Chapter I: Story on Sympathy for Subjects
I have heard that a king who was just and devout,Had a cloak, having lining both inside and out.One addressed him:—" Oh monarch of fortunate reign !A cloak of brocade, brought from China, obtain !"He replied, " This for cov'ring and comfort will do ;And if this you exceed, 'tis for people to view.From my subjects I do not the taxes collect,That my person, my throne, and my crown may be decked.Were I in the clothes of a woman to dress,By manhood! when would I the foeman repress?I also have longings, a hundred and more,But not solely for me is the treasury's store."For the sake of the army, are treasuries full ;Not for purchasing trinkets and toys, as a rule.The soldier whose heart with the king is irate,Is slow in protecting the bounds of the State.When the foe bears the villager's ass from his pow'r,The king should not taxes, and tithes, too, devour.The foe stole his ass, and the king levied tax ;Could a State show prosperity, cursed with such racks?"Tis ungen'rous to trample on one you supplant;The miserly bird takes the grain from the ant.The subject's a tree, unto which, if you tend,The fruit you will eat to the joy of your friend.With cruelty, dig it not up fruit and root ;For the fool on himself places tyranny's foot.Those have tasted the pleasures of fortune and youth,Who towards their subjects have exercised ruth.If a subject should chance from his station to fall,Take care ! lest to God for redress he should call.When a state can be peacefully gained for the king,By war, the red blood from a pore do not bring !By manhood! the realm with a world in its bound,Is not worth, that a blood-drop should fall to the ground.
Words in this poem
- brocade n.
- Silk stuff, woven with gold and silver threads, or ornamented with raised flowers, foliage, etc.; -- also applied to other stuffs thus wrought and enriched. [Sp. brocado (cf. It. broccato, F. brocart), fr. LL. brocare *prick, to figure (textile fabrics), to emboss (linen), to stitch. See Broach.]
- foeman n.
- An enemy in war. [AS. fhman.]
- irate a.
- Angry; incensed; enraged. [L. iratus, fr. irasci to be angry. See Ire.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- miserly a.
- Like a miser; very covetous; sordid; niggardly. [From Miser.]
- ruth n.
- Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [From Rue, v.: cf. Icel. hryggedh, hrygedh.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story on Sympathy for Subjects is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Garden of Fragrance: being a complete translation of the Bostan of Sadi from the original Persian into English verse, by G. S. Davie (London: Kegan Paul, Trench and Co., 1882), Internet Archive, the G. S. Davie translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Saadi, Chapter I: Story on Sympathy for Subjects, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-10.html, id L29515.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story on Sympathy for Subjects is 34 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in anapaestic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQ devoutA · outA · reignB · obtainB · doC · viewC · collectD · deckedD · dressE · repressE · moreF · storeF · fullG · ruleG · irateH · stateH · pow'rI · devourI · taxJ · racksJ · supplantK · antK · tendL · friendL · rootM · footM · youthN · ruthN · fallO · callO · kingP · bringP · boundQ · groundQ
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I have heard that a king who was just and devout, | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| Had a cloak, having lining both inside and out. | 12 | ···/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| One addressed him:—" Oh monarch of fortunate reign ! | 12 | ·˘/··/··/˘˘· |
| A cloak of brocade, brought from China, obtain !" | 11 | ···˘/··/˘˘/ |
| He replied, " This for cov'ring and comfort will do ; | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘·· |
| And if this you exceed, 'tis for people to view. | 12 | ····˘/··/˘·· |
| From my subjects I do not the taxes collect, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| That my person, my throne, and my crown may be decked. | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Were I in the clothes of a woman to dress, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| By manhood! when would I the foeman repress? | 11 | ·/·····/˘˘/ |
| I also have longings, a hundred and more, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘·· |
| But not solely for me is the treasury's store." | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| For the sake of the army, are treasuries full ; | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘· |
| Not for purchasing trinkets and toys, as a rule. | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘····· |
| The soldier whose heart with the king is irate, | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| Is slow in protecting the bounds of the State. | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| When the foe bears the villager's ass from his pow'r, | 12 | ·····/˘˘···· |
| The king should not taxes, and tithes, too, devour. | 12 | ····/˘···˘/˘ |
| The foe stole his ass, and the king levied tax ; | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Could a State show prosperity, cursed with such racks? | 12 | ····˘/˘˘···· |
| "Tis ungen'rous to trample on one you supplant; | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| The miserly bird takes the grain from the ant. | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| The subject's a tree, unto which, if you tend, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The fruit you will eat to the joy of your friend. | 11 | ··········· |
| With cruelty, dig it not up fruit and root ; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For the fool on himself places tyranny's foot. | 12 | ····˘//˘/˘˘· |
| Those have tasted the pleasures of fortune and youth, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Who towards their subjects have exercised ruth. | 12 | ····˘/·/˘·˘· |
| If a subject should chance from his station to fall, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| Take care ! lest to God for redress he should call. | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| When a state can be peacefully gained for the king, | 12 | ·····/˘˘···· |
| By war, the red blood from a pore do not bring ! | 11 | ··········· |
| By manhood! the realm with a world in its bound, | 11 | ·/········· |
| Is not worth, that a blood-drop should fall to the ground. | 12 | ············ |
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