It is a thousand pities that the wine of this tavern contains lees* and that the cane of this sugar-plantation is a coating to deadly poison. The intoxication of this joyous banquet is followed by the crapulousness of sorrow, and the wisdom of this feast ends in the vapours of failure. Whose liver does not bleed for this fatal event? Whose eyes do not shed tears of blood? This heap of earth must pass away and be abandoned, and this dark abyss cannot be lighted up. All the links that have been put together must be severed, and all must drink the bitter waters. Shall I rehearse the jugglery of the old world, or the strong-headedness of fate? He was good of action, and a lover of propriety. He had an open heart, and a liberal hand, and had courage along with gravity. He sought to win hearts and searched for inspiration from those who were outwardly dust-stained but were inwardly bright. Owing to the wickedness of selfish and presumptuous men, some vexation arose, and some leaders* of the army set themselves to hamper work. He returned unsuccess­ful from Aḥmadnagar and fell into chronic grief. The brightness of his discretion did not remain, and he gave up to some extent the task of conciliating hearts, and he could not distinguish hypocrisy from humility. When his son* died, the jewel of wisdom grew dim, and he set himself down to drink in company with foolish sensual- ⁷⁵³ ists. Excessive drinking brought on epilepsy, and he did not apply his mind to getting better. He concealed his pains and did not digest his food. On 13th Ābān of the previous year he went off to visit Gāwīl, and after seeing it he went to Elichpūr. There he got fever, and this increased when he went to the height of Narnāla. The abdominal pains also increased. His strength and sense dimin­ished. On 9th Dai he returned to Shāhpūr, and physicians set themselves to treat him, and he got a little better. When he heard of the arrival of the Shāhinshāh at Agra and of his being summoned to court, he became excessively melancholy, for out of shame for his drunkenness he could not make up his mind to kiss the threshold. His officers suggested another course, and when news came of the approach of the writer of the book of fortune, he marched on 9th Isfandārmaẕ towards Aḥmadnagar. His sole idea was to make this expedition a reason for not going (to Agra). The New Year's feast of this year he celebrated at Tamurnī.* On the 16th Ardībihisht he was seized with violent fits near Ḍihārī (or Dihbārī) on the banks of the Pūrnā, 20 kos from Ḍaulatābād, and on the 22nd he died in an unconscious state.

Alas for this painful misfortune destructive of repose.
Alas for the calamity of this worship of the bowl.
A form that was destined for long life he himself destroyed.
A jewel that might have threaded many years he himself broke.

High and low grieved, and sorrow seized friend and stranger. When news came of the illness, H.M. sent off Ḥakīm Miṣrī the Galen of the age, and he also appointed Āṣaf K. in order that there might be no delay on the journey. The envoys heard of the event on the road and returned. I praise the world's lord for that with all his anguish he guarded against being distracted, and because he minis­tered to his inward grief. By the might of the lordship of the spiritual world he achieved calm, and he administered medicine to the unintelligent. Kaiqubād, on losing his liver-lobe, played away his patience, and gave himself up to impatience. Luqmān the hakīm applied himself to medical treatment and compounded a medicine out of fortitude. He wrote a letter of advice, and represented: “The departure of a child from this dark dustbin to the holy realms is not a grief to the sage, and the severing of the connection should not be regarded as sorrowful. The sorrow which has laid hold of me is lest wisdom's child, i.e. patience, should die, and the fulness of the cup of the earthly body cause the extinction of the celestial spirit.” This message brought him out of the sleep of neglect. He set about what was proper for the time and exerted himself in self-culture. He spent his time in thanksgiving. H.M. was wont to act the part of the Teacher ḥakīm. Though chained to so many burdens he lived ⁷⁵⁴ a free man and at the time of sorrow admimistered medicine for the grieved.