Value of Health or قدر عافیت from Golestan written by Sa’di, one of the most prominent Persian poets of all time with selected verse lines from the book for non-Persian speakers who are interested in Persian literature and poetry
The Persian version of the Value of Health by Sa’di
To read the Persian version of the Value of Health by Sa’di, click on the link below:
The podcast of the Value of Health from Golestan by Sa’di
Learn Persian online with great stories and anecdotes
The stories in Sa’di’s Golestan are short and didactic. Therefore, these stories and anecdotes can be among the best sources of Persian language learning for non-Persian speakers. In terms of content, Sa’di’s stories are extremely amusing and amazing, especially for teaching the Persian language to children and teenagers. Teaching Farsi with stories is one of the most effective ways to learn Persian online in an active way and simultaneously strengthen language learning skills (listening, reading, writing, and speaking).
Therefore, the LELB Society’s Farsi language teaching team has simplified some selected and informative anecdotes from Sa’di’s Golestan to teach Farsi to non-Persian speakers. Farsi students can also watch the educational videos of the lessons. Our Persian students can perfectly practice reading the text of the stories, discuss the stories with their Persian teachers in our online Farsi courses, and finally, practice writing by leaving comments at the bottom of our Farsi lessons.
The Value of Health or قدر عافیت
A king boarded a ship with his slave to travel. The slave had never seen the sea. As soon as the ship started, the slave started crying. The people around and the king tried hard to calm down the slave. But, the slave’s restlessness and crying did not end.
A wise person who was also on the ship saw the king who was very tired of his slave. Therefore, he went to the king and said to him: “If you allow me, I will silence your servant.”
“You would do me a great favor, if you could silence him,” said the king to the wise person. The wise man asked the ship’s crew to throw the slave into the sea. The servant waded in the water and asked for help. The wise man told the ship’s crew to take the slave out of the water. The rescued slave sat quietly in a corner of the ship.
Seeing the silent slave, the king asked the wise man how he calmed him down. The sage answered, “This slave had not experienced the fear and hardship of drowning. Therefore, he did not appreciate the comfort of the ship.”
The Persian proverb of the Value of Health
قدر عافیت کسی داند که به مصیبتی گرفتار آید
This story from Sa’di’s Golestan has popularized the Persian proverb of knowing the value of being healthy among people. This proverb tells us that only someone appreciates comfort when he is in trouble.
Verse lines from Bustan by Sa’di about the Value of Health
نداند کسی قدر روز خوشی *** مگر روزی افتد به سختی کشی
زمستان درویش در تنگ سال *** چه سهل است پیش خداوند مال
کسی قیمت تندرستی شناخت *** که یک چند بیچاره در تب گداخت
