Chapter IX: Story on the Consequences of Evil-doing
As a stranger, at Habsh I arrived, on my way,With my heart free from pain and my joyous head gay.By the side of the road I beheld a high mound,And on it some men who with fetters were bound;I instantly made preparations to fly;Like a bird from its cage, to the desert I hie.Some one said to me, "These are night-robbers, forsooth !Who will neither take counsel nor listen to truth."If a man has not been by your actions oppressed,Should the world's guardian seize on you, don't be distressed !A good man, as a prisoner, none has confined !Be afraid of the Lord ! the Ameer do not mind!If an agent has been in his dealings correct,He feels not alarmed when by auditors checked.And if under his honesty cheating should lie,His tongue in explaining accounts will be shy.When a laudable service I'm able to show,I am free from concern for the dark-minded foe.Should a slave be industrious, and humble appear,His master will certainly reckon him dear.And if, while at work, he should laziness show,From a man to a load-bearing ass he will go.Advance, that in rank you may angels surpass!If you tarry behind, you are worse than an ass.
Words in this poem
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
- industrious a.
- Given to industry; characterized by diligence; constantly, regularly, or habitually occupied; busy; assiduous; not slothful or idle; -- commonly implying devotion to lawful and useful labor. [L. industrius, industriosus: cf. F. industrieux. See Industry.]
- laziness n.
- The state or quality of being lazy.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter IX: Story on the Consequences of Evil-doing 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 IX: Story on the Consequences of Evil-doing, in The Garden of Fragrance (1882), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/saadi-bostan/9-23.html, id L29757.
Form and metre
Chapter IX: Story on the Consequences of Evil-doing is 24 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines. 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 AABBC-DDEEFFGGCCHHIIHHJJ wayA · gayA · moundB · boundB · flyC · hie · forsoothD · truthD · oppressedE · distressedE · confinedF · mindF · correctG · checkedG · lieC · shyC · showH · foeH · appearI · dearI · showH · goH · surpassJ · assJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As a stranger, at Habsh I arrived, on my way, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/··· |
| With my heart free from pain and my joyous head gay. | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| By the side of the road I beheld a high mound, | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| And on it some men who with fetters were bound; | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| I instantly made preparations to fly; | 11 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘·· |
| Like a bird from its cage, to the desert I hie. | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Some one said to me, "These are night-robbers, forsooth ! | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| Who will neither take counsel nor listen to truth." | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| If a man has not been by your actions oppressed, | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| Should the world's guardian seize on you, don't be distressed ! | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| A good man, as a prisoner, none has confined ! | 12 | ·····/˘˘··˘/ |
| Be afraid of the Lord ! the Ameer do not mind! | 12 | ·˘/········· |
| If an agent has been in his dealings correct, | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘/ |
| He feels not alarmed when by auditors checked. | 12 | ···˘/˘··/˘˘· |
| And if under his honesty cheating should lie, | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘·· |
| His tongue in explaining accounts will be shy. | 11 | ···˘/˘˘/··· |
| When a laudable service I'm able to show, | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| I am free from concern for the dark-minded foe. | 12 | ····˘/···/˘· |
| Should a slave be industrious, and humble appear, | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| His master will certainly reckon him dear. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
| And if, while at work, he should laziness show, | 11 | ·······/˘˘· |
| From a man to a load-bearing ass he will go. | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| Advance, that in rank you may angels surpass! | 11 | ˘/·····/˘˘/ |
| If you tarry behind, you are worse than an ass. | 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.