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LEAXIXGS FROM THE ARABIC,
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GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
By H. W. FaEELAin), M.A., M.R.A.S.
COMMANDER OP THE ORDER OF THE CROWN OF SIAX.
TIIF CTKXTLK
If I faul' nd discover,
Find liini not in acts the same,
I, by friendship moved, pass <
What in liim provokrth Mann 4 .
What a friend of evil dot-th
I to liiin will nover do;
Fault which unto him accrueth
I with grace indulgent view.
To a friend's defects the blindness
Of 1 ship's part,
< 1-1 up tli is preserves through kindness
Worthy of a noble heart.
1 From an uumjmooi Arabic poem. JTo*yrto, p. 163.
GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
To A TOMB.
Translation,
Tomb, hath beauty vanished from his brow ?
Form young and fair, and hath it changed so soon ?
Nor dewy mead, nor spangled vault art thou,
Yet covetest fair branch and radiant moon !
Latine redditum.
tumule ! ingenuam frontem lux alma reliquit ?
Deserit heu ! nati mollia membra decus !
Non sunt prata tibi, neque coelum aut lumina coeli
Fulgentem lunam tu salicemque cupis ?
Auf Deutsch.
Du Grab, sind seine Bliithezeit und Jugend schon ver-
schwunden,
Erbleicht die liebliche Gestalt in schweren Todes stunden ?
Die Pracht des Himmels kannjjt du nicht, der Wies'
auch nicht entfalten,
Willst gierig doch den Mondenglanz den griinen Zweig
behalten.
AKAP.lr. '2\
Ei/ Tr
' \p* OVV TVfJiftt KOLKLCTT ', V7TO
KaXXos c<f>vp <f>i
Ovpavos ov crol evta-r ov Xet/iw^ TTW? crv
Aa/LLTT pOTGLTYJV, Kol 7TW9 TOZ/ /CttXoi/ O
^,'/< /
'in front rayoiinaiit et seivin
-ils engloutis, ( ) Tombeau, dans ton sein <
Tu a le beau pre, la voilte luinineuse,
-tu lonc le raiiMMii. la lune ranir;
n
Alii tdinita ! Alii ! sono, sntto il triste velo,
II - -o e la belt a svaniti ;
; 10 od il ridente cielo;
Son in U* il ranio c 1' alma luna iiniti '
GLEANINGS FK<>M TI1K AU.Uilc.
:^T &.
CONJUGAL AFFECTION.
'Twixt Alka and Balakith we
On swift white camels borne, were riding ;
But memory brought sweet dreams of thee
My wandering steps and absence chiding.
Nor farther might the wanderer stray,
Since Love, I cried, forbids to roam,
Quick ! Camels on your homeward way !
The wanderer turns to love and home.
llamasa, p. 550.
The name of the author of the preceding poem was
Abubakr (Ibn Abdurrahman Ibn Almiswar Ibn Mukhramat)
of Medina, a poet of tin- family of the Kilraish. He had
married Saliha, the daughter of Abu Ubaidah, to whom he
was tenderly attached. On one occasion, \vhm mi his way'
to Syria, he was so overcome by his affection I'm- his \\l\\\
and by his longings to rejoin In r, that he struck his anuls
on the head, turned them round, and went back to Medina.
On this occasion he composed the preceding verses. When
his wife heard his verses, and saw that for her sake he
ned to Medina, she was naturally much gratiiied. She
said that of all the objects 1 he was \\\(^\ <1.
that in future she should withhold notl.
4 GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
him. She also made over to him her private property, with
which she had not previously allowed him to interfere.
White camels of pure breed were held in high estimation
by the Arabs.
The following lines, which are also taken from the Hamasa,
p. 803, may remind us of the English proverb which tells us
that when "Poverty comes in at the door Love flies out at the
window " :
Translation.
Bid camel stoop, descend, and dip,
If love torment thee, bread
Or cake in oil, 'twill serve thee in
The absent fair one's stead.
When hunger is with love combined,
Though love its tale be telling,
The lov'd one thou wilt soon forget,
And breasts in beauty swelling.
Latine redditum.
Siste et panem oleo descendens unge, levamen
Cordis, si miserum cor nimis angit amor.
Flamma gula3 simul ac dessevit et ardor edendi,
Cedit amor stomacho, cedit et alma Yenus.
En Frangais.
Si tu n'as pas Fob jet que Famour cherche en vain,
Descends de ton chameau, mouille de Fhuile un pain,
Ayant peur de la faim, qu'il veit a sa poursuite,
L'amour fait le poltron, et se sauve bien vite.
GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
LOVE AND HUNGER.
When o'er one luckless wight love and hunger bear sway,
Death slips in close behind them and clutches his prey.
llurnasa, p. 805.
ON THE ROSE.
Grangeret de la Grange, Anthologie Arabe, p. 130.
Thy love is as the scent of blushing rose,
A few brief hours its life of sweetness close ;
My love for thee is as the myrtle's sheen,
Through heat and cold it lives for ever green.
*Ev rfj 'EXXTjvi/cfj yXcoaarj
2bv pev epcora pa8ot? el/cd^a) KirrrpiBos dfipots,
Ma\\ov 6/xo? fjLvproicriv epax; 0a\epoicriv eoiice,
Ovre icpvo? SeBtco? ^ei/iaro?, otr' a\er)v.
Ltitine rciMitum.
Ut rosa cui vitac spatium breve Fata dederunt
Sic levis in reffctO pcctore crescit amor;
Noster amor, myrto similis, viget omnibus horis,
Nee solem ardentem aut frigora dura timet.
A It.
Den Rosen deino liebe gh-iclit,
Die Rosen bald vi-rbliih'n.
Den Myrthen gkidi die meinigo
ibt ewig Jung und griin.
Ei 1 19.
La rose et sa beaut^ ne durcnt <|u'ini m.itin,
'I 1 est de ton amour la vie et le destin \
Mon amour plus constant, plus nu mvrtr semblabl
Ni le froid glacial, ni la clmk-ur n'accable.
GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
ON THE ROSE.
Gfrangeret de la Grange, Anthologie Arabe, p. 120.
Translation.
The season of the roses had gone by,
The loved one with sweet gift, a rose, drew nigh.
The rose's birth-place was not far to seek,
For she had culled it from her blushing cheek.
'Ev rrj 'EXXrjviKfj <y\co(TO"r).
oSov 7rpo(f>epov(Ta /copy, SwprjfA
8' eiapivwv OVK e7ravi)\6e pdScov
$e JJL OVK el%v, Oelas <yap ajaX^
To poftov a/cfjid^ei, KvTrpiSo? av0ocj)6pov
Latine redditum.
Tempore quo periere rosae, quas f rigor a terrent,
Attulit adveniens cara puella rosam,
In quo flos crevit patuit locus inde, rosaeque
Passim in perpulchris enituere genis.
Auf Deutsch.
Die Zeit der Rosen war vorbei mein Liebchen kam und
zeigte
Ein Roslein schon, und sich zu mir mit siissem lacheln neigte ;
Ich fragte nicht in welch em land die Rose sei geboren,
Die wange zum geburtsort war und wohnsitz auserkoren.
En Fran^ais.
La Rose des jardins etait deja fletrie,
Une Rose en cadeau m'apporta ma cherie ;
D'ou venait ce cadeau, source de mon bonheur ?
Je regardais sa joue, et j'y voyais la fleur.
GLEAXIX'.S KllM 1IIK ARABIC.
( >\ \ l).i\ K IN A CAGE.
;_; -\ j 141* a; - ^ jjj ^
Grangeret de Lagrange, Anthologie Arabe, p. 134, note p. 180.
Poor dove ! when near her cage I heard
The tuneful plaint of captive bird:
" These twigs," she cried, " which now to me
As cage-bars bring captivity,
W( re branches once whose verdure spread
Its sheltering leaf-world o'er my head."
Latine redditunt.
:m\\i, va) misenc ! ten era sic voce columba
Plorabat sylvac gaudia amissa suoe ;
Pi ami qui nuper grata me fronde tegebant,
Clathrorum formas, carceris instar, habent.
En Francis.
colombe disait, ^tant prisonnierc,
I. es ramcaux ombrageux qui me couvraient
En cage recourb^s font ma triste prison,
Et bornent de mes jours lc lugubre hori/on."
. / h.
.be die gcfangen war einst hort'ich den gesang,
Es lautcte ganz kummcrli* h dcr (raucrvollc klang :
' Die zweige die boscbiitztcn mich auf sonnigcn gefild- n
usperren mich, und, mitleidlos, ein vogelbauer bilden."
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LEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
THE LAMENT OF MAISUN,
THE BEDOUIN WIFE OF MUAWIYA.
II. AV. FKKKLAM),
;n:uulor of tin- n r .l.-r oi slu> Crown Ol
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GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
THE LAMENT OF MAISUN, THE BEDOUIN WIFE OF
MUAWIYA.
By H. W. FREELAND,
M.A., M.R.A.S., late M.P., Commander of the Order of the Crown of Siam.
vi YA, the sixth Khalif in succession after Muhammad,
was the first of the fourteen Khalifs of the family which
presided during a period of nearly a century over the destinies
of the Saracenic Empire. His father, Abu-Sufian, was of the
tribe of the Kuraish, a tribe to which Muhammad also
belonged. Muawiya and his wife became followers of the
Prophet on the same day as that on which the father of
the former, who had previously commanded the forces of the
enemy, announced his adherence to the new religion. By
this conversion Muhammad received a great accession of
strength, and was induced, in consideration of its import-
ance, to grant two out of the three requests by which it was
accompanied. The first was that Abu-Sufian might take the
command of the army of the Faithful against the Infidels.
The second, that his son, who afterwards became Khalif,
might be appointed Secretary to the Prophet. The third,
that Muhammad would vouchsafe to marry the second
daughter of Abu-Sufian. The Prophet, however, who com-
1 with the two former of these requests, refused to
comply with the- latter. Maisun, the Bedouin wife of
Muawiya, was the daughter of Jandal, of the tribe of Ealb.
She was a poetess of no mean power, as the poem of
which the following is a paraphrase goes far to prove. The
original lines are given with some inaccuracy in Carlyl. -
specimens of Arabian poetry and in Adl.-r's edition of the
2 GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
Annals of Abulfeda, the great Arabian historian. There
appear to be different readings of these celebrated verses, and
I was indebted to Faris Shidiak, the translator of the Bible
and Prayer Book into Arabic, for two verses which, he
assured me, belong to the poem, though not found in either
of the texts referred to. I have not hesitated to incorporate
them in the text and in my paraphrase, for they are so
completely in the spirit of the others, that I cannot but think
they originally formed part of, and ought never to have been
separated from, the rest of the poem. They are verses 5 and
6 in the Arabic text.
One day the Khalif chanced to hear his wife singing the
verses, which were certainly by no means flattering to him,
so he said to her : " Thou wast not content, daughter of
Jandal, until thou hadst called me a fat donkey. Get thee
to thy family ! Elhaki Uahliki (literally, join thy family)."
This was one of the forms of Mussulman divorce, and Maisun
was divorced accordingly. So she went back to her desert
and rejoined the Bani Kalb, and her son Yazid, who after-
wards became Khalif, went with her.
if/J ^ | ^i ^ J.L, x b jjf
GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC. 3
PARAPHRASE.
The Lament of Maisun, the Bedouin wife of Mudwiya.
I give thee all the treacherous brightness
Of glittering robes which grace the fair,
Then give me back my young heart's lightness
And simple vest of Camel's hair.
The tent on which free winds are beating
Is dearer to the Desert's child
Than Palaces and kingly greeting
bear me to my desert wild !
More dear than swift mule softly treading,
While gentlest hands his speed control,
Are camels rough their lone way threading
Where caravans through deserts roll.
On couch of silken ease reclining
1 watch the kitten's sportive play,
But feel the while my young heart pining
For desert guests and watch-dog's bay.
The frugal desert's banquet slender,
The simple crust which tents afford,
han the courtly splendour
And sweets which grace a monarch's board.
And dearer far the voices pealing
From winds which sweep the desert round
Than Pomp and Power their pride revealing
In noisy timbrel's measur'd sound.
Then bear me far from kingly dwelling,
From Luxury's cold and pamper'd child,
To seek a heart with freedom swelling,
A kindred heart in deserts wild.
Nora. Mr. S:. rms me that in the Kamus, published at Beyrout
under the auspices of competent Mnhammadan an. 1 ( "1 1 r i - 1 i an scholars, and approved
by the Ulam4 of the Aihar at Cairo, the name of ,f Maisun in riven
as Jandal and not Bahdal, which Utter is the name jriven by some of the earlier
authorities. Jandal if also the name given in Lane's AT;. .ry.
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s FK03J THE AKABIC.
II. W. FUKKLAND, M.A., M.R.A.S.,
THF. rllo\VX OP MAM.
Ill l>:
GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
By H. W. FREELAND, M.A., M.R.A.S.,
Late M.P., Commander of the Order of The Crown of Siam.
SAKAB.
THE traditional affection of the Arab for his horse may be
regarded as a branch of that traditional kindness to animals
for which, not the Arabs only, but many Oriental races, are
eminently and honourably distinguished. The dog, indeed,
from his rare and valuable instincts, and his capacity for
attachment and personal devotion, is admirably fitted to be
the faithful friend and servant of man. The watch-dog of
the Arabs, whose bay salutes the coming guest, or warns
tent-dwellers of the approach of danger, receives, occasionally,
tributes in Arabian song. The camel is, no doubt, the
animal most useful to the Arabs, especially when of the
breeds of Nejd or Oman. The camel is capable of enduring
great fatigue, and of transporting very heavy burdens. It
supplies its master with excellent milk, which is said to be
( ([ual to that of the she-ass, though neither butter nor cheese
are made of it. The camel, too, yields a soft and fine wool,
said to be superior to sheep's wool, from which many artirlrs
of drees are manufactured; and its flesh, though said to bo
deficient in flavour, forms the principal animal food of the
inhabitants of Arabia. The Arab horse, however, and
especially the Arab mare, is more esteemed, and bears a
higher value, than the camel, and is more peculiarly the
favourite of the children of the Arabian desert. The purest
breed is that of Nejd. A mare, or even a horse, of this
breed, is never disposed of by sale. Gift, capture in war, or
testamentary bequest, are said to be the only recognized
2 GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
methods of transfer. Horse-pedigrees are carefully preserved
and transmitted, sometimes orally, and sometimes even by
written documents. 1
The importance attached to pedigree and purity of descent,
the reluctance to sell, and the amount of family affection,
which could be gathered round a favourite Arab mare, are
touchingly illustrated in the poem of which a free rendering
is given below. The poem was written by one of the tribe
of the Banu Tamim, whose favourite mare, named Sakab, a
king of Hira had threatened to take away from him. The
tribe of the Banu Tamim inhabited that part of Arabia
which lies between Basra and Mecca. The original poem is
preserved in the Hamasa, a collection of old Arabic poems
made by Abu Tamam, who was himself a poet, and, as such,
held in high esteem among the Arabs.
&T U|*J-> UJ \Z\
fills
ILL,
Blessings on thee ! 2 costliest treasure
Of our home Sakab we hold ;
Jewel without price or measure,
Never to be lent or sold.
1 See an interesting account of the breeds of Arabian horses by Mr. Palgrave
in the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
2 Literally, let not imprecations be uttered against thee. Freytag mentions in
a note that this form of addressing kings was only used in times preceding
Muhammad. Ne dira tibi precentur ! Gott schutze dich ! Riickert.
GLEANINGS FROM TTIK ARABIC
AVith our all we would redeem her,
And our children fasting go, 1
That Sakab we so esteem her
May not thirst or hunger know.
They from whom Sakab descended
Shone victorious in the race ;
We their noble lineage blended
In the far-famed Kurah trace.
Blessings on thee ! may'st thou never
From us wrest our trusty friend !
Wo have loved her, and will ever
To our dying hour defend. 2
I am tempted, in illustration of the foregoing poem, and
of those feelings of attachment which the Arabian breed of
horses seems formed by nature to call forth, to refer to an
interesting anecdote in the life of a distinguished Indian
officer. In " My Indian Journal," a work published in 1864
by Colonel Walter Campbell, and abounding in graphic
sketches of Indian sport and life, he refers, in a few spirited
and graceful words, to his favourite little Arab horse, calll
Turquoise, to whose instinctive qualities he pays a touching
tribute in prose (p. 289). To that suggestive tribute and its
natural associations I have endeavoured to give expression
in the following stanzas
TURQUOIH .
My Arab steed, my Arab steed,
A trusty steed is he ;
With willed wind he shares its speed,
And shares my sport with me.
ien Arab men MT camel's milk to a hone, it i* said to have cau*
quently a little <lm<*tic disturbance, as the Aral. i,,..tl,< t> .h.l n..i I,U t<. - .
children rl.b.d of TN I poctfoi tl th. ir med 1-. tin * O\ I .,-.!,,, I.
-rally, to prevent you from taking her from tu will to us be poenble.
4 GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
When pitiless the rain descends,
Within my tent he sleeps ;
His rug he to his master lends,
And faithful vigil keeps.
So light his sleep, no watch- dog e'er
Kept surer watch than he ;
Each voice that stirs the midnight air
He catches wistfully.
He wakes me if he hears the drum
Or morning's bugle sound ;
If stranger to my camp-tent come,
A guardian there is found.
He sleeps beside me peacefully ;
He serves my every need ;
A comrade near and dear to me
Is that fleet Arab steed.
I had hoped to find some Arabic poem illustrative of the
life and character of the Bedouins, in which, relatively to
his services in battle, as well as in the predatory excursions
of his master, the Arab steed might naturally be expected to
play no unimportant part. I was, however, only able to find
a brief Bedouin fragment, which I have embodied in the two
first stanzas of the following poem, while trusting to my
imagination for filling up the no doubt imperfect sketch.
THE LAY OF THE BEDOUIN.
Ye children of the City,
Soft sons of Luxury,
Of a manly race the dwelling
Is the Desert wild and free.
To us the swift horse flying
Impetuous to the goal,
Or in battle bravely dying
To you the ass's foal.
GLEANINGS FROM THE ARABIC.
Unmatch'd in power and beauty
Is the steed of the Bedouin,
Not a cloud or a hoof-print telleth
Where his arrowy race hath been ;
"With his courage tried in battle,
And his limbs inur'd to toil,
Where the red flood round him floweth,
He bears us on to spoil.
Bright rays are o'er him beaming
From the steel of the quiv'ring lance ;
But a nobler light is streaming
From his eyeballs' fiery glance.
When he champs the bit, the foam-flakes
Fly around him, thick and fast,
Like the snows in their drifted whiteness
On the wings of the mountain blast ;
And the phrenzy of his nostrils,
And the snortings of his rage,
Are a terror gathering o'er him
Where the swords with swords engage.
To you the couch of splendour
And the garden's bower of green ;
But the desert and its dangers
For the fearless Bedouin.
omaer
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