Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefʿūlü mefāʿīlü mefāʿīlü feʿīlün

Bu vechile dāʾim atılup sürmedesin rū
Ey rūd-ı ḥayātım yeni sāḥillere doġru
Yeldā-yı ezelde ne gidişdir ki dönüş yoḳ
Bir munṣaba gizlenmedesin kim görünüş yoḳ
ʿUmmān-ı zamān üzre yürür ʿömr-i hevā-per
Ḳādir degiliz atmaġa bir ŝāniye lenger
Ey göl sene bir devre hemān ḫātime çekdi
Cānān yine emvācıñı seyre gelecekdi
Böyle yine iñlerdiñ urup pā-yı ṣuḫūre
Emvācıñ uşup sāḥile uġrardı fütūre
Esdikce ṣabā mevce-kef efşān oluyordı
Ol pā-yı perestīdeye pūyān oluyordı
Yādıñda mıdır bir gice bir zevraḳa bindiñ
Mehtāb idi ol māhile saṭḥıñda gezindiñ
Gök ḳubbeniñ altında ṣu üstinde hem āġūş
Āheste kürek çekmedeyiz, leyl ise ḫāmūş
Ancaḳ uzacıḳlarda kürek sesleri gāhī
Mesmūʿ idi āheng ile döñdükce miyāhı
Birdenbire ʿaks-āver olup sāḥil-i şādān
Reyzān oluyordı yire mechūl olan elḥān
Ammā ne güzel ses ki aḳan ṣu bile ṭurdı
Yaʿnī o melek şevḳe gelüp şöyle oḳurdı:
Taʿlīḳ-i cenāḥ it amān ey ṭāʾir-i ezmān!
Sāʿāt-ı ṣafā! Olmayıñız siz de şitābān
Bir kām alalım, fāʾide yoḳ dünlerimizden
Sürʿatle geçen şöyle güzel günlerimizden
Sizden ṭaleb-i sürʿat iden ġam-zedeler var
Lāyıḳdır o bī-çārelere sürʿat-ı edvār
Dön! Anlar içün istedigiñ rütbe çabuḳ dön
Bed bezm-i belādan gideler tā bir-ayaḳ öñ
Hem anları hem rūz-ı felāketlerini yut!
Mesʿūd olan eşḥāṣı unut anları ḫoş ṭut
Lākin ne de beyhūde ṭaleb kim iderim ben
Ben vakte didim: Ṭur! Didi ṭurmam giderim ben
Sürʿatle geçüp gitdi baḳ işte şeb-i mesʿūd
Fecr eyledi şarḳda küşād-ı der-i mesdūd
Bildiñ ki zamān seyl-i serīʿü’l-cereyāndır
İmdi sevelim ẕevḳ idelim anı bu andır
Bir kere aḳan seyl gibi bir daha aḳmaz
Şemŝiñ parlar silinir izde bıraḳmaz
Yoḳ sāḥil-i maḥdūdı ḥayātıñ vü zamānıñ
Ḫas-pāre gibi tābiʿiyiz bir cereyānıñ
Ey devr-i saʿādet-şiken ey düşmen-i ārām
Bilmem ne içündür bu ḳadar sürʿate iḳdām
Olsa ne olur rūz-ı ṣafā-rīz-i saʿādet
-Hiç olmasa- hem sürʿat-i eyyām-ı felāket
Hem virmede hem almadadır neşʾemiz ezmān
Gūyā olur iḥsānına çūn ṭıfl-ı peşīmān
Güller gibi bu sevgili günler ṣolacaḳ mı?
Hiç gelmemişe beñzeyecek maḥv olacaḳ mı?
Hiç itmeyecek mi bize artıḳ bu fenāde
Bir kerre daha ol güzel eyyām-ı iʿāde
Bir çāre bulunmaz mı ʿaceb ḥıfżına anıñ
Tā pençesine düşmiye taḫrīb-i zamānıñ
Buldum güzelim çāre aña eylemem şīven
Ḫıfẓ eyler anı ḫāme-i şiʿrim ebediyyen
Ey baḥr-ı ezel, lücce-i mażī, ʿadem-i ābād
Ey ʿumḳın-ı ʿaḳlı ölçemeyen ebʿād
Bizden ḳaparaḳ yutduġıñız günleri āyā
Neylersiñiz inṣāfa gelüp söyleseñiz ya
Ey seyrine göz ṭoymıyan āyīne-i şengūl
Mehtāba, ṣabāya, güneşe sīne açan gül
Sākit ḳayalar, vaḥşī ḳovuḳlar, ḳorucuḳlar
İḥrām-ı ṭabīʿiyye herem-dīde çocuḳlar
Ey fıṭrat-ı peyveste-beḳā, zāde-i sermed
Ey manẓara-i dāʾime, ey ḥüsn-i mücedded
Bizden bu cihānda ḳalamaz gerçi nişāne
Ammā sizi oḳşar vü ḳorur dest-i zamāne
Bir sofrası oldıḳca bu ʿālem ġam u şevḳiñ
Ḥıfẓ eyleyiñiz ḫāṭırasın bu şeb-i ẕevḳiñ
Sert fırtınalarda vü mülāyim havalarda
Āb üstine māʾil, ḳuru, vaḥşī ḳayalarda
Ormanlar içinde, ḳara çamlar arasında
Sāḥilleriñiñ ʿaşḳ-ı fezā manẓarasında
Ḥıfẓ eyleyiñiz, yād idiñiz bu şebi her-dem
Bir neşʾe sezinsün buralardan geçen ādem
Vaḳtā ki ṣabā rıfḳile başlar ḥarekāta
Emvāc ṭaşın altında ider ḫızlı şamata
Vaḳtā ki döker sīneñe envārını meh-tāb
Başdan başa eyler seni bir lücce-i sīm-āb
Vaḳtā ki düşer velvele ṣarṣarla zemīne
Neyler gibi başlar şu ḳamışlar da enīne
Vaḳtā ki çiçekler göz açar nevr-i bahāra
Eṭrāfa güzel rāyiḥalar eyler iṭāre
El-ḳıṣṣa bu yirde ne ise merʾī vü maḥsūs
Hepsi düyūna: Anlar sevişüp geçdiler efsūs

In English

1. Thus, ever driven on, you flow with your face pressed onward, O river of my life, towards new shores.

2. In the long night (yeldâ) of eternity, what a going is this that has no return; you are vanishing into an estuary (munsab) from which there is no reappearing.

3. Life, flying like the wind, travels upon the ocean of time; we have not the power to cast anchor for a single second.

4. O lake, the year has only just completed another round; the beloved was to come again to watch your waves.

5. Just so you used to moan, beating at the foot of the rocks; your waves, flying up, would grow calm on reaching the shore.

6. As the morning breeze blew, the wave would scatter foam; it would run towards that adored foot.

7. Do you remember, one night you boarded a boat; there was moonlight, and you wandered over your surface with that moon-faced one.

8. Beneath the dome of the sky, upon the water, embracing, we row slowly; and the night is silent.

9. Only far away, now and then, the sound of oars could be heard in rhythm as they turned the waters.

10. Suddenly, echoing from the joyful shore, melodies unknown to the earth were scattered to the ground.

11. But what a lovely voice it was, for even the flowing water stopped; that is, that angel, moved to rapture, recited thus:

12. "O bird of the times, I beg you, hold your wing still! O hours of joy, do not you hurry either.

13. "There is no profit in our yesterdays; let us take some pleasure from these lovely days of ours that pass so swiftly.

14. "There are sorrowful ones who beg you for speed; the swiftness of the ages befits those helpless ones.

15. "Turn! For them turn as fast as you wish; let them leave that evil assembly of affliction as soon as may be.

16. "Swallow both them and their days of calamity! Forget the happy ones, and keep them well."

17. But what a vain request I make; I said to time, "Stop!" It said, "I do not stop, I go."

18. Look, the happy night has passed swiftly away; the dawn has opened the closed door in the east.

19. You knew that time is a fast-flowing torrent; so let us love, let us take pleasure, the moment is this moment.

20. Like a torrent that has flowed once, it does not flow again; its sun shines, is wiped away and leaves no trace.

21. Life and time have no bounded shore; we are like a bit of straw carried along by a current.

22. O breaker of happiness, O enemy of peace (time), I do not know why you rush on so fast.

23. What harm would it do if the joyful days that scatter happiness passed, at least, only as fast as the days of calamity.

24. Time both gives and takes away our joy, as if it were a child who regrets its gift.

25. Will these beloved days fade like roses? Will they vanish as if they had never come?

26. Will it never give back to us once more, in this transient world, those lovely days?

27. Is there no remedy, I wonder, for preserving it, so that it may not fall into the destroying claw of time?

28. I have found the remedy for it, my lovely one; I will lament no more: the pen of my poetry will preserve it forever.

29. O sea of eternity, deep waters of the past, land of nothingness; O dimensions whose depth reason cannot measure.

30. The days you snatched from us and swallowed, what do you do with them? If only you would be fair and tell us.

31. O joyful mirror one never tires of watching; rose that opens its breast to the moonlight, the morning breeze and the sun.

32. Silent rocks, wild hollows, little groves; children wrapped in nature's pilgrim garb, who have seen the sanctuary.

33. O creation joined to permanence, child of eternity; O lasting scene, O ever-renewed beauty.

34. Of us, indeed, no sign will remain in this world; but the hand of time caresses and protects you.

35. As long as this world is a table of sorrow and longing, preserve the memory of this night of delight.

36. In fierce storms and in gentle weather, on the dry, wild rocks leaning over the water,

37. In the forests, among the black pines, in the view of your shores that heightens love (it may be read aşk-efzâ),

38. Preserve this night, remember it at every moment; let the man who passes here sense a joy.

39. When the morning breeze begins gently to blow, when the waves make a quick clamour beneath the stone,

40. When the moonlight pours its rays upon your breast and makes you from end to end a sea of silver,

41. When a tumult falls upon the earth with the gale and these reeds too begin to moan like reed flutes,

42. When the flowers open their eyes to the light of spring and scatter sweet scents all around,

43. In short, let everything in this place that is seen and felt (say): "They loved and passed away", alas.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This poem is a verse translation of "Le Lac" (The Lake) by the French poet Alphonse de Lamartine. Its title in the divan is "Lamartine"niñ Laḳ ʿunvânlı manẓûmesiniñ tercemesi: Göl" (Translation of Lamartine's poem entitled Lac: The Lake). Lamartine's poem was first published in 1820 in the book Méditations poétiques under the title "Le Lac de B***" and consists of sixteen quatrains in which long lines alternate with short ones. Cûdî did not keep this structure; he rendered the poem into Turkish in the aruz (quantitative metre) pattern of the hezec metre "mef'ûlü mefâ'îlü mefâ'îlü fe'ûlün" (in the thesis the last foot is written "fe'îlün"), in the form of a mesnevi of 43 couplets, each rhyming within itself: rû with doğru, yok with yok, per with lenger, çekdi with gelecekdi, and so on. The poem, which has 64 lines in French, has grown to 86 lines in Turkish.

Havva Tok Yıldız's thesis gives the copyist's notes in the divan manuscript in its footnotes. According to these notes, couplet 28 and one line each in couplets 32, 35 and 38 were added in the translation; in couplet 31 the original has only the words "O lake", and in couplet 33 only "O lovely nature"; and couplet 40 "is not as rich in the original as in the translation". The word "havalarda" in couplet 36 is to be read according to popular pronunciation. These notes show that the person who wrote the manuscript knew the French original and compared the translation with it; whether the notes belong to Cûdî or to the copyist is not clear.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

Lamartine's poem is the revolt against time of a man who returns alone to the lake where he had come with his beloved a year before. Cûdî's translation follows this theme step by step. The opening line "Ainsi, toujours poussés vers de nouveaux rivages" (Thus, ever driven towards new shores) becomes in Cûdî an address beginning "ey rûd-ı hayâtım", O river of my life; the image of not being able to "cast anchor for a single second" on the ocean of time is faithful to the original. The best-known line of the poem, "Ô temps, suspends ton vol" (O time, suspend your flight), is rendered in the twelfth couplet as "Ta'lîk-i cenâh it amân ey tâ'ir-i ezmân", O bird of the times, hold your wing still. In the seventeenth couplet Lamartine's words "I say to this night, 'Be slower', and the dawn will scatter the night" become in Cûdî a short dialogue with time: "Ben vakte didim: Tur! Didi turmam giderim ben" (I said to time: Stop! It said: I do not stop, I go). The words "Life and time have no bounded shore" in the twenty-first couplet likewise answer the French line "Man has no harbour, time has no shore".

The translation speaks the images of French Romanticism in the language of divan poetry. The moonlight striking the lake becomes "lücce-i sîm-âb", a silver sea; the wind is "sabâ" (the morning breeze), the beloved "cânân" and "mâh" (the moon), and the moaning of the reeds is a lament "like reed flutes" (ney). The phrase "ihrâm-ı tabîʿiyye herem-dîde çocuklar" in the thirty-second couplet likens the rocks and groves to children wrapped in nature's pilgrim garb who have seen the sanctuary, adding images of the pilgrimage to the scene of the lake. The line "Anlar sevişüp geçdiler efsûs" in the last couplet answers Lamartine's "Tout dise : Ils ont aimé" (Let all things say: They have loved); the words "geçdiler" (they passed away) and "efsûs" (alas) added by Cûdî stress once more, at the close, the poem's sense of transience. In the text of the thesis the beginning of this line contains a word read as "düyûna"; from the context it must be a verb meaning "let it say", and the reading is ours.

Historical Context

İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal, in Son Asır Türk Şâirleri, specifically notes that Cûdî was familiar with French and translated this poem of Lamartine into verse. In the text in which Hüsameddin quotes the same words, the name of the poem appears as "Gül" (Rose); but in Tok Yıldız's quotation and in the divan itself the name is "Göl" (Lake), and since the two words are spelled identically in Ottoman script, the reading "Gül" is evidently a mistake. According to Tok Yıldız, Cûdî, a poet who knew Arabic and Persian well, learned French during the period when he taught in Istanbul and said that he greatly admired Lamartine; he also translated from French a poem called "Amele Şarkısı" (The Workers' Song). When the translation was made is not known. That a poet who continued the forms of divan poetry should render one of the best-known poems of French Romanticism into Turkish in aruz shows well Cûdî's place between the old and the new. For the poet's life and divan see the article Muallim İbrâhim Cûdî of Merzifon.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

  • Havva Tok Yıldız, Merzifonlu İbrâhîm Cûdî Dîvânı (İnceleme-Metin-Sözlük) [1b-43a], Master's thesis, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun 2017, pp. 4, 8, 92-96 (poem no. 68; manuscript fols. 31a-33b). http://libra.omu.edu.tr/tezler/116853.pdf

Books

Online sources