Note 169
Arab. "Gharíb:" the porter is offended because the word implies "poor devil;" esp. one out of his own country.
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Notes to The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 1 — Page 8
698 notes in Richard Francis Burton translation. Follow a thought back to its place in the book.
698 notes
Note 170
A religious mendicant generally.
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Very scandalous to Moslem "respectability" Mohammed said the house was accursed when the voices of women could be heard out of doors. Moreover the neighbours have a right to interf…
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I need hardly say that these are both historical personages; they will often be mentioned, and Ja'afar will be noticed in the Terminal Essay.
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Arab. "Sama ’an wa tá’atan"; a popular phrase of assent generally translated "to hear is to obey;" but this formula may be and must be greatly varied. In places it means "Hearing (…
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Arab. "Sawáb"=reward in Heaven. This word for which we have no equivalent has been naturalized in all tongues (e. g. Hindostani) spoken by Moslems.
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Wine-drinking, at all times forbidden to Moslems, vitiates the Pilgrimage rite: the Pilgrim is vowed to a strict observance of the ceremonial law and many men date their "reformati…
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Here some change has been necessary; as the original text confuses the three "ladies."
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In Arab. the plural masc. is used by way of modesty when a girl addresses her lover and for the same reason she speaks of herself as a man.
Read the noteNote 178
Arab. "Al-Na'ím", in full "Jannat-al-Na'ím" = the Garden of Delights, i.e. the fifth Heaven made of white silver. The generic name of Heaven (the place of reward) is "Jannat," lit.…
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Arab. "Mikra'ah," the dried mid-rib of a date-frond used for many purposes, especially the bastinado.
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According to Lane (i., 229) these and the immediately following verses are from an ode by Ibn Sahl al-Ishbili. They are in the Bul. Edit. not the Mac. Edit.
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The original is full of conceits and plays on words which are not easily rendered in English.
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Arab. "Tarjumán," same root as Chald. Targum ( = a translation), the old "Truchman," and through the Ital. "tergomano" our "Dragoman," here a messenger.
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Lit. the "person of the eyes," our "babe of the eyes," a favourite poetical conceit in all tongues; much used by the Elizabethans, but now neglected as a silly kind of conceit. See…
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Arab. "Sár" (Thár) the revenge-right recognised by law and custom (Pilgrimage, iii., 69).
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That is "We all swim in the same boat."
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Ja'afar ever acts, on such occasions, the part of a wise and sensible man compelled to join in a foolish frolic. He contrasts strongly with the Caliph, a headstrong despot who will…
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Arab. "Wa'l-Salám" (pronounced Was-Salám); meaning "and here ends the matter." In our slang we say "All right, and the child's name is Antony."
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This is a favourite jingle, the play being upon "ibrat" (a needle-graver) and " 'ibrat" (an example, a warning).
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That is "make his bow," as the English peasant pulls his forelock. Lane (i., 249) suggests, as an afterthought, that it means:—"Recover thy senses; in allusion to a person's drawin…
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This would be a separate building like our family tomb and probably domed, resembling that mentioned in "The King of the Black Islands." Europeans usually call it "a little Wali;" …
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Arab. "Wiswás," = diabolical temptation or suggestion. The "Wiswásí" is a man with scruples (scrupulus, a pebble in the shoe), e.g. one who fears that his ablutions were deficient,…
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Arab. "Katf" = pinioning by tying the arms behind the back and shoulders (Kitf) a dire disgrace to free-born men.
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