World Lit Part 2

["Shahnameh 15 20 And kindred blood by kindred hands is shed, 25 And vengeance sleeps not\u2014dies not, with the dead. 30 All nature fades\u2014the garden\u2019s treasures fall, 35 Young bud, and citron ripe\u2014all perish, all. 40 And now a tale of sorrow must be told,\t 45 A tale of tears, derived from M\u00fabid old, 50 And thus remembered.\u2014 55 With the dawn of day, 60 Rustem arose, and wandering took his way, Armed for the chase, where sloping to the sky,\t T\u00far\u00e1n\u2019s lone wilds in sullen grandeur lie; There, to dispel his melancholy mood, He urged his matchless steed through glen and wood. Flushed with the noble game which met his view, He starts the wild-ass o\u2019er the glistening dew;\t And, oft exulting, sees his quivering dart, Plunge through the glossy skin, and pierce the heart. Tired of the sport, at length, he sought the shade, Which near a stream embowering trees displayed, And with his arrow\u2019s point, a fire he raised,\t And thorns and grass before him quickly blazed. The severed parts upon a bough he cast, To catch the flames; and when the rich repast Was drest; with flesh and marrow, savory food, He quelled his hunger; and the sparkling flood\t That murmured at his feet, his thirst represt; Then gentle sleep composed his limbs to rest. Meanwhile his horse, for speed and form renown\u2019d, Ranged o\u2019er the plain with flowery herbage crown\u2019d, Encumbering arms no more his sides opprest,\t No folding mail confined his ample chest, Gallant and free, he left the Champion\u2019s side, And cropp\u2019d the mead, or sought the cooling tide; When lo! it chanced amid that woodland chase, A band of horsemen, rambling near the place,\t Saw, with surprise, superior game astray, And rushed at once to seize the noble prey; But, in the imminent struggle, two beneath His steel-clad hoofs received the stroke of death; One proved a sterner fate\u2014for downward borne,\t The mangled head was from the shoulders torn. Still undismayed, again they nimbly sprung, And round his neck the noose entangling flung: Now, all in vain, he spurns the smoking ground, In vain the tumult echoes all around;\t They bear him off, and view, with ardent eyes, His matchless beauty and majestic size; Then soothe his fury, anxious to obtain, A bounding steed of his immortal strain. When Rustem woke, and miss\u2019d his favourite horse,\t The loved companion of his glorious course; Sorrowing he rose, and, hastening thence, began To shape his dubious way to Sameng\u00e1n; 297","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 65 70 \u201cReduced to journey thus, alone!\u201d he said, 75 \u201cHow pierce the gloom which thickens round my head;\t Burthen\u2019d, on foot, a dreary waste in view, 80 Where shall I bend my steps, what path pursue? 85 The scoffing Turks will cry, \u2018Behold our might! 90 We won the trophy from the Champion-knight! 95 From him who, reckless of his fame and pride,\t 100 Thus idly slept, and thus ignobly died,\u2019\u201d Girding his loins he gathered from the field, 105 His quivered stores, his beamy sword and shield, 110 Harness and saddle-gear were o\u2019er him slung. 115 Bridle and mail across his shoulders hung.\t Then looking round, with anxious eye, to meet, The broad impression of his charger\u2019s feet, The track he hail\u2019d, and following, onward prest. While grief and hope alternate filled his breast. O\u2019er vale and wild-wood led, he soon descries.\t The regal city\u2019s shining turrets rise. And when the Champion\u2019s near approach is known, The usual homage waits him to the throne. The king, on foot, received his welcome guest With preferred friendship, and his coming blest:\t But Rustem frowned, and with resentment fired, Spoke of his wrongs, the plundered steed required. \u201cI\u2019ve traced his footsteps to your royal town, Here must he be, protected by your crown; But if retained, if not from fetters freed,\t My vengeance shall o\u2019ertake the felon-deed.\u201d \u201cMy honored guest!\u201d the wondering King replied\u2014 \u201cShall Rustem\u2019s wants or wishes be denied? But let not anger, headlong, fierce, and blind, O\u2019ercloud the virtues of a generous mind.\t If still within the limits of my reign, The well known courser shall be thine again: For Rakush never can remain concealed, No more than Rustem in the battle-field! Then cease to nourish useless rage, and share\t With joyous heart my hospitable fare.\u201d The son of Z\u00e1l now felt his wrath subdued, And glad sensations in his soul renewed. The ready herald by the King\u2019s command, Convened the Chiefs and Warriors of the land;\t And soon the banquet social glee restored, And China wine-cups glittered on the board; And cheerful song, and music\u2019s magic power, And sparkling wine, beguiled the festive hour. The dulcet draughts o\u2019er Rustem\u2019s senses stole,\t And melting strains absorbed his softened soul. But when approached the period of repose, All, prompt and mindful, from the banquet rose; A couch was spread well worthy such a guest, Perfumed with rose and musk; and whilst at rest,\t In deep sound sleep, the wearied Champion lay, Forgot were all the sorrows of the way. 298","Shahnameh 120 125 One watch had passed, and still sweet slumber shed 130 Its magic power around the hero\u2019s head\u2014 135 When forth Tahm\u00edneh came\u2014a damsel held\t An amber taper, which the gloom dispelled, 140 And near his pillow stood; in beauty bright, The monarch\u2019s daughter struck his wondering sight. 145 Clear as the moon, in glowing charms arrayed, 150 Her winning eyes the light of heaven displayed;\t 155 Her cypress form entranced the gazer\u2019s view, 160 Her waving curls, the heart, resistless, drew, 165 Her eye-brows like the Archer\u2019s bended bow; 170 Her ringlets, snares; her cheek, the rose\u2019s glow, Mixed with the lily\u2014from her ear-tips hung\t Rings rich and glittering, star-like; and her tongue, And lips, all sugared sweetness\u2014pearls the while Sparkled within a mouth formed to beguile. Her presence dimmed the stars, and breathing round Fragrance and joy, she scarcely touched the ground,\t So light her step, so graceful\u2014every part Perfect, and suited to her spotless heart. Rustem, surprised, the gentle maid addressed, And asked what lovely stranger broke his rest. \u201cWhat is thy name,\u201d he said\u2014\u201cwhat dost thou seek\t Amidst the gloom of night? Fair vision, speak!\u201d \u201cO thou,\u201d she softly sigh\u2019d, \u201cof matchless fame! With pity hear, Tahm\u00edneh is my name! The pangs of love my anxious heart employ, And flattering promise long-expected joy;\t No curious eye has yet these features seen, My voice unheard, beyond the sacred screen. How often have I listened with amaze, To thy great deeds, enamoured of thy praise; How oft from every tongue I\u2019ve heard the strain,\t And thought of thee\u2014and sighed, and sighed again. The ravenous eagle, hovering o\u2019er his prey, Starts at thy gleaming sword and flies away: Thou art the slayer of the Demon brood, And the fierce monsters of the echoing wood.\t Where\u2019er thy mace is seen, shrink back the bold, Thy javelin\u2019s flash all tremble to behold. Enchanted with the stories of thy fame, My fluttering heart responded to thy name; And whilst their magic influence I felt,\t In prayer for thee devotedly I knelt; And fervent vowed, thus powerful glory charms, No other spouse should bless my longing arms. Indulgent heaven propitious to my prayer, Now brings thee hither to reward my care.\t T\u00far\u00e1n\u2019s dominions thou hast sought, alone, By night, in darkness\u2014thou, the mighty one! O claim my hand, and grant my soul\u2019s desire; Ask me in marriage of my royal sire; Perhaps a boy our wedded love may crown,\t Whose strength like thine may gain the world\u2019s renown. 299","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 175 180 Nay more\u2014for Sameng\u00e1n will keep my word\u2014 185 Rakush to thee again shall be restored.\u201d 190 The damsel thus her ardent thought expressed, 195 And Rustem\u2019s heart beat joyous in his breast,\t 200 Hearing her passion\u2014not a word was lost, 205 And Rakush safe, by him still valued most; 210 He called her near; with graceful step she came, 215 And marked with throbbing pulse his kindled flame. 220 And now a M\u00fabid, from the Champion-knight,\t Requests the royal sanction to the rite; O\u2019erjoyed, the King the honoured suit approves, O\u2019erjoyed to bless the doting child he loves, And happier still, in showering smiles around, To be allied to warrior so renowned.\t When the delighted father, doubly blest, Resigned his daughter to his glorious guest, The people shared the gladness which it gave, The union of the beauteous and the brave. To grace their nuptial day\u2014both old and young,\t The hymeneal gratulations sung: \u201cMay this young moon bring happiness and joy, And every source of enmity destroy.\u201d The marriage-bower received the happy pair, And love and transport shower\u2019d their blessings \t Ere from his lofty sphere the morn had thrown His glittering radiance, and in splendour shone, The mindful Champion, from his sinewy arm, His bracelet drew, the soul-ennobling charm; And, as he held the wondrous gift with pride,\t He thus address\u2019d his love-devoted bride! \u201cTake this,\u201d he said, \u201cand if, by gracious heaven, A daughter for thy solace should be given, Let it among her ringlets be displayed, And joy and honour will await the maid;\t But should kind fate increase the nuptial-joy, And make thee mother of a blooming boy, Around his arm this magic bracelet bind, To fire with virtuous deeds his ripening mind; The strength of S\u00e1m will nerve his manly form,\t In temper mild, in valour like the storm; His not the dastard fate to shrink, or turn From where the lions of the battle burn; To him the soaring eagle from the sky Will stoop, the bravest yield to him, or fly;\t Thus shall his bright career imperious claim The well-won honours of immortal fame!\u201d Ardent he said, and kissed her eyes and face, And lingering held her in a fond embrace. When the bright sun his radiant brow displayed,\t And earth in all its loveliest hues arrayed, The Champion rose to leave his spouse\u2019s side, The warm affections of his weeping bride. For her, too soon the winged moments flew, 300","Shahnameh Too soon, alas! the parting hour she knew;\t 225 Clasped in his arms, with many a streaming tear, 230 She tried, in vain, to win his deafen\u2019d ear; 235 Still tried, ah fruitless struggle! to impart, 240 The swelling anguish of her bursting heart. 245 250 The father now with gratulations due\t 255 Rustem approaches, and displays to view 260 The fiery war-horse\u2014welcome as the light 265 Of heaven, to one immersed in deepest night; 270 The Champion, wild with joy, fits on the rein, 275 And girds the saddle on his back again;\t Then mounts, and leaving sire and wife behind, Onward to S\u00edst\u00e1n rushes like the wind. But when returned to Z\u00e1bul\u2019s friendly shade, None knew what joys the Warrior had delayed; Still, fond remembrance, with endearing thought,\t Oft to his mind the scene of rapture brought. When nine slow-circling months had roll\u2019d away, Sweet-smiling pleasure hailed the brightening day\u2014 A wondrous boy Tahm\u00edneh\u2019s tears supprest, And lull\u2019d the sorrows of her heart to rest;\t To him, predestined to be great and brave, The name Sohr\u00e1b his tender mother gave; And as he grew, amazed, the gathering throng, View\u2019d his large limbs, his sinews firm and strong; His infant years no soft endearment claimed:\t Athletic sports his eager soul inflamed; Broad at the chest and taper round the loins, Where to the rising hip the body joins; Hunter and wrestler; and so great his speed, He could overtake, and hold the swiftest steed.\t His noble aspect, and majestic grace, Betrayed the offspring of a glorious race. How, with a mother\u2019s ever anxious love, Still to retain him near her heart she strove! For when the father\u2019s fond inquiry came,\t Cautious, she still concealed his birth and name, And feign\u2019d a daughter born, the evil fraught With misery to avert\u2014but vain the thought; Not many years had passed, with downy flight, Ere he, Tahm\u00edneh\u2019s wonder and delight,\t With glistening eye, and youthful ardour warm, Filled her foreboding bosom with alarm. \u201cO now relieve my heart!\u201d he said, \u201cdeclare, From whom I sprang and breathe the vital air. Since, from my childhood I have ever been,\t Amidst my play-mates of superior mien; Should friend or foe demand my father\u2019s name, Let not my silence testify my shame! If still concealed, you falter, still delay, A mother\u2019s blood shall wash the crime away.\u201d\t \u201cThis wrath forego,\u201d the mother answering cried, \u201cAnd joyful hear to whom thou art allied. A glorious line precedes thy destined birth, The mightiest heroes of the sons of earth. 301","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 280 285 The deeds of S\u00e1m remotest realms admire,\t 290 And Z\u00e1l, and Rustem thy illustrious sire!\u201d 295 In private, then, she Rustem\u2019s letter placed 300 Before his view, and brought with eager haste 305 Three sparkling rubies, wedges three of gold, 310 From Persia sent\u2014\u201cBehold,\u201d she said, \u201cbehold\t 315 Thy father\u2019s gifts, will these thy doubts remove 320 The costly pledges of paternal love! 325 Behold this bracelet charm, of sovereign power 330 To baffle fate in danger\u2019s awful hour; But thou must still the perilous secret keep,\t Nor ask the harvest of renown to reap; For when, by this peculiar signet known, Thy glorious father shall demand his son, Doomed from her only joy in life to part, O think what pangs will rend thy mother\u2019s heart!\u2014\t Seek not the fame which only teems with woe; Afr\u00e1siy\u00e1b is Rustem\u2019s deadliest foe! And if by him discovered, him I dread, Revenge will fail upon thy guiltless head.\u201d The youth replied: \u201cIn vain thy sighs and tears,\t The secret breathes and mocks thy idle fears. No human power can fate\u2019s decrees control, Or check the kindled ardour of my soul. Then why from me the bursting truth conceal? My father\u2019s foes even now my vengeance feel;\t Even now in wrath my native legions rise, And sounds of desolation strike the skies; K\u00e1\u00fas himself, hurled from his ivory throne, Shall yield to Rustem the imperial crown, And thou, my mother, still in triumph seen,\t Of lovely Persia hailed the honoured queen! Then shall T\u00far\u00e1n unite beneath my hand, And drive this proud oppressor from the land! Father and Son, in virtuous league combined, No savage despot shall enslave mankind;\t When Sun and Moon o\u2019er heaven refulgent blaze, Shall little stars obtrude their feeble rays?\u201d He paused, and then: \u201cO mother, I must now My father seek, and see his lofty brow; Be mine a horse, such as a prince demands,\t Fit for the dusty field, a warrior\u2019s hands; Strong as an elephant his form should be, And chested like the stag, in motion free, And swift as bird, or fish; it would disgrace A warrior bold on foot to show his face.\u201d\t The mother, seeing how his heart was bent, His day-star rising in the firmament, Commands the stables to be searched to find Among the steeds one suited to his mind; Pressing their backs he tries their strength and nerve,\t Bent double to the ground their bellies curve; Not one, from neighbouring plain and mountain brought, 302","Shahnameh 335 340 Equals the wish with which his soul is fraught; 345 Fruitless on every side he anxious turns, 350 Fruitless, his brain with wild impatience burns,\t 355 But when at length they bring the destined steed, 360 From Rakush bred, of lightning\u2019s winged speed, 365 Fleet, as the arrow from the bow-string flies, 370 Fleet, as the eagle darting through the skies, 375 Rejoiced he springs, and, with a nimble bound,\t 380 Vaults in his seat, and wheels the courser round; 385 \u201cWith such a horse\u2014thus mounted, what remains? K\u00e1\u00fas, the Persian King, no longer reigns!\u201d High flushed he speaks\u2014with youthful pride elate, Eager to crush the Monarch\u2019s glittering state;\t He grasps his javelin with a hero\u2019s might, And pants with ardour for the field of fight. Soon o\u2019er the realm his fame expanding spread, And gathering thousands hasten\u2019d to his aid. His Grand-sire, pleased, beheld the warrior-train\t Successive throng and darken all the plain; And bounteously his treasures he supplied, Camels, and steeds, and gold.\u2014In martial pride, Sohr\u00e1b was seen\u2014a Grecian helmet graced His brow\u2014and costliest mail his limbs embraced.\t Afr\u00e1siy\u00e1b now hears with ardent joy, The bold ambition of the warrior-boy, Of him who, perfumed with the milky breath Of infancy, was threatening war and death, And bursting sudden from his mother\u2019s side,\t Had launched his bark upon the perilous tide. The insidious King sees well the tempting hour, Favouring his arms against the Persian power, And thence, in haste, the enterprise to share, Twelve thousand veterans selects with care;\t To H\u00fam\u00e1n and B\u00e1rm\u00e1n the charge consigns, And thus his force with Sameng\u00e1n combines; But treacherous first his martial chiefs he prest, To keep the secret fast within their breast:\u2014 \u201cFor this bold youth must not his father know,\t Each must confront the other as his foe\u2014 Such is my vengeance! With unhallowed rage, Father and Son shall dreadful battle wage! Unknown the youth shall Rustem\u2019s force withstand, And soon o\u2019erwhelm the bulwark of the land.\t Rustem removed, the Persian throne is ours, An easy conquest to confederate powers; And then, secured by some propitious snare, Sohr\u00e1b himself our galling bonds shall wear. Or should the Son by Rustem\u2019s falchion bleed,\t The father\u2019s horror at that fatal deed, Will rend his soul, and \u2018midst his sacred grief, K\u00e1\u00fas in vain will supplicate relief.\u201d The tutored chiefs advance with speed, and bring Imperial presents to the future king;\t 303","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 390 395 In stately pomp the embassy proceeds; 400 Ten loaded camels, ten unrivalled steeds, 405 A golden crown, and throne, whose jewels bright 410 Gleam in the sun, and shed a sparkling light, 415 A letter too the crafty tyrant sends,\t 420 And fraudful thus the glorious aim commends.\u2014 425 \u201cIf Persia\u2019s spoils invite thee to the field, 430 Accept the aid my conquering legions yield; 435 Led by two Chiefs of valour and renown, Upon thy head to place the kingly crown.\u201d\t Elate with promised fame, the youth surveys The regal vest, the throne\u2019s irradiant blaze, The golden crown, the steeds, the sumptuous load Of ten strong camels, craftily bestowed; Salutes the Chiefs, and views on every side,\t The lengthening ranks with various arms supplied. The march begins\u2014the brazen drums resound, His moving thousands hide the trembling ground; For Persia\u2019s verdant land he wields the spear, And blood and havoc mark his groaning rear.\t To check the Invader\u2019s horror-spreading course, The barrier-fort opposed unequal force; That fort whose walls, extending wide, contained The stay of Persia, men to battle trained. Soon as Huj\u00edr the dusky crowd descried,\t He on his own presumptuous arm relied, And left the fort; in mail with shield and spear, Vaunting he spoke\u2014\u201cWhat hostile force is here? What Chieftain dares our war-like realms invade?\u201d \u201cAnd who art thou?\u201d Sohr\u00e1b indignant said,\t Rushing towards him with undaunted look\u2014 \u201cHast thou, audacious! nerve and soul to brook The crocodile in fight, that to the strife Singly thou comest, reckless of thy life?\u201d To this the foe replied\u2014\u201cA Turk and I\t Have never yet been bound in friendly tie; And soon thy head shall, severed by my sword, Gladden the sight of Persia\u2019s mighty lord, While thy torn limbs to vultures shall be given, Or bleach beneath the parching blast of heaven.\u201d\t The youthful hero laughing hears the boast, And now by each continual spears are tost, Mingling together; like a flood of fire The boaster meets his adversary\u2019s ire; The horse on which he rides, with thundering pace,\t Seems like a mountain moving from its base; Sternly he seeks the stripling\u2019s loins to wound, But the lance hurtless drops upon the ground; Sohr\u00e1b, advancing, hurls his steady spear Full on the middle of the vain Huj\u00edr,\t Who staggers in his seat. With proud disdain The youth now flings him headlong on the plain, And quick dismounting, on his heaving breast 304","Shahnameh 440 445 Triumphant stands, his Khunjer firmly prest, To strike the head off\u2014but the blow was stayed\u2014Trembling,\t 450 for life, the craven boaster prayed. 455 That mercy granted eased his coward mind, 460 Though, dire disgrace, in captive bonds confined, 465 And sent to H\u00fam\u00e1n, who amazed beheld 470 How soon Sohr\u00e1b his daring soul had quelled.\t 475 When G\u00fard-afr\u00edd, a peerless warrior-dame, 480 Heard of the conflict, and the hero\u2019s shame, 485 Groans heaved her breast, and tears of anger flowed, 490 Her tulip cheek with deeper crimson glowed; Speedful, in arms magnificent arrayed,\t A foaming palfrey bore the martial maid; The burnished mail her tender limbs embraced, Beneath her helm her clustering locks she placed; Poised in her hand an iron javelin gleamed, And o\u2019er the ground its sparkling lustre streamed;\t Accoutred thus in manly guise, no eye However piercing could her sex descry; Now, like a lion, from the fort she bends, And \u2018midst the foe impetuously descends; Fearless of soul, demands with haughty tone,\t The bravest chief, for war-like valour known, To try the chance of fight. In shining arms, Again Sohr\u00e1b the glow of battle warms; With scornful smiles, \u201cAnother deer!\u201d he cries, \u201cCome to my victor-toils, another prize!\u201d\t The damsel saw his noose insidious spread, And soon her arrows whizzed around his head; With steady skill the twanging bow she drew, And still her pointed darts unerring flew; For when in forest sports she touched the string,\t Never escaped even bird upon the wing; Furious he burned, and high his buckler held, To ward the storm, by growing force impell\u2019d; And tilted forward with augmented wrath, But G\u00fard-\u00e1fr\u00edd aspires to cross his path;\t Now o\u2019er her back the slacken\u2019d bow resounds; She grasps her lance, her goaded courser bounds, Driven on the youth with persevering might\u2014 Unconquer\u2019d courage still prolongs the fight; The stripling Chief shields off the threaten\u2019d blow,\t Reins in his steed, then rushes on the foe; With outstretch\u2019d arm, he bending backwards hung, And, gathering strength, his pointed javelin flung; Firm through her girdle belt the weapon went, And glancing down the polish\u2019d armour rent.\t Staggering, and stunned by his superior force, She almost tumbled from her foaming horse, Yet unsubdued, she cut the spear in two, And from her side the quivering fragment drew, Then gain\u2019d her seat, and onward urged her steed,\t But strong and fleet Sohr\u00e1b arrests her speed: Strikes off her helm, and sees\u2014a woman\u2019s face, Radiant with blushes and commanding grace! Thus undeceived, in admiration lost, 305","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 495 500 He cries, \u201cA woman, from the Persian host!\t 505 If Persian damsels thus in arms engage, 510 Who shall repel their warrior\u2019s fiercer rage?\u201d 515 Then from his saddle thong\u2014his noose he drew, 520 And round her waist the twisted loop he threw\u2014 525 \u201cNow seek not to escape,\u201d he sharply said,\t 530 \u201cSuch is the fate of war, unthinking maid! 535 And, as such beauty seldom swells our pride, 540 Vain thy attempt to cast my toils aside.\u201d 545 In this extreme, but one resource remained, Only one remedy her hope sustained\u2014\t Expert in wiles each siren-art she knew, And thence exposed her blooming face to view; Raising her full black orbs, serenely bright, In all her charms she blazed before his sight; And thus addressed Sohr\u00e1b\u2014\u201cO warrior brave,\t Hear me, and thy imperilled honour save, These curling tresses seen by either host, A woman conquered, whence the glorious boast? Thy startled troops will know, with inward grief, A woman\u2019s arm resists their towering chief,\t Better preserve a warrior\u2019s fair renown, And let our struggle still remain unknown, For who with wanton folly would expose A helpless maid, to aggravate her woes; The fort, the treasure, shall thy toils repay,\t The chief, and garrison, thy will obey, And thine the honours of this dreadful day.\u201d Raptured he gazed, her smiles resistless move The wildest transports of ungoverned love. Her face disclosed a paradise to view,\t Eyes like the fawn, and cheeks of rosy hue\u2014 Thus vanquished, lost, unconscious of her aim, And only struggling with his amorous flame, He rode behind, as if compelled by fate, And heedless saw her gain the castle-gate.\t Safe with her friends, escaped from brand and spear, Smiling she stands, as if unknown to fear. \u2014The father now, with tearful pleasure wild, Clasps to his heart his fondly-foster\u2019d child; The crowding warriors round her eager bend,\t And grateful prayers to favouring heaven ascend. Now from the walls, she, with majestic air, Exclaims: \u201cThou warrior of T\u00far\u00e1n! forbear, Why vex thy soul, and useless strife demand! Go, and in peace enjoy thy native land.\u201d\t Stern he rejoins: \u201cThou beauteous tyrant! say, Though crown\u2019d with charms, devoted to betray, When these proud walls, in dust and ruins laid, Yield no defence, and thou a captive maid, Will not repentance through thy bosom dart,\t And sorrow soften that disdainful heart?\u201d 306","Shahnameh 550 555 Quick she replied: \u201cO\u2019er Persia\u2019s fertile fields 560 The savage Turk in vain his falchion wields; 565 When King K\u00e1\u00fas this bold invasion hears, 570 And mighty Rustem clad in arms appears!\t 575 Destruction wide will glut the slippery plain, 580 And not one man of all thy host remain. 585 Alas! that bravery, high as thine, should meet 590 Amidst such promise, with a sure defeat, 595 But not a gleam of hope remains for thee,\t Thy wondrous valour cannot keep thee free. Avert the fate which o\u2019er thy head impends, Return, return, and save thy martial friends!\u201d Thus to be scorned, defrauded of his prey, With victory in his grasp\u2014to lose the day!\t Shame and revenge alternate filled his mind; The suburb-town to pillage he consigned, And devastation\u2014not a dwelling spared; The very owl was from her covert scared; Then thus: \u201cThough luckless in my aim to-day,\t To-morrow shall behold a sterner fray; This fort, in ashes, scattered o\u2019er the plain.\u201d He ceased\u2014and turned towards his troops again; There, at a distance from the hostile power, He brooding waits the slaughter-breathing hour.\t Meanwhile the sire of G\u00fard-afr\u00edd, who now Governed the fort, and feared the warrior\u2019s vow; Mournful and pale, with gathering woes opprest, His distant Monarch trembling thus addrest. But first invoked the heavenly power to shed\t Its choicest blessings o\u2019er his royal head. \u201cAgainst our realm with numerous foot and horse, A stripling warrior holds his ruthless course. His lion-breast unequalled strength betrays, And o\u2019er his mien the sun\u2019s effulgence plays:\t Sohr\u00e1b his name; like S\u00e1m Suw\u00e1r he shows, Or Rustem terrible amidst his foes. The bold Huj\u00edr lies vanquished on the plain, And drags a captive\u2019s ignominious chain; Myriads of troops besiege our tottering wall,\t And vain the effort to suspend its fall. Haste, arm for fight, this Tartar-power withstand, Let sweeping Vengeance lift her flickering brand; Rustem alone may stem the roaring wave, And, prompt as bold, his groaning country save.\t Meanwhile in flight we place our only trust, Ere the proud ramparts crumble in the dust.\u201d Swift flies the messenger through secret ways, And to the King the dreadful tale conveys, Then passed, unseen, in night\u2019s concealing shade,\t The mournful heroes and the warrior maid. Soon as the sun with vivifying ray, Gleams o\u2019er the landscape, and renews the day; The flaming troops the lofty walls surround, 307","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 600 605 With thundering crash the bursting gates resound.\t 610 Already are the captives bound, in thought, 615 And like a herd before the conqueror brought; 620 Sohr\u00e1b, terrific o\u2019er the ruin, views His hopes deceived, but restless still pursues. 625 An empty fortress mocks his searching eye,\t 630 No steel-clad chiefs his burning wrath defy; 635 No warrior-maid reviving passion warms, 640 And soothes his soul with fondly-valued charms. 645 Deep in his breast he feels the amorous smart, 650 And hugs her image closer to his heart.\t 655 \u201cAlas! that Fate should thus invidious shroud The moon\u2019s soft radiance in a gloomy cloud; Should to my eyes such winning grace display, Then snatch the enchanter of my soul away! A beauteous roe my toils enclosed in vain,\t Now I, her victim, drag the captive\u2019s chain; Strange the effects that from her charms proceed, I gave the wound, and I afflicted bleed! Vanquished by her, I mourn the luckless strife; Dark, dark, and bitter, frowns my morn of life.\t A fair unknown my tortured bosom rends, Withers each joy, and every hope suspends.\u201d Impassioned thus Sohr\u00e1b in secret sighed, And sought, in vain, o\u2019er-mastering grief to hide. Can the heart bleed and throb from day to day,\t And yet no trace its inmost pangs betray? Love scorns control, and prompts the labouring sigh, Pales the red lip, and dims the lucid eye; His look alarmed the stern T\u00far\u00e1nian Chief, Closely he mark\u2019d his heart-corroding grief;\u2014\t And though he knew not that the martial dame, Had in his bosom lit the tender flame; Full well he knew such deep repinings prove, The hapless thraldom of disastrous love. Full well he knew some idol\u2019s musky hair,\t Had to his youthful heart become a snare, But still unnoted was the gushing tear, Till haply he had gained his private ear:\u2014 \u201cIn ancient times, no hero known to fame, Not dead to glory e\u2019er indulged the flame;\t Though beauty\u2019s smiles might charm a fleeting hour, The heart, unsway\u2019d, repelled their lasting power. A warrior Chief to trembling love a prey? What! weep for woman one inglorious day? Canst thou for love\u2019s effeminate control,\t Barter the glory of a warrior\u2019s soul? Although a hundred damsels might be gained, The hero\u2019s heart shall still be free, unchained. Thou art our leader, and thy place the field Where soldiers love to fight with spear and shield;\t And what hast thou to do with tears and smiles, The silly victim to a woman\u2019s wiles? Our progress, mark! from far T\u00far\u00e1n we came, Through seas of blood to gain immortal fame; And wilt thou now the tempting conquest shun,\t 308","Shahnameh 660 665 When our brave arms this Barrier-fort have won? 670 Why linger here, and trickling sorrows shed, 675 Till mighty K\u00e1\u00fas thunders o\u2019er thy head! 680 Till T\u00fas, and G\u00edw, and G\u00fadarz, and B\u00e1hr\u00e1m, 685 And Rustem brave, Fer\u00e1murz, and Reh\u00e1m,\t 690 Shall aid the war! A great emprise is thine, 695 At once, then, every other thought resign; 700 For know the task which first inspired thy zeal, 705 Transcends in glory all that love can feel. Rise, lead the war, prodigious toils require\t Unyielding strength, and unextinguished fire; Pursue the triumph with tempestuous rage, Against the world in glorious strife engage, And when an empire sinks beneath thy sway (O quickly may we hail the prosperous day),\t The fickle sex will then with blooming charms, Adoring throng to bless thy circling arms!\u201d H\u00fam\u00e1n\u2019s warm speech, the spirit-stirring theme, Awoke Sohr\u00e1b from his inglorious dream. No more the tear his faded cheek bedewed,\t Again ambition all his hopes renewed: Swell\u2019d his bold heart with unforgotten zeal, The noble wrath which heroes only feel; Fiercely he vowed at one tremendous stroke, To bow the world beneath the tyrant\u2019s yoke!\t \u201cAfr\u00e1siy\u00e1b,\u201d he cried, \u201cshall reign alone, The mighty lord of Persia\u2019s gorgeous throne!\u201d Burning, himself, to rule this nether sphere, These welcome tidings charmed the despot\u2019s ear. Meantime K\u00e1\u00fas, this dire invasion known,\t Had called his chiefs around his ivory throne: There stood Gurg\u00edn, and B\u00e1hr\u00e1m, and Gushw\u00e1d, And T\u00fas, and G\u00edw, and G\u00fad\u00e1rz, and Ferh\u00e1d; To them he read the melancholy tale, Gust\u2019hem had written of the rising bale;\t Besought their aid and prudent choice, to form Some sure defence against the threatening storm. With one consent they urge the strong request, To summon Rustem from his rural rest.\u2014 Instant a warrior-delegate they send,\t And thus the King invites his patriot-friend, \u201cTo thee all praise, whose mighty arm alone, Preserves the glory of the Persian throne! Lo! Tartar hordes our happy realms invade; The tottering state requires thy powerful aid;\t A youthful Champion leads the ruthless host, His savage country\u2019s widely-rumoured boast. The Barrier-fortress sinks beneath his sway, Huj\u00edr is vanquished, ruin tracks his way; Strong as a raging elephant in fight,\t No arm but thine can match his furious might. M\u00e1zinder\u00e1n thy conquering prowess knew; The Demon-king thy trenchant falchion slew, The rolling heavens, abash\u2019d with fear, behold 309","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 710 715 Thy biting sword, thy mace adorned with gold!\t 720 Fly to the succour of a King distress\u2019d, 725 Proud of thy love, with thy protection blest. 730 When o\u2019er the nation dread misfortunes lower, 735 Thou art the refuge, thou the saving power. 740 The chiefs assembled claim thy patriot vows,\t 745 Give to thy glory all that life allows; 750 And while no whisper breathes the direful tale, 755 O, let thy Monarch\u2019s anxious prayers prevail.\u201d 760 Closing the fragrant page o\u2019ercome with dread, The afflicted King to G\u00edw, the warrior, said:\u2014\t \u201cGo, bind the saddle on thy fleetest horse, Outstrip the tempest in thy rapid course, To Rustem swift his country\u2019s woes convey, Too true art thou to linger on the way; Speed, day and night\u2014and not one instant wait,\t Whatever hour may bring thee to his gate.\u201d Followed no pause\u2014to G\u00edw enough was said, Nor rest, nor taste of food, his speed delayed. And when arrived, where Z\u00e1bul\u2019s bowers exhale Ambrosial sweets and scent the balmy gale,\t The sentinel\u2019s loud voice in Rustem\u2019s ear, Announced a messenger from Persia, near; The Chief himself amidst his warriors stood, Dispensing honours to the brave and good, And soon as G\u00edw had joined the martial ring,\t (The sacred envoy of the Persian King), He, with becoming loyalty inspired, Asked what the monarch, what the state required; But G\u00edw, apart, his secret mission told\u2014 The written page was speedily unrolled.\t Struck with amazement, Rustem\u2014\u201cNow on earth A warrior-knight of S\u00e1m\u2019s excelling worth? Whence comes this hero of the prosperous star? I know no Turk renowned, like him, in war; He bears the port of Rustem too, \u2018tis said,\t Like S\u00e1m, like Nar\u00edm\u00e1n, a warrior bred! He cannot be my son, unknown to me; Reason forbids the thought\u2014it cannot be! At Sameng\u00e1n, where once affection smiled, To me Tahm\u00edneh bore her only child,\t That was a daughter?\u201d Pondering thus he spoke, And then aloud\u2014\u201cWhy fear the invader\u2019s yoke? Why trembling shrink, by coward thoughts dismayed, Must we not all in dust, at length, be laid? But come, to N\u00edrum\u2019s palace, haste with me,\t And there partake the feast\u2014from sorrow free; Breathe, but awhile\u2014ere we our toils renew, And moisten the parched lip with needful dew. Let plans of war another day decide, We soon shall quell this youthful hero\u2019s pride.\t The force of fire soon flutters and decays When ocean, swelled by storms, its wrath displays. What danger threatens! whence the dastard fear! 310","Shahnameh 765 770 Rest, and at leisure share a warrior\u2019s cheer.\u201d In vain the Envoy prest the Monarch\u2019s grief;\t 775 The matchless prowess of the stripling chief; 780 How brave Huj\u00edr had felt his furious hand; What thickening woes beset the shuddering land. 785 But Rustem, still, delayed the parting day, 790 And mirth and feasting rolled the hours away;\t 795 Morn following morn beheld the banquet bright, 800 Music and wine prolonged the genial rite; 805 Rapt by the witchery of the melting strain, 810 No thought of K\u00e1\u00fas touch\u2019d his swimming brain. 815 The trumpet\u2019s clang, on fragrant breezes borne,\t Now loud salutes the fifth revolving morn; The softer tones which charm\u2019d the jocund feast, And all the noise of revelry, had ceased, The generous horse, with rich embroidery deckt, Whose gilded trappings sparkling light reflect,\t Bears with majestic port the Champion brave, And high in air the victor-banners wave. Prompt at the martial call, Z\u00fa\u00e1ra leads His veteran troops from Z\u00e1bul\u2019s verdant meads. Ere Rustem had approached his journey\u2019s end,\t T\u00fas, G\u00fadarz, Gushw\u00e1d, met their champion-friend With customary honours; pleased to bring The shield of Persia to the anxious King. But foaming wrath the senseless monarch swayed; His friendship scorned, his mandate disobeyed,\t Beneath dark brows o\u2019er-shadowing deep, his eye Red gleaming shone, like lightning through the sky And when the warriors met his sullen view, Frowning revenge, still more enraged he grew:\u2014 Loud to the Envoy thus he fiercely cried:\u2014\t \u201cSince Rustem has my royal power defied, Had I a sword, this instant should his head Roll on the ground; but let him now be led Hence, and impaled alive.\u201d Astounded G\u00edw Shrunk from such treatment of a knight so true;\t But this resistance added to the flame, And both were branded with revolt and shame; Both were condemned, and T\u00fas, the stern decree Received, to break them on the felon-tree. Could daring insult, thus deliberate given,\t Escape the rage of one to frenzy driven? No, from his side the nerveless Chief was flung, Bent to the ground. Away the Champion sprung; Mounted his foaming horse, and looking round\u2014 His boiling wrath thus rapid utterance found:\u2014\t \u201cUngrateful King, thy tyrant acts disgrace The sacred throne, and more, the human race; Midst clashing swords thy recreant life I saved, And am I now by T\u00fas contemptuous braved? On me shall T\u00fas, shall K\u00e1\u00fas dare to frown?\t On me, the bulwark of the regal crown? Wherefore should fear in Rustem\u2019s breast have birth, 311","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 820 825 K\u00e1\u00fas, to me, a worthless clod of earth! 830 Go, and thyself Sohr\u00e1b\u2019s invasion stay, 835 Go, seize the plunderers growling o\u2019er their prey!\t 840 Wherefore to others give the base command? 845 Go, break him on the tree with thine own hand. Know, thou hast roused a warrior, great and free, 850 Who never bends to tyrant Kings like thee! 855 Was not this untired arm triumphant seen,\t 860 In Misser, R\u00fam, M\u00e1zinder\u00e1n, and Ch\u00edn! 865 And must I shrink at thy imperious nod! 870 Slave to no Prince, I only bow to God. Whatever wrath from thee, proud King! may fall, For thee I fought, and I deserve it all.\t The regal sceptre might have graced my hand, I kept the laws, and scorned supreme command. When Kai-kob\u00e1d and Alberz mountain strayed, I drew him thence, and gave a warrior\u2019s aid; Placed on his brows the long-contested crown,\t Worn by his sires, by sacred right his own; Strong in the cause, my conquering arms prevailed, Wouldst thou have reign\u2019d had Rustem\u2019s valour failed When the White Demon raged in battle-fray, Wouldst thou have lived had Rustem lost the day?\u201d\t Then to his friends: \u201cBe wise, and shun your fate, Fly the wide ruin which o\u2019erwhelms the state; The conqueror comes\u2014the scourge of great and small, And vultures, following fast, will gorge on all. Persia no more its injured Chief shall view\u201d\u2014\t He said, and sternly from the court withdrew. The warriors now, with sad forebodings wrung, Torn from that hope to which they proudly clung, On G\u00fadarz rest, to soothe with gentle sway, The frantic King, and Rustem\u2019s wrath allay.\t With bitter grief they wail misfortune\u2019s shock, No shepherd now to guard the timorous flock. G\u00fadarz at length, with boding cares imprest, Thus soothed the anger in the royal breast. \u201cSay, what has Rustem done, that he should be\t Impaled upon the ignominious tree? Degrading thought, unworthy to be bred Within a royal heart, a royal head. Hast thou forgot when near the Caspian-wave, Defeat and ruin had appalled the brave,\t When mighty Rustem struck the dreadful blow, And nobly freed thee from the savage foe? Did Demons huge escape his flaming brand? Their reeking limbs bestrew\u2019d the slippery strand. Shall he for this resign his vital breath?\t What! shall the hero\u2019s recompense be death? But who will dare a threatening step advance, What earthly power can bear his withering glance? Should he to Z\u00e1bul fired with wrongs return, The plunder\u2019d land will long in sorrow mourn!\t This direful presage all our warriors feel, For who can now oppose the invader\u2019s steel; Thus is it wise thy champion to offend, 312","Shahnameh 875 880 To urge to this extreme thy warrior-friend? Remember, passion ever scorns control,\t 885 And wisdom\u2019s mild decrees should rule a Monarch\u2019s soul.\u201d 890 K\u00e1\u00fas, relenting, heard with anxious ear, 895 And groundless wrath gave place to shame and fear; 900 \u201cGo then,\u201d he cried, \u201chis generous aid implore, 905 And to your King the mighty Chief restore!\u201d\t 910 When G\u00fadarz rose, and seized his courser\u2019s rein, 915 A crowd of heroes followed in his train. To Rustem, now (respectful homage paid), 920 The royal prayer he anxious thus conveyed. 925 \u201cThe King, repentant, seeks thy aid again,\t Grieved to the heart that he has given thee pain; But though his anger was unjust and strong, Thy country still is guiltless of the wrong, And, therefore, why abandoned thus by thee? Thy help the King himself implores through me.\u201d\t Rustem rejoined: \u201cUnworthy the pretence, And scorn and insult all my recompense? Must I be galled by his capricious mood? I, who have still his firmest champion stood? But all is past, to heaven alone resigned,\t No human cares shall more disturb my mind!\u201d Then G\u00fadarz thus (consummate art inspired His prudent tongue, with all that zeal required); \u201cWhen Rustem dreads Sohr\u00e1b\u2019s resistless power, Well may inferiors fly the trying hour!\t The dire suspicion now pervades us all, Thus, unavenged, shall beauteous Persia fall! Yet, generous still, avert the lasting shame, O, still preserve thy country\u2019s glorious fame! Or wilt thou, deaf to all our fears excite,\t Forsake thy friends, and shun the pending fight? And worse, O grief! in thy declining days, Forfeit the honours of thy country\u2019s praise?\u201d This artful censure set his soul on fire, But patriot firmness calm\u2019d his burning ire;\t And thus he said\u2014\u201cInured to war\u2019s alarms, Did ever Rustem shun the din of arms? Though frowns from K\u00e1\u00fas I disdain to bear, My threatened country claims a warrior\u2019s care.\u201d He ceased, and prudent joined the circling throng,\t And in the public good forgot the private wrong. From far the King the generous Champion viewed, And rising, mildly thus his speech pursued:\u2014 \u201cSince various tempers govern all mankind, Me, nature fashioned of a froward mind;\t And what the heavens spontaneously bestow, Sown by their bounty must for ever grow. The fit of wrath which burst within me, soon Shrunk up my heart as thin as the new moon; Else had I deemed thee still my army\u2019s boast,\t Source of my regal power, beloved the most, Unequalled. Every day, remembering thee, I drain the wine cup, thou art all to me; 313","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 930 935 I wished thee to perform that lofty part, 940 Claimed by thy valour, sanctioned by my heart;\t 945 Hence thy delay my better thoughts supprest, 950 And boisterous passions revelled in my breast; 955 But when I saw thee from my Court retire 960 In wrath, repentance quenched my burning ire. 965 O, let me now my keen contrition prove,\t 970 Again enjoy thy fellowship and love: 975 And while to thee my gratitude is known, 980 Still be the pride and glory of my throne.\u201d Rustem, thus answering said:\u2014\u201cThou art the King, Source of command, pure honour\u2019s sacred spring;\t And here I stand to follow thy behest, Obedient ever\u2014be thy will expressed, And services required\u2014Old age shall see My loins still bound in fealty to thee.\u201d To this the King:\u2014\u201cRejoice we then to-day,\t And on the morrow marshal our array.\u201d The monarch quick commands the feast of joy, And social cares his buoyant mind employ, Within a bower, beside a crystal spring, Where opening flowers, refreshing odours fling,\t Cheerful he sits, and forms the banquet scene, In regal splendour on the crowded green; And as around he greets his valiant bands, Showers golden presents from his bounteous hands; Voluptuous damsels trill the sportive lay,\t Whose sparkling glances beam celestial day; Fill\u2019d with delight the heroes closer join, And quaff till midnight cups of generous wine. Soon as the Sun had pierced the veil of night, And o\u2019er the prospect shed his earliest light,\t K\u00e1\u00fas, impatient, bids the clarions sound, The sprightly notes from hills and rocks rebound; His treasure gates are opened:\u2014and to all A largess given; obedient to the call, His subjects gathering crowd the mountain\u2019s brow,\t And following thousands shade the vales below; With shields, in armor, numerous legions bend; And troops of horse the threatening lines extend. Beneath the tread of heroes fierce and strong, By war\u2019s tumultuous fury borne along,\t The firm earth shook: the dust, in eddies driven, Whirled high in air, obscured the face of heaven; Nor earth, nor sky appeared\u2014all, seeming lost, And swallowed up by that wide-spreading host. The steely armour glitter\u2019d o\u2019er the fields,\t And lightnings flash\u2019d from gold emblazoned shields; Thou wouldst have said, the clouds had burst in showers, Of sparkling amber o\u2019er the martial powers. Thus, close embodied, they pursued their way, And reached the Barrier-fort in terrible array.\t The legions of T\u00far\u00e1n, with dread surprise, 314","Shahnameh 985 990 Saw o\u2019er the plain successive myriads rise; 995 And showed them to Sohr\u00e1b; he, mounting high The fort, surveyed them with a fearless eye; 1000 To H\u00fam\u00e1n, who, with withering terror pale,\t 1005 Had marked their progress through the distant vale, 1010 He pointed out the sight, and ardent said:\u2014 \u201cDispel these woe-fraught broodings from thy head, 1015 I wage the war, Afr\u00e1siy\u00e1b! for thee, 1020 And make this desert seem a rolling sea.\u201d\t 1025 Thus, while amazement every bosom quell\u2019d, 1030 Sohr\u00e1b, unmoved, the coming storm beheld, 1035 And boldly gazing on the camp around, Raised high the cup with wine nectareous crowned: O\u2019er him no dreams of woe insidious stole,\t No thought but joy engaged his ardent soul. The Persian legions had restrained their course, Tents and pavilions, countless foot and horse, Clothed all the spacious plain, and gleaming threw Terrific splendours on the gazer\u2019s view.\t But when the Sun had faded in the west, And night assumed her ebon-coloured vest, The mighty Chief approached the sacred throne, And generous thus made danger all his own: \u201cThe rules of war demand a previous task,\t To watch this dreadful foe I boldly ask; With wary step the wondrous youth to view, And mark the heroes who his path pursue.\u201d The King assents: \u201cThe task is justly thine, Favourite of heaven, inspired by power divine.\u201d\t In Turkish habit, secretly arrayed, The lurking Champion wandered through the shade And, cautious, standing near the palace gate, Saw how the chiefs were ranged in princely state. What time Sohr\u00e1b his thoughts to battle turned,\t And for the first proud fruits of conquest burned, His mother called a warrior to his aid, And Zinda-ruzm his sister\u2019s call obeyed. To him Tahmineh gave her only joy, And bade him shield the bold adventurous boy:\t \u201cBut, in the dreadful strife, should danger rise, Present my child before his father\u2019s eyes! By him protected, war may rage in vain, Though he may never bless these arms again!\u201d This guardian prince sat on the stripling\u2019s right,\t Viewing the imperial banquet with delight. H\u00fam\u00e1n and B\u00e1rm\u00e1n, near the hero placed, In joyous pomp the full assembly graced; A hundred valiant Chiefs begirt the throne, And, all elate, were chaunting his renown.\t Closely concealed, the gay and splendid scene, Rustem contemplates with astonished mien; When Zind, retiring, marks the listener nigh, Watching the festal train with curious eye; And well he knew, amongst his Tartar host,\t Such towering stature not a Chief could boast\u2014 315","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1040 1045 \u201cWhat spy is here, close shrouded by the night? 1050 Art thou afraid to face the beams of light?\u201d 1055 But scarcely from his lips these words had past, 1060 Ere, fell\u2019d to earth, he groaning breathed his last;\t 1065 Unseen he perish\u2019d, fate decreed the blow, 1070 To add fresh keenness to a parent\u2019s woe. 1075 Meantime Sohr\u00e1b, perceiving the delay 1080 In Zind\u2019s return, looked round him with dismay; 1085 The seat still vacant\u2014but the bitter truth,\t Full soon was known to the distracted youth; Full soon he found that Zinda-ruzm was gone, His day of feasting and of glory done; Speedful towards the fatal spot he ran, Where slept in bloody vest the slaughtered man.\t The lighted torches now displayed the dead, Stiff on the ground his graceful limbs were spread; Sad sight to him who knew his guardian care, Now doom\u2019d a kinsman\u2019s early loss to bear; Anguish and rage devour his breast by turns,\t He vows revenge, then o\u2019er the warrior mourns: And thus exclaims to each afflicted Chief:\u2014 \u201cNo time, to-night, my friends, for useless grief; The ravenous wolf has watched his helpless prey, Sprung o\u2019er the fold, and borne its flower away;\t But if the heavens my lifted arm befriend, Upon the guilty shall my wrath descend\u2014 Unsheathed, this sword shall dire revenge pursue, And Persian blood the thirsty land bedew.\u201d Frowning he paused, and check\u2019d the spreading woe,\t Resumed the feast, and bid the wine-cup flow! The valiant G\u00edw was sentinel that night, And marking dimly by the dubious light, A warrior form approach, he claps his hands, With naked sword and lifted shield he stands,\t To front the foe; but Rustem now appears, And G\u00edw the secret tale astonished hears; From thence the Champion on the Monarch waits. The power and splendour of Sohr\u00e1b relates: \u201cCircled by Chiefs this glorious youth was seen,\t Of lofty stature and majestic mien; No Tartar region gave the hero birth: Some happier portion of the spacious earth; Tall, as the graceful cypress he appears; Like S\u00e1m, the brave, his warrior-front he rears!\u201d\t Then having told how, while the banquet shone, Unhappy Zind had sunk, without a groan; He forms his conquering bands in close array, And, cheer\u2019d by wine, awaits the coming day. When now the Sun his golden buckler raised,\t And genial light through heaven diffusive blazed, Sohr\u00e1b in mail his nervous limbs attired, For dreadful wrath his soul to vengeance fired; With anxious haste he bent the yielding cord, 316","Shahnameh 1090 1095 Ring within ring, more fateful than the sword;\t 1100 Around his brows a regal helm he bound; 1105 His dappled steed impatient stampt the ground. 1110 Thus armed, ascending where the eye could trace 1115 The hostile force, and mark each leader\u2019s place, 1120 He called Huj\u00edr, the captive Chief addressed,\t 1125 And anxious thus, his soul\u2019s desire expressed: 1130 \u201cA prisoner thou, if freedom\u2019s voice can charm, 1135 And dungeon darkness fill thee with alarm, 1140 That freedom merit, shun severest woe, And truly answer what I ask to know!\t If rigid truth thy ready speech attend, Honours and wealth shall dignify my friend.\u201d \u201cObedient to thy wish,\u201d Huj\u00edr replied, \u201cTruth thou shalt hear, whatever chance betide; For what on earth to praise has better claim?\t Falsehood but leads to sorrow and to shame!\u201d \u201cThen say, what heroes lead the adverse host, Where they command, what dignities they boast; Say, where does K\u00e1\u00fas hold his kingly state, Where T\u00fas, and G\u00fadarz, on his bidding wait;\t G\u00edw, Gust\u2019hem, and B\u00e1hr\u00e1m\u2014all known to thee, And where is mighty Rustem, where is he? Look round with care, their names and power display Or instant death shall end thy vital day.\u201d \u201cWhere yonder splendid tapestries extend,\t And o\u2019er pavilions bright infolding bend, A throne triumphal shines with sapphire rays, And golden suns upon the banners blaze; Full in the centre of the hosts\u2014and round The tent a hundred elephants are bound,\t As if, in pomp, he mocked the power of fate; There royal K\u00e1\u00fas holds his kingly state. \u201cIn yonder tent which numerous guards protect, Where front and rear illustrious Chiefs collect; Where horsemen wheeling seem prepared for fight,\t Their golden armour glittering in the light; T\u00fas lifts his banners, deck\u2019d with royal pride, Feared by the brave, the soldier\u2019s friend and guide. \u201cThat crimson tent where spear-men frowning stand, And steel-clad veterans form a threatening band,\t Holds mighty G\u00fadarz, famed for martial fire, Of eighty valiant sons the valiant sire; Yet strong in arms, he shuns inglorious ease, His lion-banners floating in the breeze. \u201cBut mark, that green pavilion; girt around\t By Persian nobles, speaks the Chief renowned; Fierce on the standard, worked with curious art, A hideous dragon writhing seems to start; Throned in his tent the warrior\u2019s form is seen, Towering above the assembled host between!\t 317","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1145 1150 A generous horse before him snorts and neighs, 1155 The trembling earth the echoing sound conveys. 1160 Like him no Champion ever met my eyes, 1165 No horse like that for majesty and size; 1170 What Chief illustrious bears a port so high?\t 1175 Mark, how his standard flickers through the sky!\u201d 1180 Thus ardent spoke Sohr\u00e1b. Huj\u00edr dismayed, 1185 Paused ere reply the dangerous truth betrayed. 1190 Trembling for Rustem\u2019s life the captive groaned; Basely his country\u2019s glorious boast disowned,\t And said the Chief from distant China came\u2014 Sohr\u00e1b abrupt demands the hero\u2019s name; The name unknown, grief wrings his aching heart, And yearning anguish speeds her venom\u2019d dart; To him his mother gave the tokens true,\t He sees them all, and all but mock his view. When gloomy fate descends in evil hour, Can human wisdom bribe her favouring power? Yet, gathering hope, again with restless mien He marks the Chiefs who crowd the warlike scene.\t \u201cWhere numerous heroes, horse and foot, appear, And brazen trumpets thrill the listening ear, Behold the proud pavilion of the brave! With wolves emboss\u2019d the silken banners wave. The throne\u2019s bright gems with radiant lustre glow,\t Slaves rank\u2019d around with duteous homage bow. What mighty Chieftain rules his cohorts there? His name and lineage, free from guile, declare!\u201d \u201cG\u00edw, son of G\u00fadarz, long a glorious name, Whose prowess even transcends his father\u2019s fame.\u201d\t \u201cMark yonder tent of pure and dazzling white, Whose rich brocade reflects a quivering light; An ebon seat surmounts the ivory throne; There frowns in state a warrior of renown. The crowding slaves his awful nod obey,\t And silver moons around his banners play; What Chief, or Prince, has grasped the hostile sword? Fr\u00edburz, the son of Persia\u2019s mighty lord.\u201d Again: \u201cThese standards show one champion more, Upon their centre flames the savage boar;\t The saffron-hued pavilion bright ascends, Whence many a fold of tasselled fringe depends; Who there presides?\u201d \u201cGur\u00e1z, from heroes sprung, Whose praise exceeds the power of mortal tongue.\u201d \t Thus, anxious, he explored the crowded field, Nor once the secret of his birth revealed; Heaven will\u2019d it so. Pressed down by silent grief, Surrounding objects promised no relief. This world to mortals still denies repose,\t And life is still the scene of many woes. 318","Shahnameh 1195 1200 Again his eye, instinctive turned, descried 1205 The green pavilion, and the warrior\u2019s pride. Again he cries: \u201cO tell his glorious name; 1210 Yon gallant horse declares the hero\u2019s fame!\u201d\t 1215 But false Huj\u00edr the aspiring hope repelled, 1220 Crushed the fond wish, the soothing balm withheld, 1225 \u201cAnd why should I conceal his name from thee? 1230 His name and title are unknown to me.\u201d 1235 Then thus Sohr\u00e1b\u2014\u201cIn all that thou hast said,\t 1240 No sign of Rustem have thy words conveyed; Thou sayest he leads the Persian host to arms, With him has battle lost its boisterous charms? Of him no trace thy guiding hand has shown; Can power supreme remain unmark\u2019d, unknown?\u201d\t \u201cPerhaps returned to Z\u00e1bul\u2019s verdant bowers, He undisturbed enjoys his peaceful hours, The vernal banquets may constrain his stay, And rural sports invite prolonged delay.\u201d \u201cAh! say not thus; the Champion of the world,\t Shrink from the kindling war with banners furled! It cannot be! Say where his lightnings dart, Show me the warrior, all thou know\u2019st impart; Treasures uncounted shall be thy reward, Death changed to life, my friendship more than shared.\t Dost thou not know what, in the royal ear, The M\u00fabid said\u2014befitting Kings to hear? \u2018Untold, a secret is a jewel bright, Yet profitless whilst hidden from the light; But when revealed, in words distinctly given,\t It shines refulgent as the sun through heaven.\u2019\u201d To him, Huj\u00edr evasive thus replies: \u201cThrough all the extended earth his glory flies! Whenever dangers round the nation close, Rustem approaches, and repels its foes;\t And shouldst thou see him mix in mortal strife, Thou\u2019dst think \u2018twere easier to escape with life From tiger fell, or demon\u2014or the fold Of the chafed dragon, than his dreadful hold\u2014 When fiercest battle clothes the fields with fire,\t Before his rage embodied hosts retire!\u201d \u201cAnd where didst thou encountering armies see? Why Rustem\u2019s praise so proudly urge to me? Let us but meet and thou shalt trembling know, How fierce that wrath which bids my bosom glow:\t If living flames express his boundless ire, O\u2019erwhelming waters quench consuming fire! And deepest darkness, glooms of ten-fold night, Fly from the piercing beams of radiant light.\u201d Huj\u00edr shrunk back with undissembled dread,\t And thus communing with himself, he said\u2014 \u201cShall I, regardless of my country, guide 319","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1245 1250 To Rustem\u2019s tent this furious homicide? 1255 And witness there destruction to our host? 1260 The bulwark of the land for ever lost!\t What Chief can then the Tartar power restrain! 1265 K\u00e1\u00fas dethroned, the mighty Rustem slain! 1270 Better a thousand deaths should lay me low, 1275 Than, living, yield such triumph to the foe. 1280 For in this struggle should my blood be shed,\t 1285 No foul dishonour can pursue me, dead; 1290 No lasting shame my father\u2019s age oppress, 1295 Whom eighty sons of martial courage bless! They for their brother slain, incensed will rise, And pour their vengeance on my enemies.\u201d\t Then thus aloud\u2014\u201cCan idle words avail? Why still of Rustem urge the frequent tale? Why for the elephant-bodied hero ask? Thee, he will find\u2014no uncongenial task. Why seek pretences to destroy my life?\t Strike, for no Rustem views th\u2019 unequal strife!\u201d Sohr\u00e1b confused, with hopeless anguish mourned, Back from the lofty walls he quick returned, And stood amazed. Now war and vengeance claim,\t Collected thought and deeds of mighty name; The jointed mail his vigorous body clasps, His sinewy hand the shining javelin grasps; Like a mad elephant he meets the foe, His steed a moving mountain\u2014deeply glow\t His cheeks with passionate ardour, as he flies Resistless onwards, and with sparkling eyes, Full on the centre drives his daring horse\u2014 The yielding Persians fly his furious course; As the wild ass impetuous springs away,\t When the fierce lion thunders on his prey. By every sign of strength and martial power, They think him Rustem in his direst hour; On K\u00e1\u00fas now his proud defiance falls, Scornful to him the stripling warrior calls:\t \u201cAnd why art thou misnamed of royal strain? What work of thine befits the tented plain? This thirsty javelin seeks thy coward breast; Thou and thy thousands doomed to endless rest. True to my oath, which time can never change,\t On thee, proud King! I hurl my just revenge. The blood of Zind inspires my burning hate, And dire resentment hurries on thy fate; Whom canst thou send to try the desperate strife? What valiant Chief, regardless of his life?\t Where now can Fr\u00edburz, T\u00fas, G\u00edw, G\u00fadarz, be, And the world-conquering Rustem, where is he?\u201d No prompt reply from Persian lip ensued\u2014 Then rushing on, with demon-strength endued, Sohr\u00e1b elate his javelin waved around,\t And hurled the bright pavilion to the ground; 320","Shahnameh 1300 1305 With horror K\u00e1\u00fas feels destruction nigh, 1310 And cries: \u201cFor Rustem\u2019s needful succour fly! 1315 This frantic Turk, triumphant on the plain, 1320 Withers the souls of all my warrior train.\u201d\t 1325 That instant T\u00fas the mighty Champion sought, 1330 And told the deeds the Tartar Chief had wrought; 1335 \u201c\u2018Tis ever thus, the brainless Monarch\u2019s due! 1340 Shame and disaster still his steps pursue!\u201d 1345 This saying, from his tent he soon descried,\t 1350 The wild confusion spreading far and wide; And saddled Rakush\u2014whilst, in deep dismay, Girg\u00edn incessant cried\u2014\u201cSpeed, speed, away.\u201d Reh\u00e1m bound on the mace, T\u00fas promptly ran, And buckled on the broad Burgustuw\u00e1n.\t Rustem, meanwhile, the thickening tumult hears And in his heart, untouched by human fears, Says: \u201cWhat is this, that feeling seems to stun! This battle must be led by Ahirmun, The awful day of doom must have begun.\u201d\t In haste he arms, and mounts his bounding steed, The growing rage demands redoubled speed; The leopard\u2019s skin he o\u2019er his shoulders throws, The regal girdle round his middle glows. High wave his glorious banners; broad revealed,\t The pictured dragons glare along the field Borne by Z\u00fa\u00e1ra. When, surprised, he views Sohr\u00e1b, endued with ample breast and thews, Like S\u00e1m Suw\u00e1r, he beckons him apart; The youth advances with a gallant heart,\t Willing to prove his adversary\u2019s might, By single combat to decide the fight; And eagerly, \u201cTogether brought,\u201d he cries, \u201cRemote from us be foemen, and allies, And though at once by either host surveyed,\t Ours be the strife which asks no mortal aid.\u201d Rustem, considerate, view\u2019d him o\u2019er and o\u2019er, So wondrous graceful was the form he bore, And frankly said: \u201cExperience flows with age, And many a foe has felt my conquering rage;\t Much have I seen, superior strength and art Have borne my spear thro\u2019 many a demon\u2019s heart; Only behold me on the battle plain, Wait till thou see\u2019st this hand the war sustain, And if on thee should changeful fortune smile,\t Thou needst not fear the monster of the Nile! But soft compassion melts my soul to save, A youth so blooming with a mind so brave!\u201d The generous speech Sohr\u00e1b attentive heard, His heart expanding glowed at every word:\t \u201cOne question answer, and in answering show, That truth should ever from a warrior flow; Art thou not Rustem, whose exploits sublime, Endear his name thro\u2019 every distant clime?\u201d \u201cI boast no station of exalted birth,\t No proud pretensions to distinguished worth; 321","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1355 1360 To him inferior, no such powers are mine, 1365 No offspring I of N\u00edrum\u2019s glorious line!\u201d 1370 The prompt denial dampt his filial joy, 1375 All hope at once forsook the Warrior-boy,\t 1380 His opening day of pleasure, and the bloom 1385 Of cherished life, immersed in shadowy gloom. 1390 Perplexed with what his mother\u2019s words implied;\u2014 1395 A narrow space is now prepared, aside, 1400 For single combat. With disdainful glance\t 1405 Each boldly shakes his death-devoting lance, And rushes forward to the dubious fight; Thoughts high and brave their burning souls excite; Now sword to sword; continuous strokes resound, Till glittering fragments strew the dusty ground.\t Each grasps his massive club with added force, The folding mail is rent from either horse; It seemed as if the fearful day of doom Had, clothed in all its withering terrors, come. Their shattered corslets yield defence no more\u2014\t At length they breathe, defiled with dust and gore; Their gasping throats with parching thirst are dry, Gloomy and fierce they roll the lowering eye, And frown defiance. Son and Father driven To mortal strife! are these the ways of Heaven?\t The various swarms which boundless ocean breeds, The countless tribes which crop the flowery meads, All know their kind, but hapless man alone Has no instinctive feeling for his own! Compell\u2019d to pause, by every eye surveyed,\t Rustem, with shame, his wearied strength betrayed; Foil\u2019d by a youth in battle\u2019s mid career, His groaning spirit almost sunk with fear; Recovering strength, again they fiercely meet; Again they struggle with redoubled heat;\t With bended bows they furious now contend; And feather\u2019d shafts in rattling showers descend; Thick as autumnal leaves they strew the plain, Harmless their points, and all their fury vain. And now they seize each other\u2019s girdle-band;\t Rustem, who, if he moved his iron hand, Could shake a mountain, and to whom a rock Seemed soft as wax, tried, with one mighty stroke, To hurl him thundering from his fiery steed, But Fate forbids the gallant youth should bleed;\t Finding his wonted nerves relaxed, amazed That hand he drops which never had been raised Uncrowned with victory, even when demons fought, And pauses, wildered with despairing thought. Sohr\u00e1b again springs with terrific grace,\t And lifts, from saddle-bow, his ponderous mace; With gather\u2019d strength the quick-descending blow Wounds in its fall, and stuns the unwary foe; Then thus contemptuous: \u201cAll thy power is gone; Thy charger\u2019s strength exhausted as thy own;\t Thy bleeding wounds with pity I behold; O seek no more the combat of the bold!\u201d 322","Shahnameh 1410 1415 Rustem to this reproach made no reply, 1420 But stood confused\u2014meanwhile, tumultuously 1425 The legions closed; with soul-appalling force,\t 1430 Troop rushed on troop, o\u2019erwhelming man and horse; Sohr\u00e1b, incensed, the Persian host engaged, 1435 Furious along the scattered lines he raged; 1440 Fierce as a wolf he rode on every side, 1445 The thirsty earth with streaming gore was dyed.\t 1450 Midst the T\u00far\u00e1nians, then, the Champion sped, 1455 And like a tiger heaped the fields with dead. But when the Monarch\u2019s danger struck his thought, Returning swift, the stripling youth he sought; Grieved to the soul, the mighty Champion view\u2019d\t His hands and mail with Persian blood imbrued; And thus exclaimed with lion-voice\u2014\u201cO say, Why with the Persians dost thou war to-day? Why not with me alone decide the fight, Thou\u2019rt like a wolf that seek\u2019st the fold by night.\u201d\t To this Sohr\u00e1b his proud assent expressed\u2014 And Rustem, answering, thus the youth addressed. \u201cNight-shadows now are thickening o\u2019er the plain, The morrow\u2019s sun must see our strife again; In wrestling let us then exert our might!\u201d\t He said, and eve\u2019s last glimmer sunk in night Thus as the skies a deeper gloom displayed, The stripling\u2019s life was hastening into shade! The gallant heroes to their tents retired, The sweets of rest their wearied limbs required:\t Sohr\u00e1b, delighted with his brave career, Describes the fight in H\u00fam\u00e1n\u2019s anxious ear: Tells how he forced unnumbered Chiefs to yield, And stood himself the victor of the field! \u201cBut let the morrow\u2019s dawn,\u201d he cried, \u201carrive,\t And not one Persian shall the day survive; Meanwhile let wine its strengthening balm impart, And add new zeal to every drooping heart.\u201d The valiant G\u00edw with Rustem pondering stood, And, sad, recalled the scene of death and blood;\t Grief and amazement heaved the frequent sigh, And almost froze the crimson current dry. Rustem, oppressed by G\u00edw\u2019s desponding thought, Amidst his Chiefs the mournful Monarch sought; To him he told Sohr\u00e1b\u2019s tremendous sway,\t The dire misfortunes of this luckless day; Told with what grasping force he tried, in vain, To hurl the wondrous stripling to the plain: \u201cThe whispering zephyr might as well aspire To shake a mountain\u2014such his strength and fire.\t But night came on\u2014and, by agreement, we Must meet again to-morrow\u2014who shall be Victorious, Heaven knows only:\u2014for by Heaven, Victory or death to man is ever given.\u201d 323","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1460 This said, the King, o\u2019erwhelmed in deep despair,\t 1465 Passed the dread night in agony and prayer. 1470 The Champion, silent, joined his bands at rest, 1475 And spurned at length despondence from his breast; 1480 Removed from all, he cheered Z\u00fa\u00e1ra\u2019s heart, 1485 And nerved his soul to bear a trying part:\u2014\t 1490 \u201cEre early morning gilds the ethereal plain, In martial order range my warrior-train; 1495 And when I meet in all his glorious pride, 1500 This valiant Turk whom late my rage defied, 1505 Should fortune\u2019s smiles my arduous task requite,\t 1510 Bring them to share the triumph of my might; But should success the stripling\u2019s arm attend, And dire defeat and death my glories end, To their loved homes my brave associates guide; Let bowery Z\u00e1bul all their sorrows hide\u2014\t Comfort my venerable father\u2019s heart; In gentlest words my heavy fate impart. The dreadful tidings to my mother bear, And soothe her anguish with the tenderest care; Say, that the will of righteous Heaven decreed,\t That thus in arms her mighty son should bleed. Enough of fame my various toils acquired, When warring demons, bathed in blood, expired. Were life prolonged a thousand lingering years, Death comes at last and ends our mortal fears;\t Kirsh\u00e1sp, and S\u00e1m, and Nar\u00edm\u00e1n, the best And bravest heroes, who have ever blest This fleeting world, were not endued with power, To stay the march of fate one single hour; The world for them possessed no fixed abode,\t The path to death\u2019s cold regions must be trod; Then, why lament the doom ordained for all? Thus Jemsh\u00edd fell, and thus must Rustem fall.\u201d When the bright dawn proclaimed the rising day, The warriors armed, impatient of delay;\t But first Sohr\u00e1b, his proud confederate nigh, Thus wistful spoke, as swelled the boding sigh\u2014 \u201cNow, mark my great antagonist in arms! His noble form my filial bosom warms; My mother\u2019s tokens shine conspicuous here,\t And all the proofs my heart demands, appear; Sure this is Rustem, whom my eyes engage! Shall I, O grief! provoke my Father\u2019s rage? Offended Nature then would curse my name, And shuddering nations echo with my shame.\u201d\t He ceased, then H\u00fam\u00e1n: \u201cVain, fantastic thought, Oft have I been where Persia\u2019s Champion fought; And thou hast heard, what wonders he performed, When, in his prime, M\u00e1zinder\u00e1n was stormed; That horse resembles Rustem\u2019s, it is true,\t But not so strong, nor beautiful to view.\u201d Sohr\u00e1b now buckles on his war attire, His heart all softness, and his brain all fire; 324","Shahnameh 1515 1520 Around his lips such smiles benignant played, 1525 He seemed to greet a friend, as thus he said:\u2014\t 1530 \u201cHere let us sit together on the plain, 1535 Here, social sit, and from the fight refrain; 1540 Ask we from heaven forgiveness of the past, 1545 And bind our souls in friendship that may last; 1560 Ours be the feast\u2014let us be warm and free,\t 1565 For powerful instinct draws me still to thee; 1570 Fain would my heart in bland affection join, 1575 Then let thy generous ardour equal mine; And kindly say, with whom I now contend\u2014 What name distinguished boasts my warrior-friend!\t Thy name unfit for champion brave to hide, Thy name so long, long sought, and still denied; Say, art thou Rustem, whom I burn to know? Ingenuous say, and cease to be my foe!\u201d Sternly the mighty Champion cried, \u201cAway\u2014\t Hence with thy wiles\u2014now practised to delay; The promised struggle, resolute, I claim, Then cease to move me to an act of shame.\u201d Sohr\u00e1b rejoined\u2014\u201cOld man! thou wilt not hear The words of prudence uttered in thine ear;\t Then, Heaven! look on.\u201d Preparing for the shock, Each binds his charger to a neighbouring rock; And girds his loins, and rubs his wrists, and tries Their suppleness and force, with angry eyes;\t And now they meet\u2014now rise, and now descend, And strong and fierce their sinewy arms extend; Wrestling with all their strength they grasp and strain, And blood and sweat flow copious on the plain; Like raging elephants they furious close;\t Commutual wounds are given, and wrenching blows. Sohr\u00e1b now clasps his hands, and forward springs Impatiently, and round the Champion clings; Seizes his girdle belt, with power to tear The very earth asunder; in despair\t Rustem, defeated, feels his nerves give way, And thundering falls. Sohr\u00e1b bestrides his prey: Grim as the lion, prowling through the wood, Upon a wild ass springs, and pants for blood. His lifted sword had lopt the gory head,\t But Rustem, quick, with crafty ardour said:\u2014 \u201cOne moment, hold! what, are our laws unknown? A Chief may fight till he is twice o\u2019erthrown; The second fall, his recreant blood is spilt, These are our laws, avoid the menaced guilt.\u201d \t Proud of his strength, and easily deceived, The wondering youth the artful tale believed; Released his prey, and, wild as wind or wave, Neglecting all the prudence of the brave, Turned from the place, nor once the strife renewed,\t But bounded o\u2019er the plain and other cares pursued, 325","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1580 1585 As if all memory of the war had died, 1590 All thoughts of him with whom his strength was tried. 1595 H\u00fam\u00e1n, confounded at the stripling\u2019s stay, 1600 Went forth, and heard the fortune of the day;\t 1605 Amazed to find the mighty Rustem freed, 1610 With deepest grief he wailed the luckless deed. 1615 \u201cWhat! loose a raging lion from the snare, 1620 And let him growling hasten to his lair? 1625 Bethink thee well; in war, from this unwise,\t This thoughtless act what countless woes may rise; Never again suspend the final blow, Nor trust the seeming weakness of a foe!\u201d \u201cHence with complaint,\u201d the dauntless youth replied, \u201cTo-morrow\u2019s contest shall his fate decide.\u201d\t When Rustem was released, in altered mood He sought the coolness of the murmuring flood; There quenched his thirst; and bathed his limbs, and prayed, Beseeching Heaven to yield its strengthening aid. His pious prayer indulgent Heaven approved,\t And growing strength through all his sinews moved; Such as erewhile his towering structure knew, When his bold arm unconquered demons slew. Yet in his mien no confidence appeared, No ardent hope his wounded spirits cheered.\t Again they met. A glow of youthful grace, Diffused its radiance o\u2019er the stripling\u2019s face, And when he saw in renovated guise, The foe so lately mastered; with surprise, He cried\u2014\u201cWhat! rescued from my power, again\t Dost thou confront me on the battle plain? Or, dost thou, wearied, draw thy vital breath, And seek, from warrior bold, the shaft of death? Truth has no charms for thee, old man; even now, Some further cheat may lurk upon thy brow;\t Twice have I shown thee mercy, twice thy age Hath been thy safety\u2014twice it soothed my rage.\u201d Then mild the Champion: \u201cYouth is proud and vain! The idle boast a warrior would disdain; This aged arm perhaps may yet control,\t The wanton fury that inflames thy soul!\u201d Again, dismounting, each the other viewed With sullen glance, and swift the fight renewed; Clenched front to front, again they tug and bend, Twist their broad limbs as every nerve would rend;\t With rage convulsive Rustem grasps him round; Bends his strong back, and hurls him to the ground; Him, who had deemed the triumph all his own; But dubious of his power to keep him down, Like lightning quick he gives the deadly thrust,\t And spurns the Stripling weltering in the dust. \u2014Thus as his blood that shining steel imbrues, Thine too shall flow, when Destiny pursues; For when she marks the victim of her power, 326","Shahnameh 1630 1635 A thousand daggers speed the dying hour.\t 1640 Writhing with pain Sohr\u00e1b in murmurs sighed\u2014 1645 And thus to Rustem\u2014\u201cVaunt not, in thy pride; Upon myself this sorrow have I brought, 1650 Thou but the instrument of fate\u2014which wrought 1655 My downfall; thou are guiltless\u2014guiltless quite;\t 1660 O! had I seen my father in the fight, 1665 My glorious father! Life will soon be o\u2019er, 1670 And his great deeds enchant my soul no more! Of him my mother gave the mark and sign, 1675 For him I sought, and what an end is mine!\t 1680 My only wish on earth, my constant sigh, Him to behold, and with that wish I die. But hope not to elude his piercing sight, In vain for thee the deepest glooms of night; Couldst thou through Ocean\u2019s depths for refuge fly,\t Or midst the star-beams track the upper sky! Rustem, with vengeance armed, will reach thee there, His soul the prey of anguish and despair.\u201d An icy horror chills the Champion\u2019s heart, His brain whirls round with agonizing smart;\t O\u2019er his wan cheek no gushing sorrows flow, Senseless he sinks beneath the weight of woe; Relieved at length, with frenzied look, he cries: \u201cProve thou art mine, confirm my doubting eyes! For I am Rustem!\u201d Piercing was the groan,\t Which burst from his torn heart\u2014as wild and lone, He gazed upon him. Dire amazement shook The dying youth, and mournful thus he spoke: \u201cIf thou art Rustem, cruel is thy part, No warmth paternal seems to fill thy heart;\t Else hadst thou known me when, with strong desire, I fondly claimed thee for my valiant sire; Now from my body strip the shining mail, Untie these bands, ere life and feeling fail; And on my arm the direful proof behold!\t Thy sacred bracelet of refulgent gold! When the loud brazen drums were heard afar, And, echoing round, proclaimed the pending war, Whilst parting tears my mother\u2019s eyes o\u2019erflowed, This mystic gift her bursting heart bestowed:\t \u2018Take this,\u2019 she said, \u2018thy father\u2019s token wear, And promised glory will reward thy care.\u2019 The hour is come, but fraught with bitterest woe, We meet in blood to wail the fatal blow.\u201d The loosened mail unfolds the bracelet bright,\t Unhappy gift! to Rustem\u2019s wildered sight, Prostrate he falls\u2014\u201cBy my unnatural hand, My son, my son is slain\u2014and from the land Uprooted.\u201d\u2014Frantic, in the dust his hair He rends in agony and deep despair;\t The western sun had disappeared in gloom, And still, the Champion wept his cruel doom; His wondering legions marked the long delay, And, seeing Rakush riderless astray, 327","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1685 1690 The rumour quick to Persia\u2019s Monarch spread,\t And there described the mighty Rustem dead. 1695 K\u00e1\u00fas, alarmed, the fatal tidings hears; 1700 His bosom quivers with increasing fears. 1705 \u201cSpeed, speed, and see what has befallen to-day 1710 To cause these groans and tears\u2014what fatal fray!\t 1715 If he be lost, if breathless on the ground, 1720 And this young warrior, with the conquest crowned\u2014 Then must I, humbled, from my kingdom torn, 1725 Wander like Jemsh\u00edd, through the world forlorn.\u201d 1730 The army roused, rushed o\u2019er the dusty plain,\t 1735 Urged by the Monarch to revenge the slain; Wild consternation saddened every face, T\u00fas winged with horror sought the fatal place, And there beheld the agonizing sight\u2014 The murderous end of that unnatural fight.\t Sohr\u00e1b, still breathing, hears the shrill alarms, His gentle speech suspends the clang of arms: \u201cMy light of life now fluttering sinks in shade, Let vengeance sleep, and peaceful vows be made. Beseech the King to spare this Tartar host,\t For they are guiltless, all to them is lost; I led them on, their souls with glory fired, While mad ambition all my thoughts inspired. In search of thee, the world before my eyes, War was my choice, and thou the sacred prize;\t With thee, my sire! in virtuous league combined, No tyrant King should persecute mankind. That hope is past\u2014the storm has ceased to rave\u2014 My ripening honours wither in the grave; Then let no vengeance on my comrades fall,\t Mine was the guilt, and mine the sorrow, all; How often have I sought thee\u2014oft my mind Figured thee to my sight\u2014o\u2019erjoyed to find My mother\u2019s token; disappointment came, When thou denied thy lineage and thy name;\t Oh! still o\u2019er thee my soul impassioned hung, Still to my father fond affection clung! But fate, remorseless, all my hopes withstood, And stained thy reeking hands in kindred blood.\u201d His faltering breath protracted speech denied:\t Still from his eye-lids flowed a gushing tide; Through Rustem\u2019s soul redoubled horror ran, Heart-rending thoughts subdued the mighty man, And now, at last, with joy-illumined eye, The Z\u00e1bul bands their glorious Chief descry;\t But when they saw his pale and haggard look, Knew from what mournful cause he gazed and shook, With downcast mien they moaned and wept aloud; While Rustem thus addressed the weeping crowd \u201cHere ends the war! let gentle peace succeed,\t Enough of death, I\u2014I have done the deed!\u201d Then to his brother, groaning deep, he said\u2014 \u201cO what a curse upon a parent\u2019s head! But go\u2014and to the Tartar say\u2014no more, 328","Shahnameh 1740 1745 Let war between us steep the earth with gore.\u201d\t 1750 Z\u00fa\u00e1ra flew and wildly spoke his grief, 1755 To crafty H\u00fam\u00e1n, the T\u00far\u00e1nian Chief, 1760 Who, with dissembled sorrow, heard him tell 1765 The dismal tidings which he knew too well; 1770 \u201cAnd who,\u201d he said, \u201chas caused these tears to flow?\t 1775 Who, but Huj\u00edr? He might have stayed the blow, 1780 But when Sohr\u00e1b his Father\u2019s banners sought; 1785 He still denied that here the Champion fought; He spread the ruin, he the secret knew, 1790 Hence should his crime receive the vengeance due!\u201d\t Z\u00fa\u00e1ra, frantic, breathed in Rustem\u2019s ear, The treachery of the captive Chief, Huj\u00edr; Whose headless trunk had weltered on the strand, But prayers and force withheld the lifted hand. Then to his dying son the Champion turned,\t Remorse more deep within his bosom burned; A burst of frenzy fired his throbbing brain; He clenched his sword, but found his fury vain; The Persian Chiefs the desperate act represt, And tried to calm the tumult in his breast:\t Thus G\u00fadarz spoke\u2014\u201cAlas! wert thou to give Thyself a thousand wounds, and cease to live; What would it be to him thou sorrowest o\u2019er? It would not save one pang\u2014then weep no more; For if removed by death, O say, to whom\t Has ever been vouchsafed a different doom? All are the prey of death\u2014the crowned, the low, And man, through life, the victim still of woe.\u201d Then Rustem: \u201cFly! and to the King relate, The pressing horrors which involve my fate;\t And if the memory of my deeds e\u2019er swayed His mind, O supplicate his generous aid; A sovereign balm he has whose wondrous power, All wounds can heal, and fleeting life restore; Swift from his tent the potent medicine bring.\u201d\t \u2014But mark the malice of the brainless King! Hard as the flinty rock, he stern denies The healthful draught, and gloomy thus replies: \u201cCan I forgive his foul and slanderous tongue? The sharp disdain on me contemptuous flung?\t Scorned \u2018midst my army by a shameless boy, Who sought my throne, my sceptre to destroy! Nothing but mischief from his heart can flow, Is it, then, wise to cherish such a foe? The fool who warms his enemy to life,\t Only prepares for scenes of future strife.\u201d G\u00fadarz, returning, told the hopeless tale\u2014 And thinking Rustem\u2019s presence might prevail; The Champion rose, but ere he reached the throne, Sohr\u00e1b had breathed the last expiring groan.\t Now keener anguish rack\u2019d the father\u2019s mind, Reft of his son, a murderer of his kind; His guilty sword distained with filial gore, He beat his burning breast, his hair he tore; 329","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1795 1800 The breathless corse before his shuddering view,\t 1805 A shower of ashes o\u2019er his head he threw; 1810 \u201cIn my old age,\u201d he cried, \u201cwhat have I done? 1815 Why have I slain my son, my innocent son! 1820 Why o\u2019er his splendid dawning did I roll 1825 The clouds of death\u2014and plunge my burthened soul\t 1830 In agony? My son! from heroes sprung; 1835 Better these hands were from my body wrung; 1840 And solitude and darkness, deep and drear, 1845 Fold me from sight than hated linger here. But when his mother hears, with horror wild,\t That I have shed the life-blood of her child, So nobly brave, so dearly loved, in vain, How can her heart that rending shock sustain?\u201d Now on a bier the Persian warriors place The breathless Youth, and shade his pallid face;\t And turning from that fatal field away, Move towards the Champion\u2019s home in long array. Then Rustem, sick of martial pomp and show, Himself the spring of all this scene of woe, Doomed to the flames the pageantry he loved,\t Shield, spear, and mace, so oft in battle proved; Now lost to all, encompassed by despair; His bright pavilion crackling blazed in air; The sparkling throne the ascending column fed; In smoking fragments fell the golden bed;\t The raging fire red glimmering died away, And all the Warrior\u2019s pride in dust and ashes lay. K\u00e1\u00fas, the King, now joins the mournful Chief, And tries to soothe his deep and settled grief; For soon or late we yield our vital breath,\t And all our worldly troubles end in death! \u201cWhen first I saw him, graceful in his might, He looked far other than a Tartar knight; Wondering I gazed\u2014now Destiny has thrown Him on thy sword\u2014he fought, and he is gone;\t And should even Heaven against the earth be hurled, Or fire inwrap in crackling flames the world, That which is past\u2014we never can restore, His soul has travelled to some happier shore. Alas! no good from sorrow canst thou reap,\t Then wherefore thus in gloom and misery weep?\u201d But Rustem\u2019s mighty woes disdained his aid, His heart was drowned in grief, and thus he said: \u201cYes, he is gone! to me for ever lost! O then protect his brave unguided host;\t From war removed and this detested place, Let them, unharmed, their mountain-wilds retrace; Bid them secure my brother\u2019s will obey, The careful guardian of their weary way, To where the Jih\u00fan\u2019s distant waters stray.\u201d\t To this the King: \u201cMy soul is sad to see Thy hopeless grief\u2014but, since approved by thee, 330","Shahnameh 1850 1855 The war shall cease\u2014though the T\u00far\u00e1nian brand 1860 Has spread dismay and terror through the land.\u201d 1865 The King, appeased, no more with vengeance burned,\t 1870 The Tartar legions to their homes returned; 1875 The Persian warriors, gathering round the dead, 1880 Grovelled in dust, and tears of sorrow shed; 1885 Then back to loved Ir\u00e1n their steps the monarch led. 1890 But Rustem, midst his native bands, remained,\t 1895 And further rites of sacrifice maintained; A thousand horses bled at his command, And the torn drums were scattered o\u2019er the sand; And now through Z\u00e1bul\u2019s deep and bowery groves, In mournful pomp the sad procession moves.\t The mighty Chief on foot precedes the bier; His Warrior-friends, in grief assembled near: The dismal cadence rose upon the gale, And Z\u00e1l astonished heard the piercing wail; He and his kindred joined the solemn train;\t Hung round the bier and wondering viewed the slain. \u201cThere gaze, and weep!\u201d the sorrowing Father said, \u201cFor there, behold my glorious offspring dead!\u201d The hoary Sire shrunk backward with surprise, And tears of blood o\u2019erflowed his aged eyes;\t And now the Champion\u2019s rural palace gate Receives the funeral group in gloomy state; R\u00fad\u00e1beh loud bemoaned the Stripling\u2019s doom; Sweet flower, all drooping in the hour of bloom, His tender youth in distant bowers had past,\t Sheltered at home he felt no withering blast; In the soft prison of his mother\u2019s arms, Secure from danger and the world\u2019s alarms. O ruthless Fortune! flushed with generous pride, He sought his sire, and thus unhappy, died.\t Rustem again the sacred bier unclosed; Again Sohr\u00e1b to public view exposed; Husbands, and wives, and warriors, old and young, Struck with amaze, around the body hung, With garments rent and loosely flowing hair;\t Their shrieks and clamours filled the echoing air; Frequent they cried: \u201cThus S\u00e1m the Champion slept! Thus sleeps Sohr\u00e1b!\u201d Again they groaned, and wept. Now o\u2019er the corpse a yellow robe is spread, The aloes bier is closed upon the dead;\t And, to preserve the hapless hero\u2019s name, Fragrant and fresh, that his unblemished fame Might live and bloom through all succeeding days, A mound sepulchral on the spot they raise, Formed like a charger\u2019s hoof.\t In every ear The story has been told\u2014and many a tear, Shed at the sad recital. Through T\u00far\u00e1n, Afr\u00e1siy\u00e1b\u2019s wide realm, and Sameng\u00e1n, 331","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 1900 Deep sunk the tidings\u2014nuptial bower, and bed,\t 1905 And all that promised happiness, had fled! 1910 But when Tahm\u00edneh heard this tale of woe, 1915 Think how a mother bore the mortal blow! 1920 Distracted, wild, she sprang from place to place; 1925 With frenzied hands deformed her beauteous face;\t 1930 The musky locks her polished temples crowned. 1935 Furious she tore, and flung upon the ground; 1940 Starting, in agony of grief, she gazed\u2014 Her swimming eyes to Heaven imploring raised; 1945 And groaning cried: \u201cSole comfort of my life!\t 1950 Doomed the sad victim of unnatural strife, Where art thou now with dust and blood defiled? Thou darling boy, my lost, my murdered child! When thou wert gone\u2014how, night and lingering day, Did thy fond mother watch the time away;\t For hope still pictured all I wished to see, Thy father found, and thou returned to me, Yes\u2014thou, exulting in thy father\u2019s fame! And yet, nor sire nor son, nor tidings, came: How could I dream of this? ye met\u2014but how?\t That noble aspect\u2014that ingenuous brow, Moved not a nerve in him\u2014ye met\u2014to part, Alas! the life-blood issuing from the heart Short was the day which gave to me delight, Soon, soon, succeeds a long and dismal night;\t On whom shall now devolve my tender care? Who, loved like thee, my bosom-sorrows share? Whom shall I take to fill thy vacant place, To whom extend a mother\u2019s soft embrace? Sad fate! for one so young, so fair, so brave,\t Seeking thy father thus to find a grave. These arms no more shall fold thee to my breast, No more with thee my soul be doubly blest; No, drowned in blood thy lifeless body lies, For ever torn from these desiring eyes;\t Friendless, alone, beneath a foreign sky, Thy mail thy death-clothes\u2014and thy father, by; Why did not I conduct thee on the way, And point where Rustem\u2019s bright pavilion lay? Thou hadst the tokens\u2014why didst thou withhold\t Those dear remembrances\u2014that pledge of gold? Hadst thou the bracelet to his view restored, Thy precious blood had never stained his sword.\u201d The strong emotion choked her panting breath, Her veins seemed withered by the cold of death:\t The trembling matrons hastening round her mourned, With piercing cries, till fluttering life returned; Then gazing up, distraught, she wept again, And frantic, seeing \u2018midst her pitying train, The favourite steed\u2014now more than ever dear,\t The hoofs she kissed, and bathed with many a tear; Clasping the mail Sohr\u00e1b in battle wore, With burning lips she kissed it o\u2019er and o\u2019er; His martial robes she in her arms comprest, 332","Shahnameh 1955 1960 And like an infant strained them to her breast;\t 1965 The reins, and trappings, club, and spear, were brought, The sword, and shield, with which the Stripling fought, These she embraced with melancholy joy, In sad remembrance of her darling boy. And still she beat her face, and o\u2019er them hung,\t As in a trance\u2014or to them wildly clung\u2014 Day after day she thus indulged her grief, Night after night, disdaining all relief; At length worn out\u2014from earthly anguish riven, The mother\u2019s spirit joined her child in Heaven.\t Sikander Failak\u00fas, before his death, placed the crown of sovereignty upon the head of Sikander, and appointed Arist\u00fa, who was one of the disciples of the great Afl\u00e1t\u00fan, his vizir. He cautioned him to pursue the path of virtue and rectitude, and to cast from his heart every feeling of vanity and pride; above all he implored him to be just and merciful, and said:\u2014 \u201cThink not that thou art wise, but ignorant, And ever listen to advice and counsel; We are but dust, and from the dust created; And what our lives but helplessness and sorrow!\u201d Sikander for a time attended faithfully to the instructions of his father, and to the counsel of Arist\u00fa, both in public and private affairs. Upon Sikander\u2019s elevation to the throne, D\u00e1r\u00e1 sent an envoy to him to claim the customary tribute, but he received for answer: \u201cThe time is past when R\u00fam acknowledged the superiority of Persia. It is now thy turn to pay tribute to R\u00fam. If my demand be refused, I will immediately invade thy dominions; and think not that I shall be satisfied with the conquest of Persia alone, the whole world shall be mine; therefore prepare for war.\u201d D\u00e1r\u00e1 had no alternative, not even submission, and accordingly assembled his army, for Sikander was already in full march against him. Upon the confines of Persia the armies came in sight of each other, when Sikander, in the assumed character of an envoy, was resolved to ascertain the exact condition of the enemy. With this view he entered the Persian camp, and D\u00e1r\u00e1 allowing the person whom he supposed an ambassador, to approach, enquired what mes- sage the king of R\u00fam had sent to him. \u201cHear me!\u201d said the pretended envoy: \u201cSikander has not invaded thy empire for the exclusive purpose of fighting, but to know its history, its laws, and customs, from personal inspection. His object is to travel through the whole world. Why then should he make war upon thee? Give him but a free passage through thy kingdom, and nothing more is required. However if it be thy wish to proceed to hostilities, he appre- hends nothing from the greatness of thy power.\u201d D\u00e1r\u00e1 was astonished at the majestic air and dignity of the envoy, never having witnessed his equal, and he anxiously said:\u2014 \u201cWhat is thy name, from whom art thou descended? For that commanding front, that fearless eye, Bespeaks illustrious birth. Art thou indeed Sikander, whom my fancy would believe thee, So eloquent in speech, in mien so noble?\u201d \u201cNo!\u201d said the envoy, \u201cno such rank is mine, Sikander holds among his numerous host Thousands superior to the humble slave Who stands before thee. It is not for me To put upon myself the air of kings, To ape their manners and their lofty state.\u201d D\u00e1r\u00e1 could not help smiling, and ordered refreshments and wine to be brought. He filled a cup and gave it to the envoy, who drank it off, but did not, according to custom, return the empty goblet to the cup-bearer. The cup-bearer demanded the cup, and D\u00e1r\u00e1 asked the envoy why he did not give it back. \u201cIt is the custom in my coun- try,\u201d said the envoy, \u201cwhen a cup is once given into an ambassador\u2019s hands, never to receive it back again.\u201d D\u00e1r\u00e1 was still more amused by this explanation, and presented to him another cup, and successively four, which the envoy did not fail to appropriate severally in the same way. In the evening a feast was held, and Sikander partook of the 333","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 delicious refreshments that had been prepared for him; but in the midst of the entertainment one of the persons present recognized him, and immediately whispered to D\u00e1r\u00e1 that his enemy was in his power. Sikander\u2019s sharp and cautious eye now marked The changing scene, and up he sprang, but first Snatched the four cups, and rushing from the tent, Vaulted upon his horse, and rode away. So instantaneous was the act, amazed The assembly rose, and presently a troop Was ordered in pursuit\u2014but night, dark night, Baffled their search, and checked their eager speed. As soon as he reached his own army, he sent for Arist\u00e1tal\u00eds and his courtiers, and exultingly displayed to them the four golden cups. \u201cThese,\u201d said he, \u201chave I taken from my enemy, I have taken them from his own table, and before his own eyes. His strength and numbers too I have ascer- tained, and my success is certain.\u201d No time was now lost in arrangements for the battle. The armies engaged, and they fought seven days without a decisive blow being struck. On the eighth, D\u00e1r\u00e1 was compelled to fly, and his legions, defeated and harassed, were pursued by the R\u00fam\u00eds with great slaughter to the banks of the Euphrates. Sikander now returned to take possession of the capital. In the meantime D\u00e1r\u00e1 collected his scat- tered forces together, and again tried his fortune, but he was again defeated. After his second success, the conqueror devoted himself so zealously to conciliate and win the affections of the people, that they soon ceased to remember their former king with any degree of attachment to his interests. Sikander said to them: \u201cPersia indeed is my inheritance: I am no stranger to you, for I am myself descended from D\u00e1r\u00e1b; you may therefore safely trust to my justice and pa- ternal care, in everything that concerns your welfare.\u201d The result was, that legion after legion united in his cause, and consolidated his power. When D\u00e1r\u00e1 was informed of the uni- Image 6.7: Ferdowsi and the Three Ghaznavid Court Poets | versal disaffection of his army, he said to Ferdowsi and several other people enjoy a colorful garden with small the remaining friends who were personally ponds. devoted to him: \u201cAlas! my subjects have Author: User \u201cNapoleon 100\u201d been deluded by the artful dissimulation Source: Wikimedia Commons and skill of Sikander; your next misfortune License: Public Domain will be the captivity of your wives and children. Yes, your wives and children will be made the slaves of the conquerors.\u201d A few troops, still faithful to their unfortunate king, offered to make another effort against the enemy, and D\u00e1r\u00e1 was too grateful and too brave to discountenance their enthusiastic fidelity, though with such little chance of success. A fragment of an army was consequently brought into action, and the result was what had been anticipated. D\u00e1r\u00e1 was again a fugitive; and after the defeat, escaped with three hundred men into the neighboring desert. Sikander 334","Shahnameh captured his wife and family, but magnanimously restored them to the unfortunate monarch, who, destitute of all further hope, now asked for a place of refuge in his own dominions, and for that he offered him all the buried treasure of his ancestors. Sikander, in reply, invited him to his presence; and promised to restore him to his throne, that he might himself be enabled to pursue other conquests; but D\u00e1r\u00e1 refused to go, although advised by his no- bles to accept the invitation. \u201cI am willing to put myself to death,\u201d said he with emotion, \u201cbut I cannot submit to this degradation. I cannot go before him, and thus personally acknowledge his authority over me.\u201d Resolved upon this point, he wrote to Fa\u00far, one of the sovereigns of Ind, to request his assistance, and Fa\u00far recommended that he should pay him a visit for the purpose of concerting what measures should be adopted. This correspondence having come to the knowledge of Sikander, he took care that his enemy should be intercepted in whatever direction he might proceed. D\u00e1r\u00e1 had two ministers, named Mahiy\u00e1r and Jam\u00fasip\u00e1r, who, finding that according to the predictions of the astrologers their master would in a few days fall into the hands of Sikander, consulted together, and thought they had better put him to death themselves, in order that they might get into favor with Sikander. It was night, and the soldiers of the escort were dispersed at various distances, and the vizirs were stationed on each side of the king. As they travelled on, Jam\u00fasip\u00e1r took an opportunity of plunging his dagger into D\u00e1r\u00e1\u2019s side, and Mahiy\u00e1r gave anoth- er blow, which felled the monarch to the ground. They immediately sent the tidings of this event to Sikander, who hastened to the spot, and the opening daylight presented to his view the wounded king. Dismounting quickly, he in sorrow placed The head of D\u00e1r\u00e1 on his lap, and wept In bitterness of soul, to see that form Mangled with ghastly wounds. D\u00e1r\u00e1 still breathed; and when he lifted up his eyes and beheld Sikander, he groaned deeply. Sikander said, \u201cRise up, that we may convey thee to a place of safety, and apply the proper remedies to thy wounds.\u201d\u2014\u201cAlas!\u201d replied D\u00e1r\u00e1, \u201cthe time for remedies is past. I leave thee to Heaven, and may thy reign give peace and happiness to the empire.\u201d\u2014\u201cNever,\u201d said Sikander, \u201cnever did I desire to see thee thus mangled and fallen\u2014never to witness this sight! If the Almighty should spare thy life, thou shalt again be the monarch of Persia, and I will go from hence. On my mother\u2019s word, thou and I are sons of the same father. It is this brotherly affection which now wrings my heart!\u201d Saying this, the tears chased each other down his cheeks in such abundance that they fell upon the face of D\u00e1r\u00e1. Again, he said, \u201cThy murderers shall meet with merited vengeance, they shall be punished to the uttermost.\u201d D\u00e1r\u00e1 blessed him, and said, \u201cMy end is approaching, but thy sweet discourse and consoling kindness have banished all my grief. I shall now die with a mind at rest. Weep no more\u2014 \u201cMy course is finished, thine is scarce begun; But hear my dying wish, my last request: Preserve the honour of my family, Preserve it from disgrace. I have a daughter Dearer to me than life, her name is Roshung; Espouse her, I beseech thee\u2014and if Heaven Should bless thee with a boy, O! let his name be Isfendiy\u00e1r, that he may propagate With zeal the sacred doctrines of Zerdusht, The Zendavesta, then my soul will be Happy in Heaven; and he, at N\u00e1u-r\u00faz tide, Will also hold the festival I love, And at the altar light the Holy Fire; Nor will he cease his labour, till the faith Of Lohur\u00e1sp be everywhere accepted, And everywhere believed the true religion.\u201d Sikander promised that he would assuredly fulfil the wishes he had expressed, and then D\u00e1r\u00e1 placed the palm of his brother\u2019s hand on his mouth, and shortly afterwards expired. Sikander again wept bitterly, and then the body was placed on a golden couch, and he attended it in sorrow to the grave. After the burial of D\u00e1r\u00e1, the two ministers, Jam\u00fasip\u00e1r and Mahiy\u00e1r, were brought near the tomb, and executed upon the dar. 335","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 Just vengeance upon the guilty head, For they their generous monarch\u2019s blood had shed. Sikander had now no rival to the throne of Persia, and he commenced his government under the most favor- able auspices. He continued the same customs and ordinances which were handed down to him, and retained every one in his established rank and occupation. He gladdened the heart by his justice and liberality. Keeping in mind his promise to D\u00e1r\u00e1, he now wrote to the mother of Roshung, and communicating to her the dying solicitations of the king, requested her to send Roshung to him, that he might fulfil the last wish of his brother. The wife of D\u00e1r\u00e1 immediately complied with the command, and sent her daughter with various presents to Sikander, and she was on her arrival married to the conqueror, acceding to the customs and laws of the empire. Sikander loved her exceed- ingly, and on her account remained some time in Persia, but he at length determined to proceed into Ind to con- quer that country of enchanters and enchantment. On approaching Ind he wrote to Kaid, summoning him to surrender his kingdom, and received from him the following answer: \u201cI will certainly submit to thy authority, but I have four things which no other person in the world possesses, and which I cannot relinquish. I have a daughter, beautiful as an angel of Paradise, a wise minis- ter, a skilful physician, and a goblet of inestimable value!\u201d Upon receiving this extraordinary reply, Sikander again addressed a letter to him, in which he peremptorily required all these things immediately. Kaid not daring to refuse, or make any attempt at evasion, reluctantly complied with the requisition. Sikander received the minister and the physician with great politeness and attention, and in the evening held a splendid feast, at which he espoused the beautiful daughter of Kaid, and taking the goblet from her hands, drank off the wine with which it was filled. After that, Kaid himself waited upon Sikander, and personally acknowledged his authority and dominion. Sikander then proceeded to claim the allegiance and homage of Fa\u00far, the king of Kan\u00faj, and wrote to him to submit to his power; but Fa\u00far returned a haughty answer, saying:\u2014 \u201cKaid Ind\u00ed is a coward to obey thee, But I am Fa\u00far, descended from a race Of matchless warriors; and shall I submit, And to a Greek!\u201d Sikander was highly incensed at this bold reply. The force he had now with him amounted to eighty thousand men; that is, thirty thousand Ir\u00e1nians, forty thousand R\u00fam\u00eds, and ten thousand Ind\u00eds. Fa\u00far had sixty thousand horsemen, and two thousand elephants. The troops of Sikander were greatly terrified at the sight of so many ele- phants, which gave the enemy such a tremendous superiority. Arist\u00e1tal\u00eds, and some other ingenious counsellors, were requested to consult together to contrive some means of counteracting the power of the war-elephants, and they suggested the construction of an iron horse, and the figure of a rider also of iron, to be placed upon wheels like a carriage, and drawn by a number of horses. A soldier, clothed in iron armor, was to follow the vehicle\u2014his hands and face besmeared with combustible matter, and this soldier, armed with a long staff, was at an appointed signal, to pierce the belly of the horse and also of the rider, previously filled with combustibles, so that when the ignited point came in contact with them, the whole engine would make a tremendous explosion and blaze in the air. Sikander approved of this invention, and collected all the blacksmiths and artisans in the country to construct a thousand machines of this description with the utmost expedition, and as soon as they were completed, he prepared for action. Fa\u00far too pushed forward with his two thousand elephants in advance; but when the Kan\u00fajians beheld such a formidable array they were surprised, and Fa\u00far anxiously inquired from his spies what it could be. Upon being told that it was Sikander\u2019s artillery, his troops pushed the elephants against the enemy with vigor, at which moment the combustibles were fired by the R\u00fam\u00eds, and the machinery exploding, many elephants were burnt and destroyed, and the remainder, with the troops, fled in confusion. Sikander then encountered Fa\u00far, and after a severe contest, slew him, and became ruler of the kingdom of Kan\u00faj. After the conquest of Kan\u00faj, Sikander went to Mekka, carrying thither rich presents and offerings. From thence he proceeded to another city, where he was received with great homage by the most illustrious of the nation. He enquired of them if there was anything wonderful or extraordinary in their country, that he might go to see it, and they replied that there were two trees in the kingdom, one a male, the other a female, from which a voice proceed- ed. The male-tree spoke in the day, and the female-tree in the night, and whoever had a wish, went thither to have his desires accomplished. Sikander immediately repaired to the spot, and approaching it, he hoped in his heart that a considerable part of his life still remained to be enjoyed. When he came under the tree, a terrible sound arose and rung in his ears, and he asked the people present what it meant. The attendant priest said it implied that fourteen years of his life still remained. Sikander, at this interpretation of the prophetic sound, wept and the burning tears 336","Shahnameh ran down his cheeks. Again he asked, \u201cShall I return to R\u00fam, and see my mother and children before I die?\u201d and the answer was, \u201cThou wilt die at Kash\u00e1n. \u201cNor mother, nor thy family at home Wilt thou behold again, for thou wilt die, Closing thy course of glory at Kash\u00e1n.\u201d Sikander left the place in sorrow, and pursued his way towards R\u00fam. In his progress he arrived at another city, and the inhabitants gave him the most honorable welcome, representing to him, however, that they were dreadfully afflicted by the presence of two demons or giants, who constantly assailed them in the night, devouring men and goats and whatever came in their way. Sikander asked their names; and they replied, Y\u00e1juj and M\u00e1juj (Gog and Ma- gog). He immediately ordered a barrier to be erected five hundred yards high, and three hundred yards wide, and when it was finished he went away. The giants, notwithstanding all their efforts, were unable to scale this barrier, and in consequence the inhabitants pursued their occupations without the fear of molestation. To scenes of noble daring still he turned His ardent spirit\u2014for he knew not fear. Still he led on his legions\u2014and now came To a strange place, where countless numbers met His wondering view\u2014countless inhabitants Crowding the city streets, and neighbouring plains; And in the distance presently he saw A lofty mountain reaching to the stars. Onward proceeding, at its foot he found A guardian-dragon, terrible in form, Ready with open jaws to crush his victim; But unappalled, Sikander him beholding With steady eye, which scorned to turn aside, Sprang forward, and at once the monster slew. Ascending then the mountain, many a ridge, Oft resting on the way, he reached the summit, Where the dead corse of an old saint appeared Wrapt in his grave-clothes, and in gems imbedded. In gold and precious jewels glittering round, Seeming to show what man is, mortal man! Wealth, worldly pomp, the baubles of ambition, All left behind, himself a heap of dust! None ever went upon that mountain top, But sought for knowledge; and Sikander hoped When he had reached its cloudy eminence, To see the visions of futurity Arise from that departed, holy man! And soon he heard a voice: \u201cThy time is nigh! Yet may I thy career on earth unfold. It will be thine to conquer many a realm, Win many a crown; thou wilt have many friends And numerous foes, and thy devoted head Will be uplifted to the very heavens. Renowned and glorious shalt thou be; thy name Immortal; but, alas! thy time is nigh!\u201d At these prophetic words Sikander wept, And from that ominous mountain hastened down. 337","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 After that Sikander journeyed on to the city of Kash\u00e1n, where he fell sick, and in a few days, according to the ora- cle and the prophecy, expired. He had scarcely breathed his last, when Arist\u00fa, and Bilniy\u00e1s the physician, and his fami- ly, entered Kash\u00e1n, and found him dead. They beat their faces, and tore their hair, and mourned for him forty days. The Thousand and One Nights First published ca. 879 C.E. Middle East and India The Thousand and One Nights is a collection of mostly Middle Eastern and Indian stories, written in Arabic. Within a frame narrative, it contains numerous stories from different cultures in these regions. The first appearance of a physical fragment of The Thousand and One Nights dates from 879 C.E., and the next evidence was mentioned in the 10th century. By the mid-twentieth century, six different forms had been recognized. The French transla- tion in 1704 by Antoine Galland was the first European translation. English translations of the text began in the nineteenth century, and early English translations sanitized parts of the stories. Based on popular oral storytelling traditions, the stories tend to have improvisational, sensuous, and enchanting qualities. Written by Kyounghye Kwon Selections from Thousand and One Nights License: Public Domain Anonymous, translated by Edward William Lane Introduction In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God, the Beneficent King, the Creator of the universe, who hath raised the heavens without pil- lars, and spread out the earth as abed; and blessing and peace be on the lord of apostles, our lord and our master Mo\u1e25ammad, and his Family; blessing and peace, enduring and constant, unto the day of judgment. To proceed:\u2014The lives of former generations are a lesson to posterity; that a man may review the remarkable events which have happened to others, and be admonished; and may consider the history of people of preceding ages, and of all that hath befallen them, and be restrained. Extolled be the perfection of Him who hath thus or- dained the history of former generations to be a lesson to those which follow. Such are the Tales of a Thousand and One Nights, with their romantic stories and their fables. It is related (but God alone is all-knowing, as well as all-wise, and almighty, and all-bountiful,) that there was, in ancient times, a King of the countries of India and China, possessing numerous troops, and guards, and servants, and domestic dependents: and he had two sons; one of whom was a man of mature age; and the other, a youth. Both of these princes were brave horsemen; but especially the elder, who inherited the kingdom of his father; and governed his subjects with such justice that the inhabitants of his country and whole empire loved him. He was called King Shahriy\u00e1r: his younger brother was named Sh\u00e1h-Zem\u00e1n, and was King of Samar\u1e33and. The administra- tion of their governments was conducted with rectitude, each of them ruling over his subjects with justice during a period of twenty years with the utmost enjoyment and happiness. After this period, the elder King felt a strong desire to see his brother, and ordered his Wezeer to repair to him and bring him. Having taken the advice of the Wezeer on this subject, he immediately gave orders to prepare handsome presents, such as horses adorned with gold and costly jewels, and memlooks, and beautiful virgins, and expensive stuffs. He then wrote a letter to his brother, expressive of his great desire to see him; and having sealed it, and given it to the Wezeer, together with the presents above mentioned, he ordered the minister to strain his nerves, and tuck up his skirts, and use all expedition in returning. The Wezeer answered, without delay, I hear and obey; and forth- with prepared for the journey: he packed his baggage, removed the burdens, and made ready all his provisions within three days; and on the fourth day, he took leave of the King Shahriy\u00e1r, and went forth towards the deserts and wastes. He proceeded night and day; and each of the kings under the authority of King Shahriy\u00e1r by whose residence he passed came forth to meet him, with costly presents, and gifts of gold and silver, and entertained him three days; after which, on the fourth day, he accompanied him one day\u2019s journey, and took leave of him. Thus he continued on his way until he drew near to the city of Samar\u1e33and, when he sent forward a messenger to inform King Sh\u00e1h-Zem\u00e1n of his approach. The messenger entered the city, inquired the way to the palace, and, introducing himself to the King, kissed the ground before him, and acquainted him with the approach of his brother\u2019s Wezeer; 338","The Thousand and One Nights Image 6.8: Sheherazade and Sultan Schariar | Sheherazade, the Sultan\u2019s most recent wife, tells him one of her many stories. Author: Ferdinand Keller Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain upon which Sh\u00e1h-Zem\u00e1n ordered the chief officers of his court, and the great men of his kingdom, to go forth a day\u2019s journey to meet him; and they did so; and when they met him, they welcomed him, and walked by his stirrups until they returned to the city. The Wezeer then presented himself before the King Sh\u00e1h-Zem\u00e1n, greeted him with a prayer for the divine assistance in his favour, kissed the ground before him, and informed him of his brother\u2019s desire to see him; after which he handed to him the letter. The King took it, read it, and understood its contents; and answered by expressing his readiness to obey the commands of his brother. But, said he (addressing the Wezeer), I will not go until I have entertained thee three days. Accordingly, he lodged him in a palace befitting his rank, accommodated his troops in tents, and appointed them all things requisite in the way of food and drink: and so they remained three days. On the fourth day, he equipped himself for the journey, made ready his baggage, and collected together costly presents suitable to his brother\u2019s dignity. These preparations being completed, he sent forth his tents and camels and mules and servants and guards, appointed his Wezeer to be governor of the country during his absence, and set out towards his brother\u2019s domin- ions. At midnight, however, he remembered that he had left in his palace an article which he should have brought with him; and having returned to the palace to fetch it, he there beheld his wife sleeping in his bed, and attended by a male negro slave, who had fallen asleep by her side. On beholding this scene, the world became black before his eyes; and he said within himself, If this is the case when I have not departed from the city, what will be the conduct 339","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 of this vile woman while I am sojourning with my brother? He then drew his sword, and slew them both in the bed: after which he immediately returned, gave orders for departure, and journeyed to his brother\u2019s capital. Shahriy\u00e1r, rejoicing at the tidings of his approach, went forth to meet him, saluted him, and welcomed him with the utmost delight. He then ordered that the city should be decorated on the occasion, and sat down to enter- tain his brother with cheerful conversation: but the mind of King Sh\u00e1h-Zem\u00e1n was distracted by reflections upon the conduct of his wife; excessive grief took possession of him; and his countenance became sallow; and his frame, emaciated. His brother observed his altered condition, and, imagining that it was occasioned by his absence from his dominions, abstained from troubling him or asking respecting the cause, until after the lapse of some days, when at length he said to him, O my brother, I perceive that thy body is emaciated, and thy countenance is become sallow. He answered, O brother, I have an internal sore:\u2014and he informed him not of the conduct of his wife which he had witnessed. Shahriy\u00e1r then said, I wish that thou wouldest go out with me on a hunting excursion; perhaps thy mind might so be diverted:\u2014but he declined; and Shahriy\u00e1r went alone to the chase. Now there were some windows in the King\u2019s palace commanding a view of his garden; and while his brother was looking out from one of these, a door of the palace was opened, and there came forth from it twenty females and twenty male black slaves; and the King\u2019s wife, who was distinguished by extraordinary beauty and elegance, accompanied them to a fountain, where they all disrobed themselves, and sat down together. The King\u2019s wife then called out, O Mes\u2019ood! and immediately a black slave came to her, and embraced her; she doing the like. So also did the other slaves and the women; and all of them continued revelling together until the close of the day. When Sh\u00e1h- Zem\u00e1n beheld this spectacle, he said within himself, By Allah! my affliction is lighter than this! His vexation and grief were alleviated, and he no longer abstained from sufficient food and drink. When his brother returned from his excursion, and they had saluted each other, and King Shahriy\u00e1r observed his brother Sh\u00e1h-Zem\u00e1n, that his colour had returned, that his face had recovered the flush of health, and that he ate with appetite, after his late abstinence, he was surprised, and said, O my brother, when I saw thee last, thy countenance was sallow, and now thy colour hath returned to thee: acquaint me with thy state.\u2014As to the change of my natural complexion, answered Sh\u00e1h-Zem\u00e1n, I will inform thee of its cause; but excuse my explaining to thee the return of my colour.\u2014First, said Shahriy\u00e1r, relate to me the cause of the change of thy proper complexion, and of thy weakness: let me hear it.\u2014Know then, O my brother, he answered, that when thou sentest thy Wezeer to me to invite me to thy presence, I prepared myself for the journey, and when I had gone forth from the city, I remem- bered that I had left behind me the jewel that I have given thee; I therefore returned to my palace for it, and there I found my wife sleeping in my bed, and attended by a black male slave; and I killed them both, and came to thee: but my mind was occupied by reflections upon this affair, and this was the cause of the change of my complexion, and of my weakness: now, as to the return of my colour, excuse my informing thee of its cause.\u2014But when his brother heard these words, he said, I conjure thee by Allah that thou acquaint me with the cause of the return of thy colour:\u2014so he repeated to him all that he had seen. I would see this, said Shahriy\u00e1r, with my own eye.\u2014Then, said Sh\u00e1h-Zem\u00e1n, give out that thou art going again to the chase, and conceal thyself here with me, and thou shalt witness this conduct, and obtain ocular proof of it. Shahriy\u00e1r, upon this, immediately announced that it was his intention to make another excursion. The troops went out of the city with the tents, and the King followed them; and after he had reposed awhile in the camp, he said to his servants, Let no one come in to me:\u2014and he disguised himself, and returned to his brother in the palace, and sat in one of the windows overlooking the garden; and when he had been there a short time, the women and their mistress entered the garden with the black slaves, and did as his brother had described, continuing so until the hour of the afternoon-prayer. When King Shahriy\u00e1r beheld this occurrence, reason fled from his head, and he said to his brother Sh\u00e1h- Zem\u00e1n, Arise, and let us travel whither we please, and renounce the regal state, until we see whether such a calami- ty as this have befallen any other person like unto us; and if not, our death will be preferable to our life. His brother agreed to his proposal, and they went out from a private door of the palace, and journeyed continually, days and nights, until they arrived at a tree in the midst of a meadow, by a spring of water, on the shore of the sea. They drank of this spring, and sat down to rest; and when the day had a little advanced, the sea became troubled before them, and there arose from it a black pillar, ascending towards the sky, and approaching the meadow. Struck with fear at the sight, they climbed up into the tree, which was lofty; and thence they gazed to see what this might be: and be- hold, it was a Jinnee, of gigantic stature, broad-fronted and bulky, bearing on his head a chest. He landed, and came to the tree into which the two Kings had climbed, and, having seated himself beneath it, opened the chest, and took out of it another box, which he also opened; and there came forth from it a young woman, fair and beautiful, like the shining sun. When the Jinnee cast his eyes upon her, he said, O lady of noble race, whom I carried off on thy wedding-night, I have a desire to sleep a little:\u2014and he placed his head upon her knee, and slept. The damsel then raised her head towards the tree, and saw there the two Kings; upon which she removed the head of the Jinnee from her knee, and, having placed it on the ground, stood under the tree, and made signs to the two Kings, as though she 340","The Thousand and One Nights would say, Come down, and fear not this \u2018Efreet. They answered her, We conjure thee by Allah that thou excuse us in this matter. But she said, I conjure you by the same that ye come down; and if ye do not, I will rouse this \u2018Efreet, and he shall put you to a cruel death. So, being afraid, they came down to her; and, after they had remained with her as long as she required, she took from her pocket a purse, and drew out from this a string, upon which were ninety-eight seal-rings; and she said to them, Know ye what are these? They answered, We know not.\u2014The owners of these rings, said she, have, all of them, been admitted to converse with me, like as ye have, unknown to this fool- ish \u2018Efreet; therefore, give me your two rings, ye brothers. So they gave her their two rings from their fingers; and she then said to them, This \u2018Efreet carried me off on my wedding-night, and put me in the box, and placed the box in the chest, and affixed to the chest seven locks, and deposited me, thus imprisoned, in the bottom of the roaring sea, beneath the dashing waves; not knowing that, when one of our sex desires to accomplish any object, nothing can prevent her. In accordance with this, says one of the poets:\u2014 Never trust in women; nor rely upon their vows; For their pleasure and displeasure depend upon their passions. They offer a false affection; for perfidy lurks within their clothing. By the tale of Yoosuf be admonished, and guard against their stratagems. Dost thou not consider that Iblees ejected Adam by means of woman? And another poet says:\u2014 Abstain from censure; for it will strengthen the censured, and increase desire into violent passion. If I suffer such passion, my case is but the same as that of many a man before me: For greatly indeed to be wondered at is he who hath kept himself safe fromwomen\u2019s artifice. When the two Kings heard these words from her lips, they were struck with the utmost astonishment, and said, one to the other, If this is an \u2018Efreet, and a greater calamity hath happened unto him than that which hath befallen us, this is a circumstance that should console us:\u2014and immediately they departed, and returned to the city. As soon as they had entered the palace, Shahriy\u00e1r caused his wife to be beheaded, and in like manner the wom- en and black slaves; and thenceforth he made it his regular custom, every time that he took a virgin to his bed, to kill her at the expiration of the night. Thus he continued to do during a period of three years; and the people raised an outcry against him, and fled with their daughters, and there remained not a virgin in the city of a sufficient age for marriage. Such was the case when the King ordered the Wezeer to bring him a virgin according to his custom; and the Wezeer went forth and searched, and found none; and he went back to his house enraged and vexed, fear- ing what the King might do to him. Now the Wezeer had two daughters; the elder of whom was named Shahraz\u00e1d; and the younger, Duny\u00e1z\u00e1d. The former had read various books of histories, and the lives of preceding kings, and stories of past generations: it is asserted that she had collected together a thousand books of histories, relating to preceding generations and kings, and works of the poets: and she said to her father on this occasion, Why do I see thee thus changed, and oppressed with solicitude and sorrows? It has been said by one of the poets:\u2014 Tell him who is oppressed with anxiety, that anxiety will not last: As happiness passeth away, so passeth away anxiety. When the Wezeer heard these words from his daughter, he related to her all that had happened to him with regard to the King: upon which she said, By Allah, O my father, give me in marriage to this King: either I shall die, and be a ransom for one of the daughters of the Muslims, or I shall live, and be the cause of their deliverance from him.\u2014I conjure thee by Allah, exclaimed he, that thou expose not thyself to such peril:\u2014but she said, It must be so. Then, said he, I fear for thee that the same will befall thee that happened in the case of the ass and the bull and the husbandman.\u2014And what, she asked, was that, O my father. Know, O my daughter, said the Wezeer, that there was a certain merchant, who possessed wealth and cattle, and had a wife and children; and God, whose name be exalted, had also endowed him with the knowledge of the languages of beasts and birds. The abode of this merchant was in the country; and he had, in his house, an ass and a bull. When the bull came to the place where the ass was tied, he found it swept and sprinkled; in his manger were sifted barley and sifted cut straw, and the ass was lying at his ease; his master being accustomed only to ride him oc- casionally, when business required, and soon to return: and it happened, one day, that the merchant overheard the bull saying to the ass, May thy food benefit thee! I am oppressed with fatigue, while thou art enjoying repose: thou eatest sifted barley, and men serve thee; and it is only occasionally that thy master rides thee, and returns; while I 341","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 am continually employed in ploughing, and turning the mill.\u2014The ass answered, When thou goest out to the field, and they place the yoke upon thy neck, lie down, and do not rise again, even if they beat thee; or, if thou rise, lie down a second time; and when they take thee back, and place the beans before thee, eat them not, as though thou wert sick: abstain from eating and drinking a day, or two days, or three; and so shalt thou find rest from trouble and labour.\u2014Accordingly, when the driver came to the bull with his fodder, he ate scarcely any of it; and on the morrow, when the driver came again to take him to plough, he found him apparently quite infirm: so the merchant said, Take the ass, and make him draw the plough in his stead all the day. The man did so; and when the ass returned at the close of the day, the bull thanked him for the favour he had conferred upon him by relieving him of his trouble on that day; but the ass returned him no answer, for he repented most grievously. On the next day, the ploughman came again, and took the ass, and ploughed with him till evening; and the ass returned with his neck flayed by the yoke, and reduced to an extreme state of weakness; and the bull looked upon him, and thanked and praised him. The ass exclaimed, I was living at ease, and nought but my meddling hath injured me! Then said he to the bull, Know that I am one who would give thee good advice: I heard our master say, If the bull rise not from his place, take him to the butcher, that he may kill him, and make a na\u1e6d\u1ea1 of his skin:\u2014I am therefore in fear for thee, and so I have given thee advice; and peace be on thee!\u2014When the bull heard these words of the ass, he thanked him, and said, To-morrow I will go with alacrity:\u2014so he ate the whole of his fodder, and even licked the manger.\u2014Their master, meanwhile, was listening to their conversation. On the following morning, the merchant and his wife went to the bull\u2019s crib, and sat down there; and the driver came, and took out the bull; and when the bull saw his master, he shook his tail, and showed his alacrity by sounds and actions, bounding about in such a manner that the merchant laughed until he fell backwards. His wife, in sur- prise, asked him, At what dost thou laugh? He answered, At a thing that I have heard and seen; but I cannot reveal it; for if I did, I should die. She said, Thou must inform me of the cause of thy laughter, even if thou die.\u2014I cannot reveal it, said he: the fear of death prevents me.\u2014Thou laughedst only at me, she said; and she ceased not to urge and importune him until he was quite overcome and distracted. So he called together his children, and sent for the \u1e32\u00e1\u1e0dee and witnesses, that he might make his will, and reveal the secret to her, and die: for he loved her excessively, since she was the daughter of his paternal uncle, and the mother of his children, and he had lived with her to the age of a hundred and twenty years. Having assembled her family and his neighbours, he related to them his story, and told them that as soon as he revealed his secret he must die; upon which every one present said to her, We con- jure thee by Allah that thou give up this affair, and let not thy husband, and the father of thy children, die. But she said, I will not desist until he tell me, though he die for it. So they ceased to solicit her; and the merchant left them, and went to the stable to perform the ablution, and then to return, and tell them the secret, and die. Now he had a cock, with fifty hens under him, and he had also a dog; and he heard the dog call to the cock, and reproach him, saying, Art thou happy when our master is going to die? The cock asked, How so?\u2014and the dog related to him the story; upon which the cock exclaimed, By Allah! our master has little sense: I have fifty wives; and I please this, and provoke that; while he has but one wife, and cannot manage this affair with her: why does he not take some twigs of the mulberry-tree, and enter her chamber, and beat her until she dies or repents? She would nev- er, after that, ask him a question respecting anything.\u2014And when the merchant heard the words of the cock, as he addressed the dog, he recovered his reason, and made up his mind to beat her.\u2014Now, said the Wezeer to his daugh- ter Shahraz\u00e1d, perhaps I may do to thee as the merchant did to his wife. She asked, And what did he? He answered, He entered her chamber, after he had cut off some twigs of the mulberry-tree, and hidden them there; and then said to her, Come into the chamber, that I may tell thee the secret while no one sees me, and then die:\u2014and when she had entered, he locked the chamber-door upon her, and beat her until she became almost senseless and cried out, I repent:\u2014and she kissed his hands and his feet, and repented, and went out with him; and all the company, and her own family, rejoiced; and they lived together in the happiest manner until death. When the Wezeer\u2019s daughter heard the words of her father, she said to him, It must be as I have requested. So he arrayed her, and went to the King Shahriy\u00e1r. Now she had given directions to her young sister, saying to her, When I have gone to the King, I will send to request thee to come; and when thou comest to me, and seest a convenient time, do thou say to me, O my sister, relate to me some strange story to beguile our waking hour:\u2014and I will relate to thee a story that shall, if it be the will of God, be the means of procuring deliverance. Her father, the Wezeer, then took her to the King, who, when he saw him, was rejoiced, and said, Hast thou brought me what I desired? He answered, Yes. When the King, therefore, introduced himself to her, she wept; and he said to her, What aileth thee? She answered, O King, I have a young sister, and I wish to take leave of her. So the King sent to her; and she came to her sister, and embraced her, and sat near the foot of the bed; and after she had waited for a proper opportunity, she said, By Allah! O my sister, relate to us a story to beguile the waking hour of our night. Most willingly, answered Shahraz\u00e1d, if this virtuous King permit me. And the King, hearing these words, and being restless, was pleased with the idea of listening to the story; and thus, on the first night of the thousand and one, Shahraz\u00e1d commenced her recitations. 342","The Thousand and One Nights Chapter I Commencing with the first night, and ending with the part of the third. The Story of the Merchant and the Jinnee It has been related to me, O happy King, said Shahraz\u00e1d, that there was a certain merchant who had great wealth, and traded extensively with surrounding countries; and one day he mounted his horse, and journeyed to a neighbouring country to collect what was due to him, and, the heat oppressing him, he sat under a tree, in a garden, and put his hand into his saddle-bag, and ate a morsel of bread and a date which were among his provisions. Having eaten the date, he threw aside the stone, and immediately there appeared before him an \u2018Efreet, of enormous height, who, holding a drawn sword in his hand, approached him, and said, Rise, that I may kill thee, as thou hast killed my son. The merchant asked him, How have I killed thy son? He answered, When thou atest the date, and threwest aside the stone, it struck my son upon the chest, and, as fate had decreed against him, he instantly died. The merchant, on hearing these words, exclaimed, Verily to God we belong, and verily to Him we must return! There is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great! If I killed him, I did it not intentionally, but without knowing it; and I trust in thee that thou wilt pardon me.\u2014The Jinnee answered, Thy death is indispensable, as thou hast killed my son:\u2014and so saying, he dragged him, and threw him on the ground, and raised his arm to strike him with the sword. The merchant, upon this, wept bitterly, and said to the Jinnee, I commit my affair unto God, for no one can avoid what He hath decreed:\u2014and he continued his lamentation, repeating the following verses:\u2014 Time consists of two days; this, bright; and that, gloomy: and life, of two moieties; this, safe; and that, fearful. Say to him who hath taunted us on account of misfortunes, Doth fortune oppose any but the eminent? Dost thou not observe that corpses float upon the sea, whilethe precious pearls remain in its furthest depths? When the hands of time play with us, misfortune is imparted to us by its protracted kiss. In the heaven are stars that cannot be numbered; but none is eclipsed save the sun and the moon. How many green and dry trees are on the earth; but none is assailed with stones save that which beareth fruit! Thou thoughtest well of the days when they went well with thee, and fearedst not the evil that destiny was bringing. \u2014When he had finished reciting these verses, the Jinnee said to him, Spare thy words, for thy death is unavoidable. Then said the merchant, Know, O \u2018Efreet, that I have debts to pay, and I have much property, and children, and a wife, and I have pledges also in my possession: let me, therefore, go back to my house, and give to every one his due, and then I will return to thee: I bind myself by a vow and covenant that I will return to thee, and thou shalt do what thou wilt; and God is witness of what I say.\u2014Upon this, the Jinnee accepted his covenant, and liberated him; granting him a respite until the expiration of the year. The merchant, therefore, returned to his town, accomplished all that was upon his mind to do, paid every one what he owed him, and informed his wife and children of the event which had befallen him; upon hearing which, they and all his family and women wept. He appointed a guardian over his children, and remained with his family until the end of the year; when he took his grave-clothes under his arm, bade farewell to his household and neigh- bours, and all his relations, and went forth, in spite of himself; his family raising cries of lamentation, and shrieking. He proceeded until he arrived at the garden before mentioned; and it was the first day of the new year; and as he sat, weeping for the calamity which he expected soon to befall him, a sheykh, advanced in years, approached him, leading a gazelle with a chain attached to its neck. This sheykh saluted the merchant, wishing him a long life, and said to him, What is the reason of thy sitting alone in this place, seeing that it is a resort of the Jinn? The merchant therefore informed him of what had befallen him with the \u2018Efreet, and of the cause of his sitting there; at which the sheykh, the owner of the gazelle, was astonished, and said, By Allah, O my brother, thy faithfulness is great, and thy story is wonderful! if it were engraved upon the intellect, it would be a lesson to him who would be admonished!\u2014And he sat down by his side, and said, By Allah, O my brother, I will not quit this place until I see what will happen unto thee with this \u2018Efreet. So he sat down, and conversed with him. And the merchant became almost senseless; fear entered him, and terror, and violent grief, and excessive anxiety. And as the owner of the gazelle sat by his side, lo, a second sheykh approached them, with two black hounds, and inquired of them, after saluting them, the reason of their sitting in that place, seeing that it was a resort of the J\u00e1nn: and they told him the story from beginning to end. And he had hardly sat down when there approached them a third sheykh, with a dap- ple mule; and he asked them the same question, which was answered in the same manner. Immediately after, the dust was agitated, and became an enormous revolving pillar, approaching them from the midst of the desert; and this dust subsided, and behold, the Jinnee, with a drawn sword in his hand; his eyes casting forth sparks of fire. He came to them, and dragged from them the merchant, and said to him, Rise, that I may kill 343","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 thee, as thou killedst my son, the vital spirit of my heart. And the merchant wailed and wept; and the three sheykhs also manifested their sorrow by weeping and crying aloud and wailing: but the first sheykh, who was the owner of the gazelle, recovering his self-possession, kissed the hand of the \u2018Efreet, and said to him, O thou Jinnee, and crown of the kings of the J\u00e1nn, if I relate to thee the story of myself and this gazelle, and thou find it to be wonder- ful, and more so than the adventure of this merchant, wilt thou give up to me a third of thy claim to his blood? He answered, Yes, O sheykh; if thou relate to me the story, and I find it to be as thou hast said, I will give up to thee a third of my claim to his blood. The Story of the First Sheykh and the Gazelle Then said the sheykh, Know, O \u2018Efreet, that this gazelle is the daughter of my paternal uncle, and she is of my flesh and my blood. I took her as my wife when she was young, and lived with her about thirty years; but I was not blessed with a child by her; so I took to me a concubine slave, and by her I was blessed with a male child, like the rising full moon, with beautiful eyes, and delicately-shaped eyebrows, and perfectly-formed limbs; and he grew up by little and little until he attained the age of fifteen years. At this period, I unexpectedly had occasion to journey to a certain city, and went thither with a great stock of merchandise. Now my cousin, this gazelle, had studied enchantment and divination from her early years; and during my absence, she transformed the youth above mentioned into a calf; and his mother, into a cow; and committed them to the care of the herdsman: and when I returned, after a long time, from my journey, I asked after my son and his mother, and she said, Thy slave is dead, and thy son hath fled, and I know not whither he is gone. After hearing this, I remained for the space of a year with mourning heart and weeping eye, until the Festival of the Sacrifice; when I sent to the herdsman, and ordered him to choose for me a fat cow; and he brought me one, and it was my concubine, whom this gazelle had enchanted. I tucked up my skirts and sleeves, and took the knife in my hand, and prepared myself to slaughter her; upon which she moaned and cried so violently that I left her, and ordered the herdsman to kill and skin her: and he did so, but found in her neither fat nor flesh, nor anything but skin and bone; and I repented of slaughtering her, when repentance was of no avail. I therefore gave her to the herdsman, and said to him, Bring me a fat calf: and he brought me my son, who was transformed into a calf. And when the calf saw me, he broke his rope, and came to me, and fawned upon me, and wailed and cried, so that I was moved with pity for him; and I said to the herdsman, Bring me a cow, and let this\u2014 Here Shahraz\u00e1d perceived the light of morning, and discontinued the recitation with which she had been al- lowed thus far to proceed. Her sister said to her, How excellent is thy story! and how pretty! and how pleasant! and how sweet!\u2014but she answered, What is this in comparison with that which I will relate to thee in the next night, if I live, and the King spare me! And the King said, By Allah, I will not kill her until I hear the remainder of her story. Thus they pleasantly passed the night until the morning, when the King went forth to his hall of judgment, and the Wezeer went thither with the grave-clothes under his arm: and the King gave judgment, and invested and displaced, until the close of the day, without informing the Wezeer of that which had happened; and the minister was greatly astonished. The court was then dissolved; and the King returned to the privacy of his palace. [On the second and each succeeding night, Shahraz\u00e1d continued so to interest King Shahriy\u00e1r by her stories as to induce him to defer putting her to death, in expectation that her fund of amusing tales would soon be exhausted; and as this is expressed in the original work in nearly the same words at the close of every night, such repetitions will in the present translation be omitted.] When the sheykh, continued Shahraz\u00e1d, observed the tears of the calf, his heart sympathized with him, and he said to the herdsman, Let this calf remain with the cattle\u2014Meanwhile, the Jinnee wondered at this strange story; and the owner of the gazelle thus proceeded. O lord of the kings of the J\u00e1nn, while this happened, my cousin, this gazelle, looked on, and said, Slaughter this calf; for he is fat: but I could not do it; so I ordered the herdsman to take him back; and he took him and went away. And as I was sitting, on the following day, he came to me, and said, O my master, I have to tell thee something that thou wilt be rejoiced to hear; and a reward is due to me for bringing good news. I answered, Well:\u2014and he said, O merchant, I have a daughter who learned enchantment in her youth from an old woman in our family; and yesterday, when thou gavest me the calf, I took him to her, and she looked at him, and covered her face, and wept, and then laughed, and said, O my father, hath my condition become so degraded in thy opinion that thou bringest before me strange men?\u2014Where, said I, are any strange men? and wherefore didst thou weep and laugh? She an- swered, This calf that is with thee is the son of our master, the merchant, and the wife of our master hath enchanted both him and his mother; and this was the reason of my laughter; but as to the reason of my weeping, it was on ac- count of his mother, because his father had slaughtered her.\u2014And I was excessively astonished at this; and scarcely was I certain that the light of morning had appeared when I hastened to inform thee. When I heard, O Jinnee, the words of the herdsman, I went forth with him, intoxicated without wine, from the excessive joy and happiness that I received, and arrived at his house, where his daughter welcomed me, and kissed 344","The Thousand and One Nights my hand; and the calf came to me, and fawned upon me. And I said to the herdsman\u2019s daughter, Is that true which thou hast said respecting this calf? She answered, Yes, O my master; he is verily thy son, and the vital spirit of thy heart.\u2014O maiden, said I, if thou wilt restore him, all the cattle and other property of mine that thy father hath un- der his care shall be thine. Upon this, she smiled, and said, O my master, I have no desire for the property unless on two conditions: the first is, that thou shalt marry me to him; and the second, that I shall enchant her who enchanted him, and so restrain her; otherwise, I shall not be secure from her artifice. On hearing, O Jinnee, these her words, I said, And thou shalt have all the property that is under the care of thy father besides; and as to my cousin, even her blood shall be lawful to thee. So, when she heard this, she took a cup, and filled it with water, and repeated a spell over it, and sprinkled with it the calf, saying to him, If God created thee a calf, remain in this form, and be not changed; but if thou be enchanted, return to thy original form, by permission of God, whose name be exalted!\u2014 upon which he shook, and became a man; and I threw myself upon him, and said, I conjure thee by Allah that thou relate to me all that my cousin did to thee and to thy mother. So he related to me all that had happened to them both; and I said to him, O my son, God hath given thee one to liberate thee, and to avenge thee:\u2014and I married to him, O Jinnee, the herdsman\u2019s daughter; after which, she transformed my cousin into this gazelle. And as I hap- pened to pass this way, I saw this merchant, and asked him what had happened to him; and when he had informed me, I sat down to see the result.\u2014This is my story. The Jinnee said, This is a wonderful tale; and I give up to thee a third of my claim to his blood. The second sheykh, the owner of the two hounds, then advanced, and said to the Jinnee, If I relate to thee the story of myself and these hounds, and thou find it to be in like manner wonderful, wilt thou remit to me, also, a third of thy claim to the blood of this merchant? The Jinnee answered, Yes. The Story of the Second Sheykh and the Two Black Hounds Then said the sheykh, Know, O lord of the kings of the J\u00e1nn, that these two hounds are my brothers. My father died, and left to us three thousand pieces of gold; and I opened a shop to sell and buy. But one of my brothers made a journey, with a stock of merchandise, and was absent from us for the space of a year with the caravans; after which, he returned destitute. I said to him, Did I not advise thee to abstain from travelling? But he wept, and said, O my brother, God, to whom be ascribed all might and glory, decreed this event; and there is no longer any profit in these words: I have nothing left. So I took him up into the shop, and then went with him to the bath, and clad him in a costly suit of my own clothing; after which, we sat down together to eat; and I said to him, O my brother, I will calculate the gain of my shop during the year, and divide it, exclusive of the principal, between me and thee. Ac- cordingly, I made the calculation, and found my gain to amount to two thousand pieces of gold; and I praised God, to whom be ascribed all might and glory, and rejoiced exceedingly, and divided the gain in two equal parts between myself and him.\u2014My other brother then set forth on a journey; and after a year, returned in the like condition; and I did unto him as I had done to the former. After this, when we had lived together for some time, my brothers again wished to travel, and were desirous that I should accompany them; but I would not. What, said I, have ye gained in your travels, that I should expect to gain? They importuned me; but I would not comply with their request; and we remained selling and buying in our shops a whole year. Still, however, they persevered in proposing that we should travel, and I still refused, until after the lapse of six entire years, when at last I consented, and said to them, O my brothers, let us calculate what prop- erty we possess. We did so, and found it to be six thousand pieces of gold: and I then said to them, We will bury half of it in the earth, that it may be of service to us if any misfortune befall us, in which case each of us shall take a thousand pieces, with which to traffic. Excellent is thy advice, said they. So I took the money and divided it into two equal portions, and buried three thousand pieces of gold; and of the other half, I gave to each of them a thousand pieces. We then prepared merchandise, and hired a ship, and embarked our goods, and proceeded on our voyage for the space of a whole month, at the expiration of which we arrived at a city, where we sold our merchandise; and for every piece of gold we gained ten. And when we were about to set sail again, we found, on the shore of the sea, a maiden clad in tattered garments, who kissed my hand, and said to me, O my master, art thou possessed of charity and kindness? If so, I will requite thee for them. I answered, Yes, I have those qualities, though thou requite me not. Then said she, O my master, accept me as thy wife, and take me to thy country; for I give myself to thee: act kindly towards me; for I am one who requires to be treated with kindness and charity, and who will requite thee for so doing; and let not my present condition at all deceive thee. When I heard these words, my heart was moved with tenderness towards her, in order to the accomplishment of a purpose of God, to whom be ascribed all might and glory; and I took her, and clothed her, and furnished for her a place in the ship in a handsome manner, and regarded her with kind and respectful attention. We then set sail; and I became most cordially attached to my wife, so that, on her account, I neglected the 345","World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 society of my brothers, who, in consequence, became jealous of me, and likewise envied me my wealth, and the abundance of my merchandise; casting the eyes of covetousness upon the whole of the property. They therefore consulted together to kill me, and take my wealth; saying, Let us kill our brother, and all the property shall be ours:\u2014and the devil made these actions to seem fair in their eyes; so they came to me while I was sleeping by the side of my wife, and took both of us up, and threw us into the sea. But as soon as my wife awoke, she shook herself, and became transformed into a Jinneeyeh. She immediately bore me away, and placed me upon an island, and, for a while, disappeared. In the morning, however, she returned, and said to me, I am thy wife, who carried thee, and rescued thee from death, by permission of God, whose name be exalted. Know that I am a Jinneeyeh: I saw thee, and my heart loved thee for the sake of God; for I am a believer in God and his Apostle, God bless and save him! I came to thee in the condition in which thou sawest me, and thou didst marry me; and see, I have rescued thee from drowning. But I am incensed against thy brothers, and I must kill them.\u2014When I heard her tale, I was astonished, and thanked her for what she had done;\u2014But, said I, as to the destruction of my brothers, it is not what I desire. I then related to her all that had happened between myself and them from first to last; and when she had heard it, she said, I will, this next night, fly to them, and sink their ship, and destroy them. But I said, I conjure thee by Allah that thou do it not; for the author of the proverb saith, O thou benefactor of him who hath done evil, the action that he hath done is sufficient for him:\u2014besides, they are at all events my brothers. She still, however, said, They must be killed;\u2014and I continued to propitiate her towards them: and at last she lifted me up, and soared through the air, and placed me on the roof of my house. Having opened the doors, I dug up what I had hidden in the earth; and after I had saluted my neighbours, and bought merchandise, I opened my shop. And in the following night, when I entered my house, I found these two dogs tied up in it; and as soon as they saw me, they came to me, and wept, and clung to me; but I knew not what had happened until immediately my wife appeared before me, and said, These are thy brothers. And who, said I, hath done this unto them? She answered, I sent to my sister and she did it; and they shall not be restored until after the lapse of ten years. And I was now on my way to her, that she might restore them, as they have been in this state ten years, when I saw this man, and, being informed of what had befallen him, I determined not to quit the place until I should have seen what would happen between thee and him.\u2014This is my story.\u2014Verily, said the Jinnee, it is a wonderful tale; and I give up to thee a third of the claim that I had to his blood on account of his offence. Upon this, the third sheykh, the owner of the mule, said to the Jinnee, As to me, break not my heart if I relate to thee nothing more than this:\u2014 The Story of the Third Sheykh and the Mule The mule that thou seest was my wife: she became enamoured of a black slave; and when I discovered her with him, she took a mug of water, and, having uttered a spell over it, sprinkled me, and transformed me into a dog. In this state, I ran to the shop of a butcher, whose daughter saw me, and, being skilled in enchantment, restored me to my original form, and instructed me to enchant my wife in the manner thou beholdest.\u2014And now I hope that thou wilt remit to me also a third of the merchant\u2019s offence. Divinely was he gifted who said, Sow good, even on an unworthy soil; for it will not be lost wherever it is sown. When the sheykh had thus finished his story, the Jinnee shook with delight, and remitted the remaining third of his claim to the merchant\u2019s blood. The merchant then approached the sheykhs, and thanked them, and they con- gratulated him on his safety; and each went his way. But this, said Shahraz\u00e1d, is not more wonderful than the story of the fisherman. The King asked her, And what is the story of the fisherman? And she related it as follows:\u2014 Chapter II Commencing with Part of the Third Night, and Ending with Part of the Ninth The Story of the Fisherman There was a certain fisherman, advanced in age, who had a wife and three children; and though he was in indi- gent circumstances, it was his custom to cast his net, every day, no more than four times. One day he went forth at the hour of noon to the shore of the sea, and put down his basket, and cast his net, and waited until it was motion- less in the water, when he drew together its strings, and found it to be heavy: he pulled, but could not draw it up: so he took the end of the cord, and knocked a stake into the shore, and tied the cord to it. He then stripped himself, and dived round the net, and continued to pull until he drew it out: whereupon he rejoiced, and put on his clothes; but when he came to examine the net, he found in it the carcass of an ass. At the sight of this he mourned, and 346"]