Tariel’s Letter in Answer to his Beloved
502
“I WROTE: ‘O sun! thy ray beaming forth from thee
struck my heart; my alertness and boldness are brought
to nought; mad for thee, I have perceived thy beauty and
loveliness; with what service can I pay thee in exchange for
life?
503
“THEN when thou didst make me to survive and sufferedst
me not to be wholly sundered from life, now this time I
compare with that time. I have received thine armlet; I
have bound it round mine arm. How can I show my joy as
much as is fitting ?
504
“OF a truth I offer thee, lo! the veil which thou
demandest; also a cloak, of the same stuff, the like of which
thou wilt not find. Leave me not to swoon, help me, succour
me, come! Whom can I submit to in this world save thee ?’
505
“THE maid arose and forsook me. I lay down and fell
pleasantly asleep, but I shivered, I saw my beloved in my
sleep; I awoke, I had her no more, life was a burden to me:
thus I passed the night, I heard not her voice.”
Counsel About Nestan-Daredjan’s Marriage
506
“EARLY in the morning they summoned me to the palace,
when day was yet at the dawn. I rose; I learned their
tidings and went at the same moment. I saw them both
sitting with three viziers. When I entered they bade me
be seated; I sat down before them on a chair.
507
“THEY said to me: ‘God has brought old age upon us so
that we are exhausted, the time of age approaches us,
youth has passed from us. We have no son, but we have a
daughter whose rays fail us not; we care not for the lack
of a son, we are reconciled to that.
508
“NOW we want a husband for our daughter. Where shall
we find him to whom we may give our throne, whom we
may form in our image, make him ruler of the kingdom,
guardian of the realm, that we be not destroyed, that we
may not let our enemies whet their swords for us ?’
509
“I SAID: ‘How can your heart not feel the want of a son!
But she who is like the sun suffices for our hope.
Whomsoever you choose as son-in-law, he will rejoice
greatly. What more can I say ? You yourselves know what
will be fitting.’
510
“WE began to take counsel on the matter. I tried to keep
my heart firm though it was weakened; I said to myself:
‘I shall say nothing and can do nothing to hinder this.’
The king said: ‘There is Khvarazmsha, King of the
Khvarazmians, if he would give us his child for ours ther
is none like him.’
511
“IT was clear that they had settled it beforehand; they
glanced at each other, their words also were guarded; it was not for me to venture to say anything to hinder them, only I became as earth and cinders; my heart quivered to and fro.
512
“THE queen said: ‘Khvarazmsha is a king reigning with
power. Who could be better than his son for our son-in-law!
‘ How could I dare to dispute since they themselves desired
it! I added assent. The day of the overthrow of my soul
was fixed.
513
“THEY sent a man to Khvarazmsha asking for his son.
Their message was: ‘Our whole realm is without an heir.
there is one daughter fit for childbearing. not to be wedded
abroad; if thou wilt give us thy son for her. wait not tor
aught further.”
514
“THE man arrived loaded with short cloaks and veils.
Khvarazmsha rejoiced with great joy; he said: ‘From God
has befallen us that which we desired; what other child
like unto her could we take to our arms ?”‘
515
“AGAIN they sent other men to bring the bridegroom;
they entreated him: ‘Tarry not, come at our demand.’
I was wearied after exercise at ball-playing, and went to my
chamber to rest; sadness entered into my heart, I began to
endure woes.”
Counsel Between Tariel and
Nestan-Daredjan and Its Results
516
“EXCESSIVE melancholy approached my heart as if to
strike with a knife, but when Asmat’h’s slave entered I sat
proud and strong. He gave me a letter; in it was written:
‘She who is like an aloe-tree in form commands thee to
come hither soon without putting off time.’
517
“I MOUNTED, went forth, entered the little garden, as
thou canst imagine, with a full measure of joy; I passed
through the little garden and arrived at the tower; I saw
Asmat’h standing at the foot; I looked and saw that she
had been weeping, tear stains could be seen on her cheeks;
I was sad, and did not ask; she was troubled by desire for
my coming.
518
“I SAW her frowning; this oppressed me exceedingly, She
no longer smiled on me as she had formerly smiled: She
said no word to me, only her tears showered down: thereby
she wounded me the more, she healed not mv wounds.
519
“SHE carried my thoughts very far away. She led me into
the tower and raised the curtain. I went in, I saw that moon,
every woe forsook me, the ray fell on my heart, but my heart
was not melted.
520
“THE light falling upon the curtain was not light; her
face was carelessly covered by the golden veil I had given
her; the peerless one, apparelled in that same green garment,
was seated in a reclining position on the couch; a shower of
tears fell on her face flashing with radiance.
521
“SHE crouched, like a tiger on the edge of a rock, her
face flashing fury; no longer was she like the sun, the moon
an aloe-tree planted in Eden. Asmat’h seated me far off”; my
heart was struck as by a lance. Then she sat erect with
frowning brows, angry, enraged.
522
“SHE said to me: ‘I marvel why thou art come, thou
breaker of thy binding oath, fickle and faithless, thou
forsworn; but high Heaven will give thee guerdon and
answer for this!’ I said: ‘How can I reply to what I know
not?’
523
“I SAID: ‘I cannot answer thee if I know not the truth.
Wherein have I sinned, what have I done, I senseless and
pale?’ Again she said to me: ‘What shall I say to thee, false and treacherous one! Why did I let myself be deceived,
woman-like! For this I burn with flame.
524
“KNOWEST thou not of the bringing of Khvarazmsha
to wed me? Thou wert sitting as counsellor, thy consent to
this was given, thou hast broken thine oath to me, the
firmness and bindingness thereof. Would to God I might bring thy cunning to nought!
525
“REMEMBEREST thou when thou didst sigh “Ah! Ah!”
when thy tears bathed the fields, and the physicians and
surgeons brought thee medicines ? What else is there that
resembles a man’s falsehood ? Since thou hast denied me,
I, too, will renounce thee. Let us see who will be the more
hurt.
526
“I TELL thee this: Whosoever shall rule India I have
the rule also, whether they go trackless or by the road! It
may not be thus! Now thou hast fallen into error. Thine
opinions are like thee—even so untrue!
527
“WHILE I live, by God, thou shalt no more dwell in
India. If thou seekest to tarry, the soul shall be parted
from thy body! None other shalt thou find like me, even
though thou stretch thy hand unto heaven!'” When the
knight had ended these words he wept, moaned, and said:
“Ah me!”
528
HE said: “When I heard this from her, hope revived in me
exceedingly; once more mine eyes had power to look upon
her light; now I have lost it, why art thou not surprised tha
dazed I live ? Woe to thee, fleeting world! Why seekest thou
to drain my blood ?
529
“I LOOKED, and saw on the lectern the Koran lying open:
I raised it, I stood up, and, praising God and afterwards
her, said: ‘0 sun, thou burnedst me, and in truth my sun
is set; since thou slayest me not, I will venture to make
thee some answer:
530
“IF what I tell thee, these words, be falsely cunning,
may Heaven itself be wrathful with me, may all the sun ‘s rays be turned against me! If thou considerest me worthy
to be judged, I have done no ill.’ She said: ‘What thou
knowest, speak!’ She nodded to me.
531
“THEN again I ventured to say: ‘If I, 0 sun, have broken
my vow to thee, may God now forthwith show His anger b
hurling a thunderbolt from heaven upon me! Who save
thee has for me a face like a sun, a form like a tree ? So how
can I remain alive if a lance strike my heart!
532
‘”THE sovereigns summoned me to court, they held a
solemn council, beforehand they had appointed that youth
as thy husband; even if I had opposed it I could not prevent
it, I should have been a fool for my pains; I said to myself:
“Agree with them for the nonce; it is better for thee to
fortify thy heart.”
533
“HOW could I dare to forbid it, since P’harsadan
understands not, knows not that India shall not remain
masterless! It is 1 alone who am India’s owner; none other
has any right. I know not him whom he will bring hither,
nor who is mistaken in this matter.
534
“I SAID: “I can do nothing in this; I shall contrive
some other means.” I said: “Be not assailed by a multitude
of thoughts.” My heart was like a wild beast; a thousand
times I was ready to fly to the fields. To whom can I give
thee ? Why shouldst thou not take me ?’
535
“I SOLD soul for heart’s sake; thus the tower became
for me a market.’ That rain which at first had frozen the
rose became milder; I saw pearl in the coral, round about
the pearl the coral was tenderly enfolded; she said: ‘Why do
I, too, judge this to be right?
536
“I DO not believe thee to be treacherous and faithless,
a denier of God, not thankful to Him; entreat of him myself
and lordship in gladness over India; I and thou shall be
sovereigns – that is the best of all matches!’
537
“THE wrathful, enraged one became tender to me; either
the sun was on earth or the full-faced moon; she set me
near her, she caressed me, hitherto unworthy of this, she
conversed with me; thus she extinguished the fire kindled
in me.
538
“SHE said to me: ‘The prudent should never hasten, he
will contrive whatever is best, he will be calm under the
passing world. If thou suffer not the suitor to come in to
India, woe if the king be wroth with thee, thou and he will
quarrel, India will be laid waste.
539
“ON the other hand, if thou allow the bridegroom to
come in, if he wed me, if it so fall out, we shall be
sundered each from other, our gay garb will be turned to
mourning, they will be happy and glorious, our sufferings
will be magnified a hundredfold. This shall not be said, that
the Persians1 hold sway in our court.”
‘ Khvarazma was a province of Persia.
540
“I SAID: ‘May God avert the wedding of thee by that
youth! When they come into India and I discover their
quality, I shall show forth to them my strong-heartedness
and prowess; I shall so slay them that they become of no account!’
541
“SHE spoke to me saying: ‘A woman should act in a
womanly way as befits her sex; I cannot have thee shed
much blood, I cannot become a wall of division. When they
come, slay the bridegroom without killing his armies. To
do true justice makes even a dry tree green.
542
“THUS do, my lion, most excellent of all heroes; slay
the bridegroom stealthily, take not soldiers, slaughter not
his armies like cattle or asses; how can a man bear the
burden of much innocent blood!
543
“WHEN thou hast killed him, tell thy lord, my father,
say to him “I could never let India be food for the
Persians; it is mine own heritage, never will I give up even
a drachm of it; if thou wilt not leave me in peace I will
make a wilderness of thy city!”
544
“SAY not that thou wantest my love or desirest me, so
will the righteousness of thy deed seem the greater; the
king will then entreat thee in the most desperate and
abject manner; I shall give myself into thy hands, reigning
together will suit us.’
545
“THIS counsel and advice pleased me exceedingly; I
boasted that I would wield my sword for the slaying of my
foes. Then I rose to depart. She began to entreat me to sit
down; I longed to do so, but could not bring myself to
clasp and embrace her.
546
“I TARRIED some time, then I left her, but I became like
one mad, Asmat’h went in front of me; I shed hot tears;
my grief increased a thousandfold, my joy was reduced to
one; then I went unwillingly away, and so I went slowly.”
The Coming to India of Khvarazmsha’s Son and His Slaying by Tariel
547
“A MAN came. ‘The bridegroom cometh,’ announced he;
but, wretched man! he knew not what God was preparing
for him. The king looked pleased, he spoke no woeful words;
he bade me sit near him; ‘Come,’ said he, and inclined his head.
548
“HE said to me: ‘For me this is a day of joy and merriment.
Let us celebrate the wedding in a palace as befits our
sister Nestan; let us send a man, let us have all the
treasures brought from every part, generously let us
distribute, let us till them with treasure; avarice is
clownishness.’
549
“I SENT in all directions men carrying treasure. The
bridegroom also came, they were no laggards; our men met
them from inside, from outside came the Khvarazmians;
the sum of their soldiers could not be contained even by
the fields.
550
“THE king commanded: ‘Prepare the moedan with tents,
let the bridegroom rest, let him tarry there a little while;
the other armies can go thither without thee to see him,
thou shalt see him here, go not, the knights will be sufficient
to see him.’
551
“I RAISED on the moedan tents of red satin. The
bridegroom arrived, he dismounted; it seemed not like
Easter Eve; those inside began to go out, there was a host
of courtiers there, the soldiers began to form in ranks
according to their regions.
552
“I WAS wearied, as is the wont of one who has done duty:
tired, I turned homeward, and wished to sleep. A slave
came and gave me a letter from Asmat’h the sweet: ‘Come
quickly! She who is like a full-grown aloe commands thee.’
553
“I DISMOUNTED not; I went quickly obedient. Asmat’h
had been weeping; I asked her: ‘Why flow thy tears ?’
She said to me: ‘Being engaged in thy defence, how can I
avoid weeping? How can I justify thee unceasingly,
whatever kind of advocate I may have become!’
554
“WE went in, we saw her seated on a cushion, her brows
puckered; the sun could not more illume the vicinage than
she. I stood before her. She said to me: ‘Why standest
thou there ? The day of battle comes—or, wert thou forsaking
me, wert thou false to me and deceiving me again ?’
555
“I WAS angered, I said nothing, hastily I went out again:
I called back: ‘Now shall it be seen if I did not wish it!
Am I become so cowardly that a woman urges me to fight ?’
I went home, I concerted his slaughter, I was not idle.
556
“I COMMANDED a hundred servants: ‘Prepare for battle!’
We mounted, we passed through the city without letting
anyone perceive us. I went into the tent. It is a horror to
tell with the tongue how the bridegroom was lying; I
killed that youth without shedding of blood, though it was
necessary for blood to flow.
557
“I CUT the tangled edge of the tent, I tore it, I seized
the youth by his legs and struck his head on the tent-pole.
Those lying at the door cried; their lamentation was
marvellous. I mounted my horse, departed, my coat of
chain-mail protected me.
558
“AN alarm was raised against me; there was cry to pursue
me. I went on, they began to follow, I slew my pursuers.
I had a strong city, impregnable to the foe; I reached it
safely, pleasantly, unhurt.
559
“I SENT a man, I made known to all the soldiers: ‘Let
all who will aid me come hither!’ My pursuers did not weary
of coming in the depth of dark night; when they
recognised me they kept their heads whole.
560
“I AROSE at daybreak; I apparelled myself when night
dawned into morn. I saw three lords sent by the king; he
sent a message, saying: ‘God knows I have fostered thee
like my son; why hast thou thus changed my rejoicing
into heaviness ?
561
“WHY didst thou make Khvarazmsha’s innocent blood to
fall on our house! If thou didst desire my daughter, why
didst thou not tell me so ? Thou hast made life distasteful
to me, thine aged foster-father; thou thyself hast brought
it about that thou remainest not with me till the day of
my death.’
562
“IN answer I sent a message: ‘O king, I am stronger than
copper, and this alone hinders me from being destroyed by
the fire and flame of death; but, as you know, a king should be
a doer of justice; by your sun! I am far from desiring your
daughter.
563
“THOU knowest how many palaces and thrones are in
India; I am the sole heir left, all has fallen into your hands.
all their heirs have died out, their heritage remains to you:
by right the throne belongs to none but me.
564
“I SWEAR by your virtue, I cannot flatter you, now this
is not just: God gave thee no son; thou hast an only
daughter. If thou appointedst Khvarazmsha king, what
would have been left for me in exchange ? Can another king
be seated on the throne of India while I wear my sword ?
565
“I WANT not thy daughter, marry her, rid her of me.
India is mine, to no man else will I give it; whoever
contests my right, him will I cause to be uprooted from the
earth; kill me! if I need any foreign helpers.’
Tariel Hears Tidings of the Loss of Nestan-Daredjan
566
“I SENT those men. I was mad in mind; since I could
learn nought of her I grew more inflamed with grief. I went
to look from a wall I had built overlooking the plain. I
learned a dreadful thing, though I lost not my head.
567
“TWO pedestrians appeared, I went to meet them; it was
a woman with a slave; I recognized who was coming, it
was Asmat’h, with dishevelled head, blood flowing from her
face; no more did she call to me smiling, nor did she greet
me with a smile.
568
“WHEN I saw her I became perturbed; my mind was
maddened. I cried from afar: ‘What has befallen us, why
does the fire consume us ?’ She wept pitifully, she could
hardly utter words, she said to me: ‘God had engirt the
sphere of the heavens in wrath for us!’
569
“I CAME near, I enquired again: ‘What has happened to
us? Tell me the truth.’ Again she wept aloud piteously,
again the flame burned her; for a long time she could
speak no word to me, not the tenth part of her griefs; her
breast was dyed crimson with the blood trickling from
her cheeks.
570
“THEN she said to me: ‘I will tell thee, why should I
hide it from thee ? But inasmuch as I shall make thee to
rejoice, so have mercy upon me, suffer me not to live,
let me not survive, I entreat thee, have pity on me, save me
from the passing world, fulfil thy duty to thy God.’
571
“SHE said to me: ‘When thou slowest the bridegroom and
the alarm was raised, the king heard it, he leaped up, he
was sore stricken thereat; he called for thee, he ordered thee
to be summoned, in a loud voice he cried; they sought
thee, they could not find thee at home, and thereat the
king complained.
572
“THEY told him: “He is not here; he has somewhere
passed the gates.” The king said: “I know, I know, too well
I understand; he loved my daughter, he shed blood in the
fields, and when they saw each other they could not refrain
from gazing.
573
“NOW, by my head! I will slay her who is called my
sister; I told her God’s will, she has caught her in the devil’s
net; what have those wicked lovers given or promised her ?
If I allow her to remain alive I renounce God; this is ready
for her punishment.”
574
“SELDOM was it the king’s wont to swear by his head,
and when he thus swore he brake not his oath, forthwith he
fulfilled it. Someone—who knows who ?-who heard this
wrath of the king told it to Davar the Kadj, who knows
even heaven by her sorcery.
575
“SOME enemy of God told Davar, the king’s sister:
“The brother hath sworn by his head, he will not leave thee
alive, the people know it.” She spoke thus: “The good God
knows that I am innocent, and let that same people know
who it is that slays me and for whose sake I am slain.”
576
“MY mistress was the same as when thou didst leave her,
head was still wrapped in thy veils, beautifully they became
her. Davar spoke words such as I had never heard: “Harlot,
thou harlot, why didst thou slay me ? I think thou too shalt
not rejoice.
577
“WANTON, harlot woman, why didst thou cause thy
bridegroom to be slain, or why dost thou make me pay for
his blood with mine ? My brother shall not slay me in
vain for what I have done, what I have made thee do!
Now God grant thou mayst never meet him whom thou
didst incite to hinder this!”
578
“SHE seized her, dragged her along, tore her long hair,
wounded her, bruised her, fiercely she frowned; Nestan
could make no answer, but only sighed and moaned, a
black woman was of no avail, she could not heal her
wounds.
579
“WHEN Davar was sated with beating and bruising, two
slaves with Kadj-like faces came forth; they brought an ark,
they spoke rudely to her, they put that sun inside, thus
was she made prisoner.
580
“SHE said to them: “Go and lose her in the middle
of the great seas. Do not show her frozen water, let not
this water be slippery.” Gleefully they began to laugh,
screaming with joy. All this I saw, nor did I die of it;
stronger than rock am I.
581
“THEY passed the windows towards the sea, immediately
she was out of sight. Davar said: “Who would not stone me
for doing this? Who? Before P’harsadan slay me, I shall die.
Life is wearisome to me!” She struck herself with a knife,
died, fell in a stream of blood.
582
“WHY marvel’st thou not to see me alive, unpierced by
a lance! Now do to me what befits a bringer of such
tidings; by the Most High, deliver from this unbearable
life me who have not yet ceased to breathe.’ Her tears fell
piteously, undiminished, undrying.
583
“I SAID: ‘Sister, why should I kill thee, or what is thy
fault ? What shall I do in return for the debt I owe her ?
Now I devote myself to seek her wherever rock and water
are found.’ I became quite petrified; my heart grew like
hard rock.
584
“EXCESSIVE horror maddened me; fever and trembling
came upon me. I said to myself: ‘Die not! To lie idle is of
no avail; better is it to roam forth to seek her, to run and
wander in the fields. Has come the time for thee, who wishest
to go with me!’
585
“I WENT in, I arrayed myself quickly, accoutred I
mounted my horse. A hundred and sixty good knights
serving me a long time joined me, we passed forth from the
gates in order of battle. I went to the seashore, I saw a ship,
the master of the ship saw me apparelled.
586
“I ENTERED the ship, I went out to sea, I cruised amidst
the sea. I let no ship from any quarter pass unseen. I
waited, but I heard nothing. Mad as I was I became still
more maddened; God hated me so that He forsook me
wholly.
587
“THUS I spent a year-twelve months which were to me
like twenty—but I found no man, even in a dream, who
had seen her. All those who were attendant upon me were
dead and perished. I said: ‘I cannot defy God; what He
wills even that will I do.’
588
“I WAS weary of tossing on the seas, so I came ashore.
My heart had become altogether like a beast’s, I hearkened
to no counsel; all those who were left to me in my
misfortune have been scattered from me, but God abandons
not a man thus forsaken by Fortune.
589
“ONLY this Asmat’h and two slaves remained with me as
my comforters and counsellors. I could learn no news of
Nestan, not even the weight of a drachm. Weeping seemed
to me as joy, and streams of tears flowed down.”
The Story of Nuradin-P’hridon When Tariel
Met Him on the Seashore
590
“I LANDED by night; I came ashore where gardens were
seen. It seemed as if there were a city; we came near, on
one side the rocks were hollowed out. The sight of men gave
me no pleasure; brands were imprinted on my heart. I
dismounted to rest at a spot where there were lofty trees.
591
“I FELL asleep at the foot of the trees; the slaves brake
bread. Then I woke sad, the soot of sorrow made night in
my heart; in so long a time I had learned nought, neither
gossip nor sooth; my tears pressed from mine eyes wet
the fields.
592
“I HEARD a shout. I looked round, a knight cried out
haughtily, he was galloping along the seashore, he was hurt
by a wound, his sword was broken and soiled, blood flowed
down; he threatened his foes, was wrathful, cursed,
complained.
593
“HE sat upon a black steed, the same which I now posses;
like the wind he swept along, enraged, wrathful. I sent
a slave to tell him I was desirous to meet him; I bade him
say: ‘Stand! Declare unto me who angers thee, O lion!’
594
“HE spoke not to the slave, nor did he hear a word.
Hastily I mounted, I went along to meet him; I overtook
him, I came before him, I said: ‘Stay, hearken to me! I too
wish to know thine affair.’ He looked at me, I pleased him,
he checked his course.
595
“HE looked me over, and said to God: ‘How hast Thou
made such a tree!’ Then he said to me: ‘Now will I tell thee
what thou askest me: Those enemies whom I had hitherto
esteemed as goats have proved lions to me; they fell upon
me traitorously when I was unready, I could not don mine
armour.”‘
596
“I SAID: ‘Stand, be calm, let us dismount at the foot of
the trees! A goodly knight withdraws not when cuts are
given with the sword.’ I led him with me; we went away
fonder than father and son. I marvelled at the tender
beauty of the knight.
597
“ONE of my slaves was a surgeon, he bound up the
wounds, he drew out the arrowheads so that the wounds
hurt not. Then I asked: ‘Who art thou, and by whom was
thine arm hurt?’ He set himself to tell me his story; he
bewailed himself.
598
“FIRST he said to me: ‘I know not what thou art, nor to
what I can liken thee. What has thus consumed thee, or
who first made thee full? What has turned thee sallow who
wert planted rose and jet ? Why has God put out the candle
lighted by Himself?
599
“NEAR by is the city of Mulghazanzar, which belongs to
me. My name is Nuradin P’hridon, I am the king ruling
there; here where ye are stationed is my boundary. I have
little, but in all its parts it is of excellent quality.
600
“MY grandfather shared his territory between my father
and uncle. In the sea is an island, this he said was my share
. it had fallen into the hands of that uncle whose sons have
now wounded me; the hunting remained to them, they
quarrelled with me.
601
‘TO-DAY I went forth to the chase, I hunted on the
seashore, I wished to hunt with falcons, so I took not many
beaters; I told the troops: “Wait for me till return.” I kept
no more than five falconers.
602
“I WENT by ship; from the sea came forth a creek. I
considered as nothing those divided from me; I said to
myself: “Why should I take precautions against mine own
folk ?” They seemed timid to me; their multitude appeared
not. I hunted and hallooed; I withheld not my voice.
603
“OF a truth, they were wroth to think I scorned them
thus; they secretly surrounded me with soldiers, they
blocked the roads to the ship; mine own uncle’s sons rode at
their head, waving their arms they rushed on my soldiers
to fight.
604
“I HEARD them; I perceived the outcry and the flashing
of swords. I begged a boat of the boatmen; but once I
called out “Woe is me!” I went into the sea, warriors met
me like wavers, they would have overwhelmed me, but
could not compass it.
605
“YET more great hosts approached me from behind,
from this side and that they came upon me, from one
side they could not overpower me. When those in front
could not come near me, from the back they shot at me: I
trusted in my sword-it broke, my arrow were exhausted.
606
“THEY engirt me; I could do no more. I made my horse
leap over from the boat, I crossed the sea by swimming,
those who beheld me were amazed; they slew all who were
with me, I left them there; whoever pursued me could not
confront me, when I turned I made them turn.
607
“NOW that will be whatever is God’s will. I think my
blood will not be unavenged. May I have the power to
bring my boast to fulfilment! I will make their existence
a lamentation evening and morning. I will call the crows
and ravens and make a banquet of them!’
608
“THAT youth won me to like him; my heart went out
toward him. I said to him: ‘There is no need at all for thee
to hasten; I too will go with thee, there will they be slain;
we two warriors shall surely not be afraid of them!’
609
“THIS also I said: ‘Thou hast not heard my tale; I shall
tell it to thee more fully when we have time.’ He said to me:
‘What joy can weigh against this to me! To the day of my
death my life will be devoted to thy service!’
610
“WE went to his fair, though small, city. The troops
met him; for him they covered their heads with dust, they
scratched their faces and threw away the fragments like
splinters; they embraced him, they kissed his sword, its
hilt and ring.
611
“AGAIN I pleased; I his new friend seemed fair to him.
They spoke my praises: ‘0 sun, thou art a bringer of fine
weather to us!’ We went and saw his fair, rich city. Every
form was clad in broad brocade.”
Tariel’s Aid to P’hridon, and Their
Victory Over Their Foes
612
“HE was healed, and able to fight and use horse and
armour. We prepared galleys and the number of a host of
troops; it needed a man to pray to God for some aid for
those who gazed upon them.—Now will I tell thee of that
knight’s battle, the punisher of his adversaries.
613
“I PERCEIVED their design, and saw them donning their
headgear. Ships met me, I know not if there were eight in
all; swiftly I threw myself upon them; they began to row;
I struck one of the ships with my heel and upset it; like
women they bewailed themselves.
614
“I BETOOK myself to yet another, and seized the prow of
the ship with my hand; I drowned them in the sea, I slew
them; they had no opportunity for battle. The rest fled
from me, they made for their harbour; all who saw me
marvelled, they praised me, they hated me not.
615
“WE crossed the sea, we landed. Mounted they threw
themselves on us. Again we engaged; there began the
vicissitudes of battle. P’hridon’s bravery and agility
pleased me then; in warfare a lion, in face a sun, that
aloe-tree fought.
616
“WITH his sword he cast down both his cousins, he cut
their hands clean off; thus he crippled them; he led them
away bound by the arms; the one did not abandon the two.
He made their knights to weep, his knights to vaunt themselves.
617
“THEIR soldiers fled from us, we threw ourselves upon
them, we scattered them; swiftly we seized the city, we
wasted not time; we broke their legs with stones, we tanned
their skin to leather. Kill me, if it was possible to empty the
treasure both by lading and stowing!
618
“P’HRIDON inspected the treasures and put his seals
upon them; he himself led away his two vanquished
cousins; he shed their blood in exchange for his, and
poured it out on the fields. Of me he said: ‘Thanks to God
who has planted aloe-trees!’
619
“WE went back to P’hridon’s. The triumph exhibited by
the citizens was heard; jugglers there laid hold on the heart
of beholders. All uttered praise to me and Nuradin, in a
panegyric; they said to us: ‘Through the strength of your
right arms their blood still flows !’
620
“THE soldiers acclaimed P’hridon as king and me as king
of kings, themselves as subjects and me as sovereign of
them all. I was gloomy, they could never find me culling
roses; they knew not my story, there it was not lightly
spoken of.”
P’hridon Tells Tariel Tidings of Nestan-Daredjan
621
“ONE day the king and I went forth to the chase; we
climbed upon a cape jutting out into the sea. P’hridon
said to me: ‘I will tell thee how, when we were out riding
for sport, I once saw a wonderful thing from this cape.’
622
“I BADE him speak, and P’hridon told me even this tale:
‘One day I wished to hunt, I mounted this steed of mine. In
the sea it seemed a duck and on the land a falcon; I stood
here and watched the flight of the hawk thitherward.
623
“‘NOW and then as I climbed uphill I gazed out to sea.
I perceived a small thing far away on the sea, going so
swiftly that nothing of its kind could equal it; I could not
make it out; in my mind I marvelled at these two things.
624
‘”I SAID to myself: “What is it ? To what can I liken it ?
Is it bird or beast ?” It was a boat tented over with many-
folded stuff; a steersman guided it. I fixed mine eyes upon
it, and there in an ark sat the moon; I would have given
her the seventh heaven as habitation.
625
“‘TWO slaves as black as pitch crept out, they put ashore
a maiden, I saw her thick-tressed hair, the lightning that
flashed from her-to what colours can it be likened ?-would
illumine the earth and make the sunbeams of no account.
626
‘”JOY made me hasten, quiver, stagger. I loved that
rose who is not frozen by the snow. I resolved to engage
them, I said: “Let me go towards them; what creatures
can fly away from my black steed ?”
627
‘”I PRESSED my horse with my heel. There was a noise
and rustling among the rushes. I could not reach her,
however much I used the spur; they were gone. I came to
the seashore and looked round, she appeared only as a last
ray of the setting sun, she went farther away, she was gone
from me, therefore was I consumed by flame.’
628
“This I heard from P’hridon; heat was added to my fire.
I threw myself down from my horse, I wholly abased
myself; with mine own blood shed from my cheeks I
anointed myself. Kill me! That anyone but I should have
seen that tree!
629
“THIS behaviour of mine astonished P’hridon, it seemed
passing strange to him; but he was exceedingly pitiful to
me, by weeping he placated me, like a son he soothed me,
he pled with me, treated me with deference, and,
pearl-like, hot tears sprang from his eyes.
630
“‘ALAS! What have I, misguided, madly told thee?’ I
said: ‘It matters not, grieve not for that! She was my moon;
for her the fire consumes me hotly. Now will I tell thee my
tale, since thou thyself wishest to have me as comrade.’
631
“I TOLD P’hridon all that had befallen me. He said to
me: ‘What have I, mistaken, shamed, said to thee ? Thou
mighty king of the Indians, wherefore art thou come to me ?
A royal seat and throne become thee, a whole palace.’
632
“AGAIN he said to me: ‘To whom God gives for form a
young cypress, from him He withdraws the spear, though
at first He lacerates his heart therewith. He will grant us
His mercy. He will thunder it from heaven. He will turn
our sorrow to joy. He will never grieve us.’
633
“WE went back tearful; we sat down alone together in
the palace. I said to P’hridon: ‘Save thee, none is mine aid.
God has not sent thy like to earth, and since I know thee
what more do I want ?
634
“‘THOU hadst no friend until the time when thou didst
meet me; use now thy tongue and mind to counsel me in
this: What can I do? What is the best thing to bring joy to
her and me ? If I can do nought I shall not survive a
moment.’
635
“HE said to me: ‘What better fate could I have from God
than this ? Thou art come to be gracious to me, king,
sovereign of India. Needs it that after this I should desire
any gratitude ? I stand before thee as a slave to obey thee
slavishly.
636
‘”THIS city is the highway for ships coming from al
parts, an emporium of much foreign news of all kinds.
Here shall we hear of the balm to assuage the fire which
burns thee. God grant that these woes and pains pass
away!
637
‘”WE will send out sailors who have fared on the sea before;
let them find for us that moon for whose sake grief is not
lacking to us; until then be patient, so that thy mind
torture thee not; grief will not last for aye, shall not joy
overcome it!’
638
“THAT very instant we called men, we settled the business;
we commanded them: ‘Go with ships, sail over the sea, seek
her out for us, fulfil the desire other lover; undergo a
thousand hardships for this, not merely seven or eight.’
639
“HE appointed men wherever there were havens for ships;
he gave orders: ‘Seek out everywhere, wheresoever you hear
of her.’ Waiting seemed to me a consolation, my pains
became-lightened; absent from her I felt joy, and for the
sake of that day I am ashamed.
640
“P’HRIDON set up a throne for me in the place for the
overlord. He said to me: ‘Hitherto have I erred, I could not
comprehend what I should have understood; thou art the
great king of the Indians; who can please thee ?
Wherewithal ? How ? Who is the man who would not be thy
subject!’
641
“WHY should I lengthen the story? From all sides came
the seekers of news, empty, and wearied of empty places;
they had learned nothing at all, they knew not any news.
As for me, afresh the undrying tear flowed still more from
mine eyes.
642
“I SAID to P’hridon: ‘How this day seems horrible to me,
I have God for my witness thereto; to speak thereof is hard
for me; without thee night and day alike seem eventide to
me; I am loosed from all joy, my heart is bound with grief.
643
‘”NOW since I may no longer expect any news of her,
I can no longer stay; give me leave, I seek thy permission.’
When P’hridon heard this he wept, he watered the field with
blood, and said: ‘Brother, from this day vain is all my joy!’
644
“THOUGH they tried very hard, they could not hold me
back; his armies came before me on bended knees, they
embraced me, kissed me, wept and made me weep. ‘Go not
away; let us be your slaves so long as life is ours.’
645
“1 SPOKE thus: ‘Parting from you is very hard for me also.
but it is hardly possible for me to have joy without her.
I cannot forsake my captive Nestan, whom you yourselves
pity greatly; let none of you hinder me, I will not stay nor
be held back by any.’
646
“THEN P’hridon brought and gave me this horse of mine;
he said: ‘Behold! this steed is given to you, the sun-faced,
the cypress; more I know thou desirest not, who could
despise such a gift ? This will please thee by its breaking-in
and its swiftness.’
647
“P’HRIDON escorted me; as we went we both shed tears;
there we kissed each other, with cries we parted, all the host
lamented for me, truly, in their hearts, not with the tongue;
our severing was like that of foster-parent and child.
648
“DEPARTED from P’hridon, I went on the quest, again
I fared so that I missed nought on land or out at sea; but
I met no man who had seen her, and my heart became
wholly maddened, I was like a wild beast.
649
“I SAID to myself: ‘No longer shall I rove and sail in vain;
perchance the company of beasts may make my heart forget
grief.’ I said seven or eight words to my slaves and to this
Asmat’h: ‘I know I have brought grief upon you; you have
good reason to murmur against me.
650
“NOW go and leave me, provide for yourselves, look no
longer on the hot tears flowing from mine eyes.’ When they
heard such discourse they said to me: ‘Alas! Alas! let not
our ears hear what thou sayest!
651
‘”LET us not see any master or lord apart from thee, may
God not sunder us from your horse’s footprints! We would
gaze upon you, a fair and adorable spectacle.’ Fate,
forsooth, makes a man listless, however valiant he may be.
652
“I COULD not send them away; I hearkened to the words
of my slaves, but I forsook the haunts of human tribes, the
retreats of goats and stags seemed a fitting abode for me;
I roamed, I trod every plain below and hill above.
653
“I FOUND these manless caves, hollowed out by Devis
I combated them, I destroyed them, they could by no
means prevail against me; they killed my slaves, ill had they
buckled on their coats of mail. The passing world made me
gloomy; its showers again bespattered me.
654
“BEHOLD, brother! since that day am I here, and here I
die. Mad I roam the fields; sometimes I weep and
sometimes I faint. This maid will not abandon me; she too
is burned by fire for Nestan’s sake. I have no other resource
to try but death.
655
“SINCE a beautiful tiger is portrayed to me as her image.
for this I love its skin, I keep it as a coat for myself; this
woman sews it, sometimes she sighs, sometimes she groans.
Since I cannot kill myself, in vain is my sword whetted.
656
“THE tongues of all the sages could not forth-tell her
praise. Enduring life, I think upon my lost one. Since then
I have consorted with the beasts, calling myself one of
them; I am suitor for death, nought else I entreat of God.”
657
HE beat his face, he rent it, he tore his cheeks of rose; the
ruby turned to amber, the crystal was shattered.
Avt’handil’s tears flowed too; one by one they dripped from
his lashes. Then the maid soothed Tariel; on bended knee
she besought him.
658
TARIEL, calmed by Asmat’h, said to Avt’handil: “I have
made everything pleasant for thee, I who never found
pleasure for myself. I have told thee the tale of mine
irksome life; now go and see thy sun, thou whose time for
meeting is nigh.”
659
AVT’HANDIL said: “I cannot bear to part from thee: if
I separate from thee tears indeed will flow from mine eyes,
Verily I tell thee-be not wroth at this boldness-she for
whose sake thou diest will not be comforted thereby.
660
“WHEN a physician—however praiseworthy he be—falls
sick, he calls in another leech, another skilled in the pulse;
him he tells what illness inflaming him with fire afflicts him.
Another knows better what is useful advice for one.
661
“LISTEN to what I say to thee; I speak to thee as a sage
and not as a madman; a hundred times must thou give
heed, once sufficeth not. A man so furious of heart can do
nought well. Now I desire to see her for whose sake hot
fire consumes me.
662
“I SHALL see her, I shall confirm her love for me, I shall
tell her what I have learned; nought else have I to do.
I beseech thee to assure me, for God and heaven’s sake, let
us not abandon one another, make me swear and make thou
an oath to me.
663
“IF thou promise me that thou wilt not go hence, I shall
assure thee by an oath that for nought shall I forsake thee;
I shall come again to see thee, I shall die for thee, for thee
shall I rove. If God will, I shall make thee cease to weep
thus for her for whom thou diest!”
664
HE answered: “How is it that thou, a stranger, so lovest
me, a stranger ? It is as hard for thee to part from me as for
the nightingale from the rose. How can I forget thee, how
can I cease to remember thee! God grant that I may again
see thee, full-grown young aloe-tree.
665
“IF thy form remain a tree, and thy face turn round to see
me, my heart will not flee into the fields, it will become
neither a deer’s nor a goat’s. If I lie to thee or cheat thee,
may God judge me in wrath! Thy presence will charm away
my sadness and dissolve it!”
666
HEREUPON they swore, the frank friends, those jacinths
of amber hue, wise-worded but mad-minded. They loved
each other; forever would affection’s flame burn their hearts.
That night the fair comrades spent together.
667
AVT’HANDIL wept with him; fast fell the tears. When
day dawned he went forth, kissed him and parted from him.
Tariel was so grieved that he knew not what to do.
Avt’handil wept, too, as he rode through the rushes.
668
ASMAT’H went down with Avt’handil, she conjured him
with an oath, she kneeled, she wept, she bent her fingers in
entreaty, she besought him to come back soon; as a violet.
so she faded. He replied: “O sister, of what can I think save
you!
669
“SOON shall I come; I shall not forsake thee nor waste time
at home. But let him not go elsewhere; let not that fair
form wander. If I come not hither in two months I shall be
doing a shameful thing; be assured that I am fallen into
unceasing grief.”
The Story of Avthandil’s Return to Arabia After He Had Found and Parted From Tariel
670
WHEN he was gone thence sadness was surely slaying him;
he scratched his face, he froze the rose of his cheeks, his
hand became thorny; all the beasts licked up the blood that
flowed from him. His swift pace shortened the long course.
671
HE came there where he had parted from his armies. They
saw him, they knew him, they rejoiced in such manner as
was fitting. They told the good tidings to Shermadin too;
men quickly ran to him: “He is come for whose sake
hitherto joy has been embittered to us.”
672
HE went to meet him, he embraced him, he put his mouth
on Avt’handil’s hand, pouring forth tears he joyfully kissed
the shedder of tears in the field. Thus he spoke: “O God, do
I see really or darkly ? How am I worthy of this, that mine
eyes should gaze upon thee safe and sound!”
673
THE knight saluted him low, he put face upon face, he said:
“I thank God that no grief afflicts thee!” The lords did
homage, whoever was worthy kissed him; there was great
jubilation, great and small alike rejoiced.
674
THEY came where a dwelling-house had been built; all the
city was assembled to see him; forthwith he sat down to
feast, gay, proud, merry; an assemblage of tongues could not
fully describe the joy of that day.
675
HE told Shermadin, he narrated to him all he had seen—how
he had found that knight whom he likened to the sun.
Avt’handil was hampered by tears; he said with half-closed
eyes: “Without him it seems to me alike to dwell in palace
or hut.”
676
SHERMADIN told him all the home news: “None knows of
thy departure; whatever thou toldst me so have I done.”
He went not thence that day, he feasted and rested; at dawn
he mounted, he set out when the sun enlightened the day.
677
HE sat no more at feasting, nor stayed he again private;
Shermadin, the bearer of good tidings, went to announce
Avt’handil’s arrival; swiftly he fared, in three days he made
a ten days’ journey. That lion Avt’handil rejoiced that he
was to see the sun’s rival.
678
HE sent a message: “O king, proud art thou in might and
majesty! I venture to tell thee this thing with fear, respect
and precaution: I esteemed myself worthless in that I had
learned nought of that knight, now I know and will tell thee
all; I come in joy and safety.”
679
ROSTEVAN is a king, proud, puissant, imperious, so
Shermadin delivered all his message in person: “Avt’handil
comes to the royal presence having found that knight.” The
king said: “Now I know that which I entreated and prayed
for from God.”
680
SHERMADIN made report to Thinat’hin, that nightless
light: “Avt’handil conies to thy presence; he brings thee
pleasing news.” Thereat, light flashed forth from her, even
braver than the sun’s. She gave him a gift, and robes to all
his people.
681
THE king mounted and went to meet the knight who was
coming thither, for this honour the sun-faced one incurred
a great debt of gratitude; joyous and warm-hearted they met,
and some of the multitude of lords seemed as if drunken.
682
WHEN he approached, the knight alighted and did homage
to the king. Rostevan, possessed by excess of joy, kissed him.
Glad-hearted and merry they entered the royal hall; all
there assembled rejoice at the arrival of the knight.
683
AVTHANDIL, the lion of lions, did homage to her, the sun
of suns; there the crystal, rose and jet were beautified by
tenderness; her face was brighter than heaven’s light;
a dwelling-house was no fit abode for them, the sky itself was
their proper palace.
684
THAT day they made a feast; drinking and eating they made
abundant. The king gazes on the knight, as a tender father
on a son. They were both beautified by a snowfall of fresh
snow, a dew on the rose; generously they gave gifts, pearls
like small coin.
685
THE drinking was done, the drinkers separated each to his
own home; they suffered not the lords to go, they set the
knight near before them. The king inquires, and he relates
what trials he had undergone, and then what he had seen
and heard concerning the stranger.
686
“WHEN I speak of him, be not astonished if I ceaselessly
lament, saying: ‘Ah me!’ To the sun alone can I liken him,
or the face of him, the extinguisher of the mind of all who
see him; a wilted rose among thorns, alas! he is far away!
687
“WHEN the unendurable world makes a man suffer grief,
the reed becomes like a thorn, the enamel turns to saffron
colour.” While Avt’handil was telling this his cheeks were
bedewed with tears. He told in detail the story he had heard
from Tariel.
688
“HAVING captured the caves in battle, he has for his
house the abode of the Devis. He has the damsel of his
beloved as his attendant. He is clad in tiger’s skin; he
despises brocade and cloth of gold. No more sees he the
world; an ever-new fire consumes him.”
689
WHEN he had finished the story—the matter of his grief-
the sight of the light of that sun, not ugly to look upon,
gladdened him. They praised his rose-like hand which had
been firmly held. “This prowess is sufficient for thee since
thou art the undoer of grief.”
690
T’HINAT’HIN rejoiced at the hearing of this news. That
day she was merry at the drinking, and eating was not
wearisome to her. Avt’handil met in his bedchamber
T’hinat’hin’s slave who spoke wisely. She ordered him to
come to her. Tongue cannot tell how pleased he was.
691
THE knight went joyful, tender, not ill content, the lion
who had roamed the fields wilh the lions of the field and had
lost his colour, a knight of the world, in quality a gem and
a beautiful ruby of first water, but for heart’s sake
he had exchanged heart for heart.
692
BOLD sits the sun upon her throne, majestic,
unconstrained, a fair aloe planted in Eden, generously
watered by Euphrates’ stream; the jetty hair and the
eyebrow thickets adorned the crystal and ruby. Who am
I that I should praise her ? It needs the myriad tongues of
Athenian sages to praise her fitly.
693
SHE set the joyful knight before her with his chair, they
both sat full of gladness to converse as befitted them; they
spoke with dignity and fluency, not with unpolished words.
She said: “Thou hast found him in whose quest thou hast
seen misfortunes ?”
694
HE answered: “When the world gives a man his heart’s
desire, it befits not to recall grief which is as a day that is
past. I found the tree, an aloe in form, watered by the
stream of the world; there I found the face which was like
the rose, but now is wan.
695
“THERE saw I the cypress, the rose-like, whose power was
spent; he says: ‘I have lost the crystal, and that where the
crystal unites with enamel.’ I burn for him because, like me,
unendurable fire consumes him.” Then again he told the
story he had heard from Tariel.
696
HE recounted all his misfortunes and sorrows by the road
during the quest. Then he told her how God had thought
him worthy to find what he desired. “World, life, man, all
seems to him as to a beast; alone he roams mad with the
brutes, he weeps in the field.
697
“ASK me not what praise can I speak, how couldst thou
understand from me! Nothing can please one who has seen
him; the eyes of the beholders are weakened as by the
brilliance of the sun; the rose is become saffron, now the
violet is gathered in nosegays.”
698
HE told her in detail what he knew, what he had seen,
heard: “Like a tiger he has a trail, and for house and abode
a cave; a damsel is there ready to cherish him, to maintain
his life and bear his sorrows. Alas! The world makes all
dwellers in the world to shed tears!”
699
WHEN the maiden heard this story she had attained the
fulfilment of her will; her moon-like face shone as ’twere
with radiance at the full. She said: “What answer can I
make to give comfort to him, and pleasure, and what is the
balm for the healing of his wound ?”
700
THE knight replied: “Who has confidence in a rash man?
He for my sake sacrifices himself to be burned, he who must
not be burned. I have appointed the time of my return;
I have promised him to sacrifice myself for him. I swear it
by my sun whom I contemplate as a sun!
701
“A FRIEND should spare himself no trouble for his friend’s
sake, he should give heart for heart, love as a road and
a bridge. Then, again, the grief of his beloved should be
a great grief to a lover. Lo! without him joy is nought to
me, and myself I hold of none account.”
702
THE sun-like one said: “All my heart’s desire is fulfilled:
first thou art come in safety having found that which was
lost, then the love implanted by me in thee has grown, I
have found balm for my heart hitherto burned.
703
“THE passing world treats every man like the weather,
sometimes there is sunshine and sometimes the sky thunders
forth in wrath; hitherto grief has been upon me, now this
gladness is my lot; since the world has joy in it why should
any be sad!
704
“THOU dost well not to break the oath thou didst swear;
it is necessary to fulfil strong love for a friend, to seek for
his cure, to know the unknown. But tell me, what shall I,
luckless, do if the sun of my heaven be hidden!”
705
THE knight replied: “By nearness to thee I have united to
seven woes eight. Vain is it for one who is frozen to blow on
water to warm himself therewith; vain is the love, the kiss
from beneath, of the sun at its setting. If I be near thee,
once is it woe, and if I go far from thee a thousandfold woe.
706
“WOE is me if I wander where, alas! the flame burns the
roamer; my heart is the target of an arrow, a dart is shot
to pierce it; the term of my life seems by this day to be
shortened to one-third; I long for a refuge, but the time is
past for seeking shelter against troubles.
707
“I HAVE heard your discourse, I have understood what
you command; the thorn reveals the rose, why should
I prick myself with prickles ? But, 0 sun, become altogether
a sun for me, and let me carry with me some hopeful token
of life.”
708
THE knight, sweetly and in sweet-sounding language
giving good for good, spoke on this theme like a pleasant
instructor to a pupil. The maiden gave him a pearl, she
fulfilled his desire, and God grant that their present joy be
perfected.
709
WHAT is better than for a man to approach the jet to the
crystal and ruby, or to plant in the garden the aloe near the
cypress, to water it and make a tree of it, to cause joy to the
gazer and sorrow to him who cannot look thereon ? Woe to
the parted lover! He will be groaning, moaning, groaning.
710
THEY found all their joy in gazing at each other. The
knight went away, sundered from her he went dazed in
heart; the sun wept tears of blood more abundant than the
sea, and said: “The world is insatiable, alas! in the drinking
of my blood!”
711
THE knight went melancholy away, he beats his breast
and so bruises it, for love makes a man weep and melts his
heart. When a cloud hides the sun the earth is shadowed, so
parting from his beloved makes twilight again, not morning.
712
BLOOD and tears mingled made channel upon channel on
his cheeks. He said: “My sun is by no means satisfied with
me because I sacrifice myself to her comfort. I marvel how
the black eyelash brands the heart of diamond. Until I see
her, O world, I wish for no joy from thee.
713
“HIM who yesterday was an aloe planted, watered and
fully grown in Eden, him to-day the passing world thrusts
through with her lance, pierces with her knife. To-day my
heart is caught in a net of unquenchable fire. Now know I the way of the world; it is a tale and nonsense.”
714
THUS speaking, the tears gush forth, he trembles and
shudders; with heart-sigh, with deep groan, his form bends
and sways. Converse with the beloved is embittered by
parting. Alas! 0 passing world! The end enshrouds and
swathes man.
715
THE knight went and sat in his chamber; sometimes he
weeps, sometimes he swoons, but in spirit he is near his
beloved, he is not cut off from her. Like verdure in hoarfrost
the hue of his face fades; see how soon lack of sun is
apparent on the rose!
716
ACCURSED is the heart of man, greedy, insatiable;
sometimes the heart desiring joys endures all griefs; blind
is the heart, perverse in seeing, not at all able to measure;
no king, nor even death itself, can master it.
717
WHILE he spoke to his heart hearty words, he took the
pearls, the love-token of his sun, which had engirt the arm
of his sun, and were comparable to her teeth; he put them
to his mouth, he kissed them, his tears flowed like byssus.
718
WHEN day dawned there came an inquirer calling him to
the court; the knight went forth, proud, gentle, not having
slept, unrefreshed by sleep. A host of spectators who had
hastened stood crowding one upon another. The king was
arrayed for the field; drum and clarion were prepared.
719
THE king mounted. How can the pomp of those times be
told now ? By reason of the beating of the copper drums no
word was heard by the ears. The hawks darkened the sun;
hither and thither coursed the hounds; that day the fields
were dyed purple with the blood shed by them.
720
THEY hunted, they returned joyful, having traversed the
meadow; they took in with them lords, princes and all the
hosts. The king sat down; he found the couches and all the
pavilions adorned; harp harmonized with castanets, there
was a full choir.
721
THE knight sat near the king, one questioned, the other
replied; the crystal and ruby of their lips shone transparent. the lightning of their teeth flashed; those who were worthy sat near, they listened; afar off the hosts were grouped:
none dared speak without mention of Tariel.
722
THE knight departed sad at heart, his tears flowed on the
fields; nought save his love passed before his eyes;
sometimes he rises, sometimes he lies down. How can one
sleep who is mad! Whose heart e’er hearkened to a praver
for patience!
723
HE lies down; he says: “What can I imagine as any
consolation for my heart ? I am sundered from thee, thou
tree, in form as a reed, reared in Eden, thou joy of thy beholders, cause of woe to them that cannot gaze on thee.
Since I am unworthy to see thee manifestly, would that
I might behold thee in a dream.”
724
THUS spake he, weeping, with flowing tears. Once more
he addressed his heart: “Patience is like the fountain-head
of wisdom. If we endure not what can we do ? How can we
adapt ourselves to anguish ? If we desire happiness from God
we must accept griefs also.”
725
AGAIN he says: “0 heart, however much thou hast the
desire for death it is better to bear life, sacrificing self for
her; but hide it, let not the flame of thy fire be seen again.
It ill befits a lover to expose his love.”
Avt’handil’s Request to King Rostevan, and the Vizier
726
WHEN day dawned the knight arrayed himself and went
forth early. He says: “I would that my love be not revealed.
that I may conceal it!” For patience he prays: “Contrive
something for my heart!” The moon-like one mounted his
horse; he went to the house of the vizier.
727
THE vizier heard of it, went to meet him: “The sun is
risen upon my house; this day, meseems, a presentiment of
joy announced to me this good news.” He met Avt’handil,
saluted him, respectfully addressed to the perfect one
perfect praise. A welcome guest should have a cheerful
host.
728
THIS host, not listless, ill-disposed or idle, helped the
knight to dismount; they stretched on the floor under his
feet a Cathayan rug. The knight illumined the house as the
sun’s beam the universe. They said: “To-day the western
gale has wafted us the fragrant odour of roses.”
729
HE sat; they that looked on him truly maddened their
hearts. They who gazed on him accounted it an honour to
swoon for his sake; many sighs were uttered, not once but
a thousand times; they were ordered to depart, they went
away, the household was thinned out.
730
WHEN the household was gone, the knight addressed the
vizier; quoth he: “In the council chamber nought will ever
be hidden from thee; in every matter of state the king does
what thou desirest, and agrees with thee. Now hearken to
my woes; cure me with what will heal me.
731
“THE fire of yon knight burns me, the flame that consumes
him afflicts me; I am slain by longing and by not seeing
the object of my desire; he would not grudge his life for me;
what is due must be paid; one must love a generous
ungrudging friend.
732
“THE sight of him caught my heart as in a net, therein
it stays; my patience, too, remains with him; in that he
burns those near him. God created him indeed a sun.
Moreover, Asmat’h is become a sister to me, more than
a born sister.
733
“WHEN I departed 1 swore with a fearful oath: ‘I shall come
again, I shall see thee not with a face despised of foes;
thou art of darkened heart, I shall seek light for thee.’
It is time for me to go, therefore am I burned with hot fire.
734
“ALL this I tell thee truly, not with braggart speech; he
awaits me, and I cannot set forth. This it is that adds to the
hot fires; I cannot break my vow, I mad cannot abandon
him mad. When and where did ever a breaker of oaths
prevail ?
735
“GO to the palace, report on my behalf to King Rostevan
what I have told thee. By his head I swear to thee, Vizier
Ustasra, if he keep me not captive I shall not stay; if he
keep me captive what can he make of me ? Help me; let
not the fire hurt and destroy my heart!
736
“SAY from me: ‘Let every mouth which is not speechless
praise thee! Let God, the means of light, make known to
thee how I fear thee. But that knight, an aloe-tree in form,
burned me with fire; forthwith he took away my heart, in
no wise could I keep it.
737
“‘NOW, 0 king, for me existence lacking him is utterly
impossible; he, the dauntless, has my heart. Of what avail
am I here ? If I can be of any service to him, to you first
will the glory belong; if I fail to accomplish aught for him
I shall set my heart at rest, mine oath will not have been
broken.
738
“‘LET not my going anger or grieve your heart. Let that
befall my head whate’er God wills. May He grant you the
victory, and send me your servant back to you; but if
I return not may you still reign, may your foes be
affrighted.'”
739
YET again the sun-faced one says to the vizier: “I have
shortened my speech. Now speak thus to the king till others
come in to inform him, pleasantly entreat for me my congee,
summon up thy courage, and a hundred thousand red pieces
shall be bestowed on thee as a bribe.”
740
THE vizier said with a smile: “Keep thy bribe for thyself:
for me it is sufficient favour from thee that thou hast found
the road hither. How can I dare tell the king what I have
now heard from you! I know of a truth he will fill me with
favours, and gain is not disagreeable!
741
“BY his head! he will slay me straightway: I doubt
whether he will delay even a moment. Thy gold will remain
with thee, but for me, luckless, there will be earth for a
grave. Slay me! What is of equal value with life to a man!
The thing cannot be said and I cannot say it, however much
anyone should reproach me.
742
“THIS road leads to no aim. How can I, luckless, lay down
my life for thee? He will despoil me or kill me. He will say:
‘How dost thou speak these words ? Why didst thou not
guess all there is to be done ? Why art thou such a
madman ?’ Life is better than loot ; this I even now learn.
743
“EVEN if the king permit thee to depart, why should the
hosts also be deceived ? Why should they let thee go, why
should they be hoodwinked, or why should they be removed
far from their sun ? If thou depart, our foes will become
bold, will even themselves with us; but this must not be, as
sparrows cannot change to hawks.”
744
THE knight wept; with tears he spoke: “Must I strike
a knife into my heart! O vizier, it is apparent in thee thou
knowest not what love is, nor hast thou in others seen
friendship or oath. Or if thou hast seen surch, how canst thou
prove that without him my joy is possible?
745
“THE sun has turned. I knew not what would make the sun
turn. Now let us help him; it is better for us, in return he
will warm our day. No one knows mine affairs like myself;
what embitters me, what sweetens me. The discourse of
idle men greatly grieves a man.
746
“OF what profit can I be to the king or his hosts since I am
mad now, and my tears flow unceasingly! It is better that
I go away; I will not break my word; oaths prove a man.
What man has borne grief that Tariel has not?
747
“Now, o vizier, how can thy cursed heart be calm in this
juncture! Iron in my place would become wax and vot hard
rock; I cannot repay his tears, even if Gihon1 flowed from
mine eyes. Help me if thou wouldst desire help from me.
1 River in Messopotamia
