Chapter I: Story of an Oppressor
Of a wicked oppressor, a tale they relate,That he exercised sov'reignty over a State.In his reign people's days were as dark as the night ;And at night, people slept not, from terror and fright.At his hand, pious men were all day in despair;The holy, at night, held their hands up in pray'r.In front of the sheikh of that period, a bandSaid, weeping, because of the tyrant's harsh hand,"Oh guide ! in whom learning and wisdom appear,Advise this young man that the Lord he should fear !"He replied, "I am loath to declare the Friend's name ;For all are not worthy His message to claim."When you find that a man thinks the truth is not right,Oh sir ! do not talk about truth to that wight!The Truth, oh wise king ! I explained to you well ;To a God-fearing person, the Truth you can tell.At teaching fools knowledge, I care not to toil ;For the seed I but waste in a profitless soil.They think me a foe when it fails to take root,And grieve in their hearts and molest me, to boot.Oh monarch ! your aim is to do what is right;Hence the heart of the truth-speaking person has might.Oh favoured ! a seal has a feature well known—It makes an impression on wax, not on stone.No wonder the tyrant through me suffers grief,Since I am the watchman and he is the thief!You, too, are a watchman in justice and right;May the watching of God be your guard day and night !Not yours is the favour, comparison says ;To the Maker be thanksgiving, merit, and praise !That in doing good works, He has kept you employed ;And not left you, like others, with effort destroyed.Ev'ry one in the plain of exertion may play,But, the ball-of-bestowing, each bears not away.By striving, you did not obtain Paradise ;God caused a good nature within you to rise.May your heart be enlightened and tranquil your time!May your footing be sure and your rank be sublime!May your lifetime be happy! your going be fair !Received be your worship ! and answered your prayer!
Words in this poem
- oppressor n.
- One who oppresses; one who imposes unjust burdens on others; one who harasses others with unjust laws or unreasonable severity. [L.]
- loath a.
- Hateful; odious; disliked. [OE. looth, loth, AS. la hostile, odious; akin to OS. l, G. leid, Icel. lei, Sw. led, G. leiden to suffer, OHG. lidan to suffer, go, cf. AS. li to go, Goth. leip]
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
- profitless a.
- Without profit; unprofitable.
- molest v. t.
- To trouble; to disturb; to render uneasy; to interfere with; to vex. [F. molester, L. molestare, fr. molestus troublesome, fr. moles a heavy mass, load, burden. See 3d Mole.]
- favoured a.
- Countenanced; aided; regarded with kidness; as, a favored friend.
- watchman n.
- One set to watch; a person who keeps guard; a guard; a sentinel.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- thanksgiving n.
- The act of rending thanks, or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.
- lifetime n.
- The time that life continues.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Story of an Oppressor 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 Oppressor, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-43.html, id L29548.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Story of an Oppressor is 40 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 85% 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 AABBC-DDCCEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMM--NNOO--PPQQ relateA · stateA · nightB · frightB · despairC · pray'r · bandD · handD · appearC · fearC · nameE · claimE · rightF · wightF · wellG · tellG · toilH · soilH · rootI · bootI · rightJ · mightJ · knownK · stoneK · griefL · thiefL · rightM · nightM · says · praise · employedN · destroyedN · playO · awayO · paradise · rise · timeP · sublimeP · fairQ · prayerQ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Of a wicked oppressor, a tale they relate, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘···˘/ |
| That he exercised sov'reignty over a State. | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| In his reign people's days were as dark as the night ; | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| And at night, people slept not, from terror and fright. | 12 | ···/˘···/˘·· |
| At his hand, pious men were all day in despair; | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| The holy, at night, held their hands up in pray'r. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| In front of the sheikh of that period, a band | 12 | ·······/˘˘·· |
| Said, weeping, because of the tyrant's harsh hand, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| "Oh guide ! in whom learning and wisdom appear, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Advise this young man that the Lord he should fear !" | 11 | ˘/········· |
| He replied, "I am loath to declare the Friend's name ; | 12 | ·˘/····˘/··· |
| For all are not worthy His message to claim." | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| When you find that a man thinks the truth is not right, | 12 | ············ |
| Oh sir ! do not talk about truth to that wight! | 11 | ··········· |
| The Truth, oh wise king ! I explained to you well ; | 12 | ······˘/˘··· |
| To a God-fearing person, the Truth you can tell. | 12 | ···/˘/˘····· |
| At teaching fools knowledge, I care not to toil ; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| For the seed I but waste in a profitless soil. | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| They think me a foe when it fails to take root, | 11 | ··········· |
| And grieve in their hearts and molest me, to boot. | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| Oh monarch ! your aim is to do what is right; | 11 | ·/········· |
| Hence the heart of the truth-speaking person has might. | 12 | ······/˘/˘·· |
| Oh favoured ! a seal has a feature well known— | 12 | ·/˘˘····/˘·· |
| It makes an impression on wax, not on stone. | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| No wonder the tyrant through me suffers grief, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Since I am the watchman and he is the thief! | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| You, too, are a watchman in justice and right; | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| May the watching of God be your guard day and night ! | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Not yours is the favour, comparison says ; | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘˘· |
| To the Maker be thanksgiving, merit, and praise ! | 12 | ··/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| That in doing good works, He has kept you employed ; | 12 | ··/˘······˘/ |
| And not left you, like others, with effort destroyed. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Ev'ry one in the plain of exertion may play, | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| But, the ball-of-bestowing, each bears not away. | 12 | ····˘/˘···˘/ |
| By striving, you did not obtain Paradise ; | 11 | ·/˘···˘//˘· |
| God caused a good nature within you to rise. | 12 | ··˘··/˘····· |
| May your heart be enlightened and tranquil your time! | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘·· |
| May your footing be sure and your rank be sublime! | 12 | ··/˘······˘/ |
| May your lifetime be happy! your going be fair ! | 12 | ··/··/˘·/˘·· |
| Received be your worship ! and answered your prayer! | 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.