Kalila Wa Dimna — Page 12

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

وَالأُمَمُ العَرَبِيَّةُ أَوْلَى أَنْ تُعْنَى بِهَذَا الكِتَابِ فِي لُغَتِهَا، وَأَجْدَرُ أَنْ تَهْتَمَّ بِتَأْرِيخِهِ وَتَوْضِيحِهِ وَنَقْدِهِ لِأَسْبَابٍ عِدَّةٍ.

Arab nations have the greatest claim to concern themselves with this book in their own language, and are the most worthy of attending to its history, clarification, and criticism for several reasons.

أَوَّلُهَا: أَنَّ النُّسْخَةَ العَرَبِيَّةَ أَصْلٌ لِكُلِّ مَا فِي اللُّغَاتِ الأُخْرَى - حَاشَا التَّرْجَمَةَ السُّرْيَانِيَّةَ -.

First, the Arabic version is the source for all versions in other languages, with the exception of the Syriac translation.

فَقَدْ فُقِدَ الأَصْلُ الفَهْلَوِيُّ الَّذِي أُخِذَتْ عَنْهُ التَّرْجَمَةُ العَرَبِيَّةُ، وَفُقِدَ بَعْضُ الأَصْلِ الهِنْدِيِّ الَّذِي أُخِذَتْ عَنْهُ التَّرْجَمَةُ الفَهْلَوِيَّةُ، وَاضْطَرَبَ بَعْضُهُ.

The Pahlavi original from which the Arabic was taken has been lost, as has part of the Indian original from which the Pahlavi was derived, while other parts have become corrupted.

فَصَارَتِ النُّسْخَةُ العَرَبِيَّةُ يُرْجَعُ إِلَيْهَا مَنْ يُرِيدُ إِحْدَاثَ تَرْجَمَةٍ أَوْ تَصْحِيحَ تَرْجَمَةٍ قَدِيمَةٍ، بَلْ يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهَا مَنْ يُرِيدُ جَمْعَ الأَصْلِ الهِنْدِيِّ وَتَصْحِيحَهُ.

Consequently, the Arabic version has become the reference for anyone wishing to produce a new translation or correct an old one, or even for those seeking to reconstruct and verify the Indian original.

وَالثَّانِي: مِنَ الأَسْبَابِ: أَنَّ هَذَا الكِتَابَ كُتِبَ بِاللُّغَةِ العَرَبِيَّةِ فِي مُنْتَصَفِ القَرْنِ الثَّانِي مِنَ الهِجْرَةِ، فَهُوَ مِنْ أَقْدَمِ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِينَا مِنْ كُتُبِ النَّثْرِ العَرَبِيِّ، وَأُسْلُوبُهُ مِثَالٌ مِنْ أَقْدَمِ أَسَالِيبِ الإِنْشَاءِ فِي لُغَتِنَا، وَهُوَ لِذَلِكَ جَدِيرٌ بِعِنَايَةِ مُؤَرِّخِي الأَدَبِ العَرَبِيِّ.

Second, this book was written in Arabic in the middle of the second century of the Hijra, making it one of the oldest extant works of Arabic prose; its style serves as an early example of composition in our language, and it is therefore deserving of the attention of historians of Arabic literature.

وَالثَّالِثُ: أَنَّ هَذَا الكِتَابَ نُقِلَ مِنَ الفَارِسِيَّةِ إِلَى لُغَتِنَا، وَلِمُؤَرِّخِي الآدَابِ كَلَامٌ كَثِيرٌ فِي تَأْثِيرِ الأَدَبِ الفَارِسِيِّ فِي الأَدَبِ العَرَبِيِّ فِي تِلْكَ العُصُورِ، وَالتَّرْجَمَةُ مِنْ أَقْوَى الوَسَائِلِ لِتَأْثِيرِ أَدَبٍ فِي آخَرَ.

Third, this book was rendered from Persian into our language, and literary historians have much to say regarding the influence of Persian literature on Arabic literature during that era, as translation is one of the most powerful vehicles for such cross-cultural influence.

فَدِرَاسَةُ هَذَا الكِتَابِ تُبَيِّنُ صِلَةَ مَا بَيْنَ الفَارِسِيَّةِ وَالعَرَبِيَّةِ فِي القَرْنِ الثَّانِي وَتُبَيِّنُ أَنَّ الأَسَالِيبَ العَرَبِيَّةَ أَخَذَتْ مِنَ الأَسَالِيبِ الفَارِسِيَّةِ أَوْ لَمْ تَأْخُذْ.

Studying this book clarifies the connection between Persian and Arabic in the second century and reveals whether Arabic styles were influenced by Persian ones.

وَالرَّابِعُ مِنْ دَوَاعِي العِنَايَةِ بِهَذَا الكِتَابِ: أَنَّ عِنْدَنَا مِنْهُ نُسَخًا مُخْتَلِفَةً لَا تَتَّفِقُ اثْنَتَانِ مِنْهُمَا اتِّفَاقًا تَامًّا، وَيَعْظُمُ الخِلَافُ بَيْنَ بَعْضِهَا بِالزِّيَادَةِ وَالنَّقْصِ فِي بَعْضِ الأَبْوَابِ، وَبَعْضِ القِصَصِ وَالأَمْثَالِ، وَبِالإِطْنَابِ وَالإِيجَازِ، وَاخْتِلَافِ الأَلْفَاظِ فِي المَوْضِعِ الوَاحِدِ؛ حَتَّى يَعْجَبَ القَارِئُ الَّذِي يَقِيسُ نُسَخًا مِنَ الكِتَابِ بِأُخْرَى، وَيَغْلِبُ عَلَى ظَنِّهِ أَنَّ الكِتَابَ تُرْجِمَ إِلَى العَرَبِيَّةِ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ مَرَّةٍ، وَسَيَأْتِي بَيَانُ هَذَا.

Fourth, we possess various copies of this book that do not entirely agree with one another; the discrepancies between them are significant, ranging from additions and omissions in certain chapters, stories, and proverbs, to variations in verbosity, brevity, and wording within the same passages, to the point that a reader comparing these copies might well conclude that the book was translated into Arabic more than once, a matter which will be explained later.

وَقَدْ عَثَرَ الأُسْتَاذُ هَرْتِيل عَلَى كِتَابِ بَنْج تَنْتَرَا الهِنْدِيِّ، وَهُوَ أَصْلٌ مِنْ أُصُولِ كَلِيلَةَ وَدِمْنَةَ، وَدَعَا بَعْضَ المُسْتَشْرِقِينَ إِلَى تَحَرِّي النَّصِّ الصَّحِيحِ العَرَبِيِّ لِيُسْتَعَانَ بِهِ عَلَى تَصْحِيحِ الأَصْلِ الهِنْدِيِّ.

Professor Hertel discovered the Indian 'Panchatantra', which is one of the sources of 'Kalila and Dimna', and some Orientalists have called for an investigation into the correct Arabic text to assist in verifying the Indian original.

وَعُنِيَ الأُسْتَاذُ بْرَسْتِيد رَئِيسُ المَعْهَدِ الشَّرْقِيِّ فِي جَامِعَةِ شِيكَاغُو بِدِرَاسَةِ النُّصُوصِ العَرَبِيَّةِ لِكِتَابِ كَلِيلَةَ وَدِمْنَةَ، وَكَتَبَ الأُسْتَاذُ سَبْرِنْجْلِين أَسَاتِذَةُ هَذِهِ الجَامِعَةِ مَقَالًا مُفَصَّلًا فِي الجَرِيدَةِ الأَمْرِيكِيَّةِ لِلُغَاتِ وَالآدَابِ السَّامِيَّةِ عَدَدَ يَنَايِرَ ١٩٢٤ بَيَّنَ فِيهِ عِنَايَةَ هَذِهِ الجَامِعَةِ بِتَصْحِيحِ النَّصِّ العَرَبِيِّ لِلْكِتَابِ، وَعَدَّ المَخْطُوطَاتِ الكَثِيرَةَ.

Professor Breasted, head of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, took an interest in studying the Arabic texts of 'Kalila and Dimna', and Professor Sprengling, a faculty member at the same university, wrote a detailed article in the January 1924 issue of the American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, in which he outlined the university's efforts to correct the Arabic text and cataloged the numerous manuscripts.

Vocabulary · المفردات (23 verbs · 63 nouns)

• عَنِيَ — to concern
• اِهْتَمَّ — to care
• فَقَدَ — to lose
• أَخَذَ — to take
• اِضْطَرَبَ — to become disturbed
• صَارَ — to become
• رَجَعَ — to return
• أَرَادَ — to want
• كَتَبَ — to write
• نَقَلَ — to transfer
• بَيَّنَ — to clarify
• اِتَّفَقَ — to agree
• عَظُمَ — to grow great
• عَجِبَ — to wonder
• قَاسَ — to measure
• غَلَبَ — to prevail
• تَرْجَمَ — to translate
• أَتَى — to come
• عَثَرَ — to find
• دَعَا — to invite
• تَحَرَّى — to investigate
• اِسْتَعَانَ — to seek help
• عَدَّ — to count
• أُمَّة — nation
• كِتَاب — book
• لُغَة — language
• تَأْرِيخ — history
• تَوْضِيح — clarification
• نَقْد — criticism
• سَبَب — reason
• نُسْخَة — copy
• أَصْل — origin
• تَرْجَمَة — translation
• إِحْدَاث — creation
• تَصْحِيح — correction
• قَرْن — century
• هِجْرَة — Hijra
• نَثْر — prose
• أُسْلُوب — style
• مِثَال — example
• إِنْشَاء — composition
• عِنَايَة — care
• مُؤَرِّخ — historian
• أَدَب — literature
• عَصْر — era
• وَسِيلَة — means
• دِرَاسَة — study
• صِلَة — connection
• دَاعِيَة — motive
• اتِّفَاق — agreement
• خِلَاف — disagreement
• زِيَادَة — increase
• نَقْص — decrease
• بَاب — chapter
• قِصَّة — story
• مَثَل — proverb
• إِطْنَاب — verbosity
• إِيجَاز — brevity
• لَفْظ — word
• مَوْضِع — place
• قَارِئ — reader
• مَرَّة — time
• بَيَان — statement
• أُسْتَاذ — professor
• مُسْتَشْرِق — orientalist
• نَصّ — text
• رَئِيس — head
• مَعْهَد — institute
• جَامِعَة — university
• مَقَال — article
• جَرِيدَة — journal
• عَدَد — issue
• يَنَايِر — January
• مَخْطُوطَة — manuscript
• كَثِير — a lot
• اِثْنَتَان — two (feminine)
• أَقْدَم — older
• قَدِيمَة — ancient (adj.)
• جَدِير — worthy
• أَقْوَى — stronger
• مُخْتَلِفَة — different (f.)
• مُنْتَصَف — middle
• أَجْدَر — more appropriate
• أَكْثَر — more
• كَثِيرَة — many
• كَلَام — speech