§ 1 How Luhrásp built a Fire-temple at Balkh

V. 1445 Now when Luhrásp sat on the ivory throne,
And donned the crown that brighteneth the heart,
He praised the Maker and besought Him much,
Then said: “Have hope in God, the righteous Judge;
Hold Him in fear and awe; the Artist He
Of yon revolving sky, and magnifieth
The Glory of His slave. When He created
Earth, with its seas and mountains, He outspread
High heaven over it, one turning swiftly,
The other fixed; the Artist gave thereto
No feet to move withal. The sky is like
The polo-stick, we, bandied to and fro
By profit and by loss, are like the ball.
Amid thy pleasures Death with sharpened claws
Is crouching like a fierce and angry lion;
So let us quit the lust of covetise,
Acknowledging our ignorance meanwhile,
And from this crown of kingship, this high throne,
Ensue but justice, peace, and goodly counsels,
Lest haply in this Wayside Inn our lot
Should prove but vengeance, travail, and a curse.
I will do more than Kai Khusrau enjoined,
And banish from my heart revenge and greed.

V. 1446
This do and justice will bring happiness,
Be peaceable and have no thoughts of vengeance.”
The mighty of the world called blessings down
Upon him, hailed him monarch of the earth,
And great Luhrásp had quiet, wisdom, wealth,
And all his heart's desire continually.
Thereafter he sent envoys unto Rúm,
To Hind, to Chín, and other peopled lands,
And all the men that were possessed of knowledge,
And those that practised divers useful arts,
From all the marches and the provinces
Went to the Sháh's court and abode at Balkh
A while at leisure tasting of the salts
And sours of knowledge. He erected there
A city with its streets, bázárs, and quarters,
In each whereof there was a place to hold
The feast of Sada, round a Fane of Fire,
And there he built Barzín, for so they call
That glorious temple and magnifical.