Kalila Wa Dimna — Page 15

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

طَبْعَتَا الْيَازِجِيِّ وَطَبَّارَةَ وَالطَّبَعَاتُ الشَّامِيَّةُ كَذَلِكَ اعْتَمَدَتْ عَلَى طَبْعَةِ دِي سَاسِي وَمَا حَاكَاهَا مِنْ طَبَعَاتِ مِصْرَ مَعَ تَصْحِيحٍ أَوْ تَلْفِيقٍ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ بَعْضِ الْمَخْطُوطَاتِ.

The editions by Al-Yaziji and Tabbara, as well as the Levantine editions, relied on the De Sacy edition and the Egyptian versions that imitated it, incorporating corrections or compilations from various manuscripts.

ذَكَرَ الشَّيْخُ خَلِيلُ الْيَازِجِيُّ فِي مُقَدِّمَةِ طَبْعَتِهِ أَنَّهُ عَثَرَ عَلَى نُسْخَةٍ مَكْتُوبَةٍ مُنْذُ ثَلَاثِمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ، وَقَايَسَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ النُّسْخَةِ الْمَطْبُوعَةِ فِي مِصْرَ وَنُسْخَةِ دِي سَاسِي، وَوَجَدَ بَيْنَهُمَا اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا، ثُمَّ قَالَ:

In the introduction to his edition, Sheikh Khalil Al-Yaziji mentions that he discovered a copy written three hundred years prior. He compared it with the version printed in Egypt and the De Sacy copy, finding significant differences between them, and then stated:

«وَقَدْ جَمَعْتُ بَيْنَ النُّسَخِ الثَّلَاثِ وَطَبَّقْتُ بَيْنَهَا بِأَنْ اخْتَرْتُ مِنْ كُلٍّ مِنْهَا أَحْسَنَهَا، مَعَ نَقْلِ الْمَزِيدِ فِي نُسْخَةِ الْخَطِّ الْمُشَارِ إِلَيْهَا، وَإِصْلَاحِ مَا فِي النُّسَخِ الثَّلَاثِ مِنْ أَغْلَاطِ النُّسَّاخِ وَغَيْرِهَا، وَزِيَادَاتٍ أُخَرَ زِدْتُهَا مِمَّا عَنَّ لِلْخَاطِرِ الضَّعِيفِ لِلرَّبْطِ بَيْنَ فَوَاصِلِ الْكَلَامِ، أَوْ لِاسْتِدْعَاءِ الْمَقَامِ لَهَا، أَوْ لِاسْتِحْسَانِ مَوْقِعِهَا، أَوْ اسْتِطْرَادًا جَرَّ إِلَيْهِ سِيَاقُ الْكَلَامِ مِمَّا يُظَنُّ أَنَّ النُّسْخَةَ الْأَصْلِيَّةَ لَمْ تَخْلُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ بِمَعْنَاهُ، وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ مِمَّا جَرَّأَنِي عَلَيْهِ الرَّغْبَةُ فِي رَدِّ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ الْجَلِيلِ مَا أَمْكَنَ إِلَى رَوْنَقِهِ الْقَدِيمِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ يَقْصُرُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ ذَرْعِي، وَيَضِيقُ وُسْعِي، وَلَكِنِّي فَعَلْتُ رَجَاءَ أَنْ أَسْتَعِينَ بِهِ عَلَيْهِ وَأَتَطَرَّقَ مِنْهُ إِلَيْهِ؛ فَتَيَسَّرَ لِي أَنْ أَجْمَعَ مِنَ النُّسَخِ الثَّلَاثِ نُسْخَةً وَافِيَةً جَدِيرَةً بِأَنْ تُنْزَلَ مَنْزِلَةَ النُّسْخَةِ الْأَصْلِيَّةِ.»

"I have combined the three copies and reconciled them by selecting the best elements from each. I incorporated additions from the aforementioned manuscript, corrected scribal errors and other mistakes found in the three copies, and made further additions that occurred to my humble mind. These were included to connect clauses, to suit the context, to improve the flow, or as digressions suggested by the narrative—elements I believe the original copy must have contained in spirit. I was emboldened to do this by a desire to restore this magnificent book as closely as possible to its ancient splendor, even if my own abilities and resources are limited. I proceeded in the hope of using these efforts to approach the original text; thus, I was able to compile from the three copies a complete version worthy of standing in for the original."

ثُمَّ يَذْكُرُ أَنَّهُ حَذَفَ أَمْثَالًا وَعِبَارَاتٍ لَا تُلَائِمُ آدَابَ الْعَصْرِ، وَلَا تَصْلُحُ لِقِرَاءَةِ التَّلَامِيذِ.

He further notes that he removed proverbs and phrases that did not align with the morals of the era or were unsuitable for students to read.

وَأَمَّا نُسْخَةُ أَحْمَدَ حَسَنَ طَبَّارَةَ الَّتِي اسْتَعَانَ عَلَى تَصْحِيحِهَا السَّيِّدُ مُصْطَفَى الْمَنْفَلُوطِيُّ، فَيَقُولُ فِي مُقَدِّمَتِهَا إِنَّهُ عَثَرَ عَلَى نُسْخَةٍ مُصَوَّرَةٍ كُتِبَتْ سَنَةَ ١٠٨٦هـ، فَعَزَمَ عَلَى طَبْعِهَا، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ:

Regarding the edition by Ahmad Hasan Tabbara, which was corrected with the assistance of Sayyid Mustafa Al-Manfaluti, the introduction states that he found an illustrated copy written in 1086 AH and resolved to print it, adding:

«فَعَنَيْتُ أَوَّلًا بِمُقَابَلَتِهَا عَلَى مَا تَوَفَّرَ لَدَيَّ مِنْ نُسَخِهَا كَنُسْخَةِ بَارِيسَ الْمَطْبُوعَةِ سَنَةَ ١٨١٦ وَنُسْخَةِ مِصْرَ الْمَطْبُوعَةِ سَنَةَ ١٢٩٧ وَنُسَخِ بَيْرُوتَ الشَّهِيرَةِ، وَاخْتَرْتُ مِنْهَا مَا كَانَ أَقْرَبَهَا إِلَى الْأَصْلِ، وَأَبْعَدَهَا عَنِ التَّحْرِيفِ وَالتَّبْدِيلِ، وَأَسْلَمَهَا مِنَ الزِّيَادَةِ وَالنُّقْصَانِ.»

"I first took care to compare it with the copies available to me, such as the Paris edition of 1816, the Egyptian edition of 1297, and the famous Beirut copies. I selected from them what was closest to the original, furthest from distortion or alteration, and most free from additions or omissions."

فَتَرَى مِنْ هَذَا أَنَّ نُسْخَتَيِ الْيَازِجِيِّ وَطَبَّارَةَ - عَلَى مَا لَقِيَتَا مِنْ تَصْحِيحٍ وَعِنَايَةٍ - قَدْ لُفِّقَتْ لَهُمَا نُسَخٌ مُخْتَلِفَةٌ، وَوَقَعَ فِيهِمَا مِنْ تَصَرُّفِ النَّاشِرِينَ مَا يَذْهَبُ بِقِيمَتِهِمَا التَّارِيخِيَّةِ، وَيُقَلِّلُ خَطَرَهُمَا فِي رَأْيِ النَّاقِدِ.

From this, one can see that the editions of Al-Yaziji and Tabbara—despite the correction and care they received—were assembled from disparate sources. The publishers' interference compromises their historical value and diminishes their significance in the eyes of a critic.

طَبْعَةُ شَيْخُو يَقُولُ الْأَبُ شَيْخُو فِي الْمُقَدِّمَةِ الْفَرَنْسِيَّةِ الَّتِي قَدَّمَهَا لِطَبْعَتِهِ إِنَّهُ عَثَرَ فِي دَيْرِ الشِّيرِ فِي لُبْنَانَ عَلَى مَخْطُوطٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ كَلِيلَةَ وَدِمْنَةَ، كُتِبَ سَنَةَ ٧٣٩هـ، وَإِنَّهُ رَأَى فِي أُسْلُوبِهَا شَبَهًا بِمَا

Cheikho's edition: In the French introduction to his edition, Father Cheikho states that he discovered a manuscript of Kalila wa-Dimna in the Deir Al-Shir monastery in Lebanon, dated 739 AH, and that he observed a stylistic resemblance to what

Vocabulary · المفردات (39 verbs · 90 nouns)

• اعْتَمَدَ — to rely
• حَاكَى — to imitate
• ذَكَرَ — to mention
• عَثَرَ — to find
• قَايَسَ — to compare
• وَجَدَ — to find
• قَالَ — to say
• جَمَعَ — to collect
• طَبَّقَ — to apply
• اخْتَارَ — to choose
• أَشَارَ — to point out
• زَادَ — to increase
• عَنَّ — to occur
• جَرَّ — to pull
• ظَنَّ — to think
• خَلَا — to become free from
• جَرَّأَ — to embolden
• أَمْكَنَ — to enable, to make possible
• قَصُرَ — to fall short
• ضَاقَ — to narrow
• فَعَلَ — to do
• اسْتَعَانَ — to seek help
• تَطَرَّقَ — to approach
• تَيَسَّرَ — to come easily
• أَنْزَلَ — to place
• حَذَفَ — to delete
• لَائَمَ — to suit
• صَلُحَ — to suit
• كَتَبَ — to write
• عَزَمَ — to resolve
• عَنَى — to mean
• تَوَفَّرَ — to become available
• رَأَى — to see
• لَقِيَ — to encounter
• لَفَّقَ — to fabricate
• وَقَعَ — to fall
• ذَهَبَ — to go
• قَلَّلَ — to reduce
• قَدَّمَ — to present
• طَبْعَة — edition
• يَازِجِي — Yaziji
• طَبَّارَة — Tabbarah
• شَامِيَّة — Levantine
• مِصْر — Egypt
• تَصْحِيح — correction
• تَلْفِيق — fabrication
• مَخْطُوط — manuscript
• شَيْخ — sheikh
• خَلِيل — Khalil
• مُقَدِّمَة — introduction
• نُسْخَة — copy
• سَنَة — year
• مِائَة — three hundred
• مَطْبُوع — printed
• اخْتِلَاف — difference
• كَثِير — much
• أَحْسَن — best
• نَقْل — transfer
• مَزِيد — more
• خَطّ — handwriting
• إِصْلَاح — reform
• غَلَط — errors
• نَسَّاخ — copyists
• زِيَادَة — addition
• خَاطِر — mind
• ضَعِيف — weak
• رَبْط — connection
• فَاصِلَة — punctuation marks
• كَلَام — speech
• اسْتِدْعَاء — summoning
• مَقَام — context
• اسْتِحْسَان — approval
• مَوْقِع — location
• اسْتِطْرَاد — digression
• سِيَاق — context
• أَصْلِيّ — original
• شَيْء — thing
• مَعْنَى — meaning
• رَغْبَة — desire
• كِتَاب — book
• جَلِيل — majestic
• رَوْنَق — splendor
• قَدِيم — old
• ذَرْع — capacity
• وُسْع — ability
• رَجَاء — hope
• وَافِيَة — comprehensive
• جَدِيرَة — worthy
• مَنْزِلَة — status
• مَثَلٌ — proverbs
• عِبَارَة — phrases
• أَدَب — etiquette
• عَصْر — era
• قِرَاءَة — reading
• تِلْمِيذ — student
• أَحْمَد — Ahmad
• حَسَن — Hassan
• سَيِّد — master
• مُصْطَفَى — Mustafa
• مَنْفَلُوطِي — Manfaluti
• مُصَوَّر — illustrated
• مُقَابَلَة — comparison
• بَارِيس — Paris
• بَيْرُوت — Beirut
• شَهِير — famous
• أَقْرَب — closest
• أَبْعَد — farthest
• تَحْرِيف — distortion
• تَبْدِيل — alteration
• أَسْلَم — safest
• نُقْصَان — deficiency
• عِنَايَة — care
• مُخْتَلِف — different
• تَصَرُّف — disposal
• نَاشِر — publisher
• قِيمَة — value
• تَارِيخِيّ — historical
• خَطَر — importance
• رَأْي — opinion
• نَاقِد — critic
• أَب — father
• فَرَنْسِيّ — French
• دَيْر — monastery
• شِير — Shir
• لُبْنَان — Lebanon
• أُسْلُوب — style
• شَبَه — resemblance
• مُشَار — indicated
• أَصْل — origin