I heard that at the time of the soul's departure

Nushirwan said thus to Hormuz

Keep the mind in care, be like a dervish

Do not be bound by the comfort of yourself

No one will rest in your land

When you seek only your own comfort

It will not be pleasing to the wise

A shepherd asleep and a wolf among the sheep

Go and guard the needy dervish

For a king's crown is made by the people

The people are like roots and the king is the tree

The tree, O son, grows strong from the root

Do not, as much as you can, wound the hearts of people

For if you do, you harm your own root

If a road must be straight for you

The path of the pious is full of hope and fear

Nature grants wisdom to a man

With the hope of good and the fear of evil

If you find both in the king

In his realm and kingdom you will find it hidden

For grace comes to the hopeful

With the hope of the Creator's grace

His harm does not come as pleasant

He fears harm entering his kingdom

And if his nature does not have this trait

In that country, there is no scent of peace

If you adhere to contentment, take it forward

Or take control of your own fate

Do not seek vastness in that land and country

For you will see the people's discontent with the king

Beware of the arrogant and brave

Beware of the one who fears not the judgment

He sees another prosperous country in his dreams

While the heart of the people in his own land is destroyed

Destruction and disgrace come from oppression

A wise man will ponder this statement deeply

The people should not be slain by injustice

For the people are the support and protection of the throne

Treat the farmers well for your own sake

For a happy worker will do more work

It is not noble to do harm to anyone

Especially when you have seen much goodness from him

I heard that Khosrow said to Shiruyeh

At the moment when his eyes closed from seeing

Be determined to do whatever you intend

Make sure to consider the well-being of the people

Do not turn away from justice and reason

For the people will not falter from your hands

The people will flee from the oppressor

And his disgrace will spread throughout the world

Many foundations will not rise

For the one who establishes a bad foundation will destroy it

A sword-bearing man causes destruction

Not as much as the smoke from the hearts of children and women

The lamp lit by a widow

You have often seen how a city burns

Who is more fortunate in the world?

He who lives in fairness among his people

When the time comes for his departure from this world

They will send mercy upon his grave

When people pass by, both good and bad

It is better that your name is remembered with goodness

Appoint the God-fearing over the people

For the pious are the builders of the realm

It is the ill-minded who prey on the people’s blood

Seeking their own benefit through the suffering of others

It is a mistake for leadership to be in the hands of the wrong people

For their hands are raised against God

A good-doer sees no evil

When evil upbringing turns against their own blood

Do not reward the wicked with wealth

For the root must be pulled out to stop it from growing

Do not have patience for those who support oppression

For the fat of their cruelty must be shed

The head of the wolf must be cut off first

Not as one slaughters the sheep of the people

How well a captive merchant spoke

When thieves surrounded him with arrows

When masculinity arises from bandits

What difference between the men of the army and the women of the ranks?

The king who pardons the merchant

Will bring goodness to the city and the army

Where else would the wise go?

When they hear the sound of evil customs?

You must have a good name and accept kindness

Be kind to the merchant and the messenger

The great ones nourish the traveler with their soul

So that their name may be known for goodness

That country will soon perish

For the stranger’s heart will be wounded by it

Be friendly to the stranger and fond of the traveler

For the traveler brings with them the good name

Treat the guest and traveler with honor

And be cautious of the harm they may bring

It is good to avoid the foreigner

For the enemy may appear in the guise of a friend

A stranger whose head is full of turmoil

Do not harm him, but drive him out of your land

It is justifiable if you take no anger against him

For his own bad nature is trapped within him

And if he is Persian by birth and homeland

Send him not to the lands of the Slavs and Romans

Do not give him refuge there until dawn

For no calamity should be placed upon another

They say that the wind has turned from that land

From which people emerge in such a manner

Increase your value with time

For betrayal will never arise from what has been nurtured

When your service becomes old

Do not forget the rights of its years

If his hand of service is ever closed

You will still have your hand of kindness

I heard that Shapur took a deep breath

When Khosrow began to write his pen in accordance with his custom

When his condition became ruined by poverty

He wrote this tale near the king

When I gave my youth in charity

In old age, do not drive me away

If you give deeds, recognize the man who is generous

For the penniless have no fear of the king

When the penniless bows his neck to the burden

Nothing comes from him but a cry

When he placed both hands in the trust of others

He must have an overseer assigned to him

And he too, with his own mind, created for himself

From the overseeing of deeds, remove him and his overseer

The one who gives trust should be God-fearing

Do not keep the trustworthy whose trust in you brings fear

The trustworthy should be thoughtful in judgment

Not from lifting the court’s burdens, or torment and destruction

Scatter and count, and then sit relaxed

For out of a hundred, you will find but one trustworthy

Two old counterparts, pen in hand

Should not be sent together in one place

Who knows that they might join forces and become allies

One might be a thief, the other a guardian

When thieves fear each other, and are afraid

They will infiltrate a peaceful caravan

One whom you have deposed from power

When time passes, forgive his mistakes

Fulfilling the hopes of the hopeful

Is better than breaking a thousand chains

If the writer’s pillar of action

Falls, do not cut the rope of hope

To the rulers who are just

Like a father, he brings anger upon his son

He strikes him until it becomes painful

At times, he wipes his tears from his eyes

When you show softness, the enemy becomes brave

And when you take anger, they grow tired of you

Harshness and softness both have their place

Like the vein-cutter, who is neither a surgeon nor a healer

Be noble, good-natured, and generous

As truth pours upon you, pour it upon others

No one has come into the world who has remained

Except the one whose good name remains

He did not die who leaves a place after him

A bridge, an inn, and a place for travelers

Whoever leaves no remembrance behind him

His existence’s tree brought no fruit

And if he is gone and his good deeds remain not

It is not right to praise him after his death

If you wish for your name to be eternal

Do not hide the good name of the great

This inscription is written after his own time

That you saw after the era of former kings

They had the same desires, pride, and joy

In the end, they left and departed

One carried a good name from the world

One left an evil custom that remained forever

Do not listen to anyone’s harm with the ear of consent

And if a word comes, delve into its depth

Forgive the sinner for forgetting

When they seek protection, grant them protection

If a sinner comes seeking refuge

It is not required to kill him for the first sin

When they are warned and do not heed the advice

Give him punishment through prison and chains

And if advice and punishment do not help

The tree is evil, uproot it

When anger arises within you towards someone’s sin

Think carefully about the punishment

It is easy to break a ruby from Badakhshan

But a broken one should not be bound again