august 20, 2008
august 17, 2008
Scor parţial după meciul Rusiei în deplasare, în Georgia
Un comentariu sintetic şi foarte pertinent al agenţiei France Presse, a propos de cine ce pierde şi cîştigă din acest conflict. Merită lecturat.
Géorgie-Russie: pertes et profits
La signature d'un cessez-le-feu par
les présidents Dmitri Medvedev et Mikheïl Saakachvili a mis fin -
officiellement - au très inégal affrontement militaire entre le
géant russe et son petit voisin géorgien, permettant de dresser un
bilan provisoire des gains et des pertes de part et d'autre.
Ce bilan - géopolitique, politique, diplomatique, militaire,
économique et médiatique - est basé sur de nombreux commentaires des
médias et d'analystes dans les deux pays impliqués dans le conflit
et dans ceux impliqués dans les efforts de paix. Il ne tient compte
que des jugements partagés par des observateurs de plusieurs bords.
- GEOPOLITIQUE -
----------------
RUSSIE : affirmation de la puissance régionale de Moscou et de
ses intérêts stratégiques dans le Caucase, humiliation d'un allié de
Washington, revanche pour le revers infligé avec l'indépendance du
Kosovo, renversement de tendance à la désintégration de ce qui reste
de l'empire soviétique et possibilité ouverte, pour la première fois
depuis 18 ans, d'accroître son territoire en accueillant l'Abkhazie
et l'Ossétie du Sud.
GEORGIE : perte de la perspective d'adhésion à l'Otan, perte
peut-être définitive de deux territoires séparatistes.
- DIPLOMATIQUE -
----------------
RUSSIE : condamnation verbale internationale, renforcement des
liens militaires entre voisins pro-américains, illustré par l'accord
polono-américain sur le bouclier antimissile et l'offre de Kiev à
l'Occident d'utiliser ses radars antimissile. Mais aucune sanction
réelle en vue.
GEORGIE : perte de prestige pour le président et la classe
politique, mais réflexe de solidarité des Américains et des voisins
pro-occidentaux de la Russie.
- ECONOMIQUE -
--------------
RUSSIE : aucun impact sur l'économie, les exportations de gaz et
de pétrole, base de la prospérité russe, ne courant aucun risque
d'être affectées.
GEORGIE : la croissance, jusqu'à présent rapide et alimentée par
les capitaux étrangers, risque un coup d'arrêt, compte tenu du
risque pour les investisseurs, sans parler du coût de la
reconstruction des infrastructures.
- POLITIQUE -
-------------
RUSSIE : l'image du Premier ministre Vladimir Poutine - déjà
très populaire - et du président Dmitri Medvedev, n'a pu que
s'améliorer dans un pays où la nostalgie de l'expansion impériale
n'a pas disparu.
GEORGIE : le président Mikheïl Saakachvili a été
considérablement affaibli par sa décision - incompréhensible même
pour ses amis et alliés - de tenter de reprendre par la force
l'Ossétie.
- HUMAIN -
----------
RUSSIE : 74 morts, 171 blessés et 19 disparus parmi les
militaires. Chiffres invérifiables non officiels cités pour les
pertes civiles en Ossétie du Sud (jusqu'à 2000 morts).
GEORGIE : 115 morts et 322 blessés parmi les militaires, 67
morts et 157 blessés civils.
- MILITAIRE -
-------------
RUSSIE : opération terre-air-mer bien préparée et brillamment
menée, mais moyens de brouillage protégeant l'aviation insuffisants:
4 avions perdus.
GEORGIE : opération mal pensée (renseignement insuffisant,
attaque contre un ennemi très supérieur en hommes et en matériel,
absence de couverture aérienne) et mal exécutée (le tunnel reliant
l'Ossétie du Sud à la Russie aurait dû être bloqué).
- MEDIATIQUE -
--------------
RUSSIE : les médias russes, et notamment les chaînes de
télévision, pratiquement unanimes dans leur appui à l'opération
militaire, ont relayé une campagne de propagande basée sur une
argumentation sérieuse, bien préparée et servie par des porte-parole
professionnels de bon niveau.
GEORGIE : le président Mikheïl Saakachvili, certes excellent
orateur charismatique, a consacré beaucoup de son temps aux
interviews télévisées, mais épuisé et tendu, il a parfois fait des
déclarations démenties par les faits et il s'est laissé filmer
mordillant sa cravate, ce qui a été immédiatement exploité par les
télévisions russes.
Géorgie-Russie: pertes et profits
La signature d'un cessez-le-feu par
les présidents Dmitri Medvedev et Mikheïl Saakachvili a mis fin -
officiellement - au très inégal affrontement militaire entre le
géant russe et son petit voisin géorgien, permettant de dresser un
bilan provisoire des gains et des pertes de part et d'autre.
Ce bilan - géopolitique, politique, diplomatique, militaire,
économique et médiatique - est basé sur de nombreux commentaires des
médias et d'analystes dans les deux pays impliqués dans le conflit
et dans ceux impliqués dans les efforts de paix. Il ne tient compte
que des jugements partagés par des observateurs de plusieurs bords.
- GEOPOLITIQUE -
----------------
RUSSIE : affirmation de la puissance régionale de Moscou et de
ses intérêts stratégiques dans le Caucase, humiliation d'un allié de
Washington, revanche pour le revers infligé avec l'indépendance du
Kosovo, renversement de tendance à la désintégration de ce qui reste
de l'empire soviétique et possibilité ouverte, pour la première fois
depuis 18 ans, d'accroître son territoire en accueillant l'Abkhazie
et l'Ossétie du Sud.
GEORGIE : perte de la perspective d'adhésion à l'Otan, perte
peut-être définitive de deux territoires séparatistes.
- DIPLOMATIQUE -
----------------
RUSSIE : condamnation verbale internationale, renforcement des
liens militaires entre voisins pro-américains, illustré par l'accord
polono-américain sur le bouclier antimissile et l'offre de Kiev à
l'Occident d'utiliser ses radars antimissile. Mais aucune sanction
réelle en vue.
GEORGIE : perte de prestige pour le président et la classe
politique, mais réflexe de solidarité des Américains et des voisins
pro-occidentaux de la Russie.
- ECONOMIQUE -
--------------
RUSSIE : aucun impact sur l'économie, les exportations de gaz et
de pétrole, base de la prospérité russe, ne courant aucun risque
d'être affectées.
GEORGIE : la croissance, jusqu'à présent rapide et alimentée par
les capitaux étrangers, risque un coup d'arrêt, compte tenu du
risque pour les investisseurs, sans parler du coût de la
reconstruction des infrastructures.
- POLITIQUE -
-------------
RUSSIE : l'image du Premier ministre Vladimir Poutine - déjà
très populaire - et du président Dmitri Medvedev, n'a pu que
s'améliorer dans un pays où la nostalgie de l'expansion impériale
n'a pas disparu.
GEORGIE : le président Mikheïl Saakachvili a été
considérablement affaibli par sa décision - incompréhensible même
pour ses amis et alliés - de tenter de reprendre par la force
l'Ossétie.
- HUMAIN -
----------
RUSSIE : 74 morts, 171 blessés et 19 disparus parmi les
militaires. Chiffres invérifiables non officiels cités pour les
pertes civiles en Ossétie du Sud (jusqu'à 2000 morts).
GEORGIE : 115 morts et 322 blessés parmi les militaires, 67
morts et 157 blessés civils.
- MILITAIRE -
-------------
RUSSIE : opération terre-air-mer bien préparée et brillamment
menée, mais moyens de brouillage protégeant l'aviation insuffisants:
4 avions perdus.
GEORGIE : opération mal pensée (renseignement insuffisant,
attaque contre un ennemi très supérieur en hommes et en matériel,
absence de couverture aérienne) et mal exécutée (le tunnel reliant
l'Ossétie du Sud à la Russie aurait dû être bloqué).
- MEDIATIQUE -
--------------
RUSSIE : les médias russes, et notamment les chaînes de
télévision, pratiquement unanimes dans leur appui à l'opération
militaire, ont relayé une campagne de propagande basée sur une
argumentation sérieuse, bien préparée et servie par des porte-parole
professionnels de bon niveau.
GEORGIE : le président Mikheïl Saakachvili, certes excellent
orateur charismatique, a consacré beaucoup de son temps aux
interviews télévisées, mais épuisé et tendu, il a parfois fait des
déclarations démenties par les faits et il s'est laissé filmer
mordillant sa cravate, ce qui a été immédiatement exploité par les
télévisions russes.
august 10, 2008
Măcar atît, pentru un popor năpăstuit
Oamenii care s-au luat de piept cu ursul, fără şansă, fără speranţă, doar din credinţă, undeva de partea cealaltă a mării cîntă, de aproape un mileniu, ghiersul ce urmează.
SHOTA RUSTAVELI
THE KNIGHT IN THE PANTHER'S SKIN
Translated from the Georgian
by VENERA URUSHADZE
PROLOGUE
1 He who created the firmament by the omnipotent might of his power,
Gave breath to all living creatures and to man spirits celestial,
Gave us the world to possess with all its unlimited varieties,
And Kings ordained by Him, each in His own image.
***
2 0 One God, who has created the form of every man's body,
Assist us, give us strength, to conquer the wiles of Satan;
Fill us with longing for love, endless, enduring to death!
Lighten the load of sins we must bear to the world to come!
***
3 I sing of the lion whom the use of lance, shield and sword adorns,
Of Tamar, the Queen of Queens, the ruby-cheeked and jet-haired.
How shall I dare pay tribute to her in praiseworthy verses,
Whom to look upon is to feast upon the choicest of honey?
***
4 Tears of blood flow profusely as I exult our Queen Tamar
Whose praises I have uttered forth in well-chosen words.
For ink I have used a lake of jet and for pen, a pliant reed.
My words, like jagged spears, will pierce the heart of the hearer.
***
5 I was told to compose in her honour stately and sweet-sounding verses,
To laud her eyebrows and lashes, her hair, her lips and her teeth-
Badakhshan ruby and cut crystal arrayed in two even ranks.
An anvil of lead can break even the hardest stone.
***
6 Fire my mind and tongue with skill and power for utterance
Which I need, 0 Lord, for the making of majestic and praiseworthy verses;
Thus will the deeds of Tariel be remembered in eloquent language,
And of the three star-like heroes who faithfully served one another.
***
7 Come, let us sit together and weep with undrying tears for Tariel.
There never breathed a man born under the same star as his.
I, Rustaveli, whose heart is pierced through by his sorrows have threaded
Like a necklace of pearls a tale told until now as a tale.
***
8 I, who am maddened to frenzy by love, have composed these lines.
She, whom vast armies call mistress has deprived me oi life and reason.
Thus sickened am I by love for which there exists no cure.
She alone can cure me, or leave me to death and the grave.
***
9 I have found this Persian tale, and have set it in Georgian verse
Until now like a peerless pearl it was rolled on the palm of the hand.
I have done this praiseworthy and disputable deed for her;
Therefore let her who has robbed me of heart and of reason judge it.
***
10 Though deprived of their light by gazing upon her yet my eyes long again
To behold her for whom with love-laden heart I roam like a madman.
Let her pray for and soothe my soul; it is enough that my body is burning.
Eloquent must my verses be, majestic, melodious and sweet.
***
11 Man, do not complain at fate. Be content and accept it.
Let the warrior always be brave, let the worker enjoy his labour;
So let the love-maddened man learn the meaning of love and know it.
Disdain not the love of another nor let him disdain yours.
***
12 Poetry is, first of all, a branch of divine wisdom,
Conceived by and known by the godly edifying to all who hear it.
It pleases the ear of the listener if he be a virtuous man.
A poem uttered with surfeit of words lacks grace and excellence.
***
13 A race on a course proves a horse's fire and mettle,
A player's skill is seen when he strikes the ball at the goal.
Even so it is with the poet who composes majestic poems:
He must call forth all his skill when utterance is hard and fails him.
***
14 Thus indeed, is the poet, and his poem is proof of his prowess.
When at a loss of words and he cannot attain perfection
He must seek for words that will not diminish the poem of its worth,
But strike the ball and score the goal like a dexterous player.
***
15 A verse or two composed by chance do not make a poet;
Let him not think himself a poet on the level of great singers.
Even though, now and then, he may write a few discordant verses;
Yet if he says, "Truly, mine is the better", he is a stubborn mule.
***
16 Then again there are poets who wish but are powerless to compose
Verses capable of penetrating deep into one's heart.
I may compare them to the bows and arrows of youthful hunters
Who cannot bring down big beasts, but kill only small game.
***
17 A third kind of poems is composed for mirth and revelry,
For the lover, the joyous and merry, for the pleasures of boon companions.
We may find some of them pleasing both to the heart and the ear,
But remember, only he who writes majestic poetry is a poet.
***
18 All the poet's endeavours must not be spent invain.
He must be devoted to one whom he considers worthy of loving,
And employ all his talents and skill In praising and glorifying her name.
For her alone must he sing in sweet melodious measures.
***
19 Hear all and know, I praise her whom I have hitherto praised!
In this I have endless glory, in this I am bold and shameless.
She, who is my life, is a beautiful merciless panther.
I shall devote my skill hereafter to exalt her name.
***
20 I speak of love's highest form-elevated, pure and heavenly,
Eloquence weakens when the tongue attempts to speak of such love.
It uplifts to heaven the soul of those who endure love's anguish.
A lover, therefore, must know how to endure and bear these afflictions.
***
21 Even a discerning mind cannot comprehend that love,
Though the tongue grow tired or the ears of the hearer weary.
I speak of the lower passions of man who when not lustfully kissing
Strives to imitate love but only faints from afar.
***
22 In the Arabic tongue a lover is called a madman
Because of non-fulfilment and futile longing for her.
Some, though exhausted, feel nearness to God as their souls soar upward.
Others, prey to low passions, fly from one fair maidan to another.
***
23 Beauty befits a lover like unto the sun on high.
He must have youth and leisure, be generous, wealthy and wise,
Patient, intelligent and eloquent, the mightiest among the mighty.
If devoid of all these qualities a lover is not a true lover.
***
24 Love is sacred and tender, hard to know or define.
It is not kindred to lust; it is something beyond it - divine.
Love is one thing, lust another; in no way do they mingle.
Between true love and lust lies an impregnable boundary.
***
25 He who loves should be constant, never lewd nor faithless.
Absence from her he loves should wring sigh upon sigh from his heart.
He must be true to her though she frown upon him in anger.
I hate the lover who seeks only bugging and lusty kissing.
***
26 A lover does not long for one today and another tomorrow.
He Ћannot endure love's parting or absence from her whom he worships.
Such sport is shameful, base, more like the trifling of boys.
The lover is he who suffers the whole world's woes and sorrows.
***
27 There is a love - the noblest - which reveals not its woes but conceals them.
The lover seeks solitude for when alone he bestows all his thoughts upon love.
Thus his fainting, dying, burning, are all from afar;
He may face the wrath of his beloved, yet must he fear and revere her.
***
28 A lover must never reveal his love but keep it hidden,
Nor should he basely sigh and put his loved one to shame;
Nowhere should he show his love, nor reveal it to any man.
Enduring woes and burning in fire for her sake should be joy.
29 Only a madman would trust the man who noises his love abroad.
By this he makes her suffer, by this he suffers himself.
How can he glorify her if he shames her with a surfeit of words'
That would only profane the love that she cherishes for him.
***
30 It makes me wonder to think there are men who make a show of their love.
Why add pain to a heart, already wounded by love?
It they have no love for her then why do they hide their hatred?
But an evil man loves an evil word more than his soul.
***
31 Judge not severely the tears of a lover; tears are his due.
Weeping and solitude befit him and the roaming of plains and forests.
When absent from her his thoughts should be of her whom he worships,
But when among men it is better he conceal his love within him.
***
STORY OF ROSTEVAN, KING OF THE ARABS
***
32 Rostrvan ruled in Arabia, a monarch exalted and mighty,
Fortunate, noble, farseeing, wise in council and judgment;
The hosts he commanded were countless, he. the invincible warrior,
His speech was fluent and gracious, his bounty and wisdom boundless.
***
33 He had one fair daughter, bright as the sun in its glory,
Shedding radiant beams, ravishing all who beheld her.
Hearts and minds were enslaved, all bowed down to her beauty.
Even the sage and the poet were deprived of speech in her presence.
***
34 Tinatin, fairest of maidens, grew to be fairest of women;
The sun itself in the sky paled above her in envy.
Rostevan summoned his viziers, graciously ranged them before him?
Proud, majestic, yet mild, he wanted their judgment and counsel.
***
35 "We are assembled", he said, Ћto discuss and counsel together.
The sun of my days is set, a moonless night is before me.
The full-blown rose must scatter the face of the earth with its petals.
But the bud on the branch unfolds, filling the garden with fragrance.
***
36 ЋMine is the burden of age, sorest affliction of mortals;
The footsteps of death draw near me and I must yield up my spirit.
Light can no longer exist when the shadow of night overtakes it.
Take for your sovereign, my daughter, whom even the sun cannot rival*.
37 The viziers answered: "0 King] Speak not of age and of darkness!
You are still mighty and wise, your subjects still adore you!
Even the rose that is withered sheds perfume surpassing all flowers.
Does not the rising star worship the moon that is waning?
***
38 "Speaknot of death, O King! Your blossom retains its perfume)
One bad counsel from you is better than a hundred good counsels from others.
You have done well to unload your heart of its onerous burden;
She who out-shines the sun we name our monarch and ruler.
***
39 "Woman she is, but a woman born to rule over a kingdom.
Truly our hearts declare her worthy to be our sovereign.
Her noble deeds, like her radiance, shed brightness arid warmth like sunshine.
The lion's whelp is a lion, be it male or female".
***
40 Avtandil, head of the armies, son of Amir-Spassalari,
Was slender and tall like the cypress, bright like tne sunlight and moonlight;
Beardless was he and his visage was pure as the clearest of crystal.
Tinatin's raven-black lashes pierced through his heart and senses.
***
41 Deep in his heart he nurtured love for that beautiful maiden;
Absent from her, the roses fled from his cheeks, and he languished';
But in her presence the fireswere kindled again in his bosom.
Pity the woes of the lover, racked by the torments of passion.
***
42 Hearing the words of the king, Avtandil rejoiced greatly;
The raging flames of desire consuming his heart abated.
"Now, he said to himself, "l will often gaze upon her.
This will bring peace to my heart and relief to my troubled spirit"..
***
43 Rostevan, king of the Arabs, announced through the whole of his kingdom:
"l, the father of Tinatin, proclaim her my worthy successor.
Her light shall illumine our country; come, and rejoice in her brightness!
Gaze at will on her beauty, give jubilant tongue to her praises!"
***
44 The Arabian people assembled, courtiers and nobles and henchmen.
Chief among warriors, Avtandil, head over legions of soldiers;
First among sages and elders, Sograt, beloved of his sovereign.
The royal throne was brought forth, dazzling men's sight with its splendour.
***
45 Rostevan led in Tinatin, bright as the sun's rays at noontide,
Placed the crown on her head, placed in her hand the sceptre,
Over her shoulders he cast a mantle befitting a sovereign.
And sunlike, omniscient, her gaze shed light in the farthest places.
***
46 Monarch and warriors and nobles bowed down to the sunlike maiden,
Hailed her their sovereign and queen and vowed her eternal allegiance;
Loud their voices arose, silencing trumpet and cymbal.
And the tears welled up in her eyes and dropped from the wings of a raven.
***
47 Tinatin wept lest she prove unworthy to rule over the kingdom,
Shedding her tears like rain over a garden of roses.
Her aged father consoled her; "A child is the peer of its parent.
Only now is the torturing fire that raged in my heart extinguished".
***
48 Rostevan counselled Tinatin: "Be of good heart, my daughter.
To you I have yielded my kingdom, made you the queen of the Arabs.
The welfare and care of my subjects is entrusted to you hereafter.
You are indeed wise and prudent, let then your heart be at peace.
***
49 "Like the sun which casts its beams alike on rosededs and middens,
Shed over great and small the kindly beams of your mercy.
Kindness makes slaves of the noble and lightens the bonds of the slave.
Resemble the mighty ocean which pours back the flood it receives.
***
50 "Generous deeds adorn a monarch as does a cypress Eden;
Even the treitor is won when the hand of the ruler is generous.
Spending on feasting and wine is better than hoarding our substance.
That which we give makes us richer, that which is hoarded is loSt".
***
51 Tinatin's spirit rose high, as she listened to Rostevan's counsel;
Unwearied, she garnered the words of his life-giving wisdom.
Then the king sat down to partake of the feast and rejoicings.
Tinatin rivalled the sun, which attempted in vain to outshine her.
***
52 Tinatin called to her presence her faithful adviser and teacher,
Bid him bring all her possessions, belonging to her as the princess.
The massive chest was delivered, her aged tutor unlocked it;
The maiden scattered her bounty, heedless of value or measure.
***
53 That day she gave away all she had gathered since childhood,
Enriched both great and small to cries of joy and wonder.
"Thus did my father teach me: 'Be generous, princely in giving'.
Let none keep back my treasure hoarded for me since childhood".
***
54 Then she commanded her servants to bring her the rest of her treasures,
To lead in her horses, her mules, her richly-caparisoned coursers.
Gifts so lavishly showered maddened -the hearts of the soldiers.
As avid as brigands they swooped on the endless torrent of riches.
***
55 They pillaged and seized her treasury, carried her horses away,
As if the gifts freely lavished were trophies wrung from the Turks.
Each had a share in the bounty, high and low, youths, maidens,
And still the gifts were showered, like snowflakes caught in a whirlwind.
***
56 All day they feasted and revelled; the banquet befitted a monarch.
All day the mighty gathering of warriors rejoiced and made merry.
Only the king appeared troubled, his brow was furrowed with sadness.
"What is afflicting our sovereign?" enquired the guests in amazement.
***
57 Avtandil, leader of heroes, slender and lithe as a panther,
Sat at the side of the monarch, the venerable Sograt beside him.
Rostevan's sorrowful visage perplexed the youth and the seer.
Why that glance of displeasure, that countenance moody, they pondered.
***
58 Avtandil said: "Let us ask him to tell us the cause of his sadness!
Surely he nurses some grievance, for here there is nothing to vex him.
Let us draw near and endeavour to coax him to break into smiles,
Beguile him with jesting and laughter, ask him to speak of his sorrow".
***
59 Avtandil, matchless of form, Sograt, wisest of viziers,
Filling their goblets with wine, drew near to the sovereign, smiling.
They bowed in obeisance before him, then cast themselves on their knees.
Then spoke the aged Sograt, in gentle and eloquent phrases:
***
60 "Gone are your smiles, O King. Are you troubled or offended?
Is it because the princess, your majesty's radiant daughter,
Has scattered your wealth too freely, and recklessly squandered your treasures?
Why, then, make her a queen and add trouble to trouble?"
***
61 Amazed at the boldness of Sograt, Rostevan pondered in silence.
Slowly he lifted his eyelids, smiling replied to his vizier:
"Shall I upbraid her for pouring her bounty like dewdrops from heaven?
He who believes me a niggard knows not the heart in my bosom.
***
62 "l care not for riches and treasures; this is no cause for my sadness.
But age draws near, O Sograt, and youth has departed for ever,
And no man in my realm has learned the arts I excel in,
Knightly arts in the lists, skill with words and with crossbow.
***
63 "Truly I have a daughter, tenderly nurtured and gracious;
Yet I am sad in my heart, that I have no son to succeed me,
None to excel me in contests, none to rival my prowess;
Avtandil, taught by my precepts, nearest approaches my greatness".
***
64 The youth, with his head bent low, listened to Rostevan's words,
Smiled as he listened to Rostevan boast of his prowess and cunning;
His teeth flashed white, like sunbeams illumining a plain.
"What have I said", cried the monarch, "to bring that smile to your face?
***
65 "What have I said", he rapeated, "to merit your smiles and derision?"
But Avtandil humbly implored the king to pardon his boldness.
"Hear me, and though what I say may offend the ears of my sovereign,
Yet withhold your judgment, O King, turn not from me in anger".
***
66 Then the king said: "Fear nothing! Nothing you say will offend me".
And swore to be true to his word on the life of his sunlike daughter.
"Then I will speak my mind", the youth replied to his sovereign;
"You boast of your skill, your highness. Now prove your words with deeds.
***
67 "l am as dust that you tread on, yet the arrow flies far from my bowstring;
Take up my challenge, O King, let others compare our prowess!
You said in the hearing of all that no archer excels you-
Let then your people give praise to him who shoots straightest and farthest!"
***
68 King Rostevan answered: "l accept the challenge you fling before me.
Your words are bold, my Avtandil. Let us then draw our bowstrings.
Let all my nobles be summoned to witness our prowess in contest!
Here in the field shall be proven which is more worthy of praise".
***
69 Thus did Rostevan speak. They all bowed in reverence before him.
Then they merrily laughed and sported like boisterous children.
Wagers were laid and a forfeit was gaily imposed on the loser:
In the sight of all he must go three days with his head uncovered.
***
70 Then he said to his huntsmen: "Go, scour the plain and the forest,
Beat in beasts to be shot at, then summon my soldiers and people
To witness the contest between us, and see which surpasses the other".
Thus was ended that day of feasting and high jubilation.
***
KING ROSTEVAN AND AVTANDIL GO HUNTING
***
71 Avtandil rode forth at daybreak mounted on a white stallion.
In his huntsman's apparel, he was as fair as a lily in bloom.
His face shone like crystal and ruby, outshining his golden veil.
Modest of mien, as ever, he summoned the king to the contest.
***
72 Fully equipped for the chase Rostevan made his appearance.
Warriors came swarming in myriads, eager to witness the contest.
Townsfolk surrounded the field with noisy clatter and bustle,
They drew their bows for their wager and shot and strove together.
***
73 Rostevan gave the command that twelve chosen archers approach him.
"Follow us closely" he said, "and supply us with arrows when needed.
See where the arrow sticks and whose arrow's course was the truer".
Soon in large numbers the beasts began to come in from all quarters.
***
74 Droves in astonishing number flocked onto the plain before them.
Herds of wild asses and goats, stags, and the high-leaping chamois.
The King and his vassal pursued them. Surely no sight could be fairer!
Behold the untiring arm, the lightning flight of arrow.
***
75 The face of the sun was veiled by the dust from the hooves of their horses.
Each time a shaft went home, more beasts were brought up for the slaughter
Till the field was soaked in their blood, as they fell, transfixed by arrows,
And not one wounded beast could struggle again to its feet.
***
76 Spurring their steeds, the rivals drove the victims before them,
The plain ran red with gore, till God in His heaven was angered
At the sight of His creature's blood. But Avtandil's name was uttered
By all who looked on at the contest: "A cypress planted in Eden":
***
77 Pursued and pursuers raced on till they came to the bank of a stream.
The beasts took refuge in thickets; neither horse nor hunter could follow.
The rivals sank to the ground to rest awhile from their labours,
And laughing, each sought to prove that he had emerged victorious.
***
78 "l am the winner!" "No, I!' each laughingly said to the other.
They were elated and merry as they happily sported and jested.
Then the twelve men who carried the quivers stepped into their presence.
"Tell us the truth", said the king, which of us two is the victor?"
***
79 The men answered him: "Only the truth we will tell you.
Avtandil stands alone. You are in no wise his equal.
Slay us now, if you will, we would rather die than deceive you.
Not one beast could arise after his arrow had struck it.
***
80 "Between you were felled to the ground more than one hundred score.
But Avtandil's share, your highness, was one score higher than yours.
None of his shafts fell short, but of yours, O King, we have gathered
Many which did no more than scratch the earth that they fell on".
***
81 Rostevan felt no remorse to learn that his skill was outmatched
By one he loved as the rose loves the nightingale's song.
Avtandil's triumph was his own, and the king banished grief from his bosom,
Smiled and was glad once again, ready for joy and diversion.
***
82 Then each sat down in the shade of the trees on the bank of the stream;
Countless as chaff were the hosts of warriors assembled before them.
And the twelve archers were there, bravest among the brave,
Their hearts full of joy and light, as they gazed at the beauty around them.
***
HOW THE KING OF THE ARABS SAW THE KNIGHT IN THE PANTHER'S SKIN
***
83 All at once they saw by the stream a stranger sitting and weeping.
He held a black horse by the bridle and looked like a lion and a hero.
His armour, saddle and bridle were thickly studded with pearls.
The rose was frozen by tears that welled up from his grief-stricken-heart.
***
84 Over his rich apparel was flung the skin of a panther
And the cap on his head was made from the selfsame panther's skin.
The whip he grasped in his hand was thick as the arm of a warrior.
The king and his host gazed with delight on this wondrous stranger.
***
85 One of the king's attendants advanced to speak to the weeper,
Who, with head bent low, seemed overwhelmed with his sorrow;
But he drew back in awe, he could not utter a word
For from the swordsman's jet-black lashes, fell showers of grief.
***
86 The messenger dared not speak, but gazed in wonder and pity,
Till at last he found the strength to deliver the words of his master.
I The king commands your presence", he.said. The stranger did not hear him;
Lost in his grief he wept, and knew not that any stood near him.
***
87 Deaf to the messenger s words and the clamorous shouts of the soldiers, Blind to the faces around him, wrapped in his lonely dejection, The stranger but sobbed the more and his tears, commingled with blood, Came rushing forth from his heart like waters from under a floodgate.
***
88 Surely his mind had drifted far from its owner's keeping;
He knew nothing of time, of place or the presence of others.
The attendant iepeated his message, but the stranger still wept, unheeding,
Nor could the flower of speech be plucked from his quivering lips.
***
89 Since the strange knight did not answer the slave returned to his sovereign.
He said: "l told him your will but he weeps and says not a word.
All my attempts to induce him to speak were in vain, your highness.
The radiant light that he casts has dazzled and blinded my eyes".
***
90 Great was the wrath of Rostevan but greater by far his amazement.
He summoned his archers before him, in thunderous tones he commanded:
"You twelve are undaunted warriors, skilled in the arts of warfare;
Take up your arms, at once, and bring that swordsman before me".
***
91 The archers drew near to the knight, with a sound of the clanging of armour,
So that the weeper started but fell once again to his weeping.
Then he looked up through his tears and beheld the archers approaching.
And cried: "Woe is me!" Nothing more, not " word, not a sound did he utter.
***
92 Then with his hands he wiped the tears from his eyes, and rising,
Braced his strong arms and rapidly fastened his sword and quiver.
Paying no heed to the men he mounted his raven-black horse
Rode away leaving the men amazed and bewildered behind him.
***
93 They stretched out their hands to seize him, but he turned and attacked them so fiercely
That even the heart of a foe would have pitied their plight in that moment.
Scarcely raising his hand, he beat them down with his whip,
Till the king's brave archers were scattered, or left on the ground for dead.
***
94 Rostevan's heart burned within him at the sight of his slaughtered soldiers.
Turning to those around him he charged them to capture the slayer.
The youth rode on unheeding, and never once looked backward,
But when the pursuers overtook him, he turned, raised his whip and destroyed them.
***
95 Rostevan and Avtandil mounted, spurred their steeds in pursuit;
The youth swayed free in his saddle, his horse as swift as Merani.
The sun shone bright on the plain and turning, the youth beheld
Rostevan, Avtandil riding, galloping close on his heels.
***
96 Before they could overtake him he dealt one furious blow
With his whip on his charger's side and was straightway gone from their sight,
Vanished like one who had sunk in an abyss or flown up to heaven.
And though they searched they could find no trace of the course he had taken.
***
97 Long and vainly they sought for the prints of his horse's hooves;
He had vanished from sight like a Devi, leaving no trace behind.
The soldiers mourned for the dead and bound the survivors' wounds.
"Well may I grieve", said the king. "Behold, the cause of my sorrow!
***
98 "Qod would not suffer me longer to delight in the joys I possessed.
Therefore he turned all the sweet of my joy to gall and wormwood.
Fate has decreed me to grieve and burdened my heart with sorrow.
I am wounded unto death. Such is His will and desire".
***
99 Thus spoke the king, and returned, lost in thought to his palace.
Hunters abandoned the chase. None was called to the lists.
Plaudits and laughter were silenced, groans were mingled with weeping.
"The king is right", said some, others but called upon God.
***
100 Rostevan entered his chamber, his countenance mournful and frowning.
Avtandil watched like a son that none but himself should follow.
The household servants retired; silenced were sounds of music,
The clicking of castanets, the plaintive twang of the 'harp-strings
***
101 Up to her father's door came Tinatin, she, the sun s rival,
Asked of the charrberlain: "ls my father asleep or awake?"
"He sleeps not", the chamberlain said. "He is heavy with brooding and mourning.
Pale is his cheek from grief, and anger has clouded his eye.
***
102 "Avtandil, he alone, keeps his vigil beside him.
The cause of their gloom is a stranger, scarcely beheld but he vanished".
Tinatin said: "l will go. I will not intrude on his sorrow.
Say 'She was here but now!' should my royal father require me"
***
103 The hours passed slowly by, till the king enquired of his servants:
"Where is my only solace, my jewel, my heart's blood, my daughter?"
The chamberlain answered: "She came, she was here but now at the door.
She would not intrude on your sorrow, but will straightway come at your call".
***
104 "Send for her, Rostevan ordered. "How can I live without her?
Say to her: "Why did you go, who are the life of your father?
You alone have the balm to soothe the wound in my bosom.
I shall unburden my heart and tell you the cause of my sorrow".
***
105 Tinatin went to her father, swift to obey his bidding,
Like the full moon in heaven was the light of her radiant features.
Rostevan placed her beside him and asked as he tenderly kissed her:
"Why did you tarry, my daughter? Where you awaiting my summons?"
***
106 Tinatin answered: "O King, they told me your visage was darkened;
How could I brave your frowns when even the lights in the heavens
Are dimmed by your discontent? But now let us seek for some means
To put an end to your troubles. That would be better than grieving".
***
107 Rostevan said: "l am heartsick; and yet your presence revives me.
With you beside me, my sorrows vanish like clouds in the sunlight.
Come then, I will relate what has occasioned my sadness.
When you know what has passed, surely you will not blame me.
***
108 "l came on a comely youth, whose beauty illumined the heavens;
He wept and refused to say what was the cause of his anguish.
He did not come when I called him, so I was greatly vexed,
And in my fury commanded my men to seize him at once.
***
109 "He mounted his horse when he saw me and wiped the tears from his eyes.
I commanded that he must be seized but he struck down and slaughtered my soldiers,
Then like a spirit he vanished as though the earth had engulfed him.
And to this hour I know not it he was man or phantom.
***
110 "l wonder, what has happened? How was it and what have I seen?
The warriors he slew are countless and the blood he spilled flowed in torrents.
Only a fiend or a spirit immortal could vanish as he did.
Alas! all the mercies of God are bitterness now to my soul.
SHOTA RUSTAVELI
THE KNIGHT IN THE PANTHER'S SKIN
Translated from the Georgian
by VENERA URUSHADZE
PROLOGUE
1 He who created the firmament by the omnipotent might of his power,
Gave breath to all living creatures and to man spirits celestial,
Gave us the world to possess with all its unlimited varieties,
And Kings ordained by Him, each in His own image.
***
2 0 One God, who has created the form of every man's body,
Assist us, give us strength, to conquer the wiles of Satan;
Fill us with longing for love, endless, enduring to death!
Lighten the load of sins we must bear to the world to come!
***
3 I sing of the lion whom the use of lance, shield and sword adorns,
Of Tamar, the Queen of Queens, the ruby-cheeked and jet-haired.
How shall I dare pay tribute to her in praiseworthy verses,
Whom to look upon is to feast upon the choicest of honey?
***
4 Tears of blood flow profusely as I exult our Queen Tamar
Whose praises I have uttered forth in well-chosen words.
For ink I have used a lake of jet and for pen, a pliant reed.
My words, like jagged spears, will pierce the heart of the hearer.
***
5 I was told to compose in her honour stately and sweet-sounding verses,
To laud her eyebrows and lashes, her hair, her lips and her teeth-
Badakhshan ruby and cut crystal arrayed in two even ranks.
An anvil of lead can break even the hardest stone.
***
6 Fire my mind and tongue with skill and power for utterance
Which I need, 0 Lord, for the making of majestic and praiseworthy verses;
Thus will the deeds of Tariel be remembered in eloquent language,
And of the three star-like heroes who faithfully served one another.
***
7 Come, let us sit together and weep with undrying tears for Tariel.
There never breathed a man born under the same star as his.
I, Rustaveli, whose heart is pierced through by his sorrows have threaded
Like a necklace of pearls a tale told until now as a tale.
***
8 I, who am maddened to frenzy by love, have composed these lines.
She, whom vast armies call mistress has deprived me oi life and reason.
Thus sickened am I by love for which there exists no cure.
She alone can cure me, or leave me to death and the grave.
***
9 I have found this Persian tale, and have set it in Georgian verse
Until now like a peerless pearl it was rolled on the palm of the hand.
I have done this praiseworthy and disputable deed for her;
Therefore let her who has robbed me of heart and of reason judge it.
***
10 Though deprived of their light by gazing upon her yet my eyes long again
To behold her for whom with love-laden heart I roam like a madman.
Let her pray for and soothe my soul; it is enough that my body is burning.
Eloquent must my verses be, majestic, melodious and sweet.
***
11 Man, do not complain at fate. Be content and accept it.
Let the warrior always be brave, let the worker enjoy his labour;
So let the love-maddened man learn the meaning of love and know it.
Disdain not the love of another nor let him disdain yours.
***
12 Poetry is, first of all, a branch of divine wisdom,
Conceived by and known by the godly edifying to all who hear it.
It pleases the ear of the listener if he be a virtuous man.
A poem uttered with surfeit of words lacks grace and excellence.
***
13 A race on a course proves a horse's fire and mettle,
A player's skill is seen when he strikes the ball at the goal.
Even so it is with the poet who composes majestic poems:
He must call forth all his skill when utterance is hard and fails him.
***
14 Thus indeed, is the poet, and his poem is proof of his prowess.
When at a loss of words and he cannot attain perfection
He must seek for words that will not diminish the poem of its worth,
But strike the ball and score the goal like a dexterous player.
***
15 A verse or two composed by chance do not make a poet;
Let him not think himself a poet on the level of great singers.
Even though, now and then, he may write a few discordant verses;
Yet if he says, "Truly, mine is the better", he is a stubborn mule.
***
16 Then again there are poets who wish but are powerless to compose
Verses capable of penetrating deep into one's heart.
I may compare them to the bows and arrows of youthful hunters
Who cannot bring down big beasts, but kill only small game.
***
17 A third kind of poems is composed for mirth and revelry,
For the lover, the joyous and merry, for the pleasures of boon companions.
We may find some of them pleasing both to the heart and the ear,
But remember, only he who writes majestic poetry is a poet.
***
18 All the poet's endeavours must not be spent invain.
He must be devoted to one whom he considers worthy of loving,
And employ all his talents and skill In praising and glorifying her name.
For her alone must he sing in sweet melodious measures.
***
19 Hear all and know, I praise her whom I have hitherto praised!
In this I have endless glory, in this I am bold and shameless.
She, who is my life, is a beautiful merciless panther.
I shall devote my skill hereafter to exalt her name.
***
20 I speak of love's highest form-elevated, pure and heavenly,
Eloquence weakens when the tongue attempts to speak of such love.
It uplifts to heaven the soul of those who endure love's anguish.
A lover, therefore, must know how to endure and bear these afflictions.
***
21 Even a discerning mind cannot comprehend that love,
Though the tongue grow tired or the ears of the hearer weary.
I speak of the lower passions of man who when not lustfully kissing
Strives to imitate love but only faints from afar.
***
22 In the Arabic tongue a lover is called a madman
Because of non-fulfilment and futile longing for her.
Some, though exhausted, feel nearness to God as their souls soar upward.
Others, prey to low passions, fly from one fair maidan to another.
***
23 Beauty befits a lover like unto the sun on high.
He must have youth and leisure, be generous, wealthy and wise,
Patient, intelligent and eloquent, the mightiest among the mighty.
If devoid of all these qualities a lover is not a true lover.
***
24 Love is sacred and tender, hard to know or define.
It is not kindred to lust; it is something beyond it - divine.
Love is one thing, lust another; in no way do they mingle.
Between true love and lust lies an impregnable boundary.
***
25 He who loves should be constant, never lewd nor faithless.
Absence from her he loves should wring sigh upon sigh from his heart.
He must be true to her though she frown upon him in anger.
I hate the lover who seeks only bugging and lusty kissing.
***
26 A lover does not long for one today and another tomorrow.
He Ћannot endure love's parting or absence from her whom he worships.
Such sport is shameful, base, more like the trifling of boys.
The lover is he who suffers the whole world's woes and sorrows.
***
27 There is a love - the noblest - which reveals not its woes but conceals them.
The lover seeks solitude for when alone he bestows all his thoughts upon love.
Thus his fainting, dying, burning, are all from afar;
He may face the wrath of his beloved, yet must he fear and revere her.
***
28 A lover must never reveal his love but keep it hidden,
Nor should he basely sigh and put his loved one to shame;
Nowhere should he show his love, nor reveal it to any man.
Enduring woes and burning in fire for her sake should be joy.
29 Only a madman would trust the man who noises his love abroad.
By this he makes her suffer, by this he suffers himself.
How can he glorify her if he shames her with a surfeit of words'
That would only profane the love that she cherishes for him.
***
30 It makes me wonder to think there are men who make a show of their love.
Why add pain to a heart, already wounded by love?
It they have no love for her then why do they hide their hatred?
But an evil man loves an evil word more than his soul.
***
31 Judge not severely the tears of a lover; tears are his due.
Weeping and solitude befit him and the roaming of plains and forests.
When absent from her his thoughts should be of her whom he worships,
But when among men it is better he conceal his love within him.
***
STORY OF ROSTEVAN, KING OF THE ARABS
***
32 Rostrvan ruled in Arabia, a monarch exalted and mighty,
Fortunate, noble, farseeing, wise in council and judgment;
The hosts he commanded were countless, he. the invincible warrior,
His speech was fluent and gracious, his bounty and wisdom boundless.
***
33 He had one fair daughter, bright as the sun in its glory,
Shedding radiant beams, ravishing all who beheld her.
Hearts and minds were enslaved, all bowed down to her beauty.
Even the sage and the poet were deprived of speech in her presence.
***
34 Tinatin, fairest of maidens, grew to be fairest of women;
The sun itself in the sky paled above her in envy.
Rostevan summoned his viziers, graciously ranged them before him?
Proud, majestic, yet mild, he wanted their judgment and counsel.
***
35 "We are assembled", he said, Ћto discuss and counsel together.
The sun of my days is set, a moonless night is before me.
The full-blown rose must scatter the face of the earth with its petals.
But the bud on the branch unfolds, filling the garden with fragrance.
***
36 ЋMine is the burden of age, sorest affliction of mortals;
The footsteps of death draw near me and I must yield up my spirit.
Light can no longer exist when the shadow of night overtakes it.
Take for your sovereign, my daughter, whom even the sun cannot rival*.
37 The viziers answered: "0 King] Speak not of age and of darkness!
You are still mighty and wise, your subjects still adore you!
Even the rose that is withered sheds perfume surpassing all flowers.
Does not the rising star worship the moon that is waning?
***
38 "Speaknot of death, O King! Your blossom retains its perfume)
One bad counsel from you is better than a hundred good counsels from others.
You have done well to unload your heart of its onerous burden;
She who out-shines the sun we name our monarch and ruler.
***
39 "Woman she is, but a woman born to rule over a kingdom.
Truly our hearts declare her worthy to be our sovereign.
Her noble deeds, like her radiance, shed brightness arid warmth like sunshine.
The lion's whelp is a lion, be it male or female".
***
40 Avtandil, head of the armies, son of Amir-Spassalari,
Was slender and tall like the cypress, bright like tne sunlight and moonlight;
Beardless was he and his visage was pure as the clearest of crystal.
Tinatin's raven-black lashes pierced through his heart and senses.
***
41 Deep in his heart he nurtured love for that beautiful maiden;
Absent from her, the roses fled from his cheeks, and he languished';
But in her presence the fireswere kindled again in his bosom.
Pity the woes of the lover, racked by the torments of passion.
***
42 Hearing the words of the king, Avtandil rejoiced greatly;
The raging flames of desire consuming his heart abated.
"Now, he said to himself, "l will often gaze upon her.
This will bring peace to my heart and relief to my troubled spirit"..
***
43 Rostevan, king of the Arabs, announced through the whole of his kingdom:
"l, the father of Tinatin, proclaim her my worthy successor.
Her light shall illumine our country; come, and rejoice in her brightness!
Gaze at will on her beauty, give jubilant tongue to her praises!"
***
44 The Arabian people assembled, courtiers and nobles and henchmen.
Chief among warriors, Avtandil, head over legions of soldiers;
First among sages and elders, Sograt, beloved of his sovereign.
The royal throne was brought forth, dazzling men's sight with its splendour.
***
45 Rostevan led in Tinatin, bright as the sun's rays at noontide,
Placed the crown on her head, placed in her hand the sceptre,
Over her shoulders he cast a mantle befitting a sovereign.
And sunlike, omniscient, her gaze shed light in the farthest places.
***
46 Monarch and warriors and nobles bowed down to the sunlike maiden,
Hailed her their sovereign and queen and vowed her eternal allegiance;
Loud their voices arose, silencing trumpet and cymbal.
And the tears welled up in her eyes and dropped from the wings of a raven.
***
47 Tinatin wept lest she prove unworthy to rule over the kingdom,
Shedding her tears like rain over a garden of roses.
Her aged father consoled her; "A child is the peer of its parent.
Only now is the torturing fire that raged in my heart extinguished".
***
48 Rostevan counselled Tinatin: "Be of good heart, my daughter.
To you I have yielded my kingdom, made you the queen of the Arabs.
The welfare and care of my subjects is entrusted to you hereafter.
You are indeed wise and prudent, let then your heart be at peace.
***
49 "Like the sun which casts its beams alike on rosededs and middens,
Shed over great and small the kindly beams of your mercy.
Kindness makes slaves of the noble and lightens the bonds of the slave.
Resemble the mighty ocean which pours back the flood it receives.
***
50 "Generous deeds adorn a monarch as does a cypress Eden;
Even the treitor is won when the hand of the ruler is generous.
Spending on feasting and wine is better than hoarding our substance.
That which we give makes us richer, that which is hoarded is loSt".
***
51 Tinatin's spirit rose high, as she listened to Rostevan's counsel;
Unwearied, she garnered the words of his life-giving wisdom.
Then the king sat down to partake of the feast and rejoicings.
Tinatin rivalled the sun, which attempted in vain to outshine her.
***
52 Tinatin called to her presence her faithful adviser and teacher,
Bid him bring all her possessions, belonging to her as the princess.
The massive chest was delivered, her aged tutor unlocked it;
The maiden scattered her bounty, heedless of value or measure.
***
53 That day she gave away all she had gathered since childhood,
Enriched both great and small to cries of joy and wonder.
"Thus did my father teach me: 'Be generous, princely in giving'.
Let none keep back my treasure hoarded for me since childhood".
***
54 Then she commanded her servants to bring her the rest of her treasures,
To lead in her horses, her mules, her richly-caparisoned coursers.
Gifts so lavishly showered maddened -the hearts of the soldiers.
As avid as brigands they swooped on the endless torrent of riches.
***
55 They pillaged and seized her treasury, carried her horses away,
As if the gifts freely lavished were trophies wrung from the Turks.
Each had a share in the bounty, high and low, youths, maidens,
And still the gifts were showered, like snowflakes caught in a whirlwind.
***
56 All day they feasted and revelled; the banquet befitted a monarch.
All day the mighty gathering of warriors rejoiced and made merry.
Only the king appeared troubled, his brow was furrowed with sadness.
"What is afflicting our sovereign?" enquired the guests in amazement.
***
57 Avtandil, leader of heroes, slender and lithe as a panther,
Sat at the side of the monarch, the venerable Sograt beside him.
Rostevan's sorrowful visage perplexed the youth and the seer.
Why that glance of displeasure, that countenance moody, they pondered.
***
58 Avtandil said: "Let us ask him to tell us the cause of his sadness!
Surely he nurses some grievance, for here there is nothing to vex him.
Let us draw near and endeavour to coax him to break into smiles,
Beguile him with jesting and laughter, ask him to speak of his sorrow".
***
59 Avtandil, matchless of form, Sograt, wisest of viziers,
Filling their goblets with wine, drew near to the sovereign, smiling.
They bowed in obeisance before him, then cast themselves on their knees.
Then spoke the aged Sograt, in gentle and eloquent phrases:
***
60 "Gone are your smiles, O King. Are you troubled or offended?
Is it because the princess, your majesty's radiant daughter,
Has scattered your wealth too freely, and recklessly squandered your treasures?
Why, then, make her a queen and add trouble to trouble?"
***
61 Amazed at the boldness of Sograt, Rostevan pondered in silence.
Slowly he lifted his eyelids, smiling replied to his vizier:
"Shall I upbraid her for pouring her bounty like dewdrops from heaven?
He who believes me a niggard knows not the heart in my bosom.
***
62 "l care not for riches and treasures; this is no cause for my sadness.
But age draws near, O Sograt, and youth has departed for ever,
And no man in my realm has learned the arts I excel in,
Knightly arts in the lists, skill with words and with crossbow.
***
63 "Truly I have a daughter, tenderly nurtured and gracious;
Yet I am sad in my heart, that I have no son to succeed me,
None to excel me in contests, none to rival my prowess;
Avtandil, taught by my precepts, nearest approaches my greatness".
***
64 The youth, with his head bent low, listened to Rostevan's words,
Smiled as he listened to Rostevan boast of his prowess and cunning;
His teeth flashed white, like sunbeams illumining a plain.
"What have I said", cried the monarch, "to bring that smile to your face?
***
65 "What have I said", he rapeated, "to merit your smiles and derision?"
But Avtandil humbly implored the king to pardon his boldness.
"Hear me, and though what I say may offend the ears of my sovereign,
Yet withhold your judgment, O King, turn not from me in anger".
***
66 Then the king said: "Fear nothing! Nothing you say will offend me".
And swore to be true to his word on the life of his sunlike daughter.
"Then I will speak my mind", the youth replied to his sovereign;
"You boast of your skill, your highness. Now prove your words with deeds.
***
67 "l am as dust that you tread on, yet the arrow flies far from my bowstring;
Take up my challenge, O King, let others compare our prowess!
You said in the hearing of all that no archer excels you-
Let then your people give praise to him who shoots straightest and farthest!"
***
68 King Rostevan answered: "l accept the challenge you fling before me.
Your words are bold, my Avtandil. Let us then draw our bowstrings.
Let all my nobles be summoned to witness our prowess in contest!
Here in the field shall be proven which is more worthy of praise".
***
69 Thus did Rostevan speak. They all bowed in reverence before him.
Then they merrily laughed and sported like boisterous children.
Wagers were laid and a forfeit was gaily imposed on the loser:
In the sight of all he must go three days with his head uncovered.
***
70 Then he said to his huntsmen: "Go, scour the plain and the forest,
Beat in beasts to be shot at, then summon my soldiers and people
To witness the contest between us, and see which surpasses the other".
Thus was ended that day of feasting and high jubilation.
***
KING ROSTEVAN AND AVTANDIL GO HUNTING
***
71 Avtandil rode forth at daybreak mounted on a white stallion.
In his huntsman's apparel, he was as fair as a lily in bloom.
His face shone like crystal and ruby, outshining his golden veil.
Modest of mien, as ever, he summoned the king to the contest.
***
72 Fully equipped for the chase Rostevan made his appearance.
Warriors came swarming in myriads, eager to witness the contest.
Townsfolk surrounded the field with noisy clatter and bustle,
They drew their bows for their wager and shot and strove together.
***
73 Rostevan gave the command that twelve chosen archers approach him.
"Follow us closely" he said, "and supply us with arrows when needed.
See where the arrow sticks and whose arrow's course was the truer".
Soon in large numbers the beasts began to come in from all quarters.
***
74 Droves in astonishing number flocked onto the plain before them.
Herds of wild asses and goats, stags, and the high-leaping chamois.
The King and his vassal pursued them. Surely no sight could be fairer!
Behold the untiring arm, the lightning flight of arrow.
***
75 The face of the sun was veiled by the dust from the hooves of their horses.
Each time a shaft went home, more beasts were brought up for the slaughter
Till the field was soaked in their blood, as they fell, transfixed by arrows,
And not one wounded beast could struggle again to its feet.
***
76 Spurring their steeds, the rivals drove the victims before them,
The plain ran red with gore, till God in His heaven was angered
At the sight of His creature's blood. But Avtandil's name was uttered
By all who looked on at the contest: "A cypress planted in Eden":
***
77 Pursued and pursuers raced on till they came to the bank of a stream.
The beasts took refuge in thickets; neither horse nor hunter could follow.
The rivals sank to the ground to rest awhile from their labours,
And laughing, each sought to prove that he had emerged victorious.
***
78 "l am the winner!" "No, I!' each laughingly said to the other.
They were elated and merry as they happily sported and jested.
Then the twelve men who carried the quivers stepped into their presence.
"Tell us the truth", said the king, which of us two is the victor?"
***
79 The men answered him: "Only the truth we will tell you.
Avtandil stands alone. You are in no wise his equal.
Slay us now, if you will, we would rather die than deceive you.
Not one beast could arise after his arrow had struck it.
***
80 "Between you were felled to the ground more than one hundred score.
But Avtandil's share, your highness, was one score higher than yours.
None of his shafts fell short, but of yours, O King, we have gathered
Many which did no more than scratch the earth that they fell on".
***
81 Rostevan felt no remorse to learn that his skill was outmatched
By one he loved as the rose loves the nightingale's song.
Avtandil's triumph was his own, and the king banished grief from his bosom,
Smiled and was glad once again, ready for joy and diversion.
***
82 Then each sat down in the shade of the trees on the bank of the stream;
Countless as chaff were the hosts of warriors assembled before them.
And the twelve archers were there, bravest among the brave,
Their hearts full of joy and light, as they gazed at the beauty around them.
***
HOW THE KING OF THE ARABS SAW THE KNIGHT IN THE PANTHER'S SKIN
***
83 All at once they saw by the stream a stranger sitting and weeping.
He held a black horse by the bridle and looked like a lion and a hero.
His armour, saddle and bridle were thickly studded with pearls.
The rose was frozen by tears that welled up from his grief-stricken-heart.
***
84 Over his rich apparel was flung the skin of a panther
And the cap on his head was made from the selfsame panther's skin.
The whip he grasped in his hand was thick as the arm of a warrior.
The king and his host gazed with delight on this wondrous stranger.
***
85 One of the king's attendants advanced to speak to the weeper,
Who, with head bent low, seemed overwhelmed with his sorrow;
But he drew back in awe, he could not utter a word
For from the swordsman's jet-black lashes, fell showers of grief.
***
86 The messenger dared not speak, but gazed in wonder and pity,
Till at last he found the strength to deliver the words of his master.
I The king commands your presence", he.said. The stranger did not hear him;
Lost in his grief he wept, and knew not that any stood near him.
***
87 Deaf to the messenger s words and the clamorous shouts of the soldiers, Blind to the faces around him, wrapped in his lonely dejection, The stranger but sobbed the more and his tears, commingled with blood, Came rushing forth from his heart like waters from under a floodgate.
***
88 Surely his mind had drifted far from its owner's keeping;
He knew nothing of time, of place or the presence of others.
The attendant iepeated his message, but the stranger still wept, unheeding,
Nor could the flower of speech be plucked from his quivering lips.
***
89 Since the strange knight did not answer the slave returned to his sovereign.
He said: "l told him your will but he weeps and says not a word.
All my attempts to induce him to speak were in vain, your highness.
The radiant light that he casts has dazzled and blinded my eyes".
***
90 Great was the wrath of Rostevan but greater by far his amazement.
He summoned his archers before him, in thunderous tones he commanded:
"You twelve are undaunted warriors, skilled in the arts of warfare;
Take up your arms, at once, and bring that swordsman before me".
***
91 The archers drew near to the knight, with a sound of the clanging of armour,
So that the weeper started but fell once again to his weeping.
Then he looked up through his tears and beheld the archers approaching.
And cried: "Woe is me!" Nothing more, not " word, not a sound did he utter.
***
92 Then with his hands he wiped the tears from his eyes, and rising,
Braced his strong arms and rapidly fastened his sword and quiver.
Paying no heed to the men he mounted his raven-black horse
Rode away leaving the men amazed and bewildered behind him.
***
93 They stretched out their hands to seize him, but he turned and attacked them so fiercely
That even the heart of a foe would have pitied their plight in that moment.
Scarcely raising his hand, he beat them down with his whip,
Till the king's brave archers were scattered, or left on the ground for dead.
***
94 Rostevan's heart burned within him at the sight of his slaughtered soldiers.
Turning to those around him he charged them to capture the slayer.
The youth rode on unheeding, and never once looked backward,
But when the pursuers overtook him, he turned, raised his whip and destroyed them.
***
95 Rostevan and Avtandil mounted, spurred their steeds in pursuit;
The youth swayed free in his saddle, his horse as swift as Merani.
The sun shone bright on the plain and turning, the youth beheld
Rostevan, Avtandil riding, galloping close on his heels.
***
96 Before they could overtake him he dealt one furious blow
With his whip on his charger's side and was straightway gone from their sight,
Vanished like one who had sunk in an abyss or flown up to heaven.
And though they searched they could find no trace of the course he had taken.
***
97 Long and vainly they sought for the prints of his horse's hooves;
He had vanished from sight like a Devi, leaving no trace behind.
The soldiers mourned for the dead and bound the survivors' wounds.
"Well may I grieve", said the king. "Behold, the cause of my sorrow!
***
98 "Qod would not suffer me longer to delight in the joys I possessed.
Therefore he turned all the sweet of my joy to gall and wormwood.
Fate has decreed me to grieve and burdened my heart with sorrow.
I am wounded unto death. Such is His will and desire".
***
99 Thus spoke the king, and returned, lost in thought to his palace.
Hunters abandoned the chase. None was called to the lists.
Plaudits and laughter were silenced, groans were mingled with weeping.
"The king is right", said some, others but called upon God.
***
100 Rostevan entered his chamber, his countenance mournful and frowning.
Avtandil watched like a son that none but himself should follow.
The household servants retired; silenced were sounds of music,
The clicking of castanets, the plaintive twang of the 'harp-strings
***
101 Up to her father's door came Tinatin, she, the sun s rival,
Asked of the charrberlain: "ls my father asleep or awake?"
"He sleeps not", the chamberlain said. "He is heavy with brooding and mourning.
Pale is his cheek from grief, and anger has clouded his eye.
***
102 "Avtandil, he alone, keeps his vigil beside him.
The cause of their gloom is a stranger, scarcely beheld but he vanished".
Tinatin said: "l will go. I will not intrude on his sorrow.
Say 'She was here but now!' should my royal father require me"
***
103 The hours passed slowly by, till the king enquired of his servants:
"Where is my only solace, my jewel, my heart's blood, my daughter?"
The chamberlain answered: "She came, she was here but now at the door.
She would not intrude on your sorrow, but will straightway come at your call".
***
104 "Send for her, Rostevan ordered. "How can I live without her?
Say to her: "Why did you go, who are the life of your father?
You alone have the balm to soothe the wound in my bosom.
I shall unburden my heart and tell you the cause of my sorrow".
***
105 Tinatin went to her father, swift to obey his bidding,
Like the full moon in heaven was the light of her radiant features.
Rostevan placed her beside him and asked as he tenderly kissed her:
"Why did you tarry, my daughter? Where you awaiting my summons?"
***
106 Tinatin answered: "O King, they told me your visage was darkened;
How could I brave your frowns when even the lights in the heavens
Are dimmed by your discontent? But now let us seek for some means
To put an end to your troubles. That would be better than grieving".
***
107 Rostevan said: "l am heartsick; and yet your presence revives me.
With you beside me, my sorrows vanish like clouds in the sunlight.
Come then, I will relate what has occasioned my sadness.
When you know what has passed, surely you will not blame me.
***
108 "l came on a comely youth, whose beauty illumined the heavens;
He wept and refused to say what was the cause of his anguish.
He did not come when I called him, so I was greatly vexed,
And in my fury commanded my men to seize him at once.
***
109 "He mounted his horse when he saw me and wiped the tears from his eyes.
I commanded that he must be seized but he struck down and slaughtered my soldiers,
Then like a spirit he vanished as though the earth had engulfed him.
And to this hour I know not it he was man or phantom.
***
110 "l wonder, what has happened? How was it and what have I seen?
The warriors he slew are countless and the blood he spilled flowed in torrents.
Only a fiend or a spirit immortal could vanish as he did.
Alas! all the mercies of God are bitterness now to my soul.
august 07, 2008
Confitebor tibi, Blogule
Pas du tout étonnant, cela fait assez longtemps que je n'aie écrit quelque chose en français. Les raisons, pour ceux qui me connaissent, sont evidentes - je suis arrivé a un tel niveau de mépris et aversion contre tout ce qui tient a la France, qu'il me fut impossible d'alligner deux mots dans la langue de ..disons Charpentier :) (j'ai marre du syntagme "langue de Voltaire").
Je traverse cependant une période bien étrange de ma vie - c'est probablement la sortie (lire: la fin) de ma crise émotionelle. Tout ce qui se passe autour de moi est presqu'incomprehensible: étranges relations avec les femmes, plaisir d'aller au taf, nouveaux amis, nouveaux niveaux de socialisation, voyages lointaines - tout cela doublé d'un état général de confusion - une confusion impossible à définir. Ma vie change, inextricablement - les amis, les amies, l'amie, la maison, la bouffe, les routines - et, pour le moment, je m'avoue plutot embrouillé. Ca va passer, mais je n'en ai pas à me plaindre. J'ai vécu tellement pire.
A bientôt, j'essayerai de me rendre plus présent sur ces endroits.
Pour la fin, un tube qui me plait bien.
Gary Numan - Replicas (live)
Asculta mai multe audio Muzica »
Je traverse cependant une période bien étrange de ma vie - c'est probablement la sortie (lire: la fin) de ma crise émotionelle. Tout ce qui se passe autour de moi est presqu'incomprehensible: étranges relations avec les femmes, plaisir d'aller au taf, nouveaux amis, nouveaux niveaux de socialisation, voyages lointaines - tout cela doublé d'un état général de confusion - une confusion impossible à définir. Ma vie change, inextricablement - les amis, les amies, l'amie, la maison, la bouffe, les routines - et, pour le moment, je m'avoue plutot embrouillé. Ca va passer, mais je n'en ai pas à me plaindre. J'ai vécu tellement pire.
A bientôt, j'essayerai de me rendre plus présent sur ces endroits.
Pour la fin, un tube qui me plait bien.
Gary Numan - Replicas (live)
Asculta mai multe audio Muzica »
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