Chapter I: Story of an Egyptian King
I have heard that in Egypt a king who was great,Was attacked in his prime by the army of Fate.In his cheek, heart-illuming, the beauty decayed ;Pale as bread he became, and then Fate he obeyed.Philosophers learned bit the hand of Regret,For in Physic, no medicine for death could they get.Ev'ry kingdom and throne must submit to decay,Save the kingdom of God, which will not pass away.When the day of his life was approaching to night,They heard, as he spoke in a voice very slight :—"There has not been in Egypt a monarch like me ;Since the upshot is this, it was nothing, you see.I conquered the world, but no fruit did I find :I go, like a pauper, and leave it behind!"One of praiseworthy wisdom, who gave and enjoyed,The world, for the sake of himself, has employed.Strive for that which will always beside you appear!For all that is left you, is sorrow and fear.The Magnate, reclined on the life-melting bed,Shows one hand contracted, the other outspread ;When his tongue was by terror from speaking confined,The meaning he then with his hands to you signed :—"One hand in bestowing and kindness make long !And the other contract, in oppression and wrong !"Now that you have a hand, others' sorrow delete !For when will your hand leave the white winding sheet?The Sun, Moon and Pleiades long will illume,Ere, you raise up your head from its prop in the tomb.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- upshot n.
- Final issue; conclusion; the sum and substance; the end; the result; the consummation. [Up + shot, equivalent to scot share, reckoning. Cf. the phrase to cast up an account.]
- pauper n.
- A poor person; especially, one development on private or public charity. Also used adjectively; as, pouper immigrants, pouper labor. [L. See Poor.]
- magnate
- A person of rank; a noble or grandee; a person of influence or distinction in any sphere. [F. magnat, L. (pl.) magnates, magnati, fr. magnus great. See Master.]
- reclined a.
- Falling or turned downward; reclinate.
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- delete v. t.
- To blot out; to erase; to expunge; to dele; to omit. [L. deletus, p. p. of delere to destroy. Cf. 1st Dele.]
- pleiades n.
- The seven daughters of Atlas and the nymph Pleione, fabled to have been made by Jupiter a constellation in the sky.
- illume v. t.
- To throw or spread light upon; to make light or bright; to illuminate; to illumine. [Cf. F. illuminer. See Illuminate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story of an Egyptian King 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 an Egyptian King, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-35.html, id L29540.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story of an Egyptian King is 28 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJGGKKLLMM greatA · fateA · decayedB · obeyedB · regretC · getC · decayD · awayD · nightE · slightE · meF · seeF · findG · behindG · enjoyedH · employedH · appearI · fearI · bedJ · outspreadJ · confinedG · signedG · longK · wrongK · deleteL · sheetL · illumeM · tombM
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 in Egypt a king who was great, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Was attacked in his prime by the army of Fate. | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘·· |
| In his cheek, heart-illuming, the beauty decayed ; | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| Pale as bread he became, and then Fate he obeyed. | 12 | ····˘/····˘/ |
| Philosophers learned bit the hand of Regret, | 12 | ˘/˘˘·˘····˘/ |
| For in Physic, no medicine for death could they get. | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| Ev'ry kingdom and throne must submit to decay, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/·˘/ |
| Save the kingdom of God, which will not pass away. | 12 | ··/˘······˘/ |
| When the day of his life was approaching to night, | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| They heard, as he spoke in a voice very slight :— | 11 | ········/˘· |
| "There has not been in Egypt a monarch like me ; | 12 | ·····/˘·/··· |
| Since the upshot is this, it was nothing, you see. | 12 | ··/·····/˘·· |
| I conquered the world, but no fruit did I find : | 12 | ·/˘˘········ |
| I go, like a pauper, and leave it behind!" | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| One of praiseworthy wisdom, who gave and enjoyed, | 12 | ··/·˘/˘···˘/ |
| The world, for the sake of himself, has employed. | 12 | ······˘/·˘/˘ |
| Strive for that which will always beside you appear! | 12 | ·····/˘·/·˘/ |
| For all that is left you, is sorrow and fear. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| The Magnate, reclined on the life-melting bed, | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘···/˘· |
| Shows one hand contracted, the other outspread ; | 11 | ···/˘˘·/˘˘/ |
| When his tongue was by terror from speaking confined, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| The meaning he then with his hands to you signed :— | 12 | ·/˘········˘ |
| "One hand in bestowing and kindness make long ! | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘·· |
| And the other contract, in oppression and wrong !" | 12 | ··/˘/··˘/˘·· |
| Now that you have a hand, others' sorrow delete ! | 12 | ······/˘/˘˘/ |
| For when will your hand leave the white winding sheet? | 11 | ········/˘· |
| The Sun, Moon and Pleiades long will illume, | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| Ere, you raise up your head from its prop in the tomb. | 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.