Excerpts from Golestan (The Flower Garden) by Sa’di, translated by Mahmoud Rezvani
Translation
Excerpts from Golestan (The Flower Garden) by Sa'di
Translated by Mahmoud Rezvani
“I held a secret and a romance in the closet, for his throat created a melodious tune, and his face was as beautiful as the full moon.”
Excerpts from Golestan (The Flower Garden)
by Sa'di
Translated by Mahmoud Rezvani
The world, o, brother, abides with no one.
Thus, set thy heart on the creator and let others be gone.
Rely not on the earthly possessions and the worldly domain.
As many a man like thee was fostered and slain
When the pure soul is ineluctably home-bound,
It will depart, whether from a throne or the ground.
In the prime of my youth, as it happens and you know forsooth, with a handsome sweetheart I held a secret and a romance in the closet, for his throat created a melodious tune, and his face was as beautiful as the full moon.
Two people are the enemies of state and religion. A king who is not patient and a holy man who is nescient.
Over a territory, may that king not have sovereignty,
Who is not the obedient servant of the Almighty.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sa’di Shīrāzī, better known by his pen name Sa’di, (born 1210; died 1291 or 1292), was a Persian poet and prose writer of the medieval period. Nicknamed “The Master of Eloquence” among Persian scholars, Sa’di is widely recognized as one of the greatest poets of the classical literary tradition. He is best known for his two collections of prose and poetry, Golestan (The Flower Garden) and Bustan (The Orchard).
Author Photo courtesy of Encyclopædia Britannica.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Mahmoud Rezvani was born in 1954. He is a literary translator, scholar, and the founder of Iran’s Association of Translators. Rezvani is the translator of, most recently, Sa’di’s Golestan (University of Shiraz Press), which was selected by Niloufar Talebi among the 100 Essential Persian Classics in Translation. Rezvani has been teaching English literature, translation, and etymology for more than five decades in Iran. He is a regular visiting lecturer at UNESCO’s Persian Literature Distinguished Speaker series. Follow him on Instagram @abdolmahmoudrezvani.
Translator's Photo by Sajad Safari. FEATURED IMAGE by Mohammad-Javad Rakhshani.
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