Chapter VII: Story of the Merchant and his Slave
In this city, one time, to my hearing it gotThat a slave by an opulent merchant was bought.Perhaps, in the night, with the slave he made free ;For silvery chinned and heart-charming was he.Whatsoever the fairy-cheeked youth could obtain,He broke, in revenge, on the fool's face and brain.He called God and the prophet, as witnesses true,Saying, "Never again will I folly pursue."Face wounded, head bandaged and broken in heart,He was forced the same week on a journey to start.When two or three miles out of Gazar he rode,A wild, rocky mountain in front of him showed.He inquired, " What's the name of this hill, rising high,That appears so prodigious to ev'ry one's eye ?"Thus, answered a friend in his own caravan:"Perhaps, you don't know of the Tangi Turkan?"At his servant the man gave a bellow severe,Saying, "Wherefore proceed? let us pitch our tents here!Of wisdom and knowledge I'd not have a grain,If the rage of the Turk I encountered again !"Shut the door of the passion of lust, so ingrate !If a lover, bear kicks and then bandage your pate !When you make it your duty a slave boy to train,Be strict ! so that fruit from his work you may gain.If the master should fasten his teeth in his lips,The desire of becoming the master, he sips.Make a slave carry water and work among bricks!A slave who is pampered learns pugilists' tricks.Not always on seeing a heart-charming line,Can your longing secure it for that book of thine.
Words in this poem
- chinned a.
- Having a chin; -- used chiefly in compounds; as, short-chinned.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- prodigious a.
- Of the nature of a prodigy; marvelous; wonderful; portentous. [L. prodigiosus, fr. prodigium a prodigy; cf. F. prodigieux. See Prodigy.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- turk n.
- A member of any of numerous Tartar tribes of Central Asia, etc.; esp., one of the dominant race in Turkey. [Per. Turk; probably of Tartar origin: cf. F. Turc.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- ingrate n.
- An ungrateful person.
- pate n.
- A pie. See Patty. [F. pâté.]
- pampered a.
- Fed luxuriously; indulged to the full; hence, luxuriant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VII: Story of the Merchant and his Slave 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 the Merchant and his Slave, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/7-30.html, id L29713.
Form and metre
Chapter VII: Story of the Merchant and his Slave 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 93%).
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 gotA · boughtA · freeB · heB · obtainC · brainC · trueD · pursueD · heartE · startE · rodeF · showedF · highG · eyeG · caravanH · turkanH · severeI · hereI · grainJ · againJ · ingrateK · pateK · trainL · gainL · lipsM · sipsM · bricksN · tricksN · lineO · thineO
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In this city, one time, to my hearing it got | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| That a slave by an opulent merchant was bought. | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘·· |
| Perhaps, in the night, with the slave he made free ; | 11 | ˘/········· |
| For silvery chinned and heart-charming was he. | 12 | ·/˘˘·˘··/˘·· |
| Whatsoever the fairy-cheeked youth could obtain, | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘···˘/ |
| He broke, in revenge, on the fool's face and brain. | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| He called God and the prophet, as witnesses true, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘· |
| Saying, "Never again will I folly pursue." | 12 | /˘/˘˘/··/˘˘/ |
| Face wounded, head bandaged and broken in heart, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘˘·/˘·· |
| He was forced the same week on a journey to start. | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| When two or three miles out of Gazar he rode, | 11 | ··········· |
| A wild, rocky mountain in front of him showed. | 12 | ··/˘/˘·····˘ |
| He inquired, " What's the name of this hill, rising high, | 12 | ·˘/······/˘· |
| That appears so prodigious to ev'ry one's eye ?" | 12 | ·˘/·˘/˘····· |
| Thus, answered a friend in his own caravan: | 12 | ·/˘˘·····/˘· |
| "Perhaps, you don't know of the Tangi Turkan?" | 11 | ˘/········· |
| At his servant the man gave a bellow severe, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| Saying, "Wherefore proceed? let us pitch our tents here! | 12 | /˘/˘˘/···/·· |
| Of wisdom and knowledge I'd not have a grain, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| If the rage of the Turk I encountered again !" | 12 | ·······˘/˘˘/ |
| Shut the door of the passion of lust, so ingrate ! | 12 | ·····/˘···/˘ |
| If a lover, bear kicks and then bandage your pate ! | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| When you make it your duty a slave boy to train, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Be strict ! so that fruit from his work you may gain. | 11 | ··········· |
| If the master should fasten his teeth in his lips, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| The desire of becoming the master, he sips. | 12 | ·˘/·˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Make a slave carry water and work among bricks! | 12 | ···/˘/˘····· |
| A slave who is pampered learns pugilists' tricks. | 12 | ····/˘˘····· |
| Not always on seeing a heart-charming line, | 11 | ·/··/˘··/˘· |
| Can your longing secure it for that book of thine. | 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.