Chapter III: On Sultan Mahmud and Ayaz
A person in Guzni thus slandered the king :" Ayaz has no beauty; oh wonderful thing !On a rose that has neither got colour nor smell,It is strange that the nightingale's passion should dwell!"By some one the tale to Mahmud had been brought,And he showed himself greatly distressed at the thought." Oh master ! my love's for his nature," he said,"By his height or fine figure it has not been bred."I have heard that a camel fell down in a pass,And shattered a box, full of jewels, alas!These the king in his favour as plunder bestowed,And swiftly away on his charger then rode.On picking up pearls all the horsemen were bent;For the booty, away from the monarch they went.Of the noble attendants, no person there wasIn rear of the monarch, excepting Ayaz.The king looked and said, " Oh my curly haired one!Of the booty, what share have you brought?" He said, " None !I straightway in rear of you galloped my steed ;I left not attendance for plunder, indeed."If a confidant's place in the court you possess,Neglect not the king for the sake of a dress !"Tis opposed to religion that saints, in their line,Should desire ought of God but the spirit divine.Should your hope in a friend on his kindness depend,You are serving yourself at the cost of the friend.While avarice keeps your two lips wide apart,The Secret from God shuns the ear of your heart.The Truth is a mansion, embellished with care ;Lust and Passion are dust that has risen up there.Don't you see that wherever the dust clouds arise,A man sees no object, although he has eyes?
Words in this poem
- 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]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- charger n.
- One who, or that which charges.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- attendance n.
- Attention; regard; careful application. [OE. attendance, OF. atendance, fr. atendre, F. attendre. See Attend, v. t.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter III: On Sultan Mahmud and Ayaz 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 III: On Sultan Mahmud and Ayaz, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/3-18.html, id L29610.
Form and metre
Chapter III: On Sultan Mahmud and Ayaz is 32 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPP kingA · thingA · smellB · dwellB · broughtC · thoughtC · saidD · bredD · passE · alasE · bestowedF · rodeF · bentG · wentG · wasH · ayazH · oneI · noneI · steedJ · indeedJ · possessK · dressK · lineL · divineL · dependM · friendM · apartN · heartN · careO · thereO · ariseP · eyesP
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 person in Guzni thus slandered the king : | 12 | ·/˘····/˘˘·· |
| " Ayaz has no beauty; oh wonderful thing ! | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘· |
| On a rose that has neither got colour nor smell, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| It is strange that the nightingale's passion should dwell!" | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘·· |
| By some one the tale to Mahmud had been brought, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| And he showed himself greatly distressed at the thought. | 12 | ···˘//˘˘/··· |
| " Oh master ! my love's for his nature," he said, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| "By his height or fine figure it has not been bred." | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| I have heard that a camel fell down in a pass, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| And shattered a box, full of jewels, alas! | 12 | ·/˘˘····/˘˘/ |
| These the king in his favour as plunder bestowed, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| And swiftly away on his charger then rode. | 11 | ·/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| On picking up pearls all the horsemen were bent; | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| For the booty, away from the monarch they went. | 12 | ··/˘˘/··/··· |
| Of the noble attendants, no person there was | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| In rear of the monarch, excepting Ayaz. | 10 | ····/··/˘· |
| The king looked and said, " Oh my curly haired one! | 12 | ···˘····/˘·· |
| Of the booty, what share have you brought?" He said, " None ! | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| I straightway in rear of you galloped my steed ; | 12 | ·/˘····/˘˘·· |
| I left not attendance for plunder, indeed." | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| If a confidant's place in the court you possess, | 12 | ··/˘······˘/ |
| Neglect not the king for the sake of a dress ! | 11 | ˘/········· |
| "Tis opposed to religion that saints, in their line, | 12 | ·˘/·˘/˘····· |
| Should desire ought of God but the spirit divine. | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘˘/ |
| Should your hope in a friend on his kindness depend, | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| You are serving yourself at the cost of the friend. | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| While avarice keeps your two lips wide apart, | 11 | ·/˘˘·····˘/ |
| The Secret from God shuns the ear of your heart. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The Truth is a mansion, embellished with care ; | 12 | ····/˘˘/˘˘·· |
| Lust and Passion are dust that has risen up there. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| Don't you see that wherever the dust clouds arise, | 12 | ····˘/˘···˘/ |
| A man sees no object, although he has eyes? | 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.