The Epistle of Forgiveness. Abu l-'Ala al-Ma'arri

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СКАЧАТЬ فقد أودع شرابه في شَنّ، غيرِ ثقةٍ على الوديعة، بل هي منه في صاحب خديعة.

      وقد رُوي أنّ سيبويه لمّا اختبر شأنَه وراز، رغِب في ولاية المَظالم بشيراز، وأنّ الكسائيَّ تحوَّب ممّا صنع به، فأعانه كي يشحَط على مطلبه.

      فأمّا حبيب بن أوسٍ فهلك وهو بالموْصل على البريد: وصاحب الأدب حليف التصريد.

      Men of letters have always complained of the vagaries of time, in every generation. They have been singled out by strange events in bucketfuls. The Sheikh knows the story of Maslamah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, who bequeathed part of his possessions to men of letters. “They are,” he said, “people of a despised art.” I think they and bad luck¹⁰⁵ were created as twin brothers. One of them may be successful for a short while, but then it does not take long before his foot slips and his skin is rent by Fate. The Sheikh has heard, in Egypt, the story of Abū l-Faḍl and Saʿīd, whose cases were similar.¹⁰⁶ Now if people with literary erudition were harshly treated already in Umayyad times, how could they be safe from harm during the reign of the Abbasids? If tribulations afflicted them in the prime of al-Rashīd’s days, how could one hope for them to enjoy good fortune on a solid basis? Did Abū ʿUbaydah not come with al-Aṣmaʿī, while both of them were seeking good pastures, not wishing to return to Basra? But only ʿAbd al-Malik was made to stay and Maʿmar was sent back.¹⁰⁷ Who knows what is hidden in the bushes? And who would wish to earn a living with this profession? Who does so keeps his wine in a worn-out skin that cannot be relied upon to keep its deposit: it is to him a deceitful friend. It is reported that when Sībawayh¹⁰⁸ considered his situation and weighed it, he wanted to be appointed at the tribunal of torts¹⁰⁹ in Shiraz; and that al-Kisāʾī expressed grief about what he did to him and supported him, so as to surpass Sībawayh's expectations by far. Ḥabīb ibn Aws passed away while in Mosul, in charge of the postal service. A man of letters is always familiar with receiving too little.

      25.2

      وأمّا الذين ذكرهم من المصحِّفين، فغيرُ البَرَرة ولا المُنْصِفين. وما زال التَتْفُل يعرِض لأذاة الأسد، وما أحسبه يشعر بمكان الحسد، فإذا ادَّلج وَردٌ هَموس، تشقى به التامكةُ أو اللَّموس، فثُعالةُ به مُنْذِرٌ، كأنه للمفترَس محذِّر، ولا يراه الضَّيْغم موْضعًا للعتاب، ويجعل أمره فيما يُحتمل من الخَطْب المُنتاب. وكم من أغلبَ ُمثارٍ، يسهَّد لغناء الطَّيثار، وإذا هو بليلٍ تغنَّى، فالقَسْوَر به معنَّى:

ما يضرُّ البحرَ أمسى زاخرًا

أن رمى فيه غلامٌ بحَجَرْ

أو كلّما طنَّ الذّبابُ أروعُهُ؟

إنَّ الذُّبابَ إذًا عليَّ كريمُ

      ومازال الهَمَج يقولون، ويقصُرون عن المكرُمة فلا يطُولون، وإنهم عما أثَّل متثاقلون، وطُلّاب الأدب في جباله واقلون.

      من انفرد بفضيلةٍ أثيرة، فإنّه يتقدَّم بمناقبَ كثيرة، وإن حُسّاد البارع لكَما قال الفرزدق:

فإن تهْجُ آلَ الزِّبْرقان فإنّما	هجوتَ الطّوالَ الشُّمَّ من آل١ يَذْبُلِ
وقد ينبح الكلبُ النّجومَ ودونَها	فراسخُ تُنْضي٢ ناظرَ المتأمِّلِ

      يعدو على الحاسد حسدُه، ويذوب من كبْتٍ جسدُه:

فهل ضربةُ الرّوميِّ جاعلةٌ لكم

أبًا عن كُليبٍ أو أبًا مثل دارمِ؟

      ١ كذا، والمشهور أن يذبل جبل؛ وفي الديوان ونقائض جرير والفرزدق: من هضب يذبل.

      ٢ في كل الطبعات: (تقصي)، والصواب (تنضي) كما في الديوان والنقائض.

      Those the Sheikh mentioned who are guilty of misplacing the diacritical marks when they read are neither respectful nor just. A fox will always be keen to harm a lion; I don’t think he is even aware that it is due to envy. When a fierce, softly treading lion goes out at night, ready to cause misery to a large-humped she-camel, or one whose fatness is palpable,¹¹⁰ then the fox warns against him, as if he were a cautioner of the prey. But the lion does not think him worthy of rebuke and merely considers him one of those misfortunes that must be endured when they befall. How many a thick-necked lion stirred to a rage is kept awake by the singing of a mosquito! All night long it is humming while the bulky lion is suffering. However,

      It does not harm the sea, when it is full to overflowing,

      if a boy casts a stone at it.¹¹¹

      Or whenever a fly is buzzing, should I scare it away?

      The fly would then be important to me!¹¹²

      The rabble never stop talking, always falling short of noble things and never excelling. They are too sluggish to grasp what is nobly rooted, whereas those who seek erudition will climb its mountains. He who, uniquely, has a noble virtue will advance with many excellent qualities, while those who envy someone who excels are truly as al-Farazdaq says:¹¹³

      If you lampoon the clan of al-Zibriqān, then you

      lampoon men who are tall and proud, of Yadhbul’s hill.¹¹⁴

      A dog may bark at the stars, while between them and it

      are many miles¹¹⁵ that wear out¹¹⁶ the eye of the observer.

      The envier’s envy turns on himself: his body is worn away by the repression of his feelings.

      Will striking СКАЧАТЬ