"A prince's son was Avtandil, the very first
'Mong all the bravest warriors of the aged king
His form was slender as the cypress-tree,
And clear and beauteous was his piercing glance.
Though young, his soul was true and strong
As adamant is hard.
The fire from Tinatina's eyes had long
Set his young heart aflame with strong desire,
And stricken him with wounds that never heal'd.
Many a day he hid his burning love,
And sunder'd from his mistress, all the red
Fled from his roselike, tender cheeks;
But soon as fate did bring him near to her again,
The wildly beating heart crimson'd his face,
And all his aching wounds did gape afresh.
Thus hidden love doth torture youthful breasts."
From "The Man in the Panther's Skin" we learn that the ideal hero
of Rustaveli's times was distinguished for bravery, truthfulness,
loyalty to promises, self-sacrifice, munificence, and burning love.
"Falsehood's the root of all the thousand ills
That curse our race. Lying and faithlessness twin sisters are.
Why should I try to cheat my fellow-man?
Is this the use to which my learning should be put?
Ah, no! far other aims our hearts inspire,
We learn, that we may near the angelic choir."
The most famous line in the whole poem is, perhaps, the one which
says:--
"A glorious death is better than a life of shame."
And many a warrior has sought death, in the hour of defeat, with
these words on his lips.