Chapter IV: Story on the Humility of Good Men
I have heard that a sage, fearing God for God's sake,Had his collar caught fast by a wild, tipsy rake.From that sinner the man, of interior pure,Raised his head not, though blows he was forced to endure.Some one said to him, "You are a man, too, at least !"Tis a pity to bear with this dissolute beast."The good-natured person heard all he could say,And answered him, "Talk not to me in that way !The ignorant drunkard will men's raiment tear ;Who to fight with a fierce, warlike lion would dare?It becomes not a sage who can caution command,To fix on a weak drunkard's collar his hand.A virtuous person so passes his days,That oppression he bears and with kindness repays."
Words in this poem
- sinner n.
- One who has sinned; especially, one who has sinned without repenting; hence, a persistent and incorrigible transgressor; one condemned by the law of God.
- dissolute a.
- With nerves unstrung; weak. [L. dissolutus, p. p. of dissolvere: cf. F. dissolu. See Dissolve.]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter IV: Story on the Humility of Good Men 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 IV: Story on the Humility of Good Men, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/4-10.html, id L29631.
Form and metre
Chapter IV: Story on the Humility of Good Men is 14 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG sakeA · rakeA · pureB · endureB · leastC · beastC · sayD · wayD · tearE · dareE · commandF · handF · daysG · repaysG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I have heard that a sage, fearing God for God's sake, | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| Had his collar caught fast by a wild, tipsy rake. | 12 | ··/˘·····/˘· |
| From that sinner the man, of interior pure, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/˘˘· |
| Raised his head not, though blows he was forced to endure. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| Some one said to him, "You are a man, too, at least ! | 12 | ············ |
| "Tis a pity to bear with this dissolute beast." | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| The good-natured person heard all he could say, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘····· |
| And answered him, "Talk not to me in that way ! | 12 | ·/˘˘········ |
| The ignorant drunkard will men's raiment tear ; | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘··/˘· |
| Who to fight with a fierce, warlike lion would dare? | 12 | ······/·/˘·· |
| It becomes not a sage who can caution command, | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘˘/ |
| To fix on a weak drunkard's collar his hand. | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| A virtuous person so passes his days, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| That oppression he bears and with kindness repays." | 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.