Chapter VII: On the Instruction of Children
Bid a boy, when ten years shall have passed o'er his head,Live apart from the maids he may lawfully wed!"Tis improper, a fire upon cotton to light,For the house, in a twink, is consumed in its might.When you wish that your name may be permanent here,In knowledge and wisdom, your son you should rear !For should he be wanting in wisdom and mind,You die, and you leave no relation behind !The son often suffers a deal of mishap,When reared by the father in luxury's lap.As a prudent and abstinent person, him, train !And from petting him much, if you love him, refrain!Chastise and instruct him, while still he's a lad;Use favours and threats, in his good and his bad!For a learner, much better commending and praise,Than the threats and reproaches a tutor displays !Teach the son you have nurtured to work with his hand!Even should you a treasure, like Korah's, command !In the wealth you possess you ought not to confide !For the wealth you may have may not with you abide.A purse, full of money, may empty become ;The purse of the artisan always shows some.And how do you know that the changes of time,May not force him to wander in many a clime?If a useful profession he has at command,When to men will he stretch a necessitous hand?You know not how Sadi obtained high degree ?He crossed not the desert, he ploughed not the sea ;When young, he had cuffs from his elders to brave;When older the Lord to him piety gave !Whoever his neck in obedience will place,Will himself give command, in a very short space.The stripling who feels not the teacher's rebuff,Will endure at Time's hand bitter hardships enough.Your son, then, in goodness and comfort maintain !That in others, his hope may not have to remain.In rearing your son, if no trouble you take,Some one else takes the trouble and makes him a rake.From a wicked companion, protect him with care !For his vice and bad fortune he with him will share.Do not wish him more vile than the "paederast " base,Who is infamous ere the down shows on his face !Away from that wretch, it behoves one to haste,Whose poltroon'ry has man's reputation effaced.If a son has in comp'ny with vagabonds been,Of his welfare, the father may wash his hands clean !At his ruin and death, from lamenting refrain !Better die ! 'fore his father, than wicked remain!
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- twink n.
- A wink; a twinkling.
- mishap v. i.
- To happen unluckily; -- used impersonally.
- abstinent a.
- Refraining from indulgence, especially from the indulgence of appetite; abstemious; continent; temperate. Beau. & Fl. [F. abstinent, L. abstinens, p. pr. of abstinere. See Abstain.]
- instruct a.
- Arranged; furnished; provided. [L. instructus, p. p. of instruere to furnish, provide, construct, instruct; pref. in- in, struere. See Structure.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- necessitous a.
- Very needy or indigent; pressed with poverty. [Cf. F. nécessiteux.]
- whoever pron.
- Whatever person; any person who; be or she who; any one who; as, he shall be punished, whoever he may be.
- stripling n.
- A youth in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boyhood to manhood; a lad. [Dim. of strip; as if a small strip from the main stock or steam.]
- rebuff n.
- Repercussion, or beating back; a quick and sudden resistance. [It. ribuffo, akin to ribuffare to repulse; pref. ri- (L. re-) + buffo puff. Cf. Buff to strike, Buffet a blow.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VII: On the Instruction of Children 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 the Instruction of Children, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/7-27.html, id L29710.
Form and metre
Chapter VII: On the Instruction of Children is 48 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWWXX headA · wedA · lightB · mightB · hereC · rearC · mindD · behindD · mishapE · lapE · trainF · refrainF · ladG · badG · praiseH · displaysH · handI · commandI · confideJ · abideJ · becomeK · someK · timeL · climeL · commandM · handM · degreeN · seaN · braveO · gaveO · placeP · spaceP · rebuffQ · enoughQ · maintainR · remainR · takeS · rakeS · careT · shareT · baseU · faceU · hasteV · effacedV · beenW · cleanW · refrainX · remainX
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bid a boy, when ten years shall have passed o'er his head, | 12 | ············ |
| Live apart from the maids he may lawfully wed! | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘˘· |
| "Tis improper, a fire upon cotton to light, | 12 | ·˘/˘·/··/˘·· |
| For the house, in a twink, is consumed in its might. | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| When you wish that your name may be permanent here, | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| In knowledge and wisdom, your son you should rear ! | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| For should he be wanting in wisdom and mind, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| You die, and you leave no relation behind ! | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| The son often suffers a deal of mishap, | 11 | ··/˘/˘···/· |
| When reared by the father in luxury's lap. | 12 | ··˘··/˘·/˘˘· |
| As a prudent and abstinent person, him, train ! | 12 | ··/˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
| And from petting him much, if you love him, refrain! | 12 | ··/˘······˘/ |
| Chastise and instruct him, while still he's a lad; | 11 | ˘/·˘/······ |
| Use favours and threats, in his good and his bad! | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| For a learner, much better commending and praise, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
| Than the threats and reproaches a tutor displays ! | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Teach the son you have nurtured to work with his hand! | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Even should you a treasure, like Korah's, command ! | 12 | /˘···/˘···˘/ |
| In the wealth you possess you ought not to confide ! | 12 | ····˘/····˘/ |
| For the wealth you may have may not with you abide. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| A purse, full of money, may empty become ; | 11 | ····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| The purse of the artisan always shows some. | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| And how do you know that the changes of time, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| May not force him to wander in many a clime? | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| If a useful profession he has at command, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘···˘/ |
| When to men will he stretch a necessitous hand? | 12 | ·······˘/˘˘· |
| You know not how Sadi obtained high degree ? | 12 | ······˘/˘·˘/ |
| He crossed not the desert, he ploughed not the sea ; | 12 | ··˘··/˘····· |
| When young, he had cuffs from his elders to brave; | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| When older the Lord to him piety gave ! | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘· |
| Whoever his neck in obedience will place, | 12 | ˘/˘···˘/˘˘·· |
| Will himself give command, in a very short space. | 12 | ·˘/·˘/··/˘·· |
| The stripling who feels not the teacher's rebuff, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘/ |
| Will endure at Time's hand bitter hardships enough. | 12 | ·˘/···/˘/˘˘/ |
| Your son, then, in goodness and comfort maintain ! | 11 | ····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| That in others, his hope may not have to remain. | 12 | ··/˘······˘/ |
| In rearing your son, if no trouble you take, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| Some one else takes the trouble and makes him a rake. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| From a wicked companion, protect him with care ! | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘˘/··· |
| For his vice and bad fortune he with him will share. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Do not wish him more vile than the "paederast " base, | 12 | ············ |
| Who is infamous ere the down shows on his face ! | 12 | ··/˘˘······· |
| Away from that wretch, it behoves one to haste, | 11 | ˘/········· |
| Whose poltroon'ry has man's reputation effaced. | 12 | ·······˘/˘˘/ |
| If a son has in comp'ny with vagabonds been, | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| Of his welfare, the father may wash his hands clean ! | 12 | ··/··/˘····· |
| At his ruin and death, from lamenting refrain ! | 12 | ··/˘···˘/˘˘/ |
| Better die ! 'fore his father, than wicked remain! | 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.