eral, Burton diffuse and
gratuitously paraphrastic as appears above and everywhere, and the other
remarks which we made when dealing with the Nights proper also apply,
except, of course, that in this instance Burton had not Payne's version
to refer to, with the consequence that in these two tales ("Alaeddin"
and "Zayn Al Asnam") there are over five hundred places in which the two
translators differ as to the rendering, although they worked from the
same MS. copy, that of M. Houdas, lent by him to Burton and afterwards
to Payne. Arabists tell us that in practically every instance Payne
is right, Burton wrong. The truth is that, while in colloquial Arabic
Burton was perfect, in literary Arabic he was far to seek, [568] whereas
Mr. Payne had studied the subject carefully and deeply for years.
But Burton's weakness here is not surprising. A Frenchman might speak
excellent English, and yet find some difficulty in translating into
French a play of Shakespeare or an essay of Macaulay. Burton made the
mistake of studying too many things. He attempted too much.

But in the Supplemental Nights, as in the Nights proper, his great
feature is the annotating. Again we have a work within a work, and the
value of these notes is recognised on all sides. Yet they are even less
necessary for elucidating the text than those in the Nights proper. Take
for example the tremendous note in Vol. i. on the word "eunuchs." As
everybody knows what a eunuch is, the text is perfectly clear. Yet what
a mass of curious knowledge he presents to us! If it be urged that the
bulk of Burton's notes, both to the Nights proper and the Supplemental
Nights, are out of place in a work of this kind--all we can say is
"There they are." We must remember, too, that he had absolutely no other
means of publishing them.

Chapter XXXIV. "The Scented Garden"

Bibliography:

77. The Scented Garden. "My new Version," translated 1888-1890.

158. Nafzawi.

As we learn from a letter to Mr. Payne, 8th November 1888, Burton began
his "new version" of The Scented Garden, or as it is sometimes called,
The Perfumed Garden, in real earnest early in that month, and Lady
Burton tells us that it "occupied him seriously only six actual months,"
[569] that is, the last six months of his life.

The Scented Garden, or to give its full title, "The Scented Garden
for the Soul's Recreation" was the work of a learned Arab Shaykh
and physician named Nafzawi, who was