Chapter I: Story about Darius and his Horsekeeper
I have heard that Darius, of fortunate race,Got detached from his suite, on the day of the chase.Before him came running a horse-tending lout ;The king from his quiver an arrow pulled out,—In the desert, 'tis well to show terror of foes,For at home not a thorn will appear on the rose ;—The terrified horse-keeper uttered a cry,Saying :—"Do not destroy me! no foeman am I.I am he who takes care of the steeds of the king ;In this meadow, with zeal to my duty I cling."The king's startled heart found composure again ;He smiled and exclaimed:—"Oh most foolish of men!Some fortunate angel has succoured you here;Else the string of my bow, I'd have brought to my ear."The guard of the pasturage smiled and replied:—"Admonition, from friends, it becomes not to hide.The arrangements are bad and the counsels unwise,When the king can't a friend from a foe recognize.The condition of living in greatness is so,That ev'ry dependant you have you should know.You often have seen me when present at Court,And inquired about horses and pastures and sport.And now that in love I have met you again,Me you cannot distinguish from rancorous men.As for me, I am able, oh name-bearing king!Any horse out of one hundred thousand to bring.With wisdom and judgment as herdsman I serve ;Do you, in like manner, your own flock preserve !"In that capital anarchy causes distress,Where the plans of the king than the herdsman's are less.
Words in this poem
- suite n.
- A retinue or company of attendants, as of a distinguished personage; as, the suite of an ambassador. See Suit, n., 5. [F. See Suit, n.]
- foeman n.
- An enemy in war. [AS. fhman.]
- composure n.
- The act of composing, or that which is composed; a composition. [From Compose.]
- pasturage n.
- Grazing ground; grass land used for pasturing; pasture. [OF. pasturage, F. pâturage. See Pasture.]
- rancorous a.
- Full of rancor; evincing, or caused by, rancor; deeply malignant; implacably spiteful or malicious; intensely virulent. [OF. rancuros.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story about Darius and his Horsekeeper 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 about Darius and his Horsekeeper, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-12.html, id L29517.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story about Darius and his Horsekeeper is 30 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKFFEELLMM raceA · chaseA · loutB · outB · foesC · roseC · cryD · iD · kingE · clingE · againF · menF · hereG · earG · repliedH · hideH · unwiseI · recognizeI · soJ · knowJ · courtK · sportK · againF · menF · kingE · bringE · serveL · preserveL · distressM · lessM
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 Darius, of fortunate race, | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| Got detached from his suite, on the day of the chase. | 12 | ·˘/········· |
| Before him came running a horse-tending lout ; | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| The king from his quiver an arrow pulled out,— | 12 | ····/˘·/˘·˘· |
| In the desert, 'tis well to show terror of foes, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| For at home not a thorn will appear on the rose ;— | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| The terrified horse-keeper uttered a cry, | 12 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘·· |
| Saying :—"Do not destroy me! no foeman am I. | 12 | /˘··˘/··/˘·· |
| I am he who takes care of the steeds of the king ; | 12 | ············ |
| In this meadow, with zeal to my duty I cling." | 12 | ··/·····/˘·· |
| The king's startled heart found composure again ; | 12 | ··/˘˘··˘/˘˘/ |
| He smiled and exclaimed:—"Oh most foolish of men! | 12 | ··˘·˘/··/˘·· |
| Some fortunate angel has succoured you here; | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘˘·· |
| Else the string of my bow, I'd have brought to my ear." | 12 | ············ |
| The guard of the pasturage smiled and replied:— | 12 | ····/˘˘·˘·˘/ |
| "Admonition, from friends, it becomes not to hide. | 12 | ·˘/˘···˘/··· |
| The arrangements are bad and the counsels unwise, | 12 | ·˘/˘····/˘˘/ |
| When the king can't a friend from a foe recognize. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| The condition of living in greatness is so, | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| That ev'ry dependant you have you should know. | 11 | ··········· |
| You often have seen me when present at Court, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| And inquired about horses and pastures and sport. | 12 | ·˘/··/˘·/˘·· |
| And now that in love I have met you again, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Me you cannot distinguish from rancorous men. | 12 | ··˘/˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| As for me, I am able, oh name-bearing king! | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘· |
| Any horse out of one hundred thousand to bring. | 12 | /˘····/˘/˘·· |
| With wisdom and judgment as herdsman I serve ; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Do you, in like manner, your own flock preserve !" | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| In that capital anarchy causes distress, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| Where the plans of the king than the herdsman's are less. | 12 | ············ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.