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thou no longer wantest Asmat'h! Behold a true judgment! First, she, luckless, was with her (Nestan); then she is thine own adopted sister.
879. "Between you (and Nestan) she formed a bond, by thee she has been called sister; she was the servant who contrived your meeting, (while) she herself was worthy of being summoned by thee; she, upbringer of her and brought up by her, she is mad for (Nestan), (and) thou forsakest her, wretched (woman), (and) wilt not see her? Bravo![1] a just judgment (indeed)!"
880. He said: "What thou sayest is only too true. Pitiable is Asmat'h, who thinks of (Nestan) and sees me. I thought not to live; thou are come in time to quench the fires. Since I still survive, come,[2] let us see, albeit I am still dazed."
881. He obeyed. Avt'handil and the Amirbar set out. I cannot achieve the praise[3] of their worth: teeth like pearls, lips cleft roses. The sweetly discoursing tongue lures forth the serpent from its lair.
882. Thereupon (Avt'handil) says: "For thy sake will I sacrifice mind, soul, heart;[4] but be not thus, open not thy wounds afresh. Learning avails thee not if thou do not what the wise have said; of what advantage to thee is a hidden treasure if thou wilt not use it?[5]
883. "Grieving is of no use to thee; if thou art sorrowful what good will it do thee? Know'st thou not that no man dies undesignedly? Awaiting the sunbeams the rose fades not in three days. Luck, endeavour[6] and victory, if God will, shall be thy lot."
884. The knight (Tariel) replied: "This teaching is worth all the world to me. The intelligent loves the instructor; he pierces the heart of the senseless. But what shall I do, how can I endure when I am in excessive trouble? My
