The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar KhayyamOmar Khayyam
ReligionSufism
The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam
Omar Khayyam
FitzGerald, Edward, 1809-1883; Sufi poetry
Beloved, if thou a reverend Molla be,
Quit saintly show, and feigned austerity,
And quaff the wine that Murtaza purveys,
And sport with Houris 'neath some shady tree!
445. N. Note the change from the imperative to the aorist. In line 4
scan _Murtazasha_. _Murtaza_ (Ali) is the celestial cupbearer.
446.
Last night I dashed my cup against a stone,
In a mad drunken freak, as I must own,
And lo! the cup cries out in agony,
«You too, like me, shall soon be overthrown.»
446. C. L. N. A. B. I. _Saboyiy, ya i batni_, joined to the noun by
euphonic or conjunctive _ya_.
447.
My heart is weary of hypocrisy,
Cupbearer, bring some wine, I beg of thee!
This hooded cowl and prayer-mat pawn for wine,
Then will I boast me in security.
447. N.
448.
Audit yourself, your truce account to frame,
See! you go empty, as you empty came;
You say, «I will not drink and peril life,»
But, drink or no, you must die all the same!
448. C. L. N. A. I.
449.
Open the door! O entrance who procurest,
And guide the way, O Thou of guides the surest!
Directors born of men shall not direct me,
Their counsel comes to naught, but Thou endurest!
450.
In slandering and reviling you persist,
Calling me infidel and atheist:
My errors I will not deny, but yet
Does foul abuse become a moralist?
450. C. L. N. A. I. In line 1 scan _goyi-yaz_, Bl., Prosody, p. 10. The
_tashdid_ of _mukin_ is dropped.
451.
To find a remedy, put up with pain,
Chafe not at woe, and healing thou wilt gain;
Though poor, be ever of a thankful mind,
'Tis the sure method riches to obtain.
451. L. N. _Dawayiy_. The first _ya_ is the conjunctive _ya_ (Vullers,
p. 16), the second _ya i tankir_.
452.
Give me a skin of wine, a crust of bread
A pittance bare, a book of verse to read;
With thee, O love, to share my lowly roof,
I would not take the Sultan's realm instead!
452. N. B. _Tange_, the _izafat_ is displaced by _ya i tankir_,
according to Lumsden, ii. 269.
453.
Reason not of the five, nor of the four,
Be their dark problems one, or many score;
We are but earth, go, minstrel, bring the lute,
We are but air, bring wine, I ask no more!
453. N. C. L. A. I. J. give only the first line of this. Five senses,
four elements.
454.
Why argue on Yasin and on Barat?
Write me the draft for wine they call Barat!
The day my weariness is drowned in wine
Will seem to me as the great night Barat!
454. C. L. N. A. I. J. _Yasin_ is the 64th, and Barat the 9th, chapter
of the Koran. _Barat_, the «night of power.»
455.
Whilst thou dost wear this fleshy livery,
Step not beyond the bounds of destiny;
Bear up, though very Rustums be thy foes,
And crave no boon from friends like Hatim Tai!
455. C. L. N. A. I. J.
456.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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