Introduction: In Praise of Atabik-Abu-Bakar

To desire such a nature I was not inclined ;To eulogize kings did not enter my mind ;Yet some verses I wrote, in a certain one's name,And perhaps pious men will repeat oft the same :That Sadi, who Rhetoric's ball bore away,Was alive in Abu-Bakar-B'ini-Sad's day.It is well I should honour his reign in my rhymes,As did Sayed the poet—of Naushirwan's times—A king Faith defending, to do justice sworn—Since Umar, like Bu-Bakar, none has been born.He's the chief of the noble and crown of the great ;In his ruling with justice, oh World, be elate !When a person from trouble to safe shelter goes,No country but this has a place for repose.As unto the Kaba's delightful abode,They travel by many a long valley road,I've not seen such a Treasure, and Country, and Throne,Which on child, poor, and aged have equally shone.No person approached him afflicted with grief,That he placed not a salve on his heart for relief.He's a searcher for good and is hopeful, likewise ;The hope he possesses, oh, God, realize !His cap-corner perched in the sky may be found,And his head in humility still on the ground.(The exalted are good who humility show ;If a beggar be humble his Nature is so.A subject may fall and it matter not much;But a tyrant cast down is a man in God's clutch.)The renown of his goodness remains not concealed ;Liberality's fame to the world is revealed.Like him, one so wise and so happy in soul,The world does not shelter, from pole unto pole.In his days, one afflicted, no eye can behold ;Of oppression from one cruel hand, who has told?None has seen such arrangement, such usage and rite ;Faridun, with his pomp, did not see such a sight.In the eyes of the Lord his position is strong,For the hands of the weak from his rank become long.On a world such abundance of favour he shows,That a Zal from a Rustam no anxiousness knows.Some men, on account of the harshness of Fate,Are ever distressed that the sky should rotate.Oh, friend of the city ! so just is your reign,That none against Fortune has cause to complain.In your age I see people enjoying repose ;After you, what may happen them God only knows!It is due to your fortunate planet's bright rays,That the writings of Sadi appear in your days.While the sun and the moon in the sky shall remain,So long shall this record your merits contain.If monarchs a good reputation have earned,The manner they have from their ancestors learned.With qualities regal, so gifted's your mind,That the monarchs of yore you have left far behind.Alexander, with wall made of stone and of brass,Brought Gog in the world to a difficult pass.Your barrier to Gog's unbelief is of gold ;Not of brass, like the great Alexander's, of old.If a poet, enjoying this justice and peace,Does not speak in your praise, may his tongue ever cease !What a sea of bestowing and lavishing mine !For the poor are relieved by your presence benign.Past counting, I see the king's merits remain ;And their record's too large for this limited plain.Were Sadi to enter the whole of them in,A new volume he, doubtless, would have to begin.I fail in my thanks for such generous care ;It is better to stretch, then, my hands out in pray'r:May the Earth and the Sky all your wishes befriend!May the Maker of Earth to you safety extend !By your high-rising star may the world be illumed !And the low-falling star of your foe be consumed !By grief from changed times may you never be pressed !May the dust of sad care on your heart never rest !(For if grief in the heart of a monarch should dwell,The hearts of a world suffer anguish as well).May your spirit be tranquil and prosp'rous your realm;And never may ruin your state overwhelm !Like the Faith, may your body for ever be sound!And your foes' hearts, as weak as their counsels be found!May your spirit be glad by the aid of the Lord!On your heart, Faith, and State be prosperity poured !May the mercy of God give repose to your mind !(If more I should say, 'twould be fable and wind.)From the Maker sublime, this for you should suffice,That His grace makes your goodness continue to rise.Sad-Zangi departed this life without care,For he named such a famed one as you, as his heir.Such a branch is not strange from so holy a root;For his soul is in Heav'n and his corpse underfoot.Oh God! on the tomb of that famous one, deignBy Thy favour, a shower of mercy to rain!If remembrance and tales of Sad-Zangi descend,May Heav'n be, for ever, Sad-Bu-Bakar's friend !