Vis and Ramin

54 VISRAMIANI
it. To-day is the hour of thy joy, not of weeping and
mourning. Now, if thou hearkenest, rise up from the
ground and clothe thyself in royal robes, set upon thy head
the crown of gold that befits thee and adorn thy sunlike
face, beautify 1 the palace with thy presence, 2 and make the
harem a garden; 3
begin a conversation with sugar-like
with
tongue, and set forth a banquet with thy rosy lips ;
thy jetty eyes rob the onlookers of their hearts, and rejoice
the heart of Moabad with pleasant kiss. Make night into
and bind the sorcerers with the
hairs of thy head ; make the sun envious, with thy smile
make the sweetness of sugar despicable, and put amber to
shame with thy hair; cool the hearts of men towards
69 day with thy flashing face, |
women, and by mad love of thee make yellow the faces of
heroes (iions). If thou clothest thy body in its raiment, so
shalt thou be as I have said. If thou put all fair ones to
shame, thou wilt rejoice all the gloomy ones when thou
adornest thyself. Thou hast youth, goodness, charms, and
rank. What dost thou seek more than these that God has
given thee ?
" Shegoneba : Let no one raise his arm against God's
decree, for no one can avert what is to come.
"
Neither by thy crying out will Providence be affrighted,
nor will the future be removed from thee. Why dost thou
cry out against so much good fortune, and in vain let flow
from thine eyes never-dying tears?"
Thus the nurse in many a way advised and urged Vis.
But she hearkened no more to the nurse's advice than to
the wind. Thus spoke Vis :
" Hey, nurse, thy talk is like a barren tree ; my heart is
sated of life in this fleeting world; I do not wish at all
either to clothe myself or to sit upon a throne. My garment
is mourning, 4 and my throne is earth; my banquet is
lamentation, and my bosom friend is solitude. Neither will
Moabad have any joy in me, nor shall I find in him good or
glory. When I was near Viro I was a rose without a thorn,
1 Shemcev. 2 Piri. 3 Sadedo tsalcotad, 116.
* P'hlasi, K., 1183.