Such is that old deceiver Time; he makes
That which at first did everlasting seem
As short as is the twinkling of an eye.”
As far as style is concerned, we find that Rustaveli strikingly resembles the European writers of his own time, to wit the troubadours, and we can easily imagine that his career was not unlike that of some of those sweet singers who enjoyed the favour of the noble ladies of France and Italy. Among the great poets of Europe, Ariosto and Tasso are, perhaps, the ones who are most akin to Rustaveli. The Platonism of the latter furnishes another ground of resemblance, in addition to the similarity of theme.
The poem in its present form consists of about 1600 quatrains. There are sixteen syllables in each line, and the four lines end with the same rhyme. The rhythm is due to the accents, as in English verse, and may be called hexametric, i.e. there are in each line six feet, divided into two sets of three by means of the cæsura; the fourth line invariably begins with the particle i, which does not count as a syllable.
As far as I know, the poem has not been translated into any European language; although fragments and abstracts of it have been published in Russian and Polish magazines, and I have seen the name of “Rostavvelo” quoted in one of Gioberti’s works. By the publication of a carefully collated text, about a year ago, Georgian critics have prepared the way for those who may wish to make the national epic known to European readers.
Among the contemporaries of Rustaveli may be mentioned the following:—
Chakhrukhadze, the author of the “Tamariani,” a long poem in honour of Queen Tamara; it is composed entirely of epithets, thus:—
“Tamartsknari, shesatsknari, khmanarnari, pirmtsinari,
Mse mtsinari, sachinari, tskalimknari, momdinari,”