Chapter II: Story of a Miserly Servant of God
I heard that a pure-natured man, knowing God,And walking His ways, had in Rum his abode.I and some desert-traversing travellers, free,Departed, resolved that the man we should see.He kissed each one's eyes, head and hands—after thatWith def'rence and honour he placed us, and sat.His servants and vines, stores and fields, I could see ;Like a tree without fruit, most ungen'rous was he.In politeness of manner, his warmth I'll uphold ;But in other respects, he was bitterly cold.In the night time, we neither could slumber nor rest,—He, from telling his beads; we, by hunger oppressed.He dressed in the morning and opened the door,And repeated the fuss of the ev'ning before.A good-natured fellow, with wit at command,Was a trav'ller, together with us, in that land.He said : " You're mistaken, in giving a kiss !For food to the needy would yield greater bliss.Do not carry, in service, your head to my shoes !Give me food! beat with slippers my head, if you choose!"By alms-giving, people will others excel ;Not the dead-hearted men who on night vigils dwell.The watchmen of Tartary showed me the sight ;Dead of heart, but wide open their eyes all the night.From kindness and bread-giving, greatness will come ;And meaningless words are a big, empty drum.At the Judgment, the man will in Paradise stay,Who has searched for the truth; cast pretension away.One can with reality make his claim just ;Mere talk, without acts, is a weak prop to trust.
Words in this poem
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- politeness n.
- High finish; smoothness; burnished elegance. Evelyn.
- bitterly adv.
- In a bitter manner.
- fuss n.
- A tumult; a bustle; unnecessary or annoying ado about trifles. [Cf. Fusome.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter II: Story of a Miserly Servant of God 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 of a Miserly Servant of God, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/2-20.html, id L29577.
Form and metre
Chapter II: Story of a Miserly Servant of God is 30 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOO godA · abodeA · freeB · seeB · thatC · satC · seeD · heD · upholdE · coldE · restF · oppressedF · doorG · beforeG · commandH · landH · kissI · blissI · shoesJ · chooseJ · excelK · dwellK · sightL · nightL · comeM · drumM · stayN · awayN · justO · trustO
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I heard that a pure-natured man, knowing God, | 11 | ·····/˘·/˘· |
| And walking His ways, had in Rum his abode. | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| I and some desert-traversing travellers, free, | 11 | ···˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Departed, resolved that the man we should see. | 11 | ˘/˘˘/······ |
| He kissed each one's eyes, head and hands—after that | 11 | ··········· |
| With def'rence and honour he placed us, and sat. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| His servants and vines, stores and fields, I could see ; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Like a tree without fruit, most ungen'rous was he. | 12 | ············ |
| In politeness of manner, his warmth I'll uphold ; | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘···˘/ |
| But in other respects, he was bitterly cold. | 11 | ··/˘˘/··/˘· |
| In the night time, we neither could slumber nor rest,— | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| He, from telling his beads; we, by hunger oppressed. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| He dressed in the morning and opened the door, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| And repeated the fuss of the ev'ning before. | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| A good-natured fellow, with wit at command, | 11 | ··/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Was a trav'ller, together with us, in that land. | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| He said : " You're mistaken, in giving a kiss ! | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘·· |
| For food to the needy would yield greater bliss. | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| Do not carry, in service, your head to my shoes ! | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| Give me food! beat with slippers my head, if you choose!" | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| By alms-giving, people will others excel ; | 11 | ··/˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Not the dead-hearted men who on night vigils dwell. | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| The watchmen of Tartary showed me the sight ; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘···· |
| Dead of heart, but wide open their eyes all the night. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| From kindness and bread-giving, greatness will come ; | 11 | ·/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| And meaningless words are a big, empty drum. | 11 | ·/˘˘····/˘· |
| At the Judgment, the man will in Paradise stay, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| Who has searched for the truth; cast pretension away. | 12 | ·······˘/˘˘/ |
| One can with reality make his claim just ; | 11 | ···˘/˘˘···· |
| Mere talk, without acts, is a weak prop to trust. | 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.