Notes on the Nigaristan and Other Unpublished Translations by
Rehatsek, Presented to the Royal Asiatic Society by F. F. Arbuthnot.
1. The Nigaristan (Picture Gallery), by Mu'in-uddin Jawini.
Faithfully translated from the Persian by E. Rehatsek. 1888.
The Preface is by Arbuthnot. He points out that there are three
great Persian didactic works, viz.:—The Gulistan, or Rose Garden,
by Sadi; The Nigaristan by Jawini; and The Beharistan by Jami.
The Nigaristan contains 534 stories in prose and verse.
Some particulars of it are given in Arbuthnot's Persian Portraits
(Quaritch, 1887), p. 106. "These three books," to use Arbuthnot's
works, "abound in pure and noble sentiments such as are to be found
scattered throughout the Sacred Books of the East, the Old and New
Testaments, and the Koran."
The two following extracts will give some idea of the contents and
style of the Nigaristan:
Zohra [712]
If Zohra plays the guitar a thousand years,
The musician's song will always be this:
Try to become the subject of a good tale,
Since everyone who lives becomes a tale.
Fath Mousuli's Prayer
After having been very prosperous and rich, Fath Mousuli fell into
poverty and misery. After a while, however, when he had accustomed
himself more to his position, he said, "O Lord, send me a revelation
that I may know by what act I have deserved this gift, so that I may
offer thanks for this favour."
2. Translations from the Persian, by the late E. Rehatsek.
i. A Persian Tract on the observances of the Zenanah, pp. 1 to
10.
ii. A Persian Essay on Hospitality, or Etiquette of Eating and
Drinking, pp. 20 to 29.
iii. A short Persian Manuscript on Physiognomies, pp. 1 to 8.
The last consists of a preface and ten chapters. "These leaves,"
we are told, "are the compendium of a treatise written by the Ema'n
Fakhr-al-din Al-Ra'zy—may God overwhelm him with forgiveness—
on the Science of Physiognomies." We are told how the abode
influences character; when the character of a man corresponds with
that of a beast; that "the index of the dominant passion is the
face;" that "the male is among all animals stronger and more perfect
than the female," and so on.
A short quotation must suffice:
"When does the character of a man correspond to that of a beast?"
"If a man has a long face, protuberant eyes, and the tip of his nose
long, drawn out like the snout of a dog, because as we have
explained above, external appearances and internal qualities are
closely connected with each other, so that if a man happens to
resemble some animal he will possess the nature of it also."
3. Translations from the Persian and Arabic, by the late
E. Rehatsek.
Persian.
i. Short anecdotes, stories and fables picked out and translated
from the Nuzhat al Yaman, pp. 1 to 7.
ii. The Merzuban Namah, from which animal fables have been
translated, pp. 7 to 21.
Arabic.
i. Selected historical and other extracts from the celebrated
Arabic work, Al Moustairaf, pp. 1 to 5.
ii. Some extracts from the well-known Siraj-ul-moluk, pp. 5 to 7.
iii. Twenty-five chapters of Extracts from the Arabic Tuhfat
ekhoan us safa, under the title of "Discussion between man and
animals before the King of the Jinns," pp. 7 to 33.
4. Biography of our Lord Muhammed, Apostle of Allah (Benediction of
Allah and peace be on him).
According to the tradition of A'bdu-l-Malik Ebn Hasham, obtained
from Muhammed Ebn Esahag. Translated from the Arabic by Edward
Rehatsek. Preface by F. F. Arbuthnot.
There is some account of this work in F. F. Arbuthnot's Arabic
Authors, pp. 52 and 53.
Appendix X
W. F. Kirby
William Forsell Kirby, F.L.S., F.E.S., is the son of Samuel Kirby,
banker, and his wife Lydia, nee Forsell; nephew of William Kirby,
well-known in connection with the London Orphan Asylum; and cousin
to the popular authoresses, Mary and Elizabeth Kirby. Born at
Leicester, 14th January 1844. He was assistant in the museum of
Royal Dublin Society (later National Museum of Science and Art) from
1867 to 1879, and later was transferred to the Zoological Department
of the British Museum. He is member of several learned societies,
and has written a large number of Entomological Works. He has made
a special study of the European editions of the Arabian Nights and
its imitations, and has a very fine collection of books relating to
this subject. To his contributions to Sir Richard Burton's
translation we have already alluded. He has also written
Ed-Dimiryaht and other poems (1867); The New Arabian Nights (1883);
and The Hero of Esthonia (1905); and his translation of the Kalevala
is in the press. Mr. Kirby married in 1866, Johanna Maria Kappel,
who died in 1893, leaving one son, William E. Kirby, M.D.
Appendix 11
Genealogical Table. The Burtons of Shap
{Unable to reproduce the table.}
Footnotes:
1 ([return])
[ The few anecdotes that Lady Burton does give are taken from the books of Alfred B. Richards and others.]