Chapter I: Story of Atabak-Tukla
In the records of monarchs of yore, it is shownThat when Tukla succeeded to Zangi's great throne,In his reign not a person another could touch—He excelled if he only accomplished this much.He once to a pious believer thus spoke :—"My life to the present has ended in smoke.When country, position, and throne disappear,From the world none takes riches, except the Fakir.To sit in the corner of worship I'm fain,And turn to account the 'five days' that remain."When the wise man of luminous soul heard this stuff,In a towering rage, he said, "Tukla, enough !Save in ruling your subjects, no path you possess ;Not in rosaries, carpets, nor mendicant's dress.On your own royal throne you must tarry secure,And the rank of a Dervish by virtues procure.In intention and truth with your loins girt be found ;Let your tongue 'gainst desires and pretensions be bound!It is right to advance in the Faith and not boast;For to brag and not act, is a wind-bag, at most.The nobles, who Purity's money possessed,In tatters, like these, under mantles were dressed."
Words in this poem
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- fakir n.
- An Oriental religious ascetic or begging monk. [Ar. faqir poor.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- towering a.
- Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height.
- dervish n.
- A Turkish or Persian monk, especially one who professes extreme poverty and leads an austere life. [Per. derw, fr. OPer. derew to beg, ask alms: cf. F. derviche.]
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story of Atabak-Tukla 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 of Atabak-Tukla, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-17.html, id L29522.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story of Atabak-Tukla is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK shownA · throneA · touchB · muchB · spokeC · smokeC · disappearD · fakirD · fainE · remainE · stuffF · enoughF · possessG · dressG · secureH · procureH · foundI · boundI · boastJ · mostJ · possessedK · dressedK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In the records of monarchs of yore, it is shown | 12 | ··˘/·/······ |
| That when Tukla succeeded to Zangi's great throne, | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| In his reign not a person another could touch— | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘·· |
| He excelled if he only accomplished this much. | 12 | ·˘/··/˘˘/˘·· |
| He once to a pious believer thus spoke :— | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| "My life to the present has ended in smoke. | 11 | ····˘/·/˘·· |
| When country, position, and throne disappear, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘···˘/ |
| From the world none takes riches, except the Fakir. | 12 | ·····/˘···/˘ |
| To sit in the corner of worship I'm fain, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| And turn to account the 'five days' that remain." | 11 | ···˘/····˘/ |
| When the wise man of luminous soul heard this stuff, | 12 | ·····/˘˘···· |
| In a towering rage, he said, "Tukla, enough ! | 12 | ··/˘˘·····˘/ |
| Save in ruling your subjects, no path you possess ; | 12 | ··/˘·/˘···˘/ |
| Not in rosaries, carpets, nor mendicant's dress. | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘····· |
| On your own royal throne you must tarry secure, | 12 | ···/˘···/˘˘/ |
| And the rank of a Dervish by virtues procure. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| In intention and truth with your loins girt be found ; | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| Let your tongue 'gainst desires and pretensions be bound! | 12 | ····˘/·˘/˘·· |
| It is right to advance in the Faith and not boast; | 12 | ····˘/······ |
| For to brag and not act, is a wind-bag, at most. | 12 | ············ |
| The nobles, who Purity's money possessed, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
| In tatters, like these, under mantles were dressed." | 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.