Chapter VII: Story of Faridun's Vizier
Faridun had a praiseworthy man as vizier ;His mind was enlightened, his foresight was clear.First, the will of the Maker, his study he made,And, next, the commands of the king he obeyed.A ruler debased, who racks subjects with pain,Thinks it ruling the land and the treasury's gain.If you fix not your look towards God in each thing,He brings you to grief at the hand of the king.In the morning, a person the king's presence sought,Saying, "Peace and success, ev'ry day, be your lot !Do not listen to envy ! to warning, give ear !In secret your foe is your trusted vizier !"Mong the high and the low in the army, none's known,Who has not obtained from him money, on loan;On condition that when the great king is no more,All the gold and the silver, forthwith, they'll restore.He, selfish, desires not to see you alive,Lest your living, should him of his money deprive !"The king, at the empire-protecting vizier,Gave a look, in which punishment showed very clear,And said, "Like a friend, in my presence thou art!Why art thou my enemy, then, in thy heart?"The ground near the throne he saluted and spoke:"Since you've asked me the question, 'tis needless to cloak!Oh monarch, renowned ! this design I've in view,That your subjects may all be well-wishers of you.Since to pay back my coin on your death, they agree,They wish you long life, from their terror of me.Don't you wish that in pray'r and sincereness, each oneShould desire your head fresh, for your life a long run?Men look upon pray'r as a boon in their hearts ;It is armour that shields from Calamity's darts."At all he had mentioned, the king pleasure showed,The rose of his face out of cheerfulness blowed.Great pow'r and high rank the vizier held before ;He augmented his rank and his power much more.More perplexed than a slanderer, none have I met,More hapless, with fortune so greatly upset !By means of the folly and malice he shows,Between two companions he enmity sows ;When the two again meet, they their friendship renew,And he is ashamed and abashed 'twixt the two.Between two cordial friends to cause fire to arise,And you in betwixt them to burn, is not wise.Like Sadi, the man tastes retirement's delight,Who, respecting both worlds, draws his tongue in from sight.Declare what you know, that may useful appear,Though it may not fall sweet on a certain one's ear!For to-morrow, repentant, a cry he will raise,Saying : "Why was I deaf to the Truth, in my days?"
Words in this poem
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- needless a.
- Having no need.
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- armour n.
- Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
- slanderer n.
- One who slanders; a defamer; a calumniator. Jer. Taylor.
- hapless a.
- Without hap or luck; luckless; unfortunate; unlucky; unhappy; as, hapless youth; hapless maid.
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- repentant a.
- Penitent; sorry for sin. [F. repentant.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VII: Story of Faridun's Vizier 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: Story of Faridun's Vizier, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/7-24.html, id L29707.
Form and metre
Chapter VII: Story of Faridun's Vizier is 50 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWWXXYY vizierA · clearA · madeB · obeyedB · painC · gainC · thingD · kingD · soughtE · lotE · earF · vizierF · knownG · loanG · moreH · restoreH · aliveI · depriveI · vizierJ · clearJ · artK · heartK · spokeL · cloakL · viewM · youM · agreeN · meN · oneO · runO · heartsP · dartsP · showedQ · blowedQ · beforeR · moreR · metS · upsetS · showsT · sowsT · renewU · twoU · ariseV · wiseV · delightW · sightW · appearX · earX · raiseY · daysY
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Faridun had a praiseworthy man as vizier ; | 12 | ·····/·˘··/˘ |
| His mind was enlightened, his foresight was clear. | 12 | ···˘/˘˘·/··· |
| First, the will of the Maker, his study he made, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| And, next, the commands of the king he obeyed. | 12 | ···˘/····˘/˘ |
| A ruler debased, who racks subjects with pain, | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘··/˘·· |
| Thinks it ruling the land and the treasury's gain. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| If you fix not your look towards God in each thing, | 12 | ············ |
| He brings you to grief at the hand of the king. | 11 | ··········· |
| In the morning, a person the king's presence sought, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Saying, "Peace and success, ev'ry day, be your lot ! | 12 | /˘··˘/······ |
| Do not listen to envy ! to warning, give ear ! | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| In secret your foe is your trusted vizier ! | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| "Mong the high and the low in the army, none's known, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Who has not obtained from him money, on loan; | 12 | ···˘/˘··/˘·· |
| On condition that when the great king is no more, | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| All the gold and the silver, forthwith, they'll restore. | 12 | ·····/˘//·˘/ |
| He, selfish, desires not to see you alive, | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘····˘/ |
| Lest your living, should him of his money deprive !" | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| The king, at the empire-protecting vizier, | 12 | ····/˘˘˘/˘/˘ |
| Gave a look, in which punishment showed very clear, | 12 | ·····/˘˘·/˘· |
| And said, "Like a friend, in my presence thou art! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Why art thou my enemy, then, in thy heart?" | 11 | ····/˘˘···· |
| The ground near the throne he saluted and spoke: | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| "Since you've asked me the question, 'tis needless to cloak! | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| Oh monarch, renowned ! this design I've in view, | 12 | ·/·˘/˘·˘/··· |
| That your subjects may all be well-wishers of you. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| Since to pay back my coin on your death, they agree, | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| They wish you long life, from their terror of me. | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Don't you wish that in pray'r and sincereness, each one | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| Should desire your head fresh, for your life a long run? | 12 | ·˘/········· |
| Men look upon pray'r as a boon in their hearts ; | 11 | ··········· |
| It is armour that shields from Calamity's darts." | 12 | ··/˘···˘/˘˘· |
| At all he had mentioned, the king pleasure showed, | 12 | ····/˘˘··/˘· |
| The rose of his face out of cheerfulness blowed. | 12 | ·······/˘˘·˘ |
| Great pow'r and high rank the vizier held before ; | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| He augmented his rank and his power much more. | 12 | ·˘/˘····/˘·· |
| More perplexed than a slanderer, none have I met, | 12 | ·˘/··/˘˘···· |
| More hapless, with fortune so greatly upset ! | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘/· |
| By means of the folly and malice he shows, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| Between two companions he enmity sows ; | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| When the two again meet, they their friendship renew, | 12 | ···˘/···/˘˘/ |
| And he is ashamed and abashed 'twixt the two. | 12 | ···˘/˘·˘/··· |
| Between two cordial friends to cause fire to arise, | 12 | ···/˘···/·˘/ |
| And you in betwixt them to burn, is not wise. | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| Like Sadi, the man tastes retirement's delight, | 11 | ······˘/˘˘/ |
| Who, respecting both worlds, draws his tongue in from sight. | 12 | ·˘/˘········ |
| Declare what you know, that may useful appear, | 11 | ˘/·····/˘˘/ |
| Though it may not fall sweet on a certain one's ear! | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| For to-morrow, repentant, a cry he will raise, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘····· |
| Saying : "Why was I deaf to the Truth, in my days?" | 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.