Chapter III: On the Power of True and Metaphorical Love
Your love of one, made out of water and clayLike yourself, steals all patience and calmness away.While awake, you're bewitched with her cheek and her mole;While dreaming, the thought of her fetters your soul.In devotion, your head on her feet you've so placed,That when with her, you look on the world as effaced.When the longing for gold in your sweetheart is slight,Gold and dust are exactly the same in your sight.Your soul with another one cannot be bound,For, with her, not a place for another is foundYou say that her dwelling exists in your eyes ;If your eyelids you close, in your heart, then, it lies.You've no care lest dishonour should reach you, at length ;To be patient, one moment, you have not the strength.If she asks for your life, on your palm, you it lay;If she places a sword on your head, you say, "Slay !"Since the love whose foundation, on lust, has its stand,Is such a disturber and wields such command,Do you wonder that trav'llers in God's path are foundIn the ocean of spiritual consciousness, drown'd?In love for the Sweetheart, they care not for life ;In the thought of the Friend, they have shunn'd Earthly strife.In remembrance of God, from the people they've fled ;With the Cup-bearer charmed, all the wine they have shed.One cannot with medicine establish their cure,For no one can tell the disease they endure.For ever, " Am I not thy God?" they so hear,That in clamouring "Yes !" they excited appear.A group of Directors in lonely retreat,With their breath full of fire, although earthy their feet.They root up a hill from its site, with a cry,And demolish a kingdom, at once, with a sigh.Like the wind, they're unseen and of hurricane speed;Like stone they are silent, and rosaries read.In the mornings, so much do they weep, that their tears,From their eyes wash the ointment of sleep, that appears.The horse has been killed, for they drove him all night;And they clamour at dawn, at their wearied-out plight.Night and day, in the sea of love's burning, they stay;From amazement, they know not the night from the day.For the great Artist's beauty, so great is their craze,That the picture's rare beauty attracts not their gaze.Saints yield not their hearts to an elegant skin ;If a fool has done so, he has no brains within.That person the pure wine of Unity drank,Who this world and the next, in oblivion, sank.
Words in this poem
- dishonour n.
- Lack of honor; disgrace; ignominy; shame; reproach. [OE. deshonour, dishonour, OF. deshonor, deshonur, F. déshonneur; pref. des- (L. dis-) + honor, honur, F. honneur, fr. L. honor. See Honor.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- disturber n.
- One who, or that which, disturbs of disquiets; a violator of peace; a troubler. [Cf. OF. destorbeor.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- clamour n.
- A great outcry or vociferation; loud and continued shouting or exclamation. [OF. clamour, clamur, F. clameur, fr. L. clamor, fr. clamare to cry out. See Claim.]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- amazement n.
- The condition of being amazed; bewilderment ; overwhelming wonder, as from surprise, sudden fear, horror, or admiration.
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- oblivion n.
- The act of forgetting, or the state of being forgotten; cessation of remembrance; forgetfulness. [L. oblivio, akin to oblivisci to forget: cf. OF. oblivion.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter III: On the Power of True and Metaphorical Love 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 the Power of True and Metaphorical Love, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/3-2.html, id L29594.
Form and metre
Chapter III: On the Power of True and Metaphorical Love is 46 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWW clayA · awayA · moleB · soulB · placedC · effacedC · slightD · sightD · boundE · foundE · eyesF · liesF · lengthG · strengthG · layH · slayH · standI · commandI · foundJ · drown'dJ · lifeK · strifeK · fledL · shedL · cureM · endureM · hearN · appearN · retreatO · feetO · cryP · sighP · speedQ · readQ · tearsR · appearsR · nightS · plightS · stayT · dayT · crazeU · gazeU · skinV · withinV · drankW · sankW
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Your love of one, made out of water and clay | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Like yourself, steals all patience and calmness away. | 12 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘˘/ |
| While awake, you're bewitched with her cheek and her mole; | 12 | ·˘/·˘/······ |
| While dreaming, the thought of her fetters your soul. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| In devotion, your head on her feet you've so placed, | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| That when with her, you look on the world as effaced. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| When the longing for gold in your sweetheart is slight, | 12 | ··/˘····/··· |
| Gold and dust are exactly the same in your sight. | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| Your soul with another one cannot be bound, | 11 | ···˘/˘·˘/·· |
| For, with her, not a place for another is found | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| You say that her dwelling exists in your eyes ; | 11 | ····/˘˘/··· |
| If your eyelids you close, in your heart, then, it lies. | 12 | ··/········· |
| You've no care lest dishonour should reach you, at length ; | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| To be patient, one moment, you have not the strength. | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| If she asks for your life, on your palm, you it lay; | 12 | ············ |
| If she places a sword on your head, you say, "Slay !" | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Since the love whose foundation, on lust, has its stand, | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| Is such a disturber and wields such command, | 11 | ···˘/˘···˘/ |
| Do you wonder that trav'llers in God's path are found | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| In the ocean of spiritual consciousness, drown'd? | 12 | ··/·/˘˘˘/˘˘· |
| In love for the Sweetheart, they care not for life ; | 11 | ····/······ |
| In the thought of the Friend, they have shunn'd Earthly strife. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| In remembrance of God, from the people they've fled ; | 12 | ·˘/˘····/˘·· |
| With the Cup-bearer charmed, all the wine they have shed. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| One cannot with medicine establish their cure, | 12 | ·˘/·/˘˘˘/˘·· |
| For no one can tell the disease they endure. | 11 | ······˘/·˘/ |
| For ever, " Am I not thy God?" they so hear, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| That in clamouring "Yes !" they excited appear. | 12 | ··/˘˘··˘/˘˘/ |
| A group of Directors in lonely retreat, | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| With their breath full of fire, although earthy their feet. | 12 | ·····/··/˘·· |
| They root up a hill from its site, with a cry, | 11 | ··········· |
| And demolish a kingdom, at once, with a sigh. | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘····· |
| Like the wind, they're unseen and of hurricane speed; | 12 | ····˘/··/˘·· |
| Like stone they are silent, and rosaries read. | 11 | ····/˘·/˘˘· |
| In the mornings, so much do they weep, that their tears, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| From their eyes wash the ointment of sleep, that appears. | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| The horse has been killed, for they drove him all night; | 12 | ·····˘······ |
| And they clamour at dawn, at their wearied-out plight. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| Night and day, in the sea of love's burning, they stay; | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| From amazement, they know not the night from the day. | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| For the great Artist's beauty, so great is their craze, | 12 | ···/˘/˘····· |
| That the picture's rare beauty attracts not their gaze. | 12 | ··/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| Saints yield not their hearts to an elegant skin ; | 11 | ·······/˘˘· |
| If a fool has done so, he has no brains within. | 12 | ············ |
| That person the pure wine of Unity drank, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘· |
| Who this world and the next, in oblivion, sank. | 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.