Description
Book SynopsisThis is a thoroughly revised and expanded version of the first edition of the Arabic version of Dimitrie Cantemir’s The Divan or the Sage’s Dispute with the World (Ṣalāḥ al-ḥakīm wa-fasād al-ʿālam al-ḏamīm) (Iaşi, 1698), his first printed book, the earliest ethical treatise in Romanian literature and a testimony to his wide knowledge, reading, and proficiency in foreign languages. Completed in 1705 by Athanasius III Dabbās, Patriarch of the Antiochian Church (1684-1694, 1720-1724), the Arabic text is accompanied by the first translation into a modern language, English. Book III contains Cantemir’s version of the Latin work Stimuli virtutum, fraena peccatorum (Amsterdam, 1682) by the Unitarian Andzrej Wiszowaty (Andreas Wissovatius) of Raków (Poland), a chief representative of the Polish Brethren. Thus, in the space of twenty-three years Central-European Protestant ideas reached the Arab Christians of Ottoman Syria, by way of Greek and Arabic.
Table of ContentsContents Preface 1 Introduction Historical Background Structure and Contents of the Divan The Divan – A Philosophical and Ethical Writing The Divan in Romanian and European Culture Circulation of the Divan References 2 Editor’s Note 1 The Arabic Version: Source and Conception 1.1 Athanasius Dabbās – The Hierarch, the Scholar 1.2 The Source 1.3 The Arabic Title 1.4 Authorship 1.5 Distinctions in Content 1.6 Novelty of the Present Work 2 The Arabic Text 2.1 Language Variety 2.2 Editorial Principles 2.3 Arabic Language Features 3 The English Translation 3.1 Translation Principles 3.2 Biblical Quotations 3.3 Additional Features 3 General Survey of the Manuscripts Source-Manuscripts of this Edition Other Manuscripts Arabic Edition and English Translation Introduction – المقدمة Book One – الجزء الاوّل Book Two – الجزء الثاني Book Three – الجزء الثالث Appendix Sources Index of Biblical Quotations Index of Classical Authors and Works Index of Names Figures
