Daniel L. Newman is Professor of Arabic and Course Director of the MA in Arabic-English Translation and Interpreting at the University of Durham. His other works include Modern Arabic Short Stories: A Bilingual Reader (with Ronak Husni, Saqi Books, 2008).
Contents
Note on Transcription 9
Preface 11
part one: Introduction
1. The ‘Egyptian Mission to Europe 15
Background 15
The Students 27
2. Life of Rifa'a Rafi' al-Tahtawi 29
Auspicious Beginnings 29
The First Exile 31
An Early Reformist 34
Return of the Prodigal Son 38
Teacher, Trainer, Translator, Editor (1835-49) 45
The Second Exile (1850-54) 52
‘The Father of Education 55
the Reformer (1854-73) 66
3. Rifa'a Rafi' al-Tahtawi in Europe 69
4. The Book 83
Genesis and Themes 83
Format and Style 90
part two
Preface 95
Introduction 101
First Chapter. Regarding what seemed to me to be the reason behind our
departure to this Land of Infidelity and Obstinacy, which lies far away
from us and where there are great expenses because of the high
cost of living 101
Second Chapter. Regarding the required sciences and desirable skills
and crafts 111
Third Chapter. On the position of the Lands of the Franks in comparison
with other countries, on the advantage the French nation has over all
other Franks, and the reason why His Excellency decided to send us
there and not to any of the other Frank kingdoms 113
Fourth Chapter. On the leaders of this mission 127
Core of the Book 130
First Essay 131
First Section. From the departure from Cairo to the arrival at
the port of Alexandria 131
Second Section. Treatise on this city, which is an abridgement of several
Arabic and French books, from which we have retained that
which appeared to be accurate 131
Third Section. On the voyage on the sea on which the port of
Alexandria lies 137
Fourth Section. On the mountains, countries and islands we saw 140
Second Essay 146
First Section. On our stay in the city of Marseilles 146
Second Section. From our departure from Marseilles to the arrival in
Paris and on the itinerary between the two cities 158
Third Essay 159
First Section. On the topography of Paris; its geographical location, soil,
climate and surrounding area 159
Second Section. On the people of Paris 173
Third Section. On the organization of the French state 189
Fourth Section. On the housing of the people of Paris and related matters 213
Fifth Section. On the food of the people of Paris and their eating and
drinking habits 219
Sixth Section. On the clothing of the French 222
Seventh Section. On the entertainments of Paris 225
Eighth Section. On hygiene in the city of Paris 233
Ninth Section. On the interest in medical sciences in Paris 234
Tenth Section. On charity in the city of Paris 237
Eleventh Section. On earnings in the city of Paris and the
entrepreneurial skills there 242
Twelfth Section. On the religion of the people of Paris 248
Thirteenth Section. On progress by the people of Paris in the sciences,
arts and crafts, the way these are organized, as well as an
explanation of related matters 251
Fourth Essay 273
Introduction 273
First Section. On the organization of instruction in reading and
writing, etc., which we received at the beginning 274
Second Section. On the supervision of our comings and goings 276
Third Section. On how our ruler exhorted us to work and show diligence 278
Fourth Section. On some of the letters between myself and some of the
leading French scholars, other than Monsieur Jomard 280
Fifth Section. On the books I read in the city of Paris; the nature of
the exams; what Monsieur Jomard wrote to me; reports of the final
exam in scholarly journals 288
Sixth Section. On the exams I took in the city of Paris, especially the
final exam before my return to Egypt 297
Fifth Essay 303
First Section. Being an introduction in order to understand the reason
why the French no longer obeyed their king 303
Second Section. On the changes that were introduced and on the
revolution that ensued from them 307
Third Section. On the actions of the king in this period and what
happened after he agreed to a conciliation when it was too late,
and his abdication in favour of his son 314
Fourth Section. On the decision made by the Chamber of Deputies and
how as a result of this revolution the Duke of Orléans was appointed
king of the French 317
Fifth Section. On what happened to the Ministers who signed
the royal ordinances that caused the end of the reign of the first
king, and who committed this act without thinking of the
consequences and desired that which cannot be attained.
As the poet says: ‘People, though their natures may differ, covet
from the world that which they have not obtained 322
Sixth Section. On how after the revolution Charles X was scorned by
the French and how it did not stop there 326
Seventh Section. On the reaction by Frank states upon hearing of
the ousting of the first king and the assignment of the kingdom to
the second and on their acceptance of this 329
Sixth Essay 330
First Section. On the division of the sciences and arts according to
the Franks 331
Second Section. On the classification of the languages as such, and the
use of the French language 332
Third Section. On the art of writing 336
Fourth Section. On the science of rhetoric, which includes eloquence,
the hidden meanings of words and stylistic embellishments 339
Fifth Section. On logic 341
Sixth Section. On the ten categories that are attributed to Aristotle 344
Seventh Section. On the science of arithmetic, which is called
arithmétique in the language of the Franks 347
Epilogue
On Our Return from Paris to Egypt and a Number of Other Matters 354
Bibliography 374
Index 399