This done, he with his chiefs marched toward Írán,
Lost in amazement at his evil fortune,
And with his cheeks suffused by tears of blood
Fared half a league then met Afrásiyáb,
Beheld an armoured host with sword and mace,
And, buckling up his mail, thought: “Garsíwaz
Hath told the truth, a truth too evident!”
Now Siyáwush feared for his life what time
The monarch of Túrán drew nigh. His troops
Partook his fears. The Turkmans occupied

All hills and roads, and each host eyed the other,
For hate had been a stranger to their hearts.
Through fear of Siyáwush the Turkman horsemen
Sought not to fight but hung back cautiously.
With things at such a pass the Íránians cried
To Siyáwush: “O monarch of the world!
Why should they slay us with impunity
And drag us o'er the plain? Think this no trifle
But let them witness the Íránians' prowess.”
Then Siyáwush: “This is not well, for we
Have neither room nor force to fight. To offer
My sovereign battle would disgrace my stock.
The turning sky is bent on my destruction,
Though guiltless, by the hands of wicked men,
And I can make no bold attack to-day,
For none can strive with God. What said the sage,
That man of prudence? ‘Brave not adverse fate.’”
Then to Afrásiyáb said Siyáwush:—
“O full of virtues, great and glorious king!
Why hast thou come to battle with thy host?
Why wouldst thou slay me in mine innocence?
Thou wilt embroil the forces of two realms,
And fill the earth and age with malisons.”
Said Garsiwaz the insensate: “Do these words
Befit thee? If thou art so innocent
Why hast thou come thus mail-clad to the king?
Men come not to receive their sovereigns
With gifts of ??ow and mail.”

Then Siyáwush

On hearing answered: “Villain! through thy words
I left the right path in my heedlessness.
Thou saidst: ‘The monarch is enraged at thee!’

Now guiltless men in thousands will be slaughtered
Through what thou saidst, but punishment will come
At last. As thou hast sown so shalt thou reap.”
Then to the king: “Let not thine anger burn.
It is no jest for thee to shed my blood,
And wage a war against the innocent.
Give not thyself and kingdom to the winds
For what that miscreant Garsíwaz hath said.”
But Garsíwaz the double-dealer watched
And, while the prince was speaking to the king,
Grew wroth and cried: “O king! what aileth thee?
Why shouldst thou hold a parley with thy foe?”
Now when the king had heard what Garsíwaz
Had spoken, and it being then broad day,
He bade his soldiers draw their trenchant swords,
And raise a shout like Resurrection-morn;
But Siyáwush, still constant to his pledge,
Put not his hand to sword and javelin,
And let not one of his companions
Advance a foot to battle with the foe.
Malevolent and fell Afrásiyáb
Then wrought upon that chieftain of Írán
Gross outrage, saying: “Give them to the sword,
And float a ship in blood upon the plain.”
The Íránian army was a thousand strong,
All men of name and doughty warriors,
Who perished on the field and made the earth
Like tulips with their gore. Amid the mellay
The prince fell from his sable steed, sore wounded
By shaft and dart. Gurwí the son of Zira
Bound both his hands, as he was lying senseless,
Behind his back firm as a rock, while others
Placed on his neck a yoke. The blood ran down
Those cheeks of cercis-bloom; he ne'er had seen
A day like that! The executioners
Urged him and dragged him on the road afoot
With troops around him toward Siyáwushgird.
Afrásiyáb commanded, saying: “Take him
Beside the road and let him be beheaded
On some bare spot where grasses never grow,
And pour his blood upon the burning earth.
Let there be no delay and have no fears.”
The soldiers said: “What fault hast thou discerned?
Wilt thou not say, O king! how he hath wronged thee
That thou shouldst steep thy hands thus in his blood?
Why wilt thou slay a man for whom the crown
And ivory throne will weep with bitterness?
Plant not in times of happiness a tree
Whose fruitage fortune will convert to bane.”
But Garsíwaz, that man of evil note,
Was in his folly on the murderers' side,
And fain would shed the blood of Siyáwush
Through dudgeon ever since the day of contest.*

There was a warrior younger than Pírán,
His brother and his noble peer, by name
Pílsam, a bright, accomplished youth, who reasoned
Thus with the king: “The fruitage of this shoot
Is pain and grief. I have heard sages say,
And wisdom too agreeth therewithal:—
‘How can deliberation cause regret?’
And: ‘Reason is the medicine of the angry.’

And: ‘Haste and ill are works of Áhriman—
Pain and remorse to body and to soul.’
It is not reason to behead thy subject
So recklessly; keep him in bonds till time
Shall give its teaching; when the breath of wisdom
Shall breathe upon thy heart thou mayst behead him,
But give no order now, be not in haste,
For hastiness is rooted in regret.
It is not fit to sever, O wise king!
A head whose covering will be the crown;
And if thou shalt behead a guiltless man,
One whom Káús and Rustam will avenge—
The Sháh's own son whom Rustam hath brought up
And nourished fondly—we shall see the wrong
Revenged, and thou wilt suffer for this day.
Bethink thee of the sword with flashing blade,
The sword whereby the world is filled with blood,
And those famed leaders of the Íránians,
Whose wrath confoundeth earth, as Faríburz,
The son of Kai Káús, the ravening Lion,
Whom none e'er yet saw satiate of fight;
That hero too and snorting Elephant,
Great Rustam, in whose eyes a host is vile.
Then will Gúdarz, Gurgín, Farhád, and Tús
Make fast the drums upon the elephants' backs,
Gird up their loins to take revenge, and fill
The wide champaign with spearmen. I, my peers,
And our best warriors cannot countervail.
Good sooth Pírán will come at dawn, the king
Will also hear what he hath got to say,
And seeing that there is no urgency
Dispread not such a carpet of revenge
Upon the world. Enjoin not haste herein,
For it will be the ruin of Túrán.”
Afrásiyáb was softened by these words,
But Garsíwaz his brother had no shame,
And said: “Check not thy purpose, man of wisdom!
Because of this youth's talk. The plain is full
Of vultures feeding on the Íránian dead,
And if thou fearest vengeance there is cause.
Should Siyáwush cry out earth would appear
All mace and scimitar from Rúm and Chín.
Hath he not done thee wrong enough that thou
Shouldst listen weakly to what others say?
The snake's tail thou hast crushed and bruised its
head;
Now wilt thou deck its body with brocade?
If thou shalt spare his life I will depart
To some retreat and perish.”

Then Damúr

Went with Gurwí, both writhing with affright,
Before the monarch of Túrán and said:—
“Mind not the blood of Siyáwush so much,
Because 'tis vile to rest with all to do,
But hearken to the words of Garsíwaz,
The counsellor, and sweep away thy foe.
Since thou hast laid the snare and captured him
Slay him at once, and tarnish not thy glory
Through folly. Holding him is not enough;
'Tis needful that we break our foemen's hearts.
Thou hast destroyed his troops! Mark how the prince

Will now regard thee. Had none injured thee
Aforetime water could have purged this fault;
Now policy would have him seen no more
At large or in restraint.”

The king replied:—

“I have myself beheld no fault in him;
Albeit astrologers declare that ill
Will come to me through him, and if I shed
His blood revenge will raise dust in Túrán
And dim the sun. That day will daze the wise.
Misfortune is upon me and my realm;
Affliction, pain, and bondage are at hand,
Yet freeing him is worse than slaying him,
Though slaying him will cause me pain and anguish.”
But neither sage nor villain can make sure
What new expedient heaven may have in store.