Nushirwan V: The Fall and Restoration to Favour of Buzurjmihr, and the Wisdom of Nushirwan

Consider now the case of Buzurjmihr,
Who from the dust rose to the circling sphere,
Which will exalt one to the clouds on high,
Then bring him down in sorry dust to lie I

It happened in those days that Nushirwan
Went forth from Mada'in to hunt. He chased
Along the wilderness the mountain-sheep
And the gazelles. The mountain-sheep dispersed.
The Shah was left behind with Buzurjmihr,
Who followed both from duty and from love.
Then from the waste the monarch reached a meadow,
And saw trees, grass, and shade. The weary Shah
Alighted from his steed to rest his eyes
Upon the grass. He saw no followers ;
The one of goodly face remained, no more.
The Shah reposed awhile upon the mead,
His head right lovingly upon the lap
Of Buzurjmihr. It was that wise king's wont
To wear a jewelled armlet. As it chanced
This clinging armlet snapped upon his arm,
And fell beside his couch. A sable bird
Swooped from the clouds to where he lay, looked

round,
Beheld that armlet, brake the thread whereon
The gems were strung, then ate them each in turn,
The lustrous pearls and topazes alike,
Flew from the monarch's couch, and disappeared.
At that adventure Buzurjmihr aghast
Mused at the process of the turning sky.

He understood : " My fall, my day of wrath,
My season of dismay, are hard at hand ! '

The Shah awoke, marked how he bit his lips,
Scanned his own arm, beheld the jewels gone,
And seeing no one of his escort there
Conceived that while he slumbered Buzurjmihr-
Had gulped the armlet down, and said to him : —
" Thou dog ! who said to thee : ' 'Tis possible
To hide one's natural bent ? ' "

But Nushirwan

Fatigued with many words his tongue in vain ;
He got no answer but a deep, cold sigh,
While Buzurjmihr stood withered by the Shah,
And by the process of revolving heaven.
That wise man marked at once the ominous sign
Of downfall and remained struck dumb by fear.
The escort of the Shah had gone about
The mead while Nushirwan was in its midst.
He mounted on his charger's back in wrath,
And noticed no one on his journey home,
But bit his lip at Buzurjmihr the while,
And muttering much alighted from his steed,
Bade smite the sage's face as 'twere an anvil,
And to imprison him in his own palace.
So Buzurjmihr abode there and beheld
A frowning sky. He had a kinsman, brave
And young, attending on Shah Nushirwan
Within the palace day and night on terms
Of intimacy. Buzurjmihr one day
Asked that dependant of the sun-faced Shah : —
" How dost thou wait upon him ? Let me know
So that thou mayest be more serviceable."

" Chief of archmages ! " said the servitor,
" It chanced this very day that Nushirwan
Looked so on me, his bondslave, that I said : —
" There is an end for me of food and sleep ! '
I poured the water for him after meat,
Transgressing with the basin in the act,
And when the world-lord was offended at me
I let the basin fall."

Then said the sage : —
" Arise ! Fetch hither water and pour out
As thou wouldst pour it o'er the Shah's own
hands."

The young man brought warm water which he
poured
Upon the sage's hands with gentleness,
Who said : " Pour thus when he requireth! it.
Avoiding any awkwardness, and when
The water shall perfume the basin's brim
Forbear to pour."

The servitor took heed,
And on the next occasion, when he brought
The salver, poured the water as the sage
Enjoined with neither tardiness nor haste.
" O thou whose love increaseth ! " said the Shah,
" Who told thee this ? "

He answered : " Buzurjmihr,
For he it was that taught to me the mode
Marked by the Shah, the master of the world."

The Shah said : " Go and say thus to the sage :—
" With all that high estate of thine and lustre
Why didst thou seek the worse and not the better
Through thine ill nature and misgovernance ? ' "

The attendant heard and coming quickly sought
The palace eagerly with stricken soul,
Gave Buzurjmihr the message of the Shah,
And privily received this answer back : —
" My station both in public and in private
Far bettereth the monarch of the world's."

The servitor returned with this response,
But counted as he went the grains of dust.
The answer made the Shah exceeding wroth.
He had the sage bound in a dismal dungeon,
And asked the servitor the second time : —
" How beareth that insensate one his lot ? "

The messenger came with a tearful face,
And told the words to Buzurjmihr who thus
Made answer to that faithful friend of his : —
" My days are passed more lightly than the Shah's."

The messenger turned back, came like the wind,
And told the Shah that answer, which enraged him ;
He was as 'twere a pard and bade to make
A narrow iron cage, then studded it
With spikes and nails inside, and set thereon
Withal an iron lid. Thus Buzurjmihr
Could neither rest by day nor sleep by night.
Thus for the fourth time to the servitor
The Shah said : " Take this message and bring back
His answer. Say to him : " How far'st thou now,
Environed as thou art by piercing nails ? '

The attendant came and gave the message sent
By that imperious prince. Thus Buzurjmihr
Made answer to the youth : " My days are better
Than those of Nushirwan."

Now when the man
Returned with this reply the Shah's face grew
All livid at the words. Out of the palace
He chose a truthful man and capable
Of comprehending what the sage should say,
Dispatched too with the messenger a swordsman,
Who acted as the executioner,
And said : " Go to this bad, ill-fortuned man,
And say : " If thy reply give pleasure, well ;
If not the deathsman with his trenchant sword
Shall show thee Doomsday in that thou hast said
That jail and nails and cage, and pit and bonds
Are better than the throne of Nushirwan.'

The envoy came apace to him and told
The words of Nushirwan. Said Buzurjmihr
To that good envoy : " Fortune ne'er hath shown us
Its face. None of us is exempt from change,
And verily all good and ill will end.
Enthroned and rich or grievously oppressed,
We have no choice, we all must pack and part.
To pass from durance is an easy thing ;
The quaking is for them that wear the crown."

That wise man and the executioner
Returned and, coming to the exalted Shah.
Narrated everything that they had heard.
The fear of evil fortune came upon him.
They bore that righteous guide from that strait cage
Back to his palace with the Shah's consent.
And heaven turned awhile with matters thus.
While wrinkles filled the face of Buzurjmihr,
His heart grew more oppressed and worn, and both
His eyes were darkened by anxiety.
While since his travailing surpassed his gain
He wasted with his care and pined with pain.

Now in those days it chanced that Caesar sent

An envoy with a letter to the Shah,

With gifts, with presents, and a padlocked casket,
And said : " O king of warriors and chiefs !

Thou hast no lack of holy archimages,
So let them tell, not tampering with the lock,
What is concealed therein. If they say right
We will send tribute and our wonted gifts ;
But if thy clever archimages' hearts
Fail in this knowledge indispensable
The Shah must not ask tribute at our hands,
Nor send an army to invade our realm.
Such is the message that hath come from Caesar :
Make answer as it seemeth good to thee."

The monarch of the world said to the envoy : —
This thing is not a mystery to God,
And by His Grace divine I will achieve it,
Convoking holy men to give me aid.
Abide here for a se'nnight, cheered with wine,
Make merry in thy heart and be at ease."

The matter proved perplexing to the Shah :
He called to him the great men and the wise,
Who all examined it in every way
To find a means whereby to loose that coil,
Examined, as did all the archimages,
That casket and that lock whose key was lacking,
But could not tell and owned their ignorance.
Now when that concourse proved of no avail
The heart of Nushirwan, the Shah, was grieved.
He said : " The intellect of Buzurjmihr
Will search this secret of the turning sky."

The king of kings, in sore embarrassment,
Gave orders to his treasurer to provide
A change of raiment from the treasury,
And had a choice steed saddled royal wise.
He sent them to the sage. " Thou must forget,"
He said, " the hardships that thou hast endured
Because high heaven above us so ordained
That thou shouldst have affliction at our hands.
Thy tongue excited my displeasure : thou

Hast been the author of thine own oppression.
I am confronted with a thankless task,
The elders' hearts have been perplexed thereby.
For Caesar hath dispatched to us from Rum
A famed priest of that land and therewithal
A casket with a tightly fastened lid
Padlocked and sealed with musk. The envoy

saith : —
" Thus said my lord : " Reveal this hidden thing,
And let the sages and the princes say
What lieth in this casket." So methought : —
" No one will see through this veiled mystery
Unless it be the soul of Buzurjmihr.'

When Buzurjmihr had listened to those words
His pain and former trouble were renewed ;
He left the prison, bathed his head and body.
And first approached in prayer the Lord of all.
Albeit innocent himself he feared
The Shah, the wrathful world-lord's, tyranny.
He watched that day and night alike and pondered
According to the message of his master.
What time the sun was brilliant in the heavens
He mused upon the aspects of the stars,
He laved his heart's eyes in the stream of wisdom,
Chose out a trusty man among the sages,
And said to him : " My market hath been spoiled,
My vision ruined by my sufferings.
Observe upon the road the passers by,
Address them, have no fear, and ask their names."
Forth from his house went Buzurjmihr and met
A woman hasting, beautiful of face.
That wise man vigilant informed the sage

Of all things that were hidden from his eyes,
And he as feeling for his way rejoined : —

" Ask if this Moon be wedded."

Said the lady' : — -
" I have a spouse and child withal at home."

The sage on his white roadster, when he heard
Her answer, started. Then another woman
Appeared and, seeing her, his agent asked : —
" O woman hast thou got a child and spouse.
Or, being single, only wind in hand ? "

" I have a husband if no child," she said,
" Thou hast mine answer, suffer me to pass."

Just then another woman came — the third.
Her too the friend approached. " My Fair ! " said he,
'"What mate hast thou who hast such goodly

carriage
And daintiness ? "

" I never had a husband,"
She said, " I would not one should see my face."

Now mark the inference of Buzurjmihr
On hearing these replies. He hurried on

With anxious mien. They brought him to the Shah,
Who ordered that he should approach the throne,
But was exceeding troubled in his heart
Because he missed the sage's piercing glance,
And heaved full many a deep and chilling sigh.
Excused himself for having wronged the guiltless,
Then talked of Caesar and of Rum. and spake
Of casket and of padlock. Buzurjmihr
Made answer to the monarch of the world : —
" Be lustre thine so long as heaven shall turn.
Now must we hold a session of the wise,
Of Caesar's envoy, and the archimages,
And have the casket laid before the Shah,
Before the Great, the seekers of the way :
Then in God's strength, who gave me intellect,
And made the right the business of my soul,
I will declare the casket's whole contents,
And lay no hand on it or on its lock.
Although mine eyes be dim my heart is bright :
The breastplate of my soul withal is knowledge."

The king joyed at the words. His heart grew
fresh
As roses in the Spring. Anxiety
Bent him no longer, and he called for envoy
And casket, summoned all the archimages
And mighty men, and seated many a sage
With Buzurjmihr, then told the ambassador : —
" Repeat thy message and demand an answer.""

The Ruman, hearing, loosed his tongue and thus
Told Caesar's words : " From the victorious world-
lord
We look for wisdom, knowledge, and renown.
And thou, O master of the world ! hast Grace,
And stature, greatness, lore, and might of hand.
The wise archmages — seekers of the way —
The chiefs and heroes that attend upon thee.
Are either all assembled at thy court,
Or are thy lieges still where'er they be.
If these shrewd-hearted sages shall behold
This casket with its lock and seal and stamp,
And state distinctly what is there concealed,
So that their statement shall accord to wisdom,
Then by this token I will send to thee
The tribute that my realm can well afford ;
But if in any wise they fail herein
Ask not for tribute from our land again."

Whenas the sage had heard the speaker's words
He loosed his tongue and offered praise and said : —
" Oh ! be the world's Shah Shah for evermore,
May he be eloquent and fare with fortune !
Praise to the Master of the sun and moon,
Who showeth to the soul the path to knowledge,
And knoweth all things manifest and hidden ;

I covet knowledge, He is past all need.
Within the casket are three lustrous pearls,
And greater coverture than I have said.
One pearl is pierced, the second is half pierced,
The third hath had no intercourse with iron."

The Ruman sage, on hearing, brought the key
To Nushirwan who looked. Concealed within
There was a pyx, and in the pyx a veil
Of painted silk, and in the silk three jewels,
Just as the wise man of Iran had said,
Because of those three gems the first was pierced,
The second half pierced and the third intact.
Then all the archimages praised the sage
And showered gems on him. The king of kings
Became of joyful countenance and filled
The mouth of Buzurjmihr with lustrous pearls.
His conduct in the past oppressed his heart,
He writhed, his face grew furrowed : why had he
Dealt so oppressively with Buzurjmihr
From whom he had experienced love and faith ?
The sage, when he beheld the Shah's shrunk face,
And grief-pierced soul, revealed what had been

hidden,
Declared all that had passed to Nushirwan,
Told of the armlet, of the sable bird.
The liege's care, the slumber of the Shah.
And added : " This was doomed to come to pass,
And sorrow and remorse will profit not.
When heaven is intending good or ill
What are Shah, archimage, or Buzurjmihr ?
God hath implanted in the stars the seed,
And we must write the sentence on our heads ;
So let the heart of Nushirwan, the Shah,
Rejoice exempt from pain and grief for ever.
Exalted though the Shah be yet his state
Is made more gracious by his minister.

The chase, War, pleasure, largess, justice, feast,
These are the business of the king of kings.
He knoweth what Shahs did in days of yore,
So by that token let him do the same.
To gather treasure, to provide the host,
To chide, speak, hear the suppliant, and take

thought
For rule and treasure, these things are a care,
That, heart and soul, the minister must bear."

Thus was it at the time of Nushirwan :
He was at once the Shah and paladin.
At once a warrior and archimage,
The Fire-priest and the captain of the host.
He had his emissaries everywhere,
And trusted not the world to ministers.
None could conceal from him in great or small
The good and evil of the worlds estate.

One day a loyal archmage of his agents
Took on himself to put this to the Shah : —
" One time without reproof thou passest by
A fault. Another time the same offender
Is hung howe'er much he excuse himself ! '

The Shah replied : " When one doth own his
fault
I am as leech, he is as wretched patient
That would avoid the dose and sheddeth tears ;
If that dose fail I leech his soul no more."

Another archmage said to him : "Be blest,
And sheltered from all ill on every side !

The captain of the host went from Gurgan
With privacy, and entering a wood
There for a while he slumbered. The Gurkils
Bore off his baggage ! He was left unfurnished,
And, further, turneth back on that account ! '

The Shah made answer thus : " We do not need
That militarist. How can he guard troops
Who cannot guard himself ? "

Another said : —
" Live happy evermore with archimages
To sit, to banquet, and repose with thee !
There is a famous chieftain present here,
Whose treasure passeth thine ! '

The Shah replied : —
"Yea, rightly, for he is our empire's crown.
I tender both his treasures and his life,
And toil to magnify him."

Said another : —
" Great king ! live ever and unscathed by ill !
Among the captives carried off from Rum
Are many babes unweaned."

He gave this sentence : —
" The little ones must not be reckoned captives.
We will dispatch them glad and in good case
To their own mothers."

People wrote to him : —
" A hundred wealthy Rumans offer ransom."
" If they are doing it through fear," he said,
" Sell each chief for a cup of wine and ask
No more because we do not lack their goods.
I will require their jewels, purses, slaves,
And gold and silver with the scimitar."

They told him : " Of the rich men of the city
There are two merchants and they keep folk waking
The best part of the night with shouts of revel,
And twanging of the rebeck and the harp."

He made them this reply : " No hardship this,
And do ye others that are wealthy too
Live like these twain in mirth and jollity ;
Be inoffensive and live unaggrieved."

One day they wrote to him : " Mayst thou be
happy !
Far from thee ever be the evil eye !
The monarch of Yaman observed at court : —
" When Nushirwan doth ope his mouth to speak
He talketh so much of the dead that those
Alive have their glad lives made sad thereby ! ' '

He answered thus : " All wise and high-born men
Speak of the dead : the friendship is not sound
Of any that would purge the heart of them."'

Another said : " O Shah ! thy youngest son
Doth act not with the justice of his sire.
He buyeth an estate at such a rate
As to aggrieve the seller ! "

Said the Shah : —
" This is not well, so let the seller keep
Both price and land."

" O Shah," another said,
" Imperious, far from blame and from reproach !
Thy heart was gentle once : why hath it grown
So overbearing and so choleric ? "

He thus made answer : "I had no teeth then,
And fed on milk because I could no other,
But since my teeth came, and my back grew

straight,
My quest is flesh because I have grown strong."

Another said : "I own that thou art mighty,
Our better both in counsel and in knowledge,
But how hast thou surpassed the kings of kings,
And made the whole world watch thy policy ? "

" My wisdom is a thing," he thus replied,
" That is beyond their ken. Sense, knowledge,

counsel —
These are my ministers, my treasury
Is earth, my treasurer thought."

Another said : —
" O king ! thy hawk in chase hath bound an
eagle ! "

Thus said he : "Beat its back; why should it
fall
Upon its better ? Gibbet it on high
To suffer in its turn, for e'en in fight
The subject may not seek to conquer kings."

Another chief — one of the emissaries —
Said thus : " O monarch of the world ! Barzin
At morn departed with the host and met
A reader of the stars who prophesied : —
" None will behold again this haughty chief,
This mighty army, and its equipage,
When once their backs are turned upon the king ! ' '

The Shah replied : " Revolving heaven hath
shown
Barzin's designs a loving countenance,
And stars and sun and moon will not destroy
That chieftain with his treasure and his host."

Another archmage said : " The king, one day,
Bade choose a man, illustrious by birth,
To make the circuit of the sovereignty
Both for the sake of justice and to send

Reports concerning matters great and small,

And good or evil, to the court. Gashasp
Is both illustrious and old : 'twere well
That justice be administered by him."
The Shah replied : " Gashasp, though far from
want,
Is still possessed by greed. Choose some one else,
Who toileth not upon his own behalf,
And is possessed of treasures of his own,
One of experience, upright and austere,
Whose first concern is for the poor."

One said : —
" The chief cook hath a grievance "'gainst the Shah
And chiefs, and saith : " I dress his favourite meats,
And serve them at cross roads. He savoureth not.
Nor toucheth, them ! " That loyal servant
quaketh."

" Too much food may disgust," the Shah replied.
Another said: 'All thoughtful people blame
The king of kings because he goeth forth
Without an ample escort, and the hearts
Of all his friends are full on that account
For fear some enemy with ill designs
May suppliant-wise contrive to get at him."

He made this answer : " Equity and wisdom
Protect the great king's person. Right sufficeth
To guard the just judge though he be alone."

Another said : " O wisdom's mate ! the prince
Of Khurasan said on the riding-ground : —
" I know not why the king recalled Garshasp.'

The Shah made answer : " He hath left undone
My bidding and ignored my purposes :
I ordered him to ope for good or ill
My treasury's portal to deserving folk.
The man that is a niggard in his gifts
Concealeth all the monarch's Grace divine."

Another said : " The great king is a magnate
With all men, and munificent and holy.
What hath Mihrak, that ancient servant, done
To have his pay reduced, his visage wan ? '

The Shah replied : " Mihrak hath grown too
bold,
Relying on his former services.
He came to court and took his seat bemused,
And he was never save with wine in hand."

An archmage of the intelligencers said : —
" The Shah, when marching to encounter Caesar,
Called only the Iranians to the war,
And so Iran became hard pressed by Rum."

He answered : " This hostility is innate,
'Tis war with Ahriman."

Another time
One ventured to observe : " The Shah selecteth
Troops differing from those of former Shahs.
What look'st thou for in charger-riding Lions.
Expert of hand, upon the day of battle ? '

He thus replied : " The cavalier of war

Ne'er must be satiate of combating.
Feast and the field of battle must be one
To him both by bright day and darksome night.
He never faileth in the hour of need,
And few or many make no odds to him."

Another said : " O Nushirwan, the Shah !
Live ever joyful and with youthful fortune.
A man was at the gateway from Nisa —
A servant and a trusty officer —
Who at the reckoning at the taxing-office
Was found short by three hundred thousand drachms.
He pleaded : " All are spent.' Chiefs, archimages,
And tax-collectors are concerned."

The king,
On hearing how the archimages claimed
The money from the officer, commanded : —
" Press not for what is spent : give him too some-
what
Out of the treasury."
Another said : —
" A gallant cavalier was hurt and long-
Disabled. Cured he charged the ranks of Rum,
Fell, and hath left behind him little ones."

The Shah commanded : " Be four thousand
drachms
Assigned to them out of the treasury.
Because when any one is slain in war.
And leaveth babes as his memorial,
Whene'er the scribe shall read out from the roll
His name, his children must have drachms, so pay
A thousand thus to them four times a year."

Another said : " Be happy all thy days.
At Marv the captain of the host hath gathered
Much wealth in money but he spendeth not,
And people are abandoning the march."

He thus made answer : " Give that wealth — the
cause
Whereby the land is made depopulate —
Back to the folk from whom it hath been taken.
Make proclamation of the fact in Marv,
And bid erect a gibbet at his door,
In sight of all his province and his troops.
And hang alive the tyrant on the gallows,
Head-downward, that hereafter nobody
Among our paladins may turn aside
In heart and spirit from our ordinance.
Why must he bleed the poor to get him wealth,
And joy his body to his soul's destruction ? '

Another said : " God-fearing Shah ! thy subjects
Throng in thy court, extol thine equity,
And praise the Maker for thee."

He replied : —
" Thank God that we inspire alarm in none.
Be it ours to tender yet more carefully
Both innocent and guilty."

Said another : —
" O Shah endowed with Grace and understanding !
The world is full of joy, delight, and sweets,
And lord and liege are dizzied in their heads

At night-fall with the din."

" In us," he answered,
" May small and great rejoice throughout the
world."

Another said : " O Shah of power supreme !
Detractors speak with blame of thee and say : —
" He squandereth vast treasures but he never
Hath felt the labour of amassing them.' "

He thus returned reply : " If I withhold
The wealth laid up within my treasury
From those deserving of it all my gain
Will turn to loss at last."

Another said : —
" O thou exalted king ! God grant that scath
May never come upon that soul of thine !
The Jews and Christians are thine enemies,
Are double-faced, and worship Ahriman."

He answered thus : " A brave Shah is not great
Save he be tolerant."

" Mardwi hath spent,"
Another said, " three hundred thousand drachms,
Famed king ! out of thy treasury and more
On mendicants, and chiefly on himself."

He said thus : " Such withal is our command :
' 'Tis well for thee to give to the deserving.' "

Another said : " O Shah that toilest not !
Much largess hath made void thy treasury."

He thus returned reply : " The open hand
Doth start a man afresh, both leaf and bough.
The world-lord, when a worshipper of God,
Hath at his disposition all the world,
But we have seen it niggard to the mean,
And greed and harshness tempt not me."

" O king ! "
An archmage said, " shrewd Kurakhan hath wrung
From famous Balkh three hundred thousand

drachms,
And handed them to us who laid them up
Among thy treasures."

" We," he made reply,
" Require not drachms through others' sufferings,
So give them back to those from whom they came,
With somewhat also from the treasury,
Because the world-lord that adoreth God
Hath no desire to vex his subjects' hearts.
Raze Kurakhan's fine palace and enrich
His roofs with clay. His palace shall be waste
His profit toil and, after toil, distress
And malison. Take from our roll his name.
And hold of no account his likes at court."

Another said : " O Shah of glorious race !
Thy converse turneth greatly on Jamshid
And on Kaus."

Thus Nushirwan replied : —
" Oh ! may our knowledge keep them ever young !
I speak of them that mine own head and crown
May be remembered after I am dead."

" Why hideth," asked another man, " the Shah
His secrets from the illustrious Bahman ? '
The Shah replied : " He turneth him from
wisdom,
And eateth of the fruit of his own lusts."

One said : " O Shah that tendereth thy subjects ?
Why hast thou recently become remiss ? '

He thus made answer : "I associate
With sage and archimage, for when the voice
Of Ahriman is at our ears our hearts
Grow void of counsel and our brains of sense."'

An archmage asked the monarch of the earth
To speak concerning kingship and the Faith,
And said : "A man of wisdom will allow
A faithless better than a kingless world."

He thus made answer : " I have said the same,
And holy men have heard my words. The world-lord
Ne'er saw a faithless world though every one
Hath his own Faith. One man adoreth idols,
Another's Faith is pure. One said : " A curse
Is better than a blessing,' but mere words
Will never wreck the world, so speak thy mind.
But when the great king too is void of Faith
No one will bring down blessings on the world.
Faith and the sovereignty are like the body
And soul ; the twain support the world

O Shah
Of joyous nature ! thou hast oft observed,"
One said, " before the chiefs : " What time the throne
Is destitute of king then Faith and wisdom
Are worthless.' Once thou saidest : " I am fortune,
And fortune's pretext both for good and ill,
And when one uttereth praises in the world
The crop in secret cometh back to me."

He answered : " Yea, 'tis well. The great kings
head
Is fortune's crown. The world is as the body ;
Kings are its head and crowned accordingly."'

Another said : " O Shah, the peoples friend !
Be thine the sovereignty and length of days !
Five days have passed, O lustre of the soul !
Since last the high priest came before thy presence."

He answered : " I am not concerned thereat,
For he is occupied on mine affairs."

One said : " O Shah of sunlike Grace to whom
Time will bring forth no peer ! we see a suitor

Attending court each morn, and that affairs

Are wrong with him, but wot not of his grievance.'

He answered : " In Hijaz thieves plundered him
Of countless goods. That he may not be troubled
I have replaced them from the treasury.
And keep him at the court on this account
To see if he can recognise the thieves."

Another said : " O Shah of glorious birth.
The lord of bounty and the lord of justice !
Down from the time of Gaiumart till now

No Shah like thee hath filled the royal throne."

He said : " I give thanksgiving unto God
That matters are as He would have them be."
The sentences of Nushirwan are past,

The world is old but ever young my care ;
My genius hath not blossomed to this last

Though keen it grew, such fire in eld was there !
For many a year I told this history

Though hidden 'twas from Saturn, moon, and
sun,
But since Mahmud's name crowned my poetry

Its commendation through the world hath run.
The idolators of Hind he bringeth down

With sword whose sheen, like silk of Wash, is
bright.
Oh ! may the age fare well through his renown,

And in his diadem the heaven delight.

Now read the letter of Shah Nushirwan,
And muse upon it in thine ardent soul.
He said : " This letter grateful to the heart,
Instructed, learned, well counselled, and abstruse,
Is from the Shah exalted and sun-faced.
Great is he, heaven inclineth to his wish,
The world-lord he, just and beneficent,
Without reproach, the lavisher of treasure,
Increaser of Kubad's renown and throne,
Transmitter of the crown of state and justice,
Possessed of Grace and stature, fame and conduct,
And all that he could wish for from the crown
Of greatness, to Hurmuzd, our own pure son,
Who heartily accepteth all our counsels,
And is through God glad and victorious,
For evermore a world-lord crowned and throned.
This lucky month upon the day Khurdad,
With fair stars and world-brightening presages,
We set upon thy head the crown of gold,
As we ourselves received it from our sire,
And give thee too the blessings which Kubad,
The glorious, bestowed upon our crown.
Be vigilant and master of the world,
Be wise and noble and without offence,
Increase in knowledge and incline to God,
Because He is the Guider of thy soul.
We have inquired of one of good discourse,
One ancient both in wisdom and in years : —
What man of us approacheth nearest God ?
Who goeth by the straitest path to Him ? '
He gave reply : " Choose knowledge as thou wouldst
That people should bless thee because the sage
Deriveth not addition from the dust :

Make thy pure spirit then approved by knowledge.'
Through knowledge doth the Shah adorn the

throne :
Mayst thou be sage and of victorious fortune.
God grant thou never be a promise-breaker,
For promise-breakers have the dust for shroud.
See that thou punish not the innocent,
Or listen to the words of slanderers.
Let every ordinance of thine be just.
For justice will delight thy spirit. Seek not,
As thou wouldst be the lustre of thy throne,
To compass falsehood with thy tongue. Secure
A subject in the enjoyment of his wealth,
For others' havings are no friends of thine :
Joy in the wealth that thou hast earned thyself.
"'Tis thine to be the asylum for all folk.
For overlord and underling alike.
Reward the man that acteth uprightly ;
Oppose withal the evil-doer. Although
Thou mayst be held in honour in the world,
Forget not travail, misery, and loss ;
Be what one may this is a Wayside Inn
Wherein it booteth not to feel at home.
Seek worth and be associate with the wise
If dost wish that fortune shall commend thee.
By knowledge bind the hands of tyranny.
As thou wouldst 'scape the evil of mishap,
And dearly tender him who in thy presence
Hath trodden under foot thy foeman's life.
The great men and the merchants of the city
Must have their share of justice. When thou settest
The crown of king of kings upon thy head
Discern the worse way from the truly great.
Keep ever in thy presence some wise man,
And hold him as thy body and thy soul.
In matters great and small pay no regard
To any save the accomplished and well born.
Give not the worthless battle-gear for when
Thou seekest it 'tis not to hand. Thy friend
Will yield thee to the foe ; a double task
Both difficult and wretched will be thine :
He will bring down thy weapons to the field,
And one day will employ them on thyself.
Be generous to persons in distress,
Avoid ill-doing, fear calamity.
Discern the hidden motives of thy heart,
Make no mere outward show of good and right,
Be not unmeasured in beneficence,
And hear the counsels of the experienced.
Lean toward religious men but watch religion,
Because it causeth bitterness and wrath.
Proportion thine expenses to thy means,
And be not careful to augment thy store.
Observe the precedents of former Shahs,
And be a righteous judge in everything ;
The Shah that doth unjustly is accursed;
Approve but justice then and court not curses.
Where are the crowned heads of the kings of kings ?
Where are the great men and the ministers ?
Their fame is now their sole memorial ;
This Wayside Inn abideth not with any.
Command not to shed blood, or urge the host
To battle, lightly. Heed this weighty letter.
Set not thy heart upon this Hostelry.
Herein have I but sought thy good and decked
Thy heart with knowledge by the rede of Him
Who ruleth sun and moon ; by Him keep off
The influence of the Div. Have thou before thee
This letter, day and night. Let wisdom rule
Thy heart. If thou dost make a memory here
Thy name will never want for majesty.
Now be the Maker of the world thy refuge,
May time and earth affect thee. May high heaven
Turn but at thy desire and in the world
Be none aggrieved by thee."

He placed the letter.
When written, in the treasury and abode
With fear and trembling in this Wayside Inn.

A king of kings well counselled, wise, and just,
Will strive to make his modesty unite
With strength of hand and gallantry in fight,

Be of pure Faith and put in God his trust.

See what man of these virtues is possest
And, seeing, him his meed of praise prefer,
Seek one that is as bright as Jupiter,

Aspiring, armed with sword, with mail on breast;

Who taketh from idolaters the sway,

Who with brocade of Faith his heart hath bound.

Yea verily the man himself is found :
Mahmud is monarch of the world to-day.

The quest of battle and of banqueting

Are one to this world's lord. Abu'l Kasim !
God grant the age joy in the sight of him,

That open-handed and victorious king.

made Answer

There was an elder versed in our old speech,
And antiquate with action and discourse,
Who from a volume in the ancient tongue
Saith that an archmage asked of Nushirwan : —

" In what way should the worshipper invoke
In secret prayer the Master of the world
That He may give an answer and bestow
Withal fair fortune on his suppliant ?
A man, with arms outstretched toward the sky.
May make request before the Lord of time,
Yet gain not his desire for all his prayers,
And hath but tearful eyes and furrowed face."

The conquering Shah replied : " Be moderate
In thy requests to God ; when they pass bounds
A heart o'ercharged will come of that desire."

The archmage asked : " What man deserveth good,
And who is worthiest of the name of : " Great ? ' "

The Shah replied : " He that amasseth treasure
Without exertion, and bestoweth not,
Is unfit for the throne ; from time to time
His fortune will grow dark, but well is he
That giveth. Give, if wealth be thine, and hoard
not."

" What is the base of wisdom ? " asked the arch-
mage,
" And who rejoiceth in its boughs and leaves ? "

" The sage rejoiceth," Nushirwan replied ;
" So doth the modest man of noble birth."

The archmage asked : " Who profiteth by know-
ledge,
And who is witless and calamitous ? "

The Shah replied : : The cherisher of wisdom
Will cherish life which profiteth thereby
When it aboundeth, but its lack entaileth
Grief, care, and loss."

The archimage inquired : —
" Is knowledge better than the Grace of kings,
For Grace and majesty adorn the throne ? '

" A sage possessed of Grace," replied the Shah,
Will take the whole world underneath his wing.
Thou needest wisdom, Grace, renown, and birth ;
With these four heaven will keep thee still in mind."

" In kingship who illustrateth the throne ? '
The archmage said. " "Who is unfortunate ? '

And Nushirwan made answer : " One that seeketh
First for the aidance of the King, the World-lord,
For bounty, knowledge, and right usages
Will make him tender toward the suppliant.
Next let him give authority to those,
Who merit such distinction by their worth.
Then let him see that nothing in the world
For good or evil is concealed from him.
He should distinguish, fourthly, foe from friend :
'Tis well that kings should be without offence.
When he hath Grace and wisdom. Faith and

fortune,
Then he is worthy of the crown and graceth
The throne, while if thou findest such things lacking
Good sooth ! thou wilt behold him lustreless ;
He after death will leave an evil name,
And win not jocund Paradise at last

The archmage asked : " How many modes of
speech
Are there and what are they, because o'er some
One needs must weep while others are crown,

treasure,
And reputation, those grief, these content ? '

Said Nushirwan : " The sage hath classified
The modes of speech and thought the matter out.
First, profitable speech ; the sweet-voiced sage
Saith that it is the harmless. Secondly,
That which thou callest the deliberate
Know to be that of shrewd and fluent men,
For they speak largely to the point and leave
Their memory in the world. Next is the speech

Of one ambitioning the word in season ;
He will abide in honour all his years ;
And, fourthly, that of one called by the sage
Delectable — the competent reciter,
Who uttereth all, both new and old, in verse ;
While, fifthly, is the warm deliverance
Of one of sweet tongue and harmonious voice,
Who when he hath impleached his web of words
Attaineth verily his heart's desire."

The archmage said : " In spite of all thy lore,
And thou hast kindled all thy soul with knowledge,
Yet thou still questionest the little worth !
Dost say then : How shall knowledge have an
end ? ' "

The Shah replied : " From all that I have learned
I have attained my soul's desire and wisdom.
Avoid wrong-doing then and look to knowledge —
A thing more precious than the crown and throne."

The archmage said : "I have seen none so praised
And eminent for lore that one could say : —
" Such is his eminence that no wise man
Can teach him any further.' "

Thus the Shah
Replied : " Can treasure satiate a man
Until he lieth underneath the dust ?
The way of knowledge is more glorious
Than wealth, more precious in the sage's eyes.
Our words remain as our memorial :
Compare not wealth with knowledge."

Said the archmage : —
" What with their learning and remembering
The sages cannot be but ancient men."

The Shah replied : " Although the man be old
His knowledge faileth not to keep him young.
Thou wilt prefer him to the foolish youth,
Whose dust is only valued for its tomb."

The archmage asked : It was thy wont to speak
About the fortune of the kings of kings
Before the Great, and more than ever now
Thou namest them but with a deep cold sigh ?

The Shah said : " It was never in my heart
That I should praise a process such as this—
To govern this world with the scimitar
Of justice, then pass on and vilely die"
Thy usage," said the archmage, " in the past

Was this — to speak to all in nobler words.
Now thou despisest them and sayest naught
About the past or present."

Nushirwan
Made answer saying : " I have talked enough.
And now I purpose to depend on deeds."

The archmage said : " Thy prayers in former times
Before the Fire were not so long as now.
Thy praises too are longer than they were,
Thy plaints and supplications more profuse."

He gave this answer saying : " Holy God
Exalteth from the dust His worshipper,
Doth favourably dispose the sky toward him,
And maketh all the world to be his slave.
If this slave faileth to appreciate,
Let him not 'scape from hardship and distress."

The archmage asked : " Since thou becamest
king
What greater cause for thankfulness hast thou
Toward thy Maker ? Hath that eminence
Increased thy joy and filled thy foemen's hearts
With blood ? "

He answered thus : " Thanks be to God,
Our fortune hath been good. None in my presence
Hath ever sought for the supremacy,
But at my chastening washed his hands of ill.
My foemen have grown feeble in the fight
When they beheld mine onset and my mace."

The priest went on : When warring in the West
Thou wast both quick of clutch and valorous,
But when thou wast campaigning in the East
Thou wast long-suffering and deliberate'

And Nushirwan made answer thus : " The youth
Accounteth not of pain and toil of mind,
But when a man hath come to sixty years
He must assume a gentler attitude.
Thanks to the World-lord who is all-providing,
The Author of the good and ill of fortune,
That I had prowess in my youthful days.
And recked not if my luck were good or bad.
Now knowledge, treasure, generosity,
And rede, accompany my days of age,
The world is 'neath my rule and usages,
And circling heaven my breastplate in the fight."

Said the archmage : " The Shahs of long ago
Desired to hold discourse on all affairs ;
Thy words are briefer and thy secrets more,
Yet thou surpassest those famed men of old."

He made this answer, saying : " Every king,
That doth believe in Him who giveth all,
Is not concerned about himself for He,
Who made the world, still watcheth over it."

" I see the kings who should be glad of heart,"
The archmage said, " most anxious in our times."

And Nushirwan replied : " The man of sense
Hath ever at his heart the fear of loss."

The archimage rejoined : " The Shahs of old
Allowed not care and fight to mar their feasts."

He made this answer saying : " In their cups
They ever grew forgetful of their fame,
But fame hath triumphed o'er the cup with me,
My spirit is beforehand with the time."

The archmage said : " Shahs used to tend them-
selves,
Employing drug and leech and remedy,
Lest they should have to soil themselves with tears."

" A man, whose time is not yet come," he said,
" Not yet overtaken by the turning sky.
Will stand secure, and drugs will profit naught,
Because the chance of time protecteth him,
But when the hour for passing is at hand
Then no precaution will avert his fate."

The archmage said : " Thou praisest much and
prayest
The Maker, yet at heart thou art not glad
The while, but ever hast a soul all care."

" There is no care at all," said Nushirwan,
" The Shah's heart is at one with turning heaven ;
I fear that those who offer praise to me,
And shower benedictions on my Faith,
Affect a greater fervour than they feel :
Mine object is to read my subjects' hearts."

" Why joy we in our children," asked the arch-
mage,
" And why do we desire a family ? "

" The man that leaveth children in the world
Will not become forgotten," he replied.
" If he have children he will relish life,
And for that reason will abstain from vice,
While if he pass away the pang is slight,
Because a child's eyes watch his paling face."

" Who liveth at his ease," the archmage asked,
" And who repenteth of his own good deeds ? '

He thus replied : " The worshipper of God
Will take the reins of fortune in his hands
And, seeking no addition, is at ease,
Who if he sought it would be full of fear.

Then as for what thou said'st about good deeds,
And secret inclinations to do good,
Know, no one is more mortified than he
That meditateth good for thankless folk."'

" The evil-doer dieth,' said the archmage,
" The world removeth from the roll his name.
The righteous man will likewise pass away.
And destiny account his every breath.
What need is there for praising excellence
Since death is here to reap both good and bad ? '

And Nushirwan made answer thus : " Good deeds
Will find a ready market everywhere.
He that doth good deeds dieth not though dead,
But resteth, giving up his soul to God
He that doth fail therein will have no rest,
And leave behind an evil memory."

The archmage further said : " No ill is worse

Than death. If so, then what is our resource ? '

The Shah replied : " On leaving this dark earth,
The life which then thou wilt have gained is pure.
Whoe'er lived here in fear and care must needs
Bewail that life but, whether Shah or subject.
Thou wilt be quit of this world's fear and pain."

The archmage asked him : " Which is worst of
these
In filling us with anguish and chagrin ? '

The Shah made answer : " Reckon mountain-heavy
The troubles that descend on us in troops.
And what is fear except the fear of troubles,
Than which there is naught stronger in the world ? '

" How can we "'scape from these ? ' ' the archmage
asked,
" For this world's doings give us cause to weep ?"

He thus made answer : " Knowledge is the way:
The sage is ever cheerful."
"Which of us,"
Inquired the archmage, " hath most store of trea-
sure ? "
The Shah made answer : " He that hath least
toil."
The archmage asked : " Which is the foulest fault,
One alien most from worth and Paradise ?

The Shah made answer : " In the case of women
A strident voice and lack of modesty ;
But. in the case of men, to be a fool,
And thus to spend a lifetime as in prison."'

The archmage asked Who hath most confi-
dence ? "
" He that hath least remorse' replied the Shah,
""And goeth soiled in body, and with heart
Black with iniquity, before his God."'

The archmage said : " Who is the upright man.
Whose heart is proven by his soul and wisdom ? '
The Shah thus answered : " He that toileth on
Through gain and loss and compasseth no ill."

The archmage asked : " Who is the best of men,
The crown upon the head of all mankind ? "

"The meek to whom a crown availeth naught,"
The Shah replied : "not one intent on profit.
Not even though he be of lofty aims ;
Next, he whose greatness is its own reward —
The generous man whose heart is purged from dark-
ness—
And, thirdly, he that hath a zeal divine,
Proceeding from integrity and wisdom."

" What," said the archmage, " is the heart's
chief dread ? "
" The troubles that we bring upon ourselves
The Shah replied.

" What giving is the best."'
The archmage said, " so that the man who giveth
May be exalt and great ? "

" In gain and loss,"
The Shah rejoined, " keep naught from the deserv-
ing."

The archmage asked concerning this world's
doings : —
" Declare its process open and concealed.
Whate'er the manner of that action be,
For loss or profit, shall We acquiesce ? "

"The All-knowing," thus the Shah replied, "is
greater
And higher than this ancient sky although
It knowing be and mindful ; He is Lord
Of this world's lords. Become not then perverse,
Avoid disaster, and attribute not
Good fortune and misfortune to the sky.
Know that both ill and good proceed from Him
That hath no peer — the One eternal Cause,
Whose word is : " Be ' and what He willeth is,
Who was and is and will be evermore.""

" The body is the hostel of the soul :
Which of them feeleth pain ?" the archmage asked.

The Shah replied : " Our mortal bodies suffer
So long as they have brains, but when the soul
Hath filtered through they lose their consciousness,
And when it hath departed are dissolved."

The archmage questioned him on self-control : —
" In what way can we hide our greed and need ? '

The Shah replied : " 'Tis fitting that the sage
Suppress them, yet thou ever wilt be vexed
By greed because ne'er satiate of treasure."

The archmage asked : " Among the kings of yore,
The men of sense, rede, faith, and precedent.
Whom knowest thou as subject of our praise,
When he is dead, O monarch of the earth ? "

" That great king," this was Nushirwan's reply,
" Who is a worshipper of God and pure,

And thankful to the righteous Lord of all,
Who filleth none with fear of tyranny.
Who giveth to the good a hopeful heart.
And to the bad a heart of fear and pain.
Who furnisheth his troops from his own treasures,
And turneth on malignants their own ill.
Who questioneth the sages of the world.
And keepeth from his foes his bad and good."

The archmage asked : " Wherein consisteth worship,
And who approacheth to God's holiness ? "

"The subtle will direct.'" the Shah replied.
"His soul as by fine hair-breadths and first know
The being and the unity of God,
Which small instruction will make evident,
And he will offer thanks for mercies given,
While putting trust in God and Fearing Him,
Who is thy terror when thou seekest ill.
Thy trust when thou dost well. If thou art sound
Of Faith and seek'st the Way all will esteem thee,
While if thou art malign and ill-disposed
Thy soul hath forwarded its packs to Hell.
Feel not at home with this world for 'twill hold
Its secrets from thee. Tend to works of Faith;
Thy good choice will not injure thee. Let wisdom
Instruct thy heart and let not fortune fool thee.
Again, thou shalt consort not with the guilty
In wrong and strife. Loathe secretly at heart
This world because of that which is to come.
Let thy seat ever be among the sages,
A devotee of everlasting joys,
For what we have on earth will pass away.
And reason counteth them no joys at all.
Mayst thou incline to sense and rede. Let wisdom
Guide thee to God. Speak not unmeasured words,
For thou'rt new-fangled and the world is old.

Be drunk not with the pleasures of the day.
Choose not the company of wicked men.
Refrain thy heart from what can never be,
And give such largess as 'tis fit to give.
Withhold not from a friend aught that thou hast,
Though he should ask thine eyes, thy brains, and

skin,
And if two friends would take account together
No daysman should be needed for that task.
If thou associate with a foe so act
That he may not obtain a hold upon thee.
When one doth seek the path of right his need
Is parts, humility, and gentleness.
Let not thy tongue exaggerate thy merits,
For falsehood is no merit with the just,
Who hold one's high estate a thing of naught,
Another's poverty no mark for scorn.
If some malicious person talk with thee
Let not his malice anger thee, and then,
When, being well assured that thou art weak,
He useth language that is past all bounds,
Reply to him in measured terms and speak
W'ords goodly and well-liking. If it be
That thou canst bring him to himself by kindness
He will repent his former speech. Devote not
Thy leisure to indulgence. Idleness
Is naught if thou art wise. Be diligent
In all thine undertakings and give ear
To knowledge. Enter on no enterprise
Whereof the end will cause remorse or anger.
Have pity on the sad in his distress ;
Bring not his heart to anguish and disaster.
The sage that traineth his own heart to patience
Is not held worthless in the World-lord's eyes,
But knoweth what he meriteth with Him,
And compasseth all actions with discretion,
For increase from a friend is laudable,
And greatness and integrity will bring
Addition. Furthermore that man of God
Will not begrudge the scattering of treasure,
But turneth him from waywardness and loss.
And maketh right and service his profession —
A stem with boughs whereby God's worshipper,
The virtuous saint, hath proved victorious.
There is but one injunction and one way
Incline to God and let Him shelter thee."
If thou, O monarch ! art of just intent

Good will remain to be thy monument
As it doth with Shah Nushirwan whose flesh
Hath turned to dust although his fame is fresh.
Himself unseen his fame is plain to all;
His words survive as his memorial,
And through the righteous deeds that he hath done
His fame past doubt will live while time shall run,
And on his soul shall be, while earth and sky
Abide in place, the sages' eulogy.