed, barely, to escape their clutches, though my clothes and skin were torn to shreds, and the ledger too was ripped to pieces, both pages and binding. When I returned home and the Bag-man saw me in this state, he paid no attention to me or maybe didn’t even see me, so preoccupied was he with the bag. When he discovered, however, that I had returned without the ledger, he imagined I must have given it away to someone, and this gave him such immense joy that he wanted to keep me with him in Alexandria for Bag-man business. However, he decided that he should consult his friend first and therefore wrote to him about me. The friend rejected his idea and said he had to send me on to the island, because this was what had been previously decided (though how sweet it can be when decisions are changed!). My host therefore decided to put the plan into action, and here I now am, awaiting the ship.”