Document Type : Research article
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.
2 Ph.D in Persian Language and Literature, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran;
Abstract
Highlights
A Re-examination of Several Passages in ZaydariNasawi's *Nafthat al-Masdur*
YaserDalvand
Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
Majid AziziHabil
PhD Graduate, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran
Introduction
ZaydariNasawi's *Nafthat al-Masdur* is one of the most significant texts of Persian prose. This book, written in a highly stylized or artificial prose, is a short treatise written by ZaydariNasawi to his cousin, Saad al-Din (cf. Nasawi, 1385: 79). Essentially a treasury of rhetorical devices and containing vocabulary and terminology specific to technical texts, it was first edited by Professor Amir Hassan Yazdgerdi. His edition employed four manuscript copies, all of relatively late dates. Consequently, the editor employed an eclectic method: "In other words, what was most consistent with the author's writing style, manner of expression, wording, and literary style was retained in the text, while the rest—except where the error was undeniable—was noted as variant readings in the margins" (ibid.: 32). Yazdgerdi acknowledges that he avoided "conjectural emendations" as much as possible, but in some cases he utilized the conjectural emendations of scholars such as Minuvi, Foruzanfar, and Farzan. Extensive annotations on the sources of phrases, poems, and Arabic and Persian proverbs are among the editor's other contributions. He also provided a glossary and annotations clarifying some of the text's ambiguities, thereby assisting the reader in achieving a better understanding of the work.
One of the main criticisms of Yazdgerdi's work is his lack of precise recording of variant readings. In the editing of such a text, given the limited number of manuscript copies, it is best to record all manuscript discrepancies, for sometimes the original forms of words and phrases can be found among these variant readings. Examples of this will be presented in the following sections of this article.
The text of *Nafthat al-Masdur* has been edited based on four late manuscript copies. Professor Amir Hassan Yazdgerdi occasionally made errors in reading and recording the words and phrases in this book. In some cases, variant readings have not been accurately and systematically reflected. A re-examination of the edition requires a careful re-evaluation of the four available manuscripts to determine the correct forms of the expressions. In this regard, we can put forward two research questions:
Literature Review
Various articles have been written critiquing *Nafthat al-Masdur* and its commentaries. HasanQaziTabatabai was the first to write a critique of Yazdgerdi's edition and commentary titled "A Few Observations Regarding the Editing of *Nafthat al-Masdur*" (1348). In response, Yazdgerdi published an article titled "Looking at It with Fairness" (1348), in which he vehemently refuted QaziTabatabai's views. Although QaziTabatabai's article is somewhat prone to subjective interpretation in many areas, it is not entirely devoid of value and, contrary to Yazdgerdi's responses, can be useful in certain instances. One of the best articles critiquing Yazdgerdi’s edition is by Seyed Mohammad Rastgoo, titled "A Review of the Book *Nafthat al-Masdur*" (1368), in which the author has provided accurate readings of phrases supported by rhetorical and grammatical evidence. Mehdi Ramazani (1398) also authored an article entitled "Reflections on the Heartfelt Complaints; A New Edition of *Nafhat al-Masdur*," discussing the numerous weaknesses and shortcomings of the aforementioned book. There are other critiques of *Nafthat al-Masdur*, some of which contain uninteresting, lengthy, and unnecessary details that lack any serious or novel insights, while others merely critique the commentaries of Yazdgerdi based on his annotations. Examples include Jaleel Nazari's article titled "Reflections on the Commentary of *Nafthat al-Masdur* by ShahrokhMousavian" (1394); ShahrokhMousavian's article "Examining Several Ambiguities and Errors in Yazdgerdi’s Commentary on *Nafthat al-Masdur*" (1397); Mansour Nikpanah's critique of Yazdgerdi's commentary, titled "A Critique of Several Sentences in *Nafthat al-Masdur*" (1397); an article by Mohammad Reza Salehi-Mazandarani and colleagues critiquing Yazdgerdi’s commentary, titled "Examining and Correcting Several Mistakes in *Nafhat al-Masdur* based on the Author’s Style" (1398); and two articles by Seyed Ali Sohrabnejad critiquing Yazdgerdi’s commentary, titled "A Critique of the Annotations of *Nafthat al-Masdur* 1 and 2" (1400). None of the above articles address the issues presented in this paper.
Discussion
In this section, we critique and analyze phrases from *Nafhat al-Masdur* in four categories:
1.Misreadings of Manuscripts or Oversights
In this section, we have corrected phrases from the text based on the "Si" and "Kar" manuscripts used by Professor Yazdgerdi:
- سرعت سیر ←سرعت سیر سیل
- مُساورت ←مثاورت
- سور و بارویِ ملّت ←سورِ بارویِ ملّت
- سَخَّمَ ←سَحَّمَ
- معهود ←مقصود
- شرکت عیان ←شرکت عنان
2.Corrections Based on a Manuscript Unseen by Yazdgerdi
In this section, corrections are made based on the Majlis manuscript (written in the 9th century AH)
- حرارت←حَرَّت
- نَزَوان←بَزَوان
- ناپاکیِآنناپاک←ناپاکیآنناباک
3.Corrections Based on Variant Readings
In this section, corrections are based on variant readings recorded by Professor Yazdgerdi:
- لُهنه←لُهسه
- مذهب←ملّت
- پایبرجای←پایبرجا
In this section, several suggestions are provided for correcting phrases, considering the stylistic and rhetorical characteristics of the text, as well as referencing other ancient texts:
- چپچاپ←چپچپ
- شهوار←بیدواز
- مصاید←مصاعد
Conclusion
In the edition of *Nafthat al-Masdur* by Professor Amir Hassan Yazdgerdi, various errors have crept in, and there have been oversights in the reading of manuscripts and accurate recording of phrases. This paper provides corrections based on the "Kar" and "Si" manuscripts, as well as an ancient manuscript from the Majlis Library. The noted errors can be classified into four categories: 1) Misreadings of manuscripts or oversights; 2) Corrections based on a manuscript unseen by Yazdgerdi; 3) Corrections based on variant readings; 4) Suggestions for the recording of certain phrases.
Keywords: Critique, Edition, *Nafthat al-Masdur*, Misreading, Textual Corruption
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