Analysis of Ch 07 On The Effects Of Education Story 20
Sa di 1210 (Shiraz) – 1291 (Shiraz)
Contention of Sa’di with a Disputant concerning Wealth and Poverty
I saw a man in the form but not with the character of a dervish, sitting in an assembly, who had begun a quarrel; and, having opened the record of complaints, reviled wealthy men, alleging at last that the hand of power of dervishes to do good was tied and that the foot of the intention of wealthy men to do good was broken.
The liberal have no money.
The wealthy have no liberality.
I, who had been cherished by the wealth of great men, considered these words offensive and said: ‘My good friend, the rich are the income of the destitute and the hoarded store of recluses, the objects of pilgrims, the refuge of travellers, the bearers of heavy loads for the relief of others. They give repasts and partake of them to feed their dependants and servants, the surplus of their liberalities being extended to widows, aged persons, relatives and neighbours.’
The rich must spend for pious uses, vows and hospitality,
Tithes, offerings, manumissions, gifts and sacrifices.
How canst thou attain their power of doing good who art able
To perform only the prayer-flections and these with a hundred distractions?
If there be efficacy in the power to be liberal and in the ability of performing religious duties, the rich can attain it better because they possess money to give alms, their garments are pure, their reputation is guarded, their hearts are at leisure. Inasmuch as the power of obedience depends upon nice morsels and correct worship upon elegant clothes, it is evident that hungry bowels have but little strength, an empty hand can afford no liberality, shackled feet cannot walk, and no good can come from a hungry belly.
He sleeps troubled in the night
Who has no support for the morrow.
The ant collects in summer a subsistence
For spending the winter in ease.
Freedom from care and destitution are not joined together and comfort in poverty is an impossibility. A man who is rich is engaged in his evening devotions whilst another who is poor is looking for his evening meal. How can they resemble each other?
He who possesses means is engaged in worship.
Whose means are scattered, his heart is distracted.
The worship of those who are comfortable is more likely to meet with acceptance, their minds being more attentive and not distracted or scattered. Having a secure income, they may attend to devotion. The Arab says: ‘I take refuge with Allah against base poverty and neighbours whom I do not love. There is also a tradition: Poverty is blackness of face in both worlds.’ He retorted by asking me whether I had heard the Prophet’s saying: Poverty is my glory. I replied: ‘Hush! The prince of the world alluded to the poverty of warriors in the battlefield of acquiescence and of submission to the arrow of destiny; not to those who don the patched garb of righteousness but sell the doles of food given them as alms.’
O drum of high sound and nothing within,
What wilt thou do without means when the struggle comes?
Turn away the face of greed from people if thou art a man.
Trust not the rosary of one thousand beads in thy hand.
A dervish without divine knowledge rests not until his poverty, culminates in unbelief; for poverty is almost infidelity, because a nude person cannot be clothed without money nor a prisoner liberated. How can the like of us attain their high position and how does the bestowing resemble the receiving hand? Knowest thou not that God the most high and glorious mentions in his revealed word the Pleasures of paradise-They shall have a certain provision in paradise-to inform thee that those who are occupied with cares for a subsistence are excluded from the felicity of piety and that the realm of leisure is under the ring of the certain provision.
The thirsty look in their sleep
On the whole world as a spring of water.
Wherever thou beholdest one who has experienced destitution and tasted bitterness, throwing himself wickedly into fearful adventures and not avoiding their consequences, he fears not the punishment of Yazed and does not discriminate between what is licit or illicit.
The dog whose head is touched by a clod of earth
Leaps for joy, imagining it to be a bone.
And when two men take a corpse on their shoulders,
A greedy fellow supposes it to be a table with food.
But the possessor of wealth is regarded with a favourable eye by the Almighty for the lawful acts he has done and preserved from the unlawful acts he might commit. Although I have not fully explained this matter nor adduced arguments, I rely on thy sense of justice to tell me wheth
Scheme | A B AA C ACXC A XXCC D XX C XCXX B XD X EXCX E |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101110101010100 1101001111010010101001010110101001010001101011010101110111011111110101100101101111110 01001110 010110100 111110101111010110100111101101101000101110101100101100010110110011101110011111110100101111001011011010001 011111010100100 1100110100 1110111011011110 10110011011010010 111100001011100000010010100101001101110011011011111011101011011111001010101010001011100011001100111100110101110111011011010010110101111101010 1110001 111011010 01010100010 11001001 10110100111010010010011001000111110101101101011111011101111010110 110101101010 11110111010 0101111100011101110101110101001010110100011110110100101111011001110001111111110001010011011011101011011011101010100111010110110101010100110000101010010101010110011111011110011011110111 1111101001 111101110101 101011111011101 11010011101011 010010110110111001001110011010001011010110110101001001101110111010011001001000101111110110100100101101011011101001001010111111101110010101010010011000101110110011010010 0101011 1011101110 01011111010010001010010011000110010010101100111010011011010011111010 01111110111 111010011101 01111011110 0101001011101011 1001011101010111001010101111001100101110111111001110111001011111101111 |
Characters | 4,746 |
Words | 806 |
Sentences | 35 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 2, 1, 4, 1 |
Lines Amount | 31 |
Letters per line (avg) | 119 |
Words per line (avg) | 26 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 231 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 4:02 min read
- 113 Views
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"Ch 07 On The Effects Of Education Story 20" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33945/ch-07-on-the-effects-of-education-story-20>.
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