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Nafahat al Wardatayn |
The scent of the two roses
Should we have intended to add a characteristic paragraph or a more select and distinctively appropriate expression to what we feel nowadays to portray the eloquent and literate authenticity of the Chartouni family, we would have chosen « Nafahat al Wardatayn», or the scent of the two roses, written by the renown Anissé and Afifé, daughters of Sheikh Saïd Chartouni, who happen to be the direct ancestors of Al amin Habib Chartouni, and who died at a very early age.
Brief introduction
As far as my impression is concerned, Anise Chartouni lived a life
of luxury and was mainly surrounded by her peers. Her astonishingly
bright character could have placed her in awkward situations as she
objectively portrayed the ruling select class of her time and gave
us a clearly simplistic feed-back, not without sarcasm and a sense
of deep concern. Her philosophical outlook was based on her
social observations relating her keen sense of justice as well as
her consequent despair and disappointment. In other words, though
Anise Chartouni lived more than a hundred years ago, her words still
uphold the torch of wise reasoning for modern women.
2) No educational background matches verbal and written knowledge in the science of History and Geography. 3) A Wiseman learns from each encountered situation. 4) Virtues in people compare to precious gems encrusted in rocks. 5) The value of knowledge in ancient nations equals this of shedding the light in the world of blindness. 6) Righteousness conquers even with few allies. 7) The infamous shame is for those who abuse religious ethics to rule but do not abide by their regulations. 8) Sermons delivered by evil doers are like water running in streams of hypocrisy. 9) Neighboring the righteous is like basking by fragranced aromas. 10) The favorite to people's heart is the gentleman with the commendable reputation. 11) Amongst humans who ought to live with dignity and strong reputation are the ruler, the priest and the doctor, for each one of them is an example to follow. 12) Employing the needy is more honorable than granting him charity. 13) The diligence of principles is ancient, and its forecast is old, as the holders of new principles are those with mighty power, and those who carry ancient principles are the weak. 14) Religion is like an Almond which core is the abstenance of erring and peel is its burden; preserving the peel and crushing the core is pure hypocrisy. 15) Religion is like an Almond which core is the abstenance of erring and the burden its outer layer, preserving its peel while crushing the core is sheer hypocrisy. 16) Should the virtuous and the benefactor compete against each other, they would compare to a rabbit and a turtle. 17) Numerous are the hailers for patriotism whose true aim is to destroy the virtuous of their nation. 18) No foe for a country or state worse than annihilating their thinkers. 19) No progress can be reported in a country where credit is fiction. 20) No religious sect will succeed should it uphold vice. 21) Nothing matches freedom for unveiling characters. 22) Those that enslave themselves to greed and envy cannot pretend to be free. 23) Conciliation requires noble spirits, clean hearts and wisdom. 24) Freedom is the heaviest burden but also the unequal of blessings. 25) No freedom for the hungry soul. 26) Who neglected his parish will end-up with no faithful followers. 27) The weakest minded are those who trust kniving liars. 28) Honesty in every year is less and is currently lesser. 29) In the dungeons of tragedies lies the eloquence along with horrifying actions. 30) No loyalty and no vows for this that’s lost his conscience and dismissed his ethics. 31) The illness of religion is the deviation of the faithful from the truthful aim. 32) No seeds for cheating but greed and envy. 33) words of the unreliable are sweet introductions and bitter endings. 34) Superstitions and imaginary concepts are more popular than verities. 35) This who refuses to obey the earthly god (money), the world and its gods will bow to him.
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