SaadiСаади

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, I, tale 10 (the verses 'Bani Adam').

The three verses Saadi speaks to an unjust Arab king at the tomb of John the Baptist in Damascus. Tolstoy drops the reason in the first verse ('for in creation they are of one essence') and makes 'members of one another' 'members of one body'; 'when fortune brings one member to pain, the others have no rest' becomes 'all the others suffer'. The third verse is kept: 'you who are without grief at others' trouble, it is not fitting that they call you a man'.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. VIII, maxim 35.

The maxim's first sentence, close; the verses that follow are left out.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. VIII, maxim 98 (Gladwin).

Gladwin's English, through Conway. Gladwin's 'Durwaish' becomes «Один святой жизни человек», and «о людях» is added. The reason changes: 'for on the good thou hast already bestowed mercy, by having created them virtuous' (Persian: که مر ایشان را نیک آفریده‌ای, 'for thou hast created them good') becomes «потому что к добрым ты уже был милостив: им хорошо потому, что они добрые» (they are well off because they are good). God's making them good drops out, and their goodness itself becomes their good fortune.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. VIII, maxim 51 (Gladwin).

Gladwin's maxim, through Conway ('Temperance'), signed «По Саади», with sentences of Tolstoy's own. He keeps the bird and the net, with «жадность» (greed) for 'the cravings of the belly', and 'The belly is chains to the hands and fetters to the feet'. He adds «На эту же приманку ловят и людей» (men are caught with the same bait); for 'He who is a slave to his belly seldom worships God' he writes «Раб брюха — всегда раб» (the belly's slave is always a slave); and he ends with «Хочешь быть свободен — прежде всего освобождай себя от брюха. Ешь для того, чтобы утолить голод, а не для того, чтобы получить удовольствие.» Ganjoor's Persian has the first sentence only; the sentence on chains and fetters, which Gladwin translates, is not in its text.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. II, tale 7, closing verse.

Saadi's verse at the end of the tale of the boy who stayed awake at prayer, through Conway ('Self-righteousness'). The first sentence follows 'The boaster sees nothing but himself', without 'having a veil of conceit before his eyes'. The second is Tolstoy's: «Лучше бы ему быть слепым, чем видеть только себя» (better for him to be blind than to see only himself) stands in place of 'If he was endowed with an eye capable of discerning God, he would not discover any person weaker than himself'.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. III, tale 28 (Gladwin).

Two sentences from the tale of the boxer and the boatman, as Conway gives them under 'Gentleness', close; 'kindness' becomes «кротость» (meekness) and 'perverseness' «развращенности». Ganjoor's Persian has the couplets on bearing with a quarrel and on leading an elephant by a hair; the sentence on the sword and the silk, which Gladwin translates, is not in its text.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. I, story 36 (Ganjoor); Tale XXXVI (Gladwin).

Gladwin's English, through Conway, shortened and reworded. Tolstoy leaves out 'Precious life has been spent in these cares, "What shall I eat in the summer, and with what shall I be clothed in the winter?"'. 'To eat one's bread, and to sit down at ease, is preferable to wearing a golden girdle, and standing up in service' becomes «лучше спокойно есть хлеб своего труда, чем носить золотой пояс и быть слугою другого» (and be another's servant). 'Making mortar of quicklime' becomes «месить руками известь и глину» (lime and clay; Persian: 'kneading hot lime with the hand'). 'Placing them on your breast in attendance on the Umeer' becomes «складывать их на груди в знак своего рабства» (as a sign of one's slavery): the emir drops out. The closing address, 'O ignoble belly, satisfy yourself with a loaf of bread, that you may not bend your back in servitude', becomes a maxim: «Лучше довольствоваться куском хлеба, чем рабски гнуть спину». Persian: the golden girdle is a gold sword-belt (کمرشمشیر زرین).

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. VIII, maxim 77 (Ganjoor); in No. LXXV (Gladwin).

Gladwin's English, through Conway, close, with its last sentence left out ('Vinegar and potherbs, obtained by one's own labour, are preferable to bread and lamb received from the hand of the head man of the village'). 'The great man's food' becomes «яства богатых» (the food of the rich), and 'the scraps of one's own table' «кусок хлеба с своего стола» (a piece of bread from one's own table); the Persian has 'the crumbs of one's own provision bag' (خرده انبان خود). In the Persian the maxim stands alone; Gladwin prints it at the end of his No. LXXV, Conway alone.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, Preface, Saadi's preface, the verses after Buzurjmihr's saying (Ganjoor, Dibacheh); Gladwin (1865), pp. 107-108; Conway (1874), no. CXCI, Speech, pp. 121-122.

Saadi's preface to the Gulistan, in Gladwin's English through Conway, close: 'First think, and then speak, but stop before they say, It is enough. Man excelleth the brute creation by the faculty of speech, but you are beneath the brute if you make an improper use of that gift.' Tolstoy turns the second person of the last clause into the third («но он ниже его»). The Persian is two couplets: 'Think, and then draw breath to speak, and stop before they say "Enough"; by speech man is better than the beasts, the beasts are better than you if you do not speak aright.' In The Path of Life (1910), ch. XXIII, Tolstoy made the last clause «если болтает, что попало» (if he babbles whatever comes). Not in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903).

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. VIII, maxim 38 (Ganjoor numbering; Gladwin No. XL, p. 352).

Saadi's maxim with its subject changed. Gladwin: 'Whosoever acquired knowledge, and did not practise it, resembleth him who ploughed, but did not sow.' Tolstoy: «Человек, знающий закон, но не исполняющий его, подобен человеку, который пашет, но не сеет» (a man who knows the law but does not fulfil it is like a man who ploughs but does not sow). The Persian: 'whoever studied knowledge (ʿilm) and did not act on it is like one who drove the oxen and did not scatter the seed.' Knowledge becomes 'the law', which suits the day's theme, 'faith is not faith if life does not agree with it'. The same maxim stands in the Circle on 27 July (7-27.5), closer to Saadi («Кто приобретает знания, но не пользуется ими, подобен тому, кто пашет, но не сеет») and signed «Гулистан» Саади by the Jubilee editors. Conway's Sacred Anthology prints Gladwin's sentence (p. 128, no. CCIII, Fruitless Toil); no printing with 'law' in it was found, so whether Tolstoy or an intermediary made the change is not known. Not in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903).

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. VIII (On the rules of conduct in life), ch. VIII, maxim 4 (Ganjoor); Gladwin (1865), ch. VIII, No. IV, p. 338; Conway (1874), no. CCIV, Use of Knowledge, p. 128.

The first sentence of Conway's 'Use of Knowledge', Gladwin's English: 'Science is to be used for the preservation of religion, and not for the acquisition of wealth.' Tolstoy is close, with «утверждение» (establishing) for 'preservation'; his «Наука» is Gladwin's 'Science', the Persian ʿilm (knowledge, learning). The Persian: 'Knowledge is for nurturing religion, not for feeding on the world.' Tolstoy leaves out the sentence that follows in Gladwin and Conway, 'Whosoever prostituted his abstinence, reputation, and learning for gain, formed a granary and then consumed it entirely.' The next entry, 7-27.5, comes from the section before it in Conway. Not in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903).

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. VIII (On the rules of conduct in life), ch. VIII, maxim 38 (Ganjoor); Gladwin (1865), ch. VIII, No. XL, p. 352; Conway (1874), no. CCIII, Fruitless Toil, p. 128.

Gladwin's English through Conway, close: 'Whosoever acquired knowledge, and did not practise it, resembleth him who ploughed, but did not sow.' The Persian: 'Whoever studied knowledge and did not act on it is like one who drove the ox and did not scatter the seed.' The printed editions left the thought unsigned; the Jubilee editors signed it «Гулистан» Саади (vol. 42, list of corrected signatures), rightly. Tolstoy took this thought and 7-27.4 from consecutive sections of Conway, CCIII and CCIV, in reverse order. July 22's thought signed «Восточная мудрость» (7-22.4), «Человек, знающий закон, но не исполняющий его, подобен человеку, который пашет, но не сеет», has the same image. Not in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903).

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. II (On the morals of dervishes), ch. II, story 40 (Ganjoor); Gladwin (1865), ch. II, Tale XLI, pp. 209-210; Conway (1874), no. DXLVII, Patience, p. 334.

Two parts. The first paragraph, in italics, is Tolstoy's own: it is not in the Gulistan or Conway, and he printed it unsigned, as his own thoughts are, in «На каждый день» (25 March) and The Path of Life (ch. XXIII, § IV). The second is the end of Gulistan II, Tale XLI, in Gladwin's English through Conway's 'Patience': 'A great river is not made turbid by a stone; the religious man who is hurt at injuries is as yet but shallow water. If any misfortune befalleth you, bear with it, that, by forgiving others, you may yourself obtain pardon. O my brother! seeing that we are at last to return to earth, let us humble ourselves in ashes before we are changed into dust.' Tolstoy makes the great river «глубокая река» (a deep river), and 'is as yet but shallow water' «не река, а лужа» (is not a river but a puddle); 'let us humble ourselves in ashes before we are changed into dust' becomes two sentences, «Будем помнить, что все мы вернемся в землю, и будем смиренны. Будем посыпать главу пеплом, прежде чем превратимся в прах» (let us remember … and be humble; let us strew our heads with ashes before we turn to dust), and 'O my brother' is dropped. The Persian: 'the abundant sea is not made turbid by a stone; the gnostic who takes offence is shallow water still … bear it, that by pardon you may be cleansed of sin … O brother, since you will become dust, become dust before you become dust.' In The Path of Life (ch. XI, § VI) Tolstoy kept only the river and the return to earth, signed «По Саади». Not in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903).

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan (1258), chapter III, «On the Excellence of Contentment», ch. III, story 19 in Gladwin (18 in Ganjoor); Conway, The Sacred Anthology (1874), no. DXX, «Contentment», pp. 318–319.

Saadi's story of the shoes (Gulistan III), in Gladwin's English as Conway's Sacred Anthology prints it, without the verses that follow in the Gulistan: Conway ends where Tolstoy ends. The story is kept close until its last sentence. Gladwin's 'I offered up praise and thanksgiving to God for his bounty, and bore with patience the want of shoes' (Saadi: «سپاسِ نعمتِ حق به جای آوردم و بر بی‌کفشی صبر کردم», I gave thanks for God's bounty and bore my shoelessness patiently) becomes «И я возблагодарил бога за то, что у меня были обе ноги, а только не было башмаков, чтобы обуть их» (and I thanked God that I had both feet and only lacked shoes to put on them): the reason for the thanks is spelled out, and the patience goes. Earlier, 'nor murmured at the ordinances of Heaven, excepting once' is split into «и не роптал. Но один раз … я возроптал» (and did not murmur. But once … I murmured). The signature «Мади» is no known name; the Jubilee index lists it without identification (vol. 42, p. 41). It may be a misreading of «Саади»; the text is certainly Saadi's. The English is Gladwin's translation of 1806, in the Boston edition of 1865 that Conway used.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, ch. II (On the morals of dervishes), II, story 15 (Ganjoor numbering; XIV in Ross).

The anecdote is given faithfully ('parsa' = holy man); Tolstoy omits the closing couplet (he whom God drives from His door runs everywhere, he whom God calls is sent to no other door). Ross's English is from his 1823 translation as reprinted in 'The Persian Literature' (1900).

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, II, tale 38.

The two verses of tale II.38, faithfully ('hear the scholar's words with the ear of the soul, though his deeds be unlike his speech... a man should take advice to heart though it be written on a wall'); the middle verse is dropped. Ross's English omits these verses; no other public-domain English translation was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Gulistan, VIII, maxim 32.

'Whoever does not do good when he is able will suffer hardship when he is unable'; Tolstoy shortens the second half to 'will suffer'. No public-domain English translation was consulted.