6 Life and Writings 
set, wrote an animated invective against the 
Sultan, of which the following is a speci- 
men.—(2) 
Many Kings have reigned before thee, 
Who wore the crown and diadem, 
More exalted than thou in rank, 
More powerful in armies and treasure ; 
But they were distinguished by piety and 
virtue, 
Not by rapine and violence: 
They did justice to the oppressed ; 
They were pure of heart and fear’d God; 
They sought only a good name, 
And, seeking only a good name, their end 
was happy : 
But the king, who is confined in the chains 
of avarice, 
Will be contemptible in the opinion of the 
wise. 
Hadst thou O King! been the son of a 
king, (3) 
(2) It is not a translation of the entire satire. The poem 
gontains besides a vindication of the poet’s religious opinions, which 
were those of the followers of Ali. In the arrangement of the distiches 
which I have translated, I have been obliged to rely, in part, on my 
own judgment, as the MSS, differ a good deal in the number and 
order of the verses. 
(3) Mahmood was the son of Sebuchtagin, who was once a slave, but 
raised himself by his merit to imperial power, and founded the dynasty 
of the Gheznavides, 
