Sa'di | The Rosegarden

The Gulistan or Rose Garden of Sa'di is among the most famous works of Persian literature. Mushrif-ud-Din Abdullah Sa'di was born and lived in the 12th and 13th centuries CE. Born in Shiraz, which is in modern Iran, Sa'di received his education in Baghdad and spent as many as thirty years in travel and pilgrimage, possibly venturing outside of the world of Islam and into the West.

Sa'di wrote the Rose Garden in 1258, a year after he'd written The Bustan (The Orchard). While The Orchard was written wholly in verse, the Rose Garden includes prose didactic tales interspersed with short verses. Several of the stories Sa'di tells are not original with the author, but this is a common feature of Persian literature. For example, stories by Sanai, for example, are repeated by Attar, and stories by both are repeated by Rumi.

The Rose Garden consists of eight parts, all of which include didactic stories or maxims. These parts include:

I. The Manners of Kings
II. On the Morals of Dervishes
III. On the Excellence of Content
IV. On the Advantages of Silence
V. On Love and Youth
VI. On Weakness and Old Age
VII. On the Effects of Education
VIII. On Rules for Conduct in Life

Of the two translations offered here, the Edward Rehatsek's is considered superior.

For appropriate software in which to view the book, visit the Adobe website at www.adobe.com and download their free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader software.

Instructions: To view or download this book in PDF format, simply click on the cover image above.

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