Chapter II: Story on Showing Kindness to Neighbours
A wife, shedding tears, to her husband thus said—"From the merchant near by, do not purchase more bread!Henceforth, to the market of wheat-sellers go!For he sells only barley, though wheat he may show.Not from customers, but from the number of flies,His face, for a week, has been hid from men's eyes.In consoling, the husband, a master of pray'r,Replied to his wife, " Roshanai, forbear !Expecting our favour he opened shop there;To withdraw now our custom would scarcely be fair."The path of the good, and the gen'rous, select!And since you have a footing, the fallen protect!Be forgiving! for people who study the Lord,Are buyers at shops where no glitter is stored.If truly you wish to know one gen'rous mind,It's the liberal Ali, the chief of mankind!
Words in this poem
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- consoling a.
- Adapted to console or comfort; cheering; as, this is consoling news.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- forgiving a.
- Disposed to forgive; inclined to overlook offenses; mild; merciful; compassionate; placable; as, a forgiving temper.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter II: Story on Showing Kindness to Neighbours 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 II: Story on Showing Kindness to Neighbours, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/2-10.html, id L29567.
Form and metre
Chapter II: Story on Showing Kindness to Neighbours 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 91%).
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 saidA · breadA · goB · showB · fliesC · eyesC · pray'rD · forbearD · thereE · fairE · selectF · protectF · lordG · storedG · mindH · mankindH
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 wife, shedding tears, to her husband thus said— | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| "From the merchant near by, do not purchase more bread! | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| Henceforth, to the market of wheat-sellers go! | 11 | //··/˘··/˘· |
| For he sells only barley, though wheat he may show. | 12 | ···/˘/˘····· |
| Not from customers, but from the number of flies, | 12 | ··/˘˘···/˘·· |
| His face, for a week, has been hid from men's eyes. | 11 | ··········· |
| In consoling, the husband, a master of pray'r, | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Replied to his wife, " Roshanai, forbear ! | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Expecting our favour he opened shop there; | 12 | ˘/˘/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| To withdraw now our custom would scarcely be fair." | 12 | ·˘/·//˘·/˘·· |
| The path of the good, and the gen'rous, select! | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| And since you have a footing, the fallen protect! | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Be forgiving! for people who study the Lord, | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Are buyers at shops where no glitter is stored. | 12 | ·/˘····/˘··˘ |
| If truly you wish to know one gen'rous mind, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| It's the liberal Ali, the chief of mankind! | 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.