Chapter XVII (part 2 of 2)
"The sixth volume of Sir Richard Burton's 'Arabian Nights,' which has just been issued to subscribers, is one of the most interesting of the series to Anglo-Orientalists. For it contains that story--or set of stories--which is, perhaps, of all the tales of the 'Arabian Nights,' the dearest to legend-loving mankind, whether Oriental or Occidental--the story of the voyages of 'Sindbad the Sailor,' or of 'Sindbad the Seaman,' as Sir Richard Burton prefers to call him. Perhaps the only tale which at all competes in popularity with the wandering record of the 'Eastern Odysseus' is the story of 'Ali Baba,' and that, unfortunately, does not belong to the 'Arabian Nights' at all, and can only, as far as we know, be traced to a modern Greek origin. Lovers of the story of 'Sindbad the Sailor' will be pleased to learn that their old friend remains to all intents and purposes the same in Sir Richard's literal Translation as he was in the fanciful adaptation of Galland, and the more accurate rendering of Lane. He does not 'suffer a sea change,' but remains, what he has always been, the most wonderful wanderer in the whole range and region of romance. Sir Richard Burton's sixth volume contains, besides, that story of the 'Seven Viziers,' which in so many forms is a favourite in all the languages of the East."
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The Bat, July 7th, 1886.
"As regards his translation, however, Captain Burton is certainly felicitous in the manner in which he has Englished the picturesque turns of the original. One great improvement in this version over that of Mr. Lane will be found in the fact that the verses so freely interspersed throughout the 'Nights' are here rendered in metre, and that an attempt also has often been made to preserve the assonants and the monorhyme of the Arabic. Mr. Lane frankly stated that he omitted the greater part of the poetry as tedious, and, through the loss of measure and rhyme, 'generally intolerable to the reader,' as, in truth, the specimens inserted mostly proved to be on account of the bald literalism of the rendering. Captain Burton has naturally inserted the poetry with the rest; and has often shown much skill in doing into English verse the rippling couplets of the original. Take as an instance, the verses which Mr. Lane renders:--
'Tell him who is oppressed with anxiety that anxiety will not last. As happiness passeth away, so passeth away anxiety.'
"Almost equally literal, and certainly more poetical, is Captain Burton, who gracefully turns this:--
'Tell whoso hath sorrow, Grief never shall last; E'en as Joy hath no morrow, so Woe shall go past.'
"And since, in proverbs and epigrams, so much depends on the form, the spirit of the original is well observed, when, for instance, we read in a certain chronicle the lines of one Ibn al Sumam:--
'Hold fast thy secret, and to none unfold: Lost is a secret when that secret's told. And fail thy breast thy secret to conceal, How canst thou hope another's breast shall hold?'
"Doubtless, too--and in this not following Mr. Lane--Captain Burton is right in retaining the original division into Nights: for, as he justly observes, 'Without the Nights, no Arabian Nights!' And, besides this being a prime feature of the original, a grateful pause is thereby introduced into these intricate and interminable stories. In the translation, Captain Burton's English is generally picturesque and always fluent. As it is frankly stated, too, he has 'never hesitated to coin a word when wanted.' Captain Burton, who has passed the greater portion of his life in Arab-speaking countries, mixing freely in Moslem society, and often passing--as during his pilgrimage--himself for a True Believer, is naturally well qualified to translate this 'Great Eastern Saga Book.' Also, since the scene of the stories is laid successively in every country of Islam, from Tangier to India, and beyond, the translator's intimate acquaintance, made during his wanderings, with all these peoples and places, stands him in good stead in elucidating peculiar manners and customs, and in this gives him the advantage over Mr. Lane, who had only seen Islam as domiciled in Egypt."
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Court Society, March 4th, 1886.
"Not a little disgust has been excited by the vulgar sneer which a morning paper has indulged in at the expense of Sir Richard Burton. Long neglected by successive Governments, Captain Burton received, after forty-four years, a tardy recognition of his services. Straightway, it was suggested that he is made a knight because he translated the 'Arabian Nights.' It need scarcely be said that his translation has nothing to do with the distinction conferred upon him; but, as it is the habit in a certain quarter to denounce the literal translation of the 'Nights,' it cannot be too distinctly understood that Captain Burton never meant his work to fall into any hands save those of a thousand students."
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The Sporting Life, July 17th, 1886.
"The more I see of this splendid translation, the more do I feel that we are indebted to the translator for the first real idea in English of the immortal original, and to him alone, for a complete reflection of the 'Arabian Nights.' The lustre and vigour of the English compel one's admiration at every step.... It is palpable enough that, until Sir Richard Burton's wonderful work first saw the light, we had no 'Arabian Nights.'"
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The Bat, July 7th, 1886.
"Book-lovers will be glad to learn that Sir Richard Burton's 'Thousand and One Nights' will shortly be reprinted, and that also with revision which will remove it from the top shelf of a library to the drawing-room. Lady Burton is to be congratulated on her enterprise in taking up the matter, for, unquestionably, so admirable, and, indeed, instructive a work should be placed within the reach of all. A copy of the privately printed edition is now worth £25, and undoubtedly its reappearance as revised will be hailed with satisfaction by all lovers of Orientalism."
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LETTERS FROM SCHOLARS.
Mr. Floyer, at the Telegraphic Conference, has secured Egypt telegraphic independence, and an annual gain of £7000.
"Government Telegraphs, Berlin, September 16th, 1885.
"MY DEAR CAPTAIN BURTON,
"I cannot tell you how delighted I am with the translation. The language is wonderful. Only you in the world could have written it. How did you find out 'ensorcelled,' instead of the vulgar 'bewitched'? And how did you find out a hundred other words equally graceful and exact? It is the most wonderful translation in the whole of literature. In accuracy, in swing, it breathes Egypt to me. I could take it and read it straight out to my Effendis almost word for word. But the language is wonderful. As compared with Eastwick's Anw'ar i Suhayli it is Tennyson to Gladstone. My sense of the feelings inspired by the first pages of the Foreword it is impossible to express, and I congratulate you most sincerely on your absolutely unique achievement.
"Yours very truly,
"(Signed) ERNEST A. FLOYER."
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"October 24th.
"DEAR SIR,
"I do not know whether a letter which I wrote to the Academy about your 'Arabian Nights' has come under your notice. If so, I beg you to excuse the chary words I used in commendation of a work which now, from the literary point of view, I regard as one of great original excellence."
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"November 13th.
"I wish you had issued more numbers of your book, as you well deserve to be rewarded for such an admirable work. I delight in the vigour and Oriental character of the language. Even a few months in India were enough to make me appreciate and perhaps better understand the charm of the 'Arabian Nights.'"
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"DEAR CAPTAIN,
"The joy which your volume has occasioned me I will not attempt to express in a short letter. Let us meet soon, and talk of nothing else."
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"DEAR BURTON,
"This is merely a line of greeting in appreciation of your first volume, which I have been reading, just to say how pleased I am with everything--intrinsic and extrinsic."
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"September 25th.
"DEAR CAPTAIN BURTON,
"I have received the first volume of the 'Nights,' and beg you to accept my most heartfelt and sincere thanks for the valuable gift. I cannot express the pleasure which it affords me to see this wonderful book reproduced in a form which is as faithful a rendering of the original as it will remain an admirable 'monumentum aere perennius' of the English language.
"Moreover, I am not ashamed to acknowledge that in reading again the text, together with your translation, I have learned more Arabic in a few months than in as many years of former toilsome study."
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"I want to tell you how thoroughly I have enjoyed your 'Arabian Nights,' and how greatly they have contributed to making life endurable during these months. Your 'Arabian Nights' is a revelation of Orientalism, and the finest study of words that I have ever met with. It will remain a literary text-book as long as the English language lasts."
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"Volume I. awaiting me.
"I congratulate Captain Burton heartily. The book looks very handsome, and the notes are most valuable. Altogether a great success."
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"Your 'Nights' are admirable, fascinating--the true thing at last! I delight in my volume.
"I can hardly express to you how highly I appreciate the 'Nights,' the first two volumes of which are at hand. The work is interesting, too, and permits another edition."
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"September 26th.
"I have been devouring your first volume of the 'Nights,' and cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the book, and how anxiously I am looking for the next volume."
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EDWARD PEACOCK, Bottesford Manor, Brigg, October 3rd, 1885.
"I have read every word of the first volume of Captain Burton's 'Arabian Nights,' and, as I am not an Arabic scholar, am very grateful to him for having given us an English version."
[1] This was written some weeks before the author was made a K.C.M.G.
THE END