Chapter VI: Story of the Covetous Man and his Son
I have heard that a person of covetous sight,Went to Kharazam's king at the first dawn of light.When his son had observed that in paying respect,He bowed, kissed the ground and again stood erect ;He said, " Oh magnanimous father, give ear !I've a difficult question for you to make clear.You have stated that Mecca's your worshipping place ;Why in praying, to-day, turned you elsewhere your face ?"Your spirit, lust-worshipping, do not obey !For each hour, at a different shrine it will pray.On its order, oh brother, extend not a hand!He was rescued, who did not obey its command.Oh wise man ! by contentment the head is raised high ;The head, full of greed, on the shoulder must lie !The fair fame of honour is scattered by greed ;A skirtful of pearls strewn for two grains of seed !When you wish your thirst quenched at a rivulet nice,Why squander your fame for the sake of some ice?Perhaps you are pleased with your comforts in store !If not, you must travel from door unto door !Go, sir ! make the base hand of avarice short !What occasion have you in long sleeves to disport?He whose record of av'rice is folded from sight,To no one, "Your slave !" or "Your servant!" should write.Out of ev'ry assembly by greed you are turned;Drive it out of yourself, that you may not be spurned!
Words in this poem
- covetous a.
- Very desirous; eager to obtain; -- used in a good sense. [OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See Covet, v. t.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- 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.]
- disport n.
- Play; sport; pastime; diversion; playfulness. [OF. desport, deport. See Disport, v. i., and cf. Sport.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VI: Story of the Covetous Man and his Son 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 Covetous Man and his Son, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/6-3.html, id L29670.
Form and metre
Chapter VI: Story of the Covetous Man and his Son 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 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKAALL sightA · lightA · respectB · erectB · earC · clearC · placeD · faceD · obeyE · prayE · handF · commandF · highG · lieG · greedH · seedH · niceI · iceI · storeJ · doorJ · shortK · disportK · sightA · writeA · turnedL · spurnedL
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 a person of covetous sight, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘· |
| Went to Kharazam's king at the first dawn of light. | 12 | ············ |
| When his son had observed that in paying respect, | 12 | ····˘/··/˘˘/ |
| He bowed, kissed the ground and again stood erect ; | 12 | ··˘····˘/·˘/ |
| He said, " Oh magnanimous father, give ear ! | 11 | ···˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| I've a difficult question for you to make clear. | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘····· |
| You have stated that Mecca's your worshipping place ; | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘˘· |
| Why in praying, to-day, turned you elsewhere your face ?" | 12 | ··/˘····/··· |
| Your spirit, lust-worshipping, do not obey ! | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘··˘/ |
| For each hour, at a different shrine it will pray. | 12 | ··/··/˘˘···· |
| On its order, oh brother, extend not a hand! | 12 | ··/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| He was rescued, who did not obey its command. | 12 | ··/˘···˘/·˘/ |
| Oh wise man ! by contentment the head is raised high ; | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| The head, full of greed, on the shoulder must lie ! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| The fair fame of honour is scattered by greed ; | 12 | ····/˘·/˘˘·· |
| A skirtful of pearls strewn for two grains of seed ! | 11 | ··········· |
| When you wish your thirst quenched at a rivulet nice, | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| Why squander your fame for the sake of some ice? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Perhaps you are pleased with your comforts in store ! | 12 | ˘/···˘··/˘·· |
| If not, you must travel from door unto door ! | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Go, sir ! make the base hand of avarice short ! | 11 | ·······/˘˘· |
| What occasion have you in long sleeves to disport? | 12 | ·˘/˘······˘/ |
| He whose record of av'rice is folded from sight, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| To no one, "Your slave !" or "Your servant!" should write. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Out of ev'ry assembly by greed you are turned; | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| Drive it out of yourself, that you may not be spurned! | 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.