is used but the value of its Persian equivalent is taken. As for instance, in the very first line of this quatrain where the Poet says موآن بحرم I am that bar (the sea), meaning دریا darya; now the word darya is Persian for بحر and the numerical values of the letters of darya add up to 215, i.e., 1 = 4 ;10 = 6 ; 200 = ر and 1=1 215 = دریا The numerical values of the letters of his own name طاهر Tahir also number up to 215, so that when he says he is the sea darya he means طاهر Tahir. Similarly, the word Alfa thousand, is Arabic for the Persian هزار hazar. If we take the values of the letters of هزار according to the second system, that is the Zabar and the Baiyyinat together, the result is as follows : 111 = الف ; 2011 326, the same the بحر or طاهر = (215) = دریا Tahir numerically; الفقد give the same number according to A total 215. Here he says he is the طاهر .. الفقد Tahir. From the preceding statement it will be seen that his date of birth, as given by himself, is 326 A.H. and the fourth line of Quatrain No. 29 is the chronogram of his birth. 1. 1. Happy are they who always see thy face. 4. I will go and see those who see thee. There is no such word as زامان for زمان - We have the word هزمان the contraction of هرزمان and the line has been correctly given now as خوشا آنان که هزمان روته وین 2. 1. Without thee, I pray to God, may rose never grow in the 3. Without thee, should the heart ever open its lips to laugh. The expression يارب literally means " O Lord," but is sometimes used as a prayer and is not directly addressed to God; sometimes it expresses wonder and astonishment. The Quatrain is addressed to the Poet's beloved, and not to God, as it is obvious that nothing will grow without God. The second line supports this, as here the poet says, " if it do grow." Cf the word يارب in Quatrain No. 57, line 4th, where it is similarly used. From the note on page 67, it appears that the translator has taken the word بخند as the dialectal form of بخندد and has translated it as such. But it is not so, the idiom بخنده لب گشودن means to open the lips to smile or laugh. 3. The translation of this Quatrain read with the footnotes is quite correct, and requires no comment. 4. 1. I am troubled by (the phrase) "They said yes." 2. I have more sins than the leaves of trees. 3. When to-morrow the readers of the book (of deeds) read their books. 4. I, book in hand, shall hang my head. In the 2nd line, the word دارون darin, is the plural of دار a tree. It has no connection whatsoever with دار dar, the gallows, nor with دارون darvan, an elm. The word برگ barg should be read برگ bargii.e. "leaves of." In the 3rd line نومه خونون "the readers of the book" does not mean the Recording Angels. According to the Mussulmans every person's deeds are recorded by the Recording Angels in a book, called نامه اعمال ، the book of deeds." On the day of judgment everyone is given his book to read his own deeds out of, in the presence of God. Here the poet says that "when those with clean sheets read their books, I, being a sinful person, with my book in hand, shall hold my head down." 5. 1. Lord! who am I, and with whom should I associate? 2. How long should I be with lashes full of bloody tears ? 3. When all turn me away from their doors, I come to thee. And if Thou turnest me away from Thy door, to whom shall 4. I go? The word بوشم is synonymous with both باشم and بوم. In the 1st and 2nd lines بوشم means باشم but in the 4th line it means بشرم The word و is synonymous with subriand باز baz, and means "to," "return to," or "turn to." The expression بازخانه baz khanah shud means, "he returned home." سوته means سري تو towards thee," and it is not correct to take it as the dialectal form of بسوخته 6. 1. In this homeless state to whom shall I go? 2. With this houselessness to whom shall I turn? 3. (When) all drive me away from their door, I come to Thee. hamam, otherwise the metre will be injured. It will be observed here that the word بر and شم in برکبانشم respectively mean "to," "toward,” and شوم togo," which has been alluded to in the note on Quatrain No. 5. 1. 2. 7. If Thou killest us miserably, whom fearest Thou? And if Thou drivest (us) with despair whom fearest Thou? 3. I, with this half a heart fear none. 4. Thou (who) possessest a heart as large as the two worlds whom fearest Thou? In the 4th line دو عالم دل or even جهاني دل translated into English would mean "a world of hearts" or a world full of hearts." In the 2nd line گر gar is better than ار ar, since there is no necessity for using this form. 8. 1. If we are the drunkard of drunkards, we are Thine. 2. And if we are helpless, we are Thine (we belong to Thee). 4. In whatsoever religion we be, we belong to Thee. شاهان شاه .., drunkard of drunkards, or arch-drunkard or arch-tippler. The word ايمون is another plural form of هستيم ما - ايم ما and is not the dialectal form of ایمان faith, which is an Arabic word. The poet means that whatever we are, drunkards or indigent and helpless, we belong to Thee. This word ایمون has been misunderstood, hence the error. Observe that the grammatical construction also becomes faulty, by adopting the translator's reading. 9. 1. He who has suffered grief knows the tune of lamentation, 4. For the heart-burnt knows the worth of the heart-burnt. The word buta means a crucible, as has rightly been translated; but in the translator's remark regarding the elimination of the in سوته پوله اندونه it should be observed that in پوته no has been eliminated; in اندوته and سوت it has. The word پوته puta, means a bag of money, but it is not applicable here. It also means a place where money is kept, a treasury. ১ 10. 1. A garden the branches of whose trees hang out, 4. Even though its fruit be rubies and pearls. I cannot understand why "the intention of this quatrain completely baffles Mr. Heron-Allen." The meaning is very clear. The author means that when a garden contains a tree whose branches reach out of the garden, i.e., are beyond the vigilance of the gardener, the gardener has always a bleeding heart for this very reason. This alludes to the beloved one who constantly goes out; the lover wants her all to himself, and cannot bear to see her lavishing her charms upon others. Hence the jealousy, and the suggestion to pluck her out (by the root) entirely from his heart, though she be the loveliest. Instances of such expressions of jealousy are constantly found in oriental poetry. 11. 1. O heart, thy path is clear of brambles and thorns, 3. And if thou canst, thy skin from thy body 4. Cast off, so that thy load may become light. The word بي in the 1st and 2nd lines - هست - باشد but in the 4th line it is equal to بشود may become." In the 1st line read بي "without," "clear of," instead of پر full of." I do not find any obscurity in the meaning of this Quatrain; the translator's. remark is incomprehensible, where he says "the meaning is exceedingly obscure." The poet addressing his heart says, "thy path is clear of thorns and brambles, and thy road leads to the heavens; in attempting that flight if thou art able to cast off thy skin do so, so that thy burden become lightened and thy progress be still further accelerated." 12. 1. Come, let us, the burnt in heart, gather round, 2. Converse together and exhibit our griefs 3. Let us bring scales and weigh our woes, 4. Whichsoever of us is more burnt, will weigh the heavier. I have read the 2nd line in the way it is given in my corrected textas غم وانمائيم instead of غمہاکشائیم The poet calls the woe-stricken together to converse and exhibit their woes, and to weigh their griefs, so that whoever has suffered more grief will certainly weigh heavier than the rest. 13. 1. "Come, O Ye burnt-in-heart, that we may lament, 4 2. Let us groan (or lament) over the absence of that lovely rose; 3. Let us go to the rose-garden with the ecstatic nightingale, 4. And if she lament not, let us lament. 1. I was (like) a falcon and I went to chase (my prey), 2. When a black-eyed one struck an arrow on my wing (pierced my wing). 3. Go, but graze not heedlessly on the mountains ; 4. He who grazes heedlessly, gets struck with an arrow unawares. سیه چشم means "black-eyed," but never "evil-eyed," which is In the 4th line, the word غافل is used in two different senses, the first غافل means "careless," "heedless," the second "unawares," synony. mous with ناگہان Black-eyes are admired by the Orientals, hence the application of orkuhl-Sulphide of antimony-to make them look black. سیه چشم means one with a black-eye, i.e., a beauty. تیر خوردن to be struck with an arrow. 16. 1. 'Tis through the mischief working of the heaven's revolution, 4. The flood of my tears runs down to Samak. : چشم زخم the eye of the wound, means the opening. When salt is sprinkled on a wound it causes smarting and irritation. Observe the play upon the words شور and شور نمک means saltish, as well as mutiny, rebellion, a brawl from شوریدن to rebel, to mutiny. The translator has taken چشم زخم to mean "wounded eye" where the word زخم is used adjectively, but that is not correct. چشم زخم means the eye or the opening of the wound, the Kasra being for اضافت izafat or the possessive, and not for Sifat, adjective. The similarity between the shape of a wound or incision and the eye, will not escape the student's detecting eye. 17. 1. O Lord! so afflicted am I by this heart, 2. Night and day I am in torment through this heart. |