Chapter I: Story on Concern for Others
The sighs of the people one night raised a fire ;Half Baghdad, I have heard, was consumed in its ire.A person gave thanks, midst the smoke and the dust,Saying, "Harm has not come to my shop from the gust."A man of experience said : " Mine of disgrace !In you, not a grief but for self, has a place.That a town should be burned up by fire, you delight,Although at the border there wanders a blight."Who his stomach would stuff but the heartless, alone,When he sees others' stomachs compressed with a stone?Will the rich man himself eat that morsel, so sweet,When he sees that the poor their own blood have to eat?Do not say that the sick nurse is hearty and whole:For he twists like a patient, from anguish of soul.When the friends of "Kind Heart" the wished resting-place find,He sleeps not, for others are struggling behind.The hearts of good kings become burdened, alas !When they see in the quagmire the thorn-bearing ass.If a man in Felicity's mansion reside,One letter from Sadi suffices to guide.It suffices for you, if observance you show—"You cannot reap jasmines if briars you sow."
Words in this poem
- heartless a.
- Without a heart.
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
- reap n.
- A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut. Wright. [Cf. AS. rip harvest. See Reap, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story on Concern for Others 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 Concern for Others, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-22.html, id L29527.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story on Concern for Others 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 89%).
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 fireA · ireA · dustB · gustB · disgraceC · placeC · delightD · blightD · aloneE · stoneE · sweetF · eatF · wholeG · soulG · findH · behindH · alasI · assI · resideJ · guideJ · showK · sowK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The sighs of the people one night raised a fire ; | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| Half Baghdad, I have heard, was consumed in its ire. | 12 | ·/˘····˘/··· |
| A person gave thanks, midst the smoke and the dust, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Saying, "Harm has not come to my shop from the gust." | 12 | /˘·········· |
| A man of experience said : " Mine of disgrace ! | 12 | ···˘/˘˘···˘/ |
| In you, not a grief but for self, has a place. | 11 | ··········· |
| That a town should be burned up by fire, you delight, | 12 | ········/·˘/ |
| Although at the border there wanders a blight." | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| Who his stomach would stuff but the heartless, alone, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| When he sees others' stomachs compressed with a stone? | 12 | ···/˘/˘˘/··· |
| Will the rich man himself eat that morsel, so sweet, | 12 | ····˘/··/˘·· |
| When he sees that the poor their own blood have to eat? | 12 | ············ |
| Do not say that the sick nurse is hearty and whole: | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| For he twists like a patient, from anguish of soul. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| When the friends of "Kind Heart" the wished resting-place find, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| He sleeps not, for others are struggling behind. | 12 | ····/˘·/˘˘·· |
| The hearts of good kings become burdened, alas ! | 12 | ·····˘//˘˘˘/ |
| When they see in the quagmire the thorn-bearing ass. | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘· |
| If a man in Felicity's mansion reside, | 12 | ····˘/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| One letter from Sadi suffices to guide. | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘·· |
| It suffices for you, if observance you show— | 12 | ·˘/˘···˘/˘·· |
| "You cannot reap jasmines if briars you sow." | 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.