Page:Persian Literature (1900), vol. 1.djvu/219

 was held on the occasion, but he refused to go. Gíw was deputed to repeat the invitation; and he then said, "I shall pay homage to Fríburz, as the heir to the throne, and to no other.

"For is he not the son of Kai-káús, And worthy of the regal crown and throne?  I want not any of the race of Poshang--  None of the proud Túránian dynasty--  Fruitless has been thy peril, Gíw, to bring  A silly child among us, to defraud  The rightful prince of his inheritance!"

Gíw, in reply, vindicated the character and attainments of Khosráu, but Tús was not to be appeased. He therefore returned to his father and communicated to him what had occurred. Gúdarz was roused to great wrath by this resistance to the will of the king, and at once took twelve thousand men and his seventy-eight kinsmen, together with Gíw, and proceeded to support his cause by force of arms. Tús, apprised of his intentions, prepared to meet him, but was reluctant to commit himself by engaging in a civil war, and said, internally:--

"If I unsheath the sword of strife,   Numbers on either side will fall,  I would not sacrifice the life    Of one who owns my sovereign's thrall.

"My country would abhor the deed,   And may I never see the hour  When Persia's sons are doomed to bleed,    But when opposed to foreign power.

"The cause must be both good and true,   And if their blood in war must flow,  Will it not seem of brighter hue,    When shed to crush the Tartar foe?"

Possessing these sentiments, Tús sent an envoy to Gúdarz, suggesting the suspension of any hostile proceedings until information on the subject had been first communicated to the king. Káús was extremely displeased with Gúdarz for his precipitancy and folly, and directed both him and Tús to repair immediately to court. Tús there said frankly, "I now owe honor and allegiance to king Káús; but should he happen to lay aside the throne and the diadem, my obedience and loyalty will be due to Fríburz his heir, and not to a stranger." To this, Gúdarz replied, "Saiáwush was the eldest son of the king,