Káús then warned a courier, called a scribe,
And set him by the throne to write a letter
Of wrath and strife, as 'twere a poplar shaft.
He first gave praises to Almighty God—
“The Lord of peace and war, the Lord of Mars,
Of Saturn, and the moon, of good and ill,

Of Grace and throne. The turning heavens obey
His hest, and everywhere His love extendeth.
May health and fortune be for ever thine,
O youth! together with the throne and crown.
Although thou hast forgotten mine instructions,
And foolishly neglected to attack
The foe, yet thou hast heard how he entreated
Írán when he prevailed; side not with him
In wantonness; frown not upon this court;
Let not thy head be snared through youth as thou
Wouldst 'scape destruction from the turning sky.
Send me those hostages bound hand and foot.
It is no wonder if Afrásiyáb
Hath duped thee, if I judge him by his conduct
Toward myself; oft through his glozing words
Have I turned back from fight. Now I said naught
Of peace, and thou hast disobeyed for dalliance
With pretty slaves; while as for Rustam, he
Ne'er hath enough of precious gear and treasure.
Thou hadst no thought of war: thine only thought
Was to succeed to the imperial crown.
Seek with thy sword the gate of full contentment,
For provinces are glories to a king.
As soon as Tús the general reacheth thee
He will dispose all matters great and small.
Set all the hostages without delay
In heavy chains upon the backs of asses.
It is high heaven's purpose that thy life
Should perish by this peace. Then will Írán
Hear of the evil and our prosperous times
Be troubled. Go, prepare thee for revenge
And war, admit no further parleyings.
When, in the course of war and night-attack,
Thou turnest darksome dust to a Jíhún,
Afrásiyáb will not resign his head
To sleep, but come to fight; else if thou lov'st
them,
And wouldst not have them call thee treaty-breaker,
Resign the host to Tús and come back hither:
Thou art no man for glory, war, and strife.”
They sealed the letter, and the messenger
Received it and departed. Siyáwush,
On hearing words so unacceptable,
Called in the messenger and questioned him
Till all was clear. The man detailed the words
Used by the Sháh to Rustam, and described
How Rustam raged against the Sháh and Tús.
Then Siyáwush was much displeased with Rustam,
And musing o'er his father's act, the Turkmans,
And war's vicissitudes, exclaimed: “A hundred
Brave cavaliers, the kinsmen of the king,
Such famous men, our friends and innocent!
If I shall now dispatch them to the Sháh,
He will not ask or think about their case,
But hang them all alive upon the gibbet.
How shall I justify myself to God?
Ill will befall me through my father's acts;
If I so madly fight Afrásiyáb
Without a cause I shall incur God's wrath,
And people will cry shame. If I return
To court, surrendering the host to Tús,
That also will bring evil on my head.
I see ill right and left, and ill in front;
Súdába too will do me naught but ill,
And I have not an inkling of God's will!”