Chapter I: Remarks on Plotting and Mutual Quarrels
Betwixt two malevolent men, of short hand,To settle secure, does not wisdom command.For should they, together, in secret conspire,The short hands of both will extension acquire.By deception, keep one of them fully employed :Let the other's existence be quickly destroyed!If an enemy makes his arrangements for strife,With the sword of contrivance, deprive him of life!To his enemy go, and your friendship declare !For a dungeon would be like a shirt for his wear.In your enemy's army, when factiousness shows,You can let your own sword in its scabbard repose.When wolves are determined each other to harm,Betwixt them, the flock rests secure from alarm.When your enemies, grappling each other, you find,You may sit with your friends in composure of mind.
Words in this poem
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- dungeon n.
- A close, dark prison, commondonjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons. [OE. donjoun highest tower of a castle, tower, prison, F. donjon tower or platform in the midst of a castle, turret, or closet on the top of a house, a keep of a]
- composure n.
- The act of composing, or that which is composed; a composition. [From Compose.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter I: Remarks on Plotting and Mutual Quarrels 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 Plotting and Mutual Quarrels, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/1-50.html, id L29555.
Form and metre
Chapter I: Remarks on Plotting and Mutual Quarrels is 16 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH handA · commandA · conspireB · acquireB · employedC · destroyedC · strifeD · lifeD · declareE · wearE · showsF · reposeF · harmG · alarmG · findH · mindH
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Betwixt two malevolent men, of short hand, | 11 | ˘/·˘/˘˘···· |
| To settle secure, does not wisdom command. | 11 | ·/˘˘/··/˘˘/ |
| For should they, together, in secret conspire, | 12 | ···˘/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| The short hands of both will extension acquire. | 12 | ······˘/˘˘/˘ |
| By deception, keep one of them fully employed : | 12 | ·˘/˘····/˘˘/ |
| Let the other's existence be quickly destroyed! | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| If an enemy makes his arrangements for strife, | 12 | ··/˘˘··˘/˘·· |
| With the sword of contrivance, deprive him of life! | 12 | ····˘/˘˘/··· |
| To his enemy go, and your friendship declare ! | 12 | ··/˘˘···/˘˘/ |
| For a dungeon would be like a shirt for his wear. | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| In your enemy's army, when factiousness shows, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘····· |
| You can let your own sword in its scabbard repose. | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| When wolves are determined each other to harm, | 12 | ···˘/˘˘·/˘·· |
| Betwixt them, the flock rests secure from alarm. | 11 | ˘/····˘/·˘/ |
| When your enemies, grappling each other, you find, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| You may sit with your friends in composure of mind. | 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.