Durus al-Balagha — First Lessons in Arabic Rhetoric (دروس البلاغة) — Page 19

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

فَإِنْ يَكُ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ سَيْفًا لِدَوْلَةٍ فَفِي النَّاسِ بُوقَاتٌ لَهَا وَطُبُولُ.

If some people are a sword for a state, then among the people are horns and drums for it.

إِذِ الْقِيَاسُ فِي جَمْعِهِ لِلْقِلَّةِ: أَبْوَاقٌ.

Since the analogy for its plural of scarcity is: abwaq.

وَكَمَوْدَدَةٍ فِي قَوْلِهِ: إِنَّ بَيْنِيَّ لَلَامٌ زَهَدَهُ، مَا لِيَ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ مَوْدَدَةٍ.

And like 'mawdadah' in his saying: 'Indeed, between me is a blame that he renounced, I have no affection in their chests.'

وَالْقِيَاسُ مَوَدَّةٌ بِالْإِدْغَامِ.

And the analogy is 'mawaddah' with assimilation.

وَالْغَرَابَةُ: كَوْنُ الْكَلِمَةِ غَيْرَ ظَاهِرَةِ الْمَعْنَى،

And strangeness is: the word's meaning not being apparent.

نَحْوُ: تَكَأْكَأَ، بِمَعْنَى: اجْتَمَعَ، وَافْرَنْقَعَ بِمَعْنَى: انْصَرَفَ، وَاظْلَخَمَّ بِمَعْنَى: اشْتَدَّ.

Such as: 'taka'ka'a' meaning: gathered, and 'ifranqa'a' meaning: departed, and 'izlakhamma' meaning: intensified.

وَفَصَاحَةُ الْكَلَامِ سَلَامَتُهُ مِنْ تَنَافُرِ الْكَلِمَاتِ مُجْتَمِعَةً، وَمِنْ ضَعْفِ التَّأْلِيفِ، وَمِنَ التَّعْقِيدِ، مَعَ فَصَاحَةِ كَلِمَاتِهِ.

And the eloquence of speech is its safety from the incompatibility of words when combined, and from weak composition, and from complexity, along with the eloquence of its words.

فَالْتَّنَافُرُ وَصْفٌ فِي الْكَلَامِ يُوجِبُ ثِقَلَهُ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ، وَعُسْرَ النُّطْقِ بِهِ

Incompatibility is a description in speech that necessitates its heaviness on the tongue and difficulty in pronouncing it.

نَحْوُ: فِي رَفْعِ عَرْشِ الشَّرْعِ مِثْلُكَ يَشْرَعُ.

Such as: 'In raising the throne of the law, one like you legislates.'

Vocabulary · المفردات (10 verbs · 38 nouns)

• كَانَ — to be
• زَهِدَ — to dislike or shun
• تَكَأْكَأَ — to crowd
• اجْتَمَعَ — to gather
• افْرَنْقَعَ — to disperse
• انْصَرَفَ — to leave
• اظْلَخَمَّ — to intensify
• اشْتَدَّ — to become intense
• أَوْجَبَ — to necessitate
• شَرَعَ — to legislate
• بَعْضٌ — part
• نَاسٌ — people
• سَيْفٌ — sword
• دَوْلَةٌ — state
• بُوقٌ — horn
• طَبْلٌ — drum
• قِيَاسٌ — analogy
• جَمْعٌ — collection
• قِلَّةٌ — scarcity
• مَوَدَّةٌ — affection
• قَوْلٌ — saying
• بَيْنٌ — separation
• لَامٌ — blame
• صَدْرٌ — chest
• إِدْغَامٌ — assimilation
• غَرَابَةٌ — strangeness
• كَوْنٌ — being
• كَلِمَةٌ — word
• غَيْرٌ — other
• ظَاهِرٌ — apparent
• مَعْنًى — meaning
• فَصَاحَةٌ — eloquence
• كَلَامٌ — speech
• سَلَامَةٌ — safety
• تَنَافُرٌ — incompatibility
• مُجْتَمِعٌ — gathered
• ضَعْفٌ — weakness
• تَأْلِيفٌ — composition
• تَعْقِيدٌ — complexity
• وَصْفٌ — description
• ثِقَلٌ — heaviness
• لِسَانٌ — tongue
• عُسْرٌ — difficulty
• نُطْقٌ — pronunciation
• رَفْعٌ — raising
• عَرْشٌ — throne
• شَرْعٌ — law
• مِثْلٌ — like