Writings of Dr. Dahesh
Dr. Dahesh’s Published Works. Unless otherwise indicated, all works contained herein are originally written in the Arabic language
3- The Repose of Death or In the Bosom of Eternity
15- Memoirs of Jesus of Nazareth
19- My Ruined Hand, or How I Suffered from a Devastating Fall
20- Gardens of the Gods Adorned with Roses of Paradise
21- Paradises of the Goddesses Set with Sacred Lotus
22- Dr. Dahesh’s Journeys Around the World
23- Winged Imagination or The Life of the Moon Dwellers
24- Strange Stories and Wonderful Tales
25- The Correspondence Between Dr. Dahesh and Dr. Mohammad Hussein Haykal
27- Anthology of Dr. Dahesh’s Works
29- The Enchantment of Prose Poetry
32- Mirage Delusions and Earthly Imaginations
33- The Lyre of Grief or The Lamentation of a Soul
1- The Secrets of the Gods
2 Vol., 3 colors, 149 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1980, 412pp.
This is Dr. Dahesh’s earliest work. It is a collection of prose poems written between the years 1927 and 1933. The central theme of these poems revolves around the immortal spiritual love. The poems are lyrics full of paradisiacal imagery. Whenever we come across allusions of despair or melancholy, we soon see them replaced by hope.
2- The Lyre of the Gods
2 Vol., 3 colors, 145 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1980, 452pp.
This book is a collection of prose poems composed throughout 1933. It is like The Secrets of the Gods that it might be considered a continuation and a complement. However, the mood of this book is that of farewell, nostalgia, overwhelming despair, and a love fading away and intertwining with feelings of death. Despite all of these sentiments, the author aims to ascend to a divine world, where he comprehends the secrets of beauty, nature of happiness, and the meaning of life.
3- The Repose of Death or In the Bosom of Eternity
Hardcover, 4 colors, 156 art plates. size 17×24 cm, 1936, 208pp.
It may be said that it is the “Book of Death.” The aim of the author was to begin and end with death, saying: “To the capable, mighty, and fusing force… to the unknown Truth from the eternal past to the eternal future… to my beloved Death, I dedicate this book.” It may also be said that this book is the “Book of Life;” for death, according to the author, is but “a gentle lovely awakening awaited eagerly by those who have purified their souls and uplifted their spirits; but it is dreaded by those whose thoughts have become impure and whose vices have increased.”
It is a tragedy that revolves around an immortal sacred love, with events taking place on Earth and Heaven, and its protagonist is a youth on his deathbed. But before the youth expires, his spirit ascends to the heavenly gardens where he meets his beloved who greets him with divine songs, and just before death unites them together in an eternal world.
This book is an inspired “vision” full of symbolism and revolves around divine beauty and love, the mysteries of immorality, eternity, and everlasting bliss. It expresses the longing of the author to attain Divine Truth and to merge with it in a pure spiritual world.
The famous poet, Mutlaq Abdul Khaleq, recast this book in verse. Both prose and verse versions were calligraphed by the two famous calligraphers, Muhammad Hussni and Najib al-Hawawini. Both versions were published in the beginning of 1936. When it was published, one literary critic said: “Had Shakespeare returned to life, Britain would not have published a book comparable to that of The Repose of Death.”
4- The Broken Heart
6 Colors, 87 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1984, 368pp.
It is a collection of prose and rhymed poems composed by Dr. Dahesh in the years 1934 and 1935. It may be best known as the book of “spiritual expatriation,” as this theme is linked to most of its subjects: the insignificance and transience of earthly life, the revolt against the corrupt and obsolete laws of this world, seeking solace in nature away from urban life, longing to and serenading death and the spiritual world—the world of knowledge, freedom, and happiness.
In this book, we find signs of the ordeals experienced by the author, which made him lose faith in friendship and cast a shadow over some of his later works.
5- Love Song
Size 12.50×17 cm, 1969, 72pp.
Two brothers retire to the sanctuary of “sacred love” and wonder which of their lovers is more beautiful. The first brother meets his beloved and praises her charms; when he finishes the recital of his song, the second brother begins to describe the beauty of his absent lover; then soon follows the happy ending.
This book is a long prose poem, which Dr. Dahesh composed in his youth (1935). It revolves around sublime love, which transports the soul to paradisiacal regions. The poem is not devoid of a narrative interlaced with poetic and mythological descriptions.
6- The Six Goddesses
2nd Edition, 5 colors, 12 art plates,
size 22×29 cm, 56pp.
The characters are an eccentric youth on earth and six goddesses on Mount Olympus. The goddesses deliberate which one of them should be sent to the youth to bring joy back into his heart. Their choice rests on Venus, the goddess of beauty. She appears to the youth, and a long dialogue between them ensues. She tries hard to seduce him with love and to take advantage of its delicious ecstasies before it is too late, however, he looks away from her while appealing to the lost truth on earth. The youth dies but only to reincarnate in the Garden of Paradise where he meets his true love, the truth, that reincarnated and took on the body of Venus.
The book is a long prose poem in the form of a dialogue that impresses the reader with its beautiful style and drives him to contemplate its meanings and symbolisms, especially the relationship between Truth, Love, and Beauty. The poet Halim Dammous found the book to be not just “a collection of words and expressions, but rather “a new inspiration to achieve a distant lofty goal and a unique window overlooking a new Earth and sky.”
The book is calligraphed and illustrated with artistic paintings by the Lebanese artist, Kaisar al-Gemayel.
Translated into French
7- Words
2nd Edition, hardcover, size 17×24 cm, 1983, 208pp.
At the beginning of 1936, Dr. Dahesh decided to record each day an expression. By the end of the year, the collection of these reflections and expressions constituted this book.
Words by Dr. Dahesh are mirrors reflecting the state of his soul in its rebellion, doubt, sorrow, and longing. The book is also a summary of his views on many subjects such as women, friendship, books, freedom, injustice, life, death, religion, faith, misery and happiness. These views are rather harsh, but their harshness is tempered with justice.
The Words of Dr. Dahesh are not theoretical ideas expressed in leisurely times. The reader will find the extent of his profound views on subject matters that could only have developed as a result of bitter and long experiences in life. But how is it possible for a youth hardly twenty-seven years of age to attain such profound ideas? Perhaps, our knowledge of his life and philosophy may provide us with an answer.
8- The Hell of Memories
Hardcover, 6 colors, 80 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1984, 336pp.
A collection of prose poems composed between 1936 and 1942.
Echoes of the painful experiences and ordeals that the author mentioned in an earlier book, The Broken Heart, are expressed in this book. These ordeals formed in the psyche of the author an absolute doubt in friendship and women and left him suffering emotionally.
Moreover, these experiences made him lose faith in pure love, hence his harsh judgment on the corrupt human nature, and to the extent that he preferred dealing with the devil than dealing with man! No wonder the author yearned for death, escaped into nature, and prayed to the goddess of dreams. However, the dark aspect of the book is contrasted with a bright one, as it is reflected in poems of sublime love, tributes to departed loved ones, and humble supplications…
9- Lightnings and Thunders
Size 14×20 cm, 1946, 112pp.
This book consists of 200 six-line stanzas, which the author had composed in 1942.
The author describes these stanzas in his introduction: “They are inner lightning and thunderous words through which I tried to briefly explain, in six lines, what I sense and feel about all aspects of this life…I wrote what I wrote out of true conviction and certainty—specially about the clergy, justice, money, women, and anything related to human life on this sick Earth.”
10- The Inferno of Dr. Dahesh
Vol. I, 2nd Edition, 5 colors, 140 art plates, size 32×42 cm, 1989, 348pp.
It is a journey by Dr. Dahesh to 52 infernal worlds—worlds of eternal gloom and the domain of darkness. The author describes to us the suffering of the sinners andtheir shattering horrors. The book, however, does not confine itself to description of suffering, rather it also reveals the reasons behind the descent to the infernal worlds. In fact, there are two conflicting elements within the author: a punitive element aiming to deter human beings from committing evil, and another element of mercy aiming to guide them.
Thus, The Inferno of Dr. Dahesh is not only a literary masterpiece but also educational, aiming to depict divine justice: the reward or punishment of man are attributed to his deeds.
The book consists of 52 rhymed poems written in quatrains. Despite the brevity of each poem, it is full of words of fear and horror and accentuated by two expressive illustrations by the Russian artist Korolev, who was commissioned by the author.
11- Arrows and Spears
Size 14×22 cm, 1971, 80pp.
It is a collection of lyrical prose pieces composed by Dr. Dahesh from the beginning of 1944 through the 27th of August of the same year; for on the 28th of August, a vicious attack took place on the founder of Daheshism by the then President of the Lebanese Republic. He was imprisoned without a cause, stripped from his Lebanese nationality without any due process of law, and then expelled from Lebanon.
These pieces fall under one of five central themes: spiritual love, philosophical contemplation, falsity of worldly life, corruption of humans, and longing for the spiritual world. However, the last prose piece in this collection departs from the above major themes—it is titled “Farewell to the Year 1944,” and its subject is the persecution of the author, his torture, and his homelessness stemming from this persecution. Perhaps this last piece carried the greater weight in deriving the title of this book.
12- Emotions and Commotions
Size 14×22 cm, 1971, 128pp.
It is a collection of prose poems written by Dr. Dahesh in 1943. In this collection, he writes using two approaches: one of tender emotions, and another of a furious rebellion. In the first approach, there are tender lyrical poems, spiritual contemplation, as well as love of nature and its enchanting scenery that constitute a significant portion of this approach.
In the second approach, the anger of the author is directed at a humanity drowning in evil, the enemies that conspire to persecute him, the hypocritical clergy, and the unfaithful women. These emotions are best represented in ” The Disciplinarian” and “Your Earth” where the reader can hear echoes of the prophets of the Old Testament. The eminent linguist Sheikh Abdullah el-Alaili said in his Introduction to this book: “You read here the literature of truthfulness and not fabricated, for the literature of truthfulness is strong and can extract or bring to the soul certain things. It can give man a new life, where he is reborn more refined between infatuation and fascination.”
13- Astarte and Adonis
4 Colors, size 12×16 cm, 1943, 132pp.
Many famous poets, such as Shakespeare, Byron, and Shelley, inspired by the Greek myth of Astarte and Adonis, recast it in their own style. And so did Dr. Dahesh, who beautifully recast the myth in his own style. The recast version is full of imagery and similes, lively dialogues, hymns and tributes, before and after the death of Adonis. Also, by the participation of nature and the gods in the events, produced a myth that is throbbing with life
However, the aim of the author is not only bound by the artistic aspect, for he believes that what is referred to as a myth—and what people view as a fable—is nothing but truth intermixed with imagination. In her introduction to the French translated version of this book, Mrs. Marie Haddad says: “Everything that Dr. Dahesh writes or says has a profound meaning. What is normal and familiar—as it seems to us—there is a hidden truth from our limited perception and perplexed mind. The reader is called for in this book to enjoy the intellectual and artistic aspects.”
The book contains commissioned illustrations by three different artists: Berjole (for the English version), Baudin (for the French version), and Pavis (for the Arabic version).
14- The Song of Songs
2nd Edition, hardcover, 47 art plates.
size 21×28.50 cm, 1986, 144pp.
The Song of Songs which Solomon, the Wise, had chanted 3000 years ago exerted a long lasting influence on world literature. A great number of writers rendered it in their own style. Dr. Dahesh, with his inspired brilliance, borrowed the meanings of this chant and recast it in his wonderful style and embellished it with his creative imagination.
As you turn the first few pages of this book, and in a few words, you are overwhelmed with imagery of sweet rhythm that is beautifully weaved and draws the soul to an ethereal realm. Then as you read the subsequent chapters, you would think that you are watching a musical play taking place in a paradisiacal world.
The book was published in English, French, and German by brilliant calligraphers and a literary masterpiece.
15- Memoirs of Jesus of Nazareth
2nd Edition, 5 colors, 7 art plates, size 21×28.50 cm, 1991, 152pp.
The life of Christ until the age of 30 raises many questions: How did he spend his childhood days and his youth? How long did he stay with his parents in Egypt? Who received them as guests there? Did he get any education? Did he perform any miracles prior to his miracle at Cana of Galilee? What was the attitude of his family towards him and his message? Where did he meet Peter for the first time? Did he preach some of his teachings before the proclamation of his message? Were his teachings restricted to what was written in the four gospels, or were there more, but remained unrevealed?
These questions and more are unveiled in this inspired book about the life of the Nazarene beginning at the age of twelve.
16- Memoirs of a Dinar
2nd Edition, hardcover, 4 colors, 124 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1986, 464pp.
An unusual novel written by Dr. Dahesh in less than 24 hours spread over 12 days (from the third to the fourteenth of January of 1946).
The protagonist, a Dinar (a golden coin), narrates his century-long experiences throughout the world as he exchanged hands. It traveled between cities, villages, palaces, huts, monasteries, and nightclubs. He traversed space, dived into the oceans, associated with the good and bad, kings and commons, listened to animals, and witnessed two national liberation movements in India and Egypt, as well as two World Wars and later, a third World War! He recounted his experiences as a skillful storyteller and rendered his judgments with the wisdom of a philosopher.
The book is of the author’s views on society and its corrupt ways, the clergy, politics, liberties, money, love, psychology of nations, art, literature, and the judicial system. He expressed his views in a blunt realistic style, with a sincere desire to reform.
Translated into French, German, and Spanish
17- The Knell of Sorrows
or The Lamentations of Jeremiah
Hardcover, 6 colors, 9 art plates, size 12×16.50 cm, 1983, 120pp.
Dr. Dahesh is probably the first writer to render, in his own style, the Lamentations of Jeremiah the city of Jerusalem after its devastation in the sixth century and the Diaspora of its people. His version comes across as smooth and concise. No doubt, the comparison between the two versions makes an interesting topic for study.
The question remains. Why did Dr. Dahesh recast these Lamentations? One wonders whether he wanted to speak about divine justice that he promotes, or perhaps he had other intentions associated with the country that persecuted him?
18- The River of Tears
Size 17×24 cm, 1979, 168pp.
Diogenes searched for so long but never found the True Man, but Dr. Dahesh, found at last. a man who combined in his character the rare qualities of nobility, generosity, loyalty, humility, kindness, compassion, learnedness, unshakable faith. He is the dermatologist, Dr. George Khabsa, who embraced Daheshism in 1942 and lived close to its founder for 28 years, that is, until his passing on November 8, 1969. Dr. Dahesh dedicated this book of elegies to his faithful disciple, in which through which, he expressed the sadness of his heart in a mournful language saturated with grief affirming to us that the relationship between the two surpasses the duration of one lifetime.
19- My Ruined Hand, or How I Suffered from a Devastating Fall
2 Colors, size 17×24 cm, 1979, 108pp
Have you ever read about an author who wrote a whole book about his hand and its pains? It is a novel approach, and perhaps Dr. Dahesh was the first to tackle it.
This book is a collection of emotional pieces, mostly rhymed, through which the author, over a period of three years, expresses the pains he suffered from his hand, stemming from a horrible fall in the spring of 1976.
The book portrays the extraordinary ability of Dr. Dahesh to trace the meaning of pain by delving into the most subtle emotions. In this book, he is not satisfied by just describing the pain, rather, he associates it with the Principle of Divine Justice, and the reasoning behind its lengthy duration and the failure of the medical field to cure him. He raises his supplications to God, his last refuge, that He may have mercy on him and heal his hand.
20- Gardens of the Gods Adorned with Roses of Paradise
10 Vol., 4 colors, 14 art plates each vol., size 17×24 cm, 1980, (total 1132pp.)
This series, a collection of emotional pieces written over half a century, from 1927 to 1976, reflects the author’s many feelings: sadness and joy, despair and hope, happiness and misery…some of the pieces are tender, sentimental songs, while others are intellectual stances reflecting as much determination as truthfulness.
Some of the characteristics of this series are creative imagination; a mixture of bold opinions and genuine emotions; bright statements; and originality of thought and expressions.
21- Paradises of the Goddesses Set with Sacred Lotus
10 Vol., 5 colors, 22 art plates each vol., size 17×24 cm, 1980-81, (total 1356pp.)
This series consists of an assortment of prose and rhymed poems, composed by Dr. Dahesh between 1976 and 1980 and covers a wide array of subject matters. Some are philosophical, descriptive, emotional, prayerful, satirical, narrative, and reflecting wisdom.
The author accompanies the reader to different worlds. First, he lets him into his inner self by exposing his feelings of sadness, love, hope, revolt, and his dreams of paradise, joyful and sad reminiscences, his premonitions of death, and longing for being set free. He then accompanies the reader into the outside world, wiping the makeup off the face of humanity, thus revealing its misery, corruption, the illusions of earthly fame and pleasures, as well as the impending threat of total annihilation. The author then makes a stop with the reader in Lebanon describing the horrors of its war and the workings of divine justice. At times, the author accompanies the reader to the bosoms of nature hoping to find there some of the lost happiness on earth; and at other times, he calls upon the reader to contemplate matters that touch upon his existence.
22. Dr. Dahesh’s Journeys Around the World
Hardcover, 22 volumes, size 17×24 cm each (approx. total 7500 pp.)
Travel is not a trivial matter in the life of Dr. Dahesh. It is sufficient for you to know that his travels covered just about all countries of the world: Middle, Far East, Russia, North America, and almost all the African and European countries. In this series, he chronicled his travels, observations, and commented on a wide range of issues.
Dr. Dahesh’s travel literature is characterized by its fidelity to facts in narration and description, accuracy in recording the exact time and estimates, developing a feel for the natural, cultural, social, and economic aspects of each country, comparing and contrasting nations, rendering constructive judgments —especially from the moral and artistic aspects. Besides, he adorned his travels with emotional pieces inspired by certain events or scenes experienced during his travels.
Dr. Dahesh’s Journeys come close to being an autobiography, acquainting the reader with the personality of the author, his attitudes, taste, spiritual philosophy, lifestyle, and judgments on issues.
23- Winged Imagination or The Life of the Moon Dwellers
5 Colors, 19 art plates. size 17×24 cm, 1979. 70pp.
Do you like to explore a strange world where the body length of its inhabitants is about a hundred or two hundred meters, but their chests do not exceed three centimeters wide? A bird in this world is larger than a whale in size and more intelligent than humans on Earth? A chicken is the size of three elephants, and houses are built out of their bones? Trees are fiery; mountains of diamonds; rivers flow in the sky? Would you also like to know a little about love and marriage, dialogue, singing, birth and death? Or do you have a desire to know about its religions, beliefs, laws, means of travels, and some of its foods and how they are consumed? If so, then you should read this book. It is full of strange humorous fantasies and the exciting imagination of the author.
Translated into French
24- Strange Stories and Wonderful Tales
4 Volumes, size 17×24 cm, 1979, 1980, 1983 (total 900pp.)
This assortment of short stories confronts the reader with its strange events, exciting plot, perplexing conflict, and surprising, astonishing resolution. The stories captivate the reader, stirring in him feelings of wonder, astonishment, and awe.
What is rather remarkable are the author’s views conveyed in these short stories: all creatures are free and responsible for their conduct, subject to the laws of Divine Justice and reincarnation, man is not the only being intellect, and that some animals and plants exceed him in intellect. Also, the physical social hierarchy on Earth is not evidence of spiritual elevation, for there are other inhabited planets whose civilizations are more advanced than those of Earth, and that some have visited Earth many times and left behind great structures.
Vol.1, Translated into German
25- The Correspondence Between Dr. Dahesh and Dr. Mohammad Hussein Haykal
Size 17×24 cm, 1981, 244pp.
In the summer of 1951, the famous Egyptian writer, Dr. Mohammad Hussein Haykal, an ex-president of the Egyptian Senate and the owner of the two Egyptian newspapers, The Weekly Politics and The Daily politics, visited Lebanon. He heard the news of the oppressive persecution campaign mounted against Dr. Dahesh at the hands of the President of the Lebanese Republic, Beshara el-Khoury; so he wrote to the Daheshist poet, Halim Dammous, expressing his desire to assist in defending the cause of a man unjustly persecuted. This letter to the Lebanese poet initiated a correspondence between Dr. Haykal and the founder of Daheshism, who was at that time unjustly stripped of his nationality and living away from public view.
The letters of Dr. Dahesh mostly reveal the causes of persecution and the so- called “legal” procedures of the thinly veiled conspiracy against him, and his determination to restore his rights. On the other hand, the letters of Dr. Haykal express his view that stripping man of his nationality is worse than a death sentence by a firing squad. These letters express Dr. Haykal’s avowal to stir up Dr. Dahesh’s case in the Egyptian press in a manner like Voltaire’s defense in the famous Calas case.
In addition to the correspondence, this book includes a variety of supplementary material related to the case of Dr. Dahesh’s persecution, for instance, a letter sent by Dr. Dahesh to the attorney at law, Edward Noon, where Dr. Dahesh narrates in detail the incident when he was attacked and tortured at the hands of men the Lebanese authorities. Also, there are two eulogies written by Dr. Dahesh after the eviction of Beshara el-Khoury from power on September 18, 1952. One for his mother, and another for the martyr, Magda Hadad. There is also a petition sent by Marie Hadad to the new President of the Lebanese Republic asking him to restore the citizenship to Dr. Dahesh. Part of the various documents, the reader finds newspaper articles about the restoration of Dr. Dahesh’s citizenship, along with some letters and responses published at the time.
26- Humble Supplications
Hardcover, 6 colors, 12 art plates. size 17×24 cm, 1983, 216pp.
This book is composed of prayers and spiritual hymns composed at different times in Dr. Dahesh’s life. Supplications ranging from confessions of human weakness to the conflict between good and evil within him, asking for God’s forgiveness and requesting His help to crush his lowly desires. Whenever he is comforted that he prevailed, he raises praises of thanks and asking Him to strengthen his faith and his determination, vowing to dedicate himself to guiding the world, and appealing to Him for deliverance from this Earth. He then goes beyond the individual prayers to collective prayers, and then to cosmic prayers joined in worship by nature and the celestial spheres.
As to the spiritual hymns, the author prays to the Spiritual World –world of eternal purity and radiance, expressing his longing to it. Some hymns are addressed to Lord Christ, “the Messenger of God and His sublime Word.”
27- Anthology of Dr. Dahesh’s Works
Size 15×22 cm, 1970, 238pp.
As the title indicates, this book is an anthology of Dr. Dahesh’s works; as the title indicates, the selections were chosen from his writings spanning over a ten-year period (1932 to 1942), when the author was in the prime of his life. It gives the reader a glimpse into the author’s views on life during his youth. What is so unusual about the author’s views is his endorsement of the essence of things and avoiding their superficial aspect. The book has been supplemented by selections composed at a later period of the author’s life. It becomes clear to the reader that the author’s view during his old age were not different from that those that he held during his youth
28- The Lyre of Orpheus
Hardcover, 3 colors, 21 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1984, 232pp.
It is a book of poetry, composed of selections from Dr. Dahesh’s poems chosen from a wide selection of his works.
poetry in this book is not what is commonly classified as “rhymed ” rather, it is reflections of a multi-faced reality liberated from the constraints of rules and human standards. Thus, you will find in this book poems of one or several rhymes, and is a style of poetry characterized by its sweetness, rhyme, lacks repetition, and is not bound by meters.
29- The Enchantment of Prose Poetry
Hardcover, 3 colors, 12 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1984, 272pp.
It is a bouquet of poems selected from the twenty-volume series, Gardens of the Gods and Paradises of the Goddesses, and gives the reader a glimpse of the color and fragrance-rich roses that those “gardens” and “paradises” possess and invite him to roam their world.
The spontaneous predominant poetry–regardless of being free verse or rhymed poems–possess an inner musical characteristic that is of the same music that plays within the soul of the author in a delicate, throbbing, and embodying all manifestations of beauty.
30- My Songs
Hardcover, 3 colors, 9 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1984, 264pp.
There is hardly a single book of Dr. Dahesh’s emotional writings devoid of pieces revolving around the triviality of worldly life, the nullification of its glories, human misery and corruption, yearning for and praising death, longing for the Spiritual World. The author collected these pieces in this book and titled it “My Songs”—an indication of the deep emotional ties to his soul. This book is unusual in its contents and is written by an author with unusual goals. Perhaps it is a good way to express his spiritual expatriation.
31- A Prose Writer and a Poet
3 Vol, hardcover, 3 colors, 8 art plates each volume, size 17×24 cm, 1983, 824pp.
Dr. Dahesh has been unique in his desire to transpose his literary legacy into verse. He entrusted with this task many poets, among them: Mutlaq Abdul Khaleq, who rendered into poetry The Repose of Death, Sheikh Abdullah el-Alaili, the versifier of the first volume of The Inferno of Dr. Dahesh, and Salah al-Asir, the versifier of Astarte and Adonis.
In this book, Dr. Dahesh rephrased most of what he had written until the beginning of the year 1950 into octave-rhymed stanzas; then the poet Halim Dammous, who, as stated in his own words, “was aware of the origin of these divine words and the truth behind their heartfelt expressions,” transposed over 600 pieces from rhymed prose into rhymed verse. His renderings were described as true to meaning, perfect, and flowed smoothly.
32- Mirage Delusions and Earthly Imaginations
Hardcover, 3 colors, 4 art plates, size 17×24 cm, 1991, 132pp.
This book consists of prose and rhymed poems as well as literary correspondences, penned by Dr. Dahesh in the period from the beginning of 1945 until the beginning of 1950. These poems do not differ from his contemplative and emotional literary works in their general characteristics. But there are five influences that gave the book its dark hue: three of these pertain to the life of the author and the other two are world events. These influences are the persecution of the founder of Daheshism, the death of Dr. Dahesh’s mother, the martyrdom of the Daheshist Magda Hadad, the second World War leaving all the disasters and destruction in its wake, and then the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, “the prophet of humanity.” However, this dark view is counterbalanced with a bright side emanating from poems about love and nature.
This book also includes correspondence with two authors: the subject of the first correspondence is love and women, and the subject of the other is the lack of freedom in Lebanon.
33- The Lyre of Grief or The Lamentation of a Soul
(Lamentation of Dr. Dahesh over the Daheshist martyr, Magda Haddad, to include the book “The Sacrificial Dove”)
Size 17×24 cm, 1991, 145pp.
On the 27th of January 1945, The Daheshist Magda Hadad put an end to her life in protest against the government’s act of depriving Dr. Dahesh of his freedom and stripping him from his Lebanese citizenship.
When Dr. Dahesh heard the news of her martyrdom, he was struck by grief and wrote these lamentations that reached its peak in tragedy and that embody his agony over her death whose faithfulness and loyalty are so rare. These lamentations were written over thirty-four years—a period that did not lessen their sincerity and passion.
34- The Sharp Sword
Bound Edition, 2 colors, size 21×28.50 cm, 1992, 216pp.
This book consists of 366 rhymed sextet stanzas, written by Dr. Dahesh in 1980, one stanza every day. Truth be told, there is nothing less indicative of the content than the title of this book, for a sharp sword does not hold back words, or flatter anyone. The author lays bare the truth about human life, its miseries, futilities, and flaws… He attacks the traitors and tyrants at whose hands he suffered severely. He also declares his support for truth, justice and virtue in an age where moral values have been seriously shaken.
For those who are enamored by the truth that does not embellish or disguise itself, in this book they have found what they were looking for. In fact, the author is so candid that he gives it the title The Sharp Sword.