Charles Wells, auteur de cette anthologie, était professeur de Turc et l'auteur d'une grammaire. Nous présentons ici des extraits (en Turc transcrit et en Anglais) de son ouvrage, et en particulier la préface et des lettres des auteurs qu'il a traduit.
Charles Wells
The literature of the Turks, a turkish chrestomathy, consisting of extracts in turkish from the best turkish authors (historians, novelists, dramatists, ...) with interlinear and free translations in English, biographical and grammatical notes, and facsimiles of ms. letters and documents by Charles Wells, professor of turkish at King's College, London ; formerly professor at the Imperial Naval College, Constantinople, author of a "Practical Grammar of the turkish language", ...
London, Bernard Quaritch, 1891, 272 pages
Outre des textes assez classiques, Charles Wells présente des textes d'écrivains turcs modernes de la fin du XIXe siècle, ce qui est assez rare à cette époque : ils occupent la moitié de cette anthologie. Les textes sont accompagnés des traductions en Anglais, ce qui rendaient accessibles des textes turcs à un public non turcophone. Il reproduit aussi les lettres que Ali Suavi Effendi (1839-1878), Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan (1852–1937) et Ahmed Hilmi (1865-1914) lui ont adressées.
Nous présentons aussi la critique sévère de A. C. Barbier de Meynard parue en 1891 dans le Journal asiatique.
On peut lire la présentation de la littérature turque.
PREFACE.
THE Turkish dominions are about four times as large as France, and the Turkish language is spoken not only in them, but it is the Court language of Persia and Egypt, and is more or less used from the Danube to the Nile, and from Constantinople to the confines of China. It is the language of millions of Mussulmans who hold some of the most important strategic positions in the world, which, if occupied by a more aggressive power. might threaten the liberty of the world. Friendly intercourse between Turks and Englishmen, and a good understanding between their governments, which have many interests in common, would be greatly promoted by Englishmen being able to talk to Turks in their own language. The trade which England now carries on with Turkey might be immensely developed and extended, if English merchants in the Levant, or their employes, could speak and write the language of the country, which at present, with exceedingly rare exceptions, they cannot do. Our political and commercial interests in Turkey are, therefore, at the mercy of Levantine interpreters, who cannot be expected to have the good of Turkey or England very much at heart; as they are, properly speaking, neither Englishmen nor Turks, and they are most often men who possess only a colloquial and imperfect knowledge of Turkish. Their sympathies are generally not with the Turks, and the Turks would much prefer dealing directly with Englishmen, if Englishmen could understand them. Yet, until quite lately, the number of Englishmen who knew Turkish was exceedingly small, and even now there is a wide-spread belief in Europe that the Turkish language is scarcely worth learning, and that the Turks have no literature, or no literature worth perusing. A few years ago the War Office having seen, I suppose, during the war in Egypt, the difficulties and evils which arose from our officers not being acquainted with Arabic or Turkish (which latter language is very useful for a military man in Egypt), very wisely offered rewards to induce them to study Turkish and Arabic. The result has been that numerous English officers have studied those languages, and many successfully. If some inducement to study Turkish were also offered to civilians by the Government and the London Chamber of Commerce, no doubt English Civil servants in the East would., in a few years, be able to do business directly with the Turks; and English merchants would find English representatives competent to transact their business and extend it by direct communication with the Osmanlis. Englishmen are quite capable of- acquiring Oriental languages, but one can hardly expect them to learn them without some object in view. The Germans. who have perceived the importance of having the Turks as their allies in the event of a war with Russia, and the splendid field for commercial enterprise in the Turkish dominions, have lately established an Oriental Academy with a view to teaching, not only diplomatic and consular officials but mercantile men Turkish Arabic, and other Oriental languages.* The German merchants in Turkey have already begun to take the trade out of the hands of the English; and if the Oriental Academy in Berlin send out men conversant with Turkish to extend German trade, and the English do not take a lesson from them in time and turn their attention to Oriental languages, they will not only not obtain the enormous trade which might be done between the Levant and England, if intercourse were easier, but lose that portion of it which has for many years been almost a monopoly in their hands and they will deserve to lose it if they do not bestir themselves and take warning in time.
The Imperial Institute has done England a great service by starting a School of Oriental languages, where our countrymen have now an opportunity of acquiring Turkish and other Eastern tongues. In the excellent speech made by the Prince of Wales at the opening of the above institution, His Royal Highness said:"' That the New School of Modern Oriental Studies is a worthy object of material support by this country none can doubt, but the best aid and support it can receive will be derived from the extension of an active encouragement by public bodies and by the Government departments." The nation will owe His Royal Highness a great debt of gratitude if his sensible remarks convince the Government of the importance of their attending to this matter; for the existence and success of such an Academy for Oriental languages must, to a great extent, unavoidably depend on support and encouragement from the State, and the public would now be disappointed if it did not flourish, as they have, by the medium of the press, fully endorsed the opinion of the Prince of Wales as to it being required and deserving of support.
One great impediment to the acquisition of the Turkish language hitherto has been the difficulty students have experienced in finding anything to read, after they had learnt the grammar, especially in England. This, perhaps, contributed not a little to the idea so prevalent in Europe that the Turks have no literature. The Turks have a literature. and a varied and interesting literature. but it consists chiefly of somewhat rare and costly standard works, sometimes only to be found in manuscript; and a collection of these involves the expenditure of a large amount of money. A Chrestomathy was, therefore, peculiarly necessary for the acquisition of Turkish, but not one was to be found in all Europe. The only Turkish Reading-book for the use of European students ever published was a small collection of tales from the " Forty Vezirs," printed by the French Government for the use of the students of the Ecole des langues Orientales vivantes, at Paris. It consists of some tales in Turkish. without translations or notes, and the Turkish text having been printed from an antiquated MS. the spelling is so obsolete and defective that the perusal of it is greatly impeded, and a student would learn to spell from it most incorrectly. Moreover, there is no variety of style, all the tales being from one author; and even this most incomplete Reading-book is scarcely to be had for love or money, as it was published nearly a hundred years ago, in the reign of Napoleon I. who was fully alive to the importance of a knowledge of Oriental languages, and copies of it are now exceedingly rare. I am perfectly sure. therefore, that a collection of extracts from standard Turkish authors will be welcome to Turkish students. several of whom even have requested me to prepare a book of this kind ; but I think, as I have given translations in English of all the selections, the volume may have some interest for the general public, as they will see from it that there are Turkish historians, poets, novelists, dramatists, and journalists, whose works possess decidedly some attraction for the student of history, the literary man, and the politician.
* The Correspondent of the Morning Post at Constantinople wrote in November last. "The Imperial visit will increase the tendency which already exists among Germans to find a field for commercial enterprise and an opening for military and civil official careers in the dominions of the Sultan. It is somewhat humiliating for an Englishman to observe with what persistency the Germans are asserting their commercial position in Constantinople. Already people are beginning to ask if Germany is to become the commercial mistress of the Levant."
FACSIMILES OF MS. TURKISH LETTERS AND DOCUMENTS.
Lettres (translitéraion et traduction en Anglais)
Translitération.
Muhib-I-Aziz vé MOUHTEREM,
Mektoub-i-mahabet ouslouboubouzou memnouniyetilé akhz vé mutalaa etdim. Bou ghiouné kadar jawabini terkim vé takdim edémédiyimden muté'essif vé mahjoub isém clé bounou kesret-î-meshgheléyé haml bouyourajakleri mé'moulilé mutéselli im. Yiné o meshghouliyet munasebetilé bir " Braïton" seyyaheti ikhtiyariné né vakit fursut boula bilêjéyim mejhouIdour. Her haldé azimetimi ghelinjé ishar vé shimdilik* davet-i-vakié-i- vé mésar ederim, effendim.
Fi 20 temmuz, sené 1302.
Khaïrkhaniz, Abd-ul Hak Hamid.
Translation.
Dear end Respected Friend,
I have received your friendly letter, and considered it. Although I am sorry and ashamed that I have not been able until to-day to write and send an answer to it, I am consoled by the hope that you will attribute this to rny being so much occupied. I do not know when I shall be able to find. an opportunity of making a trip to Brighton, but, in any case, when the time comes, I will apprise you of it, for the present I merely express my thanks and my joy at receiving your 'kind invitatîon.
Your Friend, Abd-ul-Hak Hamid
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Translitération.
*Suavi Effendi, the writer of this letter, was the edîtor of the Mukhbir, a Turkish newspaper formerly printed and published in London.
MURUVVETLU EFFENDIM,
Bou sabah dakhi Taïmsé derj olounmoush olan ikinji mektoubounouzou, matbouounou aldim, Turkché terjumésiné muntézirim; zira birinji mektouboun terjumésini tab edéjéyiz bounou dakhi tab ederiz.
Doghrousou, chok himmet bouyourdounouz Doghroulouk etdiniz, zira, peh buyuk vé muhim meselé dir, chunki shaskin Inglizler éyer shindi shou ejnébi haïdoudleré iané veréjek oloursa Ghirid isyani shou kuvvetilé bou sené dakhi dayanmish olour, fakat shou, iané vérmezlersé Ghirid isyani tamam bitér.
Shindi Mukhbirdé bounlarin turchéleri tab lounja Musulmanleri hep, maloumou oloup, bitun millet vé devIet himmetinizden mesrour vé mé'moul ederim ki Ghirid musulmanleri tarafinden sizé hédiyé ghelir, chunki, ghiriddéki musulman éhali saïr memleketler imizé nisbetilé okour yazar ghiuzu achik vé hurriyeté maïl ashab-i- fitnedir. Bendéniz aï bashina kadar bouradé im, Effendim.
SUAVI.
Magnanimous,
I have printed your second letter, which was inserted in the this morning, and am waiting for the Turkish translation of it, for we shall print the Turkish of the first lebter and this also.*
To speak truly, you have exerted yourself very kindly. Yeu have done an act of justice; for this is a very great and important question : because if the English, who do net know what they are about, gîve assistance te the foreign banditti, the insurrection in Crete, by the aid of that assistance (subscriptions) will last this year too; but if they do net give this help the insurrection will completely end.
When we print the Turkish of these letters in the all Mussulmans will know about it, and the whole nation, and the State will be pleased at your kind efforts : and I hope a present will come to you from the Mussulmans of Crete, for the Mussulman population there are better educated, more intelligent, and greater friends of liberty than those in our other dominions. I shall be here till the end of the month.
SUAVI.
August 27th, 1868.
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Translitération.
HUZOUR-I-ALILERINÉ,
Fazilet-mé'abim vé muhib-i vefashiarim, Effendim, hazetleri !
On deurt shubat, sené bin, sekhiz yuz seksen dokkouz tarikhli vasil-i-eyyad-i-tazim vé tekrim olan keremnamé-i-alilerinizden pek ziadésilé memnoun vé mutéshekkir kaldim. O vazifé bana a'ïd idise dé, gechenlerdé alamanyayé vukou boulan seyyahelden, avdet idéli iki hafta oloup bouraja olan kesretisé kabil tarif oldoughoundan zérouri takdim-i-arizedé kousouroum edilmishdir. Ma haza her daïm ezkiar vé evsaf yad etmekdé ghéri douroulmamakdada devletlu Saïd Pasha hazretleriné birinji rutbéden bir kita mejidi Nishan-i-zishan ihsan bouyourouldoughou bendé ghazétade okoudoum.
Otourdoughou Mahal Tophanédé, Sali-bazarindé obloughounou bilir-idi-semdé shindiki mé'mouriyetinden khabrim yokdour. Rutbési mushidir. Boundan evvel konia valisi idi. Yeriné digheri tayin olounarak kendisi Istambola chagirildi, ama daha henuz bir mémouriyyeté tayin bouyouroulmadi zan ederim. Yazajak oldoughounouz tebriknaméyi banu, ghieundururséniz Sali ghiunu Der-i-Saadeté heréket edéjek olan Madam . . . . . Pasha ilé ghieundur urum vé kendisiné suilédem. Bash ustuna dédiler. Adresinizi vé Braïtona yakin bir mahalda. otourdoughounouzou bilmish olsaïdi sizi ghieurmek arzou etdighini dé suilémishdir. Londrayé teshrifinizdé séfareté oghrayip dé béni boulamadighiniza pek ziadé téessuf etdim. Né olour oudou. Bir ghiun evvel maloumat veré-idiniz ghieurmush olour-oudouk !
Bou kadar kiafi dir tasdi etméyéyim. Inshallah yiné mulakat olour vé ghieurushulour Effendim.
Fi 16 Shubat, 1889. MUKHLISINIZ.
MY FAITHFUL AND EXCELLENT FRIEND,
I am obliged and thankful to you for your kind and esteemed letter dated the 14th of February, 1889, which has reached my hands. It was my duty to have written, but, although it is a fortnight since my return here from a journey in Germany 1 made lately, I have been unable to write, because I cannot tell you how busy I have been.
I also saw in the in ewspaper that H. E. Said Pasha, who is always mentioning your good qualities, has had the Mejidiyyeh of the First Class, in diamonds, conferred on him. Although I know that he resides at Tophané, at Sali-Bazar, I do not know what office he now holds. His rank is that of "Mushir" (Full General). He was formerly Governor of Koniah. Another has now been appointed in his place, and he has been recalled to Constantinople. As yet, I think, he has not received another appointment. If you send me your letter of congratulation for him, I will forward it 'by Madame.. . . . Pasha, who will start for Constantinople on Tuesday. I spoke to her about it, and she said: "Certainly!" She said also that if she bad known that you resided near Brighton she would have liked to have seen you. . . - .
I much regret you did not find me at the Embassy, when you visited London and called there. lf you had sent word a day before we should have seen each other.
I think this is sufficient ; I will not tire you. I hope we shall see each other again.
Your Sincere Friend, HALIL.*
February 16h, 1889.
*The above letter was written by Capt. Halil Bey, now Naval Attaché at the Turkish Embassy in London, formerly a student at the Imperial Naval College at Constantinople, while I was Professor there. He distinguished himself at the College by his zeal and ability in acquiring English under myself; and he has since studied German in Germany. I have lately had the pleasure of seciDg that he is most proficient both in German and English. Such linguistic ability, and other scientific talents, make him a most promising officer, of whom his country will some day be proud.- C.W.
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Translitération.
Londra fi 22 Kianoun-i-evvel sené 1889.
MOUHTEREM DOCTOR,
On deurt kianoun-i-evvel seksen dokkouz tarikhli residé-i-dest- i-mefkharetim olan tahriratinizé shindiyé kadar jawab yazamadighimdan jidden mahjoubim. Mani isé kesret-i-meshghouliyyet oldoughoundan mazour afvinizi talabé shitaban oldoum verdighim kilablerin ishinizé yarardighini okouyarak memnoun oldoum ousedé, bashkalerinin yanimdé boulounmadighina té'essuf etdim. Gechenlerdé istamboldé boulounan ahibbamdan biriné yazdighim mektoubdé mumkin oloursa bir terjumé-i-hal kitabi ghieundurmasini rija etmishdim, boulourdé ghieundururuder hal tarafinizé isbal edéjéyim tabi dir.
Hamid Bey, beraderimiz Londraya avdet etdiyinden maloumatiniz oldoughounon biléyorim hali bir vakitinizdé sefareté teshrif edérséniz kendisilé ghieurushur bizi dé mesrour edérsiniz. Umid ederim-ki madam bitoun bitoun kesb-i-afiyyet etmishdir. . . . . . . Dewam-i-tévejjuhunuzu témenna ederim.
*London, 22nd December, 1889
RESPECTED DOCTOR,
I am quite ashamed that I have not until now been able to answer your esteemed letter of the 14th December. As I think I shall be excused owing to my being prevented by press of business, I hasten to ask your pardon. I was glad to hear that the books I gave you for your work were of use, and I regret that I have not
others. In a letter I lately wrote to a friend of mine in Constantinople, I requested him, if possible, to send a book such as you require. If he sends it here, I will immediately forward it to you.
I know that you are aware that our " brother" (friend) Hamid Bey has returned to London. When you have leisure, if you call at the Embassy, you can meet him, and we shall be delighted to see you. I hope your wife has quite recovered her health. I beg for the continuation of your favour.
HILMY**
The address of the writer, and the date, are usually written at the foot of the letter in Turkey. Their being written at the head of the letter is an innovation, probably made by the writer owing to his being in England.
**I have to thank this gentleman, Hilmy Bey, for his courtesy and kindness in drawing my attention to several interesting Turkish works lately published in Constantinople.
Sommaire de The literature of the Turks
Preface....... vii
The Literature of the Turks ....... xi
PART I.
TURKISH PROVERBS, APHORISMS AND ANECDOTES, with Interlinear and Free Translations and Pronunciation ....... 1
Turkish Proverbs and Sayings ....... 1
Turkish Aphorisms ....... 10
Turkish Anecdotes ....... 18
PART II.
EXTRACTS FROM STANDARD TURKISH AUTHORS, with Free Translations and Explanatory Notes :
ANCIENT WRITERS.
SAD-UD-DIN. Historiographer ....... 25
The Tyranny of Timour....... 26
Timour and the Molla ....... 28
The Capture of Constantinople ....... 29
NAÏMA. Historiographer ....... 42
The Conquest of Crete ....... 42
The Taking of Aya-Todori .......50
The Siege of Canea ....... 60
Sad-ud-Din the Historian, and Mahomet III., at the Battle of Keresztes ....... 71
Arrival of an Ambassador from England in the time of Charles I. ....... 80
RASHID EFFENDI. Historiographer ....... 82
Arrival of a Russian Ambassador with Presents, and of a French Ambassador with a Letter of Apology from the King of France .......... 83
Journal of Mehemet Effendi, Turkish Ambassdor to France in 1720 A.D ....... 88
MIRE'T-I-KAÏNAT.
A Muhammedan Life of Christ . . . . . .97
Christ's Miracles ....... 100, 105
The Birth of Jesus .......103
Wonders before Christ's Birth .......104
Raising a Woman's Son from the Dead ..... 105
A Marvellous Miracle ....... 106
The Ascension .......106
SHEIKH-ZADE. Novelist ...... 107
The History of the Forty Yezirs ....108
Dr. Avicenna and the Mice ....... 114
Christ and the Dead Woman ....... 117
The Woodcutter's Wife ....... 121
The Woman with Two Husbands ....... 129
TOOTI-NAME ....... 138
The Story of Said 138
Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, Poet. Grandeur ....... 142
MESIHI. Poet
The Merry Spring ....... 144, 155
MODERN WRITERS.
KEMAL BEY. Novelist, Dramatist, Journalist and Poet ....... 148
London ....... 149
Patriotism ....... 162
The Adventures of Ali Bey. A Novel ....... 165
The Fatherland, or Silistria. A Drama ....... 168, 182
Jezmi. A Novel ....... 192
MEHEMET TEVFIK. Novelist ....... 207
"Ishtiyak." A Novel ....... 207
MAHMOUD EKREM. Essayist ....... 215
Love ....... 216
MEHEMET HILMI. Dramatist ....... 218
The Two Serjeants. A Drama ....... 218
ABOU'L ZIA. Journalist ....... 246
Historical Anecdotes .......247
Friends ....... 248, 250
SIRI PASHA. Statesman and Orator . . . . . .251
A Letter to a Writer ....... 252
Despatch to the Minister of Public Works on the State of Trebizond ....... 254
APPENDIX.
Facsimiles of MSS., Turkish Letters and Documents, with Transliteration and Translation ....... 260
CORRIGENDA.
Critique de Barbier de Meynard, Journal asiatique, janvier-février 1892
L'auteur s'est proposé de réunir dans un volume de peu d'étendue un choix de morceaux empruntés à la littérature ottomane ancienne et moderne. Son dessein est louable, car il y a là une lacune qui n*a pas encore été comblée. L'ouvrage est divisé en deux sections. La première est consacrée aux écrivains des xviie et xviiie siècles, principalement aux historiens classiques de la Turquie; la seconde renferme de nombreux extraits de litlérature contemporaine. Après quelques pages de proverbes et d'anecdotes en style familier viennent des fragments, en général assez courts, des Annales de Saad-ud-dîn, de Naïma et de Rachid Efendi; d'autres morceaux empruntés à Cheïkh-Zadeh, l'auteur des Quarante vizirs, à la version turque des Contes du Perroquet « louty-nameh » et, conmie spécimen de poésie, « le joyeux printemps » de Mesihi, accompagné d'une agréable traduction en vers par l'auteur de la Chrestomathie.
La deuxième partie, celle des auteurs modernes, est moins variée; elle ne donnera pas, je le crains, une haute idée des progrès accomplis par « la jeune Turquie » dans l'art d'écrire.
Pourquoi, quand l'espace était si étroitement mesuré, avoir exhumé une aussi niaise comédie que Les Deux Sergents « iki tchaouch », une plate et banale amplification comme la tirade sur l'amour par Mahmoud Ekrem Bey, qualifié ici, je ne sais à quel titre, d'essayist ! Dans cette galerie des écrivains du jour, une des meilleures places a été réservée à Kémal Pacha : il n'y a pas lieu d'en être surpris, Kémal, dont la mort est toute récente, fut un des coryphées de la Turquie moderne. S'il faut en croire ses admirateurs, il partage avec Chinasi Ëfendi l'honneur d'avoir simplifié le style sans l'appauvrir. Ce n'est pas ici le lieu d'examiner dans quelle mesure il mérite le nom de
réformateur, et si l'influence qu'il a exercée sur ses contemporains constitue un progrès réel. Le fragment que M. Wells lui a emprunté ne tranchera certainement pas la question, mais je reconnais qu'il est de nature à flatter l'amour propre du lecteur anglais. C'est une pompeuse dissertation de rhétorique sur la grandeur de la civilisation britannique à propos de je ne sais quelle exposition universelle de Crystal Palace. Le texte de ce morceau est extrait du Numoune-i-edebyat ou « modèles littéraires » dont l'auteur est Abou Zyâ Tevfik Bey.
Et, à ce propos, je regrette que l'orientaliste anglais n'ait pas cru devoir faire d'autres emprunts à cette intéressante compilation qui se recommande par la richesse et la variété de ses citations. Puisqu'il ne se proposait pas de donner de l'inédit, il n'aurait eu que l'embarras du choix parmi les noms de Rechid Pacha, Fuad, Chinasi, Zya Bey, Djevdet Pacha et d'autres illustrations du siècle.
Après tout, ceci est affaire de goût; mais ce que je ne puis pardonner à M. Wells, c'est d'être si peu au courant de ce qui a été fait en Europe, depuis une cinquantaine d'années, en faveur de la langue et de la littérature ottomanes. Loin de moi la pensée de vouloir comparée ces travaux, pour le nombre et l'importance, aux œuvres magistrales qui ont propagé dans le monde savant l'étude des deux grandes littératures musulmanes : celle des Arabes ei de la Perse. Mais n'y a-t-il pas quelque injustice à passer sous silence les noms de Redhouse en Angleterre, de Bianchi et de Pavet de Courteille en France ?
Par suite de quelle étrange distraction M. Wells a-t-il pu dire que la vieille édition des Quarante vizirs dé Belletête est le seul livre d'étude qui soit en usage dans nos écoles orientales « the only Turkish reading book for the use of European students ever published » ? Cette ignorance ou ce dédain des sources bibliographiques a d'ailleurs un autre inconvénient.
L'auteur s'est privé ainsi d'utiles matériaux dont sa compilation aurait profité. Par exemple, dans la relation de l'ambassade en France de Mohammed Efendi, il aurait évité plus d'une erreur en consultant l'édttion publiée, en 1841 dans les Chrestomathies de l'Ecole des langues orientales vivantes, au lieu de se borner au texte donné par l'historien Rachid, d*après l'ancienne édition parue, en 1734, à Constantinople. De même pour les pages qu'il emprunte à la Couronne des Chroniques (Tadj ut-tevarikh) de Saad ud-din, sur la foi d'un seul manuscrit, il eût été prudent de faire usage des Annales de cet historien, éditées avec beaucoup de soin d'après la copie autographe de l'auteur. (Constantinople, 1863, 2 volumes in-4.)
* Voir le compte rendu de cet ouvrage par M. Cl, Huart. Journal asiatique, août-septembre 1881, p. 267 et suiv,
La première condition d'un livre destiné à l'étude d'une langue est la parfaite correction du texte et, s'il est suivi d'une traduction, la sûreté de celle-ci. C'est par là surtout que l'ouvrage de M. Wells prête le flanc à la critique : la liste de ses errata pourrait être facilement augmentée de moitié.
Qu'il me permette de lui en signaler un certain nombre relevés an courant de la plume et seulement dans quelques pages de son l'écueil. Je laisse de côte les fautes provenant du tirage et celles qui résultent de l'emploi d'une orthographe vieillie et hors d'usage.
[...]
P. 30, l. 12, la citation arabe ... « then Roum shall be opened to you » n'est pas un verset du Coran, mais un simple hadis attribué au Prophète et d'une authenticité plus que douteuse; — plus loin,
l. 17, la fin du paragraphe signifie que, par suite du blocus, « la ville de Constantinople, si vaste qu'elle fut, parut étroite aux infidèles ».
P. 153, l. 2, ... , lire ... « location, louage »; plus loin, ... ne signifie pas « dans le centre », mais, d'après l'usage moderne, « dans la gare ».
[...]
P. 167, l. 29, le texte turc ne signifie pas « some of them speak and their defects are listened to in silence », mais « some of them speak and the ofhers are silent ». ... a ici, non le sens de « défaut, négligence », mais celui de « autre » bachqa : c'est un idiotisme très usité.
P. 158, « these judges are helped and controlled by a body called the jury ». Pas plus en Angleterre qu'en France telles ne peuvent être les fonctions du jury, et Kémal Pacha n'a rien dit de pareil ; il se sert des mots arabes ... et parle du concours que l'institution du jury donne, par son verdict, à l'œuvre de la magistrature; — plus loin, ... signifie « les prétentions des deux parties» et non « both sides of the question ».
P. 107, l. 14, le texte doit être traduit ainsi : « la même chose se remarquait chez l'autre (ami)» et non « the other perceived this ».
P. 219, l. 15, la moitié de la phrase est restée sans traduction.
P. 255, l. 16, ... le traducteur a lu ... qu'il traduit par « warmth, anger, without any temper in the matter, I say », etc., il faut lire : ... haddem « ma capacité » et traduire « that is out of my line, but I say », etc.
J'aurais encore d'autres corrections à proposer dans les modèles gravés des différentes écritures qui terminent le volume, mais je m'arrête ici pour ne pas dépasser les limites d'un compte rendu. Je souhaite sincèrement que l'auteur ne se méprenne pas sur la portée de ces observations suggérées uniquement par le désir d'améliorer son œuvre. Je suis persuadé qu'un remaniement dans le sens indiqué plus haut, faisant un choix plus judicieux des écrivains contemporains et présentant un texte scrupuleusement revisé, augmenterait beaucoup l'utilité d'un livre qui a dû coûter d'assez longues recherches. La langue turque n'est pas seulement une langue d'affaires à l'usage des drogmans et des chanceliers du Levant.
Par ses historiens, ses jurisconsultes, ses commentateurs, elle peut et doit concourir au progrès d'études d'une plus haute portée. Tout travail qui contribue à la faire mieux connaître doit donc être encouragé comme un service rendu à l'érudition et, à ce titre, avoir droit à nos éloges. M. Wells nous permettra de les réserver pour une seconde édition.
A. C. Barbier de Meynard.