How Rustam asked Káús for an Elixir
Then to Gúdarz said Rustam: "Famous heroOf ardent soul! bear for me to KáúsA message, tell him what hath chanced, and sayThus: 'With a dagger have I pierced the reinsOf my brave son. May Rustam's life be short!If thou at all art mindful of my deedsLet thy heart feel for me in my distress.Of that elixir in thy treasury,Which hath the power to make the wounded whole,Send somewhat graciously to me forthwith,Together with a cup of wine. My son,By thy good fortune, may recover yet,And stand like me a slave before thy throne.'"
The chieftain came like wind and gave the message.The Sháh said: "Who hath lustre in my sightExceeding that of elephantine Rustam?I do not wish him ill but honour himExceedingly, yet, if I send the elixir,Suhráb—an elephantine chief—will live,Will strengthen Rustam's back, and doubtlesslyBring ruin on myself. If at his handsI suffer shall I not avenge myself?'Who is Káús,' thou heardest him once say,'And if he be the Sháh who then is Tús?'Who in this wide world hath such neck and limbsAnd Grace? How will he stand before my throne,Or march beneath the banner of the Sháhs?He gave me his abuse and took awayMy credit with the troops. If his son livethA pinch of dust is all that I shall get.Art thou of high rank and experienceAnd hast not heard the language of Suhráb:—'I will behead a thousand in ÍránAnd hang Káús alive upon the gibbet?'If he surviveth great and small will quake.To cherish foes is to invite contempt."
Thereat Gúdarz returned like smoke to Rustam,And said: "The evil nature of the SháhIs like a colocynth in constant fruit.He hath no equal in the world for harshness,And never helpeth any one in trouble.Go unto him in person, be thy partTo bring the light to his benighted heart."
Words in this poem
- mindful a.
- Bearing in mind; regardful; attentive; heedful; observant.
- elixir n.
- A tincture with more than one base; a compound tincture or medicine, composed of various substances, held in solution by alcohol in some form. [F. élixir, Sp. elixir, Ar. eliksir the philosopher's stone, prob. from Gr. ksha to burn.]
- graciously adv.
- In a gracious manner; courteously; benignantly.
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- doubtlessly adv.
- Unquestionably. Beau. & Fl.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- behead v. t.
- To sever the head from; to take off the head of. [OE. bihefden, AS. beheáfdian; pref. be- + heáfod head. See Head.]
- gibbet n.
- A kind of gallows; an upright post with an arm projecting from the top, on which, formerly, malefactors were hanged in chains, and their bodies allowed to remain asa warning. [OE. gibet, F. gibet, in OF. also club, fr. LL. gibetum;; cf. OF. gibe sort of sickle or hook, It. giubbetto gibbet, and giubbetta, dim. of giubba mane, also, an]
- thereat adv.
- At that place; there.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
How Rustam asked Káús for an Elixir is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Shahnama of Firdausi, done into English by Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner, vol. II (Trübner’s Oriental Series), London, 1906; Part III, Suhráb (sections 1 to 25), Internet Archive, the Arthur George Warner and Edmond Warner translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ferdowsi, How Rustam asked Káús for an Elixir, in Rustam and Sohrab (from the Shahnama) (1906), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ferdowsi-rustam-and-sohrab/22.html, id L29120.
Form and metre
How Rustam asked Káús for an Elixir is 43 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 ---------AB--BA-C--BC-- message · sight · rustam · him · elixir · live · doubtlessly · hands · myself · sayA · — · limbs · throne · — · awayA · liveth · getC · experience · suhráb · — · gibbetC · quake · contempt
- 3 -----AA rustam · — · fruit · harshness · trouble · partA · heartA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Then to Gúdarz said Rustam: "Famous hero | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Of ardent soul! bear for me to Káús | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A message, tell him what hath chanced, and say | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thus: 'With a dagger have I pierced the reins | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of my brave son. May Rustam's life be short! | 10 | ·········· |
| If thou at all art mindful of my deeds | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Let thy heart feel for me in my distress. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Of that elixir in thy treasury, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Which hath the power to make the wounded whole, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Send somewhat graciously to me forthwith, | 10 | ·///˘˘··// |
| Together with a cup of wine. My son, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| By thy good fortune, may recover yet, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| And stand like me a slave before thy throne.'" | 10 | ·········· |
| The chieftain came like wind and gave the message. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| The Sháh said: "Who hath lustre in my sight | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Exceeding that of elephantine Rustam? | 11 | ˘/˘···˘/··· |
| I do not wish him ill but honour him | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Exceedingly, yet, if I send the elixir, | 11 | ˘/˘·····˘/˘ |
| Suhráb—an elephantine chief—will live, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Will strengthen Rustam's back, and doubtlessly | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Bring ruin on myself. If at his hands | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| I suffer shall I not avenge myself? | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·/ |
| 'Who is Káús,' thou heardest him once say, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'And if he be the Sháh who then is Tús?' | 10 | ········// |
| Who in this wide world hath such neck and limbs | 10 | ·········· |
| And Grace? How will he stand before my throne, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or march beneath the banner of the Sháhs? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| He gave me his abuse and took away | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| My credit with the troops. If his son liveth | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| A pinch of dust is all that I shall get. | 10 | ·········· |
| Art thou of high rank and experience | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| And hast not heard the language of Suhráb:— | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'I will behead a thousand in Írán | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| And hang Káús alive upon the gibbet?' | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| If he surviveth great and small will quake. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| To cherish foes is to invite contempt." | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘/ |
| Thereat Gúdarz returned like smoke to Rustam, | 11 | ˘/··˘/····· |
| And said: "The evil nature of the Sháh | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Is like a colocynth in constant fruit. | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| He hath no equal in the world for harshness, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| And never helpeth any one in trouble. | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Go unto him in person, be thy part | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To bring the light to his benighted heart." | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.