Bibliotheca Polyglotta

(أ)
مقدّمة : كلمة عن الفنّ والأدب الحديث في مصر
من مجموعة (إحسان هانم) للكاتب المصري عيسى عُبَيْد
القاهرة : كتب نادرة ، 1921 ، ص. أ ـ فـ

MUQADDIMAT̈: Kalimaẗ ʕan al-fann wa'l-ʔadab al-ḥadīṯ fī Miṣr
min maǧmūʕaẗ ʔIḥsān Hānim (1921) lil-kātib al-miṣrī ʕĪsà ʕUbayd (18??-1922)
al-Qāhiraẗ: Kutub Nādiraẗ, 1921, ṣ. ʔ-f

INTRODUCTION/PREFACE: A word about modern art and literature in Egypt
from the collection Miss Ihsan (1921) by the Egyptian writer ʕĪsà ʕUbayd (18??-1922)

Translated from the original Arabic (Cairo: Kutub Nādiraẗ, 1921, p. i-xvii); translation into English by Stephan Guth, using preparatory work (raw translation into Norwegian) provided by Henrik Gråtrud, Ingvild Tomren, Dina Rosenbaum, and Miriam Chakroun.

"title", ʔadab, fann, ḥadīṯ, Miṣr

1 – الفنّ القصصي في مصر فنّ ولید ، لم يستوفِ حقّه من ا لجلاء تجاه أفكار كتّابنا العصريين لاستغراقهم في وضع أو تعريب الروايات المرسحية ممّا قد كاد يكون عندنا الفنّ المرسحي قبل الفنّ القصصي

1 – al-fann al-qiṣaṣī fī miṣr fann walīd, lam yastawfi ḥaqqa-hū min al-ǧalāʔ tuǧāha ʔafkār kuttābi-nā ’l-ʕaṣriyyīn li-’stiġrāqi-him fī waḍʕ ʔaw taʕrīb al-riwāyāt al-marsaḥiyyaẗ mimmā qad kāda yakūn ʕinda-nā al-fann al-marsaḥī qabla al-fann al-qiṣaṣī

1 | The art of story-writing¹ in Egypt is a newly-born art that has not yet obtained in the minds of our contemporary writers the prestige/ presence/prominent place it deserves, because they are so occupied with producing or Arabizing² theatrical³ plays⁴ that, for us [sc. Egyptian writers], dramatic art almost comes before story-writing,

1. al-fann al-qaṣaṣī (or perh. better: qiṣaṣī): Given that (oral) story-telling has a long tradition in the Middle East and I don’t think that the author completely ignored this, the expression is rendered by ‘story-writing’ here (and further down by ‘narrative prose’). 2. Taʕrīb ‘Arabizing’: means ‘translation into Arabic’, which often rather implies an ‘adaptation’ of the plot to the domestic context than a translation in the contemporary sense where – an ideally congenial – faithfulness vis-à-vis the original is the desired norm. 3. The author still uses the adj. marsaḥī rather than the more modern masraḥī, with metathesis. 4. Lit., accounts, reports – riwāyāt. For the author’s variable use of the term riwāyaẗ, cf. also below, passim.

AR: fann, qaṣaṣ/qiṣaṣ, Miṣr, kuttāb (kātib), ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ), waḍʕ, taʕrīb, riwāyaẗ, marsaḥ
EN: art, story-telling, Egypt, writer(s)/writing, modern(ity), composition, Arabization, theatre

بعكس فرنسا فإنّ "بلزاك وفلوبر وجونكور وزولا ودوديه" كانوا ويضعون الروايات القصصية المأخوذة عن صور الحياة ، المبنية على الملاحظات الدقيقة ، والتحليلات الصادقة ، والنظريات العلمية ، وبينما كان مرسحهم لا يظهر إلا الروايات الخيالية الضئيلة الجوفاء

bi-ʕaks faransā fa-ʔinna "Balzāk wa-Flūbīr wa-Ǧūnkūr wa-Zūlā wa-Dūdīh" kānū yaḍiʕūna al-riwāyāt al-qiṣaṣiyyaẗ al-maʔḫūḏaẗ ʕan ṣuwar al-ḥayāẗ, al-mabnīyaẗ ʕalà ’l-mulāḥaẓāt al-daqīqẗ, wa’l-taḥlīlāt al-ṣādiqaẗ, wa’l-naẓariyyāt al-ʕilmiyyaẗ, wa-baynamā kāna marsaḥu-hum lā yuẓhiru ʔillā al-riwāyāt al-ḫayāliyyaẗ al-ḍaʔīlaẗ al-ǧawfāʔ

in contrast to [the situation] in France where Balzac, Flaubert, Zola and Daudet have created narrative prose after pictures taken from life,⁵ built/based on minute observation, faithful analysis and scientific theory,⁶ whereas only hollow, weak, and [totally] fantastic plots⁷ had been staged in their [sc. the Frenchmen’s] theatres.

5. ṣuwar al-ḥayāẗ: could also mean various forms of life. 6. Lit., ‘views’ – naẓarāt. 7. riwāyāt: see above.

AR: Faransā, Balzāk (Balzac), Flūbīr (Flaubert), Ǧūnkūr (Goncourt), Zūlā (Zola), Dūdīh (Daudet), waḍaʕa (waḍʕ), riwāyaẗ, (maʔḫūḏ ʕan), ṣuwar al-ḥayāẗ, (mabniyy ʕalà ’l-), mulāḥaẓaẗ, daqīq (diqqaẗ), taḥlīl, ṣādiq (ṣidq), naẓariyyaẗ, ʕilm/ʕilmī/ʕilmiyyaẗ, marsaḥ, riwāyaẗ, ḫayālī (ḫayāl), ḍaʔīl (ḍuʔūlaẗ), ʔaǧwaf
EN: France, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Daudet, narrative prose, pictures taken from life, observation, analysis, scientific theory, fantastic

فتمكنوا بفضل مؤلفاتهم الناضجة القوية من أن يطهّروا المرسح ويحرّروه من ربقة المصطلحات الصبيانية السخيفة .

fa-tamakkanū bi-faḍli muʔallafāti-him al-nāḍiǧaẗ al-qawiyyaẗ min ʔan yuṭahhirū ’l-marsaḥ wa-yuḥarrirū-hu min rabaqaẗ al-muṣṭalaḥāt al-ṣibyāniyyaẗ al-saḫīfaẗ.

As a result, and thanks to their powerful and mature works, they [sc. the French] have been able to purify their stages and to liberate them from [the grip of] the lariat of silly childish expressions.

AR: taʔlīf, nāḍiǧ (nuḍūǧ), qawiyy (quwwaẗ), taṭhīr (ṭahāraẗ), marsaḥ, taḥrīr (ḥurriyyaẗ), ṣibyāniyyaẗ, saḫīf (saḫāfaẗ)
EN: …

أمّا سبب إقدام كتّابنا على المرسح وإهمالهم القصص ، فذلك لأن المرسح أضمن لفائدتهم المادّية والأدبية ،

ʔammā sabab ʔiqdām kuttābi-nā ʕalà ’l-marsaḥ wa-ʔihmāli-him al-qiṣaṣ, fa-ḏālika li-ʔanna ’l-marsaḥ ʔaḍmana li-fāʔidati-him al-māddiyyaẗ wa’l-ʔadabiyyaẗ,

The reason for our [sc. Egypt’s] writers’ preoccupation with theatre and their neglect of narrative prose lies in the fact that theatre better guarantees them material profit and prestige in the literary scene⁸

8. This is probably what is meant by li-fāʔidati-him al-māddiyyaẗ wa’l-ʔadabiyyaẗ – or would it be more appropriate to render fāʔidaẗ ʔadabiyyaẗ as ‘moral benefit’?

AR: sabab/ʔasbāb, ʔiqdām, kuttāb (kitābaẗ), marsaḥ, ʔihmāl qaṣaṣ / qiṣaṣ, fāʔidaẗ (fawāʔid, mufīd), ʔadabī
EN: narrative prose

ولأنّ الحرب بإيجادها أزمة الورق قضت تقريباً على حركة الطباعة ، وحالت دون إقدام الكتّاب على تأليف القصص

wa-li-ʔanna ’l-ḥarb bi-ʔīǧādi-hā ʔazmaẗ al-waraq qaḍat taqrīb^an ʕalà ḥarakaẗ al-ṭibāʕaẗ, wa-ḥālat dūna ʔiqdām al-kuttāb ʕalà taʔlīf al-qiṣaṣ

and that the paper crisis brought about by the war⁹ put an end to almost all printing activity and prevented the writers from composing [prose] stories.

9. I.e., WW I.

AR: ʔīǧād, ʔazmaẗ, ḥarakaẗ, ʔiqdām, kātib / kuttāb (kitābaẗ), taʔlīf
EN: …

على أنّ هناك عوامل أخرى ، ترجع إلى مزاج الكاتب المصري (ب) ونفسيته تجعلنا لا نجازف بكثير من الأمل في ارتقاء هذا النوع عندنا بالسرعة المبتغاة ؛

ʕalà ʔanna hunāka ʕawāmil ʔuḫrà, tarǧiʕu ʔilà mazāǧ al-kātib al-miṣrī wa-nafsiyyati-hī taǧʕalu-nā lā nuǧāzifu bi-kaṯīrⁱⁿ min al-ʔamal fī ’rtiqāʔ hāḏā ’l-nawʕ ʕinda-nā bi’l-surʕaẗ al-mubtaġāẗ;

But there are also other factors, as, e.g., the Egyptian writer’s inclination [p. ii] and psychological disposition, both of which make him abstain from risking to put too much hope into the advancement/ the progress of this genre in our country as quickly as he would desire [i.e., he does not grow this hope];

AR: ʕawāmil (ʕāmil), mazāǧ, kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), nafsiyyaẗ, ʔamal, irtiqāʔ, nawʕ
EN: progress

لأنّ حرارة الطقس قد أنمت في الكاتب المصري حاسّة الخيال إلى درجة مدهشة ،

li-ʔanna ḥarāraẗ al-ṭaqs qad ʔanmat fī ’l-kātib al-miṣrī ḥāssaẗ al-ḫayāl ʔilà daraǧaẗⁱⁿ mudhišaẗ,

for the hot climate has cultivated in the Egyptian writer the instinct for fantasy to an astonishing extent;

AR: ḥarāraẗ, ṭaqs, kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ḥāssaẗ / ḥawāss, ḫayāl
EN: climate, fantasy

فأصبح هذا الخيال ظاهراً أثره السيّئ في كلّ رواية مصرية بتجنّبه تصوير الحياة الحقيقية ،

fa-ʔaṣbaḥa hāḏā ’l-ḫayāl ẓāhir^an ʔaṯara-hū al-sayyiʔ fī kull riwāyaẗ miṣriyyaẗ bi-taǧannubi-hī taṣwīr^a ’l-ḥayāẗ al-ḥaqīqiyyaẗ,

the bad effect of this fantasy namely makes itself felt now in every Egyptian plot¹⁰ in that it avoids depicting real life.

10. Another value of the broad semantic spectrum covered by the term riwāyaẗ.

AR: ḫayāl, ʔaṯar, riwāyaẗ, miṣrī, taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ, ḥaqīqī (ḥaqīqaẗ)
EN: fantasy, depicting real life

ثمّ إنّ التقاليد الشرقية المقيّدة قضت تقريباً على الاختلاط الجنسي ، وأضعفت من أزماته النفسانية الشديدة ؛

ṯumma ʔinna ’l-taqālīd al-šarqiyyaẗ al-muqayyidaẗ qaḍat taqrīb^an ʕalà ’l-iḫtilāṭ al-ǧinsī, wa-ʔaḍʕafat min ʔazamāti-hī ’l-nafsāniyyaẗ al-šadīdaẗ;

Moreover, restrictive eastern traditions [gender segregation!] prohibit nearly [any] meeting/encounter among the sexes and [in this way] contribute to intensifying his [sc. the Egyptian writer’s] severe psychological dilemmas.

AR: taqālīd (taqlīd), šarqī, muqayyid (qayd / quyūd), ʔazmaẗ, nafsānī
EN: …

فمن جهة كاد يجهل هذه الأزمات وما تحدثه في النفس البشرية من التطوير الخلقي فيعجز بطبيعة الحال عن تصويرها في أشخاصه ،

fa-min ǧihaẗ kāda yaǧhalu hāḏihī ’l-ʔazamāt wa-mā tuḥdiṯu-hū fī ’l-nafs al-bašariyyaẗ min al-taṭwīr al-ḫulqī fa-yaʕǧizu bi-ṭabīʕaẗ al-ḥāl ʕan taṣwīri-hā fī ʔašḫāṣi-h,

On the one hand, he cannot know these conflicts and the moral implications triggered by them in the human psyche, and as a consequence it is only natural that he is unable to depict it in his heroes.

AR: ǧahl, ʔazmaẗ, nafs, bašarī (bašar), taṭwīr, ḫulqī (ḫulq / ʔaḫlāq), taṣwīr, ʔašḫāṣ
EN: human psyche

ومن جهة أخرى فهو لم يتدرّب بعد على الملاحظة والتحليل النفسي ، وهما ملكتان تنموان بالخبرة الشخصية الطويلة ،

wa-min ǧihaẗ ʔuḫrà fa-huwa lam yatadarrab baʕd ʕalà ’l-mulāḥaẓaẗ wa’l-taḥlīl al-nafsī, wa-humā malikatānⁱ tanmuwānⁱ bi’l-ḫibraẗ al-šaḫṣiyyaẗ al-ṭawīlaẗ,

On the other hand, he is not yet trained in [the technique of] observation and psychological analysis, which are two skills that only grow with long experience.

AR: tadrīb, mulāḥaẓaẗ, taḥlīl, šaḫṣiyyaẗ
EN: observation, psychological, analysis

فإذا حاول وضع رواية لا يحسن أنْ يكون من عندياته ذاتية فردية لأشخاصه ، فتبدو لنا هذه الأشخاص أشباحاً بلا أرواح

fa-ʔiḏā ḥāwala waḍʕ riwāyaẗ lā yaḥsun^u ʔan yakūn^a min ʕindiyyāti-hī ḏātiyyaẗ fardiyyaẗ li-ʔašḫāṣi-h, fa-tabdū la-nā hāḏihī ’l-ʔašḫāṣ ʔašbāḥ^an bi-lā ʔarwāḥ

So, when he tries to write a novel he usually does not have the skill to endow his characters with an individual personality, and they appear to be soulless phantoms for us.

AR: waḍʕ, riwāyaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, ʔašbāḥ bi-lā ʔarwāḥ (rūḥ)
EN: …

فإذا أراد أن يصوّر شابّاً يسِرّ إلى أذن حبيبته "أنشودة الشباب الخالدة" تراه يعمد إلى الخيال والتخمين والتكلّف ،

fa-ʔiḏā ʔarāda ʔan yuṣawwir^a šābb^an yusirru ʔilà ʔuḏnⁱ ḥabībati-hī "ʔunšūdaẗ al-šabāb al-ḫālidaẗ" tarā-hu yaʕmid^u ʔilà ’l-ḫayāl wa’l-taḫmīn wa’l-takalluf,

When he, for instance, wants to describe a young man who whispers “the eternal song of youth” into his beloved’s ear, you see him making use of fantasy, guessing and mannerism; he lets the lover address his beloved with expressions that are devoid of individuality,¹¹

11. ḫuṣūṣiyyaẗ: also ‘specificity, individual feature’.

AR: taṣwīr, ḫālid (ḫulūd), ḫayāl, taḫmīn, takalluf
EN: fantasy, mannerism, individuality

إذ يجعل المحبّ يخاطب حبيبته بعبارات لا خصوصية فيها كتصويره لها جمال الطبيعة وتغريد العصافير ، ونشيد اليمام وخرير المياه وغير ذلك من السخافات الصبيانية والإحساسات المريضة الضئيلة

ʔiḏ yaǧʕal al-muḥibb^a yuḫāṭibu ḥabībata-hū bi-ʕibārātⁱⁿ lā ḫuṣūṣiyyaẗ^a fī-hā ka-taṣwīri-hī la-hā ǧamāl^a ’l-ṭabīʕaẗ wa-taġrīd^a ’l-ʕaṣāfīr, wa-našīd^a ’l-yamām wa-ḫarīr^a ’l-miyāh wa-ġayr^a ḏālika min al-saḫāfāt al-ṣibyāniyyaẗ wa’l-ʔiḥsāsāt al-marīḍaẗ al-ḍaʔīlaẗ

as, for example, when he describes to her the beauty of nature and the twittering of the birds, the song of the doves and the murmuring of the water, and similar silly pubertal stuff and weak, morbid sentiments;

AR: taṣwīr, ǧamāl, ṭabīʕaẗ, saḫāfāt, ṣibyāniyyaẗ, marīḍ, ḍaʔīl (ḍuʔūlaẗ)
EN: weak, morbid

مما يقضي عادة على شخصية الأشخاص ويحرّمهم من عنصر الحياة .

mimmā yaqḍī ʕādaẗ^an ʕalà šaḫṣiyyaẗ al-ʔašḫāṣ wa-yuḥarrimu-hum min ʕunṣur al-ḥayāẗ.

typically this does away with the characters’ [individual] personality and deprives them of the element of vitality.

AR: šaḫṣiyyaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, ʕunṣur (ʕanāṣir), al-ḥayāẗ
EN: [individual] personality, vitality

فمهمّة الكاتب أنْ يدرس أوّلاً مزاج شخصه ؛ لأنّ له تأثيراً عظيماً في تكييف عواطف الإنسان وأخلاقه ، إذ قد يكون المزاج سبب سعادة المرء أو شقائه ،

fa-mahammaẗ al-kātib ʔan yadrus^a ʔawwal^an mazāǧ^a šaḫṣi-h; li-ʔanna la-hū taʔṯīr^an ʕaẓīm^an fī takyīf ʕawāṭif al-ʔinsān wa-ʔaḫlāqi-h, ʔiḏ qad yakūn^u al-mazāǧ^u sabab^a saʕādaẗ al-marʔ ʔaw šaqāʔi-h,

Therefore, it is the writer’s task to first study the temperament of a character of his because it will greatly influence the way he will describe a human being’s emotions and character [or: morals]. The temperament may for instance be the reason for a person’s happiness or sadness.

AR: mahammaẗ, dars / dirāsatmazāǧ, taʔṯīr, takyīf, ʕawāṭif, ʔinsānʔaḫlāqmazāǧ, sabab/ʔasbāb
EN: temperament, emotions, character

فصاحب المزاج السوداوي المتشائم الذي يرتاب في كلّ شيء - حتّى في صدق عواطف المرأة التي يحبّها وتحبّه - تساوره دائماً الأفكار المؤلمة المتضاربة ،

fa-ṣāḥib al-mazāǧ al-sawdāwī al-mutašāʔim allaḏī yartāb^u fī kull šayʔ – ḥattà fī ṣidq ʕawāṭif al-marʔaẗ allatī yuḥibbu-hā wa-tuḥibbu-h – tusāwiru-hū dāʔim^an al-ʔafkār al-muʔlimaẗ al-mutaḍāribaẗ,

A melancholic pessimist who doubts in everything, even the sincerity of the feelings of the woman he loves and who loves him, will always be haunted by painful conflicting thoughts.

AR:…

فإذا قابل حبيبته لا يحدّثها عن الأشجار والطيور والأزهار ، بل عن ظنونه وآلامه ،

fa-ʔiḏā qābala ḥabībata-hū lā yuḥaddiṯu-hā ʕan il-ʔašǧār wa’l-ṭuyūr wa’l-ʔazhār, bal ʕan ẓunūni-h wa-ʔālāmi-h,

When he meets his beloved he will not talk to her about the trees, birds and flowers, but maybe about his thoughts and pains,

AR:…

فيرميها مثلاً (جـ) بالخلاعة والتهتّك أو يتّهمها بأنّها لا تحبّه وأنّها تنظر إلى غيره ،

fa-yarmī-hā maṯal^an bi’l-ḫalāʕaẗ wa’l-tahattuk ʔaw yattahimu-hā bi-ʔanna-hā lā tuḥibbu-hū wa-ʔanna-hā tanẓuru ʔilà ġayri-h,

to the degree that he may charge her [p. iii] with moral depravity and shamelessness or accuse her of not loving him anymore and looking at another one;

AR:…

وهي تحاول بلطف أوّلاً أنْ تبرئ نفسها ممّا اتّهمها به ثمّ أنّها تغضب أخيراً لعناده وإصراره على اعتقاده أنّها مذنبة مجرمة وهي المحبّة المخلصة ،

wa-hiya tuḥāwil^u bi-luṭf ʔawwal^an ʔan tubriʔa nafsa-hā mimmā ’ttahama-hā bi-hī ṯumma ʔanna-hā taġḍab^u ʔaḫīr^an li-ʕinādi-hī wa-ʔiṣrāri-hī ʕalà ’ʕtiqādi-hī ʔanna-hā muḏnibaẗ muǧrimaẗ wa-hiya ’l-muḥibbaẗ al-muḫliṣaẗ,

she will then first try gently to exonerate herself from what he accuses her of, then she will eventually become angry because of his unrelenting insistence that she is a guilty criminal (while she actually loves him truly and faithfully).

AR:…

وقد يحملها أحياناً غضبها الشريف العادل على قول عبارات جارحة مهينة تؤدّي إلى افتراقهما الأبدي !

wa-qad yaḥmilu-hā ʔaḥyān^an ġaḍabu-hā al-šarīf al-ʕādil ʕalà qawl ʕibārātⁱⁿ ǧāriḥaẗ muhīnaẗ tuʔaddī ʔilà ’ftirāqi-himā ’l-ʔabadī!

Her noble and just anger may then sometimes bring her to the point where she drops some injuring, insulting expressions, which in turn may lead to the two separating forever!

AR:…

فأين هذا التشاجر المعتلج الناري من تلك المغازلة الشعرية الهادئة الوديعة ؟

fa-ʔayn hāḏā al-tašāǧur al-muʕtaliǧ al-nārī min tilka ’l-muġāzalaẗ al-šiʕriyyaẗ al-hādiʔaẗ al-wadīʕaẗ?

So, what a difference between such a heated quarrel and that smooth and quiet lyrical flirting [that we find in the romanticists’ books]!

AR:…

ثمّ إنّ مهمّة الكاتب أنْ يدرس في أشخاصه المؤثّرات الوراثية التي أخذوها عن آبائهم وجنسيتهم ،

ṯumma ʔinna mahammaẗ al-kātib ʔan yadrus^a fī ʔašḫāṣi-hī al-muʔaṯṯirāt al-wirāṯiyyaẗ allatī ʔaḫaḏū-hā ʕan ʔābāʔi-him wa-ǧinsiyyati-him,

Furthermore, it is also the writer’s task to study in his characters the genetic influences they have inherited from their fathers and through their race (?),

AR: mahammaẗ al-kātib, dars / dirāsaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, taʔṯīr, wirāṯaẗ, al-ʔābāʔ, ǧinsiyyaẗ
EN: genetic influences, race

وأنْ يحلّل عوامل وسطهم وظروف حياتهم التي ساعدت على تكوين شخصيتهم

wa-ʔan yuḥallil^a ʕawāmil^a wasaṭi-him wa-ẓurūf^a ḥayāti-him allatī sāʕadat ʕalà takwīn šaḫṣiyyati-him

and to analyze the milieu factors and living conditions that have contributed to the formation of their personalities,

AR: taḥlīl, ʕawāmil (ʕāmil), wasaṭ, ḥayāẗ, takwīn, šaḫṣiyyaẗ
EN: analyze, milieu, formation of their personalities

حتّى يرينا المشاعر التي يمكنهم أن يشعروا بها ،

ḥattà yurī-nā ’l-mašāʕir allatī yumkinu-hum ʔan yašʕurū bi-hā,

so that he will show us the emotions that they [really] can have.

AR: šaʕara (šuʕūr, mašāʕir)
EN: emotion

فإنّ حبّ الشابّ في الخامسة عشرة يختلف طبعاً عن حبّ مَن كان في الخامسة والعشرين أو الثلاثين ، وحبّ هذا يتباین عن حبّ الشيخ .

fa-ʔinna ḥubb al-šābb fī ’l-ḫāmisaẗ ʕašraẗ^a yaḫtalifu ṭabʕ^an ʕan ḥubbⁱ man kāna fī ’l-ḫāmisaẗ wa’l-ʕišrīn ʔaw al-ṯalāṯīn, wa-ḥubb^u hāḏā yatabāyan^u ʕan ḥubb al-šayḫ.

The way a fifteen-year old youth loves is of course¹² different from the love of twenty-five- or thirty-five-year olds, and that person’s love is also different from that of an old man.

12. Or: ‘by nature’?, or: ‘in nature, essentially’?

AR:…

كما أنّ لظروف الحياة تأثيراً عظيماً في إنضاج عواطف الإنسان

ka-mā ʔanna li-ẓurūf al-ḥayāẗ taʔṯīr^an ʕaẓīm^an fī ʔinḍāǧ ʕawāṭif al-ʔinsān

In a similar vein, also the living circumstances have a huge impact on the maturation of a human being’s feelings:

AR: ḥayāẗ, taʔṯīr, ʔinḍāǧ (nuḍūǧ), ʕawāṭif (ʕāṭifaẗ)
EN: living circumstances, maturation

فرُبّ شابّ في الثامنة عشرة يحبّ حبّ الرجل القوي الناضج الحواسّ .

fa-rubb^a šābbⁱⁿ fī ’l-ṯāminaẗ ʕašraẗ^a yuḥibb^u ḥubb^a ’l-raǧul al-qawiyy al-nāḍiǧ al-ḥawāss.

many a youth of eighteen may love like a strong, emotionally mature man,

AR: nāḍiǧ (nuḍūǧ), ḥāssaẗ
EN: …

كما أنّ الشابّ الناضج قد يحبّ حبّ الطفل الشابّ ذلك الحبّ الطاهر الإحساس .

ka-mā ʔanna al-šābb al-nāḍiǧ qad yuḥibb^u ḥubb^a ’l-ṭifl al-šābb ḏālika al-ḥubb al-ṭāhir al-ʔiḥsās.

while a mature young man may only be capable of loving as purely and naively as a child.

AR: nāḍiǧ (nuḍūǧ)
EN: …

ومتى وقف الكاتب على مزاج أشخاصه وطبيعتهم يمكنه بكلّ سهولة أنْ يصوّرهم بدون أنْ يضطرّ إلى استعمال التكلّف السقيم البارد

wa-matà waqafa ’l-kātib ʕalà mazāǧⁱ ʔašḫāṣi-hī wa-ṭabīʕati-him yumkinu-hū bi-kullⁱ suhūlaẗ ʔan yuṣawwira-hum bi-dūnⁱ ʔan yuḍṭarr^a ʔilà ’stiʕmāli ’l-takalluf al-saqīm al-bārid

Whenever a writer studies his characters’ temperament and natural disposition it will be very easy for him to describe them without being forced to make use of cold and boring mannerism, and

AR: kātib, mazāǧ, ʔašḫāṣ, ṭabīʕaẗ, taṣwīr, takalluf saqīm bārid
EN: temperament, natural disposition, mannerism

ويتسنّى له أنْ يقتبس من أخلاقهم حادثة روائية إنسانية محضة تكون نتيجة طبيعية لمزاجهم وشخصيتهم لا دخل للخيال في تكييفها .

wa-yatasannà la-hū ʔan yaqtabis^a min ʔaḫlāqi-him ḥādiṯaẗ^an riwāʔiyyaẗ^an ʔinsāniyyaẗ^an maḥḍaẗ^an takūn^u natīǧaẗ^an ṭabīʕiyyaẗ^an li-mazāǧi-him wa-šaḫṣiyyati-him lā daḫl^a lil-ḫayāl fī takyīfi-hā.

this will also allow him to get inspired by their characters¹³ for [the description of] a genuinely human event in his narrative, [an event] that may result naturally from their temperament and personality, without having recourse to [too much] fantasy to imagine what it may look like.

13. Or: ‘moral disposition and behaviour’?

AR: iqtibās, ʔaḫlāq, ʔinsānī (ʔinsāniyyat, ʔinsān), natīǧaẗ, ṭabīʕī (ṭabīʕaẗ), mazāǧ, šaḫṣiyyaẗ, ḫayāl, takyīf
EN: genuinely human, fantasy

(د) 2 – فيتّضح ممّا تقدّم أنّه لا بدّ للكاتب المصري من الإلمام التامّ بعلم النفس للوقوف على كنه الطبائع البشرية ،

(d) 2 – fa-yattaḍiḥ^u mimmā taqaddam^a ʔanna-hū lā budd^a lil-kātib al-miṣrī min al-ʔilmām al-tāmm bi-ʕilm al-nafs lil-wuqūf ʕalà kunh al-ṭabāʔiʕ al-bašariyyaẗ,

[p. iv] 2 | On the basis of the preceding it is thus evident that the Egyptian writer definitively must have a comprehensive overview of psychology to acquire a thorough understanding of human nature.

AR: ittaḍaḥa (wuḍūḥ), kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʕilm al-nafs, ṭabāʔiʕ (ṭabīʕaẗ), bašarī (bašar)
EN: psychology, thorough understanding of human nature

ونرى أنّ الكاتب المصري لم يتنبّه حتّى الآن إلى مراعاة قواعده في كتاباته وفي تكوين شخصية أشخاصه

wa-narà ʔanna ’l-kātib al-miṣrī lam yatanabbah ḥattà ’l-ʔān ʔilà murāʕāẗ qawāʕidi-hī fī kitābāti-hī wa-fī takwīn šaḫṣiyyaẗ ʔašḫāṣi-h

In our opinion, the Egyptian author has not so far taken into account its [sc. psychology’s] principles, neither in writing (styles) nor in the way he forms the personality of his various characters.

AR: kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), qawāʕid, kitābaẗ, takwīn, šaḫṣiyyaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ
EN: psychology

وليس غرضنا أنْ ندرس في هذه المقدّمة الوجيزة عيوب الكاتب المصري وأمراض ذهنيته فقد حاولنا درسها في كتاب سننشره على حِدة .

wa-laysa ġaraḍu-nā ʔan nadrus^a fī hāḏihī ’l-muqaddimaẗⁱ ’l-waǧīzaẗ ʕuyūb al-kātib al-miṣrī wa-ʔamrāḍ ḏihniyyati-h fa-qad ḥāwalnā darsa-hā fī kitāb sa-nanšuru-hū ʕalà ḥidaẗ.

It is not our aim in this brief preface to study what is wrong with the Egyptian writer, or his mental diseases – we have attempted to study all this in a book that we are going to publish separately.¹⁴

14. It is not clear which book ʕUbayd is talking about here – perhaps the same as the one he mentions further below?

AR: darasa (dars / dirāsaẗ), ʕuyūb (ʕayb), kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʔamrāḍ (maraḍ, maraḍī), ḏihniyyaẗ
EN: …

إنّما أتينا على بعض تلك العيوب ليتعهّدها ويهذّبها مَن وجد في نفسه القدرة على وضع القصص

ʔinnamā ʔataynā ʕalà baʕḍ tilka ’l-ʕuyūb li-yataʕahhada-hā wa-yuhaḏḏiba-hā man waǧada fī nafsi-hī ’l-qudraẗ ʕalà waḍʕⁱ ’l-qiṣaṣ

We are presenting here only a few of these deficiencies so that somebody who finds in himself the talent to create [prose] stories, may become acquainted with them¹⁵ and [try to] repair/attenuate them, and

15. Lit., ‘get used to them’ (sc. the deficiencies).

AR: ʕuyūb (ʕayb), tahḏīb, waḍʕ
EN: …

حتّى يساعدنا على إدخال هذا النوع الجديد في آدابنا العصرية المصرية .

ḥattà yusāʕida-nā ʕalà ʔidḫāl hāḏā ’l-nawʕ al-ǧadīd fī ʔādābi-nā ’l-ʕaṣriyyaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ.

[in this way] may help us introduce this new literary genre into Egyptian literature¹⁶ of our time.

16. ʔādāb may well mean more than just ‘literature’ here, perhaps ‘culture’, ‘literary culture’, or ‘cultural life’. See also below, passim.

AR: nawʕ, ǧadīd, ʔādāb, ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ), miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

ثمّ إن أهمّ تلك العيوب في عرفنا بعد عيوب الخيال وقلّة الملاحظة وعدم التحليل التي نوّهنا عنها ضعف ملكة الوصف والتصوير ،

ṯumma ʔinna ʔahamm^a tilka ’l-ʕuyūb fī ʕurfi-nā baʕd^a ʕuyūb al-ḫayāl wa-qillaẗ al-mulāḥaẓaẗ wa-ʕadam al-taḥlīl allatī nawwahnā ʕan-hā ḍuʕf^u malakaẗⁱ ’l-waṣf wa’l-taṣwīr,

Also, the (to our knowledge) most important defect after those, referred to above, of [excessive] fantasy, lack of observation and absence of [psychological] analysis, is the lack¹⁷ of talent to describe and present.

17. Lit., ‘weakness’.

AR: ʕuyūb (ʕayb), ḫayāl, mulāḥaẓaẗ, taḥlīl, ḍuʕf, malakaẗ, waṣf, taṣwīr
EN: [excessive] fantasy, observation, [psychological] analysis, describe, present

فإنّ تصوير الأمكنة التي تنشأ فيها الأشخاص من أهمّ مقتضيات هذا الفنّ ، لأنّ لها تأثيراً في تكييف خواطرهم ومشاعرهم ،

fa-ʔinna taṣwīr^a ’l-ʔamkinaẗ allatī tanšaʔ^u fī-hā ’l-ʔašḫāṣ min ʔahammⁱ muqtaḍayāt hāḏā ’l-fann, li-ʔanna la-hā taʔṯīr^an fī takyīfⁱ ḫawāṭiri-him wa-mašāʕiri-him,

Depiction of the places where the characters have grown up is among the most important requirements for this art, precisely because it will affect the way of designing their thoughts and feelings.

AR: taṣwīr, našaʔa (našʔaẗ, nušūʔ), ʔašḫāṣ, fann, taʔṯīr, takyīf, ḫawāṭir, mašāʕir
EN: depiction

ثمّ إنّ للتصوير الصادق الحيوي الدقيق أثراً عظيماً في نفس القارئ

ṯumma ʔinna lil-taṣwīr al-ṣādiq al-ḥayawī al-daqīq ʔaṯar^an ʕaẓīm^an fī nafs al-qāriʔ

An accurate and vivid description also will have a great mental impact on the reader,

AR: taṣwīr, ṣādiq (ṣidq), ḥayawī (ḥayawiyyaẗ, ḥayāẗ), daqīq (diqqaẗ), ʔaṯar, nafs, qāriʔ
EN: accurate, vivid, description

لأنّه يجعله يشعر بصحّة الرواية المأخوذة عن الحياة ، وبحقيقة وجود الأشخاص المصوّرين عن الطبيعة .

li-ʔanna-hū yaǧʕalu-hū yašʕur^u bi-ṣaḥwaẗ al-riwāyaẗ al-maʔḫūḏaẗ ʕan il-ḥayāẗ, wa-bi-ḥaqīqaẗ wuǧūd al-ʔašḫāṣ al-muṣawwarīn ʕan il-ṭabīʕaẗ.

as it allows the reader to feel the credibility of a story taken from life and the truth of the existence of the people portrayed by nature.¹⁸

18. Hafez renders this paragraph – the only one he reproduces in full English translation – as follows: »Apart from the lack of creative imagination, inadequate observation and the absence of analysis, there is the weakness of description and illustrative ability. The description of the setting from which the characters emerge is one of the most important requirements of fictional art, because it has a tremendous effect on forming their characteristics and feelings. Furthermore, the vivid narrative and the use of accurate realistic description have a strong impact on the reader, for they convince him of the truthfulness of the story and of its relevance to real life« – S. Hafez, The Genesis of Arabic Narrative Discourse, Saqi Books, 1993: 179.

AR: šaʕara (šuʕūr, mašāʕir), ṣaḥwaẗ, riwāyaẗ, ḥayāẗ, ḥaqīqaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, taṣwīr, ṭabīʕaẗ
EN: …

أما سبب ضعف الكاتب المصري في مجال التصوير ، فلعدم تدريبه عليه أو لجهله أصول الفنّ الحقيقي ،

ʔammā sabab ḍuʕf al-kātib al-miṣrī fī maǧāl al-taṣwīr, fa-li-ʕadam tadrībi-hī ʕalay-hi ʔaw li-ǧahli-hī ʔuṣūl^a ’l-fann al-ḥaqīqī,

The reason for the Egyptian writer’s weakness in the field of depiction lies in his lack of training in, or ignorance of, the basic principles of real art.

AR: sabab/ʔasbāb, ḍuʕf, kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), taṣwīr, tadrīb, ǧahl, ʔuṣūl, fann, ḥaqīqaẗ / ḥaqīqī
EN: real art

فإنّه إذا وجد مثلاً مكاناً جميلاً فلا يحاول أنْ يصوّره على القرطاس كما شاهده ،

fa-ʔinna-hū ʔiḏā waǧada maṯal^an makān^an ǧamīl^an fa-lā yuḥāwil^u ʔan yuṣawwira-hū ʕalà ’l-qirṭās ka-mā šāhada-hū,

If he, for example, has found a beautiful place, he will not try to draw it on a paper as he sees it;

AR: ǧamīl (ǧamāl), taṣwīr
EN: …

بل يتوهّم أن الطبيعة كما هي ، ليست جميلة (هـ) جمالها الحسّي الفنّي ،

bal yatawahham^u ʔanna ’l-ṭabīʕaẗ ka-mā hiya, laysat ǧamīlaẗ ǧamāla-hā ’l-ḥissī al-fannī,

rather, he will presume that nature cannot be so beautiful [p. v] by its own artistically appealing/tangible beauty;

AR: tawahhama (tawahhum), ṭabīʕaẗ, ka-mā huwa/hiya, ǧamīl / ǧamāl, ḥissī (ḥāssaẗ / hawāss), fannī (fann)
EN: …

فيريد أنْ يزيدها جمالاً فيعتمد طبعاً على خياله

fa-yurīd ʔan yazīda-hā ǧamāl^an fa-yaʕtamidu ṭabʕ^an ʕalà ḫayāli-h

instead, he will want to make it still more beautiful, thereby relying on [too much] fantasy,

AR: ǧamāl, ḫayāl
EN: …

فيأتي لنا بوصف عقيم غامض ركيك ، إذا راجعناه في مخيّلتنا لا يتبقّي منه شيء ، ويخرج ذهننا خالياً كما كان قبل قراءته ،

fa-yaʔtī la-nā bi-waṣf ʕaqīm ġāmiḍ rakīk, ʔiḏā rāǧaʕnā-hu fī muḫayyalati-nā lā yatabaqqà min-hu šayʔ, wa-yaḫruǧ^u ḏihnu-nā ḫāliy^an ka-mā kāna qabla qirāʔati-h,

so that he will produce a sterile, unclear, weak picture of it, a picture of which nothing will remain when we will try to recall it: it will leave no impression on our minds.¹⁹

19. Lit., our mind will leave [the scene] as empty as it was before reading it.

AR: waṣf, ʕaqīm (ʕuqm), ġāmiḍ (ġumūḍ), rakīk (rakākaẗ)
EN: sterile, unclear, weak

مع أنّ الفنّ لا يرى فقط إلى تجميل الطبيعة و تكميل النفوس لإظهار الجمال السامي الخالي من النقائص كما يتوهّم البعض ،

maʕa ʔanna ’l-fann lā yarà faqaṭ ʔilà taǧmīl al-ṭabīʕaẗ wa-takmīl al-nufūs li-ʔiẓhār al-ǧamāl al-sāmī al-ḫālī min al-naqāʔiṣ ka-mā yatawahham^u ’l-baʕḍ,

In contrast, [real] art does not simply aim, as some people imagine, at a beautification of nature and a perfection of the souls in order to highlight a sublime beauty, bare of all defects;

AR: fann, taǧmīl (ǧamāl), ṭabīʕaẗ, takmīl (kamāl), nufūs (nafs), ʔiẓhār (ẓāhir), ǧamāl, sāmⁱⁿ, naqāʔiṣ, tawahhama (tawahhum)
EN: [real] art

بل قد يكون أيضاً في تصوير الحقائق العارية المجرّدة ،

bal qad yakūn ʔayḍ^an fī taṣwīr al-ḥaqāʔiq al-ʕāriyaẗ al-muǧarradaẗ,

rather, it may also lie in the depiction of the naked, crude, unembellished facts.

AR: taṣwīr, ḥaqīqaẗ (ḥaqāʔiq), ʕārⁱⁿ, muǧarrad (taǧrīd)
EN: naked, crude, unembellished facts

وتعريفنا للفنّ هذا التعريف الجديد سيوجِد آداباً مبنيّة على الحقائق تختلف كلّ الإختلاف عن آداب الأمس ،

wa-taʕrīfu-nā lil-fann hāḏā ’l-taʕrīf al-ǧadīd sa-yūǧid^u ʔādāb^an mabnīyaẗ^an ʕalà ’l-ḥaqāʔiq taḫtalif^u kull^a ’l-iḫtlāf ʕan ʔādābⁱ ’l-ʔams,

This new way in which we define art will create a literature²⁰ based on reality²¹ that will be completely different from yesterday’s literature,

20. ʔādāb – the word means more than just ‘literature’ or ‘writings’ here, it comprises a whole ‘literary culture’ (see above), thereby retaining the general ethic dimension of ‘culture’ inherent in classical ʔadab. 21. Lit., the facts, al-ḥaqāʔiq.

AR: taʕrīf, fann, ǧadīd, ʔādāb, ḥaqīqaẗ (ḥaqāʔiq), ʔams
EN: …

وسينشأ من هنا تعدُّد الأنواع الأدبية والمذاهب الكتابية ممّا يدعو إلى رقي الأدب الحديث،

wa-sa-yanšaʔ^u min hunā taʕaddud al-ʔanwāʕ al-ʔadabiyyaẗ wa’l-maḏāhib al-kitābiyyaẗ mimmā yadʕū ʔilà ruqiyy al-ʔadab al-ḥadīṯ,

and from here a whole variety of literary genres and writing styles²² will emerge, which will enhance further development²³ in modern literature,

22. The term used here is maḏāhib, pl. of maḏhab ‘way of doing s.th.; school, trend’. 23. raqy or ruqiyy, vn. of raqiya ‘to ascend, climb, rise, advance’. From the same root r-q-y, the vn. of form V, taraqqī, is the Nahḍa’s standard term used to render the notion of ‘progress, rise, progressive development’.

AR: našaʔa (našʔaẗ, nušūʔ), taʕaddud, ʔanwāʕ (nawʕ), ʔadab / ʔadabī, maḏāhib (maḏhab), kitābaẗ, ruqiyy, ḥadīṯ (ḥadāṯaẗ)
EN: development…

الذي أوقف تطوّرَه تقليدُنا الأعمى الجامد الغبي لأدب العرب القديم ، ومجاراتُنا لهم في الخيال والتشبيه والاستعارة والمحسنات البديعية والعبارات اللغوية .

allaḏī ʔawqafa taṭawwura-hū taqlīdu-nā ’l-ʔaʕmà ’l-ǧāmid al-ġabiyy li-ʔadab al-ʕarab al-qadīm, wa-muǧārātu-nā la-hum fī ’l-ḫayāl wa’l-tašbīh wa’l-istiʕāraẗ wa’l-muḥassināt al-badīʕiyyaẗ wa’l-ʕibārāt al-luġawiyyaẗ.

an advancement that had been stopped by our blind, stiff and stupid imitation of ancient Arabic literature²⁴ and the emulation of the ancient Arabs’ imagery,²⁵ similes, metaphors, rhetoric embellishments and expressive language.

24. Here, too, ʔadab may mean more than just ‘literature’, cf. above. 25. ḫayāl – could also be ‘imagination’.

AR: taṭawwur, taqlīd, ʔaʕmà (ʕam^an), ǧāmid (ǧumūd), ġabiyy (ġabāʔ), ʔadab, ʕarab, qadīm, ḫayāl
EN: …

وإن ميل الكاتب المصري إلى تهذيب الطبيعة وطلائها برواء الجمال النقي غریزي يتجلّى في كلّ سطر يخطّه ، ويكفينا لتعزيز هذه النظرية أنْ نلقي نظرة واحدة على كتّابنا .

wa-ʔinna mayl al-kātib al-miṣrī ʔilà tahḏīb al-ṭabīʕaẗ wa-ṭalāʔi-hā bi-rawāʔ al-ǧamāl al-naqiyy ġarīzī yataǧallà fī kull saṭr yaḫuṭṭu-hū, wa-yakfī-nā li-taʕzīz hāḏihī ’l-naẓariyyaẗ ʔan nulqiya naẓraẗ^an wāḥidaẗ^an ʕalà kuttābi-nā.

The Egyptian writer’s inclination to make nature more refined²⁶ and paint it with pure beauty and prettiness is like an instinct, it permeates every line he writes. In order to support our argument, it will suffice to have just a short look at one of our authors.

26. tahḏīb – the term is often also used in connection with morals: tahḏīb al-ʔaḫlāq ‘refinement of morals, cultivation of character’; therefore, it would perhaps not be too far-fetched to translate tahḏīb al-ṭabīʕaẗ with ‘making nature more civilized’.

AR: mayl / muyūl, kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), tahḏīb, ṭabīʕaẗ, ǧamāl, naqiyy (naqāʔ), taʕzīz, naẓariyyaẗ, kātib (kuttāb)
EN: …

ألم يجعل السيّد لطفي المنفلوطي كبير كتّاب اليوم روايته "تحت ظلال الزيزفون" التي حاول تجريدها من "الفونس كار" خيالية شعرية بعد أن قضى بقسوة على شخصية "استیفن" !؟

ʔa-lam yaǧʕal al-sayyid Luṭfī al-Manfalūṭī kabīr kuttāb al-yawm riwāyata-hū “Taḥta ẓilāl al-zayzafūn” allatī ḥāwala taǧrīda-hā min "ʔalfūns kār" ḫayāliyyaẗ^an šiʕriyyaẗ^an baʕda ʔan qaḍà bi-qaswaẗ ʕalà šaḫṣiyyaẗ "ʔistīfan"!?

Has not Mr. Luṭfī al-Manfalūṭī,²⁷ the greatest of today’s writers, in an attempt to render Alphonse Karr’s²⁸ novel Sous l’ombre des tilleuls²⁹ into Arabic, turned it into a romantic fantasy after he had severely butchered “Stéphen”’s character?!

27. Muṣṭafà Luṭfī al-Manfalūṭī (1877-1924), the foremost exponent of the sentimental, emotionalist trend in early twentieth century Egyptian prose. 28. French author, lived 1808-1890. 29. Under the Shadows of the Acacia Tree (1832), rendered into Arabic as Maǧdūlīn, aw Taḥta Ẓilāl al-Zayzafūn (1917) by Muṣṭafà Luṭfī al-Manfalūṭī.

AR: Manfalūṭī, kātib (kuttāb), al-yawm, riwāyaẗ, Taḥta ẓilāl al-zayzafūn, taǧrīd, ʔAlfūns Kār, ḫayāl
EN: Manfalūṭī, romantic, fantasy

إنّنا لا نؤاخذه على ذلك ، فنحن ممّن يحترمون الرجل ولو كان مذهبه في القصص و نزعته إلى التأليف خلاف مذهبنا و نزعتنا ،

ʔinna-nā lā nuʔāḫiḏu-hū ʕalà ḏālika, fa-naḥnu mimman yaḥtarimūn^a ’l-raǧul wa-law kāna maḏhabu-hū fī ’l-qiṣaṣ wa-nazʕatu-hū ʔilà ’l-taʔlīf ḫilāf^a maḏhabi-nā wa-nazʕati-nā,

We do not criticize/reprimand him for this because we count ourselves among those who respect this man even though his style of storytelling and way of composition differs from ours –

AR: maḏhab, nazʕaẗ, taʔlīf
EN: …

لأنّنا ممّن يدعون إلى تعدُّد الأنواع الأدبية والمذاهب الكتابية لإدخال عناصر الحياة في الأدب الحدیث ،

li-ʔanna-nā mimman yadʕūn^a ʔilà taʕaddud al-ʔanwāʕ al-ʔadabiyyaẗ wa’l-maḏāhib al-kitābiyyaẗ li-ʔidḫāl ʕanāṣir al-ḥayāẗ fī ’l-ʔadab al-ḥadīṯ,

[unlike him] we call for a diversity/multitude of literary genres and writing trends/schools to make modern literature more lively.³⁰

30. Lit., to bring the elements of life to modern literature.

AR: taʕaddud, ʔanwāʕ (nawʕ), ʔadab /ʔadabī, maḏāhib (maḏhab), kitābaẗ, ʕanāṣir, ḥayāẗ, ḥadīṯ (ḥadāṯaẗ)
EN: …

إلا أنّ تعديله شخصية الأشخاص وتحريفه الرواية هذا التحريف - ألا يدلّ على خضوعه لحكم مزاجه الشرقي الذي دفعه إلى تصوير الكمال (و) الإنساني والمثل الأعلى للحبّ الروحاني ،

ʔillā ʔanna taʕdīla-hū šaḫṣiyyaẗ^a ’l-ʔašḫāṣ wa-taḥrīfa-hū ’l-riwāyaẗ hāḏā ’l-taḥrīf^a – ʔa-lā yadull^u ʕalà ḫuḍūʕi-hī li-ḥukmⁱ mazāǧi-hī ’l-šarqī allaḏī dafaʕa-hū ʔilà taṣwīr al-kamāl al-ʔinsānī wa’l-maṯal(muṯul?) al-ʔaʕlà lil-ḥubb al-rūḥānī,

But isn’t the fact that he modifies the personality of the characters³¹ and makes heavy changes to the plot an indication of his submission to the regime of his oriental temperament which urges him to depict [nothing but] human [p. vi] perfection and the highest ideals of spiritual love?

31. Or: the main character? – šaḫṣiyyat al-ʔašḫāṣ, lit. the character of the characters.

AR: taʕdīlʔadab, šaḫṣiyyaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, taḥrīf, riwāyaẗ, dalla (dalāl), ḫuḍūʕ, ḥukm, mazāǧ, šarqī, taṣwīr, kamāl
EN: oriental temperament

ثمّ إنّ مجرّد اختیار المنفلوطي تلخيص رواية "سيرانو دی برجراك" تلك الرواية الخيالية الوجدانية ، ألا يعدّ دليلاً كافياً على وجود نزعة كامنة في الكاتب المصري تجنح به إلى تصوير الجمال النقيّ والكمال السامي البعيدين عن الحقيقة بُعد السماء عن الأرض؟

ṯumma ʔinna muǧarrad^a ’ḫtiyār al-Manfalūṭī talḫīṣ riwāyaẗ "Sīrānū dī Birǧirāk" tilka ’l-riwāyaẗ al-ḫayāliyyaẗ al-wiǧdāniyyaẗ, ʔa-lā yuʕadd^u dalīl^an kāfiy^an ʕalà wuǧūd nazʕaẗ kāminaẗ fī ’l-kātib al-miṣrī taǧnaḥ^u/tuǧniḥ^u bihī ʔilà taṣwīr al-ǧamāl al-naqiyy wa’l-kamāl al-sāmī al-baʕīdayn ʕan il-ḥaqīqaẗ buʕd^a ’l-samāʔ ʕan il-ʔarḍ?

Moreover, should not al-Manfalūṭī’s deliberate choice to [considerably] shorten the plot of Cyrano de Bergerac³² – this [highly] idealistic imaginative/romantic story – be regarded as sufficient proof of the presence, in Egyptian authors,³³ of a hidden inclination to show [nothing but] impeccable beauty and sublime perfection, both of which are as remote from reality as heaven is from earth?

32. Originally a five-act play (publ. 1897) by the French writer Edmond Rostand (1868-1918), ‘Arabized’ by al-Manfalūṭī as al-Šāʕir, aw Sīrānū dī Birǧirāk (al-Qahiraẗ 1921; various later editions). 33. al-kātib al-miṣrī is not preceded by a demonstrative pronoun like hāḏā here. Therefore, we assume that ʕUbayd refers to ‘the Egyptian writer’ in general, not specifically al-Manfalūṭī.

AR: Manfalūṭī, talḫīṣ, riwāyaẗ, Sīrānū dī Birǧirāk, ḫayāl, wiǧdānī (wiǧdāniyyaẗ), dalīl, nazʕaẗ, kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), taṣwīr, ǧamāl, naqiyy (naqāʔ), kamāl, sāmⁱⁿ, ḥaqīqaẗ
EN: …

فهذه النزعة النفسية ستدفع بالكاتب المصري إلى مذهب الوجدانيات "الأديالسم" وستعرقل سير الأدب العصري في تطويره الجديد ،

fa-hāḏihī ’l-nazʕaẗ al-nafsiyyaẗ sa-tadfaʕ^u bi’l-kātib al-miṣrī ʔilà maḏhab al-wiǧdāniyyāt "al-ʔidyālsm" wa-sa-tuʕarqil sayr al-ʔadab al-ʕaṣrī fī taṭwīri-hī ’l-ǧadīd,

This psychological inclination will push Egyptian writers in the direction of the emotionalist/sentimentalist approach, [i.e.] idealism,³⁴ and it will obstruct new developments in modern literature.

34. ʕUbayd gives both an Arabic term (maḏhab al-wiǧdāniyyāt) and the foreign word, ‘al-ʔidyālism’.

AR: nazʕaẗ, nafsiyyaẗ, kātib, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), maḏhab al-wiǧdāniyyāt / ʔidyālsm, ʔadab, ʕaṣrī, taṭwīr, ǧadīd
EN: emotionalist/sentimentalist approach, idealism, modern

فأدب الغد سيُقام في عرفنا على دعامة الملاحظة والتحليل النفسي الرامِيانِ إلى تصوير الحياة كما هي بلا مبالغة أو تقصير ،

fa-ʔadab al-ġad sa-yuqām fī ʕurfi-nā ʕalà daʕāmaẗ al-mulāḥaẓaẗ wa’l-taḥlīl al-nafsī al-rāmyānⁱ ʔilà taṣwīr al-ḥayāẗ ka-mā hiya bi-lā mubālaġaẗ ʔaw taqṣīr,

For, in our opinion, tomorrow’s literature will be erected on the pillars of observation and psychological analysis,³⁵ both of which aim to portray life as it is, without exaggeration or reduction,

35. Perhaps, al-taḥlīl al-nafsī should even be rendered as ‘psychoanalysis’ here. Given ʕUbayd’s positivist-scientistic approach, the term may not only mean the study of a person’s character but already an established scientific discipline. Sabry Hafez, however, would not think so: »The emphasis on psychology and psychoanalysis can be understood only in their literary sense and not as a specialized knowledge of the subject. They are meant as an interest in the character’s psyche through artistic and intuitive insight into the personality and its motivation for the action action« – S. Hafez, The Genesis of Arabic Narrative Discourse, Saqi Books, 1993: 293 (n. 86).

AR: ʔadab, ġad^an, mulāḥaẓaẗ, taḥlīl, nafsī, taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ, ka-mā huwa/hiya
EN: observation, psychological, analysis, portray life as it is, without exaggeration or reduction

أيْ الحياة العارية المجرّدة وهو ما يسمّونه مذهب الحقائق "الريالسيم" .

ʔay al-ḥayāẗ al-ʕāriyaẗ al-muǧarradaẗ wa-huwa mā yusammūna-hū maḏhab al-ḥaqāʔiq "al-riyālism".

i.e., life pure and naked, and that is what is called the factualist approach, or realism.³⁶

36. ʕUbayd gives both the foreign term, al-riyālism, and his rendering of the concept as maḏhab al-ḥaqāʔiq.

AR: ḥayāẗ, ʕārⁱⁿ, muǧarrad (taǧrīd), maḏhab al-ḥaqīqaẗ / riyālism
EN: pure and naked, factualist approach, realism

وعلى ذلك فسينشب قتال عنيف بين أصحاب المذهب القديم مذهب الوجدانيات وهم الأكثرية ،

wa-ʕalà ḏālika fa-sa-yanšub^u qitāl ʕanīf bayna ʔaṣḥāb al-maḏhab al-qadīm maḏhab al-wiǧdāniyyāt wa-hum al-ʔakṯariyyaẗ,

Therefore, [we expect that] a tough battle will break out between the followers of the old school, Emotionalism/Sentimentalism, who are the majority,

AR: maḏhab, qadīm, maḏhab al-wiǧdāniyyāt
EN: Emotionalism/Senti¬ment¬alism

وبين أنصار مذهب الحقائق وهم قلائل تسرّبت إلى نفوسهم عوامل جديدة من أثر وقوفهم على فنون الغرب المتعدّدة الحيّة ،

wa-bayna ʔanṣār maḏhab al-ḥaqāʔiq wa-hum qalāʔil tasarrabat ʔilà nufūsi-him ʕawāmil ǧadīdaẗ min ʔaṯar wuqūfi-him ʕalà funūn al-ġarb al-mutaʕaddidaẗ al-ḥayawiyyaẗ,

and the supporters of Factualism, who are [still only] a few in whose hearts/souls new driving forces/incentives have found their way as a result of their acquaintance with the manifold and lively varieties of art in the West.

AR: maḏhab al-ḥaqāʔiq, nufūs (nafs), ʕawāmil (ʕāmil), ǧadīd, ʔaṯar, funūn (fann), ġarb, taʕaddud, ḥayawī (ḥayawiyyaẗ, ḥayāẗ)
EN: art in the West

فعزّ عليهم أنْ يروا جمود آدابهم المحتضرة ، فأحبّوا أنْ ينفخوا فيها روحاً جديدة قوية تحطّم القيود العاتية والأوضاع السقيمة التي رسمتها لنا أجدادنا .

fa-ʕazz^a ʕalay-him ʔan yaraw ǧumūd ʔādāb-him al-muḥtaḍiraẗ, fa-ʔaḥabbū ʔan yanfuḫū fī-hā rūḥ^an ǧadīdaẗ qawiyyaẗ tuḥaṭṭim^u ’l-quyūd al-ʕatiyyaẗ wa’l-ʔawḍāʕ al-saqīmaẗ allatī rasamat-hā la-nā ʔaǧdādu-nā.

This is why it was painful for them to see that their [own] literature was lying in agony and stagnating, and this is why they wanted to breathe new life into it, so strong as to destroy the thick bonds and the boring conditions that our ancestors had designed for us.

AR: ǧumūd, ʔādāb, rūḥ, ǧadīd, quyūd (qayd), saqīm, al-ʔaǧdād
EN: agony, stagnating

فلأيّ الفريقين يكون الانتصار ؟

fa-li-ʔayyⁱ ’l-farīqaynⁱ yakūn^u ’l-intiṣār?

Which of the two groups will possibly be victorious?

AR:…

أما نحن فموقنون بأنّ أنصار الحقائق سينجحون رغماً عن قلّة عددهم وينتصرون على خصومهم الأقوياء ، ولكنْ بعد عناء شديد ومضى مدة طويلة ؛

ʔammā naḥnu fa-mūqinūn^a bi-ʔanna ʔanṣār al-ḥaqāʔiq sa-yanǧaḥūn^a raġm^an ʕan qillaẗ ʕadadi-him wa-yantaṣirūn^a ʕalà ḫuṣūmi-him al-ʔaqwiyāʔ, wa-lākin baʕda ʕanāʔⁱⁿ šadīd wa-maḍiyy muddaẗ ṭawīlaẗ;

As for us, we are convinced that the Factualists/Realists³⁷ will succeed although they are so few in number and that they will defeat their powerful opponents, but only after severe suffering and a long time,

37. ʔanṣār al-ḥaqāʔiq – lit., ‘the supporters/followers of the facts’.

AR: ḥaqīqaẗ (ḥaqāʔiq)
EN: …

لأنّ الشعب المصري شعب محافظ أخلاقي قبل كلّ شيء ،

li-ʔanna ’l-šaʕb al-miṣrī šaʕb muḥāfiẓ ʔaḫlāqī qabla kull šayʔ,

for the Egyptian people is, first and foremost, a conservative people, attached to tradition.³⁸

38. The translation of ʔaḫlāqī, a nisba formation from ʔaḫlāq, pl. of ḫulq, is doubtful.

AR: šaʕb, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), muḥāfiẓ (muḥafaẓaẗ), ʔaḫlāq
EN: conservative, attached to tradition

يعبد قديمه ويقدّس ما صنعه الآباء متوهّماً أنّ ما وضعته أجداده العرب هو الحدّ النهائي للكمال الإنشائي الفنّي الذي يجب أنْ نترسّمه باحترام و إجلال .

yaʕbud^u qadīma-hū wa-yuqaddis^u mā ṣanaʕa-hū ’l-ʔābāʔ mutawahhim^an ʔanna mā waḍaʕat-hu ʔaǧdādu-hū ’l-ʕarab huwa ’l-ḥadd al-nihāʔī lil-kamāl al-ʔinšāʔī al-fannī allaḏī yaǧib^u ʔan natarassama-hū bi-’ḥtirām wa-ʔiǧlāl.

They adore their past and venerate/sanctify what the forefathers have created, in the erroneous assumption that what their Arab ancestors have produced is the optimum of creative perfection that one cannot but take as an example to follow with respect and deference.

AR: qadīm, qaddasa (taqdīs), al-ʔābāʔ, tawahhum, al-ʔaǧdād, ʕarab, kamāl, ʔinšāʔ (našʔaẗ, nušūʔ), fannī (fann)
EN: …

ولمّا كان الشعب المصري متفائلاً أخلاقياً يعتقد في طهارة (ز) أخلاقه ومتانة تقاليده الموروثة المقدّسة ؛

wa-lammā kāna ’l-šaʕb al-miṣrī mutafāʔil^an ʔaḫlāqiyy^an yaʕtaqid^u fī ṭahāraẗ ʔaḫlāqi-h wa-matānaẗ taqālīdi-hī ’l-mawrūṯaẗ al-muqaddasaẗ;

Since the Egyptian people have such an optimistic opinion about their habits and customs,³⁹ they believe in the purity [p. vii] of these and the solidity of their holy/venerable inherited tradition.

39. The phrase ‘habits and customs’ renders the same word as above, ʔaḫlāq.

AR: šaʕb, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ṭahāraẗ, ʔaḫlāq, matānaẗ, taqālīd (taqlīd), taqdīs
EN: …

فستؤلمه الحقيقة المرّة الجافّة القاسية ، ويهبّ في وجه مَن يتصدّى إلى تصويرها محتجّاً مستنكراً محاولاً تكذيبها ليستبقى أحلامه اللذيذة .

fa-sa-tuʔlimu-hū ’l-ḥaqīqaẗ al-murraẗ al-ǧāffaẗ al-qāsiyaẗ, wa-yahubbu fī waǧhⁱ man yataṣaddà ʔilà taṣwīri-hā muḥtaǧǧ^an mustankir^an muḥāwil^an takḏība-hā li-yastabqiya ʔaḥlāma-hū ’l-laḏīḏaẗ.

Therefore, the brutal, dry and bitter truth will cause them pain, and they will rise in protest against anyone who dares to portray it [as it is], refusing this and trying to show that it is a lie, [just] in order to keep their sweet dreams.

AR: ḥaqīqaẗ, murr (marāraẗ), ǧāff (ǧafāf), qāsⁱⁿ (qaswaẗ), taṣwīr
EN: …

على أنّنا في إبّان نهضة كبيرة أوجدتها حركتنا الوطنية ،

ʕalà ʔanna-nā fī ʔibbānⁱ nahḍaẗⁱⁿ kabīraẗ ʔawǧadat-hā ḥarakatu-nā ’l-waṭaniyyaẗ,

However, we are living [now] through an era of a big awakening, induced by our national movement.

AR: nahḍaẗ, ḥarakaẗ, waṭaniyyaẗ
EN: era of a big awakening, national movement

ومن شأن النهضة أنْ تحدث عادة انقلاباً في العادات والتقاليد وتغيراً في الميول والأفكار ،

wa-min šaʔnⁱ ’l-nahḍaẗ ʔan tuḥdiṯ^a ʕādaẗ^an inqilāb^an fī ’l-ʕādāt wa’l-taqālīd wa-taġayyur^an fī ’l-muyūl wa’l-ʔafkār,

It is common for such an awakening that it brings about a reversal of customs and tradition and a change in orientations and thinking.

AR: nahḍaẗ, inqilab, taqālīd (taqlīd), taġayyur, mayl
EN: …

وقد ظهر أثر ذلك في كتابة كثيرٍ من كتّاب الناشئة الجديدة فقد تجلّوا لنا أنّهم من أنصار الجديد ،

wa-qad ẓahara ʔaṯar^u ḏālika fī kitābaẗ kaṯīrⁱⁿ min kuttāb al-nāšiʔaẗ al-ǧadīdaẗ fa-qad taǧallaw la-nā ʔanna-hum min ʔanṣār al-ǧadīd,

Such an influence has [already] appeared clearly in the writing of many of the writers of the new emerging generation: they’ve made it clear to us that they are followers of the new.

AR: ʔaṯar, kitābaẗ, kātib (kuttāb), nāšiʔaẗ (našʔaẗ, nušūʔ), ǧadīd
EN: …

وهم متّفقون معنا على ضئولة آدابنا الحالية وجمودها ومتطلّعون إلى آداب جديدة تضارع الآداب الغربية بالصفة العلمية والطريقة التحليلية والمرامي الفنّية ،

wa-hum muttafiqūn^a maʕa-nā ʕalà ḍuʔūlaẗ ʔādābi-nā ’l-ḥāliyyaẗ wa-ǧumūdi-hā wa-mutaṭalliʕūn^a ʔilà ʔādāb ǧadīdaẗ tuḍāriʕ^u ’l-ʔādāb al-ġarbiyyaẗ bi’l-ṣifaẗ al-ʕilmiyyaẗ wa’l-ṭarīqaẗ al-taḥlīliyyaẗ wa’l-marāmī al-fanniyyaẗ,

Like us, they are convinced that our current literature is weak and stagnating, and they are very much looking forward to seeing [the emergence of] a new literature that will be a [real] contemporary of Western literature – science-based, [psycho-] analytical, and with high aesthetic ambition.⁴⁰

40. bi’l-ṣifaẗ al-ʕilmiyyaẗ wa’l-ṭarīqaẗ al-taḥlīliyyaẗ wa’l-marāmī al-fanniyyaẗ. In the last adjective, the original meaning of fann as ‘technique’ is still very prominent. ʕUbayd is convinced that mastering storytelling technique has to play a key role when modern Egyptian fiction should succeed as an art.

AR: ḍuʔūlaẗ, ʔādāb, ǧumūd, ǧadīd, muḍāraʕaẗ, ġarbī (ġarb), ʕilmī (ʕilm, ʕilmiyyaẗ), taḥlīl, fannī (fann)
EN: a [real] contemporary of Western literature, science-based, [psycho-], analytical, aesthetic ambition

وهذا ممّا يثلّج صدورنا ويفعم نفوسنا بالأمل الكبير من نجاح قصصنا ورواياتنا العصرية المصرية ؛

wa-hāḏā mimmā yuṯliǧu ṣudūra-nā wa-yufʕimu nufūsa-nā bi’l-ʔamal al-kabīr min naǧāḥ qiṣaṣi-nā wa-riwāyāti-nā ’l-ʕaṣriyyaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ;

This is something that cools our hearts a bit and fills our souls with great hope that our modern Egyptian stories and novels will be successful.

AR: nufūs (nafs), ʔamalqiṣaṣriwāyaẗ, ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ), miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ),
EN: …

لأنّ غايتنا منها إيجاد أدب مصري موسوم بطابع شخصيتنا المصرية ويمثّل حياتنا الاجتماعية والنفسية والوطنية .

li-ʔanna ġāyata-nā min-hā ʔīǧād ʔadab miṣrī mawsūm bi-ṭābiʕ šaḫṣiyyati-nā ’l-miṣriyyaẗ wa-yumaṯṯil^u ḥayāta-nā ’l-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ wa’l-nafsiyyaẗ wa’l-waṭaniyyaẗ.

For what we aim at with them is the creation of an Egyptian literature that carries the traits of our Egyptian [national] character and will be representative of our social, emotional and national life.

AR: ġāyaẗ, ʔīǧād, ʔadab, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ṭābiʕ, šaḫṣiyyaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ḥayāẗ, iǧtimāʕī (muǧtamaʕ), nafsī (nafs), waṭaniyyaẗ
EN: Egyptian, Egyptian [national] character, social, emotional and national life

وقد جاء الدكتور أحمد ضيف أستاذ الآداب العربية بالجامعة المصرية في كتابه "مقدّمة في بلاغة العرب" مؤيداً لنا في نظريتنا

wa-qad ǧāʔa ’l-duktūr ʔAḥmad Ḍayf ʔustāḏ al-ʔādāb al-ʕarabiyyaẗ bi’l-ǧāmiʕaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ fī kitābi-hī "Muqaddimaẗ fī balāġaẗ al-ʕarab" muʔayyid^an la-nā fī naẓariyyati-nā

In his book Introduction to the Rhetoric of the Arabs,⁴¹ Dr Aḥmad Ḍayf,⁴² Professor of Arabic Literature at the Egyptian University,⁴³ has shown to be a supporter of our theory

41. The title is given as Muqaddimaẗ fī Balāġaẗ al-ʕArab here. The correct form, however, was Muqaddimaẗ li-[Dirāsaẗ] Balāġaẗ al-ʕArab (published al-Qahiraẗ, Maṭbaʕaẗ al-Sufūr, 1921). 42. Egyptian literary critic, 1880-1945. »Ḍayf was one of the first theorists of the so-called adab qawmī, which aimed to create a new literature marked by realism, local colour and a Western style« – Ed C.M. De Moor, art. »Ḍayf, Aḥmad (1880-1945)«, in EAL, i: 185. 43. The first secular university in Egypt, founded in 1908.

AR: ʔAḥmad Ḍayf, ʔādāb, ʕarabī, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), balāġaẗ, ʕarab, naẓariyyaẗ
EN: …

إذ قال بوجوب إيجاد آداب عربية مصبوغة بصبغة مصرية ،

ʔiḏ qāl bi-wuǧūb ʔīǧād ʔādāb ʕarabiyyaẗ maṣbūġaẗ bi-ṣibġaẗ miṣriyyaẗ,

when he talked about the necessity of creating an Arabic literature coloured in [specifically] Egyptian colours.

AR: ʔīǧād, ʔādāb, ʕarabī, maṣbūġ / ṣibġaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: [specifically] Egyptian colours

ولا شكّ أنّ كتابه هذا سيخلق عهداً جديداً في عالم الأدب المصري الحديث ، ويخطّ طريقاً جديداً للأدباء .

wa-lā šakk^a ʔanna kitāba-hū hāḏā sa-yaḫluq^u ʕahd^an ǧadīd^an fī ʕālam al-ʔadab al-miṣrī al-ḥadīṯ, wa-yaḫuṭṭ^a ṭarīq^an ǧadīd^an lil-ʔudabāʔ.

There is no doubt that this book will create a new era for modern Egyptian literature and that it will sketch a new path for creative writers⁴⁴ to follow.

44. al-ʔudabāʔ – could also be rendered, more generally, as ‘the literati’.

AR: ǧadīd, ʔadab, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ḥadīṯ (ḥadāṯaẗ), ǧadīd, ʔudabāʔ (ʔadab)
EN: …

وإنّنا لنشكر الأستاذ على إظهاره هذا الكتاب ، ونرجو منه ألّا يضنّ علينا بطبع محاضراته القيّمة ،

wa-ʔinna-nā la-naškur^u ’l-ʔustāḏ ʕalà ʔiẓhāri-hī hāḏā ’l-kitāb, wa-narǧū min-hu ʔallā yaḍinn^a ʕalay-nā bi-ṭabʕⁱ muḥāḍarāti-hī ’l-qayyimaẗ,

We thank the Professor for coming out with this book, and we hope he’s not sparse and will commit to print [also] his valuable lectures.

AR: muḥāḍaraẗ, qayyim (qīmaẗ)
EN: …

كما أنّ رجاءنا هذا موجّه أيضاً إلى سائر أساتذة الجامعة المصرية لا سيّما الأستاذ حسين افندي رمزي لِما سيكون لمحاضراته العلمية النفسية من التأثير على الأدب الحديث .

ka-mā ʔanna raǧāʔa-nā hāḏā muwaǧǧah^un ʔayḍ^an ʔilà sāʔir ʔasātiḏaẗ al-ǧāmiʕaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ lā siyya-mā ’l-ʔustāḏ Ḥusayn ʔafandī Ramzī li-mā sa-yakūn^u li-muḥāḍarāti-hī ’l-ʕilmiyyaẗ al-nafsiyyaẗ min al-taʔṯīr ʕalà ’l-ʔadab al-ḥadīṯ.

Our request is likewise directed at all other professors at the Egyptian University, especially Professor Ḥusayn Efendi Ramzī;⁴⁵ his lectures on psychology could have a [similar deep] impact on modern literature.

45. I was unable to identify this scholar in the reference works at my disposal.

AR: miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), Ḥusayn Ramzī, muḥāḍaraẗ, ʕilmī (ʕilm, ʕilmiyyaẗ), nafsī, taʔṯīr, ʔadab, ḥadīṯ (ḥadāṯaẗ)
EN: …

(حـ) 3 – أما غاية الرواية ، فيجب أنْ تكون التحرّي عن الحياة وتصويرها بأمانة وإخلاص كما تبدو لنا ، وجمع كمية كبيرة من الملاحظات والمستندات الإنسانية

3 – ʔammā ġāyaẗ al-riwāyaẗ, fa-yaǧib^u ʔan takūn^a ’l-taḥarriy^a ʕan il-ḥayāẗ wa-taṣwīri-hā bi-ʔamānaẗ wa-ʔiḫlāṣ ka-mā tabdū la-nā, wa-ǧamʕ kamiyyaẗ kabīraẗ min al-mulāḥaẓāt wa’l-mustanadāt al-ʔinsāniyyaẗ

[p. viii] 3 | The purpose of a narration⁴⁶ has to be a thorough investigation into life and depicting/portraying it in a faithful and reliable manner, [exactly] as it appears to us [i.e., as we see it]; [it also has to be] the collection of observations and evidence⁴⁷ about the human being

46. riwāyaẗ ‘telling a story’ almost has the meaning of ‘reporting’ here; cf. also above. 47. mustanadāt ‘documents to rely on’.

AR: ġāyaẗ, riwāyaẗ, taḥarrⁱⁿḥayāẗ, taṣwīr, ʔamānaẗ, ʔiḫlāṣ, mulāḥaẓaẗ, mustanadāt, ʔinsānī (ʔinsāniyyat, ʔinsān)
EN: thorough investigation into life, depicting/portraying, faithful, reliable, as it appears to us, observation, evidence

بحيث تكون الرواية عبارة عن "دوسيه" يطّلع فيه القارئ على تاريخ حياة إنسان أو صفحة من حياته ،

bi-ḥayṯu takūnu ’l-riwāyaẗ ʕibāraẗ ʕan "dūsīh" yaṭṭaliʕ^u fī-hi ’l-qāriʔ ʕalà tārīḫ ḥayāẗ ʔinsān ʔaw ṣafḥaẗ min ḥayāti-h,

so that the story can serve as something like a dossier⁴⁸ in which the reader is informed about a person’s biography or a phase of the latter’s life.

48. ʕUbayd uses the foreign word here: dūsīh.

AR: riwāyaẗ, dūsīh, qāriʔ, tārīḫ, ʔinsān, ḥayāẗ
EN: like a dossier

ويجمل بالكاتب أنْ يدرس فيها أسرار الطبيعة البشرية وخفايا القلب الإنساني الغامض ، والتطوّر الاجتماعي والأخلاقي ، وعوامل الحضارة والبيئة والوراثة في نفوس الأشخاص،

wa-yaǧmul^u bi’l-kātib ʔan yadrus^a fī-hā ʔasrār al-ṭabīʕaẗ al-bašariyyaẗ wa-ḫafāyā al-qalb al-ʔinsānī al-ġāmiḍ, wa’l-taṭawwur al-iǧtimāʕī wa’l-ʔaḫlāqī, wa-ʕawāmil al-ḥaḍāraẗ wa’l-bīʔaẗ wa’l-wirāṯaẗ fī nufūs al-ʔašḫāṣ,

In it, a writer should ideally study the hidden secrets of the human heart; [he should also study] social and moral development as well as the influence of civilisation, milieu, and what is inherited genetically⁴⁹ in the characters’ psyche.

49. ʕawāmil al-ḥaḍāraẗ wa’l-bīʔaẗ wa’l-wirāṯaẗ – three key terms that show that the author is well-read in European positivist theories about the influence of civilisation, (social) milieu and genetic factors on human behaviour.

AR: kātib, darasa (dars / dirāsaẗ), ʔasrār (sirr), ṭabīʕaẗ, bašarī (bašar), ḫafāyā, qalb, ʔinsānī, ġāmiḍ (ġumūḍ), taṭawwur, iǧtimāʕī (muǧtamaʕ), ʔaḫlāq, ʕawāmil (ʕāmil), ḥaḍāraẗ, bīʔaẗ, wirāṯaẗ, nufūs (nafs), ʔašḫāṣ
EN: heart, social and moral development, civilisation, milieu, genetically, characters’ psyche

وذلك مع بعض التحفّظ في إبداء حكمه أو آرائه الشخصية ، لأنّ مهمّته الأساسية تشريح النفوس البشرية وتدوين ما يكتشفه من الملاحظات ،

wa-ḏālika maʕa baʕḍ al-taḥaffuẓ fī ʔibdāʔ ḥukmi-hī ʔaw ʔārāʔi-hī al-šaḫṣiyyaẗ, li-ʔanna mahammata-hū ’l-ʔasāsiyyaẗ tašrīḥ al-nufūs al-bašariyyaẗ wa-tadwīn mā yaktašifu-hū min al-mulāḥaẓāt,

He should do so while at the same time holding back, to some extent, his [own] judgment or personal opinion, for his primary task should be to dissect the human soul and to record what he discovers via observation,⁵⁰

50. The key words here are tašrīḥ ‘dissection’, tadwīn ‘recording, registering’, and mulāḥaẓaẗ ‘observation’.

AR: taḥaffuẓ, ḥukm, šaḫṣiyyaẗ, mahammaẗ, tašrīḥ, nufūs (nafs), bašarī, tadwīn, iktašafa (iktišāf), mulāḥaẓaẗ
EN: dissect the human soul, record, discovers, observation

تار کاً الحكم في ذلك إلى القارئ نفسه يستخلص منها المغزى الذي يرمي إليه بخفّة ومهارة دون أنْ يتحمّل مشقّة المناداة به .

tārik^an al-ḥukm fī ḏālika ʔilà ’l-qāriʔⁱ nafsi-hī yastaḫliṣ^u min-hā ’l-maġzà allaḏī yarmī ʔilay-hi bi-ḫiffaẗ wa-mahāraẗ dūn^a ʔan yataḥammal^a mašaqqaẗ al-munādāẗ bi-h.

leaving the judgment about all that to the reader who will himself draw the conclusion from it, easily and competently without having to bear the troubles of being called on to do so.

AR: ḥukm, qāriʔ, maġzà, mahāraẗ
EN: …

وإنّا لموقنون أنّ هذه الطريقة الجديدة ستصادف بادئ بدء اعتراضاً شديداً من بعض كتّابنا الذين يتوهّمون أنّهم أساتذة مرشدون جادت بهم العناية الإلهية لهداية الأمّة وحملها على اتّباع آرائهم ،

wa-ʔinnā la-mūqinūn^a ʔanna hāḏihī ’l-ṭarīqaẗ al-ǧadīdaẗ sa-tuṣādif^u bādiʔ^a badʔⁱⁿ iʕtirāḍ^an šadīd^an min baʕḍ kuttābi-nā allaḏīn^a yatawahhamūn^a ʔanna-hum ʔasātiḏaẗ^un muršidūn^a ǧādat bi-him al-ʕināyaẗ al-ʔilāhiyyaẗ li-hidāyaẗⁱ ’l-ʔummaẗ wa-ḥamli-hā ʕalà ’ttibāʕ ʔārāʔi-him,

We are convinced that this new way of writing will initially meet strong resistance among some of our writers, those who consider themselves as leading masters whom Divine Providence endowed with guiding the nation and turning it into followers of their opinions.

AR: ǧadīd, kuttāb, tawahhama (tawahhum), muršid (ʔiršād), hidāyaẗ, ʔummaẗ
EN: guiding the nation

فإنّا نخالف ذلك ونتحمّل تبعة آرائنا ، فلا يحقّ للكاتب مطلقاً أنْ يدّعي هذا الادّعاء لأنّنا معرضون دائماً للخطأ ،

fa-ʔinnā nuḫālifu ḏālika wa-nataḥammal^u tabiʕaẗ^a ʔārāʔi-nā, fa-lā yaḥiqq^u lil-kātib muṭlaq^an ʔan yaddaʕiy^a hāḏā ’l-iddiʕāʔ li-ʔanna-nā muʕraḍūn^a dāʔim^an lil-ḫaṭaʔ,

In contrast, we oppose this idea, and we take on own responsibility for our ideas.⁵¹ For a writer has absolutely no right to make such a claim – none of us is immune against making mistakes.

51. ? – nataḥammalu tabiʕat ʔārāʔi-nā. Unfortunately, the meaning does not become much clearer if we read tabaʕat… instead of tabiʕat...

AR: kātib, ḫaṭaʔ
EN: …

فإنّنا نحكم على حسب أمزجتنا وميولنا وأذواقنا وأمزجة الناس متعدّدة ، وميولهم متضاربة ، وأذواقهم مختلفة ومضادّة .

fa-ʔinna-nā naḥkum^u ʕalà ḥasabⁱ ʔamziǧati-nā wa-muyūli-nā wa-ʔaḏwāqi-nā wa-ʔamziǧaẗ^u ’l-nās mutaʕaddidaẗ, wa-muyūlu-hum mutaḍāribaẗ, wa-ʔaḏwāqu-hum muḫtalifaẗ wa-muḍāddaẗ.

We make up our minds according to our temperaments, preferences and personal tastes – and people’s temperaments are numerous, their preferences opposed to each other, and their tastes may be different and contradictory.

AR: ḥakama (ḥukm), mazāǧ, mayl, ʔaḏwāq (ḏawq), taʕaddud
EN: …

فلا يصحّ ولا يحقّ لنا أنْ نجبر غيرنا على قبول ما لا يسيغه ولا يهضمه ،

fa-lā yaṣaḥḥ^u wa-lā yaḥiqq^u la-nā ʔan nuǧbir^a ġayra-nā ʕalà qubūl mā lā yusīġu-hū wa-lā yahḍimu-h,

Therefore, we do not have the right, neither legally nor morally, to force somebody to accept what he cannot easily swallow and digest.

AR:…

ثمّ إنّ نفس أذواقنا وميولنا التي تعتمد (ط) عليها في الحكم تتغيّر يوماً عن يوم ،

ṯumma ʔinna nafs^a ʔaḏwāqi-nā wa-muyūli-nā ’llatī taʕtamidu ʕalay-hā fī ’l-ḥukm tataġayyar^u yawm^an ʕan yawm,

Moreover, these very same tastes and preferences on which we base [p. ix] our judgments – they change from day to day.

AR: ʔaḏwāq (ḏawq), mayl, ḥukm, taġayyur
EN: …

فقد نستحسن اليوم رأياً ونعشقه وندافع عنه ، وغداً يتّضح لنا أنّنا أخطأنا وتسرّعنا في استحساننا له فننبذه ونحاربه .

fa-qad nastaḥsin^u ’l-yawm^a raʔy^an wa-naʕšiqu-hū wa-nudāfiʕ^u ʕan-hu, wa-ġad^an yattaḍiḥ^u la-nā ʔanna-nā ʔaḫṭaʔnā wa-tasarraʕnā fī ’stiḥsāni-nā la-hū fa-nanbiḏu-hū wa-nuḥāribu-h.

Today we may appreciate a point of view, love it and defend it, while tomorrow we may realize that we’ve made a mistake and our appreciation was too hurried; so we reject it and fight against it.

AR: al-yawm, ġad^an, ittaḍaḥa (wuḍūḥ), ḫaṭaʔ
EN: …

وكيف يمكن للكاتب أنْ يثبت أنْ آراءه مفيدة للهيئة الاجتماعية غير مضرّة بها ؟

wa-kayfa yumkinu lil-kātib ʔan yuṯbita ʔanna ʔārāʔa-hū mufīdaẗ lil-hayʔaẗ al-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ ġayr muḍirraẗ bi-hā?

How then can an author prove that his ideas are beneficial to society,⁵² not doing harm to it?

52. al-hayʔaẗ al-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ – the Nahḍa’s standard term for the concept of ‘society’. It reflects the efendiyya’s look at society as a body, a structure, a kind of mechanism or organism that, if necessary, can be approached – and treated – as such, i.e., from the perspective of the ‘social engineers’, the ‘doctors’ who, after the dissection (tašrīḥ) of this body, will have found the defect and be able to remedy it.

AR: kātib, mufīd (fāʔidaẗ, fawāʔid), al-hayʔaẗ al-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ, muḍirr (ḍarar)
EN: society

فإنّ أعاظم الرجال الذين أرادوا أنْ يضعوا للبشرية شرائع وأنظمة تؤدّي بها إلى السعادة الدائمة قد أخطئوا وأساءوا إلى المجتمع البشري من حيث أرادوا إسعاده .

fa-ʔinna ʔaʕāẓim al-riǧāl allaḏīna ʔarādū ʔan yaḍiʕū lil-bašariyyaẗ šarāʔiʕ wa-ʔanẓimaẗ tuʔaddī bi-hā ʔilà ’l-saʕādaẗ al-dāʔimaẗ qad ʔaḫṭaʔū wa-ʔasāʔū ʔilà ’l-muǧtamaʕ al-bašarī min ḥayṯ^u ʔarādū ʔisʕāda-h.

Those “giant men” who wanted to lay down for humanity rules and laws that would lead them into eternal happiness have actually failed; they did more harm to human society than making it happier.

AR: bašariyyaẗ (bašar), šarāʔiʕ (šarīʕaẗ), ʔanẓimaẗ (niẓām), ḫaṭaʔ, ʔasāʔa (ʔisāʔaẗ), muǧtamaʕ bašarī
EN: …

ومع ذلك فإنّنا لا نقول بعدم حقّ الكاتب في الحكم أو إبداء الرأي

wa-maʕa ḏālika fa-ʔinnanā lā naqūl bi-ʕadam ḥaqq al-kātib fī ’l-ḥukm ʔaw ʔibdāʔ al-raʔy

Nevertheless, we do not say that an author should have no right to pass a judgment or express his views.

AR: kātib, ḥukm, ʔibdāʔ al-raʔy
EN: …

ولكنّنا نقصد أنْ يتجلّى حكمه ورأيه من ثنايا ملاحظاته وتحاليله ،

walākin-nā naqṣid^u ʔan yataǧallà ḥukmu-hū wa-raʔyu-hū min ṯanāyā mulāḥaẓāti-hī wa-taḥālīli-h,

What we mean is rather that his judgment and view should become clear from his observations and analyses,

AR: ḥukm, raʔy, mulāḥaẓaẗ, taḥālīl (taḥlīl)
EN: observation, analyses

لا كما يفعل كتّاب العهد القديم من المناداة :

lā ka-mā yafʕal^u kuttāb al-ʕahd al-qadīm min al-munādāẗ:

not, as in the old days, via calling upon them, saying

AR: kātib (kuttāb), qadīm
EN: …

أيها القوم ثوبوا إلى رشدكم ، أيها الناس أقلعوا عن الرذائل ، أيها الناس تمسّكوا بالفضائل !

ʔayyuhā ’l-qawm ṯūbū ʔilà rušdi-kum, ʔayyuhā ’l-nās ʔaqliʕū ʕan il-raḏāʔil, ʔayyuhā ’l-nās tamassakū bi’l-faḍāʔil!

“Oh people, be reasonable! Oh people, rid yourselves of the bad habits! Oh people, stick to virtue!” –

AR: faḍāʔil
EN: …

تلك المناداة العقيمة التي لا تؤثّر أدنى تأثير فنّي في نفس القارئ ، بل كثيراً ما تأتي النتيجة ضدّ رغبة الكاتب ،

tilka ’l-munādāẗ al-ʕaqīmaẗ allatī lā tuʔaṯṯir^u ʔadnà taʔṯīr fannī fī nafs al-qāriʔ, bal kaṯīr^an mā taʔtī al-natīǧaẗ^u ḍidd^a raġbaẗ al-kātib,

that old barren homily that leaves not the least imprint on the reader’s mind. On the contrary, the effect is often the opposite of what was the writer’s intention.

AR: ʕaqīm (ʕuqm), taʔṯīr, fannī (fann), nafs, qāriʔ, natīǧaẗ, kātib
EN: …

إذ يأخذ القارئَ الضجرُ والمللُ فيتضايق من تلك الفضائل التي يحُثّونه عليها بقسوة وخشونة .

ʔiḏ yaʔḫuḏ^u ’l-qāriʔa ’l-ḍaǧar^u wa’l-malal^u fa-yataḍāyaq^u min tilka ’l-faḍāʔilⁱ ’llatī yaḥuṯṯūna-hū ʕalay-hā bi-qaswaẗ wa-ḫušūnaẗ.

The reader will namely be taken by boredom and dissatisfaction, and he will be annoyed by [all] these virtues to which he is being pushed violently and crudely.

AR: qāriʔ, ḍaǧar, malal, faḍāʔil
EN: …

وليس للرواية أسلوب خاصّ ، أو قاعدة عامّة ، فهی تتناول كل الأساليب والقواعد ما دامت مبنية على الملاحظة والتحليل النفساني ؛

wa-laysa lil-riwāyaẗ ʔuslūb ḫāṣṣ, ʔaw qāʕidaẗ ʕāmmaẗ, fa-hiya tatanāwal^u kull^a ’l-ʔasālīb^a wa’l-qawāʕid^a mā dāmat mabnīyaẗ ʕalà ’l-mulāḥaẓaẗ wa’l-taḥlīl al-nafsānī;

Storytelling has neither a particular style nor general principles, it may include all styles and principles as long as it is based on observation and psychological analysis.

AR: riwāyaẗ, ʔuslūb / ʔasālīb, qāʕidaẗ / qawāʕid, mulāḥaẓaẗ, taḥlīl nafsānī
EN: observation, analysis

فتارة تكون موضوعة في قالب رسالة كقصّتي "إحسان هانم" التي بادرت بها هذه المجموعة ، أو مذكّرات، أو اعتراف ، أو قصّة ، أو محاورة ثنائية ،

fa-tāraẗ^an takūn^u mawḍūʕaẗ fī qālib risālaẗ ka-qiṣṣat-ī "ʔIḥsān Ḥānim" allatī bādartu bi-hā hāḏihī ’l-maǧmūʕaẗ, ʔaw muḏakkirāt, ʔaw iʕtirāf, ʔaw qiṣṣaẗ, ʔaw muḥāwaraẗ ṯunāʔiyyaẗ,

Sometimes [the narrative] can be cast in the form of a letter, as in my story Miss Iḥsān, which opens the present collection. [It may also take the form] of memoirs, a confession, a short story, or a dialogue,

AR: muḏakkirāt, iʕtirāf, qiṣṣaẗ, muḥāwaraẗ ṯunāʔiyyaẗ
EN: …

ما دامت دعامتها الملاحظة المأخوذة عن الحياة كما هي بلا تقصير أو مغالاة ،

mā dāmat daʕāmata-hā al-mulāḥaẓaẗ^u ’l-maʔḫūḏaẗ^u ʕan il-ḥayāẗ ka-mā hiya bi-lā taqṣīr ʔaw muġālāẗ,

as long as its [main] pillar is observation, observation of real life, without reduction or exaggeration.

AR: mulāḥaẓaẗ, ḥayāẗ, ka-mā huwa/hiya, taqṣīr, muġālāẗ
EN: observation, real life, without reduction or exaggeration

ولا يعلّق الكاتب في الرواية العصرية أدنى أهمّية على السياق الروائي ،

wa-lā yuʕalliq^u ’l-kātib fī ’l-riwāyaẗ al-ʕaṣriyyaẗ ʔadnà ʔahammiyyaẗ ʕalà ’l-siyāq al-riwāʔī,

The author of a modern narrative does not [need to] attach the least importance to narrative flow

AR: kātib, riwāyaẗ, ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

لأنّه سيكون ثانوياً إزاء مرمی الرواية الأساسي ، ألا وهو درس أشخاصه وتشريح نفوسهم (ي) وتحليل أفكارهم ،

li-ʔanna-hū sa-yakūn^u ṯānawiyy^an ʔizāʔ^a marmà ’l-riwāyaẗ al-ʔasāsī, ʔillā wa-huwa darasa ʔašḫāṣa-hū wa-tašrīḥ nufūsi-him wa-taḥlīl ʔafkāri-him,

because this is secondary to the story’s essential objective – isn’t this the study of his characters, the dissection of their innermost feelings and [p. x] the analysis of their thoughts?

AR: riwāyaẗ, darasa (dars, dirāsaẗ), ʔašḫāṣ, tašrīḥ, nufūs (nafs), taḥlīl
EN: analysis

فإنّه يجب عليه أن يشاهدهم عن قرب ويشرف على أزماتهم ،

fa-ʔinna-hū yaǧib^u ʕalay-hi ʔan yušāhida-hum ʕan qurb wa-yušrif ʕalà ʔazamāti-him,

Therefore, it is imperative that he observes them closely and gains insight into their life crises.

AR: ʔazmaẗ
EN: …

فإنّ من الأسباب التي تحمل المؤلّف على الجنوح إلى الخيال والتكلّف ، عدم إلمامه التامّ بشخصية أشخاصه وإتيانه في روايته بأشخاص لم يشاهدهم أو شاهدهم عرضاً ولم يتسنَّ له درسُهم .

fa-ʔinna min al-ʔasbāb allatī taḥmilu ’l-muʔallif ʕalà ’l-ǧunūḥ ʔilà ’l-ḫayāl wa’l-takalluf, ʕadam^u ʔilmāmi-hī al-tāmm bi-šaḫṣiyyaẗ ʔašḫāṣi-hī wa-ʔityānu-hū fī riwāyati-h bi-ʔašḫāṣ lam yušāhid-hum ʔaw šāhada-hum ʕarḍ^an wa-lam yatasanna la-hū darsu-hum.

For one of the reasons that make authors turn to [irrealistic] imagination and mannerism is [often] his lack of a profound/comprehensive knowledge of the character of his protagonists and the fact that he creates in his narrative characters he has never, or only randomly, been able to watch and study carefully.

AR: ʔasbāb (sabab), ḫayāl, takalluf, šaḫṣiyyaẗ, riwāyaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ
EN: …

وغايتنا من ذلك أنْ يضع الكتّاب المصريون مؤلّفات قيّمة ناضجة تظلّ حيّة جديدة على مرّ الأعوام والأجيال ،

wa-ġāyatu-nā min ḏālika ʔan yaḍiʕa ’l-kuttāb al-miṣriyyūn muʔallafāt qayyimaẗ nāḍiǧaẗ taẓall^u ḥayawiyyaẗ ǧadīdaẗ ʕalà marrⁱ ’l-ʔaʕwām wa’l-ʔaǧyāl,

Our intention with all this is [to make] Egyptian writers produce mature, valuable works that will remain new and lively in spite of years and generations passing by.

AR: ġāyaẗ, kātib (kuttāb), Miṣr, qayyim (qīmaẗ), nāḍiǧ (nuḍūǧ), ḥayawī (ḥayawiyyaẗ, ḥayāẗ), ǧadīd
EN: …

والرواية لا تكون خالدة إلا إذا كوّنت من العناصر الإنسانية الخالدة .

wa’l-riwāyaẗ lā takūn ḫālidaẗ^an ʔillā ʔiḏā kuwwinat min al-ʕanāṣir al-ʔinsāniyyaẗ al-ḫālidaẗ.

For a narrative will not be immortal unless it is composed of eternal human constituents.

AR: riwāyaẗ, ḫālid (ḫulūd), takwīn / takawwun, ʕanāṣir (ʕunṣur), ʔinsānī (ʔinsāniyyat, ʔinsān), ḫālid (ḫulūd)
EN: eternal human constituents

هذا ما نطمح إليه نحن كتّاب الناشئة الجديدة .

hāḏā mā naṭmaḥ^u ʔilay-hi naḥnu kuttāb al-nāšiʔaẗ al-ǧadīdaẗ.

This is what we, the authors of the new emerging generation, are aspiring to.

AR: kātib (kuttāb), nāšiʔaẗ (našʔaẗ, nušūʔ), ǧadīd
EN: …

فنريد أنْ تكون مؤلّفاتنا ناضجة قيّمة لا تموت بموتنا ،

fa-nurīd^u ʔan takūna muʔallafāti-nā nāḍiǧaẗ qayyimaẗ lā tamūt bi-mawti-nā,

We want our works to be mature and valuable so that they do not die when we die.

AR: nāḍiǧ (nuḍūǧ), qayyim (qīmaẗ)
EN: mature, valuable

فنحن لا نكتب لبضعة المئات من قرّائنا وقد لا يوجد بينهم إلا نفر قليل جدّاً يفهمون غايتنا ، ويقدّرون مجهودنا ،

fa-naḥnu lā naktub^u li-biḍʕaẗ al-miʔāt min qurrāʔi-nā wa-qad lā yūǧad^u bayna-hum ʔillā nafar^un qalīl^un ǧidd^an yafhamūn^a ġāyata-nā, wa-yuqaddirūn^a maǧhūda-nā,

For we are not writing for the few hundreds of our readers, among whom perhaps only a handful who understand our ambitions and appreciate our efforts.

AR: qurrāʔ (qāriʔ), ġāyaẗ
EN: …

ونحن لم نُقْدِم على فنّ الأدب - وهو في الوقت الحاضر فنّ لا يورث صاحبه غير الفاقة والشقاء - إلا ونحن مدفوعون بذاك الأمل ؛

wa-naḥnu lam nuqdim ʕalà fannⁱ ’l-ʔadab – wa-huwa fī ’l-waqtⁱ ’l-ḥāḍir fann^un lā yūriṯ^u ṣāḥiba-hū ġayr^a ’l-fāqaẗ wa’l-šaqāʔ – ʔillā wa-naḥnu madfūʕūn^a bi-ḏāka ’l-ʔamal;

And we do not adventure into the art of literature – which currently is an art that earns its masters nothing but poverty and misery – unless driven by that hope,

AR: ʔaqdama (ʔiqdām), fann, ʔadab, ʔamal
EN: …

أملُ جعْلِ اسمِنا محترماً عند أطفالنا وأحفادنا الذين سيقرؤوننا ويدركون مقدارَ ما ضحّيناه لأجلهم من دمائنا ونفوسنا .

ʔamal^u ǧaʕlⁱ ’smi-nā muḥtaram^an ʕinda ʔaṭfāli-nā wa-ʔaḥfādi-nā ’llaḏīna sa-yaqraʔūna-nā wa-yudrikūn^a miqdār^a mā ḍaḥḥaynā-hu li-ʔaǧli-him min dimāʔi-nā wa-nufūsi-nā.

the hope that all this will make our names respected among our children and grandchildren who will read us and understand to what extent we have sacrificed our blood and heart for their benefit.

AR: ʔamal, muḥtaram, ʔaṭfāl (ṭifl), ʔaḥfād (ḥafīd), ḍaḥḥà (tāḍḥiyaẗ), dimāʔ (dam), nufūs (nafs)
EN: …

4 – إنّ الثورة الفكرية التي تسري بقوّة هائلة في دمائنا حملتنا على محاربة كلّ شيء قديم تجعلنا نستبشر بحدوث نهضة عامّة في مصر ،

4 – ʔinna ’l-ṯawraẗ al-fikriyyaẗ allatī tasrī bi-quwwaẗ hāʔilaẗ fī dimāʔi-nā ḥamalat-nā ʕalà muḥārabaẗ kullⁱ šayʔⁱⁿ qadīm taǧʕalu-nā nastabšir^u bi-ḥudūṯ nahḍaẗ ʕāmmaẗ fī Miṣr,

4 | The intellectual revolution that is flowing so powerfully⁵³ through our veins⁵⁴ prompts us to fight against everything old and makes us look forward in joyful anticipation to an overall renaissance/upswing to happen in Egypt.

53. Lit., ‘with an immense power’. 54. Lit., ‘in our blood’.

AR: ṯawraẗ fikriyyaẗ, quwwaẗ, dimāʔ (dam), qadīm, nahḍaẗ, Miṣr
EN: 4, intellectual revolution, overall renaissance/upswing

لأنّ النهضة تتّبع عادةً الثورة وتكون نتيجة طبيعية لها ،

li-ʔanna ’l-nahḍaẗ^a tatbaʕ^u ʕādaẗ^an il-ṯawraẗ^a wa-takūn^u natīǧaẗ^an ṭabīʕiyyaẗ^an la-hā,

For such a renaissance tends to follow revolutions and is usually a natural result of them.

AR: nahḍaẗ, ṯawraẗ, natīǧaẗ, ṭabīʕī (ṭabīʕaẗ)
EN: …

وستتناول تلك النهضة كلّ شيء في أحوالنا السياسية والاجتماعية والأدبية .

wa-sa-tatanāwal^u tilka ’l-nahḍaẗ kull^a šayʔⁱⁿ fī ʔaḥwāli-nā ’l-siyāsiyyaẗ wa’l-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ wa’l-ʔadabiyyaẗ.

This renaissance will encompass everything in our political, social and literary life.⁵⁵

55. Lit., ‘situation(s), condition(s)’.

AR: nahḍaẗ, siyāsī (siyāsaẗ), iǧtimāʕī (muǧtamaʕ), ʔadabī
EN: …

فبعد أنْ رأينا المرأة المصرية المخدَّرة (ك) المحجَّبة تنزل إلى ميدان العمل متظاهرةً جنبَ الرجل مطالبةً بشجاعة وجرأة بحقوق بلادها ،

fa-baʕda ʔan raʔaynā ’l-marʔaẗ^a ’l-miṣriyyaẗ^a ’l-muḫaddaraẗ^a ’l-muḥaǧǧabaẗ^a tanzil^u ʔilà mīdānⁱ ’l-ʕamal mutaẓāhiraẗ^an ǧanb^a ’l-raǧuli muṭālibẗ^an bi-šaǧāʕaẗⁱⁿ wa-ǧurʔaẗⁱⁿ bi-ḥuqūqⁱ bilādi-hā,

Having seen veiled, segregated Egyptian women [p. xi] leave home [to go] to work and participate in demonstrations, alongside with Egyptian men, demanding boldly and with determination their country’s rights –

AR: marʔaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), šaǧāʕaẗ, ǧurʔaẗ, ḥaqq / ḥuqūq
EN: …

الأمر الذي لم تكن تستطيعه قبل أن تهيج الثورة جهازنا العصبي ،

al-ʔamr allaḏī lam takun tastaṭīʕu-hū qabla ʔan tuhīǧ^a ’l-ṯawraẗ^u ǧihāza-nā ’l-ʕaṣabī,

which they would not have been able to do before the revolution shook our country to its core⁵⁶ –,

56. Lit., ‘shook our nervous system’.

AR: ṯawraẗ
EN: …

رأينا كتّاب الناشئة الجديدة قاموا يندّدون بما كنّا نقدّسه بالأمس

raʔaynā kuttāb al-nāšiʔaẗ al-ǧadīdaẗ qāmū yunaddidūn^a bi-mā kunnā nuqaddisu-hū bi’l-ʔams

we have [also] seen the writers of the new upcoming generation rise to criticize what we used to hold sacred in the past,

AR: kātib (kuttāb), nāšiʔaẗ (našʔaẗ, nušūʔ), ǧadīd, qaddasa (taqdīs), ʔams
EN: …

متطاولين بجرأة متناهية على الرءوس الكبيرة التي تمثّل أدب الأمس وأدب اليوم .

mutaṭāwilīn^a bi-ǧurʔaẗⁱⁿ mutanāhiyaẗⁱⁿ ʕalà ’l-ruʔūsⁱ ’l-kabīraẗ allatī tumaṯṯil^u ʔadab al-ʔams wa-ʔadab al-yawm.

and attack in an extremely brave manner the big heads who represent the literature of yesterday and today.

AR: ǧurʔaẗ, ʔadab, ʔams, al-yawm
EN: …

والثورة المنتظرة في عالم الأدب العصري المصري سترمی إلى القضاء على الأدب القديم الجامد المتشابه المبتذل ،

wa’l-ṯawraẗ al-muntaẓaraẗ fī ʕālam al-ʔadab al-ʕaṣrī al-miṣrī sa-tarmī ʔilà ’l-qaḍāʔ ʕalà ’l-ʔadab al-qadīm al-ǧāmid al-mutašābih al-mubtaḏal,

The revolution that we expect [to happen] in contemporary Egyptian literature will aim to do away with the static, obscure, and hackneyed old literature.

AR: ṯawraẗ, ʔadab, ʕaṣrī, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), qadīm, ǧāmid (ǧumūd), mutašābih (tašābuh), mubtaḏal (ibtiḏāl)
EN: do away with the static, obscure, and hackneyed old literature

فتكون أشبه بالثورة التي قام بها "فيكتور هوجو" ضدّ الأدب المدرسي ،

fa-takūn^u ʔašbah^a bi’l-ṯawraẗ allatī qāma bi-hā "Fīktūr Hūǧū" ḍidd al-ʔadab al-madrasī,

It will resemble Victor Hugo’s revolution against canonical literature,

AR: ṯawraẗ, Fīktūr Hūǧū, ʔadab madrasī
EN: Hugo

والتي نادى بها "زولا" وجماعته ضدّ المذهب الخيالي لإيجاد مذهب الحقائق أساس أدب الغد .

wa-’llatī nādà bi-hā "Zūlā" wa-ǧamāʕatu-hū ḍidd al-maḏhab al-ḫayālī li-ʔīǧād maḏhab al-ḥaqāʔiq ʔasās ʔadab al-ġad.

as well as the one Zola and his group called for against Romanticism⁵⁷ in order to make room for Realism,⁵⁸ the basis for tomorrow’s literature.

57. Lit., ‘the School of Fantasy/Imagination’. 58. maḏhab al-ḥaqāʔiq – see above.

AR: Zūlā, maḏhab, ḫayāl, ʔīǧād, maḏhab al-ḥaqīqaẗ (ḥaqāʔiq), ʔadab, ġad
EN: Zola, Realism

ولكنْ إذا نظرنا إلى أدبنا في الوقت الحاضر نظرةً بريئة خالية من الأغراض ، نظرة محقّق يحلّل الأسباب والنتائج ، لتبيّن لنا أنّ الثورة قد انتابت التمثيل ؛

walākin ʔiḏā naẓarnā ʔilà ʔadabi-nā fī ’l-waqt al-ḥāḍir naẓraẗ^an barīʔaẗ ḫāliyaẗ min al-ʔaġrāḍ, naẓraẗ^a muḥaqqiqⁱⁿ yuḥallil^u ’l-ʔasbāb wa’l-natāʔiǧ, la-tabayyana la-nā ʔanna ’l-ṯawraẗ qad intābat al-tamṯīl^a;

If we take an innocent, disinterested look at the literature of our present days, as an investigator who analyses causes and effects would do, it will become evident that the revolution has actually already infected dramatic arts.

AR: ʔadab, muḥaqqiq (taḥqīq), taḥlīl, ʔasbāb (sabab), natāʔiǧ, tabayyana (tabayyun, bayan), ṯawraẗ, tamṯīl
EN: …

فإنّ النوع المجوني المَرَضي الإباحي ليس هو في الحقيقة إلا مظاهرة أو شبه ثورة ضدّ القديم المبتذل ،

fa-ʔinna ’l-nawʕ al-muǧūnī al-maraḍī al-ʔibāḥī laysa huwa fī ’l-ḥaqīqaẗ ʔillā muẓāharaẗ ʔaw šibh ṯawraẗ ḍidd al-qadīm al-mubtaḏal,

For that obscene, sick and licentious type [of plays that we see today on our stages] is actually nothing but a demonstration or a semi-revolution against the old and trite,

AR: nawʕ, muǧūn, maraḍ (ʔamrāḍ), ʔibāḥī (ʔibāḥaẗ), ḥaqīqaẗ, ṯawraẗ, qadīm, mubtaḏal (ibtiḏāl)
EN: …

ضدّ الأنواع الغربية التي مجّها واستغاث منها الجمهور المصري ،

ḍidd al-ʔanwāʕ al-ġarbiyyaẗ allatī maǧǧa-hā wa-’staġāṯ^a min-hā ’l-ǧumhūr al-miṣrī,

[as well as?] against the western forms that the Egyptian public [now] rejects⁵⁹ and wants to be spared.

59. Lit., ‘disgorges, spits out’.

AR: ʔanwāʕ (nawʕ), ġarbī, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

وقد حمل هذا النوعُ أصحابَ الفرق على تغيير منهجهم التمثيلي ،

wa-qad ḥamala hāḏā ’l-nawʕ^u ʔaṣḥāb^a ’l-firaq ʕalà taġyīr manhaǧi-him al-tamṯīlī,

This type [of plays] has led the ensemble directors to change their theatre practices:

AR: nawʕ, tamṯīl
EN: …

فأخذوا يكثرون من تمثيل الروايات العصرية المصرية بعد أنْ اتّضح لهم وجوب وسم مرسحنا بطابع شخصيتنا ،

fa-ʔaḫaḏū yukṯirūn^a min tamṯīl al-riwāyāt al-ʕaṣriyyaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ baʕd ʔan ittaḍaḥa la-hum wuǧūb^u wasmⁱ marsaḥi-nā bi-ṭābiʕⁱ šaḫṣiyyati-nā,

They stage contemporary Egyptian plots now more often because it has become clear to them that our stages have to express our [national] character⁶⁰

60. Lit., the necessity of imprinting the stamp of our personality on our stage.

AR: tamṯīl, riwāyaẗ, ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ), miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ittaḍaḥa (wuḍūḥ), wasm (simaẗ, simāt), marsaḥ, ṭābiʕ, šaḫṣiyyaẗ
EN: …

لأنّ المناظر القومية والألوان المصرية الصميمة تُثير فينا عادةً حاسّةَ اللذّة والإعجاب ،

li-ʔanna ’l-manāẓir al-qawmiyyaẗ wa’l-ʔalwān al-miṣriyyaẗ al-ṣamīmaẗ tuṯīr^u fī-nā ʕādaẗ^an ḥāssaẗ^a ’l-laḏḏaẗ wa’l-ʔiʕǧāb,

because national scenes and genuine Egyptian colours tend to stimulate the sense of pleasure and liking.

AR: manāẓir, qawmiyyaẗ, ʔalwān, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ṣamīm, ḥāssaẗ (ḥawāss), laḏḏaẗ
EN: genuine Egyptian colours (local colour)

ولعلّ النجاح الذي صادفه النوعُ المجوني الضئيل يرجع إلى المسحة المصرية التي تتجلّى فيه ،

wa-liʕalla ’l-naǧāḥ allaḏī ṣādafa-hu ’l-nawʕ^u ’l-muǧūnī al-ḍaʔīl yarǧiʕ ʔilà ’l-masḥaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ allatī tataǧallà fī-h,

Maybe the obscene and miserable type [of plays] owes its success just to the Egyptian touch that becomes manifest in it,

AR: naǧāḥ, nawʕ, muǧūn, ḍaʔīl (ḍuʔūlaẗ), masḥaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

بدلیل عدم نجاح الروايات التي من هذا النوع ، الخالية من المناظر القومية الصادقة .

bi-dalīl ʕadam naǧāḥ al-riwāyāt allatī min hāḏā ’l-nawʕ, al-ḫāliyaẗ min al-manāẓir al-qawmiyyaẗ al-ṣādiqaẗ.

as evidenced by the lack of success of the production of this kind that features no genuine national scenes.

AR: dalīl, naǧāḥ, riwāyaẗ, nawʕ, manāẓir, qawmiyyaẗ, ṣādiq (ṣidq)
EN: …

قلنا إنّ هذا النوع حمل أصحاب الفرق على تغيير (ل) برنامجهم العادي ،

qulnā ʔinna hāḏā al-nawʕ ḥamala ʔaṣḥāb al-firaq ʕalà taġyīr barnāmaǧi-him al-ʕādī,

Above, we said that this kind [of theatre] has led the theatre directors to change [p. xii] their usual programs.

AR: nawʕ, taġyīr
EN: …

أمّا الذين أبوا تغيير رواياتهم بروایات مصرية وأصرّوا بعناد ساذج غبي على تمثيل رواياتهم المترجمة البعيدة عن ذوقنا المضادّة لمزاجنا

ʔammā ’llaḏīn^a ʔabaw taġyīr riwāyāti-him bi-riwāyāt miṣriyyaẗ wa-ʔaṣarrū bi-ʕinād sāḏiǧ ġabiyy ʕalà tamṯīl riwāyāti-him al-mutarǧamaẗ al-baʕīdaẗ ʕan ḏawqi-nā al-muḍāddaẗ li-mazāǧi-nā

[But not all of them did so.] Those, however, who refused to replace the [foreign] pieces with Egyptian ones and insisted, in stupid and naive stubbornness, [to continue] to stage foreign pieces, far removed from our taste, opposed to our mentality,⁶¹

61. mazāǧ.

AR: taġyīr, riwāyaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʔiṣrār, ʕinād, sāḏiǧ (saḏāǧaẗ), ġabiyy (ġabāʔ), tamṯīl, tarǧamaẗ, ḏawq, mazāǧ
EN: our taste, our mentality

اضطرّوا - رغماً عنهم - إمّا أنْ يهاجروا من مصر أو يهجروا المرسح

uḍṭurrū – raġm^an ʕan-hum – ʔimmā ʔan yuhāǧirū min Miṣr ʔaw yahǧurū ’l-marsaḥ

were either forced to emigrate from Egypt, against their will, or to leave the stage,

AR: hāǧara (hiǧraẗ), Miṣr, marsaḥ
EN: …

كما وقع لقطبين من أقطاب المرسح ونوابغ الفنّ ،

ka-mā waqaʕa li-quṭbaynⁱ min ʔaqṭāb al-marsaḥ wa-nawābiġ al-fann,

as happened with two big pillars of the theatre scene and geniuses of art.

AR: marsaḥ, fann
EN: …

وهما إذا حدّثتْهما نفسُهما في المستقبل إلى الرجوع إلى التمثيل في مصر فلا يمكنهما إلا على قاعدة تمثيل الروايات العصرية المصرية .

wa-humā ʔiḏā ḥaddaṯat-humā nafsu-humā fī ’l-mustaqbal ʔilà ’l-ruǧūʕ ʔilà ’l-tamṯīl fī Miṣr fa-lā yumkinu-humā ʔillā ʕalà qāʕidaẗ tamṯīl al-riwāyāt al-ʕaṣriyyaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ.

If these two should decide, some day in the future, to return to theatre-making in Egypt, they will be able to do so only on the condition that they stage contemporary Egyptian plots.

AR: nafs, mustaqbal, tamṯīl, Miṣr, qāʕidaẗ (qawāʕid), riwāyaẗ, ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ), miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

فَلْيفهما هذه الحقيقة التي تعبنا لإفهامهما إياها ؟

fa-l-yafhamā hāḏihī ’l-ḥaqīqaẗ allatī taʕibnā li-ʔifhāmi-himā ʔiyyā-hā?

So, will they possibly acknowledge this truth that we have worked so hard to make them understand?

AR: ḥaqīqaẗ
EN: …

ويحزننا أنْ نقول إنّ الأدب العصري المصري في وقتنا الحاضر غير مستقلّ ولا موسوم بطابع شخصيتنا ،

wa-yuḥzinu-nā ʔan naqūl^a ʔinna ’l-ʔadab al-ʕaṣrī al-miṣrī fī waqti-nā ’l-ḥāḍir ġayr mustaqill wa-lā mawsūm bi-ṭābiʕ šaḫṣiyyati-nā,

It makes us sad to say that contemporary Egyptian literature is neither independent nor bears the traits of our [national] character these days.

AR: ʔadab, ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ, muʕāṣaraẗ), miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), mustaqill (istiqlāl), ṭābiʕ, šaḫṣiyyaẗ
EN: national, character

فهو ما زال خاضعاً للأدب العربي الجامد المتشابه القديم ،

fa-huwa mā zāla ḫāḍiʕ^an lil-ʔadab al-ʕarabī al-ǧāmid al-mutašābih al-qadīm,

Rather, it is still subordinate to the static and uniform ancient Arabic literature

AR: ʔadab, ʕarabī, ǧāmid (ǧumūd), mutašābih (tašābuh), qadīm
EN: …

أو متأثراً بنفوذ الأدب الأجنبي الذي اضطررنا إلى درسه لنتعلّم منه أسرار الفنّ الصحيح الراقي ونأخذ عنه قواعده وقوانينه وأسلوبه .

ʔaw mutaʔaṯṯir^an bi-nufūḏ al-ʔadab al-ʔaǧnabī allaḏī ’ḍṭurirnā ʔilà darsi-hī li-nataʕallam^a min-hu ʔasrār al-fann al-ṣaḥīḥ al-rāqī wa-naʔḫuḏ^a ʕan-hu qawāʕida-hū wa-qawānīna-hū wa-ʔuslūba-hu.

or under the influence of foreign literature, which we have been forced to study in order to learn from it the secrets of genuine advanced art / sound sophisticated technique and to adopt its pillars, rules and style.

AR: taʔṯīr, ʔadab, ʔaǧnabī, dars, ʔasrār (sirr), fann, rāqⁱⁿ(ruqiyy), qawāʕid (qāʕidaẗ), qawānīn (qānūn), ʔuslūb
EN: genuine advanced art / sound sophisticated technique

فالروايات المصرية المؤلّفة ، معرّبة ويا للأسف عن المرسح الأجنبي ، وقصصنا مأخوذة عن القصص الأجنبية !

fa-’l-riwāyāt al-miṣriyyaẗ al-muʔallafaẗ, muʕarrabaẗ wa-yā lil-ʔasaf ʕan il-marsaḥ al-ʔaǧnabī, wa-qiṣaṣu-nā maʔḫūḏaẗ ʕan il-qiṣaṣ al-ʔaǧnabiyyaẗ!

Egyptian-authored pieces⁶² are namely – what a pity! – [often/generally] Arabized versions of foreign drama, and our fiction is taken from foreign fiction!

62. The meaning of the attributive muʔallafaẗ is not really clear to me here. – For riwāyaẗ, see above, passim.

AR: riwāyaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), taʔlīf, taʕrīb, marsaḥ, ʔaǧnabī
EN: …

وإنْ قام كاتب ليؤلّف رواية فهو إما أنْ يقتبسها عن رواية أجنبية أو أنْ يمصّرها ،

wa-ʔin qāma kātib li-yuʔallif^a riwāyaẗ^an fa-huwa ʔimmā ʔan yaqtabisu-hā ʕan riwāyaẗⁱⁿ ʔaǧnabiyyaẗ ʔaw ʔan yumaṣṣiru-hā,

If an author sets out to compose a piece, he will either take inspiration for it from a foreign one or [downright] Egyptianize it.

AR: kātib, riwāyaẗ, iqtibās, riwāyaẗ, ʔaǧnabī, tamṣīr (Miṣr, miṣrī, Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

ويتجلّى في هذه الحالة اضطرابُ شخصية الأشخاص الذين لا يكون لهم غالباً وجود في هيئتنا الاجتماعية وتنعكس الألوان الغربية بجلاء على روايته

wa-yataǧallà fī hāḏihī ’l-ḥālaẗ iḍṭirāb^u šaḫṣiyyaẗ al-ʔašḫāṣ allaḏīn^a lā yakūn^u la-hum ġālib^an wuǧūd fī hayʔati-nā ’l-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ wa-tanʕakis^u ’l-ʔalwān al-ġarbiyyaẗ bi-ǧalāʔ ʕalà riwāyati-h

The reason that the character traits are so evidently inorganic is the fact that such characters usually do not exist in our society

AR: šaḫṣiyyaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, ġarbī, riwāyaẗ
EN: inorganic…

فتعدمها المسحة الطبيعية التي هي سرّ من أسرار الفنّ الحقيقي .

fa-tuʕdimu-hā ’l-masḥaẗ^a ’l-ṭabīʕiyyaẗ allatī hiya sirr^un min ʔasrār al-fann al-ḥaqīqī.

and that their Western features clearly leave such an imprint on an author’s [lit. his] piece that it will lack the natural touch that is one of the secrets of real art.

AR: ṭabīʕī (ṭabīʕaẗ), ʔasrār (sirr), fann, ḥaqīqaẗ / ḥaqīqī
EN: Western features, natural touch

وكثيراً ما تكون الحادثة نفسها غريبة عن أخلاقنا ، وقد لا تقع قطّ على مرسح الحياة المصرية ،

wa-kaṯīr^an mā takūn^u ’l-ḥādiṯaẗ nafsu-hā ġarībaẗ ʕan ʔaḫlāqi-nā, wa-qad lā taqaʕ^u qaṭṭ^u ʕalà marsaḥ al-ḥayāẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ,

Often even the plot itself is so foreign to our character that it would probably never occur on the stage of [real] Egyptian life –

AR: ʔaḫlāq, marsaḥ, ḥayāẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

وذلك ناشئ عن ترسّم الكاتب الروايات الأجنبية ،

wa-ḏālika nāšiʔ^un ʕan tarassumⁱ al-kātibⁱ ’l-riwāyātⁱ ’l-ʔaǧnabiyyaẗ^a,

a result of the author’s imitation of foreign productions.

AR: kātib, riwāyaẗ
EN: …

فواجبنا نحن الكتّاب أنْ نعطي أدبنا العصري المصري صفة حيّة ملوّنة خاصّة به ويعرف بها ،

fa-wāǧibu-nā naḥnu ’l-kuttāb ʔan nuʕṭiya ʔadaba-nā ’l-ʕaṣrī al-miṣrī ṣifaẗ ḥayyaẗ mulawwanaẗ ḫāṣṣaẗ bi-hī wa-yuʕraf^u bi-hā,

Therefore, it is our duty as writers to give our contemporary Egyptian literature lively and colourful features, peculiar to it and by which it is identifiable as unique.

AR: kātib (kuttāb), ʔadab, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: lively, colourful, unique

ولذلك يجب أنْ نجتهد بأنْ نحرّر ذهنيتَنا من تأثير الأدب الغربي

wa-li-ḏālika yaǧib^u ʔan naǧtahid^a bi-ʔan nuḥarrir^a ḏihniyyata-nā min taʔṯīr al-ʔadab al-ġarbī

We must strive to free our minds from the influence of Western literature

AR: ḏihniyyaẗ, taʔṯīr, ʔadab, ġarbī
EN: …

بألا نتّخذ (م) من الروايات الأجنبية قاعدة لرواياتنا التي يجب أن تشاد على أساس الملاحظة الصادقة المستخرجة من أعماق حياتنا اليومية ، وعلى التحليلات الاجتماعية والنفسانية ،

bi-ʔallā nattaḫiḏ^a min al-riwāyāt al-ʔaǧnabiyyaẗ qāʕidaẗ^an li-riwāyāti-nā ’llatī yaǧibu ʔan tušād^a ʕalà ʔasās al-mulāḥaẓaẗ al-ṣādiqaẗ al-mustaḫraǧaẗ min ʔaʕmāq ḥayāti-nā ’l-yawmiyyaẗ, wa-ʕalà ’l-taḥlīlāt al-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ wa’l-nafsāniyyaẗ,

by avoiding taking [p. xiii] foreign narrative [traditions] as the pillars on which to erect our own. These must [instead] be built on faithful observation, extracted from our daily lives, as well as on social and psychological analyses.

AR: riwāyaẗ, qāʕidaẗ (qawāʕid), mulāḥaẓaẗ, ṣādiq (ṣidq), ʔaʕmāq (ʕumq), ḥayāẗ, taḥlīl, iǧtimāʕī, nafsānī
EN: observation, daily lives, social, psychological, analyses

فنحن إذا حقّقنا ذلك لأتينا بشيء جديد يجهله كتّاب الغرب لعجزهم عن درس نفسيتنا ونظام حياتنا ،

fa-naḥnu ʔiḏā ḥaqqaqnā ḏālika la-ʔataynā bi-šayʔⁱⁿ ǧadīdⁱⁿ yaǧhalu-hū kuttāb^u ’l-ġarb li-ʕaǧzi-him ʕan darsⁱ nafsiyyati-nā wa-niẓāmⁱ ḥayāti-nā,

If we achieve this, we will have added something new, something writers from the West are incapable of doing because of their inability to study our psychology and the way we organize our lives.

AR: ǧadīd, ǧahl, kātib (kuttāb), ġarb, dars, nafsiyyaẗ, ḥayāẗ
EN: …

وسيأتي حينئذ اليوم الذي يأخذون فيه بنقل قصصنا ورواياتنا إلى لغاتهم ، لأنّ لهم ولعة عظيمة بكلّ ما هو مصري ،

wa-sa-yaʔtī ḥīnaʔiḏⁱⁿ al-yawm allaḏī yaʔḫuḏūn^a fī-hi bi-naqlⁱ qiṣaṣi-nā wa-riwāyāti-nā ʔilà luġāti-him, li-ʔanna la-hum walʕaẗ^un ʕaẓīmaẗ^un bi-kullⁱ mā huwa miṣrī,

There will then come the day when they will begin to translate our stories and plays into their languages, as they have an ardent desire for everything Egyptian,

AR: naql, riwāyaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

خصوصاً بعد أنْ ألفتت مصر أنظار العالم نحوها بحركتنا الوطنية البديعة الجيّدة ،

ḫuṣūṣ^an baʕd ʔan ʔalfatat Miṣr ʔanẓār al-ʕālam naḥwa-hā bi-ḥarakati-nā ’l-waṭaniyyaẗ al-badīʕaẗ al-ǧayyidaẗ,

especially after Egypt has attracted the world’s attention through our outstanding authentic national movement.

AR: Miṣr, ḥarakaẗ, waṭaniyyaẗ, badīʕ
EN: …

وحينذاك ، وحينذاك فقط ، يمكن أنْ تُعَدَّ الأمّةُ المصرية من الأمم المستقلّة الراقية مهما كان نظامها السياسي ، لأنّ الآداب معيار رقي الأمّة ،

wa-ḥīnaḏāk^a, wa-ḥīnaḏāk^a faqaṭ, yumkin^u ʔan tuʕadd^a ’l-ʔummaẗ^u al-miṣriyyaẗ^u min al-ʔumamⁱ ’l-mustaqillaẗⁱ ’l-rāqiyaẗⁱ mahmā kāna niẓāmu-hā ’l-siyāsī, li-ʔanna ’l-ʔādāb miʕyār ruqiyy al-ʔummaẗ,

Then, and only then, will it be possible to count the Egyptian nation among the [world’s] independent advanced nations, no matter what political system it will have; for literature/ culture is the criterion for a nation’s progress(iveness).

AR: ʔummaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), mustaqil̩l (istiqlāl), rāqⁱⁿ / ruqiyy, ʔādāb, miʕyār, ʔummaẗ
EN: independent advanced nations, progress(iveness)

وإنّ أمّة بلغت ما بلغته الأمّة المصرية من الرقي والنضوج المبكّر البدري، لجديرة بآداب راقية فنّية مستقلّة خاصّة بها .

wa-ʔinna ʔummaẗ^an balaġat mā balaġat-hu ’l-ʔummaẗ^u ’l-miṣriyyaẗ^u min al-ruqiyy wa’l-nuḍūǧ al-mubakkir al-badrī, la-ǧadīraẗ^un bi-ʔādāb rāqiyaẗ fanniyyaẗ mustaqillaẗ ḫāṣṣaẗ bi-hā.

A nation that has achieved such a degree of progress and early, promising maturation as the Egyptian nation has achieved, is indeed worthy of an independent, artistically advanced literature/culture bearing its [sc., this nation’s] own distinctive features.

AR: ʔummaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), rāqⁱⁿ / ruqiyy, nuḍūǧ, mubakkir, badrī, ʔādāb, fannī (fann), mustaqill (istiqlāl), ḫāṣṣ
EN: …

هذا هو الواجب المقدّس الذي نترسّمه ، ونؤمل أن تؤدّي بعض ما يقتضيه هذا الواجب ،

hāḏā huwa ’l-wāǧib al-muqaddas allaḏī natarassamu-hū, wa-nuʔammil^u ʔan tuʔaddiya baʕḍ^a mā yaqtaḍī-hi hāḏā ’l-wāǧib,

This is the sacred obligation that we take as our public duty,⁶³ and we hope that some of the things that this task requires will be implemented.

63. Or: ‘that we try to fulfil’ (?).

AR: wāǧib, muqaddas, ʔamal
EN: sacred obligation, public duty

ونظنّ ألا يوجد مَن يدّعی علينا أنّ رواياتنا قصصية كانت أو مرسحية مقتبسة من روايات أجنبية ،

wa-naẓunn^u ʔal-lā yūǧadu man yaddaʕī ʕalay-nā ʔanna riwāyāti-nā qaṣaṣiyyaẗ^an kānat ʔaw marsaḥiyyaẗ^an muqtabisaẗ^un min riwāyātⁱⁿ ʔaǧnabiyyaẗ,

We believe that nobody can accuse us of taking the inspiration for our pieces/accounts – whether they are stories or plays – from foreign ones,

AR: riwāyaẗ, marsaḥ, muqtabis (iqtibās), ʔaǧnabī
EN: …

أو أنّ رواية غربية أوحت لنا بضعة مناظر أو ساعدتنا على تكييف أشخاصنا ،

ʔaw ʔanna riwāyaẗ^an ġarbiyyaẗ^an ʔawḥat la-nā biḍʕaẗ^a manāẓir^a ʔaw sāʕadat-nā ʕalà takyīf ʔašḫāṣi-nā,

or allege that a Western account has provided us with the model for some scenes or helped us shape our characters,

AR: riwāyaẗ, ġarbī, manāẓir, takyīf, ʔašḫāṣ
EN: …

أو أنّ هؤلاء الأشخاص لا وجود لهم في الأمّة المصرية ،

ʔaw ʔanna hāʔulāʔi ’l-ʔašḫāṣ lā wuǧūd^a la-hum fī ’l-ʔummaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ,

or that the characters do not have real counterparts (lit., have no existence) in the Egyptian nation/people.

AR: ʔašḫāṣ, ʔummaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ)
EN: …

فإن ميلي الغريزي للتحليل يدفعني إلى التغلغل في درس أعماق حياتنا الداخلية النفسانية لأصوّرها بأمانة وإخلاص كما هي لا كما يجب أن تكون ،

fa-ʔinna mayl-ī al-ġarīzī lil-taḥlīl yadfaʕu-nī ʔilà ’l-taġalġul fī dars ʔaʕmāq ḥayāti-nā ’l-dāḫiliyyaẗ al-nafsāniyyaẗ li-ʔuṣawwira-hā bi-ʔamānaẗ wa-ʔiḫlāṣ ka-mā hiya lā ka-mā yaǧibu ʔan takūn^a,

My intuitive keenness of analyzing drives me to immerse myself in the study of the innermost depths of our psychology to describe it as it is, reliably and faithfully, and not the way it should be.

AR: mayl, taḥlīl, dars, ʔaʕmāq (ʕumq), ḥayāẗ, dāḫilī, nafsānī, taṣwīr, ʔamānaẗ, ʔiḫlāṣ, ka-mā huwa/hiya
EN: …

ولهذا السبب وحده أحجم بعض أشخاص الفرق عن تمثيل رواية من رواياتي

wa-li-hāḏā ’l-sabab waḥdi-hī ʔaḥǧama baʕḍ^u ʔašḫāṣⁱ ’l-firaqⁱ ʕan tamṯīl riwāyaẗ min riwāyāt-ī

For this reason alone, some theater directors have refrained from taking pieces of mine to stage;

AR: sabab/ʔasbāb, ʔašḫāṣ, tamṯīl, riwāyaẗ
EN: …

لأنّهم وجدوها حقيقية مؤلمة قاسية ، إذ لا يصحّ كما يقولون إظهار كل الحقائق .

li-ʔanna-hum waǧadū-hā ḥaqīqiyyaẗ^an muʔlimaẗ^an qāsiyaẗ^an, ʔiḏ lā yaṣiḥḥ^u ka-mā yaqūlūn^a ʔiẓhār^u kullⁱ ’l-ḥaqāʔiq.

they found them too real, distressing and cruel – it’s bad manners/not right, as they say, to bring all truths to light.

AR: ḥaqīqaẗ (ḥaqāʔiq) / ḥaqīqī, ʔiẓhār (ẓāhir)
EN: …

وإنّا لا نتعرّض الآن لدرس هذا الموضوع الدقيق (ن) لمعرفة إنْ كانوا على خطأ أو صواب ، فسنخصّص لدرسه فصلاً مطوّلاً في كتابنا "ملاحظات ونظرات فنّية"

wa-ʔinnā lā nataʕarraḍu ’l-ʔān^a li-darsⁱ hāḏā ’l-mawḍūʕ al-daqīq li-maʕrifaẗⁱ ʔin kānū ʕalà ḫaṭaʔⁱⁿ ʔaw ṣawābⁱⁿ, fa-sa-nuḫaṣṣiṣ^u li-darsi-hī faṣl^an muṭawwal^an fī kitābi-nā "Mulāḥaẓāt wa-naẓarāt fanniyyaẗ"

We will not dare to study this delicate topic in further detail now [p. xiv] to find out whether they are right or wrong, as we will dedicate an extensive chapter to its study in our book Observations and Perspectives on Art / Aesthetic Contemplations.⁶⁴

64. Mulāḥaẓāt wa-naẓarāt fanniyyaẗ – the book announced by the author here (and which is perhaps the same as he pointed to already earlier in this Preface) does not seem to have seen the light of the day, as ʕUbayd died only the year after the publication of this foreword. Sabry Hafez, however, would not exclude that it existed and actually was published; cf. what he says about this and other (perhaps lost) publications: »At the end of his two collections, ʕĪsā ʕUbaid advertised his forthcoming publications including two novels, Bayn al-Ḥubb wa-l-Fann (Between Love and Art) and Yaqẓat Miṣr (Egypt’s Awakening); a collection of short stories, al-ʔUsraẗ (The Family); another collection in French, Sur les bords du Nil; a collection of critical essays, Naẓarāt wa-Mulāḥaẓāt Fanniyyaẗ (Artistic Reflections); and several plays. It was customary at this time for writers to fill the final page of their books with what seems more like a declaration of their literary intentions than an authentic list of completed works awaiting publication. But in ʕĪsā’s case, one is inclined to take his list seriously, not only because his advertisements were very detailed and because he succeeded in publishing in 1922 the first book on the list which appeared in the final page of his first collection, but also because Muḥammad Bāqir ʕUlwān of Harvard University discovered in Cairo in 1973 the manuscripts of two of his lost plays« – S. Hafez, The Genesis of Arabic Narrative Discourse…, Saqi Books, 1993: 292, n. 72. – The adj. fanniyyaẗ, m. fannī, is a nisbah formation from fann which for ʕUbayd mainly means art as ‘technique’, technē. Naẓarāt ‘views, opinions’ is rendered as ‘perspectives/contemplations’ here – ‘perspectives’ seems to be more idiomatic, while ‘contemplations’ is inspired by the title Naẓarāt, a collection of essays and stories by M. L. al-Manfalūṭī (see above), often translated as Contemplations.

AR: dars, daqīq (diqqaẗ), faṣl, mulāḥaẓaẗ, naẓarāt, fannī (fann),
EN: Observation

ولكنّا نبدي هنا رأينا ونتركه بدون تعزيز

walākin-nā nubdī hunā raʔya-nā wa-natruku-hū bi-dūnⁱ taʕzīz

What we would like to do here, however, is to express our point of view, without imposing it [on the reader].

AR: raʔy, taʕzīz
EN: …

فإنّنا نرى أنّ واجب الفني تصوير الفنّ أينما وجد ،

fa-ʔinna-nā narà ʔanna wāǧib al-fannī taṣwīr al-fann ʔaynamā wuǧida,

For we believe that the artist’s duty lies in [technically advanced, faithful] description wherever he happens to be.

AR: wāǧib, fannī / fann, taṣwīr
EN: duty, technically advanced, faithful, description

لأنّ الفنّ يجب أنْ يكون مستقلّاً ومحرّراً من كل قيد .

li-ʔanna ’l-fann yaǧibu ʔan yakūn^a mustaqill^an wa-muḥarrar^an min kullⁱ qayd.

Art, that is to say, must be independent and released from any bonds.

AR: fann, mustaqill (istiqlāl), taḥrīr, qayd
EN: …

والفنّ كما سبق وقلنا في موضع آخر لا يكون فقط في تصوير الجمال والكمال ،

wa’l-fann ka-mā sabaq^a wa-qulnā fī mawḍiʕⁱⁿ ʔāḫar lā yakūn faqaṭ fī taṣwīr al-ǧamāl wa’l-kamāl,

Art, as we’ve said in another context above, does not only lie in the description of beauty and perfection,

AR: fann, taṣwīr, ǧamāl, kamāl
EN: …

بل قد يكون أيضاً في تصوير عيوب الطبيعة ونقائص المجتمع البشري ،

bal qad yakūn ʔayḍ^an fī taṣwīr ʕuyūb al-ṭabīʕaẗ wa-naqāʔiṣ al-muǧtamaʕ al-bašarī,

it may also be a description of the faults of nature and the shortcomings of human society.

AR: taṣwīr, ʕuyūb, ṭabīʕaẗ, naqāʔiṣ, muǧtamaʕ, bašarī (bašar)
EN: description, faults, shortcomings

لأنّ الفنّ في عرفنا هو القدرة على إيجاد إحساس راقٍ قوي ، يتسرّب بلذّة مُثْمِلة خلّابة إلى قلوبنا ويمتلك علينا نفوسنا فيهذّبها ،

li-ʔanna ’l-fann fī ʕurfi-nā huwa ’l-qudraẗ ʕalà ʔīǧād ʔiḥsās rāqⁱⁿ qawiyyⁱⁿ, yatasarrab^u bi-laḏḏaẗ muṯmilaẗ ḫallābaẗ ʔilà qulūbi-nā wa-yamtalik^u ʕalay-nā nufūsa-nā fa-yuhaḏḏibu-hā,

For art, as we understand it, is the ability to arouse [in us] a strong and noble feeling that we enjoy feeling creep into us, producing in our hearts a drunk, capturing pleasure. It takes control over us and refines our morals / makes us civilized.

AR: fann, ʔīǧād, ʔiḥsās, rāqⁱⁿ, qawiyy (quwwaẗ), laḏḏaẗ, qalb (qulūb), nufūs (nafs), tahḏīb
EN: pleasure, refines our morals / makes us civilized

ولا شيء خليق بإيجاد هذا الإحساس سوى الحقيقة لأنّها تهز أليافاً دقيقة في أعماق قلوبنا ،

wa-lā šayʔ ḫalīq bi-ʔīǧād hāḏā al-ʔiḥsās siwà al-ḥaqīqaẗ li-ʔanna-hā tahuzz^u ʔalyāf^an daqīqaẗ^an fī ʔaʕmāq qulūbi-nā,

Nothing can evoke this feeling but Truth because it touches the sensitive fibers in the depths of our hearts.

AR: ʔīǧād, ʔiḥsās, ḥaqīqaẗ, hazza (hazz), daqīq (diqqaẗ), ʔaʕmāq, qalb (qulūb)
EN: hearts

وعلى هذا الاعتبار تكون كلّ حقيقة جديرة بأنْ تعرض وتُصوَّر وتُقال ۰

wa-ʕalà hāḏā ’l-iʕtibār takūn^u kull^u ḥaqīqaẗⁱⁿ ǧadīraẗ^an bi-ʔan tuʕraḍ^a wa-tuṣawwar^a wa-tuqāl^a.

Accordingly, every truth is worth being displayed, described and spoken out.

AR: ḥaqīqaẗ
EN: …

5 – كنّا نودّ أنْ نخصّص فصلاً مثل هذه الفصول لدرس لغة التأثّر والانفعال التي أخذ كتاب الناشئة الجديدة يستخدمونها في كتابتهم ،

5 – kunnā nawadd^u ʔan nuḫaṣṣiṣ^a faṣl^an miṯl^a hāḏihī ’l-fuṣūl li-dars luġaẗ al-taʔaṯṯur wa’l-infiʕāl allatī ʔaḫaḏa kuttāb al-nāšiʔaẗ al-ǧadīdaẗ yastaḫdimūna-hā fī kitābati-him,

5 | We would have liked to dedicate one chapter like this to the study of the language of affects and emotions that the writers of the emerging new generation have begun to employ in their writings,

AR: faṣl, dars, taʔaṯṯur (taʔṯīr), infiʕāl, kuttāb (kātib), nāšiʔaẗ (našʔaẗ, nušūʔ), ǧadīd, kitābaẗ
EN: 5…

تلك اللغة الحيّة المرنة الشغوفة باختيار الكلمات الفنّية وابتكار العبارات الجديدة التي تؤدّي المعنى بقوّة ودقّة ،

tilka ’l-luġaẗ al-ḥayawiyyaẗ al-marinaẗ al-šaġūfaẗ bi-’ḫtiyār al-kalimāt al-fanniyyaẗ wa-’btikār al-ʕibārāt al-ǧadīdaẗ allatī tuʔaddī al-maʕnà bi-quwwaẗ wa-diqqaẗ,

that vivid flexible language that is eager to make sophisticated use of the vocabulary (?)⁶⁵ and invent new expressions that render the intended meaning powerfully and exactly/precisely.

65. I am not sure whether this is what the author meant. Literally, he says: ‘the choice of artistic (or: technical?) words’ – iḫtiyār al-kalimāt al-fanniyyaẗ.

AR: luġaẗ, ḥayawī (ḥayawiyyaẗ, ḥayāẗ), marin (murūnaẗ), fannī (fann), ibtikār, ǧadīd, maʕnà, quwwaẗ, diqqaẗ
EN: vivid, flexible, sophisticated, powerfully, exactly, precisely

وآخر في تفسير معنى الفنّ وتعريف وظيفته الأدبية والأخلاقية والاجتماعية وشرح قواعده

wa-ʔāḫar^a fī tafsīr maʕnà ’l-fann wa-taʕrīf waẓīfati-hī ’l-ʔadabiyyaẗ wa’l-ʔaḫlāqiyyaẗ wa’l-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ wa-šarḥ qawāʕidi-h

And [I would also have liked to dedicate] another [chapter] to the interpretation of the meaning of art and the definition of its literary, moral and social mission as well as to the explanation of its rules;

AR: tafsīr, maʕnà, fann, taʕrīf, waẓīfaẗ, ʔadabī, ʔaḫlāqī, iǧtimāʕī, šarḥ, qawāʕid
EN: …

وآخر في درس صفة أدب اللغة ومستقبل الأنواع التي ابتدأت تدخل فيه –

wa-ʔāḫar^a fī dars ṣifaẗ ʔadab al-luġaẗ wa-mustaqbal al-ʔanwāʕ allatī ’btadaʔat tadḫul^u fī-h –

and yet another on the nature of philology (?)⁶⁶ and the future of th(os)e genres that have begun to invade the language.

66. I am not sure about the translation here – what is ṣifaẗ ʔadab al-luġaẗ?

AR: dars, ṣifaẗ, ʔadab, luġaẗ, mustaqbal, ʔanwāʕ (nawʕ)
EN: …

لولا أنّنا رأينا أنّ هذه المقدّمة أصبحت طويلة وكادت تكون مملّة

law-lā ʔanna-nā raʔaynā ʔanna hāḏihī ’l-muqaddimaẗ ʔaṣbaḥat ṭawīlaẗ wa-kādat takūn mumillaẗ

But, well, we feel this preface has already become too long and almost boring.

AR:…

ولذلك ستبقى تتمّة هذا الدرس لكتابنا "نظرات وملاحظات فنّية" الذي ننشره قريباً .

wa-li-ḏālika sa-tabqà tatimmaẗ hāḏā ’l-dars li-kitābi-nā "Naẓarāt wa-mulāḥaẓāt fanniyyaẗ" allaḏī nanšuru-hū qarīb^an.

We will therefore postpone the final parts of this study to our book Perspectives and Observations on Art / Aesthetic Contemplations, which we are about to publish.

AR: dars, naẓarāt, mulāḥaẓaẗ, fannī (fann)
EN: Observation

(س) وقد حذونا حذو "بلزاك" شيخ الروائيين الفرنسيين في مؤلّفاته الموسومة بالإنسانية الممثلة "La Comédie Humaine"

wa-qad ḥaḏawnā ḥaḏw^a "Balzāk" šayḫ al-riwāʔiyyīn al-faransiyyīn fī muʔallafāti-hī ’l-mawsūmaẗ bi’l-ʔinsāniyyaẗ al-mumaṯṯalaẗ "La Comédie Humaine"

[p. xv] We are following the example of Balzac, the master of French story-writers, in his writings, which are characterized by their humanism and all stage la comédie humaine.⁶⁷

67. ʕUbayd gives the French expression here.

AR: Balzāk, ʔinsāniyyat (ʔinsānī, ʔinsān)
EN: Balzac, humanism, humane

بمعنى أنّنا قد نتتبّع في قصصنا المقبلة حياة الأشخاص الذين صوّرنا صفحة من حياتهم في هذه القصص ، أو نأتي على صفحة أخرى من حياتهم ،

bi-maʕnà ʔanna-nā qad natatabbaʕ^u fī qiṣaṣi-nā ’l-muqbilaẗ ḥayāẗ^a ’l-ʔašḫāṣ allaḏīn^a ṣawwarnā ṣafaḥaẗⁱⁿ min ḥayāti-him fī hāḏihī ’l-qiṣaṣ, ʔaw naʔtī ʕalà ṣafḥaẗ ʔuḫrà min ḥayāti-him,

That means that in the following stories,⁶⁸ we may trace the life of the characters whose lives we had described in some snapshots in these stories,⁶⁹ or we present some other page of their lives,

68. I.e., in the short stories included in the collection ʔIḥsān Hānim to which he is writing this preface. 69. allaḏīna ṣawwarnā ṣafḥaẗan min ḥayāti-him fī hāḏihī ’l-qiṣaṣ – the wording seems to be somehow repetitive here. Not being sure whether I got the author right, I leave that as is and try to render it as literally as possible.

AR: ḥayāẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, ṣawwara (taṣwīr)
EN: …

لأنّنا لحظنا أنّ هذه الطريقة تساعدنا كثيراً في تصوير حياتنا الاجتماعية .

li-ʔanna-nā laḥaẓnā ʔanna hāḏihī ’l-ṭarīqaẗ tusāʕidu-nā kaṯīr^an fī taṣwīr ḥayāti-nā ’l-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ.

as we noticed that this method can help us greatly in describing our [national] social life.⁷⁰

70. I have no idea what exactly ʕUbayd intended to say here. For me, it sounds like a redundant »either we portray one aspect of the life of these people, or we describe another one« – which would be rather banal…

AR: taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ, iǧtimāʕī
EN: …

ولمّا كان لا يتسنّى للكاتب أنْ يدرس النفوس البشرية إلا في القصص الطويلة فسنضع روايات مصرية تامّة تصوّر قطعة عامّة من الحياة المصرية ،

wa-lammā kāna lā yatasannà lil-kātib ʔan yadrus^a ’l-nufūs al-bašariyyaẗ ʔillā fī ’l-qiṣaṣ al-ṭawīlaẗ fa-sa-naḍiʕ^u riwāyātⁱⁿ miṣriyyaẗ^an tāmmaẗ^an tuṣawwir^u qiṭʕaẗ^an ʕāmmaẗ^an min al-ḥayāẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ,

Given that the only way for a writer to [really] study the human psyche is in novels,⁷¹ we will [try to] produce self-contained Egyptian (or: entirely Egyptian?) accounts⁷² that portray a general aspect of Egyptian life,

71. Lit., ‘long stories’. 72. riwāyāt miṣriyyaẗ tāmmaẗ – it is not clear whether tāmmaẗ should be read as an adj.-attribute or as an adv.

AR: kātib, darasa (dars / dirāsaẗ), nufūs (nafs), bašarī (bašar), waḍʕ, riwāyaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ
EN: study the human psyche

وقد ألّفنا فعلاً رواية من هذا النوع دعوناها "بين الحبّ والفنّ" حلّلنا فيها جزيئات مشاعر كاتب مصري طامح إلى المجد ، مع تصوير الوسط الفنّي المصري .

wa-qad ʔallafnā fiʕl^an riwāyaẗⁱⁿ min hāḏā ’l-nawʕ daʕawnā-hā "Bayna ’l-ḥubb wa’l-fann" ḥallalnā fī-hā ǧuzayʔāt mašāʕir kātib miṣrī ṭāmiḥ ʔilà ’l-maǧd, maʕa taṣwīr al-wasaṭ al-fannī al-miṣrī.

as we [also] have indeed written an account of this type that we called Between Love and Art⁷³ in which we analyzed the finest nuances of the feelings of an Egyptian writer who is eager to become famous, including a description of the Egyptian art scene/milieu.

73. This novel seems to be lost – at least, it is not mentioned in any source about ʕUbayd that I was able to get hold of.

AR: riwāyaẗ, nawʕ, taḥlīl, ǧuzayʔāt, mašāʕir, kātib, taṣwīr, wasaṭ, fannī /fann, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ),
EN: …

وقد توخّينا تصوير الحياة الشرقية كما هي بلا تقصير أو مغالاة ،

wa-qad tawaḫḫaynā taṣwīr al-ḥayāẗ al-šarqiyyaẗ ka-mā hiya bi-lā taqṣīr ʔaw muġālāẗ,

We have also been eager to portray Eastern⁷⁴ life as it is, without reduction or exaggeration,

74. My italics, S.G.

AR: taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ, šarqī, ka-mā huwa/hiya
EN: portray Eastern, life as it is, without reduction or exaggeration

معتمدين على كلمات التورية للتعبير عن مقاصدنا الخفيّة في المواقف الحرجة الدقيقة ،

muʕtamidīn^a ʕalà kalimāt al-tawriyaẗ lil-taʕbīr ʕan maqāṣidi-nā ’l-ḫafiyyaẗ fī ’l-mawāqif al-ḥariǧaẗ al-daqīqaẗ,

resorting, in delicate, sensitive situations, to double-entendre⁷⁵ to express our hidden message,

75. kalimāt al-tawriyaẗ ‘words of concealment’, a standard rhetorical figure in Classical Arabic, explained by Heinrichs as »a double entendre or pun in which the obvious meaning of a homonym is not the intended one, also called ʔīhām, ‘delusion’« – W. Heinrichs, art. »Rhetorical figures«, in EAL, ii: 656-62, in particular 660.

AR: tawriyaẗ, mawāqif ḥariǧaẗ, daqīq (diqqaẗ)
EN: …

وفي بعض الأحيان على ألفاظ ملهمة توحي إلى القارئ المعنى الذي نقصده ولم نجاهر به ،

wa-fī baʕḍ al-ʔaḥyān ʕalà ʔalfāẓ mulhimaẗ tūḥī ʔilà ’l-qāriʔ al-maʕnà allaḏī naqṣidu-hū wa-lam nuǧāhir bi-hī,

sometimes also to allusions⁷⁶ that let the reader feel the meaning we intended without making it explicit.

76. kalimāt mulhamaẗ ‘inspired words’, or probably rather mulhimaẗ ‘suggestive’.

AR: qāriʔ
EN: …

بحيث إنّنا جعلنا عباراتنا في حالة من الغموض يستعصي معناها على الفتيات الساذجات .

bi-ḥayṯ^u ʔinna-nā ǧaʕalnā ʕibārāti-nā fī ḥālaẗⁱⁿ min al-ġumūḍ yastaʕṣī maʕnā-hā ʕalà ’l-fatayāt al-sāḏiǧāt.

That is, we obscured our message in a way that makes it difficult for young naïve girls to grasp the real meaning.

AR: ġumūḍ, maʕnà, sāḏiǧ (saḏāǧaẗ)
EN: …

وهذه الطريقة هي التي يتّخذها كبار كتّاب فرنسا الذين ارتأوا وجوب تصویر الحياة كما هي لا كما يجب أن تكون

wa-hāḏihī ’l-ṭarīqaẗ hiya ’llatī yattaḫuḏu-hā kubār kuttāb Faransā allaḏīn^a ’rtaʔaw wuǧūb^a taṣwīr al-ḥayāẗ ka-mā hiya lā ka-mā yaǧibu ʔan takūn

This is also the method followed by the big French writers who think that life must be described as it is, not as it should be.

AR: kātib (kuttāb), Faransā, irtaʔà (raʔy), taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ, ka-mā huwa/hiya
EN: …

فإنّ "موبسان" مثلاً قد هبط إلى أسفل دركات المستنقعات الوبيئة القذرة ونجح في تصويرها بدون أن يهين الحقيقة .

fa-ʔinna "Mūbasān" maṯal^an qad habaṭa ʔilà ʔasfalⁱ darakātⁱ ’l-mustanqaʕātⁱ ’l-wabīʔaẗⁱ ’l-qaḏiraẗ wa-naǧaḥa fī taṣwīri-hā bi-dūnⁱ ʔan yuhīn^a ’l-ḥaqīqaẗ.

Maupassant, for instance, descended to the lowest levels of the most awful, dirty quagmires and succeeded in depicting them without betraying Truth.

AR: Mūbasān (Maupassant), naǧaḥa (naǧāḥ), taṣwīr, ḥaqīqaẗ
EN: Maupassant, without betraying Truth

ويجب أنْ أعترف أنّ مسألة اللغة التي يجب أنْ تكتب بها المحادثات الثنائية "Dialogue" قد أجهدت فكري وأتعبتني كثيراً قبل أن توصّلت إلى إيجاد حلّ لها –

wa-yaǧibu ʔan ʔaʕtarif^a ʔanna masʔalaẗ al-luġaẗ allatī yaǧibu ʔan tuktab^a bi-hā al-muḥādaṯāt al-ṯunāʔiyyaẗ "dialogue" qad ʔaǧhadat fikr-ī wa-ʔatʕabat-nī kaṯīr^an qabla ʔan tawaṣṣaltu ʔilà ʔīǧād ḥallⁱⁿ la-hā –

However, I have to confess that the question of the language in which the dialogues⁷⁷ should be written has tired my mind and caused me much pain before I eventually found a solution for it.

77. ʕUbayd gives an Arabic expression and the French word here: al-muḥādaṯāt al-ṯunāʔiyyaẗ (dialogue).

AR: masʔalaẗ al-luġaẗ, muḥādaṯaẗ ṯunāʔiyyaẗ, ʔīǧād
EN: …

واللغة مشكلة عويصة تعترض الكاتب الفنّي ، لأنّ الفرق عظيم جداً بين (ع) اللغة التي نكتب بها واللغة التي نتكلمها ؛

wa’l-luġaẗ muškilaẗ^un ʕawīṣaẗ^un taʕtariḍ^u ’l-kātib al-fannī, li-ʔanna ’l-farq^a ʕaẓīm^un ǧidd^an bayna ’l-luġaẗ allatī naktub^u bi-hā wa’l-luġaẗ allatī natakallamu-hā;

Language, that is to say, is a tricky problem that any serious writer has to face, because there is such a big difference between [p. xvi] the language we write in and the language we speak.

AR: luġaẗ, kātib, fannī (fann)
EN: …

فإنْ استعملنا الأولى ظهرت متكلّفة متنافرة شاذّة بعيدة عن الفنّ الذي يتطلّب المسحة الحقيقية والدقّة في تصوير الألوان المحلّية ،

fa-ʔin istaʕmalnā ’l-ʔūlà ẓaharat mutakallifaẗ mutanāfiraẗ šāḏḏaẗ baʕīdaẗ ʕan il-fann allaḏī yataṭallab^u ’l-masḥaẗ al-ḥaqīqiyyaẗ wa’l-diqqaẗ fī taṣwīr al-ʔalwān al-maḥalliyyaẗ,

If we use the former it appears mannered, inadequate, unnatural, far from the type of art that demands that the description of local colour be marked by realism and precision.

AR: mutakallif (takalluf), šāḏḏ (šuḏūḏ), fann, ḥaqīqaẗ / ḥaqīqaẗ / ḥaqīqī, taṣwīr, ʔalwān, maḥallī
EN: local colour, realism, precision

وإنْ استعملنا الثانية قضينا على اللغة العربية وحكمنا على إخراج النوع القصصي أو المرسحي من آدابنا

wa-ʔin istaʕmalnā ’l-ṯāniyyaẗ qaḍaynā ʕalà ’l-luġaẗ al-ʕarabiyyaẗ wa-ḥakamnā ʕalà ʔiḫrāǧ al-nawʕ al-qiṣaṣī ʔaw al-marsaḥī min ʔādābi-nā

And if we use the latter we kill the Arabic Language⁷⁸ and decide to ban the fictional and dramatic genres from our literature/ culture

78. I am capitalizing ‘Language’ here in order to mark the status of the ʕArabiyyaẗ as a cultural institution.

AR: luġaẗ, ʕarabī, ḥakama (ḥukm), nawʕ, marsaḥʔ, ādāb
EN: …

ونحن نريد أنْ يكون هذا النوع من أقوى وأعظم أركان الآداب المصرية كما هو في البلاد الغربية ،

wa-naḥnu nurīd^u ʔan yakūn^a hāḏā ’l-nawʕ min ʔaqwà wa-ʔaʕẓam ʔarkān al-ʔādāb al-miṣriyyaẗ ka-mā huwa fī ’l-bilād al-ġarbiyyaẗ,

while we [actually] want these to be the strongest and greatest pillars of Egyptian literature/culture, as is the case in the West,

AR: nawʕ, ʔādāb, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ka-mā huwa/hiya, ġarbī
EN: …

لأنّه أوقع أثراً في النفس ويساعد الكاتب على درس كلّ الموضوعات والمسائل من عملية وفلسفية واجتماعية وأخلاقية ونفسية .

li-ʔanna-hū ʔawqaʕ^u ʔaṯar^an fī ’l-nafs wa-yusāʕid^u ’l-kātib ʕalà darsⁱ kullⁱ ’l-mawḍūʕāt wa’l-masāʔil min ʕamaliyyaẗ wa-falsafiyyaẗ wa-’ǧtimāʕiyyaẗ wa-ʔaḫlāqiyyaẗ wa-nafsiyyaẗ.

because the effect they have on the mind is most profound and because they help the writer study all the givens and issues, whether practical or philosophical or social or moral or psychological.

AR: ʔaṯar, nafs / nafsī, kātib, dars, ʕamalī, falsafaẗ, iǧtimāʕī, ʔaḫlāq
EN: …

فكيف نوفّق إذن بين لغة الأشخاص التي يتكلّمون بها في الحياة وبين اللغة الأدبية الراقية التي يجب أن تدوّن في المؤلفات .

fa-kayf^a nuwaffiq^u ʔiḏan bayna luġaẗ al-ʔašḫāṣ allatī yatakallamūn^a bi-hā fī ’l-ḥayāẗ wa-bayna ’l-luġaẗ al-ʔadabiyyaẗ al-rāqiyaẗ allatī yaǧibu ʔan tudawwan^a fī ’l-muʔallafāt.

How then should we reconcile the language people speak in daily life with the high literary language that is to be used in written works?

AR: waffaqa (tawfīq), luġaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, ḥayāẗ, luġaẗ, ʔadabī, rāqⁱⁿ
EN: reconcile the language

ونذكر هنا للدلالة على عظم هذا المشكل أنّ صديقنا المأسوف عليه محمّد بك تيمور الثوروي الفنّي ارتأى بعد إمعان التفكير وجوب وضع الروايات القصصية المرسحية باللغة العامّية

wa-naḏkur^u hunā lil-dalālaẗ ʕalà ʕaẓm hāḏā al-maškal ʔanna ṣadīqa-nā al-maʔsūf ʕalay-h Muḥammad Beğ Taymūr al-ṯawrawī al-fannī ’rtaʔà baʕd^a ʔimʕān al-tafkīr wuǧūb^a waḍʕⁱ ’l-riwāyātⁱ ’l-qiṣaṣiyyaẗ al-marsaḥiyyaẗ bi’l-luġaẗ al-ʕāmmiyyaẗ

To underline the importance of this problem, let us remind you here of the fact that our late friend, the revolutionary artist Muḥammad Bey Taymūr,⁷⁹ had decided, after careful consideration, that theatrical plays⁸⁰ should be composed in the vernacular/the language of the masses,

79. Egyptian dramatist and prose writer, 1892-1921. »His reading of realistic writers like De Maupassant and Zola prepared him to become a pioneer of the modern Arabic short story .... [... Around 1918, he was among the co-founders of] the literary circle Madrasat al-ādāb al-jadīda, later known as al-Madrasa al-ḥadītha (the ‘Modern School’) ...« – Ed C.M. De Moor, art. »Taymūr, Muḥammad (1892-1921)«, in EAL, ii: 762-3, in particular 762. 80. I do not know what (if anything at all) the double qualification of these riwāyāt as qiṣaṣiyyaẗ and marsaḥiyyaẗ possibly can mean.

AR: Muḥammad Taymūr, fannī (fann), irtaʔà (raʔy), waḍʕ, riwāyaẗ, marsaḥ, luġaẗ ʕāmmiyyaẗ
EN: Muḥammad Taymūr, vernacular, language of the masses

ليسم أدبنا بشخصيتنا المصرية ، ولتكون الروايات قريبة إلى الفنّ والحقيقة ، خالية من التكلّف والجمود .

li-yasima ʔadaba-nā bi-šaḫṣiyyati-nā al-miṣriyyaẗ, wa-li-takūn^a ’l-riwāyāt^u qarībaẗ^an ʔilà ’l-fann wa’l-ḥaqīqaẗ, ḫāliyaẗ^an min al-takalluf wa’l-ǧumūd.

in order to imprint our literature with the [typically] Egyptian character and to make the stories closer to art and Reality/Truth, devoid of mannerism and stiffness.

AR: ʔadab, šaḫṣiyyaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), riwāyaẗ, fann, ḥaqīqaẗ, takalluf, ǧumūd
EN: devoid of mannerism and stiffness

ونحن مع إعجابنا الشديد بفقيدنا العزيز ، لا يمكننا الموافقة على هذه الفكرة المتطرّفة الخطرة ،

wa-naḥnu maʕa ʔiʕǧābi-nā ’l-šadīd bi-faqīdi-nā ’l-ʕazīz, lā yumkinu-nā ’l-muwāfaqaẗ ʕalà hāḏihī ’l-fikraẗ al-mutaṭarrifaẗ al-ḫaṭiraẗ,

Yet, despite the strong admiration we have for the dear friend we have lost,⁸¹ we cannot agree with this radical and hazardous idea.

81. Muḥammad Taymūr had died shortly before ʕUbayd wrote his Preface.

AR:…

فنحن ممّن يتعصّبون للغة العربية ، ولا نرغب أنْ يستقلّ الأدب المصري عن الأدب العربي ،

fa-naḥnu mim-man yataʕaṣṣabūn^a lil-luġaẗ al-ʕarabiyyaẗ, wa-lā narġabu ʔan yastaqill^a ’l-ʔadab al-miṣrī ʕan il-ʔadab al-ʕarabī,

For we are of those who are strong partisans of the [classical] Arabic language. We do not want Egyptian literature to become independent from Arabic literature.

AR: luġaẗ, ʕarabī, istaqalla (istiqlāl), ʔadab, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ),
EN: …

ولكنْ يكون فقط للأول صفة خاصة به تميّزه عن الثاني ، ويطلق له حرّية التطوّر والرقي .

wa-lākin yakūn^a faqaṭ lil-ʔawwal ṣifaẗ^un ḫāṣṣaẗ^un bi-hī tumayyizu-hū ʕan il-ṯānī, wa-yuṭliq^a la-hū ḥurriyyaẗ al-taṭawwur wa’l-ruqiyy.

The former should just have a character of its own that distinguishes it from the latter and gives it the freedom to develop and progress.

AR: ṣifaẗ, ḫāṣṣ (ḫuṣūṣiyyaẗ), mayyaza (tamyīz), ḥurriyyaẗ, taṭawwur, ruqiyy
EN: …

وحتّى نوفّق بين الفنّ واللغة ارتأينا أنْ تكتب المحادثات الثنائية بلغة عربية متوسّطة خالية من التراكيب اللغوية ،

wa-ḥattà nuwaffiq^a bayna ’l-fann wa’l-luġaẗ irtaʔaynā ʔan tuktab^a ’l-muḥādaṯāt al-ṯunāʔiyyaẗ bi-luġaẗ ʕarabiyyaẗ mutawassiṭaẗ ḫāliyaẗ min al-tarākīb al-luġawiyyaẗ,

We are of the opinion that in order to reconcile art and language, the dialogues should be written in an intermediate Arabic that is free from complex linguistic structures

AR: waffaqa (tawfīq), fann, luġaẗ, irtaʔà (raʔy), muḥādaṯaẗ ṯunāʔiyyaẗ, luġaẗ ʕarabiyyaẗ mutawassiṭaẗ
EN: reconcile art and language, intermediate Arabic

وقد يتخللها أحيانا بعض ألفاظ عامّية حتّى لا يظهر عليها شيء من الجمود أو التكلّف ،

wa-qad yataḫallalu-hā ʔaḥyān^an baʕḍ ʔalfāẓ ʕāmmiyyaẗ ḥattà lā yaẓhar^a ʕalay-hā šayʔ^un min al-ǧumūd ʔaw al-takalluf,

and into which occasionally even some dialect words may be blended so that it does not give the feeling of stiffness and artificiality

AR: ʕāmmiyyaẗ, ǧumūd, takalluf
EN: …

ونطليها بالمسبحة المصرية والألوان (ف) المحلّية ،

wa-nuṭliya-hā bi’l-masḥaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ wa’l-ʔalwān al-maḥalliyyaẗ,

and we can give it the [typically] Egyptian touch and paint it with [p. xvii] local colours.

AR: masḥaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʔalwān, maḥallī
EN: [typically] Egyptian touch, local colours

وقد تؤدّي كلمة عامّية معنى لا تؤدّيه جملة عربية برمّتها .

wa-qad tuʔaddī kalimaẗ ʕāmmiyyaẗ maʕn^an lā tuʔaddī-hi ǧumlaẗ ʕarabiyyaẗ bi-rummati-hā.

A dialect word may produce a meaning that a sentence written in classical Arabic in its entirety cannot express.

AR: ʕāmmiyyaẗ, maʕnà
EN: …

أما إذا كانت المحادثات قصيرة ومقتضبة ، فيحسن بنا أنْ ننقلها كما هي كما تصدر من الأشخاص المختلفي النحل والأجناس بألفاظهم العامّية ، ورطانتهم الأعجمية ،

ʔammā ʔiḏā kānat al-muḥādaṯāt qaṣīraẗ wa-muqtaḍabaẗ, fa-yaḥsun^u bi-nā ʔan nanqula-hā ka-mā hiya ka-mā taṣdur^u min al-ʔašḫāṣ al-maḫtalifī ’l-niḥal wa’l-ʔaǧnās bi-ʔalfāẓi-him al-ʕāmmiyyaẗ, wa-raṭānati-him al-ʔaʕǧamiyyaẗ,

If the dialogues are short and condensed⁸² then the best thing we can do is to render them as they are, just as they come out of [the mouth of] characters of different confessions and races with their vernacular expressions and foreign gibberish.

82. Or: ‘improvised’? – muqtaḍabaẗ.

AR: ka-mā huwa/hiya, ʔašḫāṣ, niḥal, ʔaǧnās (ǧins), ʕāmmiyyaẗ, raṭānaẗ, ʔaʕǧamiyyaẗ
EN: confessions and races

ولا نظنّ أنّه يقوم مَن يعترض علينا ،

wa-lā naẓunn^u ʔanna-hū yaqūm^u man yaʕtariḍ^u ʕalay-nā,

We do not think that anyone will stand up and disagree with us on that,

AR:…

فإنّ الكتّاب الفرنسيين أنفسهم الذين يعبدون لغتهم ويحافظون عليها أكثر من محافظتنا على لغتنا كثيراً ما يوردون في مؤلّفاتهم القيّمة التراكيب الأعجمية وألفاظ الألمان والإنجليز وعامّة الفرنسيين أنفسهم حال تكلّمهم لغتهم ،

fa-ʔinna ’l-kuttāb al-faransiyyīn^a ʔanfusa-hum allaḏīn yaʕbudūn^a luġata-hum wa-yuḥāfiẓūn^a ʕalay-hā ʔakṯar^a min muḥāfaẓati-nā ʕalà luġati-nā kaṯīr^an mā yūridūn^a fī muʔallafāti-him al-qayyimaẗ al-tarākīb al-ʔaʕǧamiyyaẗ wa-ʔalfāẓ al-ʔalmān wa’l-ʔinǧlīz wa-ʕāmmaẗ al-faransiyyīn^a ʔanfusi-him ḥāl^a takallumi-him luġata-hum,

as even the French writers themselves – who adore their language and are more eager to preserve it than we are to preserve ours – often insert into their valuable writings some foreign constructions, German or English words, as well as words used by the French masses themselves, exactly as they speak their language –

AR: kātib (kuttāb), luġaẗ, qayyim (qīmaẗ)
EN: …

ولم نر أحداً منهم قام يظهر فساد هذه الخطّة أو يدّعی إهانتها للغة .

wa-lam nara ʔaḥad^an min-hum qāma yuẓhir^u fasād^a hāḏihī ’l-ḫuṭwaẗ ʔaw yaddaʕī ʔihānata-hā lil-luġaẗ.

and we have never ever seen any of them stand up and claim that this strategy was a failure or an insult to their language.

AR: fasād, luġaẗ
EN: …

فغايتنا الوحيدة من تأليف القصص والروايات العصرية المصرية أنْ نساعد على إيجاد أدب عصري مصري خاصّ بنا وموسوم بطابع شخصيتنا وأخلاقنا يتّفق مع ما بلغناه من الرقي والنضوج المبكّر البدري .

fa-ġāyatu-nā al-waḥīdaẗ min taʔlīf al-qiṣaṣ wa’l-riwāyāt al-ʕaṣriyyaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ ʔan nusāʕid^a ʕalà ʔīǧād ʔadab ʕaṣrī miṣrī ḫāṣṣ bi-nā wa-mawsūm bi-ṭābiʕ šaḫṣiyyati-nā wa-ʔaḫlāqi-nā yattafiq^u maʕa mā balaġnā-hu min al-ruqiyy wa’l-nuḍūǧ al-mubakkir al-badrī.

Our only aim with writing modern Egyptian stories and plays [or: novels?] is to contribute to the creation of a modern Egyptian literature of our own, bearing the stamp of our [national] character and specific identity and corresponding to the high level of progress and early maturity that we have reached.

AR: ġāyaẗ, taʔlīf, riwāyaẗ, ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ), miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʔīǧād, ʔadab, ḫāṣṣ (ḫuṣūṣiyyaẗ), ṭābiʕ, šaḫṣī / šaḫṣiyyaẗ, ʔaḫlāq, ruqiyy, nuḍūǧ, mubakkir, badrī
EN: literature of our own, stamp of our [national] character and specific identity, progress, maturity

فهل نحن محقّقون الغاية التي نرمي إليها ؟ هذا ما سيحكم به الجمهور المصري ونؤمل أن يكون حكمه منزّهاً ومشجّعاً .

fa-hal naḥnu muḥaqqiqūn^a ’l-ġāyaẗ^a ’llatī narmī ʔilay-hā? hāḏā mā sa-yaḥkum^u bi-hī ’l-ǧumhūr^u ’l-miṣrī wa-nuʔammil^u ʔan yakūn^a ḥukmu-hū munazzah^an wa-mušaǧǧiʕ^an.

So, have we reached this aim to which we have been aspiring? This is what the Egyptian [reading] public will have to decide – hopefully, their verdict will be unprejudiced/unbiased and encouraging.

AR: ġāyaẗ, ḥakama (ḥukm), ǧumhūr, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʔamal
EN: …

ديسمبر سنة ۱۹۲۱ / عيسی عبید

dīsimbar sanaẗ ۱۹۲۱ / ʕĪsà ʕUbayd

December 1921 / ʕĪsà ʕUbayd

…

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