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RECENT ARABIC BOOKS PUBLISHED IN HOLLAND.

The Twenty-first Volume of Kitâb-El-Aghani by El Imâm
Abi-El Faraj El Asbahani.

This book has lately been published by E. J. Brill, Leiden, under the Editorship of Rudolph E. Brünnow, who has compiled it from manuscripts in the Royal Library of Munich. The book is, in our opinion, of considerable value, throwing some light on the little-known subject of Classical Arabic Music, and it is certainly well worth perusal and study. The contents of the work chiefly comprise Biographies of Musicians and some other celebrities, elaborate poems or songs, and Essays on Music.

It is quite possible that the study of such books as these, apart from the interest excited by their contents, might reveal facts of interest, and perhaps importance, and it would, we think, be well if the Arab Musicians of the present day were to gather information on the art as practised by their ancestors. An anecdote illustrative of the influence ascribed to music is worth mentioning here:-'Abu Nasar El Farabi was once commanded to delight Sayf-Ed-Doulah and his company with his music. This occasion was chosen by him for a demonstration of his marvellous skill; first he so moved the assembled guests that they could not refrain from tears; gradually, however, tears gave place to merriment and laughter; and finally drowsiness so overcame the listeners that the magician left the hall leaving them all sleeping.' This anecdote tends to show, at least, what remarkable power was believed to reside in music, and to what perfection the art must have reached to allow such a conception of its power to be formed.

As regards the book from the student's point of view it is nearly all that can be desired. The style is tolerably easy; the vocabulary required is not excessive; the poetry is generally less difficult than the average Arabic poetry. The print is good, and serious mistakes are rare. The kind of mistakes found in the book can be gathered by referring to the subjoined list which attracted our attention on the mentioned pages:

Page 24 (Poetry) Bighiati

24

Fata'atharu
Adduja

ought to be Bughiati. Fata'athara. Adduja with the final 'a' written in the shape of the 'ye.'

99 ་

Waleilili mu'atakari ought to be Waleilu

mu'atakiru.

'Alal'allati ought to be

31

Faindriku

32

Janna thalamuhu,,

Wa hubbil qiani
rāyun

'Alal'illāti.

Faiudrika.
Junna, etc.
Wa tasriqu.
Hayna Yumna.
Wa hubbul qiāni
rayu.

uj Abu'l Faraj Al-Ispahani according

A Faraj A, the Katib and the author of Kitab-Al 897-898 and died Nov. A.D. 967. in Bagdad.

Azhoni was
His early
AP
Was a poet and author of considerable renown.
At-Tanükhis says of him, "I never found a person knowing
by heart such a quantity, as he did, of poems, songs, histori-
cal relations, anecdotes of ancient times, authentic narratives
and genealogies; besides which he possessed information in
other sciences, such as philology, grammar, story-telling,
biography and the history of Moslim conquests; he was ac-
quainted also with the branches of knowledge requisite for a
boon-companion, such as falconry, farriery, the preparation
of beverages, a smattering of medicine and astrology, etc.
His verses combine the learning of the scholar with the grace
and elegance of the poet; all his works are excellent, but the
Kitâb al-Aghani (Book of Songs) is unanimously considered
the best. It is said that he was fifty years in compiling it,
and that he took it to Saif Ad-Daulat Ibn Hamdân, who
remunerated him with one thousand pieces of gold, regretting
at the same time his inability to offer a more adequate re-
compence. It is related that when the Sahib Ibn Abbâd
was travelling or changing residence, he took with him for
perusal thirty camel-loads of books on literary subjects;
but on receiving the Kitab Al-Aghâni, he found he could
dispense with all the others, and took it alone. The other
works of Abu-'l Faraj are―The Kitâb-al Kiyân (History of
Female Musicians); The Kitâb al Imâ is Shawâer (History
of the Female Slaves who were Poets): The Kitâb ad-
Diyârât (Book of Monasteries); The Kitâb Dâwâtit Tijâr
(On the Mercantile Profession); A collection of songs without

note or comment; The adventures of Tahzatal-Barmaki; The Kitab Makâtibu-it-Tâlibiyîn (Account of the Tragical Fate of Ali Ibn Abi Tâlib's Descendants); The Kitâb al Hânâ (Book of Taverns); and The 'Adâb al Ghurabâ (Manners or Literary Studies of Foreigners). Besides these works, a considerable number, still extant, were composed by him for the Omaiyides of Spain. The great patron of Abu'l Faraj, and the man to whom he was exclusively attached throughout his life, was the Vizir al-Muhallabi, in whose praise Abu-1 Faraj composed many pieces of poetry and couplets, which are still in existence.

Among recent publications from the vast treasury of Arabic Literature there will be but few hailed with so much satisfaction and so greatly appreciated by the Philologist as Imad-Ed-Din's "Conquest of Syria and Palestine," edited by that most able savant Le Comte Carlo de Landberg. It is the first publication of a difficult and rare work by one of the most renowned Arabic authors.

The name of Imad-Ed-Din, as the Editor well points out, is generally and aptly associated with El-Hariri and ElQâdi-El-Fâdil, and, indeed, on perusing the work before us, we cannot help being struck with its resemblance to the works of Hariri. We find that suggestiveness in his utterances, that power of conceiving and representing analogies, that abundance of pithy sentences, maxims, and bons môts, and that idiomatic Arabic and polished style in which the author of the Makamât so eminently excels, and lastly we also find that enormous vocabulary, necessitated perhaps by the constant effort for producing musical consonance in the sentences. Apart from this, regarded merely as a History, the value of the work is less. The book treats of the engagements of the Mahommedans under Selah-Ed-Din with the Crusaders, notably under Richard Coeur-de-Lion. The pretences advanced at that time in justification of the Crusades are not mentioned, nor do we gather any idea as to their origin. Dates are given very sparingly, and the actual results and outcomes of battles are often left to conjecture, whilst the author sings the praises of valour or recounts the deeds of some mighty warrior; the generals are often left unmentioned, and the number of either party, as well as the proportion of infantry and cavalry, is frequently unknown. The only quality in the author which renders the history specially valuable is his impartiality and fairness; but still, regarded merely as a History, the defects of the work are very numerous; the style, however beautiful it may be, is the style of the Makamât, and not of a History, and the author was by far too great a poet to be a good historian. The book is specially suited to the student of Arabic, being a treasure for style, idiom, and vocabulary.

As for the remarkable beauty and value of Imad-Ed-Dîn's writings generally, it is enough to have compared him with Harîri.

In conclusion we wish to commend the elegant type and careful, faultless printing of Messrs. E. J. Brill, the printers of this publication.

Basim Le Forgeron et Harûn Er-Rachid.

This book, also edited by Count Carlo de Landberg, consists of a version of the story in the Arabic as spoken in Syria and the Arabic of Egypt. There is also added a translation in French. As modern Arabic is eminently a spoken language, which varies slightly even in every city, it appears difficult, if not impossible, to point out any special dialect as a type. The style of the newspapers in the different countries is not of much help, as they, one and all, strive to be as classical as they can. It is quite possible that the editor has succeeded in drawing a sharp line of distinction between two dialects, but to those who have not particularly studied the subject, the stories seem merely remarkable by their want of style and of grammar, and by the strange mixture of classical expressions with vulgarisms.

La pluie de Rosée (Katru En Nada), Etanchement de la Soif (Wa Ballu Essada), by Ibnu Hijâm, is an Arabic grammar translated by A. Goguyer.

This work, we think, is deserving of great commendation; it is of the utmost advantage for the European student of Arabic to study the grammar according to the Arabic style; his own European conceptions should simply be reserved for comparison. The beginner, however, cannot read an Arabic grammar in Arabic, and thus this translation by Mr. A. Goguyer will be of the greatest utility to him. The translation is good, and the work would be most excellent and all that could be desired were it not for some mistakes in the examples that unfortunately have crept in. Another corrected edition, we hope, will render the work perfect. G.W.L.