Narrative
The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di
گلستان
Saadi · 1258
Synopsis
A collection of anecdotes, short moral tales, maxims and advice, in eight chapters in which prose alternates with brief poems. Kings and dervishes pass through it in turn, along with many others; the author presents many of these stories as lived in the course of his travels, and draws from them a practical wisdom, often ironic, on the conduct of life and on the absurdity of human existence.
Context
The book was completed in 1258, the year after the author's return to Shiraz and the appearance of his other great collection, written entirely in verse. It is divided into eight chapters, each devoted to a theme, and mixes short poems, aphorisms and advice with the prose. André du Ryer produced a first French translation as early as 1634, and Charles Defrémery published an annotated translation in 1858; the first English translation dates from the eighteenth century.
Who it is for
A collection of short tales, to be read in fragments. One should know that each anecdote often ends with a maxim or a few lines of verse, and that the morality here is that of its time.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the most influential prose work of the Persian tradition, and for a long time a set text in the schools of Persia.