Impostures. al-Ḥarīrī
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Impostures - al-Ḥarīrī страница 15

Название: Impostures

Автор: al-Ḥarīrī

Издательство: Ingram

Жанр: Языкознание

Серия: Library of Arabic Literature

isbn: 9781479800858

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ Cairo, Adab 105).” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 61, no. 4 (1971): 1–81.

      For R. and R.

      Κι ἂν εἶσαι στὸ σκαλὶ τὸ πρῶτο, πρέπει

      νἆσαι ὑπερήφανος κι εὐτυχισμένος.

      Ἐδῶ ποῦ ἔφθασες, λίγο δὲν εἶναι·

      τόσο ποῦ ἔκαμες, μεγάλη δόξα.

IMPOSTURES

      The Author’s Introduction

      In this short Introduction, al-Ḥarīrī confides to God his fear of being so carried away by his own rhetoric that he strays from the truth. He claims to have written the Impostures under duress, though his protests are not very convincing. He also insists that his efforts, painstaking though they are, can only be an echo of the original Impostures, those of al-Hamadhānī. Finally, he defends the practice of inventing characters and speeches in order to make a point. To convey a sense of the balanced, rhythmic character of al-Ḥarīrī’s Arabic, the English Introduction imitates the style of Edward Gibbon (d. 1794), whose Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire uses a variety of rhetorical devices to achieve a stately momentum.

      0.1In the name of the most merciful God

      Lord, let my gratitude to thee insure the renewal of thy bounty.

      Thou hast imparted to us the art of declamation, and instilled in us the power of discernment. Grateful for thy gifts, and safe beneath thy shield, I offer thee the tribute of thanksgiving. From intemperance, as from bombast, guard my tongue; let no defect in speech, or sudden fit of stammering, make me ridiculous. May flattery not inspire, nor indulgence nourish, an unbecoming pride. Be thou my bulwark against hostile and contumacious spirits! Forgive me for kindling those passions that lead, by insensible degrees, to profligacy and vice; and for directing the reader’s steps toward the precipice of sin. Bestow, rather, maturity of judgment, and a disposition to yield to the just demands of truth. Suffer me to speak with an honest voice. Let a firm resolve check the arrogance, and temper the excesses, of self-love. Guide me gently to a more perfect understanding, supply my want of eloquence, and defend me from error in the quoting of authorities. Curb my levity, lest it assume the character of insolence. Suffer me not to reap the bitter harvest of loquacity, or yield to the blandishments of pomposity and affectation. Let me have no reason to feel the lashings of remorse; let me furnish no pretext for censure or reproach; and let me not excite, by some thoughtless ejaculation, the reader’s just reproof.

      0.2Admit, Lord, my petition; grant my wish; admit me to thy sanctuary; suffer me not to be consumed. In fervent supplication, I implore thy boundless mercy. If humility avails, behold my abject plea; if an offering must be made, I have nothing to offer but hope. I entreat thee also in the name of Mahomet, our lord and intercessor, the seal of the prophets, whom thou hast raised to the loftiest heights of heaven, and exempted from the penalty of sin. Of him a passage of the Koran, the most credible of witnesses, declares: “These are the words of an honourable messenger, endued with strength, of established dignity in the sight of the possessor СКАЧАТЬ