Chapter II: Hatim-Tai and his Wife
At Hatim's store tent, an old pauper, distressed,For ten direm's weight of kaniz made request.From a writer, I thus recollect the event,That a sackful of sugar before him he sent.From the tent, Hatim's wife shouted, " What is this plan?But the weight of ten direms required the old man."This remark reached the ears of the chieftain of Tai,Who smiling, replied, "Oh heart-soother from Hai!If he asked in accordance with what was his need,Where is Hatim's magnanimous nature, indeed?"Like Hatim, in true liberality, noneThrough the changes of Time has appeared, except one—Abu-Bakar-Sad, whose reward-giving hand,Places pray'rs for himself in the mouth of Demand.Oh protector of subjects, may joy fill your heart !To Islam may your labours fresh glory impart!By your efforts, the dust of this fortunate home,Excels the dominions of Greece and of Rome.If you cannot to Hatim's unique fame come nigh,None has borne in the world a renown like to Tai.That famed person's praises in records remain ;Your praise and good works, too, will mention obtain.Then Hatim's desire was a popular name ;Your zeal has the glory of God for its aim.There is nothing to make the poor suffer distress,And in stating your fame, not a word's in excess.Be useful, so long as you're able to strive!For your goodness and Sadi's discourse will survive.
Words in this poem
- pauper n.
- A poor person; especially, one development on private or public charity. Also used adjectively; as, pouper immigrants, pouper labor. [L. See Poor.]
- recollect v. t.
- To recover or recall the knowledge of; to bring back to the mind or memory; to remember. [Pref. re- + collect: cf. L. recolligere, recollectum, to collect. Cf. Recollet.]
- sackful a.
- Bent on plunder. Chapman.
- soother n.
- One who, or that which, soothes.
- islam n.
- The religion of the Mohammedans; Mohammedanism; Islamism. Their formula of faith is: There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet. [Ar. islam obedience to the will of God, submission, humbling one's self, resigning one's self to the divine disposal. Cf. Moslem.]
- unique a.
- Being without a like or equal; unmatched; unequaled; unparalleled; single in kind or excellence; sole. [F. unique; cf. It. unico; from L. unicus, from unus one. See One.]
- stating n.
- The act of one who states anything; statement; as, the statingof one's opinions.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter II: Hatim-Tai and his Wife 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: Hatim-Tai and his Wife, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/2-24.html, id L29581.
Form and metre
Chapter II: Hatim-Tai and his Wife is 28 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIDDJJKKLLMM distressedA · requestA · eventB · sentB · planC · manC · taiD · haiD · needE · indeedE · noneF · oneF · handG · demandG · heartH · impartH · homeI · romeI · nighD · taiD · remainJ · obtainJ · nameK · aimK · distressL · excessL · striveM · surviveM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| At Hatim's store tent, an old pauper, distressed, | 12 | ·······/˘˘/˘ |
| For ten direm's weight of kaniz made request. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| From a writer, I thus recollect the event, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/·˘/ |
| That a sackful of sugar before him he sent. | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| From the tent, Hatim's wife shouted, " What is this plan? | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| But the weight of ten direms required the old man." | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| This remark reached the ears of the chieftain of Tai, | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘·· |
| Who smiling, replied, "Oh heart-soother from Hai! | 11 | ·/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| If he asked in accordance with what was his need, | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| Where is Hatim's magnanimous nature, indeed?" | 12 | ····˘/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| Like Hatim, in true liberality, none | 11 | ······˘/˘˘· |
| Through the changes of Time has appeared, except one— | 12 | ··/˘···˘/··· |
| Abu-Bakar-Sad, whose reward-giving hand, | 11 | /˘····˘//˘· |
| Places pray'rs for himself in the mouth of Demand. | 12 | /˘··˘/····˘/ |
| Oh protector of subjects, may joy fill your heart ! | 12 | ·˘/˘·˘/····· |
| To Islam may your labours fresh glory impart! | 12 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘˘/ |
| By your efforts, the dust of this fortunate home, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| Excels the dominions of Greece and of Rome. | 11 | ˘/·˘/˘····· |
| If you cannot to Hatim's unique fame come nigh, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/··· |
| None has borne in the world a renown like to Tai. | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| That famed person's praises in records remain ; | 12 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Your praise and good works, too, will mention obtain. | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
| Then Hatim's desire was a popular name ; | 12 | ···˘/˘··/˘˘· |
| Your zeal has the glory of God for its aim. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| There is nothing to make the poor suffer distress, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| And in stating your fame, not a word's in excess. | 12 | ··/˘······/· |
| Be useful, so long as you're able to strive! | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| For your goodness and Sadi's discourse will survive. | 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.