Chapter III: Story on the Power of Ecstasy and Empire of Love
In fair Samarkand, one a mistress possessed ;You'd have said that her speech was like sugar expressedHer loveliness bore off the palm from the sun ;By her merriness, piety's base was undone.The Almighty upon her such beauty bestowed,That you'd fancy a sign of His mercy He showed.She would walk with the eyes of a crowd in her wakeFriends sacrificed hearts for her sweet nature's sake.In concealment, this lover the fair lady spied ;She gave him a withering glance, once, and cried :"Oh block-head! how long will you after me sweat?Do you know not that I'm not the bird for your net?If I see you again, with the sword, at a blow,T'll not scruple to cut off your head, like a foe."A person addressed him: " Now go your own way !And find a more facile 'beloved' as your prey.I don't think you will gain the desire of your mind ;God forbid, that you cast your sweet life to the wind !"Like a lover sincere, the reproof he heard through ;A cold sigh from his heart, full of anguish, he drew;Saying, " Stop ! till the sabre of death does its worst,And my corpse, from its wound, rolls in blood and in dust!To foe and to friend they, perhaps, will explain,That I by her hand with the sabre was slain.To fly from her quarter, I see not my way ;Do not scatter my honour unjustly, I pray!You bid me repent, oh self-worshipping man!To repent of your words, were a worthier plan !Forgive me! for all that she does, I can tell—Even if it is shedding of blood—she does well.Her fire, through the night, makes my poor body burn ;Her fragrance makes life, in the morning, return.If, to-day, in my love's street my life I should end,At the Judgment, my tent I will pitch by my friend."While able, do not in love's war suffer rout ;Is not Sadi alive, though his love is put out?
Words in this poem
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- merriness n.
- The quality or state of being merry; merriment; mirth; gayety, with laughter.
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- withering a.
- Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade.
- scruple n.
- A weight of twenty grains; the third part of a dram. [L. scrupulus a small sharp or pointed stone, the twenty-fourth part of an ounce, a scruple, uneasiness, doubt, dim. of scrupus a rough or sharp stone, anxiety, ]
- facile a.
- Easy to be done or performed: not difficult; performable or attainable with little labor. [L. facilis, prop., capable of being done or made, hence, facile, easy, fr. facere to make, do: cf. F. facile. Srr Fact, and cf. Faculty.]
- reproof n.
- Refutation; confutation; contradiction. [OE. reproef. See Proof, Reprove.]
- sabre n.
- A sword with a broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and usually more or less curved like a scimiter; a cavalry sword. Saber fish, or Sabre fish (Zoöl.), the cutlass fish.
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
- 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.]
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter III: Story on the Power of Ecstasy and Empire of 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: Story on the Power of Ecstasy and Empire of Love, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/3-6.html, id L29598.
Form and metre
Chapter III: Story on the Power of Ecstasy and Empire of Love is 36 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRR possessedA · expressedA · sunB · undoneB · bestowedC · showedC · wakeD · sakeD · spiedE · criedE · sweatF · netF · blowG · foeG · wayH · preyH · mindI · windI · throughJ · drewJ · worstK · dustK · explainL · slainL · wayM · prayM · manN · planN · tellO · wellO · burnP · returnP · endQ · friendQ · routR · outR
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In fair Samarkand, one a mistress possessed ; | 12 | ··/˘···/˘˘/˘ |
| You'd have said that her speech was like sugar expressed | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| Her loveliness bore off the palm from the sun ; | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| By her merriness, piety's base was undone. | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| The Almighty upon her such beauty bestowed, | 12 | ·˘/˘····/˘˘/ |
| That you'd fancy a sign of His mercy He showed. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| She would walk with the eyes of a crowd in her wake | 12 | ············ |
| Friends sacrificed hearts for her sweet nature's sake. | 12 | ·/˘·˘····/˘· |
| In concealment, this lover the fair lady spied ; | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| She gave him a withering glance, once, and cried : | 11 | ····/˘˘···· |
| "Oh block-head! how long will you after me sweat? | 11 | ··········· |
| Do you know not that I'm not the bird for your net? | 12 | ············ |
| If I see you again, with the sword, at a blow, | 12 | ····˘/······ |
| T'll not scruple to cut off your head, like a foe." | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| A person addressed him: " Now go your own way ! | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘······ |
| And find a more facile 'beloved' as your prey. | 11 | ····/˘˘/··· |
| I don't think you will gain the desire of your mind ; | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| God forbid, that you cast your sweet life to the wind !" | 12 | ·˘/········· |
| Like a lover sincere, the reproof he heard through ; | 12 | ··/˘˘/·˘/··· |
| A cold sigh from his heart, full of anguish, he drew; | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Saying, " Stop ! till the sabre of death does its worst, | 12 | /˘···/˘····· |
| And my corpse, from its wound, rolls in blood and in dust! | 12 | ············ |
| To foe and to friend they, perhaps, will explain, | 11 | ······˘/·˘/ |
| That I by her hand with the sabre was slain. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| To fly from her quarter, I see not my way ; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Do not scatter my honour unjustly, I pray! | 12 | ··/˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
| You bid me repent, oh self-worshipping man! | 11 | ···˘/··/˘˘· |
| To repent of your words, were a worthier plan ! | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘˘· |
| Forgive me! for all that she does, I can tell— | 11 | ˘/········· |
| Even if it is shedding of blood—she does well. | 12 | /˘···/˘····· |
| Her fire, through the night, makes my poor body burn ; | 12 | ·/˘······/˘· |
| Her fragrance makes life, in the morning, return. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘/ |
| If, to-day, in my love's street my life I should end, | 12 | ············ |
| At the Judgment, my tent I will pitch by my friend." | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| While able, do not in love's war suffer rout ; | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| Is not Sadi alive, though his love is put out? | 12 | ····˘/······ |
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