Chapter III: Story on a True Searcher Persevering under Oppression
One pious, who kept up his vigils all night,Raised his hands up in pray'r, at the first dawn of light.A voice from the sky reached the aged man's ear,Saying, "Go on your way, you are portionless here !Your petition has not been received at this gate ;Go away, in disgrace ! If you don't, weeping wait!"Next night, he, in worshipping God, kept awake;A disciple got news of his case and, thus, spake :"Since you've seen that the door on that side is shut to,Disappointment, so zealously, do not pursue !"Adown his pale cheeks, from repentance, there ranThe tears ruby coloured ; he said, "Oh young man !Although He has severed the reins, don't supposeThat my hands from His saddle-straps I will unclose !In hopelessness, I would have wandered awayFrom this road, had I seen where another path lay.When a beggar returns from a door unrelieved,And knows of another, why should he feel grieved?I have heard that my path in this street does not lie,And yet, I can no other pathway descry."Thus engaged, on the ground of devotion his head ;In the ear of his soul the pure Angel, thus, said :"He's accepted, although without worth of his own,For excepting in Me, no protection is known."
Words in this poem
- portionless a.
- Having no portion.
- disappointment n.
- The act of disappointing, or the state of being disappointed; defeat or failure of expectation or hope; miscarriage of design or plan; frustration. [Cf. F. désappointement.]
- adown adv.
- From a higher to a lower situation; downward; down, to or on the ground. [OE. adun, adoun, adune. AS. of dune off the hill. See Down.]
- coloured a.
- Having color; tinged; dyed; painted; stained.
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- descry
- , Discovery or view, as of an army seen at a distance.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter III: Story on a True Searcher Persevering under Oppression 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 a True Searcher Persevering under Oppression, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/3-9.html, id L29601.
Form and metre
Chapter III: Story on a True Searcher Persevering under Oppression is 24 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLL nightA · lightA · earB · hereB · gateC · waitC · awakeD · spakeD · toE · pursueE · ranF · manF · supposeG · uncloseG · awayH · layH · unrelievedI · grievedI · lieJ · descryJ · headK · saidK · ownL · knownL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One pious, who kept up his vigils all night, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| Raised his hands up in pray'r, at the first dawn of light. | 12 | ············ |
| A voice from the sky reached the aged man's ear, | 11 | ······˘···· |
| Saying, "Go on your way, you are portionless here ! | 12 | /˘······/˘˘· |
| Your petition has not been received at this gate ; | 12 | ·˘/˘···˘/··· |
| Go away, in disgrace ! If you don't, weeping wait!" | 12 | ·˘/·˘/···/˘· |
| Next night, he, in worshipping God, kept awake; | 11 | ····/˘˘··˘/ |
| A disciple got news of his case and, thus, spake : | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| "Since you've seen that the door on that side is shut to, | 12 | ············ |
| Disappointment, so zealously, do not pursue !" | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘˘··˘/ |
| Adown his pale cheeks, from repentance, there ran | 11 | ˘/····˘/˘·· |
| The tears ruby coloured ; he said, "Oh young man ! | 12 | ··/˘/˘˘····· |
| Although He has severed the reins, don't suppose | 12 | ····/˘˘···˘/ |
| That my hands from His saddle-straps I will unclose ! | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| In hopelessness, I would have wandered away | 12 | ·/˘˘···/˘˘˘/ |
| From this road, had I seen where another path lay. | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| When a beggar returns from a door unrelieved, | 12 | ··/˘˘/····˘/ |
| And knows of another, why should he feel grieved? | 12 | ···˘/˘·····˘ |
| I have heard that my path in this street does not lie, | 12 | ············ |
| And yet, I can no other pathway descry." | 11 | ·····/˘/·˘/ |
| Thus engaged, on the ground of devotion his head ; | 12 | ·˘/····˘/˘·· |
| In the ear of his soul the pure Angel, thus, said : | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| "He's accepted, although without worth of his own, | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| For excepting in Me, no protection is known." | 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.