Chapter IV: Story on Gratitude for Safety
From a monarch a slave ran in anger away ;He ordered a search, none could find where he lay.When again he returned, free from anger and strife,The king bade the swordsman deprive him of life.The blood-thirsty headsman, by pity unwrung,Like the thirsty put forward the dagger's sharp tongue.I have heard that the man, sad and wounded, thus said :"Oh God, I forgive him my blood he's to shed!For always, in comfort, caresses and fame,I happy have been 'neath his prosperous name.God forbid that hereafter, because of this blow,They should seize him and give much delight to his foe."When the ears of the king heard this generous speech,Not again did the pot of his wrath boiling reach.He frequently kissed both his head and his eyes ;In the monarch his banner and kettle-drum rise.With kindness, from such a terrific abyss,Time brought him to such a good station as this.The design of this tale is—that soft speaking canQuench like water the fire of a hot-tempered man.Where the arrow and sword are employed, don't you knowThey wear silken vests of five score folds, or so?Be civil! oh friend, to a hot-tempered foe,For by softness the edge of the sabre will go !
Words in this poem
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- swordsman n.
- A soldier; a fighting man.
- headsman
- An executioner who cuts off heads.
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- 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.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter IV: Story on Gratitude for Safety 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 Gratitude for Safety, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/4-17.html, id L29638.
Form and metre
Chapter IV: Story on Gratitude for Safety 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJFFFF awayA · layA · strifeB · lifeB · unwrungC · tongueC · saidD · shedD · fameE · nameE · blowF · foeF · speechG · reachG · eyesH · riseH · abyssI · thisI · canJ · manJ · knowF · soF · foeF · goF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| From a monarch a slave ran in anger away ; | 12 | ··/·····/˘˘/ |
| He ordered a search, none could find where he lay. | 12 | ·/˘˘········ |
| When again he returned, free from anger and strife, | 12 | ·˘/·˘/··/˘·· |
| The king bade the swordsman deprive him of life. | 11 | ····/˘˘/··· |
| The blood-thirsty headsman, by pity unwrung, | 11 | ··/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Like the thirsty put forward the dagger's sharp tongue. | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| I have heard that the man, sad and wounded, thus said : | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| "Oh God, I forgive him my blood he's to shed! | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| For always, in comfort, caresses and fame, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
| I happy have been 'neath his prosperous name. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘· |
| God forbid that hereafter, because of this blow, | 12 | ·˘/·˘/˘····· |
| They should seize him and give much delight to his foe." | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| When the ears of the king heard this generous speech, | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| Not again did the pot of his wrath boiling reach. | 12 | ·˘/······/˘· |
| He frequently kissed both his head and his eyes ; | 12 | ·/˘˘·˘······ |
| In the monarch his banner and kettle-drum rise. | 12 | ··/··/˘·/˘·· |
| With kindness, from such a terrific abyss, | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘/ |
| Time brought him to such a good station as this. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| The design of this tale is—that soft speaking can | 12 | ·˘/······/˘· |
| Quench like water the fire of a hot-tempered man. | 12 | ··/˘·/···/˘· |
| Where the arrow and sword are employed, don't you know | 12 | ··/˘···˘/··· |
| They wear silken vests of five score folds, or so? | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Be civil! oh friend, to a hot-tempered foe, | 12 | ·/˘·····/˘˘· |
| For by softness the edge of the sabre will go ! | 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.