I wish there were a place to rest or that this long, long road would end; and that a hundred thousand years from now, there were a hope that from the earth we’d bloom to breathe again. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 442
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Omar Khayyam
Omar Khayyam (493) “I passed a potter at his wheel”
The other day I passed a potter at his wheel, displaying every moment a new skill; and it occurred to me, though one less clear-eyed wouldn’t see it: It is our ancestors’ clay in a potter’s hands! Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 493
Omar Khayyam (313) “wine loosens even cast-iron shackles”
Wine-bibbing makes people less full of themselves, and wine loosens even cast-iron shackles. If satan had only tippled every night, he would not have been cast down from heaven for his pride. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 313/ Arberry […]
Omar Khayyam (152) “so many hearts have been left bleeding”
A shame that bankruptcy has left us without capital in hand, and that so many hearts have been left bleeding by the blade of fate. No one has come back from that world with word of vanished travelers. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 152/ Arberry 1949
Omar Khayyam (412) “Don’t waste a minute of your life”
Don’t give your body over to lamenting cruel destiny; Don’t dedicate your soul to grief at recollections of the dead. Don’t throw away your heart save on the locks of your beloved’s hair. Keep a full wine glass in your hand– don’t waste a minute of your life. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s […]
Omar Khayyam: “The elders and the newborns”
The elders and the newborns trace the footsteps of each other, and it is the way of this world that no one can live forever here. They have departed and we’re on our way, and they arrive again, and go again. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, Arberry 1949, 5
Omar Khayyam (492) “What’s with your supposed zodiac?”
What’s with your supposed zodiac, then, that it is so helpful to the nasty? It bestows on them palatial baths, and mill works, and long walkways to their mansions– while the honorable have to pawn everything to earn their nightly bread crust. Who would give a fart for such a constellation? Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, […]
Omar Khayyam (170) “For a hand … which always grips a wine glass”
For a hand like mine, which always grips a wine glass, it would be a shame to put scripture or a rosary in it. You’re a dry ascetic, and I’m a soused rascal, but don’t worry– I’m too well watered to burn in hell. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 170
Omar Khayyam (168) “neither servants nor masters”
In this life, all those who have half a piece of bread and a resting place in which to nest; who are neither servants nor masters of others– let them rejoice, for their world is a happy one. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 168