CHAPTER XL 2 SHAH MOABAD'S ADVICE, INSTRUCTION, AND COMMANDS TO VIS Ar the very time when Bego was advising Ramin, it pleased Moabad also to instruct4 Vis. He counselled her with pleasant and soft5 words. Thus he spoke : "O fair mistress, my life-giver! Thou thyself knowest how much trouble I have seen for thy sake, what has befallen me through love for thee, and how many times my heart has been pained by thee. By thine evil behaviour my grief has been prolonged, and thou hast made me a byword. There is no beauty which thou hast not, and there is no greatness which I have not. There is on the earth no greater monarch than I. I shall be king of kings, and thou queen of beauties; come, let us be together. Keep not thy heart estranged. As long as we exist let us be friends one of the other, let us take a share of love. Be thou lady of lands, towns, armies, treasures, and courts; it suffices me to have but the name of royalty, be thou the doer of 243 every deed else. Whatever thou desirest, | let it be done; wherever there is a fair spot, sport, rejoice, give gifts, and manage. Whatever I have, all is thine; thou art worthy of even a hundred thousand times as much. My vezirs are thine, my scribes also are thine. Whatever thou wishest, command, and let it be done. Royalty and greatness beseem thee and not me; thus let me be thy lover, doing thy beloved will and following thy desires. Besides, who can there be on the earth who would not be thy slave, 1 Tsurt'hna. 2 Shegoneba. 5 Lbili. 4 Tsur'tha, 241. 3 Mtzneba. 6 Patroni, 236, 354. MOABAD PERSUADES VIS 4 215 obedient to thy command? Listen to my counsel, and be no longer as unstable1 as a walnut on a dome.2 I wish thee well and teach thee good in all. I am not vicious3-hearted like thee, that hast one thing in thy heart and speakest another with thy tongue. My soul is a desirer of righteousness, my tongue a speaker of truth. My heart is a continual seeker for love, my tongue a speaker of peace. Act thou also truthfully. Be not to me double-tongued and treacheroushearted. If thou wilt hearken to this my saying, change this hateful conduct and thy nature; obey me. I shall make thee so desirable that great sovereigns shall do homage to the foundations of thy palace for fear of thee. And if thou shalt behave so (as formerly), I shall become such an enemy to thee that there could be none more hostile. Do not so, 0 moon; make me to be honoured. Have a care of mine enmity, for I am more terrible even than wild beasts. Thou shalt find my love preferable to my hate. Be ashamed for the honour of Shahro; think on thy peerless race; look on the goodness of thy brother, for they are continually shamed and blackened in the face because of thee. If thou hadst shame before God, Shahro, and Viro, | thou wouldst act as 244 is befitting, and wouldst also do me honour. But since thou hast no care for such a parent as Shahro, nor regard for such a brother as Viro, why shouldst thou make me rejoice? Or how can I expect to tame thee to me, though my pomp and greatness reach even unto heaven? But now tell me truly, without deceit. I adjure thee by God to tell me what thou hast in thy heart for me: friendship or enmity? I can no longer endure life in this state; thou also art wearied of this thy nature. Receive advice from me at last, and if thou takest it, I have had enough of counselling. In thy deeds let my secret counsel be made manifest; I can bear this no longer, and will no longer entreat thee." 5 6 By the decree of God, Vis's stony heart softened like wax. While he was still speaking she arose, and thus answered: 1 Daucaravi-which cannot be fixed. 2 Gumbathi, 188. 5 Zari "O exalted1 monarch, in height thou reachest unto heaven, and in lowliness unto the earth; thou hast a generous heart; thy hand-the giver of precious jewels; and thine intelligence-in prudence unattainable by others. God has brought thee into such a plight that other sovereigns could not even imagine it. What thou hast done has passed over all, like the sun. May God do to you according to your desires, and may your commands be fulfilled. You, too, know that his planet turns upon a man from moment to moment with another tooth 2 (? of a wheel), and even with (his) birth it will be born. We men cannot flee from the foreordained decree of God and the planet, nowhere 245 can we be hidden save by the will of God Himself. | All is of a truth ordained by Him, whatever befalls anybody till the day of death. Even such as I am, I have been built up by God. I am a pure nature, although thou hast been born fortunate by God, and I, it seems, to be thus. I am innocent in this, that I have never desired for myself (anything) evil which in time has not been repaid to me. I desire not for myself such mischances; so much misfortune was not pleasant for me. Neither did I desire that so many woes should befall me from love, and that my foes should know its secret. Neither do I like this for myself, that whenever I expect joy it is turned to grief for me. From birth I have grown up in grief! What is my resource, since my heart in such things was forestalled by my destiny ?3 Even as my planet struggles with my soul so I am, and I myself am so weary, that I even long to be eaten up by a lion. My fate is like that of an Abyssinian labourer burned up by the sun, and my patience like one carried away captive by the Kadjis.5 With my nails I have torn the curtain of shame from my heart, and with my teeth I have cut the thread of my life. Henceforth, know Shah Moabad, I desire no longer soul and heart to be thine oppressor. From them I have been in grief. My heart has never rejoiced, nor has my soul ever reposed in my body. My state has been invariably one of turmoil. Hitherto it 4 3 Sve. 1 Maghali. 2 Cbilad; var., qalibad—a form (calibre), 257. MOABAD PERSUADES VIS 217 seems as if my luck had been asleep. Now I am no longer a seeker from anyone of such love, by which eternal shame should befall me, or a merciful and mighty lord like thee should become merciless and inimical to me. Why, indeed, should I desire so hard a love by which so great shame will come upon me? Why should I desire such love by which so much reproach and | dishonour will overtake 246 me, and make me remain a byword in the land? Now the door of my dark heart is opened for me, I have found the true way, I perceive with mine eyes, I am become acquainted with understanding and knowledge. Now I have chased away passion. Henceforth I shall understand that from my nature harm has come upon me, and from my youth, in yonder world and this world, I have done an ill deed. Passion is like a deep sea, and entrance thereinto is not the rule of the wise. If I live out all my days, I do not think that I shall any more seek to see his 2 face again; and if I had the days of a thousand Methuselahs, I by no means think that in all of them I should pass even one day in peace of mind. Why should I, alas! struggle with my pitiable soul? Why, innocent, pour out my blood? Why have I not hearkened to your commandment? Wherefore have I not sought peace for myself? But henceforth, whatever thou seest of sin and ill conduct towards thee, whatever thou desirest, I have no words against that wrath (of thine). If he be even a lion, Ramin henceforth cannot overcome me; if he become the wind even, he cannot smell my scent, he cannot blow in my presence. And now, what I promise thee, I will never break this pact and promise. If thou desirest me as a handmaiden and a servant, from this day forth I am obedient unto thee. Turn thy heart once more towards me, and I will serve thee even as thou thyself wishest. Now is confirmed in me the soul of truth." 3 Shahinshah kissed her mouth and eyes, they found comfort in each other, they wiped away from each other the rust of suspicion and hatred. 1 Cf., 238, Bego's advice to Ramin. 2 Misi-? its (passion's). 4 Paemani da piri; upirulo, 265. 3 Mat'husala. 247 | CHAPTER XLI VIS AND RAMIN PART IN ANGER As when it is cloudy and the air is darkened, and the earth is agitated by a swift wind, so it is when Fate divides lovers. Beforehand it (Fate) sets to work treacherously; it seeks a cause, and makes it evident. When one has a fever, first the mouth is hot. When Ramin became weary of the continual sight of misfortune, and satiated of following after Vis day and night, of being bound every moment in a net, and of the reproaches of all men-Bego's discourse also having settled in his heart-he sent a man to Shahinshah and made the following announcement: "The air of these parts suits me not. I am even for the most part unwell. If thy majesty commands, and if I am found worthy of the honour, I will go to Eraq and serve as chief of the hosts there. Be gracious to me. Whatsoever the service may be, I will perform it. When you command me, I shall certainly come before you with speed. Let me by your favour be delivered from this sickness and sadness. I would rejoice continually at the chase on the mountain and in the plain, sometimes with panthers, sometimes with hawks and dogs. I will follow every kind of game. My horses are become wild, and this six months I have not used mine armour by reason of home-keeping. Now let me go away, and whenever you command I shall be before you as your slave." 248 When Shahinshah was informed of this he listened and rejoiced. He fulfilled Ramin's request. He gave him Re, Gurgan, Koistan, Hamian, and all Eraq. He clad him (in a robe of honour), and gave him a roving commission. He |