Aged eight and seventy years*

the watchful world-lord
Grew sick; he knew that death was drawing nigh,
That his green leaf would wither, so he summoned
Shápúr, addressed him counsel past compute,
And said: “Be mindful of my charge, but hold
The words of evil speakers merely wind.
When thou hast heard my sayings practise them,
Discerning haply worth from worthlessness.
I with the scimitar of justice righted
The world and honoured men of noble birth.
That done, the earth waxed but mine own life waned
When I had toiled and sweated much, and treasures
Had multiplied to me. So now I leave
The travail and the pleasure all to thee.
We are in turn exalted and abased,
Such is the process of the circling sky,
Which whiles afflicteth, whiles affecteth, us!
Now fortune is a vicious steed, and scath
Will wreck thee in prosperity, anon
A horse well trained whose neck is arched for thee
In all good will. Know, son! that this false Hostel
Hath terrors even for the happy man.
Be heedful of thine own and wisdom's case
If thou wouldst 'scape ill days. When monarchs honour
The Faith then it and royalty are brothers,
For they are mingled so that thou wouldst say:—
‘They wear one cloak.’ The Faith endureth not
Without the throne nor can the kingship stand
Without the Faith; two pieces of brocade
Are they all interwoven and set up
Before the wise. The Faith doth need the Sháh,
The Sháh, were Faith to seek, would not be praised.
Each needeth other, and we see the pair
Uniting in beneficence. The man
Of Faith will carry off both worlds when he
Shall prove a lord of counsel and of wisdom.

Whenas the great king watcheth o'er the Faith,
Call it and kingship brothers; when he vexeth
The pious, call him impious. Disallow
In Faith the slanderer of pious kings.
What said the man approved and eloquent?
‘The Faith, if thou considerest, is the brain
Of Justice.’*

Three things vex the royal throne:

The first one is the unjust sovereign,
The second, the exalter of the worthless
Above the worthy, and the third is he
That weddeth treasure and is instant still
For more. Be thine aim bounty, Faith, and wisdom,
And let no lie pass current for it darkeneth
A man's face; ne'er will he be great and famous.
See that thou heed not treasure, for dínárs
Involve mankind in toil. If greed of treasure
Possess the great king he will vex his subjects,
For where the thane's wealth is there is the Sháh's
Who, whatsoe'er the toil and pain may be,
Should guard it for him and should bring to fruit
His travail's bough. Strive to put wrath away,
And boldly blink the faults of other men.
If thou art wroth thou wilt repent withal,
So, when they make excuse, seek how to salve them.
Whene'er the Sháh is wroth the good misprize him,
And since he is to blame in seeking ill
He should adorn his heart with good. If once
Thou sufferest fear to come within thy heart
The counsels of thy foes' hearts will prevail.
Be boundless too in bounty; if thou canst,
My son! esteem not wealth. He should be king
The limit of whose bounty is the sky.
Whenever trouble is a monarch's lot
Let him hold counsel with his archimages,
Let him inquire too of the right and wrong
Thereof, and lay the matter up at heart.
“On days when thou art purposing to hunt,
And use the binding hawk, mix not thy pleasures,
As wine and feast with open air and chase;
Wine maketh heavy as all leaders know.
Abandon such pursuits when foes appear,
Spend money freely, edge the swords, and summon
The troops of all the realm. Defer not thou
The day's work to the morrow and seat not
An evil counsellor beside the throne.

Search not the hearts of common folk for truth,
For from such questing loss will come to thee,
And if they bring ill tidings hearken not,
Nor grieve; they worship neither God nor king,
And clutching at their feet thou hast their heads.
Such are the common people, but mayst thou
Be ever wise. Fear those that compass ill
In secret, for this straiteneth the world.
Tell naught to confidants for they have theirs,
And thou wilt meet thy sayings in the fosse,
Or find them spread abroad, and when thy secrets
Are common talk the sages will lose patience,
Thou wilt be wroth, the sage that calmeth thee
Will call thee light of head Seek not for faults
In others, that will manifest thine own,
While if thy wisdom be o'er swayed by passion
The sage will count thee not a man at all.
The Sháh and worldlord should be wise that he
May be benevolent to every one.
If any man is rash and insolent,
Prone to accuse and to calumniate,*

Let such have no place near to thee although
One of thy counsellors. When thou art Sháh
Lay down revenge and wrath if thou wouldst have
The praises of the pious. He that sitteth
Upon the throne of state should be a wise,
God-fearing man. Be not a chatterer,
Nor make a show of sanctimoniousness
In others' eyes. Hear what men say, lay up
The best, and note what pleaseth thee; weigh well
Thy words to sages, being complaisant
And bright to all; scorn not the poor that beg;
Seat not an adversary on a throne;
Forgive the penitent, requiring not
Revenge for what is passed; be just to all,
And cherish all; the bounteous, patient man
Is blest. What time the foe doth flatter thee
Through fear, array the host, bind on the tymbals,
And go forth to the fight while he is shrinking,
And weak of hand; but if he seeketh peace
And right, and harboureth, as thou perceivest,
No mischief in his heart, take tribute from him,
Seek not revenge, and save his face. Adorn
Thy heart with knowledge; that hath worth; that
know
And practise. Thou wilt be beloved if bounteous,

And famed if wise and just. Keep thy sire's charge
In mind and leave a like one to thy son.
As I have given my son his heritage,
And injure none thereby, do ye transmit it;
Take not the spirit of my words amiss.
Now when five hundred years have passed away,
Thy dynasty will end, for thy descendants,
And others of thy kin, will turn aside
From this my charge, depart from rede and knowledge
Not heeding the monitions of the wise,
But, faithlessly neglectful of my charge,
Be unjust, harsh, and tyrannous, oppress
Their subjects, scorn the pious, don the robe
Of wickedness, and grow up in the Faith
Of Áhriman. Then will be loosed what we
Have bound, this Faith that we have fulled be fouled,
This rede and charge of mine will come to naught,
My country seem all desolate. I pray
The Maker of the world, who knoweth both
The hidden and the manifest, to guard you
From every evil and that all your deeds
May win fair fame. God's blessing and our own
Shall be upon the man whose warp is wisdom,
Whose woof is justice, who in these regards
Attempteth not to break my charge or striveth
To turn my honey into colocynth.
Two score years and two months have passed since I
Assumed the crown of kingship. I possess
Six cities, all in pleasurable climes,
And all of them well-watered. I have named
One Khurra-i-Ardshír;*

its airs are all
Musk-perfumed and its streams run milk; the second
Is titled Rám Ardshír;*

thence reached I Párs;
The third Urmuzd Ardshír,*

whose airs would make
An old man young—the lustre of the province
Of Khúzistán;*

it hath folk, trade, and water.
Another one is Birka-i-Ardshír,*

Well stocked with gardens, pools, and rosaries,
And two are in the district of Baghdád
And the Farát, and rich in cattle, springs,
And grass—foundations both, as thou mayst say,
Of Sháh Ardshír.*

Bear them in mind when thou
Hear'st aught concerning me.

I have prepared

My baggage for the charnel-house. Bestow
My bier and take my seat. In this world I
Have borne great toils in public and in private.
Rejoice my soul with justice and be glad,
And conquering, on the throne.”

He spake, and fortune

Grew dark. Woe for his head and throne and crown!

The fashion of this jocund world is thus:
It will not make its secrets known to us.
Blest is the man who greatness ne'er hath known,
And hath no need to vanish from the throne.
Thou strivest, winning wealth in every way,
But man and wealth abide not in one stay;
Dust in the end is wedded to us all,
Our cheeks must be enshrouded by a pall.
Come bear we all a hand good to fulfil,
And tread not this unstable world for ill.
Oh well is he that taketh cups of wine
To toast the Sháhs—those men of Faith divine—
For, as his cup of wine is slowly drained,
He droppeth off with ecstasy attained.