Sol 5.6

  1. Glad tidings! The herald has arrived, bearing his glory.

    In Abtarā—the king of humankind, with Farbandah—

  2. He recalls ʿAntar’s prowess and his steed,

    telling you how he vanquished and repelled the foe.

  3. With his standard comes dazzling fortune, and in his hand

    are the path to glory and the attainment of his utmost aim.

  4. Not everyone who aspires to the heights attains his desires;

    vast is the distance between the sword and its sheath.

  5. How many lions among men have reigned through noble deeds

    and laudations lavishly voiced by the herald of his glory,

  6. through watchful care and consummate skill! Say of him: he has

    surpassed all people in honor beneath his fortune’s rising star.

  7. He plunged into the heat of battle with a keen sword, never drunk with pride,

    and drove back the massed hosts, fearful of its edge.

  8. From him comes deliverance, and upon him rests the reliance of hope;

    in him finds refuge whoever seeks the shore of his bounty.

  9. O master—rather, O sovereign prince—

    save me from the anguish and weariness of time.

  10. For my fate has denied me success, and I have seen

    none but you, whose fountain delights all who come to drink.

  11. Indeed, the slanderers are enemies through their scheming;

    they have labored to overturn my standing and cast me out.

  12. Do not heed the informer; rebuff his deceit,

    and discern who is truly sincere to me from his opposite.

  13. Then certainty’s dinar will gleam beneath the ringing test,

    and I shall gain my share from what its assay reveals.

Sol 5.6