Opening the text

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

General

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries

NOTE 20.--_On the Distribution of Virtues and Vices among Mankind._ I
have heard Arabs confess that their nation possesses nine-tenths of the
envy that exists among all mankind collectively; but I have not seen any
written authority for this. Ibn-'Abbás assigns nine-tenths of the
intrigue or artifice that exists in the world to the Copts; nine-tenths
of the perfidy, to the Jews; nine-tenths of the stupidity, to the
Maghrabees; nine-tenths of the hardness, to the Turks; and nine-tenths
of the bravery, to the Arabs. According to Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, reason and
sedition are most peculiar to Syria; plenty and degradation, to Egypt;
and misery and health, to the Desert. In another account, faith and
modesty are said to be most peculiar to El-Yemen; fortitude and
sedition, to Syria; magnificence, or pride, and hypocrisy, to El-'Eráḳ;
wealth and degradation, to Egypt; and poverty and misery, to the
Desert.--Of women, it is said, by Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, that the best in the
world (excepting those of the tribe of Ḳureysh mentioned by the Prophet)
are those of El-Baṣrah; and the worst in the world, those of
Egypt.[163]

NOTE 21. In the Cairo edition, King Yoonán is made to say, "I should
repent after it, as King Sindibád repented of killing the falcon;"--and
thus is introduced an indifferent story in the place of that of the
Husband and the Parrot; the former story describing a king as having,
under an erroneous idea, killed a falcon that had prevented his drinking
poison. The latter story I insert in preference, according to the
Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, and the edition of
Breslau.

NOTE 22.--_On Miraculously-gifted Birds._ An Arab historian would make
it to appear, that the intelligence and talent ascribed to this parrot
are not nearly so wonderful as those which some birds have been known to
display. He mentions a parrot which recited the Soorat Yá-Seen (or 36th
chapter of the Ḳur-án); and a raven which recited the Soorat es-Sijdeh
(or 32nd chapter), and which, on arriving at the place of prostration
(or verse which should be recited with prostration), would perform that
action, and say, "My body prostrateth itself to Thee, and my heart
confideth in Thee." But these are not the most remarkable cases of the
kind. He affirms that there was a parrot in Cairo which recited the
Ḳur-án from beginning to end. The Báshà, he says, desiring to try its
talent, caused a man to recite a chapter of the Ḳur-án in its presence,
and to pass irregularly from one chapter to another, with the view of
leading the bird into error: but, instead of this being the result, the
parrot corrected him![164]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

General

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries

NOTE 20.--_On the Distribution of Virtues and Vices among Mankind._ I
have heard Arabs confess that their nation possesses nine-tenths of the
envy that exists among all mankind collectively; but I have not seen any
written authority for this. Ibn-'Abbás assigns nine-tenths of the
intrigue or artifice that exists in the world to the Copts; nine-tenths
of the perfidy, to the Jews; nine-tenths of the stupidity, to the
Maghrabees; nine-tenths of the hardness, to the Turks; and nine-tenths
of the bravery, to the Arabs. According to Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, reason and
sedition are most peculiar to Syria; plenty and degradation, to Egypt;
and misery and health, to the Desert. In another account, faith and
modesty are said to be most peculiar to El-Yemen; fortitude and
sedition, to Syria; magnificence, or pride, and hypocrisy, to El-'Eráḳ;
wealth and degradation, to Egypt; and poverty and misery, to the
Desert.--Of women, it is said, by Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, that the best in the
world (excepting those of the tribe of Ḳureysh mentioned by the Prophet)
are those of El-Baṣrah; and the worst in the world, those of
Egypt.[163]

NOTE 21. In the Cairo edition, King Yoonán is made to say, "I should
repent after it, as King Sindibád repented of killing the falcon;"--and
thus is introduced an indifferent story in the place of that of the
Husband and the Parrot; the former story describing a king as having,
under an erroneous idea, killed a falcon that had prevented his drinking
poison. The latter story I insert in preference, according to the
Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, and the edition of
Breslau.

NOTE 22.--_On Miraculously-gifted Birds._ An Arab historian would make
it to appear, that the intelligence and talent ascribed to this parrot
are not nearly so wonderful as those which some birds have been known to
display. He mentions a parrot which recited the Soorat Yá-Seen (or 36th
chapter of the Ḳur-án); and a raven which recited the Soorat es-Sijdeh
(or 32nd chapter), and which, on arriving at the place of prostration
(or verse which should be recited with prostration), would perform that
action, and say, "My body prostrateth itself to Thee, and my heart
confideth in Thee." But these are not the most remarkable cases of the
kind. He affirms that there was a parrot in Cairo which recited the
Ḳur-án from beginning to end. The Báshà, he says, desiring to try its
talent, caused a man to recite a chapter of the Ḳur-án in its presence,
and to pass irregularly from one chapter to another, with the view of
leading the bird into error: but, instead of this being the result, the
parrot corrected him![164]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

No reviews yet