Mr. Leonard Smithers, a man of great literary talent and of indefatigable7 energy, who admired and collaborated8 with my husband in the traduction of Latin Classics for two years before he died, has also kindly9 volunteered to be my working assistant and to join with me in the editing.
My part is to give up all my copyrights, and to search out such papers, annotations10, and latest notes and corrections, as will form the most complete work; also to write all the Prefaces, and to give every assistance in my power as Editress.
The Memorial Edition commences with the present “Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah,” which will be followed at intervals11 by others of my husband’s works. Since this “Memorial Edition” was arranged, and the Prospectus12 issued, I have parted with the Copyright of my husband’s famous translation of the “Arabian Nights” to the Publishers, and they are arranging to bring out that work at an early date, and as nearly as possible uniform in appearance with the Memorial Edition.
The ornamentations on the binding13 are, a figure of my husband in his Arab costume, his monogram14 in Arabic, and, on the back of the book, the tent which is his tomb.
Both the publishers and myself have to thank Mr. Smithers for the infinite trouble he has taken in collating15 the first, second, third and fourth editions of the ‘Pilgrimage’ with Sir Richard’s own original annotated16 copies. All the lengthy17 notes and appendices of the first edition have been retained, and these are supplemented by the notes and appendices in the later editions, as well as by the author’s MS. notes. He has adopted Sir Richard’s latest and most correct orthography18 of Arabic words, and has passed the sheets through the press. Following my husband’s plan in “The Thousand Nights and a Night,” he has put the accents on Arabic words only the first time of their appearance, to show how they ought to be; thinking it unnecessary to preserve throughout, what is an eyesore to the reader and a distress19 to the printer. So it is with Arabic books, — the accents are only put for the early student; afterwards, they are left to the practical knowledge of the reader. All the original coloured illustrations of the first edition, and also the wood engravings of the later issues, are reproduced for the first time in one uniform edition. The map and plans are facsimilies of those in the latest (fourth) edition. In fact, everything has been done to make this book worthy20 of its author and of the public’s appreciation21.
For those who may not know the import of “A Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah,” in 1853, they will not take it amiss when I say that there are Holy Shrines22 of the Moslem23 world in the far-away Desert, where no white man, European, or Christian24, could enter (save as a Moslem), or even approach, without certain death. They are more jealously guarded than the “Holy Grail,” and this Work narrates25 how this Pilgrimage was accomplished26. My husband had lived as a Dervish in Sind, which greatly helped him; and he studied every separate thing until he was master of it, even apprenticing27 himself to a blacksmith to learn how to make horse-shoes and to shoe his own horses. It meant living with his life in his hand, amongst the strangest and wildest companions, adopting their unfamiliar28 manners, living for nine months in the hottest and most unhealthy climate, upon repulsive29 food; it meant complete and absolute isolation30 from everything that makes life tolerable, from all civilisation31, from all his natural habits; the brain at high tension, but the mind never wavering from the role he had adopted; but he liked it, he was happy in it, he felt at home in it, and in this Book he tells you how he did it, and what he saw.
Sir Richard Burton died at the age of 70, on the 20th October, 1890. During the last 48 years of his life, he lived only for the benefit and for the welfare of England and of his countrymen, and of the Human Race at large. Let us reverently32 raise up this “Monument,” aere perennius, to his everlasting33 memory.
ISABEL BURTON. May 24, 1893.
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1 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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2 ERECTED | |
adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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3 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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4 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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5 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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6 adventurous | |
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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7 indefatigable | |
adj.不知疲倦的,不屈不挠的 | |
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8 collaborated | |
合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 ); 勾结叛国 | |
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9 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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10 annotations | |
n.注释( annotation的名词复数 );附注 | |
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11 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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12 prospectus | |
n.计划书;说明书;慕股书 | |
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13 binding | |
有约束力的,有效的,应遵守的 | |
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14 monogram | |
n.字母组合 | |
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15 collating | |
v.校对( collate的现在分词 );整理;核对;整理(文件或书等) | |
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16 annotated | |
v.注解,注释( annotate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 lengthy | |
adj.漫长的,冗长的 | |
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18 orthography | |
n.拼字法,拼字式 | |
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19 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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20 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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21 appreciation | |
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨 | |
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22 shrines | |
圣地,圣坛,神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 ) | |
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23 Moslem | |
n.回教徒,穆罕默德信徒;adj.回教徒的,回教的 | |
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24 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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25 narrates | |
v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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26 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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27 apprenticing | |
学徒,徒弟( apprentice的现在分词 ) | |
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28 unfamiliar | |
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的 | |
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29 repulsive | |
adj.排斥的,使人反感的 | |
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30 isolation | |
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离 | |
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31 civilisation | |
n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
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32 reverently | |
adv.虔诚地 | |
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33 everlasting | |
adj.永恒的,持久的,无止境的 | |
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