Ferdowsi Quotes

But all this world is like a tale we hear - Men's evil, and their glory, disappear.

I turn to right and left, in all the earth I see no signs of justice, sense or worth: A man does evil deeds, and all his days Are filled with luck and universal praise; Another's good in all he does - he dies A wretched, broken man whom all despise.

I am deathless, I am the eternal Lord For I have spread the seed of the Word.

Such is the passing that you must leave, All men must die, and it is vain to grieve.

Our lives pass from us like the wind, and why Should wise men grieve to know that they must die? The Judas blossom fades, the lovely face Of light is dimmed, and darkness takes its place.

بیا تا جهان را به بد نسپریم به کوشش همه دست نیکی بریم نباشد همی نیک و بد پایدار همان به که نیکی بود یادگار

From moment then to moment their desire Gained strength, and wisdom fled before love's fire; Passion engulfed them, and these lovers lay Entwined together till the break of day.

فریدون فرخ فرشته نبود ز مشک و ز عنبر سرشته نبود به داد و دهش یافت این نیکویی تو داد و دهش کن، فریدون تویی

And while one is brought up with luxury and caresses, and is thrown bewildered and despairing into a dark pit, another is lifted from the pit and raised to a throne where a jeweled crown is placed on his head. The world has no shame in doing this; it is prompt to hand out both pleasure and pain and has no need of us an our doings.

سر تخت شاهان بپیچد سه کار نخستین ز بیدادگر شهریار دگر آنکه بی مایه را برکشد ز مرد هنرمند برتر کشد سه دیگر که با گنج خویشی کند به دینار کوشد که بیشی کند

اگر مرگ داد است، بیداد چیست؟ ز داد این همه بانگ و فریاد چیست؟

Listen: this story's one you ought to know, You'll reap the consequence of what you sow. This fleeting world is not the world where we Are destined to abide eternally: And for the sake of an unworthy throne You let the devil claim you for his own. I've few days left here, I've no heart for war, I cannot strive and struggle any more, But hear an old man's words: the heart that's freed From gnawing passion and ambitious greed Looks on kings' treasures and the dust as one; The man who sells his brother, as you've done, For this same worthless dust, will never be Regarded as a child of purity. The world has seen so many men like you, And laid them low: there's nothing you can do But turn to God; take thought then for the way You travel, since it leads to Judgment Day.

جهانا سراسر فسوسی و باد بتو نیست مرد خردمند شاد

I have built a high palace that will never disappear. No rain, no wind will destroy it.

I've reached the end of this great history And all the land will fill with talk of me I shall not die, these seeds I've sown will save My name and reputation from the grave, And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim, When I have gone, my praises and my fame.

I am the sun I am the sea I am the one By infinity I am the spark I am the light I am the dark And I am the night I am Iran I am Xerxes I am Zal’s son And I am a beast I am God’s own Emissary Colour my heart Red, white and green I am Ferdowsi I am Hafez I am Saadi Rolled all in one breath Ibn Sina Omar Khayyam Look at me now Bundled in one I am the present I am the past I am the future My presence will last I am Ismail My soul is unleashed ‘Till the day at least The sun sets in the east

Zahhak reigned for a thousand years, and from end to end the world was his to command. The wise concealed themselves and their deeds, and devils achieved their heart’s desire. Virtue was despised and magic applauded, justice hid itself away while evil flourished; demons rejoiced in their wickedness, while goodness was spoken of only in secret.

نکته‌ئی کَ‌اندر سخنْ فردوسیِ طوسی نشانْد :کافرم گر هیچ‌کس از مردمِ فُرسی نشاند ،اوّل از بالای کرسی بر زمین آمد سخن پس سخن‌را باز بالا برد و بر کرسی نشاند «تذکرۀ دولتشاهِ سمرقندی»

جهان یادگار است و ما رفتنی

جهانا مپرور چو خواهی درود چو می بدروی، پروریدن چه سود؟ برآری یکی را به چرخ بلند سپاریش ناگه به خاک نژند

The man with the sharp scythe who cuts down the fresh and withered plants, and who listens to no entreaties, is time the reaper and we are like the plants who are cut down, grandfather and grandchild alike, since he looks at neither young nor old but cuts down all in his path. This is the way of the world, and no man is born from his mother but to die.

Beyond the water the world is dark and the things of the world become hidden. We have heard endless tales about that darkness.

When you are made a king, adopt the humility of a slave.

Mon cœur s'est égaré sur une étoile ; comment pourrait-il se plaire avec la lune ? Celui à qui convient la poussière ne regarde pas la rose, quoique la rose soit plus prisée que la poussière ; et quiconque trouve pour son cœur un remède dans le vinaigre ne trouverait dans le miel qu'une augmentation de douleur.

Until the Day of Judgment my sword shall not see its scabbard; my horse beneath me will be my throne, my feet will be nowhere but in the stirrups, and my crown will be my helmet. I shall not sleep or rest until I have taken my revenge; the rivers flow with less water than my eyes flow with tears. May the king’s soul be resplendent among his glorious peers, and may you comfort yourselves with the knowledge of God’s justice, so that your hearts find peace. We are all born for death; we belong to death, and we have given our heads into its keeping.

KAIUMARS FIRST SAT UPON THE THRONE OF PERSIA, AND WAS MASTER OF the world. He took up his abode in the mountains, and clad himself and his people in tiger-skins, and from him sprang all kindly nurture and the arts of clothing, till then unknown.

چه جویی از این تیره خاک نژند که هم بازگردانت مستمند که گر چرخ گردان کشد زین تو سرانجام خاکست بالین تو

نباشی بس ایمن به بازوی خویش خورد گاو نادان ز پهلوی خویش

Muslim leaders ordered it cut to pieces to show their contempt for worldly wealth. They destroyed countless treasures, including the entire royal library. In an account of this conquest written by the tenth-century Persian poet Ferdowsi, a general laments: “Curse this world, curse this time, curse this fate / That uncivilized Arabs have come to force me to be Muslim.

As a fatherless son, so a sonless father will be embraced by none. —FERDOWSI, Shahnameh

Mehrâb tient derrière le voile une fille dont le visage est plus beau que le soleil. Elle est de la tête aux pieds comme de l'ivoire, ses joues sont comme le paradis, sa taille est comme un platane [sâj]. Sur son cou [épaule] d'argent tombent deux boucles musquées, dont les bouts sont courbés comme des anneaux de pied. Sa bouche [ses joues] est comme la fleur du grenadier, ses lèvres sont comme des cerises, et de son buste d'argent s'élèvent deux pommes de grenade. Ses deux yeux sont comme deux narcisses dans un jardin, ses cils ont emprunté leur couleur de l'aile du corbeau, ses deux sourcils sont comme un arc de Tharâz, couvert d'une écorce colorée délicatement par le musc. Si tu vois la lune, c'est son visage ; si tu sens le musc, c'est le parfum de ses cheveux. C'est un paradis orné de toutes parts rempli de grâces, d'agréments et de charmes.

نگه کرد پس ایرج نامور بدان مهربان پاک فرخ پدر چنین داد پاسخ که ای شهریار نگه کن بدین گردش روزگار که چون باد بر ما همی بگذرد خردمند مردم چرا غم خورد همی پژمراند رخ ارغوان کند تیره دیدار روشن‌روان به آغاز گنج است و فرجام رنج پس از رنج رفتن ز جای سپنچ که بستر ز خاکست و بالین ز خشت درختی چرا باید امروز کشت که هر چند چرخ از برش بگذرد تنش خون خورد، بار کین آورد خداوند شمشیر و گاه و نگین چو ما دید بسیار و بیند زمین "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر بخش کردن آفریدون جهان را بر پسران

Amir then showed off his moonwalk prowess as he started to walk backward toward Tara again. Tara closed her eyes and laughed. She took a sip from her glass and said, “Divaneh!” “I am crazy. Crazy for you!” Amir said with eyebrows raised and still dancing in his spot. Tara sat on the edge of the bed, glass in hand and with the other smoothed a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Did you know that Persian demons did everything backward?” she said. “Did they now?” Amir replied still dancing. “They did. The word for demons, div, comes from the Avesta language meaning ‘a spirit or deity personifying evil.’ They were creatures that wreaked havoc.” “Really?” “Yes, really,” Tara replied with a smile. “And we’ve got Ferdowsi and the old Persian language to thank for the word divaneh too.” “So are you telling me that I’m a demon?” Amir didn’t get where Tara was going as he walked back toward the dressing table.

مرا پیشتر قیرگون بود موی چو سرو سهی قد و چون ماه روی سپهری که پشت مرا کرد کوز نشد پست، گردان بجایست نوز خماند شما را همان روزگار نماند خمانیده هم پایدار "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر بخش کردن آفریدون جهان را بر پسران

بزرگی که فرجام او بتریست برآن برتری بر بباید گریست سپهر بلند ار کشد زین تو سرانجام خشت‌ست بالین تو "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر نامه فرستادن شاه آفریدون به سلم و تور

مکش مورکی را که روزی کش‌ست که او نیز جان دارد و جان خوش است "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر نامه فرستادن شاه آفریدون به سلم و تور

جهانا بپروردیش در کنار وزان پس ندادی به جان زینهار نهانی ندانم ترا دوست کیست بدین آشکارت بباید گریست "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر نامه فرستادن شاه آفریدون به سلم و تور

برین گونه گردد به ما بر سپهر بخواهد ربودن چو بنمود چهر مبر خود به مهر زمانه گمان نه نیکو بود راستی در کمان چو دشمنش گیری نمایدت مهر و گر دوست خوانی نبینیش چهر یکی پند گویم ترا من درست دل از مهر گیتی ببایدت شست "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر نامه فرستادن شاه آفریدون به سلم و تور

زمانه بیک سان ندارد درنگ گهی شهد و نوش است و گاهی شرنگ "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر آمدن سلم و تور به جنگ آفریدون

نگر تا سخنگوی دهقان چه گفت که راز دل از دیدگان درنهفت: مرا و ترا بندگی پیشه باد ابا پیشه‌مان نیز اندیشه باد به نیک و به بد هر چه شاید بدن بباید همی داستان‌ها زدن "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر آمدن سلم و تور به جنگ آفریدون

بیاموز و بشنو ز هر دانشی بیابی ز هر دانشی رامشی ز خورد و ز بخشش میاسای هیچ همه دانش و داد دادن بسیچ "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار گفتار اندر خواب دیدن سام نریمان

جهانا سراسر فسوسی و باد به تو نیست مرد خردمند شاد "شاهنامه (تصحیح خالقی مطلق)/ گفتار اندر نامه نوشتن منوچهر بنزدیک شاه آفریدون

The world will not keep faith with you, nor will she show you her true face.

How shall man escape from that which is written; How shall he flee from his destiny? —Ferdowsi

Ten minutes later, Charlie eased their black Buick Skylark onto Ferdowsi Avenue, dubbed “Embassy Row” by local diplomats. Were other Western missions under siege, he wondered, or just his own? The boulevard was as congested as ever, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. No protests. No demonstrations. No presidents or prime ministers being burned in effigy here, even though hideous mock-ups of President Carter were being torched just a few blocks away. It was odd. They were so close to the student mob, but here he could detect no hostilities of any kind. Still, Charlie could tell Claire was getting anxious. If they were going to get out of this city, they needed to do it quickly. “Where will we go?” she asked her husband. “I’m not sure,” Charlie conceded. “Even if we could make it to the airport, they’d never let us out of the country. Especially not with U.S. diplomatic passports.

I turn to right and left, in all the earth I see no signs of justice, sense or worth: A man does evil deeds, and all his days are filled with luck and universal praise; Another’s good in all he does— He dies a wretched, broken man whom all despise. But all this world is like a tale we hear— Men’s evil, and their glory, disappear. —Abolghasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh

If a man leaves behind him a noble reputation, he should not despair when he has to depart.

If a man leaves behind him a noble reputation, he should not despair when he has to depart.

Modesty is the portion of the average man, but superior men are ignorant of humility.” - Sundiata