When a mighty lord reaches the zenith of power, no folly is greater than placing the reins of his host into the hands of a bitter ill-wisher. Envy is a hidden sickness of the soul; it wells up in tears that no physician can heal. When one of noble birth is consumed by boundless greed yet reduced to servitude, he may feign allegiance, yet his inner hearth burns only for his own ambition. A commander who mistakes such a venomous soul for a trusted friend proves that wisdom has fled his heart. Should Fate thwart his restless desires, he looks upon creation without love and harbors nothing but ruin for his leader. Indeed, he who is destitute of wisdom at his core cannot be counted among humanity by the wise. Through this profound prelude, the dark root of evil nature stands revealed—a warning of how envy and folly drag champions into catastrophic doom.
#1
جهانجوی چون شد سرافراز و گرد
✦
سپه را بدشمن نشاید سپرد
“When a world-conqueror grows proud and valiant, he must never entrust his army to an enemy.”
#2
سرشک اندر آید بمژگان ز رشک
✦
سرشکی که درمان نداند پزشک
“Envy brings tears to the eyelashes—a weeping for which no physician knows a cure.”
#3
کسی کز نژاد بزرگان بود
✦
به بیشی بماند سترگ آن بود
“He who comes from the line of the great, yet remains obsessed with excessive desire, grows formidable in malice.”
#4
چو بی‌کام دل بنده باید بدن
✦
بکام کسی داستانها زدن
“When such a man is forced into servitude against his heart's desire, he speaks stories only to serve his own ends.”
#5
سپهبد چو خواند ورا دوستدار
✦
نباشد خرد با دلش سازگار
“If the commander considers such an ill-wisher a friend, wisdom has been severed from his heart.”
#6
گرش زآرزو بازدارد سپهر
✦
همان آفرینش نخواند بمهر
“If the heavens withhold his desires, he turns his back on creation and ceases to view the world with love.”
#7
ورا هیچ خوبی نخواهد به دل
✦
شود آرزوهای او دلگسل
“He wishes no goodness in his heart for the leader, and all his hopes become bitter and heart-breaking.”
#8
و دیگر کش از بن نباشد خرد
✦
خردمندش از مردمان نشمرد
“And as for one who lacks wisdom from the very root, the wise will never count him among human beings.”
#9
چو این داستان سربسر بشنوی
✦
ببینی سر مایهٔ بدخوی
“When you listen to this tale from beginning to end, you shall behold the ultimate fountainhead of evil nature.”