132
FIRDUSI
Received, to break them on the felon-tree.
Could daring insult, thus deliberate given,
Escape the rage of one to frenzy driven?
No, from his side the nerveless Chief was flung,
Bent to the ground. Away the Champion sprung;
Mounted his foaming horse, and looking round—
His boiling wrath thus rapid utterance found:—
“Ungrateful King, thy tyrant acts disgrace
The sacred throne, and more, the human race;
Midst clashing swords thy recreant life I saved,
And am I now by Tús contemptuous braved?[1]
On me shall Tús, shall Káús dare to frown?
On me, the bulwark of the regal crown?
Wherefore should fear in Rustem’s breast have birth,
Káús, to me, a worthless clod of earth!
Go, and thyself Sohráb’s invasion stay,
Go, seize the plunderers growling o’er their prey!
Wherefore to others give the base command?
Go, break him on the tree with thine own hand.
Know, thou hast roused a warrior, great and free,
Who never bends to tyrant Kings like thee!
Was not this untired arm triumphant seen,
In Misser, Rúm, Mázinderán, and Chín!
And must I shrink at thy imperious nod!
Slave to no Prince, I only bow to God.
Whatever wrath from thee, proud King! may fall,
For thee I fought, and I deserve it all.
The regal sceptre might have graced my hand,
I kept the laws, and scorned supreme command.
When Kaí-kobád and Alberz mountain strayed,
I drew him thence, and gave a warrior’s aid;
Placed on his brows the long-contested crown,
Worn by his sires, by sacred right his own;
Strong in the cause, my conquering arms prevailed,
Wouldst thou have reign’d had Rustem’s valour failed
When the White Demon raged in battle-fray,
Wouldst thou have lived had Rustem lost the day?”
Then to his friends: “Be wise, and shun your fate,
Fly the wide ruin which o’erwhelms the state;
The conqueror comes-the scourge of great and small,
And vultures, following fast, will gorge on all.
Persia no more its injured Chief shall view”—
He said, and sternly from the court withdrew.
Could daring insult, thus deliberate given,
Escape the rage of one to frenzy driven?
No, from his side the nerveless Chief was flung,
Bent to the ground. Away the Champion sprung;
Mounted his foaming horse, and looking round—
His boiling wrath thus rapid utterance found:—
“Ungrateful King, thy tyrant acts disgrace
The sacred throne, and more, the human race;
Midst clashing swords thy recreant life I saved,
And am I now by Tús contemptuous braved?[1]
On me shall Tús, shall Káús dare to frown?
On me, the bulwark of the regal crown?
Wherefore should fear in Rustem’s breast have birth,
Káús, to me, a worthless clod of earth!
Go, and thyself Sohráb’s invasion stay,
Go, seize the plunderers growling o’er their prey!
Wherefore to others give the base command?
Go, break him on the tree with thine own hand.
Know, thou hast roused a warrior, great and free,
Who never bends to tyrant Kings like thee!
Was not this untired arm triumphant seen,
In Misser, Rúm, Mázinderán, and Chín!
And must I shrink at thy imperious nod!
Slave to no Prince, I only bow to God.
Whatever wrath from thee, proud King! may fall,
For thee I fought, and I deserve it all.
The regal sceptre might have graced my hand,
I kept the laws, and scorned supreme command.
When Kaí-kobád and Alberz mountain strayed,
I drew him thence, and gave a warrior’s aid;
Placed on his brows the long-contested crown,
Worn by his sires, by sacred right his own;
Strong in the cause, my conquering arms prevailed,
Wouldst thou have reign’d had Rustem’s valour failed
When the White Demon raged in battle-fray,
Wouldst thou have lived had Rustem lost the day?”
Then to his friends: “Be wise, and shun your fate,
Fly the wide ruin which o’erwhelms the state;
The conqueror comes-the scourge of great and small,
And vultures, following fast, will gorge on all.
Persia no more its injured Chief shall view”—
He said, and sternly from the court withdrew.
The warriors now, with sad forebodings wrung,
- ↑ In this speech Rustem recounts the services which he had performed for Káús. He speaks of his conquests in Egypt, China, Hámáverán, Rúm, Súksar, and Mázinderán. Thus Achilles boasts of his unrequited achievements in the cause of Greece.
