Chapter I: Story of a Syrian Recluse
On the border of Syria a famed man of God,Apart from the world, made a cave his abode.Resigned in that corner—a gloomy retreat—On Contentment's rich treasure, he planted his feet.The notables laid their proud heads at his door,For inside their portals his head did not soar.The fair-dealing hermit has this in his eye,That in beggary, greed from his spirit may fly.When his breath ev'ry moment says—" Give me, in haste !"They direct him from village to village disgraced.In the land where this prudent recluse had his cell,A tyrannical governor happened to dwell ;Who by violence twisted the fingers behind,Of all the poor men he was able to find.A tyrant unmerciful, void of all fear ;By his harshness a world's faces frowning appear.A multitude fled from that outrage and shame,And disclosed to the world his iniquitous name.A number, heart-wounded and wretched, remained,And in rear of their spinning-wheels, curses they rained.In the place where the hand of Oppression goes far,You behold not men's lips, from their laughing, ajar.To see the old Saint, oft the chief would repair ;But the Pietest looked as if no one were there.The chief once addressed him—" Oh favoured by Fate !Do not harden your face on account of your hate !That it is my design to befriend you, you know;On my account, therefore, why enmity show ?I do not presume to be chief in the land,But in honour, not less than the Dervish I stand.To be ranked above others I do not lay claim ;As to others you are, unto me, be the same !"The intelligent worshipper heard this remark ;He was angry and answered, "Oh governor, hark !By your presence, distress to the people extends ;I reckon not scourges of people my friends.You are hostile to those who are friendly to me;That you are my friend, I'm unable to see.Supposing I did on you friendship bestow ;What then ? Since by God you are counted a foe !"If from one of God's chosen the skin they should rend,The enemy will not be friend of the Friend.I'm amazed how that hard-hearted person can sleep,Since a city through him lies in misery deep.If virtue and wisdom and sense in you dwell,Be ready in liberal acts to excel !
Words in this poem
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- resigned a.
- Submissive; yielding; not disposed to resist or murmur.
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- unmerciful a.
- Not merciful; indisposed to mercy or grace; cruel; inhuman; merciless; unkind.
- ajar adv.
- Slightly turned or opened; as, the door was standing ajar. [OE. on char ajar, on the turn; AS. cerr, cyrr, turn, akin to G. kehren to turn, and to D. akerre. See Char.]
- favoured a.
- Countenanced; aided; regarded with kidness; as, a favored friend.
- befriend v. t.
- To act as a friend to; to favor; to aid, benefit, or countenance.
- presume v. t.
- To assume or take beforehand; esp., to do or undertake without leave or authority previously obtained. [F. présumer, L. praesumere, praesumptum; prae before + sumere to take. See Assume, Redeem.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- 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.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story of a Syrian Recluse 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 a Syrian Recluse, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-19.html, id L29524.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story of a Syrian Recluse is 46 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWW godA · abodeA · retreatB · feetB · doorC · soarC · eyeD · flyD · hasteE · disgracedE · cellF · dwellF · behindG · findG · fearH · appearH · shameI · nameI · remainedJ · rainedJ · farK · ajarK · repairL · thereL · fateM · hateM · knowN · showN · landO · standO · claimP · sameP · remarkQ · harkQ · extendsR · friendsR · meS · seeS · bestowT · foeT · rendU · friendU · sleepV · deepV · dwellW · excelW
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 |
|---|---|---|
| On the border of Syria a famed man of God, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| Apart from the world, made a cave his abode. | 11 | ˘/·······˘/ |
| Resigned in that corner—a gloomy retreat— | 12 | ˘/˘··/˘·/˘˘/ |
| On Contentment's rich treasure, he planted his feet. | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| The notables laid their proud heads at his door, | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| For inside their portals his head did not soar. | 11 | ·˘/·/˘····· |
| The fair-dealing hermit has this in his eye, | 11 | ··/˘/˘····· |
| That in beggary, greed from his spirit may fly. | 12 | ··/˘˘···/˘·· |
| When his breath ev'ry moment says—" Give me, in haste !" | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| They direct him from village to village disgraced. | 12 | ·˘/··/˘·/˘˘/ |
| In the land where this prudent recluse had his cell, | 12 | ·····/˘˘/··· |
| A tyrannical governor happened to dwell ; | 12 | ·˘/˘˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| Who by violence twisted the fingers behind, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Of all the poor men he was able to find. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| A tyrant unmerciful, void of all fear ; | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘˘···· |
| By his harshness a world's faces frowning appear. | 12 | ··/˘··/˘/˘˘/ |
| A multitude fled from that outrage and shame, | 11 | ·/˘····/··· |
| And disclosed to the world his iniquitous name. | 12 | ·˘/····˘/˘˘· |
| A number, heart-wounded and wretched, remained, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| And in rear of their spinning-wheels, curses they rained. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| In the place where the hand of Oppression goes far, | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| You behold not men's lips, from their laughing, ajar. | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘˘/ |
| To see the old Saint, oft the chief would repair ; | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| But the Pietest looked as if no one were there. | 12 | ··/˘˘······· |
| The chief once addressed him—" Oh favoured by Fate ! | 12 | ···˘/˘··/˘·· |
| Do not harden your face on account of your hate ! | 12 | ··/˘···˘/··· |
| That it is my design to befriend you, you know; | 12 | ····˘/·˘/··· |
| On my account, therefore, why enmity show ? | 11 | ··˘/···/˘˘· |
| I do not presume to be chief in the land, | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| But in honour, not less than the Dervish I stand. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| To be ranked above others I do not lay claim ; | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| As to others you are, unto me, be the same !" | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| The intelligent worshipper heard this remark ; | 12 | ·˘/˘˘·····˘/ |
| He was angry and answered, "Oh governor, hark ! | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘˘· |
| By your presence, distress to the people extends ; | 12 | ··/˘˘/··/˘˘/ |
| I reckon not scourges of people my friends. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| You are hostile to those who are friendly to me; | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| That you are my friend, I'm unable to see. | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| Supposing I did on you friendship bestow ; | 11 | ˘/˘····/˘˘/ |
| What then ? Since by God you are counted a foe !" | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| If from one of God's chosen the skin they should rend, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| The enemy will not be friend of the Friend. | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| I'm amazed how that hard-hearted person can sleep, | 12 | ·˘/···/˘/˘·· |
| Since a city through him lies in misery deep. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| If virtue and wisdom and sense in you dwell, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Be ready in liberal acts to excel ! | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘··˘/ |
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.