English
Section 11
When night pulled its skirt across the day, the banner of the sun rose into view from above.
Shapur gave the order and the scribe came forward; he called for pen and ink, musk and silk.
They wrote a letter to every chief, to every king and every land.
At the head of the letter he set praise from us, the servant, to the Creator of the world.
For He alone has the power to do good; in His strength He needs no one.
He is the maker of the age; He alone is the teacher of goodness.
Consider the Caesar, who cast aside God's command and sowed nothing but the seed of evil in Iran.
Now in misery he grinds against his chains, since his soul had no wisdom to guide it.
The crown of Iran was handed to him, yet he carried off from the world nothing but a name of shame.
That army and that court fell apart, by the power of God, who showed the way.
Whoever is a Roman in the city must get his share from the sword.
Seek justice and obey the command; renew the covenant properly from the start.
A swift dromedary set out from every side, racing with the letter of the bright-souled king.
He came from the army camp toward Ctesiphon, and sat down safely with his guide.
When he placed his ancestors' crown on his head, he gave thanks for the Judge's gift of goodness.
He ordered the scribe to go to the prison and write down the names of the captives in ink.
The count came to eleven hundred and ten of Rome's nobles, those who were famous.
All were the Caesar's kin and relations, the very chief men of Rome.
The world-ruler cut off the hands and feet of everyone who had led others into evil.
He gave the order to bring the Caesar of Rome, the commander of that land.
The jailer went and, dragging the Caesar by the hand, brought him from prison like one who had fainted.
When the tormented man saw Shapur's face, his tears streamed down his cheeks.
He pressed his flushed face to the ground, praising the crown and the throne.
He swept the whole ground with his eyelashes, and pressed his hair and face into the dust.
The king said to him: You who are wholly evil, a Christian and an enemy of God,
you call One who has no equal a son, One who has no end or beginning in this world.
You know how to speak nothing but lies, and a lie is a fire without light.
If you are a Caesar, where is your shame and wisdom? Where is the heart that guides you to good?
Why did you make a fetter of donkey hide and throw greatness into the dust?
I came like a merchant to a feast, not with war drums and an army to battle.
You wrap a guest in donkey hide, then turn on Iran and raise an army.
Now you will see the war of true men, so that afterward you never seek battle with Iran.
The Caesar said to him: O king, who can escape God's command?
Fate drove wisdom far from me, O king, and made my soul a hireling of the demon.
If you repay evil with kindness, you will become a legend in the world,
so that your name never grows old, and all your desires are fulfilled through manliness.
If I win from you a pardon for my life, treasure and gold will seem worthless to my eyes.
I will be a servant at your court, seeking nothing but the adornment of your place.
The king said to him: You wicked, worthless man, why did you turn this land upside down?
Now everyone you carried off from Iran as a captive, I will demand all of them back from you, without exception.
And every treasure you carried off to Rome, may you never again see that ill-fated land,
you will bring it all back from your house and deliver it proudly to this army.
Everywhere in Iran that has been ruined and become a lair for leopards and lions,
you will rebuild it all with your own gold, and receive the reward of your deeds.
Further, for every Iranian you killed, you will seek out from Rome one of noble Kayanid lineage;
you will pay ten Romans in ransom for each one, and pledge your own soul as a guarantee of the bargain.
I want none but men of Caesar's own line, who will be content with us in this land.
Further, every tree you cut down in Iran, no fortunate man cuts down a flourishing tree,
you will plant again, and rebuild the walls, so you may lessen a little of the anger in men's hearts.
Now I will bind you in a fetter, for how could I be satisfied binding you in donkey hide?
If you fail to carry out all I have said, they will strip your skin from head to foot.
He split his two ears with a dagger like forked branches, and pierced a hole through his nose in one place.
He set a bridle through his nose, since Shapur remembered that donkey hide.
He clamped two heavy shackles on his feet, and the jailer took him back to his place.