The Eye of an Ant

DESCRIPTION

The Eye of an Ant is a collection of 282 short epithets translated into English rhyme by Fatollah Akbar. Most of the sayings are traditional popular sayings. Poems from Rumi, Ferdowsi, Hafez, Sa‘di and Bahar are also included.

REVIEWS

In times like these, every effort made to elucidate a facet of Iran’s culture is both patriotic and worthy of praise.

― M.J. Mahjoub

An old definition of a proverb is a short expression of a long experience. In fact in proverbs are distilled the essence of a nations experience of life in its varied aspects. They reflect the intelligent conclusion that a people have reached in centuries and millennia; they are also their comments on their life and society; in short, proverbs reflect the earthly wisdom of a people. They are both memorable and instructive. Therefore, translating a collection of Persian prose and verse proverbs, sayings and witty observations into English is one of the best ways of making Persian wit and wisdom known to the English-speaking reader.

― Ehsan Yarshater,
Columbia University

In times like these, every effort made to elucidate a facet of Iran’s culture is both patriotic and worthy of praise.

― M.J. Mahjoub,
University of California, Berkeley

AUTHOR

Named after his grandfather the Sepahdar Iran's prime-minister in 1920, Fatollah Akbar was born in Tehran, Iran in 1940. He currently resides and works in the Washington, D.C. area. He is fluent in Persian, English, Russian, German and French.