Chapter IV: Story on the Deafness of Hatim and the Humility of his Nature
A number of eloquent men hold this view :" That Hatim is deaf, don't believe to be true !"One morning a buzzing arose from a fly,That had stuck to the web of a spider near by.His weakness and silence were only a ruse;The fly thought him candy and fell to his noose.In order to profit, the chief took a view,Saying, "Captive through avarice, patience pursue !Sugar, honey and candy are not ev'rywhere ;For in corners lie hidden the hunter and snare."Of that circle of people of wisdom, one said :"Oh man of the road of the Lord! I'm misled.How came you the fly's gentle buzzing to hear,That only quite faintly arrived at our ear?Since the buz of a fly was detected by you,Henceforth, to be calling you deaf, will not do !"He replied to him, smiling ; " Oh thou with mind clear !To be deaf is far better than nonsense to hear.The men who around me as confidants stay,Conceal all my faults and my merits display.Since over my vices a curtain they stretch,It debases my life, and pride makes me a wretch.That my hearing is faulty, I state as a blind,In the hope that from worry release I may find.When those seated around me consider me mad,They tell what exists of my good and my bad.If hearing of sin brings no pleasure to me,From deeds that are evil, I keep my skirt free."With flattery's rope, down a well do not go!Like Hatim be deaf, and your shortcomings know !He for happiness searched not, nor safety acquired,Who from treasuring Sadi's discourses, retired.To a better adviser than he you must go!What may happen you after he dies, I don't know !
Words in this poem
- ruse n.
- An artifice; trick; stratagem; wile; fraund; deceit. Ruse de guerre ( Etym: [F.], a stratagem of war. [F., fr. OF. reüser, rehuser, to turn aside, to shuffle, retreat, fr. L. recusare to refuse; pref. re- again + causa cause. See Cause, and cf. Recusant.]
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter IV: Story on the Deafness of Hatim and the Humility of his Nature 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 Deafness of Hatim and the Humility of his Nature, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/4-19.html, id L29640.
Form and metre
Chapter IV: Story on the Deafness of Hatim and the Humility of his Nature is 34 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQ viewA · trueA · flyB · byB · ruseC · nooseC · viewD · pursueD · ev'rywhereE · snareE · saidF · misledF · hearG · earG · youH · doH · clearI · hearI · stayJ · displayJ · stretchK · wretchK · blindL · findL · madM · badM · meN · freeN · goO · knowO · acquiredP · retiredP · goQ · knowQ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A number of eloquent men hold this view : | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘···· |
| " That Hatim is deaf, don't believe to be true !" | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| One morning a buzzing arose from a fly, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| That had stuck to the web of a spider near by. | 11 | ········/·· |
| His weakness and silence were only a ruse; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| The fly thought him candy and fell to his noose. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| In order to profit, the chief took a view, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Saying, "Captive through avarice, patience pursue ! | 11 | /˘/˘·/˘/˘˘/ |
| Sugar, honey and candy are not ev'rywhere ; | 12 | /˘/˘·/˘····· |
| For in corners lie hidden the hunter and snare." | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Of that circle of people of wisdom, one said : | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| "Oh man of the road of the Lord! I'm misled. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| How came you the fly's gentle buzzing to hear, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| That only quite faintly arrived at our ear? | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/·/· |
| Since the buz of a fly was detected by you, | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| Henceforth, to be calling you deaf, will not do !" | 11 | //··/˘····· |
| He replied to him, smiling ; " Oh thou with mind clear ! | 12 | ·˘/··/˘····· |
| To be deaf is far better than nonsense to hear. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| The men who around me as confidants stay, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Conceal all my faults and my merits display. | 11 | ˘/·····/˘˘/ |
| Since over my vices a curtain they stretch, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| It debases my life, and pride makes me a wretch. | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| That my hearing is faulty, I state as a blind, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| In the hope that from worry release I may find. | 12 | ·····/˘˘/··· |
| When those seated around me consider me mad, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/˘·· |
| They tell what exists of my good and my bad. | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| If hearing of sin brings no pleasure to me, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| From deeds that are evil, I keep my skirt free." | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| With flattery's rope, down a well do not go! | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| Like Hatim be deaf, and your shortcomings know ! | 11 | ·······/·˘· |
| He for happiness searched not, nor safety acquired, | 11 | ··/˘···/˘˘/ |
| Who from treasuring Sadi's discourses, retired. | 11 | ··/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| To a better adviser than he you must go! | 11 | ··/˘˘/····· |
| What may happen you after he dies, I don't know ! | 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.