Author Description

The Gulistan or Rose Garden of Sa'di of Shiraz may be the most influential book in the Iranian world. In terms of prose, it is the model, which all writers of Persian seek to emulate. In terms of moral, philosophical or practical wisdom, it is endlessly quoted to either illustrate or prove a point. Sir John Malcolm relates being told that it is the basis of the law of the Persians. It also traveled abroad. Voltaire, Goethe, Arnold, Longfellow, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, and Franklin discovered, read, and took inspiration from Sa'di. Moreover, travelers to Iran have often pointed out that to understand the mind of the inhabitants, one must read the Gulistan. This is the first complete English translation in more than a century. Thackston, professor of Persian at Harvard University, has faithfully translated Sa'di into contemporary English prose. The Persian is shown facing the English translation. To aide the student, there is a 3600 word Persian-English and Arabic-English vocabulary.