Chapter VIII: Story of the Pharisee and the Drunkard
A divine passed a man lying drunk on the plain,And, because of his sanctity, waxed very vain.He did not, from pride, the man's circumstance scan ;The youth raised his head, saying, " Oh aged man !Go and thankfulness show, that in favour you are!For when pride is at hand, disappointment's not far !Do not laugh, when you see one in manacles bound !Lest, suddenly, you may in fetters be found.It may be, at least, in the ruling of Fate,That, soon, you may fall into my drunken state !The sky has inscribed the word ' Mosque to your name ;Some one else, in a 'Fire-Temple,' do not defame !"In thanksgiving, oh Musulman, clasp your hands !That your loins are not girt by the Guebre's false bands.The searcher for Him, of himself does not move ;The Friend's favour pulls him by force, in the groove.Observe to what length Fate has managed to fly!It is blindness on any but God to rely !
Words in this poem
- scan v. t.
- To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [L. scandere, scansum, to climb, to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander. Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- thanksgiving n.
- The act of rending thanks, or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter VIII: Story of the Pharisee and the Drunkard 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 VIII: Story of the Pharisee and the Drunkard, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/8-13.html, id L29731.
Form and metre
Chapter VIII: Story of the Pharisee and the Drunkard is 18 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII plainA · vainA · scanB · manB · areC · farC · boundD · foundD · fateE · stateE · nameF · defameF · handsG · bandsG · moveH · grooveH · flyI · relyI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A divine passed a man lying drunk on the plain, | 12 | ·˘/···/˘···· |
| And, because of his sanctity, waxed very vain. | 11 | ·····/˘·/˘· |
| He did not, from pride, the man's circumstance scan ; | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| The youth raised his head, saying, " Oh aged man ! | 11 | ···˘··/˘··· |
| Go and thankfulness show, that in favour you are! | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| For when pride is at hand, disappointment's not far ! | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| Do not laugh, when you see one in manacles bound ! | 11 | ··········· |
| Lest, suddenly, you may in fetters be found. | 11 | ·/˘˘···/˘·· |
| It may be, at least, in the ruling of Fate, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| That, soon, you may fall into my drunken state ! | 11 | ········/˘· |
| The sky has inscribed the word ' Mosque to your name ; | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| Some one else, in a 'Fire-Temple,' do not defame !" | 12 | ·····//˘··˘/ |
| In thanksgiving, oh Musulman, clasp your hands ! | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| That your loins are not girt by the Guebre's false bands. | 11 | ··········· |
| The searcher for Him, of himself does not move ; | 11 | ·/˘···˘/··· |
| The Friend's favour pulls him by force, in the groove. | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Observe to what length Fate has managed to fly! | 11 | ˘/·····/˘·· |
| It is blindness on any but God to rely ! | 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.