Leg over Leg. Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq

the pleasure of such women, according to the rule pronounced by the Fāriyāqiyyah, will be incomplete, because it will lack the element of discussion.⁵⁸

      4.4.4

      وعنها ايضا ان ذكر اللذة لا بد من ان يكون مطابقا للواقع * فان كان الوقوع مثلا من ذى مقام ليلًا ذُكرت فيه لِذات مقام * وان يكن من دونٍ صباحًا ذكرت فيه لدون من النسآ * وقس على ذلك سائر التباين فى الاوقات والاشخاص * اللهمّ الا ان خشى فوات الفرصة * اى اذا حصلت مثلًا ليلًا ولم يمكن ذكرها فى الليل فيصح الذكر فى الفجر او الصباح * او ان حصلت من ذى مقام ولم يتهيّا وجود نظيره فيصح ذكرها لدون ولا تفسد لذة الذكر بذلك * فاما على فرض كونها لم تجد احدا من هذه الاصناف فيصح ذكرها لنفسها * وذلك بان تدخل راسها فى زير فارغ او فى بئر او جبّ او قبوة ونحو ذلك مما له صدى وتنطق بلسان فصيح مبين بما مرّ لها * حتى اذا رجع الصدى قام لها مقام النديم الكليم * فاما اذا بقى الذكر فى صدرها فيخشى عليها من الصِدارة والذُباح *

      “And we have it on her authority too that any talk of pleasure must be congruent with the reality. If it involves a man of high status at night, it must be discussed with a woman of high status at night, if someone of low status in the morning, it must be discussed with a woman of low status in the morning, and so on and so forth for all the various other times and persons—unless there is reason to fear that the opportunity will be lost: in other words, if it happened at night, for example, but cannot be discussed that same night, it is permissible to discuss it at dawn or in the morning, or if it involves a man of high status but none of his kind is available, it is permissible to discuss it with a man of low status; the pleasure derived from talking about it will not be spoiled thereby. If by any chance she cannot find anyone from any of these categories, she can discuss it with herself. She may do this by inserting her head into an empty water jar, well, pit, vault, or anything of the sort that produces an echo, and speaking with clear and eloquent tongue of everything that happened to her; the responding echo can take the place of an intimate interlocutor. If, on the other hand, the memory is kept in her breast, chestiness and diphtheria are to be feared.

      4.4.5

      ويشترط ايضا عندها ان تكون الرواية مطابقة للفعل * فللنبرة نبرة * وللهمز همزة * وللحركة حركة * وللسكون سكون * وللمد مدّ * وللهذّ هذ * وللترخيم ترخيم * وللترسّل ترسل * وان يبلَّغ التشديد على الذال اذا كانت الرواية بلغتنا هذه الشريفة * وان يكون فى العينين مغازلة * وفى اللعم فيضان * وفى اللسان بلّة * وفى اليدين تلقح * وبما تقرّر علمتَ من ان هذه الخلة المذكورة الموجودة فى نسآء الانكليز اخلال بشروط اللذة * ويمكن ان يقال ان لذة التصور عندهن قوية جدا بحيث تقوم مقام لذتين * او انهن يضعن رؤسهن فى خابية ونحوها *

      “It is also a rule in her view that the retelling be congruent with the act. Thus, for the pressings, an accentuation of the voice,⁵⁹ for the jabs, a catch in the airflow, for the movements, a vocalic motion, for the moments of inertia, an inert letter, for the prolongations, a prolongation of the a, for the rushed bits, a gabbling of the recitation, for the softenings of the voice, an apocopation, and for the languorous moments, a slowing of pace. Also, that special attention be given to the doubling of the letter dhāl,⁶⁰ if the retelling is done in this noble language of ours, and that there be a flirtatious flash to the eyes, floods of saliva, and a moistness to the tongue, and that the hands sketch what the words describe. This being established, you will have gathered that the trait mentioned as present in Englishwomen is an infraction of the rules of pleasure, and it may be said that the pleasure they take in visualization is so strong because it takes the place of two other pleasures, or that they put their heads inside a cask or the like.

      4.4.6

      وعن الفارياق ان الجمال فى النسآ على اختلاف انواعه له نطق ونِدآ ودعآ واشارة ورمز * فمنه ما يقول لناظره لست ابالى بالمراود * ومنه ما يقول الا اغتنم الآن الفرصة – للتاخير آفات – لن ترانى من الكثير ملولا- لا يغرنّك الشفون – هيتَ لك – مَن لى به الساعة – ما ارى كفايتى عند احد – ان دوآء الشقّ ان تحوصه – اين اين المشبع – اين ابن اَلْغز – اين ابن بنى اذلغ – لدىّ يذل الصعب – بعد جهدك لا تلام – لكل مجتهد نصيب – من اطعم اشبع – من ذاق عرف – من مسّ هرف – من سبق فقد ربح – العود احمد – من عدّ عاد – من وصل وُصل * ومنه ما يشير انِ استعمل الحيلة – تلطف فى الزيارة – كن من الجار على حذر – من تانّى نال ما تمنى – بكِّر بكور الغراب وغير ذلك *

      “And on the authority of the Fāriyāq, we have it that the beauty that is in women, in all its disparate forms, has ways of speaking, calling out, inviting, pointing, and signaling. For example, there is the type that says to the one who gazes upon it, ‘I’m not interested in little sticks’ and the type that says, ‘Seize your opportunity now!’ or ‘Tarrying has its disadvantages’ or ‘You won’t find me wearied by large numbers’ or ‘Let not the shy-eyed one deceive you!’ or ‘Come hither!’ or ‘O who will bring him to me right now?’ or ‘I see none who can satisfy me’ or ‘The best way to mend a slit is to sew it up’⁶¹ or ‘Where oh where is the one who can satisfy me?’ or ‘Where is Ibn Alghaz?’⁶² or ‘Where is a member of the Banū Adhlagh?’⁶³ or ‘Before me the hard man is humbled’ or ‘After all that effort, who can find fault with you?’ or ‘No conscious effort is entirely wasted’ or ‘Feed and thou shalt be satisfied’ or ‘To taste is to know’ or ‘To touch is to praise’ or ‘The early bird catches the worm’ or ‘If at first you don’t succeed . . .’⁶⁴ or ‘Always count twice’⁶⁵ or ‘Keep in touch with others and others will keep in touch with you.’ There is also the type that looks at you as though to say, ‘Use cunning’ or ‘Make your visits discreet’ or ‘Watch out for the neighbors’ or ‘Slow and steady wins the race’ or ‘Come early as the crow.’”⁶⁶

      4.4.7

      فجمال نسآ الانكليز هو مما عنوانه اين ابن الغز* اين اين المشبع * لدىّ يذل الصعب