748
“IF he give me not leave I shall steal away, unknown shall
I depart from him; as it intreats me so shall I deliver my
Heart to be consumed by fire. I know he will do nothing to
Thee because of me, if he be not disposed to exile thee.
Promise me-whatever may happen to thee- ‘I shall
Sacrifice myself to be tortured!’”
749
THE vizier said: “Thy fire consumes me also with fire.
I can no longer look on thy tears, the world itself vanishes;
sometimes speech is better than silence, sometimes by
speaking we spoil things. T shall speak; if I die it matters
not, my life will be sacrificed for thee.”
750
WHEN the vizier had said this he arose and went to the
palace. He saw the king arrayed; the sun-like face looked
straight upon him. He was afraid, he dared not tell him
unpleasing news; perplexed he stood, he thought not on
war-like matters.
751
THE king saw the vizier struck dumb by sadness. He said:
“What grieves thee ? What knowest thou ? Why art thou
come sad?” He answered: “I know nothing at all, but I am
indeed wretched. You will be justified in slaying me when
you hear the astounding news.
752
“MY mourning neither adds to my grief nor surpasses it;
I am afraid, though an envoy has no care for fear. Now
Avt’handil bids thee farewell, he entreats, he wrangles not;
he says that for him the world and life are nought without
yon knight.”
753
WITH timorous tongue he told him all he knew. He added,
thereafter: “How canst thou know by such words in what
a plight I saw him and how his tears flowed ? Though you
should let your wrath fall forthwith on me, you are just.”
754
WHEN the king had heard this he was wroth, he lost his
senses, his colour waned and he became terrible, he would
have terrified onlookers. He cried: “What has made a
madman of thee ? Who else would have related this ? It is
the plight of a bad man to learn early what is evil.
755
“TRAITOR-LIKE, thou hast told me of this as if it were
a merry matter; what more could anyone do to me save
slay me faithlessly, treacherously ? Madman, how couldst
thou employ thy tongue to dare to speak thus to me now!
Such a madman as thou art is unworthy to be vizier or
aught else.
756
“SHOULD not a man spare his lord what is irksome, when
he stupidly chatters stupid speech ? Why were mine ears not
deafened before hearing such a thing! If I kill thee, my neck
must bear the responsibility for thy blood!”
757
AGAIN he spake: “If thou hadst not now been sent hither
by him, by my head! I had cut off thy head, let there be no
doubt of this! Go, withdraw! Look at the mad, stupid,
desperate improper fellow! Brave word, brave man, brave
the deed done by him!”
758
HE bent down, he threw chairs, he hit the wall and
shattered them; he missed his aim, but for the vizier’s sake
he made the chairs like diamond, not willow-like. “How
couldst thou tell me of the going of him who plaited the
aloe-tree branches!” Hot tears hollowed out channels in the
vizier’s white cheeks.
759
THE wretched vizier hurried away; he dared say no more.
He crept off crestfallen like a fox; his wounded heart pains
him. He comes in a courtier, he goes out gloomy, so much
does the tongue dishonour him. A foe cannot hurt a foe
as a man harms himself.
760
HE said: “What more will God show me like unto my
woes ? Why was I deceived ? Why was I darkened ? Would
that someone might enlighten me! Whoever announces
anything so boldly to a sovereign, my evil days stand upon
him too; how can he ever enjoy peace!”
761
THE disgraced vizier went away in black luck. Gloomily,
sad-faced, he said to Avt’handil: “What thanks can I give
thee! Thanks to thee, what a courtier am I become! Alas!
I have lost my peerless self by mine own fault!”
762
HE begs the bribe and behaves sportively, albeit his tears
were not dry. I marvel why he spends his time in making
jokes, why he is not grieved in heart! Quoth he: “He who
gives not what he promised quarrels with the Mourav1. It is
said: ‘A bribe settles matters even in hell.’
1 Mourav—the headman of a town.
763
“HOW he took the matter, what he said to me, it is not to
be told by me. What evil, what stupidity, what idiocy, what
madness he attributed to me! I myself am no longer worthy
of the name of man; no longer have I sense. At this I
marvel—why he slew me not; God must have given him
patience.
764
“I KNEW too what I did; it happened not to me by
mistake. I had pondered, I knew he would be wroth with
me, therefore is my grief increased. None can avoid
vengeance for a deed done by Providence. Still, for thy sake
death seems joy to me; my woes are not in vain.”
765
THE knight replied: “It is wholly impossible for me not to
depart. When the rose withers the nightingale then dies;
he must seek a dewdrop of water, for the sake of this he
must rove everywhere, and if he cannot find it what will he
do or wherewith shall he soothe his heart ?
766
“WITHOUT him I cannot bear to sit or lie. I will choose
to roam like the beasts, with them to run. Why does
Rostevan desire me who am in such a state to fight his
adversaries! It is better to have no man at all than to have
a dissatisfied one.
767
“I WILL tell him once again; now, however angry the king
may be, surely he can judge how my heart burns and
flames. If he grant me not leave, I shall steal away when
hope is gone. If I die, my portion and world will be
uprooted.”
768
WHEN they had conversed, the vizier made a banquet
befitting them; he played the host, gave fair gifts to the
fair guest, he enriched his attendants, both youths and
greybeards. They parted; the knight went home as the sun
was setting.
769
THE form of the sun-faced Avt’handil was like that of
a cypress; he bound up a hundred thousand pieces of gold,
three hundred pieces of gold brocade—he was generous
and open-handed—sixty precious rubies and jacinths, the
colour of which could not displease. He sent a man to carry
these presents from him.
770
AVT’HANDIL sent a message to the king saying: “How
can I give or bestow on thee that which befits thee ? What
return can I think of for the debts I owe thee ? Tf I survive
I shall die for thee; I shall make myself thy slave. I shall
repay love with love, with a like weight.”
771
HOW can I tell his peerlessness, valour, and praise him!
He was a man fitting and worthy even of such a deed. Thus
should service be, as much as lies in one’s power. When
a man is in trouble then needs he brother and kinsman.
Avt’handil’s Discourse With Shermadin When He Stole Away
772
THE sun-faced, dispenser of light, speaks to Shermadin and
says: “This day is hope, the comforter of my heart, that
thou wilt show what thou canst do for me.” It needs
a reader and a listener for the praise of this story of them.
773
HE says: “Rostevan did not grant me leave, he hearkened
not even to a word from me; he knows not wherein one’s
being lies and how one’s life is in another. Without Tariel in
truth I live not, neither abroad nor at home. What
unrighteous deed has God ever forgiven to anyone ?
774
“THOUGH I resolved not to forsake him, and my decision
is final-every liar and traitor insults God by his lies-the
heart seeing not him weeps and sighs, moans and groans,
it comes not near to any joy, it shudders, grows sullen,
shuns all mankind!
775
“THREE are the ways of showing friendship by a friend:
First, the wish for nearness, impatience of distance; then
giving and not grudging, unweariedness in liberality; and
attention and aid, roaming in the fields to help him.
776
“BUT why should I lengthen speech; it is time to shorten it
Now to steal away is the healing of this bruised heart.
Hearken to what I shall entreat so long as thou hast time in
my company, and fortify thyself in observance of w hat
I have already taught thee.
777
“NOW prepare as first leader to serve the sovereigns,
manifest thy valour and integrity in all things. Take care
of my household, command my troops, repeat anew the
service, the attention thou hast hitherto shown.
778
“KEEP my foes out of the marches, let not thy might fail
in aught, grudge no good to the loyal, may they that are
false-hearted towards thee be slain; if I return, well shall
thy due be repaid to thee by me; service to a master is
never lost.”
779
WHEN he heard this, the hot tear flowed from Shermadin’s
eyes. Quoth he: “Wherefore should I be affrighted by
sorrow in loneliness! But what shall I do without thee—
twilight will fall on my heart! Take me with thee to serve
thee; I will help thee however thou wishest.
780
“WHO has heard of so great wandering by one alone! Who
has heard of a knight holding back from his lord in trouble!
Thinking thee lost, what shall I, useless, do here ?” The
knight answered: “I cannot take thee, however many tears
thou sheddest.
781
“HOW can I disbelieve thy love for me! But the thing
cannot be; thus time has taken up arms against me. To
whom can I entrust my house; save thee, who is fit ? Calm
thy heart, believe me, I cannot take thee! I cannot!
I cannot!
782
“SINCE I am a lover I must run mad alone in the fields.
Should not one with blood-stained tears roam alone!
Errantry is the business of lovers; how can one wait till he
is grown old ? This world is such, be thou assured thereof
and submit.
783
“WHEN I am far from thee, think of me, love me. I fear
not my foes; I shall take care of myself. A brave man must
be of good cheer, he must not mope in grief; I hate when a
man does not stop at a shameful deed.
784
“I AM such an one who considers this world as an old
cucumber, one to whom death for a friend seems a sport
and a play. I have left my sun, she grants me leave, why
should I linger! Then, if I leave my sun can I not leave my
home?
785
. “NOW give thee my testament addressed to Rostevan.
I will confide thee to him, and entreat him to care for thee
as befits one brought up by me. Should I die, slay not
thyself; do not the deed of Satan; weep thereupon, fill the
channel of the eyes.”
The Testament of Avt’handil to King Rostevan When He Stole Away
786
HE sat down to write the will, thus piteously inditing:
“0 king! I have stolen away in quest of him I must seek.
I cannot remain sundered from him, the kindler of my fires.
Forgive me and be merciful to me like as God.
787
“I KNOW that in the end thou wilt not blame this my
resolve. A wise man cannot abandon his beloved friend.
I venture to remind thee of the teaching of a certain
discourse made by Plato: ‘Falsehood and two-facedness
injure the body and the soul.’
788
“SINCE lying is the source of all misfortunes, why should
I abandon my friend, a brother by a stronger tie than born
brotherhood ? I will not do it! What avails me the
knowledge of the philosophizing of the philosophers!
Therefore are we taught that we may be united with the
choir of the heavenly hosts.
789
“THOU hast read how the apostles write of love, how
they speak of it, how they praise it; know thou it and
harmonize thy knowledge: ‘love exalteth us,’ this is as it
were the tinkling burden of their song; if thou conceive not
this how can I convince ignorant men ?
790
“HE who created me, even He gave me power to overcome
foes; He who is the invisible Might, the Aid of every
earthly being, who fixes the bounds of the finite, sits
immortal God as God, He can in one moment change a
hundred into one and one into a hundred.
791
“WHAT God wills not will not become fact. The violet
fades, the rose withers, if they cannot gaze on the sunbeams;
every lovely thing is desirable for the eye to gaze on. How
can I endure the lack of him, or how can life please me!
792
“HOWEVER angry thou art, forgive me that I have not
kept your command; enthralled, I had no power to fulfil it.
No! To go was the remedy for the flaming of my furnaces.
Wherever I may be, what matters it to me if I have but my
freewill ?
793
“SADNESS avails thee not, nor useless flow of tears. The
deed which is inevitably decreed above cannot be avoided.
It is a law with men that they should struggle and suffer
woes, and no creature of flesh hath power to thwart
Providence.
794
“WHATEVER God has predestined to come to pass upon
me let it be fulfilled, and when I return my heart will no
longer remain ashes. May I see you also joyful in majesty
and manifold wealth. What I can do for him is my glory,
and this is sufficient booty for me.
795
“0 KING, this is my decision. Slay me! if anyone can
disapprove! 0 king, can it be that my going grieves thee!
I cannot be false, I cannot do a cowardly deed; he would
shame me when we meet face to face in that eternity
whereto we both shall come.
796
“MINDFULNESS of a friend ne’er doeth us harm.
I despise the man who is shameless, false and treacherous.
I cannot be false; I cannot do it for a mighty king. What is
worse than a hesitant, tardy-going man!
797
“WHAT is worse than a man in the fight with a frowning
face, shirking, affrighted and thinking of death! In what is
a cowardly man better than a woman weaving a web! It is
better to get glory than all goods!
798
“A NARROW road cannot keep back Death, nor a rocky
one; by him all are levelled, weak and strong-hearted; in
the end the earth unites in one place youth and greybeard.
Better a glorious death than shameful life!
799
“AND now I fear, 0 king, to make this request to you:
mistaken, mistaken is he who expects not death
momentarily; it which unites us all comes alike by day and
by night. If I see thee not living, life will be fleeting for me.
800
“IF the passing world, the destroyer of all, destroy me,
an orphan I shall die travelling, unmourned by parent, nor
will those who brought me up, nor the friend whom I trust,
enshroud me; then indeed will your merciful, tender heart
have pity on me.
801
“I HAVE countless possessions weighed by none: Give the
treasure to the poor, free the slaves; enrich every orphan
without means; they will be grateful to me, remember me,
bless me; I shall be thought of.
802
. “WHATEVER is not worthy of being kept in your
treasury, give part to build orphan homes, part to build
bridges; be not sparing in the spending of mine estate for
me; T have none save thee to quench the hot fires.
803
“HENCEFORTH thou shalt learn no more news from me,
herewith I commit my soul to thee; this letter tells thee so,
without flattering thee; the devil’s deeds shall not seduce
my soul, it will prevail; forgive me and pray for me; what
can be exacted from me dead ?
804
“I ENTREAT thee, 0 king, for Shermadin my chosen
servant. This year he hath an added day1 of grief. Comfort
him with the favour I was wont to favour him withal; make
not the tears to flow from his eyes welling with blood.
1 In Georgian naki, the extra day in leap year.
805
“MY testament is ended, written by mine own hand.
Behold, mine upbringer, I have parted from thee; I am gone
away with maddened heart. Let not the sovereigns be
grieved for my sake, be ye not clad in gloom, but be ye in
your sovereignty feared by foes.”
806
WHEN he had made an end of writing he gave the will to
Shermadin. He said: “Convey this wisely to the king; none
can excel thee in any service.” He embraced him and wept
over him bloody-hued tears.
Avt’handil’s Prayer and His Flight
807
HE prayed and said: “Great God of earths and heavens,
who sometimes punishest, sometimes art ready to reward,
Unknowable and Unspeakable, Lord of lordships, give me
to endure longings, 0 ruler of heart-utterances!
808
“GOD, God, I beseech Thee, who govern’st the deeps and
heights; Thou didst create love. Thou hast decreed its law;
the world has sundered me from mine excellent sun; uproot
not the love sowed by her for me!
809
“GOD, God, merciful, I have none beside Thee; from Thee
I beg aid on the road, however long I travel; shelter me
from the mastery of foes, the turmoil of the seas, the evil
one by night! If I survive, T shall serve Thee, I shall offer
sacrifice to Thee.”
810
WHEN he had prayed, he mounted his horse and privily
passed through the gates; he sent back Shermadin, albeit
he made great lamentations. The vassal weeps and beats his
breast; his blood flowed over the rocks. What can rejoice
the vassal deprived of the sight of his lord!
811
NOW will I begin another tale; I will attend the parting
knight. There was no audience that day for the wrathful
Rostevan. When day dawned he rose sullen; he was as if he
poured flame from his face; he commanded the vizier to be
called; thither they led him pale with fear.
King Rostevan Hears of Avt’handil’s Secret Flight
812
WHEN he saw the vizier arrived with reverence in the hall
of audience, Rostevan said: “I recall not what thou saidst
yesterday; thou didst annoy and enrage me, for a long time
I could not compose my soul, therefore did I scold thee,
vizier, heart of hearts.
813
“I REMEMBER not what Avt’handil wanted, nor why
I treated thee so ill! Truly say the sages: ‘Spite is net of
woes!’ Never act in such a way! Consider the matter
carefully. Now, tell me what thou saidst! Speak and repeat
thy discourse!”
814
AGAIN the vizier submitted his speech of yesterday. When
Rostevan heard it, he made no lengthy answer: “If I think
thee not mad may I be the Jew Levi! Let me hear no more
of this, else I wholly give thee up!”
815
WHEN the vizier went forth to seek, he could not find the
enamel one, Avt’handil; only the slaves with flowing tears
told of his flight. The vizier said : “I cannot go to court;
I should remember former days. Whoever is daring let him
dare; I repent what I have already said.”
816
WHEN the vizier came not, the king again sent a man; the
man learned the news and stood outside, none dared report
the departure. Rostevan began to suspect, therefore grief
increased tenfold. He said: “Doubtless he who alone
overpowers hundreds has stolen away!”
817
. WITH bent head he meditated; in his heart was great
gloom. He sighed and looked up; he commanded a slave:
“Go, let that villain come hither and tell me now; let
him enter.” When the vizier came back his colour paled and he
was careful.
818
AGAIN the vizier entered the audience chamber, gloomily,
not gaily. The king inquired: “Is the sun gone away,
become inconstant like the moon?” The vizier told him all,
how Avt’handil had gone away secretly: “The sun no
longer shines on us; the weather is not bright!”
819
WHEN the king heard this, he cried out with an exceeding
great cry, he lamented, he said: “Alas, my foster-son, my
dazed eyes shall see thee no more!” He made the onlookers
to marvel by scratching his face and tearing his beard.
“Whither art thou gone, and where hast thou lost those
pillars of light ?
820
“IF thou hast thyself, none will think thee a wanderer;
but as for me, what can I do, 0 foster-son ? Now cells befit
me as an abode; thou hast left me orphaned, me whose
wretched heart longs for thee. Till I am reunited to thee,
tongues cannot tell my sufferings!
821
“WHEN shall I see thee joyous returning from the chase?
I shall no longer see thee after the game of ball, graceful in
form, a faultless gem! No more shall I hear thine alluring
voice. Now without thee, alas! what shall I do with the
throne and the whole palace ?
822
“I KNOW that hunger will not kill thee, however far thou
roamest thy bow will provide thee, and thine arrowheads.
Perchance God in His mercy will again lighten our woes;
but if I die, 0 foster-son, by whom shall I be mourned!”
823
A NOISE was heard, a great host of men had assembled;
there is a crowd of courtiers at the palace, seizing their
beards with their hands; all rend and strike themselves, the
sound of their slapping is heard. They said: “Darkness is
upon us, accursed, since our sun is gone from the sky!”
824
WHEN the king saw his lords, he complained to them with
tears and groaning. He said: “‘You see our sun has made his
rays quite rare to us! In what have we annoyed him,
wherein have we sinned, why has he parted from us, why
forsaken us! How can any take for us the leadership of the
hosts he maintained!”
825
ALL wept, lamented; then at length they grew calm. The
king commanded: “Ask! is he alone, or with a squire ?”
The vassal Shermadin came fearfully, shamefacedly; he
gave the testament, he wept, life seemed to him but loss.
826
. HE said: “I found this written by him in his chamber;
weeping slaves stood there, they tore hair and beard; he is?
stolen away alone, neither youth nor greybeard is near him;
if you slay me it will be just, an unseemly life irks me.
827
WHEN they read the testament, again they wept a long
time. Then the king commanded: “Let not my troops don
gay colours. Let us make the downtrodden, the orphan? and
widows, to pray; let us help them that God may give him
paths of peace!”
Avt’handil’s Second Departure and Meeting with Tariel
828
WHEN the moon is far from the sun, distance makes her
bright; when she is near, his ray consumes her—she is
repelled, she cannot approach. But sunlessness dries up the
rose and lessens its colour. Not seeing the beloved renews in
us our old grief.
829
NOW will I begin the story of that knight’s departure. He
goes away and weeps with boiling heart; it cannot be said
that his tears diminished. Every moment he turned back:
he prayed that he might find his sun-like one in sun-like
beauty. He gazed, he could not detach his eyes; if he tore
them away he lost consciousness.
830
WHEN he was near fainting, he had no power to move his
tongue, but tears run from his eyes, pouring forth as from
a spring. Sometimes he turns; he looks for means to bear
his pains. When he goes forward he knows not whither his
horse has borne him.
831
HE said: “O mine own! Let him who is far from thee and
yet silent be accursed; since my mind remains with thee,
let my heart also return to thee; the weeping eyes, too, wish
and long to see thee. It is better that the lover should be
subjected as much as may be to love!
832
“WHAT shall I do till I am united to thee, or in what
thinkest thou I shall find joy!I would slay myself but that
I doubt it would displease thee, but it would grieve thee to
hear I was no longer living. Come then and let us living give
our eyes to the shedding of tears.”
833
HE wept and repeated: “Ten lances have pierced my
heart! An army of Indians-the dense thicket of her
eyelashes—has slain me. Her jet eyes lend her beauty. But
why have they overcome me ? Eyelashes, eyes, teeth, lips
and black hair are the cause of my suffering.”
834
HE said: “0 sun, who art said to be the image of the sunny
night of Him who is One in unity of being and Everlasting.
whom the heavenly bodies obey to the jot of a second, turn
not away my good fortune; hear my prayer till our meeting,
mine and hers!
835
“THOU whom former philosophers addressed as the image
of God, aid me, for I am become a captive, iron chains bind
me! I, seeker of crystal and ruby, have lost coral and
enamel; formerly I could not endure nearness, now I regret
absence.”
836
THUS he consumed himself; like a candle he melted. The
fear of being too late made him hasten; he wandered on.
When night fell, he found delight in the rising of the stars;
he compared them to her, he rejoiced, he gazed on them. he
held converse with them.
837
HE says to the moon: “I adjure thee in the name of thy
God, thou art the giver of the plague of love to lovers; thou
hast the balm of patience to make them bear it; hear my prayer to unite me with the face fair, through thee, like thine own.”
838
NIGHT rejoiced him, day tortured him, he awaited the
sunset. When he saw a stream he dismounted; he gazed on
the rippling of the water, with it he united the rivulet of
blood from the lake of tears; again he set out, he hasted
onward on his road.
839
ALONE he lamented; he who was like the aloe-tree in form
wept. He killed a goat in the plain where he came to a rocky
place, roasted and ate of it and went on, sun-faced, martial
in heart. He said: “I forsook roses, and behold me here
woeful!”
840
I CANNOT now tell the words then spoken by that knight,
or what he discoursed and lamented with such elegance.
Sometimes his eyes reddened with their tears, the rose of his
cheeks scratched by his nail. When he saw the caves he was
glad; he went up to the door of the cave.
841
WHEN Asmat’h perceived him, she went to meet him, her
tears fell fast; she rejoiced so greatly that she will never
have such joy again. The knight dismounted, embraced her,
kissed her, and conversed with her. When a man has waited
for a man, the coming pleases him wondrously.
842
THE knight said to the damsel: “Where and how is thy
lord ?” The damsel wept with tears which might have fed
the sea. She said: “When thou wert gone, he roamed about,
for it irked him to be in the cave; now I know nought of
him, either by sight or tidings.”
843
THE knight was pained as if some lance had struck him
in the midst of his heart. He said to Asmat’h: “0 sister, not
thus should a man be! How could he break his oath!
I deceived him not; how could he be false to me! If he could
not keep it, why did he promise ? If he promised me, why
did he lie ?
844
“SINCE save for him I counted not this world as grief,
why did he forget me when I departed ? Why could he not
endure, what troubled him ? How dared he break the oath
he had sworn ? But why should I marvel at evil from my
Fate!”
845
AGAIN the maiden spoke: “Thou art justified in such
sorrow; but when thou shalt judge aright—suspect me not of
complaisance—is not heart needed to fulfil oath and promise ?
He, bereft of heart, awaits only the curtailment of his days.
846
“HEART, mind and thought depend one upon another.
When heart goes the others also go and follow it. A man
deprived of heart cannot play the man; he is chased forth
from men. Thou sawest not, thou knowest not, what fires
consumed him.
847
“THOU art right in murmuring that thou art separated
from thy sworn brother, but how can it be told into what
plight he fell, how can I tell thee the fact ? Tongue will fail,
will be exhausted, the aching heart will ache still more. Thus
think I, for I saw, I luckless born.
848
“HITHERTO none has heard in story of sufferings like
unto his; such torture would affright not only men, but
even stones; sufficient for a fountain are the tears that have
flowed from his eyes. Whatever you say, you are right; one
is wise in another’s battle.
849
“WHEN he went forth, burned, consumed with fires,
I asked him: ‘Tell me, his adopted sister, what will
Avt’handil do when he comes ?’ He replied: ‘Let him come
to seek me, me useless for his sake. I shall not leave this
vicinage; I will not break my promise to him.
850
“‘My vow I will not break, that oath will I not belie;
I shall wait till the time appointed, however much the
channels of tears may flow. If he find me dead, let him bury
me, let him say Alas! and mourn. If I meet him living, let
him marvel, for my life is doubtful.’
851
“HENCEFORTH the sundering of the sun and the
mountain-top hath befallen me, only I must shed tears
moistening the plains; maddened, I am tortured by the
exceeding multiplication of groans; death has forgotten me,
behold the deed of Fate!
852
“THIS true saying is written on a stone in China: ‘Who
seeks not a friend is his own foe!’ Now that to which
nor rose nor violet could be likened is become saffron. If thou
seekest, then, seek him; do what befits thee.”
853
THE knight said: “Thou art right in not justifying me in
murmuring against him. But bethink thee what service
I have done as one prisoner of love to another: I fled from
my home, like a stag seeking water I seek him and think of
him, I wander from field to field.
854
“THE crystal pearl-shells guard the ruby-hued pearl and
apparel it; from her I have gone away, I could not stay
near her, I could not make her happy, nor could I be happy;
by my privy flight I have angered the equals of God, in
return for their favours I have troubled their hearts.
855
“MY lord and upbringer, by the grace of God living in
might, paternal, sweet, merciful, a sky snowing graciousness,
to him have I been faithless; I went away, verily I forgot
all, and guilty toward him, I no longer await any good thing
from God.
856
“ALL this afflicts me thus, 0 sister, for his sake. I have not
deceived him, but am come a wayfarer by night and day.
Now he is gone somewhere, he for whom I am consumed
with fire, wearied in vain and weeping I sit with a sad face.
857
“SISTER, the hour and ti me give me no more leisure for
converse. I repent not the past, early will I fulfil the word
of the wise; I go, I will seek, either shall I find him or bring
death early upon me; otherwise, since I am thus doomed
by Fate, what can I embolden myself to say to God.”
858
No more than this he said: he wept and went his way. He
passed the caves, crossed the water, went through the reeds
and came to the plain. The wind blowing over the fields
froze the rose to a ruby hue. “Why givest thou me this
plague?” He reproached Fate for this.
859
HE said: “0 God, wherein have I sinned against thee, the
Lord, the All-Seeing ? Why hast Thou separated me from
my friends ? Why didst Thou lure me on to such a fate ?
One thinking of two, I am in a parlous plight; if I die I shall
not pity myself, my blood be on my head!
860
“MY friend cast a bunch of roses on my heart, and so
wounded it; that oath fulfilled by me he kept not. If,
0 passing world, thou partest me from him, my joy is past,
to mine eyes another friend were reviled and shamed.”
861
THEN he said: “I marvel at the spleen of a man of sense;
when he is sad, of what avail is a rivulet from the terraced
roof? It is better to choose, to ponder over the fitting deed.
Now for me, too, it is better to seek that sun-like one,
reed-like in form.”
862
THE knight, weeping, besprinkled with tears, set himself
to search; he seeks, he calls, he cries aloud, watching by
night as by day; for three days he traversed many a
mountain pass, reedy thicket, forest and field; he could not
find him; sad he went, unable to learn any tidings.
863
HE said: “O God, wherein have I sinned against Thee?
How have I displeased Thee so greatly ? Why bring this
fate upon me ? What torture hast Thou sent upon me!
Judge me, O Judge, hearken to my prayer; shorten my
days, thus turn my woes to joy!”
Avt’handil Comes Upon the Unconscious Tariel
864
WEEPING and pale, the knight went his way and spoke;
he mounted a certain hill, the plain appeared in sunshine
and shadow. He saw a black horse standing with the bridle
on his neck on the edge of the rushes. He said:
“Undoubtedly it is he; of that there can be no doubt.”
865
WHEN he saw, the heart of the knight leaped up and was
lightened; here to him, distressed, joy became not tenfold,
but a thousandfold; the rose of his cheeks brightened its
colour, the crystal of his face became crystal indeed, the
jet of his eyes grew jetty; like a whirlwind he galloped
down, he rested not from gazing at him.
866
WHEN he saw him, Tariel was indeed grieved; Tariel sat
with drawn face in state near unto death, his collar was
rent, his head was all torn, he could no longer feel, he had
stepped forth from the world.
867
ON one side lay a slain lion and a blood-smeared sword,
on the other a tiger stricken down a lifeless corpse. From
his eyes, as from a fountain, tears flowed fiercely forth; thus
there a flaming fire burned his heart.
868
HE could not even open his eyes, he had wholly lost
consciousness, he was come nigh to death, he was far
removed from joy. The knjght calls him by name, he tries
to rouse him by speech; he cannot make him hear; he leaped
towards him; the brother shows his brotherliness.
869
HE wipes away TariePs tears with his hand, he cleansed
his eyes with his sleeve; he sits down near by and only calls
him by name; he says: “Know’st thou not me, Avt’handil,
for thy sake wandering and mad ?” But he heard little,
staring with fixed eyes.
870
THIS is all thus, even as related by me. He wiped away
the tears from his eyes, he somewhat recalled him to
consciousness; then only he knew Avt’handil, kissed him,
embraced him, treated him as a brother. I declare by the
living God none like him was ever born.
871
HE said: “Brother, I was not false to thee, I have done
what I swore to thee; unparted from my soul I have seen
thee, thus have I kept my vow; now leave me; till death
I shall weep and beat my head, but I entreat thee for
burial, that I be not yielded to the beasts for food.”
872
THE knight replied: “What ails thee? Why doest thou an
evil deed ? Who hath not been a lover, whom doth the
furnace not consume ? Who hath done like thee among the
race of other men! Why art thou seized by Satan, why kill
thyself by thine own will ?
873
“IF thou art wise, all the sages agree with this principle:
‘A man must be manly, it is better that he should weep as
seldom as possible; in grief one should strengthen himself
like a stone wall. ‘Through his own reason a man falls into
trouble.
874
“THOU art wise, and yet knowest not to choose according
to the sayings of the wise. Thou weepest in the plain and
livest with the beasts; what desire canst thou thus fulfil ?
If thou renounce the world thou canst not attain her for
whose sake thou diest. Why bindest thou a hale head, why
openest thou the wound afresh ?
875
. “WHO hath not been a lover, whom hath the furnace not
consumed ? Who hath not seen pains, who faints not for
somebody ? Tell me, what has been unexampled! Why
should thy spirits flee! Know’st thou not that none e’er
plucked a thornless rose!
876
“THEY asked the rose: ‘Who made thee so lovely in form
and face ? I marvel why thou art thorny, why finding thee is
pain!’ It said: ‘Thou findest the sweet with the bitter;
whatever costs dear is better; when the lovely is cheapened
it is no longer worth even dried fruit.’
877
“SINCE the soulless, inanimate rose speaks thus, who then
can harvest joy who hath not first travailed with woe?
Who hath ever heard of aught harmless that was the work
of devilry ? Why dost thou murmur at Fate ? What hath it
done unexampled ?
878
“HEARKEN to what I have said, mount, let us go at ease.
Follow not after thine own counsel and judgement; do that
thou desirest not, follow not the will of desires; were it not
better thus I would not tell thee, mistrust not that I shall
flatter thee in aught.”
879
TARIEL said: “Brother, what shall I say to thee? Scarce
have I control of my tongue; maddened, I have no strength
to hearken to thy words. How easy to thee seems patience
of the suffering of my torments! Now am I brought close
to death; the time of my joy draws nigh.
880
“DYING, for her I pray; never shall I entreat her with my tongue. Lovers here parted, there indeed may we be united, there again see each other, again find some joy. Come, O friends, bury me, cast clods upon me!
881
“HOW shall the lover not see his love, how forsake her!
Gladly I go to her; then will she wend to me. I shall meet
her, she shall meet me; she shall weep for me and make me
weep. Inquire of a hundred, do what pleaseth thine heart,
in spite of what any may advise thee.
882
“BUT know thou this as my verdict, I speak to thee words
of truth: Death draws nigh to me, leave me alone, I shall
tarry but a little while; if I be not living, of what use am
I to thee ? If I survive, what canst thou make of me, mad ?
Mine elements are dissolved; they are joining the ranks of
spirits.
883
“WHAT thou hast said and what thou speakest I
Understand not, nor have I leisure to listen to these things.
Death draws nigh me maddened; life is but for a moment.
Now the world is grown distasteful to me—more than at any
time heretofore. I, too, go thither to that earth whereon the
moisture of my tears flows.
884
“WISE! Who is wise, what is wise, how can a madman act
wisely ? Had I my wits such discourse would be fitting. The
rose cannot be without the sun; if it be so, it begins to fade.
Thou weariest me, leave me, I have no time, I can endure
no more.”
885
AVT’HANDIL spoke again with words of many kinds. He
said: “By my head! If thou diest what good will it do to
her! Do it not! It is not the better deed. Be not thine own
foe!” But he cannot lead him away; he can do nothing
at all by speech
886
THEN he said: “Well, since thou wilt by no means hearken
to me, I will not weary thee; my tongue has hitherto spoken
in vain. If death be better for thee, die! Let the rose
wither – they all wither! One thing only I pray thee, grant
me this”—for this his tears were flowing—
887
“WHERE the Indians1 engird the crystal and rose with
a hedge of jet—from this am I parted; hastily I went, not
quietly. The king cannot keep me by his paternal converse.
Thou wilt not unite with me, thou wilt renounce me; now
how can I speak my joy!
888
” SEND me not heart-sore away, grant me one desire:
Mount once thy steed, let me see thee, ravisher of my soul.
on horseback: perchance: perchance then this present grief will flee
away, I shall go and leave thee, let thy will be done!”
889
HE entreated him: “Mount!” He begged and prayed him,
he entreated him eight times. He knew that riding would
chase away his sadness, that he would bend the reedy stem,
and make a tent of the jet eyelashes. He made Tariel
obedient; it pleased Avt’handil; Tariel sighed not nor
moaned.
890
HE said plainly: “I will mount; bring forward my horse.”
Avt’handil brought the horse and gently helped him to
mount; he did not make him pant with haste; he took him
towards the plain, he made his graceful form to sway. Some
time they rode; going made him seem better.
891
AVT’HANDIL entertains him, and speaks fair words to
him; for Tariel’s sake he moved his coral-coloured lips in
speech. To hear him would make young the aged ears of
a listener. He put away melancholy; he took unto himself
patience.
892
WHEN the elixir of grief perceived the improvement, joy
not to be depicted lightened his rose-like face—he,
Avt’handil, the physician of the reasonable, but despair of
the fool ish, spoke words of reason to him who spoke
foolishly
893
THEY began to converse; he spoke a frank word: “One
thing will I say to thee: Open to me what is secret. This
armlet of her by whom thou art wounded—how much dost
thou love it ? How dost thou prize it ? Tell me, then let me
die!”
894
HE said: “How can I tell thee the likeness of that
incomparable picture! It is my life, the giver of my groans,
better to me than all the world-water, earth and tree. To
hearken to that to which one should not listen is more bitter
than vinegar!”
895
AVT’HANDIL said: “I truly expected thee to say this.
Now, since thou hast said it, I will answer thee, and think
not I shall flatter thee; to lose Asmat’h were worse than the
loss of that armlet. I commend not thy behaviour in
choosing the worser
896
“THIS armlet thou wearest is golden, molten by the
goldsmith, inanimate, lifeless, speechless, unreasoning;
thou no longer wantest Asmat’h! Behold a true judgement!
First, she, luckless, was with Nestan; then she is thine own
adopted sister.
897
“BETWEEN you and Nestan she formed a bond, by thee
she has been called sister; she was the servant who
contrived your meeting, while she herself was worthy of
being summoned by thee; she, upbringer of her and brought
up by her, she is mad for Nestan, and thou forsakest her,
wretched woman, and wilt not see her? Bravo! a just
judgement indeed!”
898
HE said: “What thou sayest is only too true. Pitiable is
Asmat’h, who thinks of Nestan and sees me. I thought not
to live; thou art come in time to quench the fires. Since
I still survive, come, let us see, albeit I am still dazed.”
899
HE obeyed. Avt’handil and the Amirbar set out. I cannot
achieve the praise of their worth: teeth like pearls, lips
cleft roses. The sweetly discoursing tongue lures forth the
serpent from its lair.
900
THEREUPON Avt’handil says: “For thy sake will I
sacrifice mind, soul, heart; but be not thus, open not thy
wounds afresh. Learning avails thee not if thou do not what
the wise have said; of what advantage to thee is a hidden
treasure if thou wilt not use it ?
901
“GRIEVING is of no use to thee; if thou art sorrowful
what good will it do thee ? Know’st thou not that no man
dies save by the will of Providence ? Awaiting the sunbeams
the rose fades not in three days. Luck, endeavour and, if
God will, victory shall be thy lot.”
902
TARIEL replied: “This teaching is worth all the world to
me. The intelligent loves the instructor; he pierces the heart
of the senseless. But what shall I do, how can I endure
when I am in excessive trouble ? My griefs have hold of thee
too. If, then, thou justify me not shall I not wonder?
903
“WAX hath an affinity with the heat of fire, and therefore
is lighted; but water hath no such affinity if wax fall into
water it is quenched. Whatever thing afflicts someone
himself, in that will he hold for the sake of others too.
Why know’st thou not once for all in what way my heart
melts ?”
1 Black eyelashes.
Tariel Tells of the Killing of the Lion and the Tiger
904
“WITH my tongue will I relate to thee in detail all that
hath befallen me; then indeed with wise heart judge the
truth. I expected thee, awaiting thee was irksome to me,
I could no longer endure the cave, I wished to ride in the
plain.
905
“I CAME up that hill, I had traversed these reeds; a
lion and a tiger met, they came together; they seemed to
me to be enamoured, it rejoiced me to see them; but what
they did to each other surprised me, horrified me.
906
“I CAME up the hill, the lion and tiger came walking
together; they were to me like a picture of lovers, my
burning fires were quenched. They came together and
began to fight, embittered they struggled; the lion pursues,
the tiger flees. They were not commended by me.
907
“FIRST they sported gaily, then they quarrelled flercehy;
each struck the other with its paw, they had no fear of
death; the tiger lost heart, even as women do: the lion
fiercely pursued, none could have calmed him.
908
“THE behaviour of the lion displeased me. I said: ‘Thou
art out of thy wits. Why annoy’st thou thy beloved? Fie on
such bravery!”‘ I rushed on him with my bared sword, I
gave him to be pierced by the spear, I struck his head,
I killed him, I freed him from this world’s woe.
909
“I THREW away my sword, I leaped down, I caught the
tiger with my hands, I wished to kiss it for the sake of her
for whom hot fires burn me. It roared at me, and worried me
with its blood-shedding paws. I could bear no more; with
enraged heart I killed it too.
910
“HOWEVER much I soothed it, the tiger became not
calm. I grew angry, I brandished it, dashed it on the ground,
shattered it. I remembered how I had striven with my
beloved. Yet my soul tore not itself altogether out of me.
Why, then, art thou astonished that I shed tears!
911
“BEHOLD, brother! I have told the woes that grieved me.
Life itself befits me not. Why didst thou wonder that I am
thus fordone ? I am sundered from life, death is become shy
of me.” So the knight ended his story, sighed, and wept
aloud.
Here is the Going of Tariel and Avt’handil to the Cave, and Their Seeing of Asmat’h
912
AVT’HANDIL also wept with him and shed tears. He said:
“Be patient, die not, rend not altogether thy heart. God
will be merciful in this, though sorrow hath not shunned
thee; if He had willed to part you. He would not first have
united you.
913
. “MISCHANCE pursues the lover, embitters life for him;
but to him who at first bears woe it yields joy at last. Love
is grievous, for it brings thee nigh unto death; it maddens
the instructed, it teaches the untaught.”
914
THEY wept and went on; they wended their way to the
cave. When Asmat’h saw them she rejoiced indeed; she met
them, she wept, her tears wore channels in the rocks. Thev
kissed and wept aloud; each pressed the other to tell his
news again.
915
ASMAT’H said: “O God, Thou who canst not be expressed
by man’s tongue! Thou art the fullness of all; Thou
finest us with Thy sun-like radiance. If I praise Thee, how
can I praise Thee ? What can I say in praise of Thee, who
art not to be praised by the intellect ? Glory to Thee! Thou
hast not slain me by the shedding of tears for them.”
916
TARIEL said: “Ah, sister! for this have my tears flowed
here. For that it erstwhile made us smile, the passing world
makes us weep in turn; ‘tis an old law of the world, not
one newly to be heard of! Alas! were it not for pity of thee,
death would be my joy.
917
“IF he be athirst, what sane, reasonable man would pour
away water! I marvel why I am soaked in tears from mine
eyes! Lack of water slays, water flows never dried. Alas!
the opened rose, the beauteous pearl, is lost!”
918
AVT’HANDIL, too, was reminded of his sun and beloved.
He said: “0 mine own, how can I remain living without
thee! Apart from thee my life is for me pitiable. Who can
tell thee how I suffer, or how sore a fire burns me!
919
“HOW can the rose think, ‘If the sun go away I shall not
wither’ ? Or what, alas! will be our lot when the sun sets
behind the hill ? Heart, it is better for thee to harden
thyself, petrify thyself wholly. Perchance it may happen
to thee to see her; let not thy spirit be utterly spent!”
920
THEY calmed their souls, they were silent, fire burned
both. Asmat’h followed, went in; like them, a furnace
consumed her. She stretched out the tiger’s skin he
formerly used. They both sat down; they spoke of
whatever pleased them.
921
THEY roasted meat and made a meal fitting the occasion;
there the meal was breadless, and there was no multitude of
vassals. They begged Tariel to eat; he had not power to
eat; he chewed a morsel, spat it out, he hardly swallowed
the weight of a drachm.
922
PLEASANT it is when man converses agreeably with man;
he will listen to what is said, not let it pass in vain; thus
the fire which burns so greatly is somewhat quenched;
great comfort it is to speak of troubles when a man has the
opportunity
923
THAT night those lions, those heroes, were together,
they conversed, and each revealed to the other his woes;
when day dawned they began again many-worded
conversations; they heard again from each other the oath
formerly sworn.
924
TARIEL said: “Why speak many words ? For that which
thou hast done for me. God is surety for the debt. Oath for
oath is enough; remembrance, friendship for a departing
friend, are not the deed of a drunken man.
925
“NOW be merciful to me, make me not burn again in
hottest fires; the flame which consumes me is not kindled
by a steel; thou canst not extinguish it for me, thou thyself
shalt be burned by the law of the creation of the world.
Go, return, go back thither, to the place where thy sun is.
926
“To cure me seems hard even to Him who created
me—understand ye who hear!—therefore I roam mad in
the fields. Once I too was a doer of what befits the
reasonable; now the turn of madness has fallen to my
lot, and so I am mad.”
927
AVT’HANDIL said: “What can I say in answer to this
thou hast said ? Thou thyself hast spoken as a man sagely
instructed. How is it not possible for God again to cure
the wound! He is the upbringer of everything planted or
sown.
928
“WHY should God do this, create such as you and not
unite you, part you, madden thee with weeping ? Mischance
pursues the lover. Look well into the matter, know it. If
you meet not each other again, then slay me!
929
“WHO else is a man save he that will endure what is
grievous? How can one let himself be bent by grief! What
subject of conversation is this! Fear not. God is generous
though the world be hard! Learn then what I teach thee;
I make bold to tell thee that he who will not learn is an ass.
930
“HEED what thou hearest; let this suffice for teaching.
I asked leave of my sun to come away to you; I said to
her: ‘Since he made cinders of my heart I am no longer
of use to thee, I will not stay; what else need I tell thee in
many words ?’
931
“SHE said: ‘I am content, thou art doing well and bravely,
the attention thou showest to him I accept as a service
to me.’ At her request I came away. I am not drunk nor
intoxicated! If I now return what shall I say ? ‘Why art
thou come back like a coward ?’ will be her greeting.
932
“BETTER than such discourse is this, hearken to what I
say: The man who is to do a difficult deed must be
reasonable, the rose withered for lack of sun cannot make
provision for itself; if thou art no longer of any use to
thyself, be of use to me; brother must act brotherly to
brother.
933
“WHEREVER thou wilt, stay there after thy rule: if
thou wilt with wise heart, if thou wilt with maddened mind.
With that loveliness of mien, that grace of form, do but
strengthen thyself, die not, be not consumed by the flame!
934
“I BEG no more from thee: in a year’s time meet me in
this same cave, when I have gathered news from every
quarter. As a token of that time I give thee the season when
these roses shall again bloom abundantly; the sight of the
roses will make thee start as at the bark of a dog.
935
“IF I exceed that time and come not hither to the cave,
then know that I am not alive, undoubtedly I shall have
died. It will be a sufficient token of this if thou shed
tears for me. Then rejoice if thou wilt, or if thou wilt
increase thy grief.
936
“NOW perchance wilt thou sorrow for the sake of what I
have told thee ? I go far from thee, and I know not
whether horse or ship may fail me. No! lack of speech
avails not. I am not silent like a beast; I know not what
God will do to me, nor the ever-revolving sky.”
937
TARIEL said: “I will weary thee no more, nor say too
much; thou wilt not listen to me however much I lengthen
my discourse. If your beloved will not follow thee, follow
thou him; do whatever he wills. In the end every hidden
thing shall come to light.
938
“WHEN thou art convinced, then thou shall know the
difficulty of mine affairs; for me it is all one, roaming or
not roaming; what thou hast told me that will I do, however
much madness torture me. But if long days befall me in
thine absence, what shall I do ?”
939
THEY ended their discourse; they gave that promise to
each other. They mounted, rode out, each killed game in
the plain. They returned, their tearful hearts wept again;
the thought of the parting on the morrow added grief to
grief.
940
READERS of these verses, your eyes also are shedding
tears! What, alas! shall heart do without heart, if heart
part from heart! Absence and parting from a friend are
the slayers of a man. Who, indeed, knows not, understands
not, how hard is that day!
941
MORNING dawned; they mounted and said farewell to
the maiden. From the eyes of Tariel, Asmat’h and
Avt’handil tears flowed. The cheeks of all three hung out
flags of crimson. Those lions ever mad e wild by grief went
out to the beasts.
