SOHRAB ; 
 
 AND 
 RUSTUM k} 
 
Sobrab anb IRustum 
 
 BY 
 
 MATTHEW ARNOLD 
 
 With Introduction and Explanatory N(3Tes 
 
 M. A. EATON, B. A. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 BOSTON 
 New York Chicago San Francisco 
 

 48 65 55 
 
 AUG 1 4 1942 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 LIFE OF ARNOLD. 
 
 Matthew Arnold wrote at a time when 
 English life and English thought were 
 much in need of broadening their horizons 
 and throwing off the shackles of a narrow 
 provinciahsm. Life was characterized by 
 a certain dryness both of intellect and 
 emotion, which was especially shown in 
 the religion and science of the period. 
 The Oxford movement was in some sense a 
 protest against this attitude of mind, and 
 Arnold, although in a very different way, 
 uttered as strong a plea for a richer and 
 more wide reaching spiritual life. His 
 mission to Englishmen was, as he explains 
 in the preface to one of his volumes of 
 essays, to help them "conquer the hard 
 unintelligence, which was just then their 
 bane ; to supple and reduce it by culture, 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by a growth in the variety, fullness, and 
 sweetness of then- spiritual life." 
 
 Matthew Arnold was born at Laleham, 
 December 24, 1822. His father was Dr. 
 Thomas Arnold, the famous head-master of 
 Rugby, who perhaps did more for the 
 reform of education in England than any 
 other sino'le man. The son was educated 
 at Winchester and Rugby, where he won 
 high rank as a scholar, and in 1840 
 entered Balliol College, Oxford. 
 
 Here he became one of a choice circle of 
 friends all of whom were more or less influ- 
 enced bv the ferment in relio^ious thouoht 
 which culminated in the so-called Oxford 
 movement. Tw^o of the most famous of 
 these friends were R. W. Church, who 
 afterward became Dean of St. Paul's, and 
 Arthur Henry Clough, the poet, whose 
 intimacy with Arnold was much like that 
 which existed between Tennyson and 
 Arthur Hallam. 
 
 When Clough died, under similar cir- 
 cumstances, Arnold wrote the elegy of 
 " Thyrsis " to his memory, one of the most 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 tender and beautiful poems of the kind in 
 the English language. 
 
 At college the young writer's poetical 
 genius began to show itself and his poem 
 on " Cromwell " gained hiDi the Newdigate 
 Prize for English poetry. He was very 
 popular with all his fellows and, as one of 
 his friends said of him, '' His perfect self- 
 possession, the sallies of his ready wit, the 
 humorous turn which he could give to any 
 subject that he handled, his gaiety, exu- 
 berance, versatility, audacity, and unfailing 
 command of words," made him one of the 
 most brilliant members of the University. 
 
 These are qualities which are continually 
 appearing in his writings, more particularly 
 in his prose, where he often seems to dis- 
 guise his real earnestness and sincerity of 
 purpose under a seeming nonchalance and 
 half laughing contempt of himself and his 
 subject, which have deceived many into 
 thinking him a mere diletantte where he is 
 really most in earnest. 
 
 Another quality in Arnold's prose is 
 traceable to his Oxford life. While he was 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in college, Newman seceded to the Church 
 of Kome, and this event and all the attend- 
 ant circumstances, stirred him deeply in 
 spite of the radical tendency of his 
 thouofht. The admiration for ancient and 
 established forms, which Newman did so 
 much to inculcate in England, is very notice- 
 able in Arnold's writings even where he 
 most shows the ao^nostic bent of his mind. 
 In 1847, Arnold became private secre- 
 tary to Lord Lansdowne and remained in 
 that capacity four years. He became 
 deeply interested in the cause of public 
 education, and in 1851, soon after his 
 marriage, he received the appointment of 
 Lay Inspector of Schools. For nearly 
 thirty-five years, he g;ave his time and the 
 wealth of his brilliant and keen intellect 
 to the cause of secondary education in 
 England. Twice he went abroad to study 
 the school systems of the continent and his 
 reports upon the foreign system, as well as 
 upon the progress of public schools at 
 home are among the most valuable con- 
 tributions to educational literature. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 Arnold was essentially a poet. Even in 
 his most critical writings the sensitive and 
 emotional nature of his mind shows itself, 
 and it is significant that his first pub- 
 lished work was a little volume of poems 
 called " The Strayed Reveller, and Other 
 Poems, by A," issued in 1848. A new 
 volume appeared in 1853, and these poems 
 soon won for him the Professorship of 
 Poetry at Oxford. While there he wrote 
 his celebrated " Lectures on Translating 
 Homer," and the ^^ Essays in Criticism." 
 
 The latter volume embodies Arnold's 
 philosophy of life and literature more com- 
 pletely, perhaps than any of his other writ- 
 ings and his exposition of the true function 
 of the critic is not to be paralleled in English 
 literature. Perhaps, no critic save Saint- 
 Beuve, had ever before viewed his subject 
 with such sympathetic and far seeing eyes, 
 Buch an absence of insular prejudice, such 
 keen insight tempered with a sweet reason- 
 ableness." 
 
 This volume was followed by a long 
 series of critical works and essays. The 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 most important of them was " Culture and 
 Anarchy," published in 1870. To Arnold, 
 culture was the true method for overcom- 
 ing the limitations which prevent man from 
 attaining to the perfect type of life. The 
 function of the critic is to compare the 
 existing and defective types and to point 
 out their faults and weaknesses. " The 
 great aim of culture," he asserts, "is the aim 
 of setting ourselves to ascertain what per- 
 fection is and to make it prevail." 
 
 Such a critic Arnold himself aspired to 
 be, and he lost no opportunity both of 
 pointing out the inadequacy of material 
 science to furnish a philosophy of life, and 
 of the danger which religion suffered from 
 the wilful blindness of dogmatic philoso- 
 phy. The intellect must not develop at 
 the expense of the soul, nor must the soul 
 fetter and cripple the mind. Life attains 
 its real end only when intellect and spirit 
 are developed harmoniously and all preju- 
 dices and things unsound have been aban- 
 doned in the quest for what is real and 
 beautiful. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 And just here Arnold shows himself the 
 poet again, for in his eyes, the highest 
 type is that which possesses the greatest 
 refinement, and to which things appear in 
 their spiritual aspect. " He is the happy 
 man, who, encumbering himself with the 
 love of nothing which is not beautiful, 
 is able to embrace the greatest number of 
 things beautiful in his life." And the 
 happy man, in this case, is also the good 
 and great man. 
 
 Arnold's death occurred on April 15, 
 1889, and in him his age lost one of its 
 finest and most sensitive spirits. He felt too 
 deeply himself the spiritual unrest of the 
 age, " the strange disease of modern life," 
 to offer men a positive and hopeful relig- 
 ious ideal. He, as they, had nothing 
 adequate to offer for the religion so many 
 had lost, but he could still insist that 
 life was spiritual, at a time when the 
 material aspect threatened to take the place 
 which religion had filled, and by showing 
 men the beauty of a wider and more com- 
 prehensive culture, prepare their minds 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 for a far deeper realization of religious 
 truth. 
 
 As a poet, Arnold showed many of the 
 finest qualities of classic writers and his 
 admiration for Greek poetry has colored 
 the style and structure of his own. To 
 him poetry was " at bottom a criticism of 
 life," and " the greatness of a poet lies in 
 his powerful and beautiful application of 
 ideas to life ; to the question : How to live." 
 His verse is characterized by grace and 
 refinement, and a beautiful dignity of self- 
 restraint. The longer poems, indeed, miss 
 the true epic swiftness — that is a gift 
 which seems denied to our sophisticated 
 age — but they possess a terseness and 
 simplicity, with a sustained elevation of 
 style, which approach very near to the 
 "^ grand manner " of the Greek classics. 
 
 Arnold's principal works, other than 
 those mentioned, are " St. Paul and Prot- 
 estantism, " '' Literature and Dogma, " 
 " God and the Bible," " Last Essays on 
 Church and Religion," "The Study of 
 Celtic Literature," " Friendship's Gar- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 land," " Mixed Essays, " " Irish Essays, " 
 " Discourses in America," " Complete 
 Poems " and " Essays in Criticism, Second 
 Series." 
 
 THE STORY OF SOHRAB AND 
 RUSTUM. 
 
 The story of Sohrab and Rustum is only 
 an episode in the Persian epic, the " Shah- 
 Namah," or " Books of the King," which 
 is to Persia what the " Nibelungen Lied " 
 is to Germany. Its author was a learned 
 Arabian scholar named Abul Casim Man- 
 sur, born about 941 B. C. The Sultan of 
 Persia wished an epic to be written that 
 should celebrate the legendary heroes of 
 Persia, and a contest of poets was arranged, 
 that one might be chosen for the task. 
 At one of these contests Abul improvised 
 so successfully that the name of Firdusi 
 (paradise) was bestowed upon him, because, 
 as the Sultan said, he had made the court 
 a paradise. 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Firdusi won the appointment, and for 
 thirty years he labored at his task. He 
 wrote sixty thousand verses and for each 
 verse had been promised a gold piece, with 
 which he intended to build a dike for his 
 native town of Tus. Accordingly, when 
 the payment was made in silver, the angry 
 poet sent back the gift with scorn and for 
 many years lived a wandering life. At 
 last in his old aae he returned to his native 
 town to die, and as his body was borne out 
 of the town, the camels of the repentant 
 Sultan entered, bearing the promised gold. 
 As a tribute to the poet's memory, the 
 great stone dike of Tus was built with the 
 gold. 
 
 The original story of Sohrab and Rus- 
 tum was as follows : 
 
 Once, while the great Persian hero, Rus- 
 tum, was hunting near the borders of 
 Turan, some young men of the province 
 stole away his famous horse, Ruksh. In 
 great wrath, Rustum went to the king in 
 the city of Samangan, who received him 
 kindly and restored his horse. Here he 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 was entertained with royal splendor and fell 
 in love with the beautiful princess, Tah- 
 minah. After their marriage, however, 
 Rustum's adventurous spirit ' revived and 
 he departed in search of fresh conquests, 
 leaving his bride an amulet of onyx, which 
 she was to fasten upon their child to 
 shield it from harm. If the child was a 
 girl the amulet was to be worn in the hair, 
 but if a boy, upon the arm. 
 
 The child proved to be a son, but Tah- 
 minah feared that if Rustum heard of it he 
 would take the boy from her, so she sent 
 him word that it was a orirl. The father 
 took no more interest in the child, and the 
 boy Sohrab grew up a brave and fearless 
 youth, like the great Rustum himself. 
 Afrasiab, the Tartar King, conceived a 
 great fancy for him and gave him a promi- 
 nent place in his army, but Sohrab's one 
 desire was to find his father, who was 
 Afrasiab's enemy. The crafty king hoped 
 that when his Tartar hordes marched upon 
 the kingdom of the Sultan, Kai Kaoos, 
 Sohrab would unwittingly slay his mighty 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 father, and thus the kingdom would fall a 
 prey to its enemies. Therefore he con- 
 cealed Rustum's presence in the Persian 
 army from Sohrab. 
 
 Great was the terror of the Persians at 
 the approach of the Tartar army, especially 
 since the Sultan had angered Rustum, who 
 refused to fight, and sulked in his tent. At 
 last, however, after the Sultan himself had 
 asked pardon, and sent him rich gifts, 
 Rustum prepared for the contest. 
 
 When the two armies were face to face 
 on the banks of the Oxus, Sohrab chal- 
 lenged Kai Kaoos to single combat, but he 
 sent Rustum in his place. Both combat- 
 ants felt a premonition of the true state of 
 affairs, but the combat began and they 
 fought until sundown and they were both 
 wearied out. In the night Sohrab sought 
 Haman and demanded to know whether 
 his foe was the great Rustum or not. But 
 Haman pretended ignorance and next day 
 the battle was renewed. Again they 
 fought until the day was done and another 
 night they rested. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 When the day dawned Rustum rushed 
 upon Sohrab and threw him to the earth 
 with such force that his back was broken. 
 He bore down his sword to kill him, when 
 Sohrab cried : " I sped not forth for empty 
 glory, but I went to seek my father, for 
 my mother had told me by what tokens I 
 should know him, and T perish for longing 
 after him. And now have my pains been 
 fruitless, for it hath not been given unto 
 me to look upon his face. Yet 1 say unto 
 thee, if thou shouldst become a fish that 
 swimmeth in the depths of the ocean, if 
 thou shouldst change into a star that is 
 concealed in the farthest heaven, my father 
 would draw thee forth from thy hiding 
 place and avenge my death upon thee 
 when he shall learn that the earth is 
 become my bed. For my father is Rustum 
 the Pehliva, and it shall be told unto him 
 how that Sohrab, his son, perished in the 
 quest after his face." Thereupon he 
 showed Rustum the amulet and died. 
 
 Rustum burned his tent, his throne and 
 his arms, crying that his heart was " sick 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 unto death/' and bore his son's body to 
 Seistan, where he placed it in a splendid 
 tomb. Rustum never knew joy again and 
 when the news reached Samangan, the old 
 king tore his garments, and Tahminah^ 
 after mourning a year, died of grief. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 AN EPISODE. 
 
 And the first gray of morning filled the 
 
 east, 
 And the fog rose out of the Oxus stream. 
 But all the Tartar camp along the stream 
 Was hushed, and still the men were 
 
 plunged in sleep ; 
 Sohrab alone, he slept not ; all night long ^ 
 He had lain wakeful, tossing on his bed ; 
 But when the gray dawn stole into his 
 
 tent, 
 
 1. And. This form of introduction emphasizes th^ 
 fact that the poem is only an episode. 
 
 2. Oxus. The principal river of Central Asia, now 
 known as Amu Daria. 
 
 3. Tartar. Chinese tribes of Manchuria and Mon- 
 golia. These tribes, with Turks and Mongols, in the 
 Middle Ages, swept over Asia and threatened the 
 peace of Europe. 
 
 5. Sohrab. Pronounced so'rab. 
 
 7. Gray dawn. Shakespeare speaks of the ''Morn 
 in russet mantle clad." 
 
22 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 He rose, and clad himself, and girt his 
 
 sword, 
 And took his horseman's cloak, and left his 
 
 tent. 
 And went abroad into the cold wet fog ^° 
 Through the dim camp to Peran-Wisa's 
 
 tent. 
 
 Through the black Tartar tents he 
 
 passed, which stood 
 Clustering like beehives on the low flat 
 
 strand 
 Of Oxus, where the summer floods overflow 
 When the sun melts the snows in high 
 
 Pamere ; ^^ 
 
 Through the black tents he passed, o'er 
 
 that low strand. 
 And to a hillock came, a little back 
 
 8. And. This repetition of and is common in the 
 English Bible. " And the servant biou.ijht forth jewels 
 of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and jjave 
 them to Rebekah : And they did eat and drink, he and 
 the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and 
 they rose np in the morning, and he said, Send me away 
 unto my master." 
 
 11. Peran-Wisa. fpe' ran we' sa) The commander 
 of King Afrasiab's army. 
 
 15. Pamere. (pa meer') A plateau in the Himalayas 
 where the Oxus has its source. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 23 
 
 From the stream's brink — the spot where 
 
 first a boat, 
 Crossing the stream in summer, scrapes the 
 
 land. 
 The men of former times had crowned the 
 
 top 
 With a clay fort ; but that was fall'n, and 
 
 now 
 The Tartars built there Peran-Wisa's tent, 
 A dome of laths, and o'er it felts were spread. 
 And Sohrab came there, and went in, and 
 
 stood 
 Upon the thick piled carpets in the tent, ^* 
 And found the old man sleeping on his bed 
 Of rugs and felts, and near him lay his arms. 
 And Peran-Wisa heard him, though the step 
 Was dulled ; for he slept light, an old man's 
 
 sleep ; 
 And he rose quickly on one arm, and said : ^^ 
 
 . " Who art thou ? for it is not yet clear 
 
 dawn. 
 Speak ! is there news, or any night alarm ?" 
 
 29, Slept light. Corapare " Romeo and Juliet," ii. 3 : 
 " Care keeps his watch in every old man's eye, 
 And where care lodges sleep will never lie." 
 
24 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 But Sohrab came to the bedside, and said : 
 " Thou know'st me, Peran-Wisa ! it is I. 
 The sun is not yet risen, and the foe ^ 
 Sleep ; but I sleep not ; all night long 
 
 Hie 
 Tossing and wakeful, and I come to thee. 
 For so did King Afrasiab bid me seek 
 Thy counsel, and to heed thee as thy 
 
 son, 
 In Samarcand, before the army marched ; *^ 
 And I will tell thee what my heart desires. 
 Thou know'st if, since from Ader-baijan 
 
 first 
 I came among the Tartars and bore arms, 
 I have still served Afrasiab well, and shown. 
 At my boy's years, the courage of a man. *^ 
 This too thou know'st, that while I still 
 
 bear on 
 The conquering Tartar ensigns through the 
 
 world. 
 And beat the Persians back on every field, 
 
 40. Samarcand. (sam-ar-kand'.) The capital of 
 Timur in Turkestan. Its ancient name was Maracanda, 
 and it was captured by Jenghiz Klian in 1219. 
 
 42. Ader-baijan. (iid'er-bi-yan'.) A province of 
 Northern Persia. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 25 
 
 I seek one man, one man, and one alone — 
 Rustum, my father; who I hoped should 
 
 greet, ^^ 
 
 Should one day greet, upon some well- 
 fought field, 
 His not unworthy, not inglorious son. 
 So I long hoped, but him I never find. 
 Come then, hear now, and grant me what 1 
 
 ask. 
 Let the two armies rest to-day ; but I ^^ 
 
 Will challenge forth the bravest Persian 
 
 lords 
 To meet me, man to man ; if I prevail, 
 Rustum will surely hear it ; if I fall — 
 Old man, the dead need no one, claim no 
 
 kin. 
 Dim is the rumor of a common fight, ®^ 
 Where host meets host, and many names are 
 
 sunk ; 
 But of a single combat fame speaks 
 
 clear." 
 
 50. Biistiim. (roos'tnra.) A lesrendary hero of the 
 Persians who figures in all their epics. He is supposed 
 to have lived about 600 B. C. 
 
 60. Common fight. A general baltle between all the 
 troops. 
 
26 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 He spoke ; and Peran-Wisa took the hand 
 Of the young man in his, and sighed, and 
 said: 
 
 " Sohrab, an unquiet heart is thine ! ^ 
 Canst thou not rest among the Tartar chiefs, 
 And share the battle's common chance with 
 
 us 
 Who love thee, but must press forever first, 
 In single fight incurring single risk. 
 To find a father thou hast never seen ? '° 
 That were far best, my son, to stay with us 
 Unmurmuring ; in our tents, while it is war, 
 And when 'tis truce, then in Afrasiab's 
 
 towns. 
 But, if this one desire indeed rules all. 
 To seek out Rustum — seek him not through 
 
 fight ! '' 
 
 Seek him in peace, and carry to his arms, 
 Sohrab, carry an unwounded son ! 
 But far hence seek him, for he is not 
 
 here. 
 For now it is not as when I was young. 
 When Rustum was in front of every fray ; ^ 
 But now he keeps apart, and sits at home, 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 27 
 
 In Seistan, with Zal, his father old. 
 Whether that his own mighty strength at 
 
 last 
 Feels the abhorred approaches of old age, 
 Or in some quarrel with the Persian 
 
 King. '' 
 
 There go ! — thou wilt not ? Yet my heart 
 
 forebodes 
 Danger or death awaits thee on this field. 
 Fain would I know thee safe and well, 
 
 though lost 
 To us ; fain therefore send thee hence, in 
 
 peace 
 To seek thy father, not seek single fights ^^ 
 In vain — but who can keep the lion's cub 
 From ravening, and who govern Rustum's 
 
 son ? 
 Go, I will grant thee what thy heart 
 
 desires." 
 
 82. Seistan. (sa-es-tan'.) A province and lake situ- 
 ated in Afghanistaa. 
 
 82. Zal. Another Persian hero celebrated in legend. 
 
 83. Whether that. Either because. 
 
 85. Or. Supply " because of ." 
 
 92. Bavening. Compare Ezekiel xxii. 2o : " Like a 
 roaring lion ravening the prey." 
 
28 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 So said he, and dropped Sohrab's hand> 
 and left 
 His bed, and the warm rugs whereon he 
 
 lay; 
 And o'er his chilly limbs his woolen coat 
 He passed, and tied his sandals on his 
 
 feet, 
 And threw a white cloak round him, and 
 
 he took 
 In his right hand a ruler's staff, no sword ; 
 And on his head he set his sheepskin 
 
 100 
 
 cap. 
 Black, glossy, curled, the fleece of Kara- 
 
 Kul; 
 And raised the curtain of his tent, and 
 
 called 
 His herald to his side, and went abroad. 
 
 The sun by this had risen, and cleared 
 the fog 
 From the broad Oxus and the glittering 
 
 1 105 
 
 sands. 
 And from their tents the Tartar horsemen 
 filed 
 
 101. Eara-KuJ. (ka'ra-kool.) Famous grazing lands 
 for sbeep in Bokhara. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 29 
 
 Into the open plain ; so Haman bade — 
 Haman, who next to Peran-Wisa ruled 
 The host, and still was in his lusty prime. 
 From their black tents, long files of horse, 
 
 they streamed ; ^^® 
 
 As when some gray November morn the files, 
 In marching order spread, of long-necked 
 
 cranes 
 Stream over Casbin and the southern slopes 
 Of Elburz, from the Aralian estuaries, 
 Or some frore Caspian reed-bed, southward 
 
 bound ^^^ 
 
 107. Haman. (ha'manj In the Persian poem he is 
 aware of Rustum's presence, but deceives the son 
 about it. 
 
 112. Cranes. Compare Homer's " Iliad," Bk. ii. ; 
 ♦' And as when water-fowl of many tribes — 
 
 Geese, cranes, and long-necked swans — disport them- 
 selves 
 In Asia's fields beside Cayster's streams, 
 And to and fro they fly with screams, and light, 
 Flock after flock, and all the fields redound; 
 So poured, from ships and tents, the swarming tribes 
 Into Scamander's plain, where fearfully 
 Earth echoed to the tramp of steeds and men." 
 
 113. Cashin. A former capital of Persia. 
 
 114. Elhurz. (el'boorz.) Mountains just north of 
 Casbin. 
 
 114. Aralian. Arms of the Aral Sea, an inland sea 
 of Central Asia. 
 
 U5. Frore. Frozen. 
 
30 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 For the warm Persian seaboard — so they 
 
 streamed, 
 The Tartars of the Oxus, the King's guard, 
 First, with black sheepskin caps and with 
 
 long spears ; 
 Large men, large steeds ; who from Bok- 
 hara come 
 And Khiva, and ferment the milk of 
 
 mares. ^^* 
 
 Next, the more temperate Toorkmuns of 
 
 the south. 
 The Tukas, and the lances of Salore, 
 And those from Attruck and the Caspian 
 
 sands ; 
 Light men and on light steeds, who only 
 
 drink 
 The acrid milk of camels, and their wells. ^^"^ 
 
 119. Bokhara. A province of Central Asia nortli of 
 Afghanistan. 
 
 120. Khiva, (ke'vit.) An important province of 
 Turkestan. 
 
 120. Milk of mares. Koumiss, an intoxicating drink 
 used by the Tartars. 
 
 121. Toorkmuns. The dwellers on the Steppe east of 
 the Caspian, more commonly known as Turkomans. 
 
 123. Attruck. A river flowing into the Caspian Sea, 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 31 
 
 And then a swarm of wandering horse, who 
 
 came 
 From far, and a more doubtful service 
 
 owned ; 
 The Tartars of Ferghana, from the banks 
 Of the Jaxartes, men with scanty beards 
 And close-set skullcaps ; and those wilder 
 
 hordes ^^^ 
 
 Who roam o'er Kipchak and the northern 
 
 waste, 
 Kalmucks and unkempt Kuzzaks, tribes 
 
 who stray 
 Nearest the Pole, and wandering Kirghizzes, 
 Who come on shaggy ponies from Pamere ; 
 
 127. Doubtful service. These men did not acknowl- 
 edge Afrasiab as king. 
 
 128. Ferghana, (fer-gha'na.) A province of Turkes- 
 tan. 
 
 129. Jaxartes. (jax-ar'tez.) The river Daria which 
 rises in Ferghana. 
 
 131. Kipchak. The region bordering on the northern 
 shore of the Caspian Sea. 
 
 132. Kalmucks. A wandering tribe, living chiefly in 
 tents and employed in raising cattle and sheep. 
 
 132. Kuzzaks. (kooz'zaks.) A nomadic tribe of 
 Russians, now called Cossacks. 
 
 133. Kirghizzes. (kir'ghi-zez.) Half-civilized Mon- 
 golians who lived in the mountains. 
 
32 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 These all filed out from camp into the 
 
 plain. ^^^ 
 
 And on the other side the Persians formed — 
 First a light cloud of horse, Tartars they 
 
 seemed, 
 The Ilyats of Khorassan ; and behind, 
 The royal troops of Persia, horse and foot, 
 Marshaled battalions bright in burnished 
 
 steel. '"^ 
 
 But Peran-Wisa with his herald came. 
 Threading the Tartar squadrons to the 
 
 front, 
 And with his staff kept back the foremost 
 
 ranks. 
 And when Ferood, who led the Persians, saw 
 That Peran-Wisa kept the Tartars back, ^^^ 
 He took his spear, and to the front he came. 
 And checked his ranks, and fixed them 
 
 where they stood. 
 And the old Tartar came upon the sand 
 Betwixt the silent hosts, and spake, and 
 
 said: 
 
 138. Ihjats.' (il'i-ats.) A name meaning «n6es. 
 
 138. Khorassan. (k5-ras-s-an'.) A province in the 
 northeaster n part of Persia known as " the land of the 
 Sun." 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 33 
 
 " Ferood, and ye, Persians and Tartars, 
 hear ! ''' 
 
 Let there be truce between the hosts to-day. 
 
 But choose a champion from the Persian 
 lords 
 
 To fight our champion Sohrab, man to 
 man." 
 
 As, in the country, on a morn in June, 
 When the dew glistens on the pearled 
 ears, ^^^ 
 
 A shiver runs through the deep corn for 
 
 joy — 
 
 So, when they heard what Peran-Wisa said, 
 A thrill through all the Tartar squadrons ran 
 Of pride and hope for Sohrab, whom they 
 loved. 
 
 But as a troop of peddlers, from Cabool, ^^^ 
 Cross underneath the Indian Caucasus, 
 That vast sky-neighboring mountain of 
 milk snow ; 
 
 156. Corn. Here used for grain in general. 
 
 160. Cahool. (ka-bool'.j Ttie capital of Afghan- 
 istan. 
 
 161. Indian Caucasus. The mountain range between 
 Afganistan and Turkestan known as the Hindoo Koosh. 
 
34 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 Crossing so high, that, as they mount, they 
 
 pass 
 Long flocks of travelHng birds dead on the 
 
 snow, 
 Choked by the air, and scarce can they 
 
 themselves ^^^ 
 
 Slake their parched throats with sugared 
 
 mulberries — 
 In single file they move, and stop their 
 
 breath. 
 For fear they should dislodge the o'erhang- 
 
 ing" snows — 
 So the pale Persians held their breath with 
 
 fear. 
 
 And to Ferood his brother chiefs came 
 up 
 To counsel ; Gudurz and Zoarrah came, 
 And Feraburz, who ruled the Persian host 
 
 105. Choked by the air. That is, unable to breathe on 
 account of the rarifled air. 
 
 167. Stop their breath. Sometimes the utterance of a 
 single word will cause sufficient reverberation of the 
 atmosphere to dislodge an avalanche. 
 
 171. Gudurz. Pronounced goo' doorz. 
 
 171. Zoarrah. Pronounced zo-ar'rah. 
 
 172. Ferahurz. Pronounced fer-a'boorz. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 35 
 
 Second, and was the uncle of the King : 
 These came and counseled, and then Gudurz 
 said : 
 
 " Ferood, shame bids us take their chal- 
 lenge up, ^"^ 
 
 Yet champion have we none to match this 
 youth. 
 
 He has the wild stag's foot, the lion's heart. 
 
 But Rustum came last night ; aloof he 
 sits. 
 
 And sullen, and has pitched his tents 
 apart. 
 
 Him will I seek, and carry to his ear ^^^ 
 
 The Tartar challenge, and this young man's 
 name. 
 
 Haply he will forget his wrath, and fight. 
 
 Stand forth the while, and take their chal- 
 lenge up." 
 
 So spake he ; and Ferood stood forth and 
 cried : 
 " Old man, he it agreed as thou hast said ! ^^^ 
 Let Sohrab arm, and we will find a man." 
 
 179. Sullen. Compare with the description of 
 Achilles' wrath in the " Iliad." 
 
36 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 He spake : and Peran-Wisa turned, and 
 
 strode 
 Back through the opening squadrons to his 
 
 tent. 
 But through the anxious Persians Gudurz 
 
 ran, 
 And crossed the camp which lay behind, 
 
 and reached, ^^ 
 
 Out on the sands beyond it, Rustum's tents. 
 Of scarlet cloth they were, and glittering gay, 
 Just pitched ; the high pavilion in the midst 
 Was Rustum's, and his men lay camped 
 
 around. 
 And Gudurz entered Rustum's tent, and 
 
 found '^' 
 
 Rustum; his morning meal was done, but still 
 The table stood before him, charged with 
 
 food — 
 A side of roasted sheep, and cakes of bread, 
 And dark-green melons ; and there Rustum 
 
 sate 
 Listless, and held a falcon on his wrist, "^ 
 
 199. Sate. Archaic for sat. 
 
 200. Falcon. Hunting witli the aid of falcons -vvas a 
 favorite sport in the East from the earliest times, and 
 indications of it are found in China and Nineveh cen- 
 turies before the Christian era. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 37 
 
 And played with it ; but Gudurz came and 
 
 stood 
 Before him ; and he looked, and saw him 
 
 stand, 
 And with a cry sprang up and dropped the 
 
 bird, 
 And greeted Gudurz with both hands, and 
 
 said : 
 
 " Welcome ! these eyes could see no bet- 
 ter sight. 2^^ 
 What news ? but sit down first, and eat and 
 drink." 
 
 But Gudurz stood in the tent door, and 
 said : 
 " Not now ! a time will come to eat and 
 drink, 
 
 204. Greeted. Compare Achilles' greeting to the 
 chiefs in the '-'■ Iliad," Bk. ix. : 
 "He beheld, and with'the harp 
 Sprang from his seat, surprised, Patroclns saw 
 The heroes also, and arose. Their hands 
 The swift Achilles toolv in his, and said : 
 ' Welcome! ye come as friends. Some pressing cause 
 Must surely bring you hither, whom I prize, 
 Wronged as I am, beyond all oiher Greeks.'" 
 
 208. Not noio, etc. Compare this speech with the 
 appeals in the ninth book of the " Iliad." 
 
38 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 But not to-day ; to-day has other needs. 
 The armies are drawn out, and stand at 
 
 gaze ; ^^^ 
 
 For from the Tartars is a challenge brought 
 To pick a champion from the Persian lords 
 To fight their champion — and thou know'st 
 
 his name — 
 Sohrab men call him, but his birth is hid. 
 Rustum, like thy might is this young 
 
 man's ! ''' 
 
 He has the wild stag's foot, the lion's heart ; 
 And he is young, and Iran's chiefs are old. 
 Or else too weak ; and all eyes turn to thee. 
 Come down and help me, Rustum, or we 
 
 lose !" 
 
 He spoke ; but Rustum answered with a 
 smile ; ^<^ 
 
 '* Go to ! if Iran's chiefs are old, then I 
 Am older ; if the young are weak, the King 
 
 217. Iran's. According to a Persian legend the 
 , _-^ -Iranian and Turanian races sprang from two brottiers; 
 ^ Irah and Tur. Therefore, the Persians called their 
 
 country Iran. 
 
 221. Go to. An impatient or contemptuous exclama- 
 tion common in Shakespeare's day and often found in 
 the Bible. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM 39 
 
 Errs strangely ; for the King, for Kai 
 
 Khosroo, 
 Himself is young, and honors younger men, 
 And lets the aged moulder to their graves.^"^^ 
 Rustum he loves no more, but loves the 
 
 young — 
 The young may rise at Sohrab's vaunts, 
 
 not L 
 For what care I, though all speak Sohrab's 
 
 fame ? 
 For would that I myself had such a son, 
 And not that one slight helpless girl I 
 
 have — ^30 
 
 A son so famed, so brave to send to war. 
 And I to tarry with the snow-haired Zal, 
 
 223. Kai Khosroo.- (klkos-roo'.) The Persian name 
 of Cyrus the Great, whose reign was one of the most 
 glorious in Persian history. In the original poem, these 
 events occur in the reign of Kai Kaoos. Compare 
 '' Omar Khayyam": 
 
 "What have we to do 
 With Kaikobad the Great, or Kaikhosru? 
 Let Zal and Rustum thunder as they will." 
 
 230. Helpless girl. Sohrab's mother had deceived 
 Rustum and made him think that their child was a girl 
 in order that she might keep the boy with her. 
 
 232. Snow-haired Zal. According to legend Zal was 
 born with white hair, a prodigy which so alarmed his 
 father that he exposed him upon a mountain to die; 
 but the child was saved by a wonderful bird. 
 
40 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 My father, whom the robber Afghans vex, 
 A-nd clip his borders short, and drive his 
 
 herds, 
 ^.nd he has none to guard his weak old 
 
 age. ''' 
 
 There would I go, and hang my armor up, 
 &.nd with my great name fence that weak 
 
 old man. 
 And spend the goodly treasures I have 
 
 got. 
 And rest my age, and hear of Sohrab's 
 
 fame. 
 
 And leave to death the hosts of thankless 
 
 kings. 
 
 240 
 
 And with these slaughterous hands draw 
 sword no more." 
 
 He spoke, and smiled ; and Gudurz made 
 
 reply : 
 " What then, Rustum, will men say to 
 
 this. 
 When Sohrab dares our bravest forth, and 
 
 seeks 
 Thee most of all, and thou, whom most he 
 
 seeks, ^^ 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 41 
 
 Hidest thy face ? Take heed lest men 
 
 should r.ay : 
 ' Like some old miser, Rustiim hoards his 
 
 fame. 
 And shuns to peril it with younger men.' '' 
 
 And, greatly moved, then Rustum made 
 
 reply : 
 " Gudurz, wherefore dost thou say such 
 
 words ? ^^° 
 
 Thou knowest better words than this to 
 
 say. 
 What is one more, one less, obscure or 
 
 famed, 
 Yaliant or craven, young or old, to me ? 
 Are not they mortal, am not I myself ? 
 But who for men of naught would do great 
 
 deeds? 255 
 
 Come, thou shalt see how Rustum hoards 
 
 his fame ! 
 But I will fight unknown, and in plain 
 
 arms ; 
 Let not men say of Rustum, he was 
 
 matched 
 In single fight with any mortal man." 
 
42 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 He spoke, and frowned ; and Gudurz 
 
 turned and ran ^^^ 
 
 Back quickly through the camp in fear and 
 
 joy — 
 
 Fear at his wrath, but joy that Rustum 
 
 came. 
 But Rustum strode to his tent door, and 
 
 called 
 His followers in, and bade them bring his 
 
 arms, 
 And clad himself in steel ; the arms he 
 
 chose . '^'^ 
 
 Were plain, and on his shield was no device, 
 Onlyiiis helm was rich, inlaid with gold. 
 And, from the fluted sjDine atop, a plume 
 Of horsehair waved, a scarlet horsehair 
 
 plume. 
 So armed, he issued forth ; and Ruksh, his 
 
 horse, -"^ 
 
 Followed him like a faithful hound at heel — 
 
 267. Helm. Helmet. 
 
 268, Fluted sjnne. The ridge or summit of the 
 helmet. 
 
 270. liiiksh. (rooksh.) This horse was as famous 
 in Persian legend as Achilles' Xanthus or Alexander's 
 Bucephalus. 
 
SOHKAB AND RUSTUM. 43 
 
 Ruksh, whose renown was noised through 
 
 all the earth, 
 The horse, whom Rustum on a foray once 
 Did in Bokhara by the river find, 
 A colt beneath its dam, and drove him 
 
 home, ^'^ 
 
 And reared him ; a bright bay, with lofty 
 
 crest, 
 Dight with a saddlecloth of broidered green 
 Crusted with gold, and on the ground were 
 
 worked 
 All beasts of chase, all beasts which hunters 
 
 know. 
 So followed, Rustum left his tents, and 
 
 J 280 
 
 crossed 
 
 The camp, and to the Persian host ap- 
 peared. 
 
 And all the Persians knew him, and with 
 shouts 
 
 Hailed ; but the Tartars knew not who he 
 was. 
 
 And dear as the wet diver to the eyes 
 
 Of his pale wife who waits and weeps on 
 shore, ''' 
 
 377. Dight. Sasion for dressed. 
 
44 SOHRAB AND RUSTLTM. 
 
 By sandy Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf, 
 Plunglnor all day in the blue waves, at 
 
 night. 
 Having made up his tale of precious pearls. 
 Rejoins her in their hut upon the sands — 
 So dear to the pale Persians Rustum 
 
 came. ^""^ 
 
 And Rustum to the Persian front ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 And Sohrab armed in Haman's tent, and 
 came. 
 
 And as afield the reapers cut a swath 
 
 Down throuo;h the middle of a rich man's 
 corn. 
 
 And on each side are squares of standing 
 corn. 
 
 And in the midst a stubble, short and 
 bare — 
 
 So on each side were squares of men, with 
 spears 
 
 286. Bahrein, (hii' riin.) An island in the Persian 
 Gulf where there were extensive pearl fisheries. 
 
 288. Tale. Reckoning. From the Angl^'-Saxon m/inn, 
 to count. Compare Milton's '' L' Allegro " : 
 " And every shepherd tells his tale 
 Under the hawthorn in the dale." 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 45 
 
 Bristling, and in the midst, the open sand. 
 And Rustum came upon the sand, and cast 
 His eyes toward the Tartar tents, and 
 
 saw 2^ 
 
 Sohrab come forth, and eyed him as he 
 
 came. 
 
 As some rich woman, on a winter's 
 
 morn. 
 Eyes through her silken curtains the poor 
 
 drudge 
 Who with numb blackened fingers makes 
 
 her fire — 
 At cockcrow, on a starlit winter's morn, ^^^ 
 When the frost flowers the whitened wind- 
 
 dow-panes — 
 And wonders how she lives, and what the 
 
 thoughts 
 Of that poor drudge may be ; so Rustum 
 
 eyed 
 The unknown adventurous youth, who from 
 
 afar 
 Came seeking Rustum, and defying forth ^^^ 
 All the most valiant chiefs ; long he perused 
 His spirited air, and wondered who he was. 
 
46 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 For very young he seemed, tenderly reared ; 
 Like some young cypress, tall, and dark, 
 
 and straight, 
 Which in a queen's secluded garden 
 
 throws ''' 
 
 Its slight dark shadow on the moonlit turf. 
 By midnight, to a bubbling fountain's 
 
 sound — 
 So slender Sohrab seemed, so softly reared. 
 And a deep pity entered Rustum's soul 
 As he beheld him coming ; and he stood,^-*^ 
 And beckoned to him with his hand, and 
 
 said : 
 
 " thou young man, the air of heaven 
 
 is soft. 
 And warm, and pleasant ; but the grave is 
 
 coldT 
 Heaven's air is better than the cold dead 
 
 grave. 
 Behold me ! I am vast, and clad in iron, ^'^ 
 And tried ; and I have stood on many a field 
 Of blood, and I have fought with many a 
 
 foe — 
 
 326. Tried. Proved worthy by experience. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 47 
 
 Never was that field lost, or that foe 
 
 saved. 
 O Sohrab, wherefore wilt thou rush on 
 
 death ? 
 Be governed ! quit the Tartar host, and 
 
 come ^^^ 
 
 To Iran, and be as my son to me, 
 And fight beneath my banner till I die ! 
 There are no youths in Iran brave as 
 
 thou." 
 
 So he spake, mildly ; Sohrab heard his 
 
 voice, 
 The mighty voice of Rustum, and he saw ^^^ 
 His giant figure planted on the sand, 
 Sole, like some single tower, which a chief 
 Hath builded on the waste in former years 
 Against the robbers ; and he saw the head, 
 Streaked with its first gray hairs — hope 
 
 filled his soul, ''' 
 
 And he ran foward and embraced his 
 
 knees, 
 And clasped his hand within his own, and 
 
 said : 
 
 328. Field. Observe the effect of the alliteration in 
 this line. 
 
48 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 " Oh, by thy father's head ! by thine own 
 soul ! 
 Art thou not Rustum ? speak ! art thou not 
 he?" 
 
 But Rustum eyed askance the kneeling 
 youth, ^^' 
 
 And turned away, and spake to his own 
 soul : 
 
 " Ah me, I muse what this young fox 
 
 may mean ! 
 False, wily, boastful, are these Tartar boys. 
 For if I now confess this thing he asks, 
 And hide it not, but say : ' Rustum is 
 
 here ! ' ''' 
 
 He will not yield indeed, nor quit our foes, 
 But he will find some pretext not to fight, 
 And praise my fame, and proffer courteous 
 
 gifts, 
 A belt or sword perhaps, and go his way. 
 And on a feast-tide, in Afrasiab's hall, ^^''' 
 In Samarcand, he will arise and cry : 
 ' I challenged once, w^hen the two armies 
 
 camped 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 49 
 
 Beside the Oxus, all the Persian lords 
 To cope with me in single fight ; but they 
 Shrank, only Rustum dared ; then he and P^^ 
 Changed gifts, and went on equal terms 
 
 • away.' 
 So will he speak, perhaps, while men 
 
 applaud ; 
 Then were the chiefs of Iran shamed 
 
 through me." 
 
 And then he turned, and sternly spake 
 aloud : 
 ''' Rise ! wherefore dost thou vainly questibn 
 
 thus .^^ 
 
 Of Rustum ? I am here, whom thou hast 
 
 called 
 By challenge forth ; make good thy vaunt, 
 
 or yield ! 
 Is it with Rustum only thou wouldst fight ? 
 Rash boy, men look on Rustum's face and 
 
 flee! 
 For well I know, that did great Rustum 
 
 stand ''' 
 
 Before thy face this day, and were revealed, 
 
 363. Were. Would be. 
 
50 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 There would be then no talk of fighting 
 
 more. 
 But being what I am, I tell thee this — 
 Do thou record it in thine inmost soul : 
 Either thou shalt renounce thy vaunt and 
 
 yield, ''' 
 
 Or else thy bones shall strew this sand, till 
 
 winds 
 Bleach them, or Oxus with his summer 
 
 floods, 
 Oxus in summer wash them all away." 
 
 'He spoke ; and Sohrab answered, on his 
 
 feet: 
 " Art thou so fierce ? Thou wilt not 
 
 fright me so ! ^^" 
 
 I am no gh^l, to be made pale by words. 
 Yet this thou hast said well, did Rustum 
 
 stand 
 Here on this field, there were no fighting 
 
 then. 
 But Rustum is far hence, and we stand here. 
 Begin ! thou art more vast, more dread 
 
 than I, 385 
 
 385. Dread. Inspire more dread. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 51 
 
 And thou art proved, I know, and I am 
 
 young. 
 But yet success sways with the breath of 
 
 heaven. 
 And though thou thinkest that thou 
 
 knowest sure 
 Thy victory, yet thou canst not surely know. 
 For we are all, like swimmers in the sea, ^^^ 
 Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate, 
 Which hangs uncertain to which side to 
 
 fall. 
 And whether it will heave us up to land, 
 Or whether it will roll us out to sea. 
 Back out to sea, to the deep waves of 
 
 death, ''' 
 
 We know not, and no search will make us 
 
 know; 
 Only the event will teach us in its hour." 
 
 He spoke, and Rustum answered not, but 
 hurled 
 His spear ; down from the shoulder, down 
 it came, 
 
 387. Success. "'Tis not in human mortals to com- 
 mand success." 
 
52 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 As on some partridge in the corn a 
 
 hawk, ''' 
 
 That long has towered in the airy clouds, 
 Drops like a plummet ; Sohrab saw it come, 
 And sprang aside, quick as a flash ; the 
 
 spear 
 Hissed, and went quivering down into the 
 
 sand. 
 Which it sent flying wide ; then Sohrab 
 
 threw *^^ 
 
 In turn, and full struck Rustum's shield ; 
 
 sharp rang. 
 The iron plates rang sharp, but turned the 
 
 spear. 
 And Rustum seized his club, which none 
 
 but he 
 Could wield ; an unlopped trunk it was, 
 
 and huge. 
 Still rouofh — like those which men in tree- 
 
 less plains *^^ 
 
 406. Sharp rang. Notice the effect of the repetition 
 of these words. 
 
 409. Unlopped. Uiitrimined of its twigs and branches. 
 Compare the description of Polyphemus' walking-stick 
 in the " ^neid," Bk. iii. : 
 
 " A pine-cree trunk 
 Did guide his hand and make his footing sure." 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 53 
 
 To build them boats fish from the flooded 
 
 rivers, 
 Hyphasis or Hydaspes, when, high up 
 By their dark springs, the wind in winter 
 
 time 
 Hath made in Himalayan forest wrack, 
 And strewn the channels with torn boughs 
 
 — so huge ^^^ 
 
 The club which Rustum lifted now, and 
 
 struck 
 One stroke ; but again Sohrab sprang aside. 
 Lithe as the glancing snake, and the club 
 
 came 
 Thundering to earth, and leapt from Rus- 
 tum 's hand. 
 And Rustum followed his own blow, and 
 
 fell ''' 
 
 To his knees, and with his fingers clutched 
 
 the sand; 
 And now mig-ht Sohrab have unsheathed 
 
 his sword, 
 
 412. Hyphasis or Hydaspps (hi-fa'sis or hi-das'pez.) 
 Two rivers flowing through Northern India into the 
 Indus. 
 
 413. Dark springs. Dark l)ecause hidden in the 
 forests. 
 
 414. Wrack. Wrecls; or ruin. 
 
54 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 And pierced the mighty Riistum while he 
 
 lay 
 Dizzy, and on his knees, and choked with 
 
 sand ; 
 But he looked on, and smiled, nor bared 
 
 his sword, ^^^ 
 
 But courteously drew back, and spoke, and 
 
 said : 
 
 ^' Thou strik'st too hard ! that club of 
 
 thine will float 
 Upon the summer floods, and not my bones. 
 But rise, and be not wroth ! not wroth am I; 
 No, when I see thee, Avrath forsakes my 
 
 soul, 
 Thou say'st, thou art not Rustum ; be 
 
 it so! 
 Who art thou then, that canst so touch my 
 
 soul. 
 Boy as I am, I have seen battles too — 
 Have waded foremost in their bloody waves. 
 And heard their hollow roar of dying 
 
 men ; *^^ 
 
 But never was my heart thus touched 
 
 before. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 55 
 
 Are they from Heaven, these softenings of 
 
 the heart? 
 thou old warrior, let us yield to Heaven ! 
 Come, plant we here in earth our angry 
 
 spears. 
 And make a truce, and sit upon this sand, **^ 
 And pledge each other in red wine, like 
 
 friends. 
 And thou shalt talk to me of Rustum's 
 
 deeds. 
 There -are enough foes in the Persian host. 
 Whom I may meet, and strike, and feel no 
 
 pang ; 
 Champions enough Afrasiab has, whom 
 
 thou ^^ 
 
 May'st fight ; fight theniy when they con- 
 front thy spear ! 
 But oh, let there be peace 'twixt thee and 
 
 me!" 
 
 He ceased, but while he spake, Rustum 
 
 had risen. 
 And stood erect, trembling with rage ', his 
 
 club 
 He left to lie, but had regained his spear, ^^ 
 
56 SOHRAB AND KUSTUM. 
 
 Whose fiery point now in his mailed right 
 
 hand 
 Blazed bright and baleful, like that autumn 
 
 star, 
 The baleful sign of fevers ; dust had soiled 
 His stately crest, and dimmed his glittering 
 
 arms. 
 His breast heaved, his lips foamed, and 
 
 twice his voice ^^^ 
 
 Was choked with rage ; at last these words 
 
 broke way : 
 
 " Girl ! nimble with thy feet, not with 
 
 thy hands ! 
 Curled minion, dancer, coiner of sweet 
 
 words ! 
 Fight, let me hear thy hateful voice no 
 
 more ! 
 Thou art not in Afrasiab's gardens now ^^^ 
 With Tartar girls, with whom thou art 
 
 wont to dance ; 
 But on the Oxus sands, and in the dance 
 Of battle, and with me, who make no play 
 
 452. Autumyi star. Sirius, the Dog-star, wliich was 
 supposed by the ancients to shed a baneful influence. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 67 
 
 Of war ; I fight it out, and hand to hand. 
 Speak not to me of truce, and pledge, and 
 
 wine ! ''' 
 
 Remember all thy valor ; try thy feints 
 And cunning ! all the pity I had is gone ; 
 Because thou hast shamed me before both 
 
 the hosts 
 With thy light skipping tricks, and thy 
 
 girl's wiles." 
 
 He spoke, and Sohrab kindled at his 
 
 taunts, *^° 
 
 And he too drew his sword ; at once they 
 
 rushed 
 Together, as two eagles on one prey 
 Come rushing down together from the 
 
 clouds. 
 One from the east, one from the west ; their 
 
 shields 
 Dashed with a clang together, and a din ^^^ 
 Rose, such as that the sinewy woodcutters 
 
 472. Two ennles. Compare '' Iliad,'' Bk. xxii. : 
 " As when an eag'e high in heaven, 
 Thr ngh the thick cloncK darts dowi.ward to the plain 
 To clutch some tender lamb or timid hare, 
 So Hector, brandishing that keen-edged sword, 
 Sprang forward." 
 
58 SOHKAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 Make often in the forest's heart at morn, 
 Of hewing axes, crashing trees — such blows 
 Rustum and Sohrab on each other hailed. 
 And you would say that sun and stars took 
 
 part ''' 
 
 In that unnatural conflict ; for a cloud 
 Grew suddenly in heaven, and darked the 
 
 sun 
 Over the fighters' heads ; and a wind rose 
 Under their feet, and moaning swept the 
 
 plain. 
 And in a sandy whirlwind wrapped the 
 
 pair. *^^ 
 
 In gloom they twain were wrapped, and 
 
 they alone ; 
 For both the on-looking hosts on either 
 
 hand 
 Stood in broad daylight, and the sky was 
 
 pure, 
 And the sun sparkled on the Oxus stream. 
 But in the gloom they fought, with blood- 
 shot eyes ^^ 
 
 480. Sun and stars. See Joshua x. 12 for au account 
 of a battle iu which the sun and moon took part. 
 
 481. Unnatural. Because father and son were fight- 
 ing together. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 59 
 
 And laboring breath ; first Rustum struck 
 
 the shield 
 Which Sohrab held stiff out ; the steel- 
 spiked spear 
 Rent the tough plates, but failed to reach 
 
 the skin, 
 And Rustum plucked it back with angry 
 
 groan. 
 Then Sohrab with his sword smote Rus- 
 
 tum's helm, *^^ 
 
 Nor clove its steel quite through ; but all 
 
 the crest 
 He shore away, and that proud horsehair 
 
 plume, 
 Never till now defiled, sank to the dust ; 
 And Rustum bowed his head ; but then the 
 
 gloom 
 Grew blacker, thunder rumbled in the 
 
 air, "^ 
 
 And lightnings rent the cloud ; and Ruksh, 
 
 the horse, 
 Who stood at hand, uttered a dreadful cry — 
 No horse's cry was that, most like the roar 
 Of some pained desert lion, who all day 
 
 497. Shore. An archaic preterite of tbe verb shear. 
 
60 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 Hath trailed the hunter's javeUn in his 
 
 side, ''' 
 
 And comes at night to die upon the 
 
 sand. 
 The two hosts heard that cry, and quaked 
 
 for fear, 
 And Oxus curdled as it crossed his stream. 
 But Sohrab heard, and quailed not, but 
 
 . rushed on, 
 And struck again ; and again Rustum 
 
 bowed ''' 
 
 His head ; but this time all the blade, like 
 
 glass. 
 Sprang in a thousand shivers on the helm. 
 And in the hand the hilt remained alone. 
 Then Rustum raised his head ; his dreadful 
 
 eyes 
 Glared, and he shook on high his menacing 
 
 spear, ^^^ 
 
 And shouted : " Rustum ! " Sohrab heard 
 
 that shout. 
 And shrank amazed : back he recoiled one 
 
 step, 
 And scanned with blinking eyes the advanc- 
 ing form ; 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 61 
 
 And then he stood bewildered ; and he 
 
 dropped 
 His covering shield, and the spear pierced 
 
 his side. ''^ 
 
 He reeled, and, staggering back, sank to 
 
 the ground ; 
 And then the gloom dispersed, and the 
 
 wind fell. 
 And the bright sun broke forth, and melted 
 
 all 
 The cloud ; and the two armies saw the 
 
 pair — 
 Saw Rustum standing, safe upon his feet,^^^ 
 And Sohrab, wounded, on the bloody sand. 
 
 Then, with a bitter smile, Rustum began: 
 " Sohrab, thou thoughtest in thy mind to kill 
 A Persian lord this day, and strip his 
 
 corpse. 
 And bear thy trophies to Af rasiab's tent ;^' 
 Or else that the great Rustum would come 
 
 down 
 
 522. And, etc. Compare Matt, vii 27: "And the 
 rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
 blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great 
 W^s the fall of it." 
 
62 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 Himself to fight, and that thy wiles would 
 
 move 
 His heart to take a gift, and let thee go ; 
 And then that all the Tartar host would 
 
 praise 
 Thy courage or thy craft, and spread thy 
 
 fame, ^^ 
 
 To glad thy father in his weak old age. 
 Fool, thou art slain, and by an unknown 
 
 man ! 
 Dearer to the red jackals shalt thou be 
 Than to thy friends, and to thy father old." 
 
 And, with a fearless mien, Sohrab 
 
 replied : ^^ 
 
 ^' Unknown thou art ; yet thy fierce vaunt 
 
 is vain. 
 Thou dost not slay me, proud and boastful 
 
 man ! 
 No ! Rustum slays me, and this filial heart. 
 For were I matched with ten such men as 
 
 thee. 
 And I were that which till to-day I was, ^*^ 
 They should be lying here, I standing there 
 
 536. Glad. That is, make glad. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 63 
 
 But that beloved name unnerved my arm — 
 That name, and something, I confess, in 
 
 thee, 
 Which troubles all my heart, 'and made my 
 
 shield 
 Fall ; and thy spear transfixed an unarmed 
 
 foe. ^0 
 
 And now thou boastest, and insults't my fate. 
 But hear thou this, fierce man, tremble to 
 
 hear: 
 The mighty Rustum shall avenge my death ! 
 My father, whom I seek through all the 
 
 world, ^^^ 
 
 He shall avenge my death, and punish thee!" 
 
 As when some hunter in the spring hath 
 
 found 
 A breeding eagle sitting on her nest. 
 Upon the craggy isle of a hill lake, 
 And pierced her with an arrow as she rose, 
 And followed her to find her where she 
 
 fell ''' 
 
 Far off — anon her mate comes winging 
 
 back 
 From hunting, and a great way off descries 
 
64 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 His huddling youth left sole ; at that, he 
 
 checks 
 His pinion, and with short uneasy sweeps 
 Circles above his eyry, with loud screams ^^ * 
 Chiding his mate back to her nest ; but she 
 Lies dying, with the arrow in her side, 
 In some far stony gorge out of his ken, 
 A heap of fluttering feathers — never more 
 Shall the lake glass her, flying over it ; ^'^ 
 Never the black and dripping precipices 
 Echo her stormy scream as she sails by — 
 As that poor bird flies home, nor knows 
 
 his loss, 
 So Eustum knew not his own loss, but stood 
 Over his dying son, and knew him not. ^'^ 
 
 But, with a cold incredulous voice, he 
 said : 
 " What prate is this of fathers and revenge? 
 The mighty Rustum never had a son." 
 
 And, with a failing voice, Sohrab replied : 
 " Ah, yes, he had ! and that lost son am I.'*" 
 Surely the news will one day reach his ear, 
 
 570. Glass. Reflect her image in the water. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 65 
 
 Reach Rustum, where he sits, and tarries 
 
 long, 
 Somewhere, I know not where, but far 
 
 from here ; 
 And pierce him like a stab, and make him 
 
 leap 
 To arms, and cry for vengeance upon thee.^^^ 
 Fierce man, bethink thee, for an only son ! 
 What will that grief, what will that 
 
 vengeance be? 
 Oh, could I live till I that grief had seen ! 
 Yet him I pity not so much, but her. 
 My mother, who in Ader-baijan dwells ^^ 
 With that old king, her father, who grows 
 
 gray 
 With age, and rules over the valiant 
 
 Koords. 
 Her most I pity, who no more will see 
 Sohrab returning from the Tartar camp. 
 With spoils and honor, when the war is 
 
 done. ''' 
 
 But a dark rumor will be bruited up, 
 From tribe to tribe, until it reach her ear ; 
 
 591. Her father. The king of Samangan. 
 596. Bruited up. Circulated abroad. 
 
66 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 And then will that defenseless woman learn 
 That Sohrab will rejoice her sight no more, 
 But that in battle with a nameless foe, ^^ 
 By the far-distant Oxus, he is slain." 
 
 He spoke ; and as he ceased he wept 
 
 aloud, 
 Thinking of her he left, and his own death. 
 He spoke ; but Rustum listened, plunged 
 
 in thought. 
 Nor did he yet believe it was his son ^^ 
 Who spoke, although he called back names 
 
 he knew ; 
 For he had had sure tidings that the babe. 
 Which was in Ader-baijan born to him, 
 Had been a puny girl, no boy at all — 
 So that sad mother sent him word for fear ^^^ 
 Rustum should seek the boy to train in 
 
 arms. 
 And so he deemed that either Sohrab took, 
 By a false boast, the style of Rustum's son ; 
 Or that men gave it him, to swell his fame. 
 So deemed he : yet he listened, plunged in 
 
 thought, ^'' 
 
 613. Style. Name. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 67 
 
 And his soul set to grief, as the vast tide 
 Of tlie bright rocking Ocean sets to 
 
 shore 
 At the full moon ; tears gathered in his 
 
 eyes; 
 For he remembered his own early youth, 
 And all its bounding raptures ; as, at 
 
 dawn, «2o 
 
 The shepherd from his mountain lodge 
 
 descries 
 A far, bright city, smitten by the sun, 
 Through many rolling clouds — so Rustum 
 
 saw 
 His youth ; siiw Sohrab's mother, in her 
 
 bloom ; 
 And that old king, her father, who loved 
 
 well ''' 
 
 Plis wandering guest, and gave him his fair 
 
 child 
 With joy ; and all the pleasant life they 
 
 led. 
 They three, in that long distant summer 
 
 time — 
 The castle and the dewy woods, and hunt 
 
 616. Set to griej. Moved under the influence of grief. 
 
68 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 And hound, and morn on those delightful 
 hills ^' 
 
 In Ader-baijan. And he saw that youth, 
 Of age and looks to be his own dear son. 
 Piteous and lovely, lying on the sand. 
 Like some rich hyacinth which by the scythe 
 Of an unskillful gardener has been cut, ^^ 
 Mowing the garden grassplots near its bed, 
 And lies, a fragrant tower of purple bloom, 
 On the mown, dying grass — so Sohrab lay, 
 Lovely in death, upon the common sand. 
 And Rustum gazed on him with grief, and 
 said : 
 
 " Sohrab, thou indeed art such a son 
 Whom Rustum, wert thou his, might well 
 
 have loved ! 
 Yet here thou errest, Sohrab, or else men 
 Have told thee false — thou art not Rus- 
 
 tum's son. 
 For Rustum had no son ; one child he 
 
 had — 
 But one — a girl ; who with her mother now 
 
 632. Of age. That is, of suitable age and looks to be 
 his own son. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 69 
 
 Plies some light female task, nor dreams of 
 
 us — 
 Of us she dreams not, nor of wounds, nor 
 
 war." 
 
 But Sohrab answered him in wrath ; for 
 
 now 
 The anguish of the deep-fixed spear grew 
 
 fierce, ^^ 
 
 And he desired to draw forth the steel, 
 And let the blood flow free, and so to die — 
 But first he would convince his stubborn 
 
 foe; 
 And, rising sternly on one arm, he said : 
 
 " Man, who art thou who dost deny my 
 words ? 655 
 
 Truth sits upon the lips of dying men, 
 And falsehood, while 1 lived, was far from 
 
 mine. 
 I tell thee, pricked upon this arm I bear 
 The seal which Rustum to my mother gave. 
 That she might prick it on the babe she 
 bore." 660 
 
 669. Seal. In the original story this seal was an 
 onyx amulet. 
 
70 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 He spoke ; and all the blood left Rus- 
 
 tum's cheeks, 
 And his knees tottered, and he smote his 
 
 hand 
 Against his breast, his heavy mailed hand, 
 That the hard iron corselet clanked aloud ; 
 And to his heart he pressed the other 
 
 hand, "'' 
 
 And in a hollow voice he spake, and said : 
 
 " Sohrab, that were a proof which could 
 not lie ! 
 If thou show this, then art thou Rustum's 
 son." 
 
 Then, with weak hasty fingers, Sohrab 
 
 loosed 
 His belt, and near the shoulder bared his 
 
 arm, «'^ 
 
 And showed a sign in faint vermilion points 
 Pricked ; as a cunning workman, in Pekin^ 
 Pricks with vermilion some clear porcelain 
 
 vase, 
 An emperor's gift — at early morn he paints, 
 
 664. That. Supply so. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 71 
 
 And all day long, and, when night comes, 
 
 the lamp ^^^ 
 
 Lights up his studious forehead and thin 
 
 hands — 
 So delicately pricked the sign appeared 
 On Sohrab's arm, the sign of Rustum's 
 
 seal. 
 It was that griffin, which of old reared Zal, 
 Rustum's great father, whom they left to 
 
 die, ''' 
 
 A helpless babe, among the mountain rocks; 
 Him that kind creature found and reared, 
 
 and loved — 
 Then Rustum took it for his glorious sign. 
 And Sohrab bared that image on his arm. 
 And himself scanned it long with mournful 
 
 eyes, ^^^ 
 
 And then he touched it with his hand, and 
 
 said : 
 
 " How say'st thou ? Is that sign the 
 proper sign 
 Of Rustum's son. or of some other man's ?" 
 
 (579. Griffin. The great bird already referred to that 
 rescued the infant Zal. 
 
72 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 He spoke ; but Rustum gazed, and gazed, 
 
 and stood 
 Speechless ; and then he uttered one sharp 
 
 cry : «^ 
 
 " boy — thy father !" — and his voice 
 
 choked there. 
 And then a dark cloud passed before his eyes, 
 And his head swam, and he sank down to 
 
 earth. 
 But Sohrab crawled to where he lay, and 
 
 cast 
 His arms about his neck, and kissed his lips,^^^ 
 And with fond faltering fingers stroked his 
 
 cheeks. 
 Trying to call him back to life ; and life 
 Came back to Rustum, and he oped his eyes. 
 And they stood wide with horror ; and he 
 
 seized 
 In both his hands the dust which lay 
 
 around, ^^ 
 
 700. The dust. Compare the grief of Achilles for his 
 friend Patroclus in the eighteenth book of the " Iliad " : 
 " Grasping both hands 
 The ashes of the hearth, he showered them o'er 
 His head, and soiled with them his noble face. 
 They clung in dark lumps to his comely vest, 
 Prone in the dust of earth, at his full length, 
 And tearing his disordered hair, he lay." 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 7S 
 
 And threw it on his head and smirched his 
 hair — 
 
 His hair, and face, and bearjJ, and glitter- 
 ing arms ; 
 
 And strong convulsive groanings shook his 
 breast, 
 
 And his sobs choked him ; and he clutched 
 his sword, 
 
 To draw it, and forever let life out. "^^^ 
 
 But Sohrab saw his thought, and held his 
 hands, 
 
 And with a soothing voice he spake, and 
 said : 
 
 " Father, forbear ! for I but meet to-day 
 The doom which at my birth was written 
 
 down 
 In heaven, and thou art heaven's uncon- 
 scious hand. ' 
 Surely my heart cried out that it was thou, 
 When first I saw thee ; and thy heart 
 
 spoke too, 
 I know it ! but fate trod those promptings 
 down 
 
 709. The doom. To the minds of ancient people, fate 
 was all-powerful, even over the gods. 
 
74 SOHRAB AND RITSTUM. 
 
 Under its iron heel ; fate, fate engaged 
 The strife, and hurled me on my father's 
 spear. 715 
 
 But let us speak no more of this ! I 
 
 find 
 My father ; and let me feel that I have 
 
 found ! 
 Come, sit beside me on this sand, and take 
 My head betwixt thy hands, and kiss my 
 
 cheeks. 
 And wash them with thy tears, and say : 
 ' My son !' 720 
 
 Quick ! quick ! for numbered are my sands 
 
 of life. 
 And swift ; for like the lightning to this 
 
 field 
 I came, and like the wind I go away — 
 Sudden, and swift, and Hke a passing 
 
 wind. 
 But it was writ in heaven that this should 
 be." 725 
 
 723. Like the wind. Compare " Omar Khayyam " : 
 " Into this universe and why not knowin"- 
 
 Nor whence, like waterrwillv nilly flowing, 
 And out of it again as wind across the waste 
 We know not whither, willy nilly blowing." 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 75 
 
 So said he, and his voice released the 
 
 heart 
 Of Rustum, and his tears' broke forth ; he 
 
 cast 
 His arms round his son's neck, and wept 
 
 aloud, 
 And kissed him. And awe fell on both 
 
 the hosts, 
 When they saw Rustum's grief; and Ruksh, 
 
 the horse, "^^ 
 
 With his head bowing to the ground and 
 
 mane 
 Sweeping the dust, came near, and in mute 
 
 woe 
 First to the one then to the other moved 
 His head, as if inquiring what their grief 
 Might mean ; and from his dark compas- 
 sionate eyes, "^^ 
 The big warm tears rolled down, and caked 
 
 the sand. 
 But Rustum chid him with stern voice, and 
 
 said : 
 
 " Ruksh, now thou grievest ; but, 
 Ruksh, thy feet 
 
76 SOitRAB AN]3 RUSfUM. 
 
 Should first have rotted on their nimble 
 
 joints, 
 
 Or ere they brought thy master to this 
 
 field !" '^0 
 
 But Sohrab looked upon the horse, and 
 
 said: 
 '^ Is this, then, Ruksh ? How often, in 
 
 past days. 
 My mother told me of thee, thou brave steed, 
 My terrible father's terrible horse ! and said. 
 That I should one day find my lord and 
 
 thee. 745 
 
 Come, let me lay my hand upon thy mane ! 
 Ruksh, thou art more fortunate than I ; 
 For thou hast gone where I shall never go. 
 And snufPed the breezes of my father's home. 
 And thou hast trod the sands of Seistan, '^^ 
 And seen the River of Helmund, and the 
 
 Lake 
 Of Zirrah ; and the aged Zal himself 
 
 744. Terrible father's. Compare Southey's "A terribly 
 man with a terrible name." 
 
 751. Helmund. (hel' moond.) A river of Afghan, 
 istan in the province of Seistan. 
 
 752. Zirrah. Czir'r^h.) The site of possessions 
 ■which Rustum had received from the Persian kings. 
 
SOttRAB AND RUSTUM. 77 
 
 Has often stroked thy neck, and given thee 
 
 food, 
 Corn in a golden platter soaked with wine, 
 And said : ' Ruksli ! bear Rustum well/ 
 
 — but I ''' 
 
 Have never known my grandsire's furrowed 
 
 face, 
 Nor seen his lofty house in Seistan, 
 Nor slaked my thirst at the clear Helmund 
 
 stream ; 
 But lodged among my father's foes, and seen 
 Afrasiab's cities only, Samarcand, '^^ 
 
 Bokhara, and lone Khiva in the waste. 
 And the black Toorkmun tents ; and only 
 
 drunk 
 The desert rivers, Moorghab and Tejend, 
 Kohik, and where the Kalmuks feed their 
 
 sheep. 
 The northern Sir ; and this great Oxus 
 
 stream, ^^^ 
 
 The yellow Oxus, by whose brink I die." 
 
 763. Moorghab, Tejend, Kohik. (te-jend'.) ("ko-hik'.) 
 Rivers which flow througli Turkestan into the Asiatic 
 desert. 
 
 765. Northern Sir. The river Jaxartes, already men- 
 tioned. 
 
78 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 Then, with a heavy groan, Rustum 
 
 bewailed : 
 
 " Oh, that its waves were flowing over me ! 
 
 Oh, that I saw its grains of yellow silt 
 
 Roll tumbling in the current o'er my 
 
 head !" ''' 
 
 But, with a grave mild voice, Sohrab 
 
 replied : 
 " Desire not that, my father ! thou must 
 
 live. 
 For some are born to do great deeds, and 
 
 live. 
 As some are born to be obscured, and die. 
 Do thou the deeds I die too young to do,"^^ 
 And reap a second glory in thine age ; 
 Thou art my father, and thy gain is mine. 
 But come ! thou seest this great host of men 
 Which follow me ; I pray thee, slay not 
 
 these ! 
 Let me entreat for them ; what have they 
 
 done ? ''' 
 
 They followed me, my hope, my fame, my 
 
 star. 
 
 769. Yellow silt. The fine soil -washed away and 
 deposited by the current. 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 79 
 
 Let them all cross the Oxus back in peace, 
 But me thou must bear hence, not send with 
 
 them, 
 But carry me with thee to Seistan, 
 And place me on a bed, and mourn for 
 
 me, '^^ 
 
 Thou, and the snow-haired Zal, and all thy 
 
 friends. 
 And thou must lay me in that lovely earth, 
 And heap a stately mound above my bones, 
 And plant a far-seen pillar over all. 
 That so the passing horseman on the 
 
 waste ^^ 
 
 May see my tomb a great way off, and cry : 
 ' Sohrab, the mighty Rustum's son, lies 
 
 there. 
 Whom his great father did in ignorance 
 
 kill !' 
 And T be not forgotten in my grave/' 
 
 And, with a mournful voice Rustum 
 replied : ''' 
 
 " Fear not ! as thou hast said, Sohrab, my 
 son. 
 
 So shall it be ; for I will burn my tents, 
 
80 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 And quit the host, and bear thee hence 
 
 with me, 
 And carry thee away to Seistan, 
 And place thee on a bed, and mourn for 
 
 thee, ''' 
 
 With the snow-headed Zal, and all my 
 
 friends. 
 And I will lay thee in that lovely earth, 
 And heap a stately mound above thy bones, 
 And plant a far-seen pillar over all. 
 And men shall not forget thee in thy 
 
 grave. 
 And I will spare thy host ; yea, let them go ! 
 Let them all cross the Oxus back in peace ! 
 What should I do with slaying any more ? 
 For would that all that I had ever slain 
 Might be once more alive ; my bitterest 
 
 foes, ''' 
 
 And they who were called champions in 
 
 their time. 
 And through whose death I won that fame 
 
 I have — 
 And I were nothing but a common man, 
 
 802. And I will lay. Note the repetition of Sohrab's 
 words in these lines. Such repetitious are common in 
 Homer and other epic poets 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM 81 
 
 A poor, mean soldier, and without renown, 
 So thou mightest live too, my son, my son!^^^ 
 Or rather would that I, even I myself. 
 Might now be lying on this bloody sand. 
 Near death, and by an ignorant stroke of 
 
 thine. 
 Not thou of mine ! and I might die, not 
 
 thou ; 
 And I, not thou, be borne to Seistan ; ^"^ 
 And Zal might weep above my grave, not 
 
 thine ; 
 And say : ' son, I weep thee not too sore^ 
 For willingly, I know, thou met'st thine 
 
 end!' 
 But now in blood and battles was my youth; 
 And full of blood and battles is my age,^*^ 
 And I shall never end this life of blood." 
 
 Then, at the point of death, Sohrab 
 replied : 
 " A life of blood indeed, thou dreadful man ! 
 
 815. My son, etc. Compare David's lament for 
 Absalom : "And the king was much moved, and went 
 up to the chamber over the gate, and wept : and as he 
 •went, thus he said, O m> son Absalom, my son, my 
 son Absalom ! would God I had died for thee, O Absa- 
 lom, my son, my son ! " 
 
82 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 But thou shalt yet have peace ; only not 
 
 now, 
 Not yet ! but thou shalt have it on that 
 
 day ^^ 
 
 When thou shalt sail in a high-masted ship, 
 Thou and the other peers of Kai Khosroo, 
 Returning home over the salt blue sea, 
 From laying thy dear master in his grave." 
 
 And Rustum gazed in Sohrab's face and 
 
 said : ''' 
 
 " Soon be that day, my son, and deep that 
 
 sea ! 
 Till then, if fate so wills, let me endure." 
 
 He spoke ; and Sohrab smiled on him, 
 
 and took 
 The spear, and drew it from his side, and 
 
 eased 
 His wound's imperious anguish ; but the 
 
 blood ^ 
 
 Came welling from the open gash, and life 
 Flowed with the stream — all down his cold 
 
 white side 
 The crimson torrent ran, dim now and 
 
 soiled, 
 
SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 83 
 
 Like the soiled tissue of white violets 
 Left, freshly gathered, on their native 
 
 bank, ""' 
 
 By children whom their nurses call with 
 
 haste 
 Indoors from the sun's eye ; his head 
 
 drooped low. 
 His limbs grew slack ; motionless, white, he 
 
 lay — 
 White, with eyes closed ; only when heavy 
 
 gasps. 
 Deep heavy gasps, quivering through all his 
 
 frame, ^^^ 
 
 Convulsed him back to life, he opened 
 
 them. 
 And fixed them feebly on his father's 
 
 face ; 
 Till now all strength was ebbed, and from 
 
 his limbs 
 Unwillingly the spirit fled away. 
 Regretting the warm mansion which it 
 
 left, 855 
 
 And youth, and bloom, and this delightful 
 
 world. 
 848. Slack. Relaxed. 
 
84 SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. 
 
 So, on the bloody sand, Sohrab lay dead ; 
 And the great Eustum drew his horseman's 
 
 cloak 
 Down o'er his face, and sate by his dead son. 
 As those black granite pillars, once high- 
 reared 860 
 By Jemshid in Persepolis, to bear 
 His house, now 'mid their broken flights of 
 steps 
 
 Lie prone, enormous, down the mountain 
 
 side — 
 So in the sand lay Rustum by his son. 
 
 And night came down over the solemn 
 
 waste, 865 
 
 And the two gazing hosts, and that sole pair. 
 
 And darkened all; and a cold fog, with 
 
 night. 
 Crept from the Oxus. Soon a hum arose. 
 As of a great assembly loosed, and fires 
 Began to twinkle through the fog; for 
 
 now 870 
 
 Persia fnT>f5 ,/^^^^'«H^-) An ancient king of 
 Peisia to ^^hom the city of Persepolis, the ruins of 
 which are now known as the " Forty Pil ars " was sud 
 posed to owe much of its splendor. ^ 
 
SOHRAB AND RUtsx JM. 35 
 
 Both armies moved to camp, and took their 
 
 meal ; 
 The Persians took it on the open sands 
 Southward, the Tartars by the river marge ; 
 And Eustum and his son were left alone. 
 
 But the majestic river floated on, '^^^ 
 
 Out of the mist and hum of that low land, 
 Into the frosty starlight, and there moved, 
 Rejoicing, through the hushed Chorasmiaix 
 
 waste. 
 Under the solitary moon — he flowed 
 Right for the polar star, past Orgunje, ^^^ 
 Brimming, and bright, and large; then 
 
 sands besfin 
 To hem his watery march, and dam his 
 
 streams, 
 And split his currents; that for many a 
 
 league 
 
 830. Orgunje. (or' goon-je.) A small town on the 
 Oxus not far from the city of Khiva. 
 
 Note how the author has made of the river a poetical 
 setting for his story. Thus the transitory nature of all 
 human activity is emphasized by the tranquil river, 
 which flowed through the plain long before there were 
 Tartar hosts to pitch their camps beside it. and which 
 will still flow on undisturbed long after Mongol and 
 Persian have paused away. 
 
86 SOHRAB AND BUSTUM. 
 
 The shorn and parceled Oxus strains alohg 
 Through beds of sand and matted rushy 
 isles — ^^ 
 
 Oxus, forgetting the brigat speed he had 
 In his high mountain cradle in Pamere, 
 A foiled circuitous wanderer — till at last 
 The longed-for dash of waves is heard, and 
 
 wide 
 His luminous home of waters opens, bright^^ 
 And tranquil, from whose floor the new- 
 bathed stars 
 Emerge, and shine upon the Aral Se?.. 
 
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