Arabic Authors Part 12

To sum up, then, shortly, Payne's thirteen volumes contain 193 princ.i.p.al, and 159 subordinate stories, or 352 in all, while Burton's sixteen volumes contain 231 princ.i.p.al, and 195 subordinate stories, or 426 altogether. These numerous stories, translated from the Calcutta (1814-18), Calcutta Macnaghten (1839-42), Boulak (Cairo, 1835-36), Breslau (Tunis), Wortley Montague, Galland and Chavis texts may be considered to form what is commonly called 'The Arabian Nights Entertainment.' They date from A.D. 750, which may be considered as the year of their commencement and that of the Abbaside dynasty, and go on, continually added to, up to A.D. 1600, or even later. Many authors have had a hand in the work, the stories themselves having been derived from Indian, Persian, Arabian, Egyptian, Syrian and Grecian sources, and adapted, more or less, for Arab readers and hearers. And as the ma.n.u.scripts in some of these stories in different countries do not in any way tally, it must be supposed that no such work as an original copy of the 'Thousand and One Nights' has ever been in existence. The repertoire, consisting of a few stories at first, has gradually grown to such a size that now it may almost be considered to contain the largest and best collection of stories that the world has, as yet seen.

Mention has been already made in a previous page of the 'Katha Sarit Sagara,' or Ocean of the Streams of Story, and a brief description of this work was given in the third chapter of 'Early Ideas' (A.D. 1881).

Since then a complete translation of the 'Katha' has been made by Professor C.H. Tawney, of the Calcutta College, and it has been published in fourteen fasciculi, in the 'Bibliotheca Indica,' by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1880-1887. It is to be regretted, for the sake of the student and the anthropologist, that the translation is presented in an expurgated form. Still, the Professor has done his work (and a long and tedious work it must have been) excessively well, while many of his notes, corrigenda and addenda are most interesting.

The 'Arabian Nights' and the 'Katha Sarit Sagara' occupy respectively the same position in Arabic and Hindoo literature. They are both collections of tales adapted to the people of the country for which they have been written. A perusal of both the works will show how much they differ. The characters and ideas of the heroes and heroines, their thoughts, reflections, speeches, surroundings, and situations are worth studying in the two books as an exposition of the manners and customs, ideas and habits of two distinct peoples. The Hindoo characters, as depicted in their story-book, will be found to be duller, heavier, more reverential, and more superst.i.tious than the characters in the 'Nights.' There are two things, however, common to the two books: the power of destiny, and the power of love, against which it is apparently useless to struggle.

While there are 426 stories in Burton's 'Nights,' there are 330 tales of sorts in Tawney's 'Katha.' Both works are rather formidable as regards size and quant.i.ty of matter; still, after a start has been fairly made, the interest goes on increasing in a wonderful way, until at last one becomes absorbed and interested to a degree that can scarcely be imagined.

The stories in the 'Katha Sarit Sagara' are supposed to have been originally composed by one Gunadhya, in the Paisacha language, and made known in Sanscrit under the t.i.tle of 'Vrihat Katha,' or Great Tale. From this work one Bhatta Somadeva, in the eleventh century A.D., prepared the work now known as the 'Katha Sarit Sagara,' but probably stories have been added to it since. At present it consists of eighteen books, divided into one hundred and twenty-four chapters, and containing three hundred and thirty stories, along with other matter. Of Gunadhya, the supposed original author, not much is known, but Vatsyayana, in his 'Kama Sutra' (printed privately for the Kama Shastra Society) mentions the name of Gunadhya as a writer whose works he had consulted, and gives frequent quotations from them in his chapter on the duties of a wife. The exact date of Vatsyayana's life is also uncertain; some time not earlier than the first century B.C., and not later than the sixth century A.D., is considered to be the approximate period of his existence.

Like the 'Arabian Nights,' it is highly probable that the 'Katha' grew by degrees to its present size. Gunadhya's original work is apparently not now extant. Between the time it was written and the time that Somadeva produced his edition of it, many stories may have been added, and the same process may have continued afterwards. Somadeva, however, says: 'I compose this collection, which contains the pith of the "Vrihat Katha."' Again he writes: 'This book is precisely on the model of that from which it is taken; there is not the slightest deviation; only such language is selected as tends to abridge the prolixity of the work; the observance of propriety and natural connection, and the joining together of the portions of the poem so as not to interfere with the spirit of the stories, are as far as possible kept in view. I have not made this attempt through desire of a reputation for ingenuity, but in order to facilitate the recollection of a mult.i.tude of various tales.'

The 'Katha Sarit Sagara' contains many stories now existing in the 'Pancha Tantra,' or Five Chapters, in the 'Hitopodesa,' or Friendly Advice, in the 'Baital Pachesi,' or Twenty-five Stories of a Demon, and other Indian story-books. Owing to the total absence of dates it is difficult to determine from what sources all these stories were collected. But as some of the same fables and animal stories are to be found in the 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' or Jataka Tales, in the 'Arabian Nights,' and in the 'Katha,' it may fairly be conjectured that stories of this nature were in early years in considerable circulation, and used as a means of conveying wisdom and advice both to the cla.s.ses and to the ma.s.ses in those prehistoric times.

To return to Arab story-books. Mention must be made of 'Antar,' a Bedouin romance, which has been partially translated from the Arabic into English by Terrick Hamilton, Secretary to the British Emba.s.sy at Constantinople, and published in London (1820). Mr. Clouston, in his 'Arabian Poetry for English Readers,' Glasgow, 1881, has given an abstract of the story, with some specimens of translations from the original.

The work itself is generally supposed to have been written by Al-Asmai, the philologist and grammarian (born A.D. 740, died A.D.

831), who flourished at the court of Harun-ar-Rashid, and was a great celebrity in his time. It is probable that many of the stories told about Antar and his wonderful deeds came down orally and traditionally to Al-Asmai, who embellished them with his own imagination, aided by a wonderful knowledge of the language and idioms used by the Arabs in their desert wilds.

Antar is the hero, and Abla the heroine, of the romance. Antar himself is supposed to have lived during the sixth century A.D., and to have been the author of one of the seven famous poems suspended at Mecca, and known as the Mua'llakat. Besides this he was distinguished as a great warrior, whose deeds of daring were quite marvellous. The translator had intended to divide the work into three parts. The first ends with the marriage of Antar and Abla, to attain which many difficulties had to be overcome. The second part includes the period when Antar suspends his poem at Mecca, also a work of considerable difficulty. The third part gives the hero's travels, conquests, and death. Mr. Hamilton only translated and published the first part of the three, and the two others have not yet been done into English.

The romance of Antar, though tedious, is interesting, as it gives full details of the life of the Arabs before Muhammad's time, and even after, for the Arab life of to-day is apparently much the same as it was three thousand years ago. It appears to be an existence made up of continual wanderings, constant feud and faction, and perpetual struggles for food, independence and plunder. But in the deserts on the frontiers of Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia and Baghdad, it is said that the various tribes are now kept much more in subjection by the Turks, owing to the introduction of the breech-loader, against which the Arab and his matchlock and his peculiar mode of warfare is somewhat powerless.

While the 'Arabian Nights' are supposed to treat more of the inhabitants of the towns, the romance of Antar deals more with the inhabitants of the desert. To the student of the Arabic language both works are interesting, as they occupy a prominent and standard place in Arabian literature, and afford much information about the manners and customs, ideas and peculiarities of an ancient and interesting race of people. It must be admitted that both Antar and the 'Arabian Nights' are so long that they rather try the patience of readers not particularly interested in them. Nowadays in England the daily press supplies such a ma.s.s of information of all sorts in connection with every branch of society, that a constant and persistent reader of our daily and weekly newspapers can find in them quite an 'Arabian Nights Entertainment' without going further afield. Indeed, the stories concerning the cures effected by certain patent medicines are as wonderful as anything one ever reads in the 'Nights' themselves.

And in addition to the realities and actualities of life, as daily told in our newspapers and law reports, many of which do certainly prove that fact is stranger than fiction, there are numerous writers who keep the public supplied with tales and stories of every kind and description. And from the great demand for such productions, whether issued as the penny dreadful, the thrilling story, or the regulation romance in three volumes, one conclusion can only be drawn, which is--that the human mind, everywhere in the East, West, North and South, is always anxious to be fed or amused with something startling or romantic, dreadful or improbable, exciting or depressing.

It is to be presumed, then, that the 'Nights' filled the vacuum in the minds of the people of that day in the East, much the same as the books and newspapers of our time satisfy the cravings of the humanities of the West, who still seem to be ever in search of something new, even if not true; something original, even if not trustworthy. Human nature appears to be much the same in all ages and at all times, and the scandals connected with high persons, the memoirs and reminiscences of celebrated ones, and the good sayings of witty ones, have always found much favour with the public generally, whether told as stories, published as books, or printed in the papers.

Arabic literature abounds with biographical details and stories about celebrated and distinguished men. It was always the custom and fashion to fill their works with much information of the kind. The same fashion appears to exist in England at the present time, with this advantage, however, that we now get all the details and stories direct from the heroes themselves, and during their lifetime.

CHAPTER V.

ANECDOTES AND ANA.

In Persian literature there are three celebrated works (Sa'di's 'Gulistan,' or Rose Garden, A.D. 1258; Jawini's 'Negaristan,' or Portrait Gallery, A.D. 1334; and Jami's 'Beharistan,' or Abode of Spring, A.D. 1487, all translated by the Kama Shastra Society), containing an entertaining collection of stories, verses, and moral maxims. In Arabic literature there are many books of the same sort, and in this chapter it is proposed to give a few specimens of stories and philosophic reflections culled from various authors. This will perhaps be more interesting than a lengthened a.n.a.lysis of the works themselves.

The following anecdotes have been taken from the 'Naphut-ul-Yaman'

(Breeze or Breath of Yaman), a collection of stories and poetical extracts of various Arabic authors, edited by Ahmad-ash-Shirwani.

I.

Al-Jahiz said: 'I never was put so much to shame as when a woman met me on the road and said, "I have some business with you," and I followed her till we reached the shop of a goldsmith, when she said, "Like this man," and walked away. I stood amazed, and asked the goldsmith to explain the matter. He replied: "This woman wanted me to make her a figure of Satan, and I told her that I did not know his physiognomy; whereon she brought you!"'

II.

A voracious man paid a visit to a hermit, who brought him four loaves, and then went to fetch a dish of beans; but when he had come with it, he found that his guest had consumed the bread. Accordingly he departed to bring some more bread, but when he returned with it he saw that the man had devoured the beans. This proceeding was repeated ten times, whereon the host asked his guest to what place he was travelling. He replied, 'To Rei.' 'Wherefore?' 'I heard of a celebrated physician in that town, and I mean to consult him about my stomach, because I have but little appet.i.te for eating.' 'I have a request to make of you.' 'What is it?' 'When you return, after having recovered your appet.i.te, please do not pay me a visit again.'

III.

One day the poet Abu Nuwas made his appearance at the gate of the palace of Rashid, who, as soon as he was informed of this, called for eggs, and said to his courtiers: 'Here is Abu Nuwas at the door. Now let each of you take an egg and place it under his body, and when he enters I shall feign to be angry with all of you, and shall exclaim: "Now lay eggs each of you, and if you do not I shall order you all to be beheaded," and we shall see how he will behave.' Then the poet was admitted, and the conversation continued. After a while, however, the Khalif became angry, and manifested his displeasure by exclaiming: 'You are all like hens, and meddle with things that do concern you; now lay eggs each of you, for that is your nature, or I shall order your heads to be struck off.' Then he looked at the courtier on his right, saying: 'You are the first; now lay an egg.' Accordingly he made great efforts, and contorting his features, at last drew forth an egg. Then the Khalif addressed the others successively in the same manner, and when the turn of Abu Nuwas came, he struck his sides with his hands, and crowing like a c.o.c.k, said: 'My lord, hens are useless without a c.o.c.k. These are hens, and I am their c.o.c.k.' Hereon the Khalif burst out laughing, and approved of his excuse.

IV.

A certain king was much addicted to women, and one of his viziers warned him of the danger. Shortly afterwards some of his concubines observed that his behaviour towards them had changed, and one of them said: 'My lord, what is this?' He replied: 'One of my viziers (mentioning his name) advised me not to love you.' 'Then,' said the girl, 'present me to him, O king, and do not reveal what I shall do to him.' Accordingly he gave the girl away, and when the vizier was alone with her, she made herself so amiable that he fell in love with her, but she refused to grant him any favour except on condition of allowing her first to ride on his back. He agreed. Accordingly she bridled and saddled him, but meanwhile sent word to the king what was taking place; and when he arrived he saw the vizier in the position alluded to, and said: 'You warned me of the love of woman, and this is the state I see you in.' The vizier replied: 'O king! this is just what I warned you of!'

V.

Once a lion, a fox, and a wolf were a.s.sociates in the chase, and after they had killed an a.s.s, a gazelle, and a hare, the lion said to the wolf: 'Divide the prey among us;' whereon the latter said: 'The a.s.s will be yours, the hare the fox's, and the gazelle mine;' and the lion knocked his eye out. Then the fox said: 'A curse on him, what a silly division he proposed!' Accordingly the lion said: 'Then do you make the division, O possessor of the brush!' And the fox said: 'The a.s.s will be for your dinner, the gazelle for your supper, and the hare for your luncheon.' The lion said: 'You rogue! who taught you to make such a just distribution?' and Reynard answered, 'The eye of the wolf.'

VI.

A certain king asked his vizier whether habit can vanquish nature, or nature habit? The vizier replied: 'Nature is stronger, because it is a root, and habit a branch, and every branch returns to its root.' Now the king called for wine, and a number of cats made their appearance with candles in their paws, and stood around him; then he said to the vizier: 'Do you perceive your mistake in saying that nature is stronger than habit?' The vizier replied: 'Give me time till this evening.' The king continued: 'You shall have it.' Accordingly the vizier appeared in the evening with a mouse in his sleeve, and when the cats were standing with their candles, he allowed it to slip out, whereon all the cats threw down the candles and ran after it, so that the house was nearly set on fire. Then the vizier said: 'Behold, O king, how nature overcomes habit, and how the branch returns to the root.'

The 'Merzuban namah,' translated from the Persian into Arabic, is said to be of very ancient origin, and to embody good maxims in fables. It was composed, or is supposed to have been composed, by one of the old princes of Persia called Merzuban, a brother of the King Nausherwan the Just, who died A.D. 578. On referring to the great encyclopaedical and bibliographical dictionary, edited by Fluegel, it will be found, under No. 11,783, that Haji Khalfa mentions this book, giving, however, its t.i.tle only, without mentioning the time of its composition, nor the author of it, nor the language in which it had been written. The following are some extracts from this work, and the stories resemble others that have come from the Farther East.

I.

The philosopher Merzuban said: 'I am informed that in a certain district of Aderbaijan there is a mountain as high as the sky, with fine brooks, trees, fruits and herbs. Under the shelter of one of the most beautiful trees a pair of partridges lived most happily, but in the vicinity there was likewise a powerful eagle with his brood, who periodically visited the abode of the partridges and devoured their young ones. When the pair had thus several times lost their progeny, the male proposed that it would either be necessary for them to emigrate to some other locality, or to try some expedient by which they might escape from the rapacity of the eagle. He was of opinion that even in case of failure they might gain some valuable experience that would be of use in future attempts to elude the persecution, and said: "We must at all events make a trial, and may learn something from it, like the donkey who endeavoured to become the companion of the camel." The she-partridge asked, "How was that?" and the male continued:

II.

'"Once a donkey tried to keep up walking with a big camel, who paced l.u.s.tily, and took long steps, but the a.s.s, being in a hurry, stumbled every moment, and found that he had undertaken an impossible task. He asked the camel, 'How is it I wound my hoofs on the rocks so often, although I constantly look where I am stepping; whilst you, who apparently walk with leisure, never cast a glance at any of the obstacles you meet with, and never hurt yourself?' The camel replied: 'The reason is just because you are short-sighted and of weak intellect; you can look no further than your nose, and are, therefore, disappointed; whereas I look always forward, know the obstacles I am likely to encounter, scan the road to a great distance, and avoid the difficulties, selecting the easiest parts of the way.'" The wise hen said: "To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and this principle I follow." "I have narrated this story to show you that we must look forward, now that the time of laying eggs is at hand, because when our little ones are hatched it may again be too late to try and save them."

'The female partridge said: "This is all very well, but we might fare like the hungry fox who would have lost his life if the ichneumon had not interceded for him with the camel." The male said "How was that?"

and the female continued:

III.