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Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid
The first major poet of the Hebrew literary renaissance of Moslem Spain, Shmuel Ben Yosef Ha-Levi HaNagid (993-1056 c.e.) was also the Prime Minister of the Muslim state of Granada, battlefield commander of the non-Jewish Granadan army, and one of the leading religious figures in a medieval Jewish world that stretched from Andalusia to Baghdad. Peter Cole's groundbreaking versions of HaNagid's poems capture the poet's combination of secular and religious passion, as well as his inspired linking of Hebrew and Arabic poetic practice. This annotated Selected Poems is the most comprehensive collection of HaNagid's work published to date in English.
"The Multiple Troubles of Man"
The multiple troubles of man,
my brother, like slander and pain,
amaze you? Consider the heart
which holds them all
in strangeness, and doesn't break.
"I'd Suck Bitter Poison from the Viper's Mouth"
I'd suck bitter poison from the viper's mouth
and live by the basilisk's hole forever,
rather than suffer through evenings with boors,
fighting for crumbs from their table.
"The Multiple Troubles of Man"
The multiple troubles of man,
my brother, like slander and pain,
amaze you? Consider the heart
which holds them all
in strangeness, and doesn't break.
"I'd Suck Bitter Poison from the Viper's Mouth"
I'd suck bitter poison from the viper's mouth
and live by the basilisk's hole forever,
rather than suffer through evenings with boors,
fighting for crumbs from their table.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published March 4, 1996
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Shmuel HaNagid
4听booksSamuel ibn Naghrela (Hebrew: 砖诪讜讗诇 讛诇讜讬 讘谉 讬讜住祝 讛谞讙讬讚鈥�, Sh'muel HaLevi ben Yosef HaNagid; Arabic: 兀亘賵 廿爻丨丕賯 廿爻賲丕毓賷賱 亘賳 丕賱賳睾乇賷賱丞鈥� Abu Ishaq Isma'il bin Naghrillah), also known as Samuel HaNagid (Hebrew: 砖诪讜讗诇 讛谞讙讬讚鈥�, Shmuel HaNagid, lit. Samuel the Prince), 993-1056, was a Talmudic scholar, grammarian, philologist, poet, warrior, and statesman, who lived in Spain at the time of the Moorish rule.
Born in M茅rida, his main poetic works include "Ben Tehillim" (Son of Psalms), "Ben Qoheleth" (Son of Ecclesiastes), and "Ben Mishlei" (Son of Proverbs), each of which imitates the "father work". His choice of poetic themes reflected his myriad occupations and personal world-view, including poems describing the battlefield using the analogy of a game of chess, poems speaking of the great beauty of nature, of which there are numerous, etc. His power in word choice of poetic portrayal of nature rivals that of the other great Jewish poets, namely ibn Saruk. He founded the Yeshiva that produced such brilliant scholars as R' Yitschak ibn Gias and the Rambam (Maimonides)'s father. The "Introduction to the Talmud" is erroneously attribuited to Shmuel.
Born in M茅rida, his main poetic works include "Ben Tehillim" (Son of Psalms), "Ben Qoheleth" (Son of Ecclesiastes), and "Ben Mishlei" (Son of Proverbs), each of which imitates the "father work". His choice of poetic themes reflected his myriad occupations and personal world-view, including poems describing the battlefield using the analogy of a game of chess, poems speaking of the great beauty of nature, of which there are numerous, etc. His power in word choice of poetic portrayal of nature rivals that of the other great Jewish poets, namely ibn Saruk. He founded the Yeshiva that produced such brilliant scholars as R' Yitschak ibn Gias and the Rambam (Maimonides)'s father. The "Introduction to the Talmud" is erroneously attribuited to Shmuel.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 21, 2017
I liked this edition, but I would have liked it more if it had included at least some of the poems in the original Hebrew. The translations were still beautiful and interesting, but I'd like to know (out of curiosity) how well they conveyed the original meanings.
I enjoyed the additional explanations giving context to the poems.
I enjoyed the additional explanations giving context to the poems.
January 10, 2019
It's amazing to read poetry of a thousand years ago and understand a little about the man who wrote it. Shmuel HaNagid was a complex man--a military man who led forces into war, a political figure offering advice to the king of Cordoba, a drinker and lover of wine, an educated religious man, and more. He had his contradictions, which all real people do, and they make him seem very real on the page, like someone you could meet if not for all those years separating us.
He shows a great respect for and knowledge of Talmud and Hebrew scripture, but also a sense of morality that goes beyond study. Here's a quatrain that hints at that sensitivity:
Some of his most poignant poems deal with the death of family members and growing old ("Aging's grief has set/ in my heart a flaming fire/ whose tongue makes ash of my hair./ Weakness has wakened the pain in my knees,/ and I struggle now even at court,/ on level ground..."), finding that he can't march and fight like he once did, facing his own mortality ("...the terrors of time assault him,/ when a man passes sixty;/ till seventy then he sighs with age, and seems to be saintly;/ but time surrounds him at eighty,/ trapped in the fowler's snare..."). The poet succeeds--with the translator--in putting his humanity into his lines so that a reader of a different age and different world in every way could still understand and feel what he is feeling.
A piece from "On the death of Isaac, his brother":
Such hyperbole, especially coming from a man who quotes scripture and is deeply convicted in his religious belief, is especially affecting. That's true grief.
I wanted to read this to get a feel for Muslim Spain, especially the interactions among people of different faiths. There's a lot to pick over here. I will need to read it again and again to see if I've caught on to even a small part of it. The notes at the back are helpful--I only wish they were alongside the text to make reference easier, though I suppose that would detract from the esthetic of the poetry. I find the translation quite clear and well done; it's the figurative language and embedded cultural details and allusions to Torah that make real understanding tricky.
For those with an interest similar to mine, I of course recommend this volume. I expected to find it illuminating, but was surprised to find it touching.
He shows a great respect for and knowledge of Talmud and Hebrew scripture, but also a sense of morality that goes beyond study. Here's a quatrain that hints at that sensitivity:
If you shame a man for the flaws he shows you
but keeps well-hidden from others,
how could your heart not likewise disgrace you
for the flaws of your own that you'd smother?
Some of his most poignant poems deal with the death of family members and growing old ("Aging's grief has set/ in my heart a flaming fire/ whose tongue makes ash of my hair./ Weakness has wakened the pain in my knees,/ and I struggle now even at court,/ on level ground..."), finding that he can't march and fight like he once did, facing his own mortality ("...the terrors of time assault him,/ when a man passes sixty;/ till seventy then he sighs with age, and seems to be saintly;/ but time surrounds him at eighty,/ trapped in the fowler's snare..."). The poet succeeds--with the translator--in putting his humanity into his lines so that a reader of a different age and different world in every way could still understand and feel what he is feeling.
A piece from "On the death of Isaac, his brother":
They said:
"He has taken him up."
And I thought;
"Let Him take me instead."
And they said: "Time will
heal your hurt and you'll rest."
And I answered in pain:
"On your balm of time
and all rest beyond
my brother--a curse!
Take, My Strength, my soul-
for grief such as this it can't carry."
Such hyperbole, especially coming from a man who quotes scripture and is deeply convicted in his religious belief, is especially affecting. That's true grief.
I wanted to read this to get a feel for Muslim Spain, especially the interactions among people of different faiths. There's a lot to pick over here. I will need to read it again and again to see if I've caught on to even a small part of it. The notes at the back are helpful--I only wish they were alongside the text to make reference easier, though I suppose that would detract from the esthetic of the poetry. I find the translation quite clear and well done; it's the figurative language and embedded cultural details and allusions to Torah that make real understanding tricky.
For those with an interest similar to mine, I of course recommend this volume. I expected to find it illuminating, but was surprised to find it touching.
Read
June 25, 2012I read this book because I am becoming more and more fascinated by this period in Jewish History in Medieval Spain. There seemed to be such a wonderful mixing and sharing of Spanish, Muslim, and Jewish culture at this time, specifically in Cordoba and other cities along the Mediterranean around 1000 C.E. The other beauty of this time is that it appears to be quite a time of cultural fluidity and acceptance that incidentally was not homophobic. There are 5 poems in this collection that are homoerotic and apparently this also was a trend in Muslim poetry during this time. One common theme in the homoerotic poems is the allusion of an attractive man as a gazelle. As a side note I read the Song of Songs recently and it refers to gazelles too, although not necessarily in a homosexual way, these Medieval poems add a layer of sexual ambiguity to the Song of Songs.
Beyond the homoerotic, the vast majority of HaNagid's poems are little verses with ethical or spiritual lessons. These verses are quick to read and distill lessons from other Jewish texts in lovely ways. For example:
"The multiple troubles of man,
my brother, like slander and pain,
amaze you? Consider the heart
which holds them all
in strangeness, and doesn't break"
Which was written after Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) a very tumultuous book.
All in all this was a very illuminating collection that has me churning over Medieval Jewish creativity.
Beyond the homoerotic, the vast majority of HaNagid's poems are little verses with ethical or spiritual lessons. These verses are quick to read and distill lessons from other Jewish texts in lovely ways. For example:
"The multiple troubles of man,
my brother, like slander and pain,
amaze you? Consider the heart
which holds them all
in strangeness, and doesn't break"
Which was written after Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) a very tumultuous book.
All in all this was a very illuminating collection that has me churning over Medieval Jewish creativity.
November 21, 2009
Really beautiful lyrical poetry dealing with themes that span generations with a voice that is still poignant and relevant today.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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