Kalila Wa Dimna — Page 11

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

لِمَاذَا تُعْنَى بِهَذَا الْكِتَابِ؟

Why are you concerned with this book?

كَأَنِّي بِبَعْضٍ مَنْ يَطَّلِعُونَ عَلَى هَذِهِ الطَّبْعَةِ لِكِتَابِ «كَلِيلَةَ وَدِمْنَةَ»، أَوْ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا، يَقُولُونَ مَا لِهَذَا الْكِتَابِ يُعْنَى بِهِ، وَيُبْذَلُ فِي تَصْحِيحِهِ وَتَوْضِيحِهِ وَمُقَابَلَةِ نُسَخِهِ وَبَيَانِ تَارِيخِهِ هَذَا الْجُهْدُ الْعَظِيمُ، وَتُنْفَقُ عَلَى نَشْرِهِ هَذِهِ الْأَمْوَالُ الْكَثِيرَةُ، وَهُوَ كِتَابٌ تَكَرَّرَ طَبْعُهُ فِي الشَّرْقِ وَالْغَرْبِ، وَتَوَالَتْ طَبَعَاتُهُ فِي مِصْرَ مُنْذُ عَهْدِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَلِيٍّ بَاشَا إِلَى الْيَوْمِ، وَاتَّخَذَتْهُ وِزَارَةُ الْمَعَارِفِ كِتَابًا مَدْرَسِيًّا، فَلَا تَجِدُ فِي مِصْرَ عَالِمًا وَلَا مُتَعَلِّمًا إِلَّا اطَّلَعَ عَلَيْهِ وَقَرَأَهُ كُلَّهُ أَوْ بَعْضَهُ؟

I can almost hear some who see this edition of Kalila and Dimna, or hear of it, asking why such a book warrants this much attention. Why expend such great effort to correct, clarify, compare its manuscripts, and document its history? Why spend so much money to publish it when it has been printed repeatedly in the East and the West? Its editions have followed one another in Egypt from the era of Muhammad Ali Pasha to the present day, and the Ministry of Education has adopted it as a school textbook. Indeed, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in Egypt, scholar or student, who has not looked at it and read at least some of it.

وَإِنِّي أُعَجِّلُ الْجَوَابَ لِهَؤُلَاءِ فَأَقُولُ: قَلِيلٌ مِنَ الْكُتُبِ نَالَ مِنْ إِقْبَالِ النَّاسِ وَعِنَايَتِهِمْ مَا نَالَ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ؛ فَقَدْ تَنَافَسَتِ الْأُمَمُ فِي ادِّخَارِهِ مُنْذُ كُتِبَ، وَحَرَصَتْ كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ أَنْ تَنْقُلَهُ إِلَى لُغَتِهَا؛ فَلَيْسَ فِي لُغَاتِ الْعَالَمِ ذَاتِ الْآدَابِ لُغَةٌ إِلَّا تُرْجِمَ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ إِلَيْهَا، وَبِحَقٍّ عُنِيَتِ الْأُمَمُ بِهَذَا الْكِتَابِ الْعَجِيبِ الَّذِي يَحْوِي مِنَ الْحِكَمِ وَالْآدَابِ وَضُرُوبِ السِّيَاسَةِ وَأَفَانِينِ الْقِصَصِ مَا يَمْلَأُ الْقَارِئَ عِبْرَةً وَإِعْجَابًا وَسُرُورًا.

I will answer them at once: few books have ever enjoyed such widespread interest and acclaim. Nations have competed to preserve it since it was first written, and every culture has been eager to translate it into its own language. There is no major literary language in the world into which this book has not been translated. Nations have rightly concerned themselves with this remarkable work, which contains such a wealth of wisdom, moral instruction, statecraft, and storytelling that it leaves the reader full of insight, admiration, and delight.

Vocabulary · المفردات (21 verbs · 41 nouns)

• عَنِيَ — to concern oneself with
• اِطَّلَعَ — to look into
• سَمِعَ — to hear
• قَالَ — to say
• بَذَلَ — to exert
• أَنْفَقَ — to spend
• تَكَرَّرَ — to recur
• تَوَالَى — to follow one another
• اِتَّخَذَ — to take
• وَجَدَ — to find
• قَرَأَ — to read
• عَجَّلَ — to hasten
• نَالَ — to obtain
• تَنَافَسَ — to compete
• اِدَّخَرَ — to store
• كَتَبَ — to write
• حَرَصَ — to strive eagerly, to be keen on
• نَقَلَ — to transfer
• تَرْجَمَ — to translate
• حَوَى — to contain
• مَلَأَ — to fill
• دُكْتُور — doctor
• قِسْم — section
• أَوَّل — first
• طَبْعَة — edition
• كِتَاب — book
• أَصْل — origin
• بَعْض — some
• جُهْد — effort
• عَظِيم — great
• مَال — money
• كَثِير — much
• شَرْق — east
• غَرْب — west
• عَهْد — era
• يَوْم — day
• وِزَارَة — ministry
• مَعَارِف — education
• مَدْرَسِيّ — school
• عَالِم — scholar
• مُتَعَلِّم — learner
• جَوَاب — answer
• قَلِيل — few
• إِقْبَال — interest
• نَاس — people
• عِنَايَة — care
• أُمَّة — nation
• لُغَة — language
• أَدَب — literature
• عَجِيب — wondrous
• حِكْمَة — wisdom
• ضَرْب — type
• سِيَاسَة — politics
• أَفْنُون — variety
• قِصَّة — story
• قَارِئ — reader
• عِبْرَة — lesson
• إِعْجَاب — admiration
• سُرُور — joy
• نَشْر — spreading
• تَوْضِيح — clarification
• تَصْحِيح — correction