Chapter IV: Story on the Disappointment of the Conceited
Of Astrology some one a smattering had,But his head was because of his vanity mad.From a far distant land he reached Koshiyar's side,With a heart full of longing and head full of pride.On his face the philosopher shut both his eyes,Nor taught him an atom regarding the skies.When portionless, back he determined to go,The eminent sage gave advice to him, so:"You thought yourself full of Astrologer's lore!Can a jug that is brimful contain any more?Come free from pretensions, that full you may be!You are full of yourself and go empty from me."In this world, as does Sadi, all self-love resign!And return again full of the knowledge divine.
Words in this poem
- smattering n.
- A slight, superficial knowledge of something; sciolism.
- portionless a.
- Having no portion.
- brimful a.
- Full to the brim; completely full; ready to overflow.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter IV: Story on the Disappointment of the Conceited 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 Disappointment of the Conceited, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/4-16.html, id L29637.
Form and metre
Chapter IV: Story on the Disappointment of the Conceited 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 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG hadA · madA · sideB · prideB · eyesC · skiesC · goD · soD · loreE · moreE · beF · meF · resignG · divineG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Of Astrology some one a smattering had, | 12 | ·˘/˘˘···/˘˘· |
| But his head was because of his vanity mad. | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| From a far distant land he reached Koshiyar's side, | 12 | ···/˘···˘··· |
| With a heart full of longing and head full of pride. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| On his face the philosopher shut both his eyes, | 12 | ····˘/˘˘···· |
| Nor taught him an atom regarding the skies. | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| When portionless, back he determined to go, | 12 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘˘·· |
| The eminent sage gave advice to him, so: | 11 | ·/˘˘··˘/··· |
| "You thought yourself full of Astrologer's lore! | 11 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘· |
| Can a jug that is brimful contain any more? | 12 | ·····/˘˘//˘· |
| Come free from pretensions, that full you may be! | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| You are full of yourself and go empty from me." | 12 | ····/˘··/˘·· |
| In this world, as does Sadi, all self-love resign! | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| And return again full of the knowledge divine. | 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.