The Sháh then called a veteran scribe who brought
His paper and musk-scented ink. The Sháh,
In pain and grief, with livid cheeks and eyes
Fulfilled with tears of blood, wrote from Dárá,
Son of Dáráb, son of Bahman, a letter
To lion-capturing Sikandar Cæsar.
He first gave praises to the Omnipotent,
The Author of his good and evil fortune,
Then said: “Assuredly the sage himself
Will not escape the process of the sky
Whereby we are made joyful and appalled,
At whiles exalted and at whiles abased.
The battles of our hosts turned not on valour,
But on the processes of sun and moon.
What was to be hath been. Our heart is sore:
What hath yon azure vault in store for us?
If, heart-repentant now for having sought
The fray, thou wilt consent to terms, the treasures
Both of Gushtásp and of Asfandiyár,
The earrings and the armlets and the torques,
With all that we ourselves have gained, will I
Dispatch now from our treasury to thine.
Moreover I will aid thee in thy wars,
And when thou shalt be instant will not lag.
As for my wives and children, now thy captives,
I should not deem their restoration strange.
They who would rule the world must not be vengeful,

And from revenge on women mighty kings
Get nothing but reproach. The lord of wisdom,
Who hearkeneth to knowledge, having read
What I have written will improve thereon.”
A cameleer departed from Kirmán
In all haste to Sikandar, the arch foe,
Who, when he had perused the letter, said:—
“May wisdom be the consort of his soul!
Whoever injureth his family,
His ladies or the children of his house,
Shall see no throne except a coffin-board,
Or dangle from the branches of a tree.
I will not trouble any in Írán,
And God forbid that we should take their treasures.
If thou returnest to Íran 'tis well;
The sovereignty is altogether thine.
What thou commandest ne'er will I transgress,
And draw no breath unless advised by thee.”
The camel voyaged homeward vessel-wise,
Dárá was filled with anguish, heart and eyes.