Love in Translation : Contemporary Spanish Translations of The Ring of the Dove, an Arabic Treatise on Love from Muslim Spain
著者 Celli Andrea
journal or
publication title
翻訳の文化/文化の翻訳
volume 13
page range 141‑149
year 2018‑03‑29
出版者 静岡大学人文社会科学部翻訳文化研究会
URL http://doi.org/10.14945/00024901
Love in Translation:
Contemporary Spanish Translations of The Ring of the Dove, an Arabic Treatise on Love from Muslim Spain
1WhenIwasaskedtosuggestatopicforacycleoflecturesrevolvingaroundthe themeoftranslation,Ifoundmyselfhesitant,asIamnotanexpertintranslation studies.Incidentally,ImustacknowledgethatIalwaysfounduneasythetaskof accreditingmyresearchtoaspecificacademicfield.Mymainareaofinvestigation isthe“EuropeanInteractionwiththeIslamicCulture,fromtheLateMiddleAges totheModernPeriod,withspecialregardtoItaly,SpainandFrance.”Throughthe yearsIhadtosqueezethistopicintoavarietyofofficialacademiclabels:history ofcriticism,historyofideas,interculturalstudies.DependingontheDepartment thathiredme,thetagsoftenchanged,rangingfromItalianStudiestoComparative Literature.ThemostpompousonewasprobablythetitleofacoursethatItaught forseveralyears:HermeneuticsandHistoryofCriticism.
MorerecentlyIfoundaconvenientshelterinthenotionofMediterraneanStud- ies,afieldthataimsatanalysingculturalphenomena(literatureincluded)across thebordersofnationalandreligiousidentities.Fromtheancienttimestothe contemporaryworld,fromSpaintoTurkey,fromItalyandFrancetotheArabic world,theMediterraneanlookslikeaquitehospitablespace,toacademicsand oftentimestotourists(notthesametomigrants):insteadofbeingpinnedonthe groundofnationalidentities,thisareaopensuptothestudyofthemeswhose featuresmostlyignorenationalandacademicpartitions.Toacertainextent,the
Andrea Celli
1 IwouldliketoexpressmythankstothemembersofthisDepartment,inparticulartoProfessor BujinNamforhostingmeduringtheSpringsemesterof2017atShizuokaUniversity.Ithasbeena trulyenrichingexperience.IamalsogratefultoProfessorShimaOhara,whohasbeenhelpfuland alwaysmadeherselfavailablesinceIfirstcontactedherandthroughoutmyentirestay.Iwouldlike aswelltothankProfessorKazuyukiHanagataandProfessorSteveRedford,whohavebeenvery friendlytome.Finally,mygratitudegoestoProfessorKoichiroYamauchi,whotookonthetaskof providingaJapanesetranslationofthisbriefcommunication.
MediterraneanStudies,originatingfromtheworkofhistorianssuchasFernand Braudel,ShelomoDovGoiteinandDavidAbulafia,orgeographerssuchasPeregrine Horden,thrivesonblank-spotscharacterizingtraditionalapproachestothestudy ofEuropeanandMediterraneansocietiesandtheirculturalproduction.
ThereisnodoubtthattranslationisoneofthecoretopicoftheMediterranean asapolycentricandoftenconflictingspace.Onemightevenarguethatwhatthe Mediterraneanisallaboutisaconstanteffortoftranslationfromalanguageto another,fromacivilizationtoanother.Conflictsandwarsdonotconstituteareal obstacletothistranslationprocess.Onthecontrary,theyarepartofthesame dynamics.TheMediterranean,thatisetymologically“theseainthemiddleofthe earth,”aseasurroundedbylands,isaconnectingmedium,ratherthanasepara- tion.Paradigmaticofthisspace,areforinstancetheextensivetranslationsofGreek sciencesandIndianwisdomintheAbbasidearlyIslamicworld;thecirculationof IndiancollectionsoftalesinWesternEurope,suchastheBook of Sindbadorthe Kalila and Dimna;thesystematicLatintranslationsofArabicscientificworksin MedievalSpain;ortheincreasinglymethodicalprocessof“volgarizzamento,”that isthetranslationofLatin,GreekandoldFrenchsourcesintoItalianvernacular, intheLateMiddleAgesandintheRenaissance.Translationsofancientorforeign textshasoftenbeenasymbolofkingshipintheChristianandMuslimMediter- ranean,alongsidethepatronageofthearts.
Mycontributionhasatangentialrelationshipwithtranslationstudies:Iwould
liketopresentsomereflexionsonhistoricalcircumstancespromptingspecific
translations,bybrieflydiscussingthecaseofacontemporarySpanishtranslation
ofanArabictext,theTawq al-hamama(The Ring of the Dove).ThisMedieval
Arabictreatiseonloveisafascinatingletter-tract,arisāla(nameofthisgenrein
Arabic)onthematterofloveandthelovers.Ithasbeendescribedasanelegant
prosedissertationonaspectsofprofaneloveinterspersedwithverses.Itsauthor,
theAndalusianIbnHazmofCordoba,bornin994anddiedin1064,wasacourt-
ierandpolymath,raisedinthesophisticatedAndalusiancourtoftheOmayyad
Caliphate.ThelargestbulkofIbnHazmʼsworkconsistsoftheologicalandjuridi-
calworks,writtenduringhisexile,atthefalloftheOmayyaddynasty,andredis-
coveredbySpanishscholarssuchasthepriestMiguelAsínPalaciosatthebegin-
ningofthelastcentury.Butwhathasundoubtedlygainedtothisauthornotoriety
amongcommonreadershasbeenhisletteronlove:interminglingproseandpo- etry,thistextmakesdefinitionsofthefeaturesoflovelivelierbyresortingtoau- tobiographicmemoriesandhumoroustales.Whatemergesfromthepagesofthis treatiseisthevividimageofMuslimSpain,fromtheprivilegedstandpointofan Andalusianaristocrat.
Itwouldbetemptingtoputasideabstractspeculationsandpickupafewsug- gestiveexcerptsfromthethirtychaptersoftheTawq al-hamama,justtosavorthe reading.Fewotherpre-moderntextshavethesamecapacitytoresonatewiththe mindofacontemporaryreader.AnotheronewouldprobablybeMurasakiʼs Genji Monogatari,notbychanceexpressiveofasophisticatedcourtenvironment, andwhoseauthoriscontemporaneouswithIbnHazm.However,thequestionI willinsteaddealwithisapparentlyperipheraltothetextitselfbutstillveryre- latedtoitscore,asIwilltrytoshow.
Inspiteofitsoriginality,orperhapspreciselyasaconsequenceofit,theTawq al-hamamafellsoonintooblivionintheArabicworld.Itscontentwasaudacious andnonconformist.Itisfairtoassumethatthetextdidnotmeetthemainstream tasteofthetime.AsfortheEuropeancontexts,thetreatisewentapparentlyun- detectedbythecohortofMedievalLatintranslators,whomadeavailabletoEu- ropeanreaderslargesectionsoftheArabicsciences,philosophyandliterature.But oneshouldalsounderlinethatthetreatisewasnotwrittenforalargereadership inthefirstplace.EventhoughreadersintheMiddleAgesrepresentedanelitein itself,bothintheArabicandintheEuropeanworld,theauthoroftheTawq al- hamamawasprobablylittleinterestedingenericliterati:hisworkwasmeantto beamirrorofaveryexclusivenetworkofindividuals,affiliatedtotheOmayyad court.AndwhentheOmayyaddynastywaswipedawaybyinternalfeudsandits capitalransackedbyNorthAfricantribes,thetreatisefollowedthesamedestiny, becomingarelicofalostworld.
ThesingleextantArabiccopyofThe Ring of the DovewasfoundintheLibrary
oftheUniversityofLeidenbytheDutchorientalistReinhardDozyonlyeight
centurieslater,in1851.AndeightyadditionalyearshadtopassbeforeEuropean
translatorstooknoticeofthistext.However,thefirstEnglishtranslationrealized
in1931bytheCzech-AmericanorientalistAloisRichardNyklmarksaturning
pointinthereceptionofthetext:inthespaceoftwoyearsaRussiantranslation
followedit.Thenin1941thetextwastranslatedinGerman;in1949,Frenchand Italiantranslationswereprovidedbytwoofthemostrenownandtalentedschol- arsofthetime,BercherandGabrieli.Andin1952theSpanishscholarEmilio GarcíaGómezreleasedthefirstSpanishtranslationoftheTawq al-hamama,to whichhehadstartedworkingalmostthirtyyearsbefore,asherevealsinhisin- troductiontothetext.Thefollowingyear,in1953,anewEnglishtranslationwas madeavailablebyArthurArberry,aprolificBritishscholarofArabic,Persian,and Islamicstudies.Easyenoughtospotistherelativelyshortlapseoftimeinterven- ingbetweeneachtranslation.
ThisalmostsimultaneousEuropeaninterestintheTawq al-hamama,aMedieval Arabictreatiseonlove,issignificantandshouldberegardedasasingleepisode inthehistoryofthisworkʼsreception.Inordertounderstandthewayallthese translationsaremutuallyinterrelated,itwouldbefruitfultohaveacloselookat linguisticchoicesmadebyeachtranslator:itisinthefinegrainofeachtranslation thatonewillfindthefootprintsofeachtranslatorʼintellectualbackgroundand evenmoreimportantlyofhisexpectations.Itmightsoundasastatementofthe obvioustosaythattranslationsareneverneutraloperations,butitisworthremind- ingthatthelanguagetowhichatranslatorresortsishistoricallyandindividually marked.Moreover,whenatextistranslated,thatmeans,“transported”froma linguisticatmospheretoanother,the“planet”thatreceivesitisnotvacuum-sealed.
Itisanenvironmentsaturatedwithexpectations,worldviews,biases,preferences, inclinations,contrastingopinions,etc.Possiblythequalityofatranslationisdi- rectlyproportionedtothetranslatorʼsawarenessaboutalltheseinternalandex- ternalinfluences.Andyet,notwithstandingthetranslatorʼscareandskillfulness, thetextintranslationmayneedtostruggleinordertofinditsrightplaceinthe newenvironment:itsnewaudiencemightbeabletoappreciateonlyalimited aspectofit,ormightstressafacetthatwasnottheauthorʼsmainconcern.Itmight aswellbethecasethatoverthetimethetextintranslationwillfinallyfinda readercapableoftuningwithitsfundamentalnote,inspiteofwhatgetslostin translation.
However,Iwillnotwalkdownthisarduouspathandtrytogathersamplesfrom
thenumerouscontemporaneoustranslationsoftheTawq al-hamamainEuropean
languages.Instead,Iwillfocusontheacademicdebatethattriggeredtheincreas-
ingEuropeaninterestinthistext,ultimatelystimulatingitstranslations.Inorder todoso,Iwilllimitmyveryfewreferencestotwowritingsthataccompanythe arguablymostsignificantamongthesetranslations.IamreferringtotheSpanish renderingofthetext,entitledEl collar de la paloma,publishedin1952.Thetrans- lator,EmilioGarcíaGómez,adiplomatandSpanishOrientalist,whoseinterna- tionalrecognitionboughthimpartialimmunityfromthediktatsoftheFranco regime,signedanampleintroductiontothetext,datedJune1950.Inadditionto thisintroduction,thephilosopherJoséOrtegayGasset,authorofrenownworks suchasThe Revolt of the Masses,orThe Dehumanization of Art,wasaskedto writeaProloguethatvigorouslycapturesaphilosophicalaspectofthistranslation, andofanytranslationmoreingeneral.
WhenIsaythatinmanyrespectstheSpanishtranslationoftheTawq al-ham- amaisthemostrelevant,Idonotrefertoitsintrinsicqualities.Forinstance,Ifind theItaliantranslationbytheorientalistFrancescoGabrieliverysoundandfresh, evenseventyyearsafteritsfirstappearance.Conversely,criticsunderlinedvarious flawsthatcharacterizedtheSpanishedition;someevenmaliciouslyimplieda chargeofplagiarism.AndperhapsitisnotbychanceifanewSpanishtranslation appearedin2009.Itsrelevanceisideological,asonecaneasilyinferfromreading theclosingparagraphofGarcíaGómezʼsintroduction:
The Ring of the Doveismeanttooccupyanexceptionalplaceinthelistof worksthatEuropeconsecratedtolove,fromPlatotoStendhal,passingthrough Ovid,theProvençalCourtsofLove,Dante,Petrarch,LeotheHebrewand manyothers…Itwasabouttimethatthismarvelousbooksawthelightofday inthelanguagethatnowadaysisspokeninthesamelandsinwhichthebook wasfirstwritten.
2ThisquotesummarizessomeofthemainargumentsfoundinGarciaGomezʼs introduction.Itisanideologicalstatement.Prominentinthisquoteistheword
“Europe.”Theparagraph,asthewholeintroduction,isfilledwithreferencestoa passionateculturaldebate,thatwastobecomethetriggerofcontemporaryEuro-
2 ThetranslationfromSpanishismine.
peaninterestinthisArabictreatiseonlove.WhatthescholarGarcíaGómezis sayinghereisthattheTawq al-hamama,anAndalusianwork,istobeconsidered integralpartofanidealEuropeancanononthematteroflove,alongsidePlato, Ovid,Dante,etc.Iftheimplicationsofthissentencewerenotfullyclear,Iwould paraphraseitinthisway:theIslamic-ArabiccultureofanAndalusianauthorforms integralpartoftheEuropeanculturalheritage.
Ineffect,fromthefirstEnglishtranslationofthetreatise,publishedin1931by theCzech-AmericanorientalistAloisRichardNykl,whatseemedtomatterthe mostaboutthetextwasitspossibleinfluenceontheEuropeanideaofcourtlylove, asitwasdevelopedbyMedievalProvençaltroubadoursorinthepoetryofItalian authorssuchasGuidoGuinizelliandDanteAlighieri.Nykl,whoseresearchinter- estsovercametraditionalcompartmentalizationofArabicandRomanceliteratures, wastheauthorofabook,whosetitleprobablydoesnotneedexplanations:His- pano-Arabic Poetry and Its Relations with the Old Provencal Troubadours(1946).
Hewasaleadingfigureoftheso-called“Arabictheory,”acurrentofstudiesthat foundsupportersprimarilyinSpain,butalsoinItaly,andotherEuropeanand Americancontexts.The“Arabictheory”aimedatprovingtheinfluenceofArabic civilizationonEuropeanMedievalliteratures.Suchtheorywas,andstillpartially is,controversial.OntheonehandscholarslikeNykllooked,generouslyandperhaps naively,foranypossiblelinkconnectingIslamicandEuropeanauthors;onthe otherhand,theirenthusiasticopennesstowardtheArabicculturewasreceived withskepticismorevenharshnessbymainstreamscholarship,centeredonhisto- riographicnarrativesbasedonnationalidentities.
Criticsapparentlybasedtheirdismissiveassessmentofthe“Arabictheory”on
“purefacts”andon“scientificground,”butinreality,theywereoftenconditioned byEurocentricpreconceptions.TherootsofWesternEuropeancivilizationwere tobefoundonlyintheancientGreeceandinJudaic-Christianlegacy.Itwasnot conceivabletoassociatetheideaofEuropewithculturesthatwerejudgedatthe leastincompatible.Thescientificmethodoftenworkedasabrushstrokethatgave thecolorofobjectivitytoavarietyofideologicalbiases.Itisalmostsuperfluousto quoteherethegroundbreakingworkofEdwardSaidonEuropeanorientalism.
So,lovedidnotseemtoreallymatterhere.Atplayintheexhumationofthe
Arabic-Andalusiantreatiseonloveseemedprimarilyatworkpassion,insteadof
love:culturalandpoliticalpassion.Infact,ifwereadbetweenthelinesofGarcía Gómezʼsquote,wefindthatwhatheisimplicitlyarguingforisanewwayoflook- ingatSpanishhistory.TheninecenturiesofIslamic(andJudaic)presenceinthe peninsulahadfinallytoberecognizedasanintrinsicpartofSpanishidentity.
Moreover,claiminganewapproachtothehistoryofSpainhadevidentpolitical implications,becauseitopenlycontrastedwiththeneedforintellectualconform- ismpermeatingSpainundertheFrancoregime.Forinstance,innovativehistorians suchasAméricoCastro,quotedbyGarcíaGómezinhisintroduction,hadtoflee Spaininordertopursuetheirresearch,basedonanambitiouslynewunderstand- ingofSpanishhistory.
EuropeantranslationsofavaluableArabictreatiseonloveweretheoutcomeof anacademicdebatethatwasnotprimarilyconcernedwiththeexceptionalityof thetreatiseitself.Historicalcircumstancesinwhichtranslatorsoperatedseemed tomattermorethantheintrinsicoriginalityofthework.Butinspiteofall,this wasstillagreatgainforcontemporaryreaders,whowereallowedtoaccessabook otherwiselosttothemorwhoseaccesswaslimitedtoahandfulofspecialists.And intheend,itisuptoeachnewreadertomakethemostofabook,despitethe circumstancesthatbroughtthetranslationsabout.AstheLatinsayinggoes,pro captu lectoris habent sua fata libelli,“thefateofthebooksdependsonthecapa- bilitiesofthereader.”
Formanydecadesthiscurrentofstudieshaschallengedacademicconformism.
However,itisabouttimewehistoricizethisdebateandfocusonitsfecundout- comes.TheprologuetotheSpanishtranslationoftheTawq al-hamama,written bythephilosopherJoséOrtegayGasset,offerssomethought-provokinghintto thisend.Regardlessoftheold-fashionednatureofmanypointsmadebytheauthor, thevigorandsharpnessofhisapproachtothetextisstillfresh.Theprologuestarts fromanhistoricalpremisethatfreesfurtherinterpretationsoftheArabictreatise fromtheneedtoproveitsgenealogicalaffinitywithanyfollowingmanifestation oftheEuropeanMiddleAges:
TheEuropeanMiddleAgesare,intheirownreality,inseparablefromthe
Islamiccivilization,sincetheyconsistpreciselyinthecoexistence,positive
andnegativeatatime,ofChristianismandIslamover a shared area, perme-
ated with Greco-Roman culture.Hence,theonlyadequatepointofviewisto considerthe[splitbetween]thistwosidesoftheMedievalworldirrelevant:
theapparentdualityanddiscrepancyaretobeenvisagedasaunityandsame- ness,conjugatedintwodifferentways.
3Once,aJapaneseacquaintancetoldmethatwhentheWesternandtheIslamic civilizationsareconsideredfromafar,theylookverymuchthesame:theyareparts ofthesameunity.ButwhatOrtegayGassetisdoingisdifferent:whileappar- entlytakingthesideoftheso-called“Arabictheory,”inrealityisremovingthe interpretationofthetextfromapproaches,prevailingatthetime,basedonques- tionsthat,nomatterstheiropen-mindedness,werenotinherenttothetext.His intentionbecomesevenmoremanifestinthefollowingquote:
Thebook[Tawq al-hamama]addressesloveasatheme.Sincelongago,Ihave beenenvisagingandpostulatinganewkindofphilology.Whenfacingatext, thegoalthatthisnewphilologywouldprioritize,istogetafirmgripofwhat thebookisactuallyabout.Itisindispensabletoputanendtoaphilology solelyinterestedinwords,andthatbelievestohavefulfilleditsmissionby relatingatexttoothertexts,andsoadinfinitum.
Ortegaisdismissinghereagenealogicalapproachtotexts,thatultimatelyaimsat placingtheminawebofinfluences,thoseneglectingthepeculiarvoiceofthe author.Translators,evenmoreacutelythantheirreaders,havetoresisttoatemp- tation,thatistobelievethatthereareuniversalrealities,andthateachlanguage hasdifferentwordstoexpressthem.Letʼstakeanalmostcorriveexamplefrom theTawq al-hamama:whatdoeshappenwhenwetranslateavarietyofArabic termswiththeEnglishworldlove,whosemeaningisonlydeceitfullyuniversaland crystal-clear?Perhaps,weoverlookthefactthatloveisaEuropeanculturalcon- struct,whosemeaningistobefoundinanextremelycomplexandstratifiedtradi- tion.IfwethinkthattheworldloveadequatelytranslatesaconstellationofArabic terms,andthatintheendlove is love,despitelanguagesandtraditions,then
3 ThetranslationfromSpanishismine.
