Chapter I: Story of a Hard-up Pugilist
A pugilist's means of support were not goodFor supper or breakfast no suitable food :From his stomach's demands, he bore clay on his back,For his fists could not find him in rations, alack !He had ever, because of his sorrowful plight,A load on his heart, on his body a blight.At one time, he warred with the world's wicked power;At another, harsh Fate caused his face to look sour.From observing, again, the sweet pleasure of all,The large, bitter tears down his gullet would fall.Again at his wretched affairs he would cry—"Has any one seen such a live wretch as I?On honey and chickens and kids, some are fed;Not a pot-herb is seen on the face of my bread.If you ask about justice, it must be a slur,That, whereas I am naked, a cat has its fur.Alas! if the Sky had such sympathy shown,As into my keeping some wealth to have thrown ;For a time, I would, likely, have revelled in lust,And brushed from my body Adversity's dust."I have heard that one day he was digging the ground,When a lower jaw-bone, that was rotten, he found.The links of the chain were divided, throughout,And the fine pearly teeth were all scattered about.The mouth, without tongue, truth and secrets thus spoke:—"Oh sir ! you must bear Disappointment's sad stroke !Is this not the state of the mouth under mud?It may have eat sugar or drunk its heart's blood.On account of the changes of Time, do not grieve!For Time oft will change and not say, 'By your leave' !"The moment his conscience this meaning divined,Grief carried her baggage away from his mind"Oh spirit," he said, " void of wisdom and will,Endure sorrow's load, but yourself do not kill !"If a slave has a load on his head to support,Or his head at the top of the sky he should sport,At the moment his state becomes altered by death,Both conditions will go from his head, at a breath.Grief and gladness are fleeting, and yet it is sureThat good names, and the meed of all actions endure.Beneficence lasts, not the crown and the throne ;Oh lucky one, give ! for this lasts when you're gone.Put your trust not in kingdom nor troops and display!For before you they were and behind you will stay.Scatter gold! since the world you will have to forego ;For Sadi strewed pearls, if no gold he could strew.
Words in this poem
- alack interj.
- An exclamation expressive of sorrow. [Prob. from ah! lack! OE. lak loss, failure, misfortune. See Lack.]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- slur v. t.
- To soil; to sully; to contaminate; to disgrace. Cudworth. [Cf. OE. sloor mud, clay, Icel. sl, slo, to trail or drag one's self along, D. sleuren, sloren, to train, to drag, to do negligently and slovenly, D. sloor, sloe]
- whereas adv.
- At which place; where.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- 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.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- meed v. t.
- To reward; to repay. Waytt.
- beneficence n.
- The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity; bounty springing from purity and goodness. [L. beneficentia, fr. beneficus: cf. F. bénéficence. See Benefice.]
- forego v. t.
- To quit; to relinquish; to leave. [See Forgo.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story of a Hard-up Pugilist 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 Hard-up Pugilist, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-42.html, id L29547.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story of a Hard-up Pugilist is 46 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 87% of the lines. 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 --AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSS--TT-- good · food · backA · alackA · plightB · blightB · powerC · sourC · allD · fallD · cryE · iE · fedF · breadF · slurG · furG · shownH · thrownH · lustI · dustI · groundJ · foundJ · throughoutK · aboutK · spokeL · strokeL · mudM · bloodM · grieveN · leaveN · divinedO · mindO · willP · killP · supportQ · sportQ · deathR · breathR · sureS · endureS · throne · gone · displayT · stayT · forego · strew
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A pugilist's means of support were not good | 11 | ·/˘˘··˘/··· |
| For supper or breakfast no suitable food : | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘· |
| From his stomach's demands, he bore clay on his back, | 12 | ··/˘˘/······ |
| For his fists could not find him in rations, alack ! | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| He had ever, because of his sorrowful plight, | 11 | ··/····/˘˘· |
| A load on his heart, on his body a blight. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| At one time, he warred with the world's wicked power; | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| At another, harsh Fate caused his face to look sour. | 12 | ·˘/˘·······/ |
| From observing, again, the sweet pleasure of all, | 12 | ·˘/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| The large, bitter tears down his gullet would fall. | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| Again at his wretched affairs he would cry— | 11 | ˘/··/˘˘/··· |
| "Has any one seen such a live wretch as I? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| On honey and chickens and kids, some are fed; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Not a pot-herb is seen on the face of my bread. | 12 | ············ |
| If you ask about justice, it must be a slur, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| That, whereas I am naked, a cat has its fur. | 12 | ·˘/··/˘····· |
| Alas! if the Sky had such sympathy shown, | 11 | ˘/·····/˘˘· |
| As into my keeping some wealth to have thrown ; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| For a time, I would, likely, have revelled in lust, | 12 | ·····/˘·˘/·· |
| And brushed from my body Adversity's dust." | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘˘· |
| I have heard that one day he was digging the ground, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| When a lower jaw-bone, that was rotten, he found. | 11 | ··/····/˘·· |
| The links of the chain were divided, throughout, | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| And the fine pearly teeth were all scattered about. | 12 | ···/˘···/˘·· |
| The mouth, without tongue, truth and secrets thus spoke:— | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| "Oh sir ! you must bear Disappointment's sad stroke ! | 11 | ·····˘˘/˘·· |
| Is this not the state of the mouth under mud? | 11 | ··········· |
| It may have eat sugar or drunk its heart's blood. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| On account of the changes of Time, do not grieve! | 12 | ·˘/··/˘····· |
| For Time oft will change and not say, 'By your leave' !" | 11 | ··········· |
| The moment his conscience this meaning divined, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Grief carried her baggage away from his mind | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| "Oh spirit," he said, " void of wisdom and will, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| Endure sorrow's load, but yourself do not kill !" | 11 | ˘//˘··˘/··· |
| If a slave has a load on his head to support, | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| Or his head at the top of the sky he should sport, | 12 | ············ |
| At the moment his state becomes altered by death, | 12 | ··/˘··˘//˘·· |
| Both conditions will go from his head, at a breath. | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| Grief and gladness are fleeting, and yet it is sure | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| That good names, and the meed of all actions endure. | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| Beneficence lasts, not the crown and the throne ; | 11 | ˘/˘˘······· |
| Oh lucky one, give ! for this lasts when you're gone. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Put your trust not in kingdom nor troops and display! | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| For before you they were and behind you will stay. | 12 | ············ |
| Scatter gold! since the world you will have to forego ; | 12 | /˘········˘/ |
| For Sadi strewed pearls, if no gold he could strew. | 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.