1. A command obeyed has come to me
From the protectors, pure and sublime,

2. From the knight of generosity, grace,
And forbidding evil, excelling in rhyme,

3. In eloquent, lucid verse,
As if it were Babylonian magic lines,

4. It came while my mind
Was preoccupied with the burdens of time,

5. And my thoughts like an unpolished sword
Neglected among the blades that shine,

6. I almost refrained, were it not
For the loftiness of the question divine,

7. Borne by one knowing truths
And excelling over all in his prime,

8. Called for correcting what is right
Though most of it is false and malign.