Page:History of India Vol 3.djvu/306

 246 APPENDIX I In festive hours Heaven smiles upon his truth ; In combat deadly as the dragon's tooth; Bounteous in all things, his exhaustless hand Diffuses blessings through the grateful land ; And, of the noblest thoughts and actions, lord ; The soul of Gabriel breathes in every word; May Heaven with added glory crown his days ; Praise, praise to mighty Mahmud everlasting praise ! The eulogy unfortunately proved premature. When the great poem of sixty thousand verses was completed, it was presented to Mahmud; but the royal patron, in- fluenced apparently by court intrigue against Firdausi, substituted silver for gold in payment, sending to the poet sixty thousand pieces of the white metal in place of the yellow. Firdausi, disappointed and enraged, rejected the reward with scorn, distributed the money- bags among three servants of the bath where he hap- pened to be when the gift was sent, and gave vent to the venom of his spleen in verses of tremendous invec- tive, stigmatizing Mahmud as base-born and of a spirit ignoble as his birth. The sequel has already been told (page 32), but the stain on the renown of Mahmud of Grhazni will never be removed. THE SATIRE Know, tyrant as thou art, this earthly state Is not eternal, but of transient date ; Fear God, then, and afflict not human-kind ; To merit Heaven, be thou to Heaven resigned. Afflict not even the ant ; though weak and small, It breathes and lives, and life is sweet to all. Knowing my temper, firm, and stern, and bold, Did'st thou not, tyrant, tremble to behold