Chapter VI: Story of the Short-sighted Man and the Woman of Noble Spirit
An infant the whole of his milk-teeth had got ;The father hung down his sad head in deep thought.Saying, " Where can I get food and clothes for my son ?It would not be manly to leave him and run !"When the wretch made this statement in front of his wife,Hear how bravely replied the help-meet of his life:"Do not fear for the Devil! for while the child lives,He who gave him the teeth also food to him gives !The Omnipotent God has the pow'r, after all,To give us our food ; in this way, do not bawl!He Who sketches the child in the uterine cell,Is the Writer of life and subsistence, as well.When a lord buys a slave he will food to him give;How much more will He, then, Who bade the slave live?Your reliance upon the Creator is less,Than that which a slave on his lord should possess."Have you heard that in ages, a long time ago,In the hands of the saints, stone to silver would grow?You cannot suppose that the saying's unwise:"When content, stone and silver are one in your eyes."When the heart of a child knows no envy or lust,In his eyes, what's a handful of gold, or of dust?Make the Dervish who worships the monarch aware,That the king than the pauper more sorrow must bear!With one paltry Direm the beggar is pleased ;Faridun was half-glad when all Persia he seized.Guarding kingdom and wealth is a dangerous game ;The beggar's a king, although beggar's his name.The beggar without any care on his heart,Is better than kings who in joy have no part.The peasant slept happy along with his spouse,With a joy that no king in a palace could rouse.When sleep's flood arrives and bears man in its train,What's the king on the throne? what's the Kurd on the plain?If one is a king, and should one cotton sew,When they sleep, both their nights into daylight will go.When you see a rich man who is crazy in head,Depart and thank God that you barely have bread!Praised be God! that in you no ability lies,That affliction on one, from your hand should arise !
Words in this poem
- bravely adv.
- In a brave manner; courageously; gallantly; valiantly; splendidly; nobly.
- bawl v. i.
- To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate. [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; cf. AS bellan, G. bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- handful n.
- As much as the hand will grasp or contain. [AS. handfull.]
- dervish n.
- A Turkish or Persian monk, especially one who professes extreme poverty and leads an austere life. [Per. derw, fr. OPer. derew to beg, ask alms: cf. F. derviche.]
- pauper n.
- A poor person; especially, one development on private or public charity. Also used adjectively; as, pouper immigrants, pouper labor. [L. See Poor.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- kurd n.
- A native or inhabitant of a mountainous region of Western Asia belonging to the Turkish and Persian monarchies. [Written also Koord.]
- daylight n.
- The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VI: Story of the Short-sighted Man and the Woman of Noble Spirit 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 VI: Story of the Short-sighted Man and the Woman of Noble Spirit, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/6-11.html, id L29678.
Form and metre
Chapter VI: Story of the Short-sighted Man and the Woman of Noble Spirit is 40 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTT gotA · thoughtA · sonB · runB · wifeC · lifeC · livesD · givesD · allE · bawlE · cellF · wellF · giveG · liveG · lessH · possessH · agoI · growI · unwiseJ · eyesJ · lustK · dustK · awareL · bearL · pleasedM · seizedM · gameN · nameN · heartO · partO · spouseP · rouseP · trainQ · plainQ · sewR · goR · headS · breadS · liesT · ariseT
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 |
|---|---|---|
| An infant the whole of his milk-teeth had got ; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The father hung down his sad head in deep thought. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Saying, " Where can I get food and clothes for my son ? | 12 | /˘·········· |
| It would not be manly to leave him and run !" | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| When the wretch made this statement in front of his wife, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Hear how bravely replied the help-meet of his life: | 12 | ··/˘˘/······ |
| "Do not fear for the Devil! for while the child lives, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| He who gave him the teeth also food to him gives ! | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| The Omnipotent God has the pow'r, after all, | 12 | ·˘/˘˘······· |
| To give us our food ; in this way, do not bawl! | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| He Who sketches the child in the uterine cell, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| Is the Writer of life and subsistence, as well. | 12 | ··/˘···˘/˘·· |
| When a lord buys a slave he will food to him give; | 12 | ············ |
| How much more will He, then, Who bade the slave live? | 11 | ··········· |
| Your reliance upon the Creator is less, | 12 | ·˘/˘···˘/˘·· |
| Than that which a slave on his lord should possess." | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Have you heard that in ages, a long time ago, | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| In the hands of the saints, stone to silver would grow? | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| You cannot suppose that the saying's unwise: | 11 | ·˘/˘/··/˘˘/ |
| "When content, stone and silver are one in your eyes." | 12 | ·/˘··/˘····· |
| When the heart of a child knows no envy or lust, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| In his eyes, what's a handful of gold, or of dust? | 12 | ·····/······ |
| Make the Dervish who worships the monarch aware, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/·˘/ |
| That the king than the pauper more sorrow must bear! | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| With one paltry Direm the beggar is pleased ; | 12 | ··/˘···/˘··˘ |
| Faridun was half-glad when all Persia he seized. | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Guarding kingdom and wealth is a dangerous game ; | 12 | /˘/˘····/˘˘· |
| The beggar's a king, although beggar's his name. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| The beggar without any care on his heart, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| Is better than kings who in joy have no part. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The peasant slept happy along with his spouse, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| With a joy that no king in a palace could rouse. | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| When sleep's flood arrives and bears man in its train, | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| What's the king on the throne? what's the Kurd on the plain? | 12 | ············ |
| If one is a king, and should one cotton sew, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| When they sleep, both their nights into daylight will go. | 12 | ········/··· |
| When you see a rich man who is crazy in head, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Depart and thank God that you barely have bread! | 11 | ˘/·····/˘·· |
| Praised be God! that in you no ability lies, | 12 | ·······˘/˘˘· |
| That affliction on one, from your hand should arise ! | 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.