No one has peeked behind the veil of fate. / No one’s discovered destiny’s secret
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Omar Khayyam
“Reviving old Desires:” Saadi and Omar Khayyam on Celebrating the New Year
The dawn wind wafts the scent of the New Year / to friends’ delight and triumphant good cheer.
“A door to which I found no key:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:32
Not you nor I have known the secrets of eternity. / Not you nor I have solved the riddle that the letter hides
“Through the Seventh Gate:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:31
From earth’s dark depths to Saturn’s pinnacle / I solved the puzzles of the turning skies.
For Christmas: Jesus’ Life-Giving Breath and Persian Love Poetry
Muslim mystics such as Rumi, Attar and other Sufi writers often referred to Jesus as a symbol of spirituality and love.
“Another Cup to Drown the Memory:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:30
No. 30 in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám continues the theme of bewilderment that we find ourselves, unasked, in the world, without a clear idea of the meaning of this life. The English verses portray these acts of being born and dying “without asking” as “impertinence,” i.e. insolence or […]
“Into this Universe:” Heidegger and FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:29
One recurrent theme in the unconventional quatrains that were later gathered under the rubric of the The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is surprise at having come into being unasked, and at being sentenced to non-being at the end of this bewildering life. This sentiment to my mind is a sign of medieval Persian secularism. The […]
“With them the seed of Wisdom:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:28
Quatrain no. 28 in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám continues riffing on stanza 121 in the Bodleian manuscript. XXVIII. With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow, And with my own hand labour’d it to grow : And this was all the Harvest that I reap’d- “I came […]
“Came out by the Same Door:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:27
The 27th quatrain in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám casts doubt on the value of metaphysical speculation and scholastic learning. XXVII. Myself when young did eagerly frequent Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument About it and about: but evermore Came out by the same Door as in I […]








