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A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.

Arabic proverb, traced to al-Jahiz (9th century)

LiteraturePhilosophyProverbs

The story behind the card

The saying goes back to al-Jahiz (c. 776–868), a master of Arabic prose who grew up poor in Basra, in Iraq, selling fish to help his family. Praising books in a famous passage, he called the book a vessel filled with knowledge, a garden carried in a sleeve and a meadow turned over in the lap, one that speaks for the dead and passes on the words of the living. Later versions put the garden in a pocket. Legend says he died under a fallen pile of books.

Türkçe oku
Kitap, cepte taşınan bir bahçe gibidir.
Arap atasözü; kaynağı Câhiz (9. yüzyıl)

Söz, Arap nesrinin büyük ustalarından Câhiz'e (yaklaşık 776-868) dayanır. Bugünkü Irak'ta, Basra'da yoksul bir ailede büyüyen Câhiz, gençliğinde ailesine yardım etmek için balık sattı. Kitabı övdüğü ünlü bir yazısında onu ilimle dolu bir kap, yende taşınan bir bahçe, kucakta sayfaları çevrilen bir çayır diye anlatır; kitap, der, ölülerin ağzından konuşur, yaşayanların sözünü aktarır. Yen, giysinin koludur; sözün bugünkü söyleyişinde bahçe cebe girmiştir. Rivayete göre Câhiz, üzerine devrilen bir kitap yığınının altında kalarak öldü.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Book
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