presumption of his having been purposely unjust) that he felt some stings of conscience, and that he wished to recover from the disgrace which attached to him, as a patron of literature, from so dishonourable a transaction. 1 A more favourable construction, however, may be entertained from the facts adduced. The order for an elephantload of gold to be presented to the poet, whatever might be meant by that imposing term, appears to have arisen from a spontaneous impulse of generosity. Mahmud may have been afterwards the dupe of the minister, and his last atoning act of liberality would seem to favour that conclusion; but no dependence can be placed on the humour of an Asiatic despot. Yet it might be presumed that the sovereign who had the justice and magnanimity to punish with death an offender whom he would not see till after execution, suspecting him to be his own son, would hardly treat a poor poet so disgracefully. However this may have been, the satire of Firdausí, written at the moment of provocation, and with strongly exasperated feelings, appears to have had the power of stamping with obloquy in this respect the character of Mahmud, and of giving negative effect to the adulation which he had lavishly bestowed upon the same individual at the commencement of his poem. Thus singularly enough the work begins with an extravagant eulogy, and ends with the most scornful vituperation of his patron. * The tomb of Firdausí is in the city of Tús, and much frequented by pilgrims. It is said of Shaik Abul Kasim Korkani that he refused to offer up the customary prayer for Firdausí, because he had written so much in praise of the fire-worshippers. But upon the following night he dreamt that he saw Firdausí *The story is told by Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. in Paradise raised to a high degree of glory, when he asked him how he had merited that distinction, and the poet replied, "On account of the passages in which I have celebrated the greatness and the unity of God." In delivering this abridgment to the public, I have been anxious to make it as comprehensive and interesting to the general reader, as the extent of the labour I had prescribed to myself, and my own ability would allow. But it necessarily contains merely the substance of the Shah Námeh, though in many parts in considerable detail; and I have therefore deemed it important, with the view of showing more fully Firdausí's powers as a poet, to add a revised edition of my translation of Sohrab. Thus whilst the abridgment exhibits the scope and character of the poem, this favourite episode will at once display the force and spirit with which Firdausí's outlines are traced and his colouring supplied. But I must not conclude without remarking, that Firdausí's great work continues to be held in the highest estimation throughout Persia, and favourite passages from the various adventures are still treasured up and quoted on all fitting occasions. So popular is our old romancer, that the copies of the Shaáh Námeh are innumerable, and some of them are not only admirable specimens of fine ornamental writing, but they are generally enriched with coloured drawings of exquisite finish, illustrative of the most prominent events of the work. One of the copies which I used in the execution of the present abridgment was of this kind, splendidly illuminated and sprinkled with gold, and cost upwards of one hundred guineas. In India even, that is Hindustan and the southern regions of the East, wherever the Persian language is understood and cultivated, the Shah Nameh is also highly prized; but it is perhaps most known by a very clever epitome of it, written in the same language, by Shumshír Khán in the year 1063 of the Mahommedan era. The original work has outlived eight centuries with undiminished lustre, in countries, too, where copies can only be multiplied at a great expense, verifying the prophecy of the poet, who predicted the immortality of his verse with as much confidence as Ovid when he wrote his celebrated peroration— Jamque opus exegi; quod nec Jovis ira, nec ignis, LONDON, May 1, 1832. ........ Zohák's dream, prophetic of his fall... The birth of Feridún, and death of his father, Abtín ......... Faránuk escapes, with Feridún her son, to the mountain Alberz... Feridun vows vengeance against Zohák, for the murder of his Kavah, the Blacksmith, rebels against Zohák on account of his The capture of Zohák's palace, and release of Jemshid's two sisters Zohák wounded, and buried alive in a deep cave .................... The revolt of Feridún's two sons, Silim and Túr, and their enmity ..... |