It happened that Mazdak at dawn one day
Went from his house and came before the Sháh,
And thus he said: “Of those that hold our Faith,
As well as of our lieges pure of heart,
A crowd of chiefs are at the door; shall I
Admit them or shall they depart?”

Kubád,

On hearing, bade the chamberlain admit them,
Whereat Mazdak said to the noble Sháh:—
“This house is narrow and the crowd is great,

In sooth the audience-hall will hold them not;
Let the Sháh go and see them on the plain.”
Kubád commanded that his throne be brought,
Brought from the royal palace to the waste,
And there a hundred thousand Mazdakís
Proceeded joyfully before the Sháh,
And thus Mazdak addressed the king of earth:—
“O thou above all knowledge and acclaim!
Know that Kisrá accepteth not our Faith,
But is it fit that he should turn therefrom?
We must obtain from him an undertaking
In writing to give up his evil course.
There are five things that turn men from the right,
And e'en the sage can add no sixth. Now these
Are anger, vengeance, jealousy, and need;
The fifth is greed, which is predominant,
And if thou conquer these five dívs the way
Of God will be made manifest to thee.
From these five things it cometh that our women
And wealth work havoc with the good religion,
But will not meddle more if thou wilt keep it
Intact. The twain cause jealousy, greed, need,
While anger and revenge conspire with them,
And thus the Dív perverteth wise men's heads:
The twain should be a common property.”
This spoken, by the hand he grasped Kisrá,
What while the Sháh looked on in wonderment.
The noble prince in wrath withdrew his hand,
And turned his eyes in anger from Mazdak,
To whom Kubád said smiling: “Why art thou
Concerned for the religion of Kisrá?”
Mazdak rejoined: “The way of righteousness
Is not in him. He is not of our Faith.”
The Sháh then questioned of Kisrá and said:—
“What way is there except the good religion?”
Kisrá replied: “If I shall have the time
Allowed me I will prove this theory false.
When both the fraud and falsehood shall appear
My truth will show out more conspicuously.”
Mazdak rejoined: “Thou askest of the Sháh—
The lustre of the world—how many days?”
He said: “I ask a period of five months.
The Sháh shall have his answer in the sixth
On all points.”

They agreed and so departed.

The exalted Sháh returned to his own palace.
Kisrá dispatched a man to every quarter
To look for sages and auxiliaries.
An envoy went to Khurra-i-Ardshír
To cause the old Hurmuzd to come to court,
While from Istakhr came Mihr-Ázar of Párs
With thirty friends. These seekers after knowledge
Held session and discussed the case at large,
And then these men of lore and ancient sages
Presented their conclusions to Kisrá,

While he, when he had heard, went to Kubád,
Discoursed with him about Mazdak, and said:—
“The time now hath arrived when I would make
Investigation of the good religion.
If then Mazdak be right, and if the Faith
Delivered by Zarduhsht shall prove in fault,
I will accept the true Faith of Mazdak,
And make my soul's choice his,*

for when the way
Of Farídún, of Esdras, and of Christ,
And all the Zandavasta, shall prove wrong,
And when the doctrine of Mazdak shall stand,
The world must take him for its only guide.
If, on the other hand, his words are false,
And he ensueth not God's holy way,
Then turn thee from the pathway of his Faith,
Put far from thee this sorry Creed of his,
And give him with his followers to me;
God grant that none of them keep brain and skin.”
He took as witnesses Rizmihr, Kharrád,
Bihzád, Bandwí, and Fará'in, and thence
Departed to his palace and observed
The righteous covenant that he had made.
At dawn, what time the sun displayed its crown,
And earth was like a sea of ivory,
The world-king's son, that man of eloquence,
Set forth with chieftains and with archimages.
They went together to the royal palace.
Their speech was fluent and their quest the Way.
That youth—the Joy of hearts—came to Kubád,
And oped the case, whereon an archimage
Addressed Mazdak before the throng and said:—
“O seeker after wisdom! thou hast framed
A new religion in the world and made
Community of women and of goods.
How will a father recognise his son,
The son in like wise recognise his father?
When every man is equal in the world,
And great and little are no more discerned,
Who then will serve, and how can any rule?*

Who then will labour for us, thee and me,
And how shall good men be discerned from bad?
When one shall die to whom will appertain
His house and goods when toiling slave and Sháh
Are equal? This will desolate the world;
Such evil must not come upon Írán.
When all are masters who will be the servant?
When all have treasure who be treasurer?
None of the leaders of the Faith spake thus,
And thou art mad although thou hidest it.
Thou leadest all mankind to Hell, and thou
Accountest not all evil-doing wrong.”
Kubád, when he had heard the archmage's words,
Was wroth and then gave sentence on the case.
The illustrious Kisrá supported him,
The impious one grew full of fear at heart,

While all the people there assembled cried:—
“Let not Mazdak remain before the Sháh;
He hath made havoc of the Faith of God;
Let him not tarry at this famous court.”
The Sháh became abhorrent from that Faith,
The heads of all its chiefs grew full of care.
He gave up to Kisrá Mazdak forthwith
With all that held that doctrine and that way—
As many as three thousand men of name.
The king at that time thus addressed his son:—
“Do with those chiefs as seemeth good to thee,
And henceforth mention not Mazdak.”

Kisrá

Had at his court a pleasure-ground whose wall
Was higher than a crow could fly. Around
The circuit of that wall he dug a trench
Wherein he set those men at intervals.
They planted them like trees and firmly fixed
Their feet aloft, their heads below. Kisrá
Addressed Mazdak on this wise: “Visit thou
The entrance of my noble garth. The seed
That thou hast scattered all this while hath brought
Fruit forth to thee, O thou insensate one!
Thou shalt see trees such as none e'er beheld,
Or heard described by shrewd men heretofore.”
Mazdak went, oped the portal of the garden,
And thought maybe to see fruit-bearing trees,
But seeing what he did he gave a cry,
And then all consciousness abandoned him.
Kisrá gave orders for a lofty gibbet
To be set up and at the top to fasten
A twisted lasso. Thereupon he hung
That impious wretch head-downwards and alive,
And after slew him with a shower of arrows.
If thou art prudent follow not Mazdak!
The chiefs felt reassured about their wealth,
Their women, children, and their pleasances.
Kubád remained ashamed for many days,
And cursed Mazdak, gave mendicants much largess,
And offered gifts before the Fane of Fire.
He gladdened at Kisrá exceedingly
Because that Bough of his bare fruit of gems.
From that time forth the father sought alway
The son's advice and heard what he would say.