Omar Khayyam (284) “God is merciful: Here, have some wine”

Juan Cole 10/05/2012

I staggered, drunk, outside a bar last night
and saw a tipsy older man emerge,
a bottle slung across his shoulder; and
I said to him, “At your age, aren’t you
ashamed before the Lord Almighty?” He
laughed, “God is merciful: Here, have some wine!”

Translated by Juan Cole
from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 284

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment and Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires. Follow him at @jricole.