Chapter VII: On Training and Instruction
OF rectitude, counsels and manners I tell ;Not on battle-fields, polo and studs do I dwell.With the foe, lustful passion, why housed are you found?To a stranger's forced labour, how can you be bound?From unlawful affairs those who twist passion's reins,In bravery, pass Rustam and Sam, for their pains.No one cherishes fear for a foeman like you ;For you have not the strength your own self to subdue.Like a boy, teach respect to yourself with the cane !A man, with a ponderous mace, do not brain !Your body's a town, full of good and bad gear ;You're the sultan, and wisdom's the polished vizier.In this city, resembling the arrogant mean,Are haughtiness, passion and avarice seen.Contentment and chasteness are good men and true;In envy and lust, thieves and cut-purses view !When the Sultan to vile-minded men favour shows,In people of wisdom, where lodges repose?Lust and avarice, malice and envy, full rife,Are like blood in your veins, in your body, the life.If foes of this stamp have indulgence obtained,By your order and counsel they will not be reined.From passion and lust flees the courage to fight,When intellect's fingers are sharp in their sight.Don't you see that the night-thief, the rake and the mean,Do not loiter about where the night-watch is seen?The chief who to punish his enemy failed,Was unable to rule, for his foe's hand prevailed.This subject I care not to further pursue,For if one is observant, a letter will do.
Words in this poem
- polo n.
- A game of ball of Eastern origin, resembling hockey, with the players on horseback. [Of Eastern origin; -- properly, the ball used in the game.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- foeman n.
- An enemy in war. [AS. fhman.]
- 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.]
- chasteness n.
- Chastity; purity.
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- rife a.
- Prevailing; prevalent; abounding. [AS. rif abundant, or Icel. rifr munificent; akin to OD. riff, rijve, abundant.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VII: On Training and Instruction 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 VII: On Training and Instruction, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/7-1.html, id L29684.
Form and metre
Chapter VII: On Training and Instruction is 30 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOO tellA · dwellA · foundB · boundB · reinsC · painsC · youD · subdueD · caneE · brainE · gearF · vizierF · meanG · seenG · trueH · viewH · showsI · reposeI · rifeJ · lifeJ · obtainedK · reinedK · fightL · sightL · meanM · seenM · failedN · prevailedN · pursueO · doO
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OF rectitude, counsels and manners I tell ; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Not on battle-fields, polo and studs do I dwell. | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| With the foe, lustful passion, why housed are you found? | 12 | ···/˘/˘····· |
| To a stranger's forced labour, how can you be bound? | 12 | ··/˘·/······ |
| From unlawful affairs those who twist passion's reins, | 12 | ·˘/˘˘/···/˘· |
| In bravery, pass Rustam and Sam, for their pains. | 12 | ·/˘˘········ |
| No one cherishes fear for a foeman like you ; | 12 | ··/˘˘···/˘·· |
| For you have not the strength your own self to subdue. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| Like a boy, teach respect to yourself with the cane ! | 12 | ····˘/·/˘··· |
| A man, with a ponderous mace, do not brain ! | 11 | ····/˘˘···· |
| Your body's a town, full of good and bad gear ; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| You're the sultan, and wisdom's the polished vizier. | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| In this city, resembling the arrogant mean, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| Are haughtiness, passion and avarice seen. | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| Contentment and chasteness are good men and true; | 11 | ˘/˘·/˘····· |
| In envy and lust, thieves and cut-purses view ! | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| When the Sultan to vile-minded men favour shows, | 12 | ··/˘··/˘·/˘· |
| In people of wisdom, where lodges repose? | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Lust and avarice, malice and envy, full rife, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Are like blood in your veins, in your body, the life. | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| If foes of this stamp have indulgence obtained, | 12 | ······˘/˘˘/˘ |
| By your order and counsel they will not be reined. | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| From passion and lust flees the courage to fight, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| When intellect's fingers are sharp in their sight. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Don't you see that the night-thief, the rake and the mean, | 12 | ············ |
| Do not loiter about where the night-watch is seen? | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| The chief who to punish his enemy failed, | 12 | ····/˘·/˘˘·˘ |
| Was unable to rule, for his foe's hand prevailed. | 12 | ·˘/˘······˘/ |
| This subject I care not to further pursue, | 11 | ·˘/····/˘˘/ |
| For if one is observant, a letter will do. | 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.