English
Part 15: Bahram Speaks Before the Nobles
Bahram spoke: You leaders, you men who have seen the world and proven yourselves in every task,
you have all spoken the truth, and worse than that: it is right that I blame my own father.
I too have tasted the bitterness of his rule, the taste that darkened my clouded judgment.
His palace was a prison to me, until God took pity on me
and delivered my life from his grasp, when my heart lay wounded on his hook.
I took shelter with Mundhir for this reason: that I never once received kindness from the king.
May no human being carry such a nature, for where it takes root, all humanity is lost.
I thank God that I possess wisdom, and my soul reaps the fruits of that wisdom.
Until now I have prayed to God to guide me rightly toward the good,
so that whatever the king did to his people, we might cleanse our hearts and souls of that sin.
I want only the happiness of those beneath me; I follow the way of those who worship God.
I would be the shepherd, my subjects the flock; I seek only their ease and justice for all.
I have spirit, learning, judgment, and skill; an unjust king has no worth at all.
Meanness and crookedness come from helplessness; the unjust ruler deserves to be wept over.
Kingship is mine, father to father; wisdom and goodwill are mine.
From Shapur and Bahram back to Ardeshir, all those rulers, the young and the old,
father upon father, are my ancestors, my guides in faith and in wisdom.
On my mother's side I am grandson of the king of Shamiran; by every lineage I walk with wisdom.
I have skill, wisdom, and greatness, horsemanship, courage, and strength of arm.
I count no man my equal among men in war, in feasting, or in any deed.
I have a hidden treasure heaped in store, and famous men loyal to their king.
I will keep the whole world flourishing through justice; may you all be prosperous and glad.
Every land that has fallen to ruin through suffering, laid waste by the injustice of Iran's king,
I will make thrive again through justice, and all my subjects will live in gladness.
I will make one more pledge to you, and give my tongue to God as surety:
let us bring the royal ivory throne, and set the crown before it, right in the middle.
Let us bring two fierce lions from the forest and place them on either side of the crown.
Let us tie a raging lion on each side, for whoever longs to be king.
Let him step forward, take the crown from the ivory throne, and place the famed crown on his head.
Let him sit in kingship between the two lions, with crown above and throne below.
We will accept no one but him as ruler, so long as he is just and pure of heart.
But if you turn your necks away from what I have said, then choose a defiant man as my rival.
Wherever one like me leads the way, the horsemen's spears become mere thorns and thistles.
With me and Mundhir, our maces and sharp swords, the Arab champions know no way to flee.
We will raise the dust of your emperor, and of your land and soil and throne.
Now give your answer to what I have said, and bring wise judgment to this dispute.
He said this, rose, and went into his tent; a whole world was shaken by his words.
In Iran, every chief and priest who heard the words of that wise prince
said: This is the divine glory, not the way of crookedness or foolishness.
He speaks no word except with justice; it is fitting we make our hearts glad with justice.
Now, as for what he said about the raging lions, and a royal crown and throne set in their midst:
if the fierce lions tear him apart, the Just One will ask us to answer for his blood.
Since he himself proposed it and set this harsh custom, we will not be glad even at his death.
And if it happens that he lifts the crown, then in glory he will surpass even Fereydun.
We will call no one but him our king; from all these speeches, we have simply given justice its due.