Contrariness in Classical Arabic Literature: Beautifying the Ugly and Uglifying the Beautiful by Abu Mansur Al-Tha'alibi (D. 429/1039)

In his Beautifying the Ugly and Uglifying the Beautiful (Taḥsin al-qabiḥ wa-taqbiḥ al-ḥasan) the prolific anthologist al-Tha?alibi (d. 429/1038) offers a thematically arranged selection of Arabic poems and prose anecdotes or sayings with contrary or paradoxical purport, such as praise of miserliness, boredom, sickness, and death, or condemnation of generosity, intelligence, youth, and music. The book is both entertaining and informative, giving insight in premodern Arab and Islamic culture. It contains a new edition of the Arabic text and a complete English translation (the first in any language) with extensive annotation, preceded by an introduction with the necessary background of the genre.