عاشقانه‌های مصر باستان

by Ezra Pound, Barbara Hughes Fowler, Noel Stock (contributor)

Ancient Egypt is often thought of as a gloomy society obsessed with death. But a collection of papyri, dating to the latter half of the New Kingdom (ca.1305-1080 B.C.), presents us with delicate love lyrics that dispel any such illusion. These vibrant love poems, purported to be by boys and girls perhaps as young as thirteen or fourteen years of age, are remarkable for their innocent sensuousness. Combining her notable skills as a translator and a poet, Barbara Fowler provides the first accurate translation of these love lyrics into modern English-language poetry. Her renderings are both elegant and correct. They preserve the charm of a long-lost civilization, while making it possible for readers to appreciate one aspect of that culture in our time and through our language.

Genres: Poetry, Egypt, History, Classics, Ancient History

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet, critic and intellectual who was a major figure of the Modernist movement in early-to-mid 20th century poetry.

Pound's The Cantos contains music and bears a title that could be translated as The Songs—although it never is. Pound's ear was tuned to the motz et sons of troubadour poetry where, as musicologist John Stevens has noted, "melody and poem existed in a state of the closest symbiosis, obeying the same laws and striving in their different media for the same sound-ideal - armonia."

In his essays, Pound wrote of rhythm as "the hardest quality of a man's style to counterfeit." He challenged young poets to train their ear with translation work to learn how the choice of words and the movement of the words combined. But having translated texts from 10 different languages into English, Pound found that translation did not always serve the poetry: "The grand bogies for young men who want really to learn strophe writing are Catullus and François Villon. I personally have been reduced to setting them to music as I cannot translate them." While he habitually wrote out verse rhythms as musical lines, Pound did not set his own poetry to music.

Reviews

[Mohammad Hrabal · Rating 3 out of 5]

از تمدن‌های باستانی متون و اشعار قابل توجهی برجای مانده است اما به ‌استثنای چند شعری که از سومر و بابل به زمان ما رسیده هیچ مجموعه‌ای به قدمت عاشقانه‌های مصر باستان نمی‌توان یافت. اشعاری که شادابی و طراوتشان را در طول اعصار و قرون حفظ کرده‌اند و امروز به‌ نحو غافلگیر کننده‌ای مدرن به‌نظر می‌رسند، و بیش از آنکه یادآور مقبره‌های تاریک، اجساد مومیایی شده و مردمانی مرگ اندیش باشند خاطره اقوام و آدمیانی را زنده می‌کنند که در کرانه‌های پربرکت و حاصلخیز نیل می‌کوشند از فرصت کوتاهی که در این جهان فانی نصیبشان شده به بهترین نحو ممکن لذت ببرند. پیشگفتار-صفحه ۱۰ کتاب
نمی‌بینم حتی پرندگان را
بدان هنگام که اوج می‌گیرند
و موج‌های سرکش را وقتی برهم می‌غلتند،
نابینایم من
گرفتار آمده در راهی بی بازگشت
دو قلب هماهنگ در تپش
زندگی ما درهم ‌تنیده است
و زیبایی تو پیوند آن. صفحه ۲۲ کتاب
بر درگاه
به انتظارش ایستاده‌ام.
گوش‌به‌زنگ قدم‌هایش
با قلبی که یک لحظه از گفتگوی او باز نمی‌ماند
و ناگهان خبر می‌رسد
«حالم خوش نیست… »
چرا خود نمی‌آید
تا صادقانه برگزیدن معشوقی دیگر را
اعتراف کند.
یک قلب رنجیده‌ دیگر. صفحه‌ی ۳۰ کتاب
پسر:
با دیروز، هفت روز متوالی است
که محروم بوده‌ام از دیدارش
ناخوش و بیمار شده‌ام
پاهایم سنگین
و از خود بی‌خود شده‌ام
نه از دست جن‌گیر کاری برمی‌آید
نه از دست کاهن اعظم،
غیرقابل‌تشخیص است بیماری‌ام.
می‌گویم نجات‌بخش من اوست
شنیدن نامش از بستر بلندم می‌کند،
پیغام‌هایش به قلبم نیرو می‌بخشد
دلدار من بهترین داروست
کارسازتر از تمام داروها
بهبودی من در آمدن اوست
نگاهی بر او درمانم خواهد کرد
بگذارید چشمانم را بگشاید
و پاهایم دیگر بار نیرو بگیرند
بگذارید دهان بگشاید
و توان رفته را به من بازگرداند
در آغوش او بیماری ترکم خواهد کرد.
هفت روز است
که مرا ترک گفته است. صفحات ۸۹-۹۰ کتاب

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing the books you find at the library book sale! Did not even know this book existed; had never read any poems from Egypt before this. The poems were surprisingly modern (one is about how a garment clings to the body after getting wet) and I found them vibrant with desire. A very unique book of poetry!

[Narjes Dorzade · Rating 3 out of 5]

بعد از شناخت ازرا پاوند ماه ها به دنبال این کتاب بوده ام.تا بالاخره در کتابخانه ای پیدایش کردم.این اولین کتابی ست که از او ترجمه شده.معمولن در کتاب های شعر ابتدا اشعار را می خوانم و بعد به سراغ مقدمه می روم.
فکر می کردم شعرها از ازرا پاوند،نوئل استاک و بارابارا هیوز فولر هستند.
اما بعد که مقدمه را خواندم.متوجه شدم این ها شعرهای گمنام عاشقانه ی مصر باستان هستند که ازرا پاوند و بقیه ی مترجم ها به انگلیسی برگردانده اند.
[آموختم که ابتدا باید مقدمه را بخوانم.]
کتاب نسبتن خوبی ست و ترجمه ی عباس صفاری هم مطلوب است به علاوه که نقاشی های مصر باستان در جای جای کتاب ساحتی دلنشین به آن بخشیده.

[Ali Di · Rating 2 out of 5]

به اسارت
مرا از دمشق آورده‌اند
تا به دلربایی تو
پیشکش شوم

[Unknown]

Your love is mixed in my limbs,
Like honey mixed with water,
Like mandragoras mixed with resin gum . . . —Papyrus Harris 500, Group A, 2

Her hair is the lure in the net that will ensnare me. —Papyrus Harris 500, Group A, 3

With her hair she ensnares me.
With her eyes she fetters me.
With her thighs she binds me fast. — Papyrus Chester Beatty 1, 43

__________
Some nice poetry taken from Papyri and Pottery dating to the New Kingdom (~1550-1080 BC.)
__________
“Brother” and “sister” are terms of endearment within the poems and imply no blood relationship. —Introduction
__________
Papyrus Harris 500, Group A
If you attempt to caress my thighs . . . (1)

My sister’s mouth is a lotus,
Her breasts mandragoras . . . (3)

I will not heed their advice to abandon the boy I love. (4)

She’ll put the physicians to shame,
For she will understand
That I am sick for love. (6)

I’m going to the Garden of Love.
My bosom is filled with Persia fruit, my hair is drenched with balm. (8)
__________
Papyrus Harris 500, Group B
My heart longs for you. (9)

Your love ensnares me. I can’t let it go. (10)

From your beauty may I never be apart. (11)

The scent of your nose alone restores my heart. (12) [NB: “Scent of your nose” refers to the practice of “nose-kissing”: the couple rubbed noses and smelled. One another’s faces to express their affection.]

He sees me as the best of the most beautiful. (14)

The sight of you makes bright my eyes. (17)

How lovely my hour with you! (17)

Whether in sorrow or joy, you have exalted my heart.
Never leave me, I beg. (17)

. . . like a field of fragrant blooms,
An abundance of blossoming buds. (18)

The sound of your voice is pomegranate wine.
I draw nourishment from hearing it. (18)

Could I with each and every glance behold you, it would be better for me than food or drink. (18)

At dawn I delight. May life
and health be ever yours. (19)
__________
Cairo Love Songs
I dwell upon your love
through the night and all
the day, through the hours
I lie asleep and when
I wake again at dawn. (20A)

Your beauty nourishes hearts.
Your voice creates desire. (20A)

We will be together
even in the days
of the peace of old age. (20B)

Her fragrance is ibr balm. (20F)

She parts her lips for me . . . (20G)

Put fine linen about
Her limbs and spread
Her bed with royal cloth. (20G)

Her limbs
are as lovely as anything drenched
in oil from the tišps tree. (20G)

. . . which she holds in her hand
as she gratifies my lust. (21A)

I’d gather strength
from just the grasp
of the clothes that touch
my beloved’s body. (21B)

What bliss I’d have,
what utter delight! (21B)

Would that I were
her delicate signet ring,
her finger’s sentinel. (21C)

Joyous the mirror
receiving her gaze! (21D)

If for a moment I am apart from her,
my stomach is aflutter. (21F)

She’ll banish my lovesick ills. (21G)
__________
Turin Love Song
I’ve cast a blossom
but have next year’s bloom
already within me. (28)

Of all the trees I am
the best and yet I’m seen
as second best. (28)
__________
Papyrus Chester Beatty 1
Sweet her lips as she speaks,
She expends no excess of words.
Her neck is like a swan’s,
her breast is whiter than sand.
Her hair is lapis lazuli,
her arms more precious than gold,
her fingers like lotuses. (31)

She captures my heart
in her embrace. (31)

She turns
the heads of all the men
who behold her. (31)

Don’t let people say,
“This girl collapsed because
she was so much ion love.”
Be staunch, my heart, whenever
you think of him. (34)

. . . that you may intoxicate her
and fulfil her lust in a night. (41)

And then she’ll say to you,
“Take me in your embrace,
and when the dawn breaks,
that’s how we’ll be found." (41)

A winnowing wind will blow
lightly through the house
and the heavens descend in a breeze.
They will not blow away
her fragrance but bring it to you,
an intoxicating aroma
enconmpassing those who are there. (42)

He grants
me the hue of his naked loins.
Longer it is than wide. (45)
__________
Miscellenea
“Don’t do that to me, my lady.
Don’t keep me waiting like this.” (51)

. . . gold unalloyed. (52)

She enraptures my heart, and when
she sees me, I am refreshed. (54)

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming poems of longing and love and disappointment and desire fulfilled. I've dipped in and out of this one for a year or two or so, and "finishing" it today felt meaningful in an unplanned way, mostly in how its content and my understanding of it stand in relation to that of Sei Shonagon's Pillow-Book, recently read, which gave me the same uncanny sense that human beings really haven't changed at all for thousand(s) of years, not just the textures of our emotions but the ways we express them. Sorry to say I'll have even more to say about this frightfully soon, as Bataille's TEARS OF EROS is quietly flinging every bit and piece of this sentiment Aurignacianward.

Back to this, though: An odd edition. Initially published by New Directions and brought out again in this, the edition I own, from the Hallmark Cards company! The poems, sourced from extant papyri and pottery fragments dating to roughly 1500 BC/1000 BC, were originally translated from the hieroglyphics to Italian by Pound's son-in-law, Boris de Rachewiltz (who, yes, lived in a castle in the Italian Tyrol), then by Pound from the Italian into English.

I am delighted especially by lines like these, so vulgarly and clearly Pound's, drawing from the same quiver that supplied sharpness to Canto II: "Damn it all, man / Go to her, and try to look as if you mean business!"

[Faranaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

در من منتشر می‌شود عشق تو
چون انتشار شراب
در آب.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of poems ever. Hands down. Because did you know that the Song of Solomon, a book in the New Testament of the Bible, is really just ancient Egyption erotic poetry? It is not a lvoe song between The Chrch and The People. Erotica in the bIble. Na na na na na.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this really impressed me with the timelessness and enduring nature of language. I’m interested in learning more about the multiple layers of translation existing within this collection, but upon first reading I was struck by the familiarity of the sentiments and speakers who are temporally and physically so distant from my own life. The language of love and loss, it seems, are universal. This poetry really speaks for itself in all its vividness, wit and sensuality. I will certainly start referring to myself as a wild goose.


‘Darling, you only, there is no duplicate’

‘luminous, perfect/ A star coming over the sky-line at new year,/ a good year,/ Splendid in colours’

‘Now that it’s wet/ Notice the transparency, How it clings.’

‘If i were her laundryman, for a month,/ I would be able to wash from her veils,/ The perfumes that linger’

‘I would be willing to settle for less/ And be her ring, the seal on her finger’

‘’Mealtime: time for you to leave?/ Your only mistress, I fear, is your belly!’

‘I, a poor wild goose’

‘He’s found another girl./ One more heart to suffer./ I writhe’

‘The pomegranate speaks:/ My leaves are like your teeth/ My fruit like your breasts’

‘Overflowing with beer and wine./ I consider how melodies entwine’

‘I find my love fishing,/ His feet in the shallows./ We have breakfast together,/ And drink beer./ I offer him the magic of my thighs’

‘Of course the best cuts of meat/ Will go to those apprentice carpenters/ Who have sense enough to make/ The latch from roses/ And the door from reeds, so that/ The lover may enter his sweetheart’s house/ At any hour;/ With fine linen on the bed/ And the beloved waiting’

[Catherine Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely poems. It is nice to see the Ancient Egyptians were just like us when it comes to romance. Most of these are translated by Noel Stock and his are much better than the few translated by Ezra Pound, which were rather strange (the translations). This was published in the 70s and has some rather wacky illustrations featuring dreamy 70s couples - good for a laugh.

[Jordi Polo Carres · Rating 5 out of 5]

No sabia que esperaba, pero me considero sorprendido. Lo que mas me ha sorprendido es lo innovadores que parecen.

En algunos se escriben alternativamente los sentimientos del chico y la chica e incluso de la madre de la chica diciendo algo en plan "ni se te ocurra"

En otro chico esta enamorado de una prostituta (si lo he comprendido bien) con varios sufrimientos relacionados a las esperas a su puerta ....

Uno donde alguien muere de amor (o de otra cosa y es abandonado)

Fantastico. No tengo duda que esto es una seleccion de lo mejor que se pudo encontrar.

[Sarah Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

My first poetry book I’ve read in a while and I thoroughly enjoyed it to see how ancient Egypts’ writing was made modern while still having the references to their culture in a romantic way.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book itself is neat as its binding makes it resemble a pamphlet more than a book itself, but in regard to the contents within, I do not find these poems to be too striking. In part, given that these are translations, readers won't find any of Pound's write esoteric modernist poems. This makes them more accessible, but I feel as if something was lost in translation because I do not see the same kind of beauty I see in other ancient works. If a person wants to read this simply because Pound of himself, it is important to know the majority of the poems present in here were translated by Noel Stock. Otherwise, it makes for a fairly brisk read.

[g026r · Rating 2 out of 5]

28 pages comprising 8* poems. Of these, 22 pages are translated by Stock, and 6 pages — or one poem — by Pound.

The Stock poems are unremarkable. Not bad, not good. Whether the originals just don't translate well or not, hard to say.

The Pound poems is... well, it's Pound, and you can tell the difference between the poets. And not just because Pound throws a phrase of Latin into his translation. But if you were expecting something on par with Cathay, you're going to be disappointed.

[Lady Books Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Son unos poemas tan hermosos con unas mini historias tan románticas y preciosas. Además, saber que están sacados de jeroglíficos es aún más emocionante. Saber cómo la historia ha perdurado con el paso de los siglos a través de las inscripciones jeroglíficas de tumbas, templos, poblados o ciudades es fascinante. Tener un pedacito de la historia del antiguo Egipto gracias a este poemario me emociona.

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 2 out of 5]

آه، کاش به شتاب سراغ محبوب‌ات بیایی

به شتاب چاپارِ شاهی

که می‌داند قلب سرورش، چشم به‌راه پیغام اوست

و مشتاق شنیدن‌اش.

مهترِ اصطبل‌بان بر اسب‌ها افسار می‌زند

اسب‌های بی‌شمار، بهر وی در استراحت‌گاه است و

گردونه‌ در جای همیشگی‌اش آماده به حرکت

او را نباید که در میان راه بیاساید و درنگ کند.

اما، هم بدان‌گاه که به خانه‌ی محبوب فرود آید

قلب‌اش از شوق هلهله خواهد کرد.

[Golasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

باورم نمیشه این ترانه ها...اینقدر میتونن واقعی و قدیمی باشند!برام خیلی بامزه بود صداقتشون... همه قسمتاش یک طرف ، اینجاش یک طرف:
مادر:آخر او پسرک تهی مغزی بیش نیست
دختر:من نیز اینچنینم،درست مانند او
و او نمیداند که خیال دارم دستهایم را گرد کمرش حلقه کنم
کاری که صدای مادر را در خواهد آورد.

[Mitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

So Hallmark publishes Egyptian translations by Pound. Mediocre.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah he was a Nazi, but somehow that managed to stay out of this collection. It didn't hurt that Pound fell ill while writing it and had to collaborate with Neil Stock. Still worth the reading.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun.

[HopeF · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sweet translation is a swift read. Do not skip the introduction.

[Kaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poems... Review to come.

[Nox · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
I've been trying to read books from places I've never read from before. This had some good poems, but there were one or two that seemed out of place. Overall, I'm glad I read it.
There's also a whole poem about pomegranates, which is interesting because they seem to pop up in a lot of different cultures and eras.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read both the Pound/Stock translation & the Fowler translation but Goodreads doesn't seem to be able to recognize them as separate books even though the translations are significantly different

[Nancy Schalk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because a dear friend was one of Ezra Pound's relatives. This was obviously not his personal writing but a translation. It's an interesting project, just not my taste.

[gonza · Rating 4 out of 5]

"High priest is no medicine, exorcism is useless:
a disease beyond recognition.
I said: She will make me live."

[Rafael Moreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I walk upon the waves,
Her love flows back across the water,
Turning waves to solid earth
For me to walk on.

The river is our Enchanted Sea."

[Jamison · Rating 4 out of 5]

these ate down.
just goes to show that humans 3000 years were not all that different from us now.

[Amy]

Ezra pound is so annoying why r u putting Latin in ur translations

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely short but very pleasant book of poetry - is so short I had to stop myself from reading it all in one sitting