Chapter I: Remarks on Cherishing the Army
If once a brave man should courageousness show,Befitting his merits, promotion bestow !That again upon death he may hazard his life,And not fear to contend against Gog, in war's strife.During peace, keep the welfare of soldiers in view !That in times of emergency, good may ensue.It is now, you should kiss the defender's rough hand,And not when the foe beats his drum in your land.If a soldier's profession should fail to give bread,Why should he, when war happens, sport with his head?The bounds of your realm, from the enemy's hold,With your army preserve! and your army with gold!The king has the mastery over his foes,When his troops are content and their hearts have repose.The price of his head, the brave soldier but eats ;It is very unjust, then, when hardship he meets.When they think it a pity to give him their gold,His hand from the sword he is apt to withhold.What pluck will he show, when for battle arrayed,Whose hand contains nought, and whose works are decayed?
Words in this poem
- courageousness n.
- The quality of being courageous; courage.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- ensue v. t.
- To follow; to pursue; to follow and overtake. [OF. ensevre, OF. & F. ensuivre, fr. L. insequi; in + sequi to pursue. See Sue.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Remarks on Cherishing the Army 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: Remarks on Cherishing the Army, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-45.html, id L29550.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Remarks on Cherishing the Army is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHFFII showA · bestowA · lifeB · strifeB · viewC · ensueC · handD · landD · breadE · headE · holdF · goldF · foesG · reposeG · eatsH · meetsH · goldF · withholdF · arrayedI · decayedI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If once a brave man should courageousness show, | 11 | ······˘/˘˘· |
| Befitting his merits, promotion bestow ! | 11 | ˘/˘·/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| That again upon death he may hazard his life, | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘·· |
| And not fear to contend against Gog, in war's strife. | 12 | ····˘/······ |
| During peace, keep the welfare of soldiers in view ! | 12 | /˘···/··/˘·· |
| That in times of emergency, good may ensue. | 12 | ····˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| It is now, you should kiss the defender's rough hand, | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| And not when the foe beats his drum in your land. | 11 | ··········· |
| If a soldier's profession should fail to give bread, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘····· |
| Why should he, when war happens, sport with his head? | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| The bounds of your realm, from the enemy's hold, | 11 | ·······/˘˘· |
| With your army preserve! and your army with gold! | 12 | ··/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| The king has the mastery over his foes, | 11 | ····/˘˘···· |
| When his troops are content and their hearts have repose. | 12 | ····˘/····˘/ |
| The price of his head, the brave soldier but eats ; | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| It is very unjust, then, when hardship he meets. | 12 | ··/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| When they think it a pity to give him their gold, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| His hand from the sword he is apt to withhold. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| What pluck will he show, when for battle arrayed, | 12 | ·······/˘˘/˘ |
| Whose hand contains nought, and whose works are decayed? | 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.