At this the Sháh looked smilingly on Jahn,
And answered him: “O thou that seekest fame!
We have heard all thy words from end to end.
First for the blessing that thou gavest me,
So be it on my signet, crown, and throne;
Then for the greeting of Afrásiyáb,
Whose eyes by thine account are full of tears,
Let that too be upon my throne and crown:
May they be happy and victorious.
And further that thou gavest praise to God
Is pleasing to the Sháh, His worshipper—
The happiest of the monarchs of the earth,
The most approven, glad, and conquering.
God hath bestowed on me what thou hast said;
May wisdom still accompany each grace.
Fair words are thine at will; but thou art not
Pure-hearted or a worshipper of God,
For wise men's deeds are better than their words.
The glorious Farídún did not become
A star; his head is in the dark earth still,
Yet say'st thou: ‘I am higher than the sky.’
In such wise hast thou purged thy face from shame.
Thy heart is given up to sorceries,
And words are but a trinket on thy tongue.
A glozing tongue and lying heart reflect
No lustre on a sage; so never call
My murdered father monarch of the world
Now that the bones of Siyáwush have perished.

Moreover from her bower thou haled'st down
My mother to the street, thou hadst become
So full of vengeance, and didst kindle fire
Upon my head while I was yet unborn,
And everybody present at thy court
Cried shame upon that wayward soul of thine,
For no one of the kings, the warriors,
And mighty men e'er did such deeds as haling
A woman out before the folk, consigning
A great dame to the executioners,
A daughter to be scourged until she cast
Her babe. The wise Pírán, when he arrived,
Beheld what he had never seen or heard
Before. It was God's ordinance that I
Should be exalted over all the folk;
He saved me from thy bale and mischief, fate
Had secrets for me; soon as I was born
Thou didst commit me to the shepherds' charge
As 'twere a worthless brat, a meal for lions.
So fared I while the days passed o'er my head
Until Pírán conveyed me from the waste,
And brought me to thy presence; I was fit,
As thou didst see, for throne and crown, and thou
Wouldst have beheaded me like Siyáwush,
And left my body naked of a shroud,
Had not all-holy God restrained my lips,
And left me standing dazed before the court.
Thou thoughtest that I had not heart or wit,
And didst not execute thy foul design.
Reflect on Siyáwush and his just acts;
What was the evil that thou sawest in him?
Thou wast his chosen refuge in the world;
He acted as befitteth men of name;
He came, for thee resigning throne and crown,
And hailed thee only in the world as king,
Put trust in thee and quitted his own folk
Lest thou shouldst say that he had broken faith;
But when thou saw'st his breast and girdlestead,
His greatness, might, and mien, thine evil nature
Was roused, thou didst o'erthrow that holy man,
And like a sheep behead a prince so dear!
Thou from the time of Minúchihr till now
Hast been but miscreant and malevolent.
Our troubles had their origin with Túr,
Who bathed his hands in ill against his sire,
And so it goeth on from son to son
Against all kingly usage, law, and Faith.
Thou didst strike off the head of king Naudar,
A man of royal birth and lineage,
And slay thy brother, righteous Ighríras,
Who lived for honour; thou hast ever been
A villain, vile, and led by Áhriman.
Thy crimes, if one should count them, would surpass
The revolutions of the sky in number.
Thou hast sent down thy roots to Hell, and thou
Wilt not declare thyself of human birth.
‘The loathly Dív,’ thou hast gone on to urge,
‘Inclined toward Hell my heart and ways.’ Záhhák
Put forth, so did Jamshíd, that very plea,
In moments of despair, and said: ‘Iblís
Misled our hearts and severed us from good.’
'Twas their ill nature and their teacher's promptings
That gave them no surcease of evil fortune,
For when one is averse from what is right
Then fraud and falsehood ruin everything.
Moreover at the battle of Pashan
How many troops were slaughtered by Pírán!
The blood of those descended from Gúdarz
Turned earth to mire and loss was piled on loss;
E'en now thou didst come forth with myriads
Of Turkman cavaliers in war-array,
Didst lead thy host for battle to Amwí,
And Shída came forth as mine opposite;
Thou sentest him that so he might behead me,
And thou thereafter mightst lay waste my realm,
But God, the Lord of earth, was mine ally,
The fortunes of my foes were overthrown.
And now thou say'st: ‘Thy throne illumineth
My heart, thy fortunes make me glad.’ Consider;
Can I recall thine acts and think it true?
Henceforth till Doomsday I have naught to say
To thee save with the trenchant scimitar,
And I will strive against thee in the strength
Of treasure, host, fair fortune, and the courses
Of sun and moon, will make my prayer to God,
And ask no guide but Him. The world perchance
May then be purged from evil men while I
Will gird myself with justice and with bounty;
With them will I regenerate the world,
And haply clear the garden of ill weeds.
Tell to my grandsire all my words and seek
No pretext to avoid so great a strife.”
He gave to Jahn a crown of emeralds,
A pair of earrings, and a golden torque,
Who thereupon departed to his sire,
And told him everything. Afrásiyáb
Raged at that answer; grief and haste possessed him;
He gave the troops a largess from his hoards,
And furnished maces, helmets, casques, and swords.