Thus passed a while, and then a Tree appeared
On earth within the palace of Gushtásp,
And grew up to the roof—a Tree whose roots
Spread far and wide, a Tree with many branches,
Its leafage precept and its fruitage wisdom:
How shall one die who eateth of such fruit?
A Tree right fortunate and named Zarduhsht—
The slayer of malignant Áhriman.
Thus said he to the monarch of the world:—
“I am a prophet and thy guide to God.”

He brought a censer, filled with fire, and said:—
“This have I brought with me from Paradise.
The Maker of the world said: ‘Take thou this,
And look upon the heaven and the earth,
Because I made them not of dust and water:
Behold herein how I created them.
See now if any one could do this thing,
Save I that am the Ruler of the world?
If thou acknowledgest My handiwork
Thou must acknowledge Me to be the Lord.’
Receive His good religion from the speaker,
And learn from him His usage and the way.
See that thou do as he directeth thee,
Choose wisdom, recognise this world as vile,
And learn the system of the good religion,
For kingship is not well when Faith is lacking.”
When that good Sháh had heard of that good Faith,
And had accepted it and its good customs,
His valiant brother, glorious Zarír,
Who used to vanquish mighty elephants;
The Sháh, his father, now grown old at Balkh,
To whose heart worldly things were bitterness;
The mighty chiefs from all the provinces,
The wise physicians and the men of war,
All gathered to the monarch of the earth,
Assumed the cincture and received the Faith.
Then was the Grace of God made manifest,
For evil left the hearts of evil men,
The charnels were fulfilled with light divine,
And seeds were freed from all impurity.
Then mounting to his throne high-born Gushtásp
Dispatched his troops throughout the provinces,
Distributed archmages through the world,
And set up Fanes of Fire. He first established
The Fire of Mihr Barzín; consider well
The system that the realm received from him.
Zarduhsht then planted him a noble cypress
Before the portal of the Fane of Fire,
And wrote upon that noble, straight-stemmed tree:—
“Gushtásp is convert to the good religion”;
Thus did he make the noble cypress witness
That wisdom was disseminating justice.
When in this manner many years had passed
The cypress-tree increased in height and girth,
Until that noble tree had grown so great
That e'en a lasso would not compass it.
When it had sent aloft full many a bough
Gushtásp raised over it a goodly palace,
Whereof the height and breadth were forth cubits;
He used no clay or water in the building.
When he had reared the palace of pure gold,
With silvern earth and dust of ambergris,
He painted there a picture of Jamshíd,
Engaged in worshipping the sun and moon,
Commanded too a picture to be drawn
Of Farídún armed with the ox-head mace,
And limned there all the potentates. Consider
If other ever had such puissance.
When that famed hall of gold had grown thus goodly
He had its walls inlaid with precious stones,
And set an iron rampart round about.
The king of earth made it his home. He sent
This message through the realm: “In all the world
What equalleth the cypress of Kishmar?
God sent it down to me from Paradise,
And said: ‘Ascend to Paradise therefrom.’
Now hearken, all of you, this rede of mine:
Go to the cypress of Kishmar afoot;
Adopt ye all the pathway of Zarduhsht,
And, turning from the images of Chín,
Gird round your loins the cincture in the Grace
And greatness of the monarch of Írán.
Heed not the usance of your predecessors,
Trust in the shadow of this cypress-tree,
And fix your gaze upon the Shrine of Fire,
As bidden by the Prophet of the Truth.”
He spread abroad his words throughout the world
Among the men of name and potentates,
And at his bidding all that wore the crown
Turned them toward the cypress of Kishmar;
This holy shrine a paradise was found
Wherein Zarduhsht the Dív in fetters bound.