تَمْهِيدٌ
Introduction
(١)
قِصَّةُ
The story of
عَجُوزٍ
an old woman
كَانَتْ
who was
مَمْلَكَةُ
the kingdom of
«إنْجِلْتِرَا»
‘England’
—
حِينَ
when
وَقَعَتْ
occurred
حَوَادِثُ
the incidents of
هَذِهِ
this
الْقِصَّةِ
story
—
تَمُرُّ
passed through
بِأَحْدَاثٍ
events
وَخُطُوبٍ
and calamities
(مَصَائِبَ)
(disasters)
,
لَا
no
عَهْدَ
period
لَهَا
for it
بِأَمْثَالِهَا
like it
مِن
from
قَبْلُ
before.
Introduction (1) The story of an old woman who was the kingdom of ‘England’ — when the incidents of this story occurred — passed through events and calamities (disasters) that it had never experienced before.
وَإِلَيْكَ
And here is
مَا
what
تَقُصُّهُ
she narrates
عَجُوزٌ
an old woman
نَيَّفَتْ
who has exceeded
(زَادَتْ)
(has added)
عَلَى
over
خَمْسِينَ
fifty
وَمِئَةٍ
and one hundred
مِن
of
السِّنِينَ
years.
And here is what an old woman who has exceeded fifty and one hundred years narrates.
قَالَتِ
She said
الْعَجُوزُ
the old woman
:
«لَقَدْ
‘I have
عِشْتُ
lived
أَكْثَرَ
more
مِن
than
مِئَةٍ
one hundred
وَخَمْسِينَ
and fifty
عَامًا
years.
ورَأَيْتُ
And I have seen
فِي
in
طُفُولَتِي
my childhood —
—
مِن
of
الْكَوَارِثِ
the disasters
وَالْمِحَنِ
and ordeals
—
مَا
what
لَمْ
not
يَخْطُرْ
occur to
لِإِنْسَانٍ
a human being
عَلَى
on
بَالٍ
mind.
The old woman said: ‘I have lived more than one hundred and fifty years, and I have seen in my childhood — of the disasters and ordeals — what has not occurred to a human being.
وَلَا
And I still
أَزَالُ
remember
أَذْكُرُ
that I remember
تِلْكَ
those
الْعَوَاصِفَ
tempests
الْهُوجَ
fierce
حِينَ
when
الْاِكْتِسَاحِ
swept away
الْغَابَاتِ
the forests
،
ثُمَّ
then
أَعْقَبَهَا
followed by
فَيَضَانُ
the flood of
الْأَنْهَارِ
the rivers;
فَأَغْرَقَ
that drowned
مِنَ
of
الْبِلَادِ
the land
مَا
what
أَغْرَقَ
drowned,
،
وَأَهْلَكَ
and destroyed
مِن
of
الْحَرْثِ
the crops
(الزَّرْعِ)
(the harvest)
وَالنَّسْلِ
and offspring
(الأَوْلَادِ)
(the children)
,
مَا
what
أَهْلَكَ!
destroyed!
And I still remember those fierce tempests when they swept through the forests, then followed by the flood of the rivers; that drowned what of the land was drowned, and destroyed what of the crops (the harvest) and offspring (the children) was destroyed!
لَا
I still
أَزَالُ
remember
أَذْكُرُ
remember —
—
إِلَى
to
الْيَوْمَ
this day
,
ذَٰلِكَ
that
الْعَهْدَ
period
الَّذِي
that I witnessed
شَهِدْتُهُ
it in my childhood
فِي
in
طُفُولَتِي
my childhood,
وَأَتَمَثَّلُ
and I envision
(أَتَصَوَّرُ)
(imagine)
حَوَادِثَهُ
its incidents
الْبَعِيدَةَ
distant,
كَأَنَّمَا
as if
وَقَعَتْ
it occurred
أَمْسِ
yesterday.
I still remember — to this day — that period that I witnessed in my childhood, and I envision (imagine) its distant incidents, as if they occurred yesterday.
وَلَكِنَّ
But
مَا
what
حَدَثَ
happened
فِي
in
هَذَا
this
الْعَامِ
year,
قَدْ
has
مَحَا
erased —
أَوْ
or
كَادَ
almost
—
كُلَّ
every
مَا
what
اسْتَعْظَمْتُهُ
I have cherished
مِن
of
الأَحْدَاثِ
the past events
الْمَاضِيَةِ
؛
وَلَيْسَتْ
And those disasters
تِلْكَ
those
الْمَصَائِبُ
disasters
الَّتِي
that
حَلَّتْ
befell.
بِبِلَادِنَا
Upon our country
—
فِي
in
ذَٰلِكَ
that
الزَّمَنِ
time
الْبَعِيدِ
the distant —
إِلَّا
but
شَيْئًا
a small thing
يَسِيرًا
trivial
تَفِهًا
(inconsequential)
(لَا
(of no
قِيمَةَ
value)
لَهُ)،
to it)
But what happened in this year has erased — or almost — every cherished memory I had of past events. And those disasters that befell upon our country — in that distant time — were but a small and inconsequential thing (of no value to it), compared to what has happened this year.
فَقَدْ
For indeed
تَأَلَّبَتْ
the forces of
(تَجَمَّعَتْ)
(gathered)
For indeed the forces of evil have gathered,
قُوَى
the forces of
الشَّرِّ
evil,
وَاجْتَمَعَتِ
and calamities gathered,
الْكَوَارِثُ
the calamities,
وَتَاتَبَعَتِ
and followed
الأَحْدَاثُ
events,
وَتَفَنَّنَتِ
and have varied
الأَبَالِسَةُ
the devils
وَالشَّيَاطِينُ
and demons
فِي
in
إِغْرَاءِ
tempting
النَّاسَ
the people
بِضُرُوبٍ
with kinds of
(أَصْنَافٍ)
(types of)
The forces of evil have gathered, and calamities have followed, and the events have varied, and the devils and demons have been tempting the people with kinds of injustice.
مِنَ
of
الظُّلْمِ
injustice
وَالقَسْوَةِ
and cruelty
وَالأَنانِيَّةِ
and selfishness
(حُبِّ
(the love
الذَّاتِ)
of self),
وَمَا
and what
إِلَى
to
ذَٰلِكَ
that
مِن
of
أَلْوَانِ
the shades of
الشَّرِّ
evil,
وَأَفَانِينِ
and various
الشَّقَاءِ
forms of
with kinds (types) of injustice, cruelty, and selfishness (the love of self), and to that is included the forms of evil, and various forms of misery.
(أَنْوَاعِ
(types of
الشِّدَّةِ
hardship
وَالْعُسْرِ)
and adversity).
وَفِي
And in
شَمَالِ
the north of
«إنْجِلْتِرَا»
‘England’
طَغَتْ
had surged
أَمْوَاهُ
the waters of
الْبُحَيْرَاتِ
the lakes,
وَأَغْرَقَتْ
and drowned
مِنَ
of
السُّكَّانِ
the inhabitants
وَالمَسَاكِنِ
and the homes
آلافًا
thousands.
And in the north of ‘England’ the waters of the lakes had surged, and drowned thousands of the inhabitants and the homes.
ثُمَّ
Then
جَاءَ
came
الشِّتَاءُ
winter;
فَخَرَجَتِ
so the wolves and
الذِّئَابُ
the wild beasts
وَأَصْنَافُ
of various kinds
الْوُحُوشِ
of wild animals came out
الضَّارِيَةِ
ferocious
مِنْ
from
مَكَامِنِهَا
their lairs,
وَالتَّهَمَتِ
and devoured
الأَغْنَامَ
the sheep
فِي
in
رَائِعَةِ
the bright
النَّهَارِ
day,
دُونَ
without
أَنْ
that
تُبَالِيَ
care
كَائِنًا
for any being
كَانَ.
that existed.
Then came winter; so the wolves and various wild beasts came out from their lairs and devoured the sheep in the bright day, without caring for any being that existed.
وَعَاثَتِ
And the wild pigs
الْخَنازِيرُ
ran rampant
الْبَرِّيَّةُ
in the countryside;
فَمَلَأَتِ
filling
الْقُلُوبَ
the hearts
ذُعْرًا
with fear
(خَوْفًا)
(fear)
,
وَقَسَتْ
and hardened
قُلُوبُ
the hearts of
النَّاسِ
the people,
وَنَمَتْ
and grew
بَيْنَهُمْ
among them
بُذُورُ
the seeds of
الشِّقَاقِ
disunion
وَالتَّفْرِقَةِ
and separation,
وَحَلَّتْ
and strife settled
الْخِصَامُ
of disputes
مَحَلًّا
in place of
الْوِئَامِ
the harmony
(الْوِفَاقِ).
(agreement).
And the wild pigs ran rampant in the countryside; filling the hearts with fear (fear), and hardened the hearts of the people, and the seeds of disunion and separation grew among them, and strife settled in place of the harmony (agreement).
وَسَرَى
And the discord spread
الْخُلْفُ
the strife
بَيْنَ
between
الأَزْوَاجِ
the couples;
ثُمَّ
then
انتَقَلَتْ
transferred
عَدْوَاهُ
its contagion
إِلَى
to
الأَطْفَالِ
the children;
فَأَصْبَحَتِ
and the countries became
الْبِلَادُ
the lands
جَحِيمًا
a hell
لَا
that cannot be
يُطَاقُ.
bore.
And the discord spread between the couples; then its contagion transferred to the children; and the lands became a hell that could not be borne.
(٢)
مِهْرَجانُ
Festival
الْمَلِكِ
of the king
هَذَا
this
بَعْضُ
is part of
مَا
what
قَصَّتْهُ
she narrated
عَجُوزُ
the old woman
ذَٰلِكُم
of that time,
الزَّمَانِ
the time,
وَرَأَتْهُ
and she saw
رُؤْيَةَ
a vision of
الْعِيَانِ.
the seen.
(2) The Festival of the king is part of what the old woman narrated of that time, and she saw it as a vision of the seen.
وَقَدْ
And I have
تَوَخَّيتُ
deliberately aimed
(تَعَمَّدْتُ)
(intended)
And I have deliberately aimed to establish it for you — O dear friends —
لِتَعْرِفُوا
to know
مَتَى
when
وَقَعَتْ
the incidents occurred
حَوَادِثُ
the incidents of
هَذِهِ
this
الْقِصَّةِ؟
story?
to know when the incidents of this story occurred?
وَفِي
And during
أَيِّ
which
عَهْدٍ
era
—
مِن
of
عُهُودِ
the eras of
الِاضْطِرَابِ
turmoil
—
مُثِّلَتْ
the chapters of
فُصُولُهَا
its story
الْمُحْزِنَةِ؟
sad?
And during which era — of the eras of turmoil — the chapters of its story were represented?
وَكَانَ
And it was
بَدْءُ
the beginning of
هَذِهِ
these
الْأَحْدَاثِ
events
الْمُفَزِّعَةِ
terrifying
يَوْمَ
the day of
الْمِهْرَجانِ
the festival
الَّذِي
which
أُقِيمَ
was held by
الْمَلِكُ
the king
«لِير»
‘Lear’
فِي
in
قَصْرِهِ
his palace
الْكَبِيرِ،
the great,
مُنْذُ
since
أَلْفَيْ
two thousand
عَامٍ.
years.
And it was the beginning of these terrifying events on the day of the festival which was held by the king ‘Lear’ in his great palace, since two thousand years.
وَقَدِ
And the king has
اعْتَزَمَ
decided
الْمَلِكُ
the king
أَنْ
to
يَقْسِمَ
divide
مُلْكَهُ
his kingdom
الْعَظِيمَ
great among his
بَيْنَ
between
بَنَاتِهِ
daughters
الثَّلاثِ،
three,
وَيَرْفَعَ
and to lift
عَنْ
from
كاهِلِهِ
his shoulders
أَعْبَاءَ
the burdens
الْمُلْكِ
of kingship
(أَثْقَالَ
(the weights of
الْحُكْمِ)
rulership),
And the king has decided to divide his great kingdom between his three daughters, and to lift from his shoulders the burdens of kingship (the weights of rulership)
وَيُرِيحَ
and to bring peace to
شَيْخُوخَتَهُ،
his old age,
وَيَقْضِيَ
and to spend
أَيَّامَهُ
his last days
الأَخِيرَةَ
in peace and security,
فِي
in
أَمْنٍ
serenity,
وَسَلاَمٍ،
and safety,
وَادِعَ
and resting in
الْخَلَدِ
eternity,
(مُسْتَرِيحَ
(resting of
الْقَلْبِ)،
the heart),
نَاعِمَ
having a tranquil
الْبَالِ.
mind.
and to bring peace to his old age, and to spend his last days in peace and security, resting in eternity (resting of the heart), having a tranquil mind.
وَكَانَتِ
And the lights were
الْأَنْوَارُ
shining
سَاطِعَةً
brightly
فِي
in
كُلِّ
every
مَكَانٍ
place
مِنْ
of
قَصْرِ
the palace of
الْمَلِكِ،
the king,
تَنْعَكِسُ
reflected
أَضْوَاؤُهَا
its lights
الْبَهِيجَةُ
beautifully
عَلَى
on
أَعْمِدَةِ
the columns
الْقَصْرِ
of the palace
الذَّهَبِيَّةِ،
golden,
وَتَصَاوِيرِهِ
and its artistic images
الْمُبْدِعَةِ
artful.
وَهِيَ
And they represent
تُمَثِّلُ
the victory
انْتِصَارَ
of king ‘Lear’
الْمَلِكِ
the king
«لِير»
‘Lear’
عَلَى
over
أَعْدَائِهِ،
his enemies,
فِي
in
زَمَنِ
the time of
صِبَاهُ.
his youth.
And the lights were shining brightly in every place of the palace of the king, reflected beautifully on the columns of the palace, its artistic images, and they represent the victory of king ‘Lear’ over his enemies, in the time of his youth.
•••
وَكَانَ
And the one who contemplated
المُتَأَمِّلُ
upon it was
لَا
not
يَمْلِكُ
able to control
نَفْسَهُ
himself
مِن
from
الْحَسْرَةِ
regret
وَالْأَسَف،
and sorrow,
كُلَّمَا
whenever
وَقَعَتْ
he laid eyes upon
عَيْنَاهُ
it.
عَلَى
on
هَذَا
this
الشَّابِ
strong young man
الْقَوِيِّ
powerful ‘Lear,’
«لِيرَ»،
‘Lear,’
الْجَريءُ
brave
الْبَاطِشُ
(aggressive),
الَّذِي
who is represented
تُمَثِّلُهُ
here by
تِلْكَ
those
التَّصَاوِيرُ
images,
الْمُعْجِبَةُ،
and admired,
وَقَابَلَتْهَا
and faced it,
بِهَذَا
with this
الشَّيْخِ
old man
«لِير»،
‘Lear,’
الْمَاثِلِ
standing
فِي
in
الْحَفْلِ،
the gathering,
وَقَدْ
and now
جَلَّلَ
has covered
الشَّيْبُ
the gray hairs
رَأْسَهُ،
his head,
وَقَوَّسَتْ
and bent
قَنَاتَهُ
his stature
السُّنُونَ
the years.
(حَنَتِ
(have bent
الْأَعْوَامُ
the years)
ظَهَرَهُ)،
his back),
فَانْتَظَمَتِ
so the quivering
الرِّعْشَةُ
shivered
يَدَيْهِ
his weak hands,
النَّاحِلَتَيْن،
thin,
وَأَصْبَحَ
and became
يَمْشِي
walking
إِلَى
toward
الْمَـنَايَا
the demise
(المَوْتِ)،
(death),
بِخُطُواتٍ
with steps
سَرِيعَةٍ.
quick.
And the one who contemplated upon it was not able to control himself from regret and sorrow, whenever he laid eyes upon this strong young man ‘Lear,’ brave and aggressive (who is represented here by those admired images), and faced it with this old man ‘Lear,’ standing in the gathering, now covered with gray hairs on his head, and bent stature of his back (the years have bent it), so the quivering shivered his weak hands, thin, and he began walking toward the demise (death), with quick steps.
وَقَدِ
And the royal retinue
اجْتَمَعَتْ
collected
فِي
in
ذَٰلِكَ
that
الْمِهْرَجانِ
festival
حَاشِيَةُ
the court members
الْمَلِكِ
of the king
وَقُوَّادُهُ
and his warriors
وَسَرَاتُ
and the influential
الْبِلَادِ
of the country
(رُؤَسَاؤُهَا)،
(its leaders),
And the royal retinue gathered in that festival the members of the court of the king and his warriors and the influential of the country (its leaders),
وَجَلَسَ
and sat
إِلَى
beside
جَانِبِهِ
him
and sat beside him.
وَزِيرُهُ
His minister
الْمُخْلِصُ
the loyal
الأَمِينُ
trusted: ‘كَنْت’
:
«كَنْتُ»
‘Kant’
،
وَنَدِيمُه
and his companion
(صَاحِبُهُ)
(friend of him)
His minister the loyal trusted, ‘Kant’, and his companion (friend of him) 'Buhlul'.