The Role of Proverbs in Textual Criticism: The Case of Sa'di's Verses

Abstract

In textual criticism, it is necessary to pay attention to side sources and sometimes books of proverbs. Depending on the content and the main form of the proverbs, the editor can remove some of the ambiguities of the classical texts. Gradually, the use of these proverbs becomes more limited and turn into vague expressions for the scribes so that they may change them. For example, the phrase of "Shomar e khāne be bāzār rāst nemÎayad" (The counting of the house is not acceptable in the Bazar) is an ancient proverb, which means "Not matching a person's account at home with what he encounters in the market". This proverb at least has been used in Persian poetry and prose from the 5^th century, and in our time, it has been used in Tajik Persian works. Sa'adi has used this proverb in the one of the verses of his Odes, but for the scribes of Saʿdī's Divan, it was not a familiar phrase, and hence, in most manuscripts and in all available editions of Divan and Odes, "arz e jame" (length of the clothes) has been distorted to the "arz e khane" (the length of the house). Most of the commentators of Sa'adi's Odes have trusted the text without paying attention to its transformation and distortion. They have interpreted the verse in such a way that it does not relate to Sa'adi's thought. In this article, the correct form of the Saʿdī's verse has been presented relying on some of the manuscripts of Sa'di's Divan and the background and meaning of this proverb.

Research Background

In this article, some distorted examples have been mentioned in the literary texts. For example, in the articles "The correction of some verses in Sanaī’s Hadiqa using Farhang-e jahāngīrī", "Pey e ŝirân gereftan va rân e gurân xordan", "The Necessity of re-correcting Katebi Neishaburi's Divan of Odes" (Khosravi, 2014, pp. 346-347; Harandi, 2018, pp. 99- 113; Bashiri et al., 2018, pp. 85-113), there are some evidence to show that the conversion and distortion of a proverb has taken the text away from its original form.

Aims, questions, and assumptions

The proverbs are one of the side sources that are effective in textual criticism. Sometimes, the proverbs have been changed due to the unfamiliarity of the scribes, but according to their prevalence in literary texts, the correct form of that text can be found.

To this aim, the following research questions are raised:

1. How do factors such as neglecting the meaning and ignoring proverbs have distorted the text?

2. How does investigating the use of proverbs in literary texts help the editor to edit the text?

3. How commentators' trust in correcting the meaning of proverbs written in some edited texts had diverted their minds from the original form of the text?

Discussion

In the study of classical texts, we find that the change and conversion of the proverb has sometimes taken the text away from its correct form. In this article, we have chosen a verse of Sa'di as an example to show that neglecting the proverb “Shomar e khāne be bāzār rāst nemÎayad" has caused ambiguity in the meaning of the verse. As in some manuscripts and all editions of Odes, “arz e jame” has been changed to " arz e khane” (Foroughi, 2007, p. 469; Yousefi, 2006, p. 19)

Searching this proverb in the classical texts, we found its other forms and mentioned its meaning and application in the literary texts, and showed that how researchers' trust in the Foroughi's edition of Sa'di's Odes prevented their minds from grasping the correct meaning of the verse and led to its misinterpretation and explanation.

The findings show that this proverb has been prevalent in Persian poetry and prose since, at least, the fifth century, and in texts such as Manouchehri Damghani's Divan (2006, p. 20), Nafsat ol- Masdoor (Zaidari Nesavi, 2002, p. 100) and Rouh-ol-Arvah (Samani, 2010, p. 538) and in our time has also been used in Tajik Persian works (also see Dehkhoda, 1984, 2/953; Zolfaghari, 2010, 1/834).

Conclusion

In textual criticism, it is necessary to pay attention to side sources. For example, the study of a hemistich of Sa'di's Odes and the commentators' descriptions of that verse clearly shows that due to the inaccuracy of the text, even the most meticulous scholars have misunderstood the meaning of the verse. The confidence in Foroughi's correction has prevented them to perceive the possibility of errors in the text, and consequently, the mistake in recording the hemistich is hidden. Most surprising of all is the distraction of Yousefi's precise notion, which did not pay attention to the correct recording of some manuscripts. The editors and commentators of Sa'di's Odes have not discussed the ambiguity of the second hemistich, but in explaining the verse according to the power of their imagination, they have made a new theme or taken it from someone else.

References

Bashiri, B., Amani, R., & Farzi, H. (2018). The necessity of re-correcting Katebi Neishaburi’s Divan of Ode. Textual Criticism of Persian Literature, 54, 85-113.

Dehkhoda, A. (1984). Dehkhoda's proverbs. Amirkabir.

Khosravi, M. (2014). The correction of some Verses in Sanaī’s Hadiqa using Farhang-e Jahāngīrī. Name-ye Farhangestan (Sub-continent), 3, 339-350.

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Samaani, Sh. (2010). Spirit of all spirits in understanding the names of the all good (edited by Najib Mile Heravi). Elmi va Farhangi.

Nandimi Harandi, M. (2018). Pey e ŝirân gereftan va rân e gurân xordan. Culture and Folk Literature, 20, 99-113.

Zolfaqari, H. (2010). The dictionary of Persian proverbs. Moin.

Zidari Nesavi, Sh. (2002). The sigh of a sad heart (edited by Amir Hassan Yazdgerdi). Toos.