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The Court Weeps at the Testament
Book E4 · Anooshirvan’s Last Years

The Court Weeps at the Testament

From E4.6, Anooshirvan’s Parting Counsel to Hormizd. It illustrates E4.6.66–71:

  • E4.6.66
    Then bar the entrance, seal the chamber tight;Let no king open it to mortal sight.
  • E4.6.67
    Let none discover how to reach that hall,Or find a path that leads beyond its wall.
  • E4.6.68
    Let sons and noble kin, in mourning, shunAll feasts and pleasure till two months are done.
  • E4.6.69
    Such custom fits the death of kings, and stillThe good may weep upon this final will.
  • E4.6.70
    Remain beneath King Hormizd’s firm command;Obey his word when death has stilled my hand.”
  • E4.6.71
    All wept upon that testament with fear,And Anooshirvan lived one further year.

In the picture

AnooshirvanHormizd (son of Anooshirvan)
Read it in the poemIn the Illustrated PoemAll panels of Book E4
Previous · E4.5Hormizd Questioned into the Lamplit NightNext · E4.7The Dream of the Rising Sun

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