Then he made sweet his speech and his
eloquence and bowing his head, spoke the following verses:
Long life unto a King, the greatest of the great, Still following
on good works and bounties without date!
Glowering with high resolves, a fountain of largesse, For ever
full; 'tis said, of fire and flood and fate,
That they none else would have for monarch of the world, For
sovran of the time and King in Kisra's gate.[FN#119]
Kings, salutation-wise, upon his threshold's earth, For his
acceptance lay the jewels of their state;
And when their eyes behold the glory of his might, Upon the
earth, in awe, themselves they do prostrate.
This humbleness it is that profits them with thee And wins them
wealth and power and rank and high estate.
Upon old Saturn's heights pitch thy pavilion, Since for thy
countless hosts the world is grown too strait,
And teach the stars to know thine own magnificence, In kindness
to the prince who rules the starry state.
May God with His consent for ever favour thee! For steadfastness
of soul and sense upon thee wait:
Thy justice overspreads the surface of the earth, Till far and
near for it their difference abate.
The Khalif was charmed with his eloquence and the sweetness of
his speech and said to him, 'Draw near to me.' So he drew near
and the Khalif said, 'Tell me thy story and expound to me thy
case.
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