«I swear by faith and god’s omnipotence / And by the soul and all its eloquence»

Vis and Ramin then swore no force could sever
The love that bound the two of them forever
Ramin spoke first: «I swear by god, and by
His sovereignty that rules the earth and sky
I swear now by the sun and by the light
The shining moon bestows on us at night
I swear by Venus and by noble Jupiter
I swear by bread and salt and flickering fire
I swear by faith and god’s omnipotence
And by the soul and all its eloquence
That while winds scour the wastelands in the mountains
While waters flow in the rivers and in the fountains
While nights have darkness and streams have fishes
While stars have courses and while souls have wishes
Ramin will not regret his love or break
The binding oath that he and Vis will now make
He will never take another love, or cease
To give his heart exclusively to Vis.»

Vis promises love when Prince Ramin had spoken
And swore his promises will not be broken
She gave him violets then and murmured: «Take
This pretty posy, keep it for my sake
Keep it forever, so that when you see
Fresh violets blooming you’ll remember me
And may the soul that breaks this solemn vow
Darken and droops as these poor flowers do now
Each time I see the spring’s new flowers appear
I will recall the oath we swore to here
May anyone that breaks this oath decay
And wither as fresh flowers do – in a day.»

P128-129

Fakhruddin Gorgani. Vis & Ramin. Dick Davis (trad).Mage Publishers (2008)