A se'nnight passed. The eighth day with the dawn
The all-conquering Sháh sat on his throne and sum-moned
Before him all the men of understanding,
The wise and eloquent, who all discoursed
At large, but truly none much pleased the Sháh,
Who after said to Búzurjmihr: “Unveil
Thy shamefast face.”

That fluent sage set loose

His tongue, displayed his varied lore, and first
He blessed the Sháh, and said: “Be this crowned head
Victorious,” adding: “None becometh great
Unless he shun the pathway of mishap.
If thou wouldst rise to greatness by thy knowledge
Thou needest wisdom in thy choice of words.

In quest of fame one must be brave, the age
Rejecteth faint-hearts. If thou seek'st the throne
Accomplishments are needed since the bough
That putteth forth its green must bear thee fruit.
When folk make question of accomplishments
'Tis vain to cite mere aptitude,*

for that,
With these to seek, is not approved and worthless.
In dealing with this point a wise man said:—
‘If roses savour not forbear to speak
Of colour; none in fire a stream will seek.’
A king is all the richer for his bounty,
And hath no credit for his secret treasures.
If thou hast claimed attainments justify
What thou hast fairly spoken by thy deeds.
The sage is happy being fed by heaven
With wisdom, and the man of simple heart
Because 'tis free from all deceitfulness.
In this world wisdom is a trusty tree,
And the great king's heart is its first of fruits.
Thou wilt be easy if thou art content,
But practise greed and thou wilt quake therefor.
Do not thy kindness in the sight of men,
For thou wilt have small kindness in return.
Good fortune favoureth the open-hearted,
And he is blest who beareth patiently.
Still if a man would rise he must be furnished
With certain things to aid him in the struggle.
First, rede and crudition; secondly,
A ripe experience; thirdly, friends to help
In time of action and to estimate
The chances every way for good and ill,
And to be profitable afterward
In every-day life and emergencies.
He needeth, fourthly, rectitude and wisdom
To purge his heart of falsehood and of fraud,
And, fifthly, if thou art possessed of strength
Toil with thy body; greatness will result.*

The strong unless they labour ne'er will reach
The height of their desires, but over-toil,
Know, endeth in despair. I will set forth
The five characteristics of the sage,
Which to observe involve him not in trouble,
With seven too of the fool, and 'tis no marvel
If he be irked thereby: and, to begin,
No sage is vexed at loss or prematurely
Is glad, for disappointment will perturb him.
He counteth not upon the unattained
So as to break his heart if he should miss it.
He neither hopeth that which ne'er can be,
Nor saith: ‘The willow-bough will bring forth fruit.’
When at his ease from travail and from ill
He recketh of the future, wherefore when
Time bringeth hardship on him he will prove
Beforehand and not slack in enterprise.

The fool's way, as I said, is sevenfold:
His wrath is kindled with the innocent,
His treasure opened to the unworthy man
Without return of meed or recompense,
While, thirdly, he is an ingrate to God,
And is not wise and cognizant of good,
But, fourthly, talketh loudly of himself
To every one and, fifthly, is involved
In pain and loss through his own feckless words;
He trusteth, sixthly, to untrusty folk,
Expecting thorns to bear him painted silk,
And, lastly, uttereth lies in argument,
Endeavouring to shine by impudence.
Know this, O thou exalted sovereign!
That no man getteth aught but harm from ill.
When any one is mute in company
That silence is melodious to the heart.
By hearing some one wise and eloquent
Thou wilt get provand for thy body, counsel
And prudence for thy heart. Forget not thou
Such words because they crown the throne of knowledge.
If thou wouldst bring that knowledge into bearing
Release thy jewel from its case by speech,
And if thou wouldst extend thy fame draw forth
Thy tongue as 'twere a falchion from its sheath;
But if thou holdest session with the unwise*

The under then will have the upper hand.
By knowledge are the soul and heart illumed;
See thou go not about to compass lies.
When one of eloquence is holding forth
Abide his words, be not impatient;
Thou mayst get wisdom from his utterances,
And afterwards repeat what thou hast heard.
Use not thy wisdom as a means of gain
Though not to do so may result in hardship.
With heart and tongue in an accord of right
The door of loss is barred on every side.
Oh! may the heart of Núshírwán, the Sháh,
Be open to instruction evermore.”
An archimage of subtle intellect
Then asked: “What are the good and seemly things
That give a man a lustre in the world,
And quittance from the troubles of the time?”
He answered thus: “Whoe'er attaineth wisdom
Will gain thereby the fruitage of both worlds.”
“But if he hath not wisdom,” said the archmage,
“Since wisdom is God's radiant robe of honour?”
Said Búzurjmihr: “Then knowledge is the best,
The learned is mighty midst the men of might.”
“But if,” the archmage said, “he hath not sought
That stream and never bathed his soul therein?”
Thus Búzurjmihr replied: “The warrior
Must count his body as a worthless thing,
And if he striveth in the day of battle,
And layeth foemen's heads upon the dust,
He will be cherished in the great king's heart,
For ever happy and in good command.”

“But if one is not valiant,” said the archimage,
Nor seeketh after knowledge, law, and Faith?”
Then Búzurjmihr replied: “'Twere well that death
Should set the helm of darkness on his head.”
Another asked: “How shall we act that all
Of us may eat the fruitage of the tree
Set by the sage within the garth of spring,
And walk moreover underneath its shade?”
Said Búzurjmihr: “The man that barreth up
His tongue from evil vexeth not his soul,
And rendeth not in talk another's skin.
He will be likewise friends with all the folk,
All troubles will be smoothed away for him,
And enemy and friend will be as one.”
Another asked him, saying: “Are the men
That shun the way of failure great or good?”
Thus Búzurjmihr replied: “An evil deed
Is like a tree that beareth evil fruit.
Thus if a man speak gently with his tongue
But little harshness will befall his ear,
For know it is the tongue that troubleth men;
So if thou wouldst be easy weigh thy words.
The man of few words and a loyal subject
Hath only one fit post—before the throne.
Moreover he escapeth ills not come,
As bird or beast escapeth from the net,
While furthermore he triumpheth o'er evil,
Is self-controlled and wise exceedingly.
He leaveth well alone and troubleth not
The inoffensive, letteth no good 'scape him,
And counteth not upon the days to come.
He shunneth foe with more than quarry's speed,
And cleaveth unto friend like shaft and feather.
For any pleasure that will end in grief
The man of wisdom hath but little yearning.
Put ease and indolence afar from thee,
Take pains and make a feast of toil; without it
Thou wilt win not addition in the world;
There is no treasure for the indolent.*

May this world live in Núshírwán, be he
Its world-lord ever and his fortune young.”
They held discourse at large upon this theme:
The hearts of those grown drowsy were awakened.
The archimages, magnates, and shrewd sages
Blessed Búzurjmihr and gave the Sháh great praise,
Then went rejoicing on their several ways.