Chapter IV: Story of Lukman, the Doctor, and the Native of Baghdad
I have heard that Lukman in complexion was black,And in tending his ill-favoured body was slack.Some one thought him a runaway slave he once had,And employed him in working 'mong clay at Baghdad.In a year, for his master a mansion he reared;No one thought he was else than the slave he appeared.When before him arrived, then, the slave who had fled,The sight of Lukman filled the master with dread.He fell at his feet and advanced pleas profuse ;Lukman smiled and said, " Are your pleadings of use?From your harshness my liver turned to blood for a year ;Can that in an hour from my heart disappear ?And yet, oh good man ! I'll forgive even thee,For the profit to you caused no damage to me.For yourself you constructed a statelier place ;I have gained greater skill and increase of God's grace.Oh fortunate man ! I've a slave of my own,On whom heavy labour I often have thrown ;Not again will I trouble his heart in that way,When I think of the hardship of working 'mong clay."The man who has never been wronged by the great,Does not burn in his heart at the poor's wretched state.In this manner Bihram his vizier once addressed :"Let your subjects not be by hard labour oppressed!If the words of a Ruler seem harsh unto you,Do not you towards subjects oppression pursue !"
Words in this poem
- complexion n.
- The state of being complex; complexity. [F. complexion, fr. L. complexio. See Complex, a.]
- favoured a.
- Countenanced; aided; regarded with kidness; as, a favored friend.
- runaway n.
- One who, or that which, flees from danger, duty, restraint, etc.; a fugitive.
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter IV: Story of Lukman, the Doctor, and the Native of Baghdad 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 of Lukman, the Doctor, and the Native of Baghdad, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/4-23.html, id L29644.
Form and metre
Chapter IV: Story of Lukman, the Doctor, and the Native of Baghdad is 26 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMM blackA · slackA · hadB · baghdadB · rearedC · appearedC · fledD · dreadD · profuseE · useE · yearF · disappearF · theeG · meG · placeH · graceH · ownI · thrownI · wayJ · clayJ · greatK · stateK · addressedL · oppressedL · youM · pursueM
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 Lukman in complexion was black, | 12 | ····/˘·˘/˘·· |
| And in tending his ill-favoured body was slack. | 12 | ··/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| Some one thought him a runaway slave he once had, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| And employed him in working 'mong clay at Baghdad. | 12 | ·˘/··/˘···/˘ |
| In a year, for his master a mansion he reared; | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| No one thought he was else than the slave he appeared. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| When before him arrived, then, the slave who had fled, | 12 | ····˘/······ |
| The sight of Lukman filled the master with dread. | 12 | ···/˘·˘·/˘·· |
| He fell at his feet and advanced pleas profuse ; | 12 | ······˘/˘·˘/ |
| Lukman smiled and said, " Are your pleadings of use? | 12 | /˘·˘····/˘·· |
| From your harshness my liver turned to blood for a year ; | 13 | ··/˘·/˘······ |
| Can that in an hour from my heart disappear ? | 12 | ····/˘····˘/ |
| And yet, oh good man ! I'll forgive even thee, | 11 | ······˘//˘· |
| For the profit to you caused no damage to me. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| For yourself you constructed a statelier place ; | 12 | ·/˘·˘/˘····· |
| I have gained greater skill and increase of God's grace. | 12 | ···/˘··/···· |
| Oh fortunate man ! I've a slave of my own, | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| On whom heavy labour I often have thrown ; | 11 | ··/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Not again will I trouble his heart in that way, | 12 | ·˘/··/˘····· |
| When I think of the hardship of working 'mong clay." | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| The man who has never been wronged by the great, | 12 | ····/˘··˘··· |
| Does not burn in his heart at the poor's wretched state. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| In this manner Bihram his vizier once addressed : | 12 | ··/˘···/˘·˘/ |
| "Let your subjects not be by hard labour oppressed! | 12 | ··˘/····/·˘/ |
| If the words of a Ruler seem harsh unto you, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Do not you towards subjects oppression pursue !" | 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.