Chapter VII: Story of the Slave Boy and his Remarks
In Egypt a little slave boy I possessed,Whose eyes, out of shame, were cast down on his breast.Some one said, " Void of wisdom and sense he appears,You should give him instruction, by boxing his ears !"In accents severe, I one night at him cried ;The poor fellow, killed by my harshness, replied :"If anger should cast you from station, one day !You are crazed and demented, the people will say.And if from a person oppression you bear,A high sense of honour you lack, they'll declare."They, advising a liberal man, say, " Give o'er !Or, to-morrow, you'll stretch out your hands, hind and fore."If content and denying of self you have grown,'Midst the taunts of the people, a captive you're thrown.For they'll say, " Like his father, the wretch will depart ;He abandoned the world and regret filled his heart."In the corner of peace, who is able to sit,Since the prophet from villainous hands had to flit?Have you heard what the Christian believer did stateTo God—without equal and partner and mate?"From the hands of his fellows, no man gets away,And patience alone is the prisoner's stay."
Words in this poem
- demented a.
- Insane; mad; of unsound mind. [From Dement.]
- 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.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VII: Story of the Slave Boy and his Remarks 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 Slave Boy and his Remarks, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/7-34.html, id L29717.
Form and metre
Chapter VII: Story of the Slave Boy and his Remarks is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK possessedA · breastA · appearsB · earsB · criedC · repliedC · dayD · sayD · bearE · declareE · o'erF · foreF · grownG · thrownG · departH · heartH · sitI · flitI · stateJ · mateJ · awayK · stayK
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 Egypt a little slave boy I possessed, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Whose eyes, out of shame, were cast down on his breast. | 11 | ··········· |
| Some one said, " Void of wisdom and sense he appears, | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| You should give him instruction, by boxing his ears !" | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘·· |
| In accents severe, I one night at him cried ; | 11 | ·/˘˘/······ |
| The poor fellow, killed by my harshness, replied : | 12 | ··/˘·˘··/˘˘/ |
| "If anger should cast you from station, one day ! | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| You are crazed and demented, the people will say. | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘·· |
| And if from a person oppression you bear, | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| A high sense of honour you lack, they'll declare." | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| They, advising a liberal man, say, " Give o'er ! | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘˘···· |
| Or, to-morrow, you'll stretch out your hands, hind and fore." | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| If content and denying of self you have grown, | 12 | ·/˘·˘/˘····· |
| 'Midst the taunts of the people, a captive you're thrown. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| For they'll say, " Like his father, the wretch will depart ; | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| He abandoned the world and regret filled his heart." | 12 | ·˘/˘···˘/··· |
| In the corner of peace, who is able to sit, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| Since the prophet from villainous hands had to flit? | 12 | ··/˘·/˘˘···· |
| Have you heard what the Christian believer did state | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘·· |
| To God—without equal and partner and mate? | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| "From the hands of his fellows, no man gets away, | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| And patience alone is the prisoner's stay." | 11 | ·/˘˘/··/˘˘· |
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.