Description
On Parables are excerpts from Kafka’s allegorical stories. For Kafka, allegory was not a literary genre, but a way of showing the world in which he lived. A world where content is so ambiguous. Although such a genre has been able to play a special role in the history of contemporary literature, there are many reasons why Kafka did not intend to innovate; For him, literature is a kind of ontology. Nothing else can be expected from someone who considers his existence to be literature. As a result, it can be argued that the allegorical form of these pieces and even the incompleteness of his works, especially his novels, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously, is not accidental and has structural reasons that stem from his worldview.
On Parables
Cyrus Beit Sarkis, with the help of the German version of the book of allegories, translated it into Persian and used a fifteen-volume collection of critical texts of Kafka’s works.
In this collection of allegories, in parallel with Kafka’s works, books have been attached that deal with the text and its changes. In the description section, other sources mentioned in the end list of the book are used to better understand the text.
More than 20 literary pieces have been collected in the book of allegories. In this series of stories, which has a great variety of subjects, the emphasis is on the allegorical nature of the pieces. Kafka does not seek innovation in these pieces and his other books, but for him literature is a kind of ontology that is evident in the allegorical form of these pieces and even the unfinished work, willingly or unwillingly.
The main source of the translation is the German text of the book, published in 1947, and the translator has also used a 15-volume collection of critical texts by Kafka, which has been compiled over a decade by a group of European experts. Kafka wrote most of these pieces between 1917 and 1920. At the end of each piece, explanations and information about the date and how that piece was written are provided, and at the end of the book, a German version of the pieces is included.
Looking at the works left by Kafka, one can be convinced that allegory is not just a kind of “literary genre” for him, but a universal representation of what he has lived through. A world where content is so ambiguous. Although such a genre has been able to play a special role in the history of contemporary literature, there are countless reasons why Kafka was not primarily an innovator, but for him literature ontology.
Nothing else can be expected from someone who considers his existence to be literature. As a result, it can be argued that the allegorical form of these pieces and even the incompleteness of his works, especially his novels, willy-nilly, consciously or unconsciously, is not accidental and has structural reasons that stem from his worldview.
Part of the book of On Parables
Allegory Translator Notes
When I received this book for translation a few years ago, no other translation of this book was available. Of course, the translation of some of these pieces was published in the village doctor or in other collections. This collection relies on the allegorical nature of the pieces, although I do not think all the pieces in this collection are allegorical or there are other allegories that are not included in this collection.
Here I have taken the word “Parables” as a synonym for the Greek word παραβολη (Parable) and the German word Parabel, which is used in Kafka’s works in both thematic and structural forms. Parable means something that is taken as an analogy equivalent to something else, and it is inevitably a “comprehension” of a design that carries “duality” in its nature. An allegory is a metaphor in which the skepticism of a subject is not obvious and there is no way to its exact meaning and therefore needs to be interpreted. For example, the allegory of the “palace” is a clear structural example of Kafka’s palace.
Referring to the works left by Kafka, one can be convinced that for him allegory is not just a kind of “literary genre” but a representation of the world in which he lived. A world where content is so ambiguous. Although such a genre has been able to play a special role in the history of contemporary literature, there are countless reasons why Kafka was not primarily intended for innovation, but for him literature is a kind of ontology. Nothing else can be expected from someone who considers his existence to be literature. As a result, it can be argued that the allegorical form of these pieces and even the incompleteness of his works, especially his novels, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously, is not accidental and has structural reasons that stem from his worldview.
On Parables
In general, all available Persian translations, except for pieces published during Kafka’s lifetime, are based on texts edited and sometimes named by Max Broad. The main problem with Kafka’s manuscripts, or any other manuscript that has not passed the author’s final revision, is not the multiplicity of different readings of a text, but the tension and multiplicity within the text itself, which exists in the form of scratches, corrections, deletions, and additions.
It is very difficult to work as an editor or proofreader of such texts, especially when there are different versions. Because even in spite of being completely surrounded by the subject and the life and thoughts of the writer, he must put himself in the position of a writer. As a guardian and close friend of Kafka, Max Broud has spent years admiring this courage and bravery.
Kafka’s manuscripts, some in scattered form and some unfinished, have been left in various books that were to be burned at Kafka’s behest. Even Kafka in his will forbade Max Brod from reprinting his works, let alone publishing his manuscripts, notes and letters.
But the problem is that the content of these two wills can be interpreted and can be allegorical, as some experts claim. It seems inevitable to generalize the paradox of Kafka’s works to his daily life and words. It is not easy to interpret the words of a man who says on the bed of death, “Kill me or you will kill me.”
The main source of this translation was the German text of the book of allegories; I have also benefited from a 15-volume collection of critical texts by Kafka, which has been compiled over a decade by a group of European experts. In this collection, in parallel with Kafka’s works, books have been attached that deal with the text and changes in it.
On Parables
In the description section, to better understand the text, I have used other sources that are listed at the end of the book. In addition, I have given the source of the first edition of these works, both in literary publications and in collections that were published before and after his death. Although every translation is an interpretation, but our intention was not to interpret these pieces and the principle of the work was loyalty to the text, in its form and content.
In conclusion, I would like to thank my dear friends Farid Butrabi who encouraged me in this work and Reza Ghasemi for reading some of the anecdotes and Mohammad Reza Khani who took the trouble to edit this book. I thank my other colleagues in Fish Publishing for their expertise and taste.
Cyrus Beit Sarkis
Karlsruhe, 6 0 0 2
About On Parables
Many boast that the words of the sages may be mere allegories, but useless in everyday life, and we have nothing but this. When a sage says, “Pass it,” he does not mean that something must be passed. The way that if he goes, he can finally get over it again, but he means setting a mystery. Something that is unknown to us and was not made by him to determine its nature more precisely.
So such a thing does not cure our pain at all here. In fact, all these allegories simply mean that the incomprehensible cannot be understood, and that is what we knew. But what makes us suffer every day is something else.
In response to this, one said: “Why do not you go under the load? “If you follow the parables, you will become an allegory and you will get rid of daily hardships.”
“I bet this is an allegory,” said another.
“You won,” said the first.
“Unfortunately, only in the world of allegory,” said the second.
“No, indeed, you lost in the world of allegory,” said the first.
This piece was written in late 1922 in a book called the Ehepaar Heft, which is kept in the archives of the Oxford Library. It is titled Max Brod and was first published in the 1931 series The Wall of China. The structure of this piece is reminiscent of the method of reasoning used in Talmudic debates and allegories attributed to Eastern European (Hasidic) Jews.
Khosravani message
Khaqan – as they narrate – has sent you a message from the bed of death, just for you, a lonely person, a miserable servant, a humble shadow against the sun of Khosravi that you have taken refuge in the distance. He made the courier kneel beside his bed and whispered that message in his ear; A message so precious that he asked the courier to say it in his ear. He nodded, confirming what he had said, and in the presence of all the witnesses of his death – they tore down the fence of the walls and stood in an open space on the stairs that culminated in a wide arch, all around the elders of the country – In the presence of all of them, he released the courier and he started walking.
On Parables
The courier, who is a strong and tireless man, sometimes opens his way through the masses by extending his left hand and sometimes by extending his right hand; If he encounters resistance, he points to his chest, which is marked with the sun; It goes so easily that it is not made by anyone else. But the crowd is so big; Their alleys and barrens are not complete. If it reaches an open plain, it will fly so fast that you will no doubt hear the resounding sound of its fists knocking on your door in a short time.
But instead, what a futile effort he makes; He is still trying to force his way through the inner palace hall. He will never be able to do this; And if so, what is the benefit; Must just fight to get down the stairs; And if he wins, what is the benefit; He has just left the courtyards of the palaces; And after the courtyards from the ring of the second palace; And open stairs and courtyards; And another palace; And so on for thousands of years;
And if he finally rushes out of the last gate – but it never will, never – the capital is just in front of him, in the middle of the world, under the rubble of its remnants. No one can get through this with a message from a dead person. – But you are sitting by your window and when the sunset comes, you will fall into this dream.
The upper bouts featured two cutaways, for easier access to the higher frets. The upper bouts featured two cutaways, for easier access to the higher frets. This text was written in March / April 1917 and appears in the sixth book of Kafka’s manuscripts. The section was first published under the same title in 1919 in a weekly newspaper in Prague and then in the same year in the collection of the village physician, which Kafka dedicated to his father.
News of the construction of the wall. a piece
It was in such a world that the news of the construction of the wall leaked. This one, too, was delayed, some thirty years after it was announced. The sunset was one of the summer days. I was not more than ten years old, I was standing by the river with my father. Given the importance of such a watch, which has often been the subject of much discussion, I recall the smallest details. He was holding my hand, doing it with interest until the end of his life, and moving his other hand along its long, very narrow clap as if holding a flute.
His beard was long and thin, and his hair was high in the air, because while he was enjoying it, his gaze had crossed the river and he was walking up there. So her woven wig, which was awe-inspiring to the children, sank deeper and deeper, and a gentle whisper arose from rubbing it on the delicate silk of her festive garment. It was at this time that a boat stopped in front of us. Karaji Ban pointed to my father to go down the embankment and he himself came up from the other side.
They met halfway, Karaji Ban whispered something in my father’s ear and hugged him to get very close to him. I did not understand anything from their words, I only seemed to see how my father did not believe the news, Karaji Ban tried to prove that he was telling the truth, but my father still could not believe it. With the enthusiasm that is specific to sailors, Karaji Ban almost broke his collar to prove the truth, so that my father calmed down so much that Karaji Ban jumped inside the boat with a lot of noise.
On Parables
Overwhelmed with my thoughts, my father returned to me, emptied his forearm with a blow, and plunged it behind his shawl. He caressed my cheeks and hugged my head, I loved it more than anything, it made me extremely happy, so we came home. There it was ready on the rice porridge table and steam was rising from it.
Several guests had gathered and were pouring wine into cups. Without paying attention to this, my father started to report what he had heard in the same heel of the door. I certainly do not remember the words exactly, but their meaning was familiar – he was telling me that they were going to build a big wall to protect Khaqan. It seems that the unbelieving tribes, among which demons are present, often gather in front of Khaqan Palace and throw their black arrows at Khaqan.
This piece is the final part of a taller piece called “When the Great Wall of China Was Built” and was written in early 1917 in an office called Oktavheft C. Max Broad did not include this section in the publication of “When the Great Wall of China Was Built.” Perhaps because Kafka underlined the quote at the end of this section. Another reason is the content of the sentence with which the main piece apparently ends and has already been placed in this section. The third and perhaps more important reason is the discrepancy between the age of the narrator in the main part and the mentioned part.
In the main part, the narrator was born twenty years before the construction of the wall, and in this part, twenty years after. However, sometimes this section is part of “When building the Great Wall of China.” Max Broad first included this section in 1937 as the Mauer “Chinesischen Bau der zum” Fragment in a collection of Kafka’s notes and letters, and then in 1954 as an appendix to the third edition of A Description of a Battle. However, the title of this piece in the 1946 and 1947 editions of our source, which is a reputable publisher and has the general rights to publish Kafka’s works, is “The Wall Building News. “A piece” has been inserted.
Paradise
64 and 65
Being expelled from heaven is largely eternal: It is true that being expelled from heaven is an irreversible event and life in this world is inevitable, but nonetheless, the immortality of such an event (or, to put it in a temporal form: the eternal repetition of this event) is not. It has only made it possible for us to be in heaven forever, but it has actually made us constantly there, no matter if we know it here or not.
Why do we boast of original sin? It is not because we were expelled from heaven, but because the tree of life was expelled so that we could not eat its fruit.
Our sin is not only that we have eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but also that we have not yet eaten the fruit of the tree of life. Sinful is a situation we are in, regardless of whether or not there is a crime.
We were created to live in heaven and destined for heaven to serve us. Our destiny has changed; But there is no mention of it going to heaven in the same way.
We were expelled from heaven, but heaven was not destroyed. Being expelled from heaven means our good fortune, because if we were not expelled, heaven would inevitably be destroyed.
1- Introducing the book On Parables on YouTube
2- Introducing the book On Parables in Aparat
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