Oriental wit and wisdom, or, the "Laughable stories" / collected by Mar Gregory John Bar-Hebraeus ; translated from the Syriac by E. A. Wallis Budge.

  • Bar Hebraeus, 1226-1286.
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Oriental wit and wisdom, or, the "Laughable stories" / collected by Mar Gregory John Bar-Hebraeus ; translated from the Syriac by E. A. Wallis Budge. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    published by Adler, Bernstein, Morales, and others, but the remainder now appear in print for the first time. The translation has been made tolerably literal, but the language of Bar-Hebrseus is so concise, and the point of many of the stories so difficult to bring out in a translation, that I have been obliged to give paraphrases rather than translations of certain of his stories and pithy sayings. No attempt has been made to trace the source of all the stories and sayings, for parallels and counterparts of the greater number of them may be met with in the literature of most of the ancient civilized countries. As was to be expected in a work devoted to a delineation of the virtues, and follies, and vices of man, by means of proverbs, anecdotes, and narratives, a number of stories occur which would have been omitted by an Occidental compiler. Bar-Hebrseus, in common with all Oriental editors and compilers, saw nothing objectionable in stories and witticisms which have reference to the natural functions of the body, and to several characteristics and peculiarities, which are often neatly illustrated by national proverbs and folk¬ lore ; had he known them I think he would have added the words “To the pure all things are pure” in his introduction. As it is, he says : “ And let this “ book be a consolation to those who are sad, and “ a binding up [of the spirit] to those who are broken, ‘‘ and an instructive teacher to those who love “ instruction, and a wonderful companion to those “ who love amusement, for no matter worthy of being recorded is omitted therefrom. And let this book be