Chapter I: Kasra's Advice to Harmuz
Naushirwan, I have heard, ere his spirit had fled,The following words to Harmuz, his son, said :—"Take care of the hearts of the poor and distressed !Do not be with your own selfish pleasures possessed!In the view of the wise it is wrong, we are told,That the shepherd should sleep and a wolf in the fold.Go you and protect all the indigent poor!For a king through his subjects his crown must secure.Like roots are the subjects—like trees are the kings ;To the tree, oh, my son! the root permanence brings.Do not make, while you can, people wounded in soul!If you do, you but dig your own root from its hole.If a path that is straight it behoves you to tread,The path of the pious is hope mixed with dread.He approves not of harm to the small or the great,Who fears that misfortune may come to his State.And if in his nature this mode is not found,No odour of comfort exists in that ground.If your feet are encumbered, to Fate be resigned ;If free, you can wander wherever inclined.For abundance of wealth in that realm do not pray,Where you see subjects groaning beneath the king's sway!Be afraid of the rash and the proud self-adored!Be afraid of the person who fears not the Lord!Other realms in his sleep he sees prosp'rous and blessed,Who keeps all the hearts in his country distressed.Decay and ill-fame by oppression are brought ;The sages have found out this saying by thought.You ought not your subjects unjustly to slay ;For they are the Empire's protection and stay.For the sake of yourself, show the peasant respect !For a labourer pleased works with greater effect.To injure a man is ungen'rous and mean,For his kindness you many a time may have seen."
Words in this poem
- indigent a.
- Wanting; void; free; destitute; -- used with of. [L. indigent, L. indigens, p. p. of indigere to stand in need of, fr. OL. indu (fr. in- in) + L. egere to be needy, to need.]
- odour n.
- Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive; scent; perfume. [OE. odor, odour, OF. odor, odour, F. odeur, fr. L. odor; akin to olere to smell, Gr. Olfactory, Osmium, Ozone, Redolent.]
- resigned a.
- Submissive; yielding; not disposed to resist or murmur.
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Kasra's Advice to Harmuz 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: Kasra's Advice to Harmuz, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-3.html, id L29508.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Kasra's Advice to Harmuz 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 fledA · saidA · distressedB · possessedB · toldC · foldC · poorD · secureD · kingsE · bringsE · soulF · holeF · treadG · dreadG · greatH · stateH · foundI · groundI · resignedJ · inclinedJ · prayK · swayK · adoredL · lordL · blessedM · distressedM · broughtN · thoughtN · slayO · stayO · respectP · effectP · meanQ · seenQ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Naushirwan, I have heard, ere his spirit had fled, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| The following words to Harmuz, his son, said :— | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| "Take care of the hearts of the poor and distressed ! | 12 | ·········˘/˘ |
| Do not be with your own selfish pleasures possessed! | 12 | ······/˘/˘˘/ |
| In the view of the wise it is wrong, we are told, | 12 | ············ |
| That the shepherd should sleep and a wolf in the fold. | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Go you and protect all the indigent poor! | 11 | ···˘/··/˘˘· |
| For a king through his subjects his crown must secure. | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| Like roots are the subjects—like trees are the kings ; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| To the tree, oh, my son! the root permanence brings. | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| Do not make, while you can, people wounded in soul! | 12 | ······/˘/˘·· |
| If you do, you but dig your own root from its hole. | 12 | ············ |
| If a path that is straight it behoves you to tread, | 12 | ············ |
| The path of the pious is hope mixed with dread. | 12 | ····/˘···˘·· |
| He approves not of harm to the small or the great, | 12 | ·˘/········· |
| Who fears that misfortune may come to his State. | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| And if in his nature this mode is not found, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| No odour of comfort exists in that ground. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| If your feet are encumbered, to Fate be resigned ; | 12 | ····˘/˘···˘/ |
| If free, you can wander wherever inclined. | 12 | ····/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
| For abundance of wealth in that realm do not pray, | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| Where you see subjects groaning beneath the king's sway! | 12 | ···/˘/˘····· |
| Be afraid of the rash and the proud self-adored! | 12 | ·˘/·······˘/ |
| Be afraid of the person who fears not the Lord! | 12 | ·˘/··/˘····· |
| Other realms in his sleep he sees prosp'rous and blessed, | 12 | /˘·········· |
| Who keeps all the hearts in his country distressed. | 12 | ·······/˘˘/˘ |
| Decay and ill-fame by oppression are brought ; | 11 | ˘/····˘/˘·· |
| The sages have found out this saying by thought. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| You ought not your subjects unjustly to slay ; | 11 | ····˘/˘/˘·· |
| For they are the Empire's protection and stay. | 12 | ····/˘˘˘/˘·· |
| For the sake of yourself, show the peasant respect ! | 12 | ····˘/··/˘˘/ |
| For a labourer pleased works with greater effect. | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| To injure a man is ungen'rous and mean, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| For his kindness you many a time may have seen." | 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.