Fereydoon and His Sons · A6.8

Salm Grows Envious

Age weakens the father’s apparent security; Salm converts dissatisfaction into a coalition with Tur.

F&R English · 34 couplets · 4 commentary entries

The chapter in five texts

Text	Chapter treatment and distinctive choices
F&R English	Thirty-four couplets dramatize the growth of resentment and the joining of two distinct temperaments.
Moscow	The jealousy and first exchange form the beginning of a continuous family dispute.
Mohl	The envy sequence on pp 71–72 supports the age, inheritance and poisoned-honey motifs.
Ganjoor	Sh6.1–33 is used here; its remaining couplets continue across the next two English chapters.
Khaleghi	The main-text narrative carries the brothers’ grievance as interested speech, not an editorial verdict that their father divided unjustly.

Parallel text

English left · Persian right. Ganjoor is the reference except where a row names a printed source. Select a number to open the relevant note. G identifiers distinguish digital sections across chapter boundaries.

1–9+

Much time passed on while Time its secret kept,

And age upon wise Fereydoon slowly crept.

The dust of age fell on his springtime bloom,

And dimmed youth’s garden with approaching gloom.

Such is the tale: when vigor yields to years,

The body’s strength declines as age appears.

When darkness entered every great design,

The mighty’s judgment sank into decline.

Then Salm’s heart altered from its former state;

His judgment bent beneath desire and hate.

His heart in greed was drowned; he took advice,

And judged his father’s division far from wise.

He hated that the golden throne was given

To Iraj; envy left his spirit riven.

His face grew lined beneath the weight of spite;

He brooded long upon his brother’s right.

He spoke the thoughts that long had burned unseen,

Then sent to Chin, to Tur, an envoy keen.

برآمد برین روزگار دراز

زمانه به دل در همی داشت راز

فریدون فرزانه شد سالخورد

به باغ بهار اندر آورد گرد

برین گونه گردد سراسر سخن

شود سست نیرو چو گردد کهن

چو آمد به کاراندرون تیرگی

گرفتند پرمایگان خیرگی

بجنبید مر سلم را دل ز جای

دگرگونه‌تر شد به آیین و رای

دلش گشت غرقه به آزاندرون

به اندیشه بنشست با رهنمون

نبودش پسندیده بخش پدر

که داد او به کهتر پسر تخت زر

به دل پر ز کین شد به رخ پر ز چین

فرسته فرستاد زی شاه چین

Ganjoor · f6:1-8

10–18+

“Live ever joyful, prosperous and strong,

O Shahanshah of Turks and Chin, live long.

Though cypress-tall in stature we have grown,

Our spirits proved too low to claim our own.

Now hear a tale no ancient age has known,

No former generation ever shown:

Three sons were we, all worthy of the crown,

Yet fortune raised the youngest to renown.

In years and wisdom, eldest of the line,

The foremost share by right should have been mine.

And if the throne must pass beyond my hand,

Then you, not Iraj, should receive the land.

To Iraj went Iran, the spearmen’s plain,

And Yemen joined beneath his royal reign.

To me came Rum and Khavar in the West;

To you came Turks and Chin as your bequest.

I find no footing in the shares assigned;

No sound judgment rules our father’s mind.”

فرستاد نزد برادر پیام

که جاوید زی خرم و شادکام

بدان ای شهنشاه ترکان و چین

گسسته دل روشن از به گزین

ز نیکی زیان کرده گویی پسند

منش پست و بالا چو سرو بلند

کنون بشنو ازمن یکی داستان

کزین گونه نشنیدی از باستان

سه فرزند بودیم زیبای تخت

یکی کهتر از ما برآمد به بخت

اگر مهترم من به سال و خرد

زمانه به مهر من اندر خورد

گذشته ز من تاج و تخت و کلاه

نزیبد مگر بر تو ای پادشاه

سزد گر بمانیم هر دو دژم

کزین سان پدر کرد بر ما ستم

چو ایران و دشت یلان و یمن

به ایرج دهد روم و خاور به من

سپارد ترا مرز ترکان و چین

که از تو سپهدار ایران زمین

بدین بخشش اندر مرا پای نیست

به مغز پدر اندرون رای نیست

Ganjoor · f6:9-19

19–29+

The swift envoy reached Turan’s royal lord,

And spoke his message true, in full accord.

Then wind filled Tur’s rash, foolish head with rage;

He sprang like a fierce lion from its cage.

He said, “When we were young, our father planned

This fraud himself and dealt us each a land.

This tree our father planted with his hand;

Its roots drink blood, its bitter branches stand.

You and I must meet and speak face to face,

And weigh together how to press our case.

We must take counsel with discerning eyes,

And see what course before our purpose lies.

Then choose a swift-tongued messenger of worth,

A smooth and eloquent man of noble birth.

Let him go swiftly to the world-Shah’s side,

And place these words before him, nothing hide.

Let him begin: ‘O wise, renowned king,

Now hear the words your elder sons would bring.’

No valiant man should bear a fraud so base,

Nor patiently endure such deep disgrace.

And in this matter there must be no stay;

No ease is gained by wasting time away.”

هیون فرستاده بگزارد پای

بیامد به نزدیک توران خدای

به خوبی شنیده همه یاد کرد

سر تور بی‌مغز پرباد کرد

چو این راز بشنید تور دلیر

برآشفت ناگاه برسان شیر

چنین داد پاسخ که با شهریار

بگو این سخن هم چنین یاد دار

که ما را به گاه جوانی پدر

بدین گونه بفریفت ای دادگر

درختیست این خود نشانده بدست

کجا آب او خون و برگش کبست

ترا با من اکنون بدین گفت‌گوی

بباید بروی اندر آورد روی

زدن رای هشیار و کردن نگاه

هیونی فگندن به نزدیک شاه

زبان‌آوری چرب گوی از میان

فرستاد باید به شاه جهان

به جای زبونی و جای فریب

نباید که یابد دلاور شکیب

نشاید درنگ اندرین کار هیچ

کجا آید آسایش اندر بسیچ

Ganjoor · f6:20-30

30–34+

The messenger returned with Tur’s reply;

The hidden secret bared its face thereby.

From Rum came Salm, from Chin came Tur, agreed,

Each answering now the other’s urgent need.

The brothers met and joined their minds as one,

And shaped the course their anger had begun.

Their counsel seemed like honey to the tongue,

Yet poison through its hidden sweetness clung.

They spoke together, hiding nothing now,

And shared the secret thoughts behind each brow.

فرستاده چون پاسخ آورد باز

برهنه شد آن روی پوشیده‌راز

برفت این برادر ز روم آن ز چین

به زهر اندر آمیخته انگبین

رسیدند پس یک به دیگر فراز

سخن راندند آشکارا و راز

Ganjoor · f6:31-33

Narrative and poetic form

The chapter works through a dangerous conversion: age becomes an opportunity, a share becomes an injury, and fraternal conversation becomes conspiracy. The English’s deliberate pacing is appropriate to that change.

Couplet commentary

Quoted text · evidence · interpretation

1–9Aging and envy

1–9

Much time passed on while Time its secret kept,

And age upon wise Fereydoon slowly crept.

The dust of age fell on his springtime bloom,

And dimmed youth’s garden with approaching gloom.

Such is the tale: when vigor yields to years,

The body’s strength declines as age appears.

When darkness entered every great design,

The mighty’s judgment sank into decline.

Then Salm’s heart altered from its former state;

His judgment bent beneath desire and hate.

His heart in greed was drowned; he took advice,

And judged his father’s division far from wise.

He hated that the golden throne was given

To Iraj; envy left his spirit riven.

His face grew lined beneath the weight of spite;

He brooded long upon his brother’s right.

He spoke the thoughts that long had burned unseen,

Then sent to Chin, to Tur, an envoy keen.

برآمد برین روزگار دراز

زمانه به دل در همی داشت راز

فریدون فرزانه شد سالخورد

به باغ بهار اندر آورد گرد

برین گونه گردد سراسر سخن

شود سست نیرو چو گردد کهن

چو آمد به کاراندرون تیرگی

گرفتند پرمایگان خیرگی

بجنبید مر سلم را دل ز جای

دگرگونه‌تر شد به آیین و رای

دلش گشت غرقه به آزاندرون

به اندیشه بنشست با رهنمون

نبودش پسندیده بخش پدر

که داد او به کهتر پسر تخت زر

به دل پر ز کین شد به رخ پر ز چین

فرسته فرستاد زی شاه چین

Ganjoor · f6:1-8

Textual evidence

The source moves from elapsed time and the king’s aging to Salm’s greed and dissatisfaction. English separates emotional transitions into additional couplets.

G f6 1 ↗ G f6 2 ↗ G f6 3 ↗ G f6 4 ↗ G f6 5 ↗ G f6 6 ↗ G f6 7 ↗ G f6 8 ↗ Moscow p 94 ↗ Moscow p 95 ↗ Moscow p 96 ↗ Moscow p 97 ↗ Mohl p 71 ↗ Mohl p 72 ↗ Khaleghi p 107 ↗ Khaleghi p 108 ↗ Khaleghi p 109 ↗ Khaleghi p 110 ↗

Interpretation

The first movement is psychological, not military. The English’s recurrent garden and age imagery connects personal decline to the vulnerability of a political settlement, while leaving Salm responsible for what follows.

Return to parallel text

10–18Salm’s claim of seniority

10–18

“Live ever joyful, prosperous and strong,

O Shahanshah of Turks and Chin, live long.

Though cypress-tall in stature we have grown,

Our spirits proved too low to claim our own.

Now hear a tale no ancient age has known,

No former generation ever shown:

Three sons were we, all worthy of the crown,

Yet fortune raised the youngest to renown.

In years and wisdom, eldest of the line,

The foremost share by right should have been mine.

And if the throne must pass beyond my hand,

Then you, not Iraj, should receive the land.

To Iraj went Iran, the spearmen’s plain,

And Yemen joined beneath his royal reign.

To me came Rum and Khavar in the West;

To you came Turks and Chin as your bequest.

I find no footing in the shares assigned;

No sound judgment rules our father’s mind.”

فرستاد نزد برادر پیام

که جاوید زی خرم و شادکام

بدان ای شهنشاه ترکان و چین

گسسته دل روشن از به گزین

ز نیکی زیان کرده گویی پسند

منش پست و بالا چو سرو بلند

کنون بشنو ازمن یکی داستان

کزین گونه نشنیدی از باستان

سه فرزند بودیم زیبای تخت

یکی کهتر از ما برآمد به بخت

اگر مهترم من به سال و خرد

زمانه به مهر من اندر خورد

گذشته ز من تاج و تخت و کلاه

نزیبد مگر بر تو ای پادشاه

سزد گر بمانیم هر دو دژم

کزین سان پدر کرد بر ما ستم

چو ایران و دشت یلان و یمن

به ایرج دهد روم و خاور به من

سپارد ترا مرز ترکان و چین

که از تو سپهدار ایران زمین

بدین بخشش اندر مرا پای نیست

به مغز پدر اندرون رای نیست

Ganjoor · f6:9-19

Textual evidence

Salm’s message asserts that age and wisdom should make him first, or Tur next, and complains about Iran and Yemen going to Iraj.

Interpretation

These are Salm’s claims. Yemen’s appearance here belongs to his representation of the division, although the preceding partition did not list it separately. The English should not be harmonized by deleting a detail carried in the source speech.

Return to parallel text

19–29Tur accepts the grievance

19–29

The swift envoy reached Turan’s royal lord,

And spoke his message true, in full accord.

Then wind filled Tur’s rash, foolish head with rage;

He sprang like a fierce lion from its cage.

He said, “When we were young, our father planned

This fraud himself and dealt us each a land.

This tree our father planted with his hand;

Its roots drink blood, its bitter branches stand.

You and I must meet and speak face to face,

And weigh together how to press our case.

We must take counsel with discerning eyes,

And see what course before our purpose lies.

Then choose a swift-tongued messenger of worth,

A smooth and eloquent man of noble birth.

Let him go swiftly to the world-Shah’s side,

And place these words before him, nothing hide.

Let him begin: ‘O wise, renowned king,

Now hear the words your elder sons would bring.’

No valiant man should bear a fraud so base,

Nor patiently endure such deep disgrace.

And in this matter there must be no stay;

No ease is gained by wasting time away.”

هیون فرستاده بگزارد پای

بیامد به نزدیک توران خدای

به خوبی شنیده همه یاد کرد

سر تور بی‌مغز پرباد کرد

چو این راز بشنید تور دلیر

برآشفت ناگاه برسان شیر

چنین داد پاسخ که با شهریار

بگو این سخن هم چنین یاد دار

که ما را به گاه جوانی پدر

بدین گونه بفریفت ای دادگر

درختیست این خود نشانده بدست

کجا آب او خون و برگش کبست

ترا با من اکنون بدین گفت‌گوی

بباید بروی اندر آورد روی

زدن رای هشیار و کردن نگاه

هیونی فگندن به نزدیک شاه

زبان‌آوری چرب گوی از میان

فرستاد باید به شاه جهان

به جای زبونی و جای فریب

نباید که یابد دلاور شکیب

نشاید درنگ اندرین کار هیچ

کجا آید آسایش اندر بسیچ

Ganjoor · f6:20-30

Textual evidence

The envoy delivers the message; Tur responds in rage, calls the division deception and proposes joint counsel and a new embassy.

Interpretation

The English keeps the different initiating roles: Salm formulates resentment, Tur turns it toward urgent action. Blood-fed tree imagery anticipates the murder and its retaliatory harvest.

Return to parallel text

30–34Poison under honey

30–34

The messenger returned with Tur’s reply;

The hidden secret bared its face thereby.

From Rum came Salm, from Chin came Tur, agreed,

Each answering now the other’s urgent need.

The brothers met and joined their minds as one,

And shaped the course their anger had begun.

Their counsel seemed like honey to the tongue,

Yet poison through its hidden sweetness clung.

They spoke together, hiding nothing now,

And shared the secret thoughts behind each brow.

فرستاده چون پاسخ آورد باز

برهنه شد آن روی پوشیده‌راز

برفت این برادر ز روم آن ز چین

به زهر اندر آمیخته انگبین

رسیدند پس یک به دیگر فراز

سخن راندند آشکارا و راز

Ganjoor · f6:31-33

Textual evidence

The brothers meet from Rum and Chin. Ganjoor describes honey mixed with poison as their policy comes together.

G f6 31 ↗ G f6 32 ↗ G f6 33 ↗ Moscow p 94 ↗ Moscow p 95 ↗ Moscow p 96 ↗ Moscow p 97 ↗ Mohl p 71 ↗ Mohl p 72 ↗ Khaleghi p 107 ↗ Khaleghi p 108 ↗ Khaleghi p 109 ↗ Khaleghi p 110 ↗

Interpretation

The sweet surface and lethal interior will recur in false hospitality and the later plea for pardon. The translation’s extra space gives the image structural force without changing who forms the alliance.

Return to parallel text

Chapter source record

English original ↗ Ganjoor f6 ↗ Moscow p 94 ↗ Moscow p 95 ↗ Moscow p 96 ↗ Moscow p 97 ↗ Mohl p 71 ↗ Mohl p 72 ↗ Khaleghi p 107 ↗ Khaleghi p 108 ↗ Khaleghi p 109 ↗ Khaleghi p 110 ↗