The soul is a Sultan and the halting-place is the perishable world,
The ferrash of fate, preparing for the next halting-place,
Will overthrow this tent when the Sultan has arisen.[55]
_Ref._: C. 110, L. 100, B. 96, S.P. 80, B. ii. 95, T. 86, P. v. 172.--W.
82, N. 80, V. 100.
XLVI.*
And fear not lest Existence closing your
Account, and mine, should know the like no more;
The Eternal Saki from that Bowl has pour'd
Millions of Bubbles like us, and will pour.
FitzGerald was indebted for this quatrain to N. 137. The original ruba'i
is not in O. or C.
Khayyam! although the pavilion of heaven
Has spread its tent and closed the door upon all discussion,
In the goblet of existence, like bubbles of wine
The Eternal Saki brings to light a thousand Khayyams.
_Ref._: N. 137,[56] W. 161, V. 397.
XLVII.*
When You and I behind the Veil are past,
Oh, but the long, long while the World shall last,
Which of our Coming and Departure heeds
As the Sea's self should heed a pebble-cast.
In this quatrain FitzGerald is «reminded of» O. 26 and 51 by N. 123.
Know this--that from thy soul thou shalt be separated,
Thou shalt pass behind the Curtain of the Secrets of God.
_Ref._: O. 26, C. 83, L. 192, B. 189, S.P. 85, B. ii. 110, T. 64, P. v.
J 34.--W. 87, N. 85, V. 188.
My coming was of no profit to the heavenly sphere,[57]
And by my departure nothing will be added to its beauty and dignity.
_Ref._: O. 51, C. 129, L. 232, B. 229, S.P. 157, P. 55, B. ii. 158, T.
104.--W. 176, N. 157, E.C. 17, V. 239.
Oh! how long we shall be no more, and the world will continue to exist,
It will continue to exist without fame or sign of us,
Long ago we existed not, and (the world) was none the worse for it,
Afterwards, when we have ceased to exist, it will be all the same.
_Ref._: N. 123, W. 150, V. 395.
XLVIII.
A Moment's Halt--a momentary taste
Of BEING from the Well amidst the waste--
And Lo!--the phantom Caravan has reach'd
The NOTHING it set out from--Oh, make haste!
We must consider here the form in which this quatrain first made its
appearance in the edition of 1859:
One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,
One Moment, of the Well of Life to taste--
The stars are setting, and the Caravan
Starts for the Dawn of Nothing--Oh, make haste!
The inspiration for this richly varied quatrain comes from O. 60.
This caravan of life passes by mysteriously;
Mayest thou seize the moment that passes happily!
Cup-bearer, why grieve about the to-morrow of thy patrons?[58]
Give us a cup of wine, for the night wanes.
_Ref._: O. 60, C. 135, L. 245, B. 242, P. 223, S.P. 106, B. ii. 146, T.
139.--W. 136, N. 106, V. 251.
Ll. 3 and 4 of C. 368 may also be quoted:
(Man is) a toil-stricken being, fashioned in the clay of affliction,
He tasted of Earth for a time and passed away.
_Ref._: C. 368, L. 566, B. 559, S.P. 301, B. ii. 404, T. 242.--W. 338,
N. 302, V. 606.
XLIX.*
Would you that spangle of Existence spend
About THE SECRET--quick about it, Friend!
A Hair perhaps divides the False and True--
And upon what, prithee, may life depend?
L.*
A Hair perhaps divides the False and True;
Yes; and a single Alif were the clue--
Could you but find it--to the Treasure-house,
And peradventure to THE MASTER too;
This pair of quatrains must also be considered together. The idea
contained in them is, I think, collected from C. 482 and 19, and from O.
28.
Oh Boy! since thou art learned in all secrets,
Why grieve so much after vain cares?
If things will not shape themselves according to thy desire,
At any rate be happy in this moment of thy existence.
_Ref._: C. 482, L. 714, B. 703, S.P. 414, B. ii. 560.--W. 458, N. 419,
V. 766.
From the state of infidelity to that of faith is but a breath,
And from a state of doubt to that of certainty is but a breath,
Hold thou dear this one precious moment,
For of the outcome of our being there is but a moment.
_Ref._: C. 19, L. 131, B. 127, S.P. 20, B. ii. 22, T. 20.--W. 24, N. 20,
V. 130.
My Heart said to me: «I have a longing for inspired knowledge,
Teach me if thou art able,»
I said the Alif. My Heart said: «Say no more.
If One is in the house, one letter is enough.»[59]
_Ref._: O. 28.--W. 109.
LI.*
Whose secret Presence, through Creation's veins
Running Quicksilver-like eludes your pains;
Taking all shapes from Mah to Mahi; and
They change and perish all--but He remains;
In this quatrain FitzGerald has made a masterly conversion of C. 72.
That Moon which is by nature skilled in metamorphosis
Is sometimes animal and sometimes vegetable,
Do not imagine that it will become non-existent--away with thought!
It is always possessed of its essence though its qualities
cease to be.[60]
_Ref._: C. 72, L. 179, B. 176, S.P. 73, B. ii. 31, T. 51.--W. 75, N. 73,
V. 175.
C. 40 may also be cited.
Place wine in my hand for my heart is aglow,
And this fleet-footed existence is like quicksilver.
Arise! for the wakefulness of good fortune turns to slumber;
Know thou that the fire of youth is (fugitive) like water.
_Ref._: C. 40, L. 63, B. 60, S.P. 54, T. 45.--W. 57, N. 54, V. 62.
«From Mah to Mahi»--_i.e._, from Moon to Fish is a common Oriental
metaphor for universality. See FitzGerald's note on this subject, and
the Terminal Essay to my former volume, p. 309.
LII.*
A moment guess'd--then back behind the Fold
Immerst of Darkness round the Drama roll'd
Which, for the Pastime of Eternity,
He doth Himself contrive, enact, behold.
This quatrain is translated from C. 479.
Hidden sometimes thou shewest thy face to none,
Sometimes thou appearest in the forms of created beings,
Thou exhibitest this spectacle to thyself.
Thou art thyself both the real thing seen and the spectator.
_Ref._: C. 479, L. 705, B. 695, S.P. 437.--W. 475, N. 443, V. 757.
LIII.*
But if in vain, down on the stubborn floor
Of Earth, and up to Heav'n's unopening Door,
You gaze TO-DAY, while You are You--how then
TO-MORROW, when You shall be You no more?
The original of this quatrain is C. 24.
If the heart understood the secret of existence as it _is_,
In death it would know all the secrets of God:
If to-day thou knowest nothing, being _with_ thyself,
What wilt thou know to-morrow when thou abandonest thyself?
_Ref._: C. 24, L. 78, B. 74, S.P. 49, P. 85, B. ii. 106, T. 25.--W. 52,
N. 49. V. 77.
LIV.
Waste not your Hour, nor in the vain pursuit
Of this and That endeavour and dispute;
Better be jocund with the fruitful Grape
Than sadden after none, or Bitter, Fruit.
The inspiration for this quatrain comes from O. 50 and O. 107:
Those who are the slaves of intellect and hair-splitting,[61]
Have perished in bickerings about existence and non-existence;
Go, thou dunce! and choose (rather) grape juice,
For the ignorant from (eating) dry raisins, have become (like)
unripe grapes (themselves).[62]
_Ref._: O. 50, L. 262, T. 102, P. v. 164.--W. 216, V. 267.
How long this talk about the eternity to come, and the
eternity past?[63]
Now is the time of joy, there is no substitute for wine!
Both theory and practice have passed beyond my ken,
(But) Wine unties the knot of every difficulty.
_Ref._: O. 107, C. 312, L. 489, B. 485, B. ii. 341, T. 213, P. v.
207.--W. 304, V. 259.
LV.
You know, my friends, with what a brave Carouse
I made a Second Marriage in my house;
Divorced old barren Reason from my Bed,
And took the Daughter of the Vine to Spouse.
This quatrain is translated from C. 175.
I will fill a one-maund goblet with wine,
I will enrich myself with two half-maunds of wine:
First I will thrice pronounce the divorce from learning and faith,[64]
And then I will take the daughter of the vine[65] to spouse.
_Ref._: C. 175, L. 267, B. 263, P. 288, P. v. 209.--V. 271.
LVI.
For «IS» and «IS-NOT» though with Rule and Line
And «UP-AND-DOWN» by Logic I define,
Of all that one should care to fathom, I
Was never deep in anything but--Wine.
This quatrain is translated from O. 120:
I know the outwardness of existence and non-existence,[66]
I know the inwardness of all that is high and low;
Nevertheless let me be ashamed of[67] my own knowledge
If I recognise any degree higher than drunkenness.
_Ref._: O. 120, L. 523, B. 518, S.P. 299, P. 265, B. ii. 409, P. v.
38.--W. 336, N. 300, V. 563.
LVII.*
Ah, but my Computations, People say,
Reduced the Year to better reckoning?--Nay,
'Twas only striking from the Calendar
Unborn To-morrow and dead Yesterday.
This quatrain owes its inspiration to C. 381 and O. 20, ll. 3 and 4:
My enemies erroneously have called me a philosopher,[68]
God knows I am not what they have called me;
But, as I have come into this nesting place of sorrow,
In the end I am in a still worse plight, for I know not who I am.
_Ref._: C. 381, L. 580, B. 573, B. ii. 383, T. 259.--W. 350, V. 619.
Never has grief lingered in my mind concerning two days,[69]
The day that has not yet come, and the day that is past.
_Ref._: O. 20, C. 23 and 55, L. 84, S.P. 22, B. 80, P. 162, B. ii. 24
and 88, P. ii. 2, T. 22 and 305, P. v. 140 and 186.--W. 26, N. 22 and
42, V. 83.
LVIII.
And lately, by the Tavern Door agape,
Came shining through the Dusk an Angel Shape
Bearing a vessel on his Shoulder; and
He bid me taste of it; and 'twas--the Grape!
This quatrain is a refined version of C. 297.
Yesterday, whilst drunk, I was passing a tavern,
I saw a drunken old man bearing a vessel on his shoulder.
I said, «Old man, does not God make thee ashamed?»
He replied, «God is merciful, go, drink wine!»
_Ref._: C. 297, L. 462, B. 458, S.P. 243, P. 278, T. 197.--W. 284, N.
244, V. 501.
LIX.
The Grape that can with Logic absolute
The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute;
The sovereign Alchemist that in a trice
Life's leaden metal into Gold transmute;
This quatrain is translated from O. 77.
Drink wine, that will banish thine abundant woes.
And will banish thought of the Seventy-two Sects;
Avoid not the Alchemist,[70] from whom
Thou takest one draught, and he banishes a thousand calamities.
_Ref._: O. 77, C. 165, L. 305, B. 301, S.P. 179, P. 283, T. 112, P. v.
152.--W. 194, V. 308.
LX.
The mighty Mahmud, Allah-breathing Lord,
That all the misbelieving and black Horde
Of Fears and Sorrows that infest the Soul
Scatters before him with his whirlwind Sword.
This reference to Mahmoud the Ghasnavide, who made war upon the black
infidels of Hindostan, comes from an apologue in the Mantik ut-tair of
Ferid ud din Attar, (beginning at distich 3117). The last two lines come
from O. 81, ll. 3 and 4.
Praise be to God! thou realizest that wine
Is a juice that frees thy heart from a hundred pains.
_Ref._: O. 81, C. 180, L. 367, B. 363, S.P. 188, P. 231, B. ii. 241, P.
v. 187.--W. 203, N. 188, V. 366.
LXI.*
Why, be this Juice the growth of God, who dare
Blaspheme the twisted tendril as a Snare?
A Blessing, we should use it, should we not?
And if a Curse--Why, then, Who set it there?
The inspiration for this quatrain is contained in O. 75.
I drink wine, and everyone drinks who, like me, is worthy of it;
My wine-drinking is but a small thing to Him;
God knew on the Day of Creation, that I should drink wine;
If I do not drink wine God's knowledge would be ignorance.
_Ref._: O. 75, C. 202, L. 356, B. 352, S.P. 182, P. 324, B. ii. 234, T.
129, P. v. 181.--W. 197, N. 182, V. 355.
LXII.*
I must abjure the Balm of Life, I must,
Scared by some After-reckoning ta'en on trust,
Or lured with Hope of some Diviner Drink,
To fill the Cup--when crumbled into Dust!
This quatrain is taken from C. 505 and O. 143, ll. 3 and 4.
They say, «Do not drink wine for thou wilt suffer for it,
On the Day of Rewards thou wilt be cast into the fire.»
That is so; but what is worth both the worlds
Is the moment when thou art elated with wine.
_Ref._: C. 505, L. 748, B. 734, P. 250, B. ii. 587.--V. 800.
Make thyself a heaven here with wine and cup,
For at that place where heaven is, thou mayst arrive, or mayst not.
_Ref._: O. 143, C. 495. L. 733, B. 721, S.P. 379, P. 209, B. ii. 529, P.
v. 129.--W. 427, N. 383, V. 786.
LXIII.
Oh threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise!
One thing at least is certain--_This_ Life flies;
One thing is certain and the rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.
The inspiration for this quatrain comes from O. 35 of which ll. 1 and 2
are quoted as parallel to quatrain No. 24 _ante_.
Take care that thou tellest not this hidden secret to anyone
The tulips that are withered will never bloom again.
_Ref._: O. 35, C. 80, L. 188, B. 185, P. 284, T. 60.--W. 107, V. 184.
LXIV.*
Strange, is it not? that of the myriads who
Before us pass'd the door of Darkness through,
Not one returns to tell us of the Road,
Which to discover we must travel too.
This is a constantly recurring image in the ruba'iyat. C. 36 and 270 may
be cited:
I have travelled far in a wandering by valley and desert,
It came to pass I wandered in all quarters of the world,
I have not heard from anyone who came from that road,
The road he has travelled, no traveller travels again.
_Ref._: C. 36, L. 57, B. 54. T. 39.--W. 129, V. 56.
Of all the travellers upon this long road,
Where is he that has returned, that he may tell us the secret?
Take heed that in this mansion (by way of metaphor)
Thou leavest nothing, for thou wilt not come back.
_Ref._: C. 270, L. 424, B. 420, S.P. 216, P. 121, B. ii. 286, P. v.
9.--W. 258, N. 217, V. 462.
C. 211 and 277 contain the same image.
LXV.*
The Revelations of Devout and Learn'd
Who rose before us, and as Prophets burn'd,
Are all but Stories, which, awoke from Sleep,
They told their comrades, and to Sleep return'd.
This quatrain is translated from C. 127.
Those who have become oceans of excellence and cultivation,
And from the collection of their perfections have become
lights of their fellows,
Have not made a road out of this dark night,
They have told a fable and have gone to sleep.
_Ref._: C. 127, L. 261, B. 258, P. 86, T. 101.--W. 209, N. 464, V. 266.
LXVI.*
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell:
And by and by my Soul return'd to me,
And answer'd, «I myself am Heav'n and Hell»:
This quatrain is inspired by O. 15.
Already on the Day of Creation, beyond the heavens, my soul
Searched for the Tablet and Pen, and for heaven and hell,
At last the Teacher said to me with His enlightened judgment,
«Tablet and Pen, and heaven and hell, are within thyself.»[71]
_Ref._: O. 15, L. 59, B. 56, P. 114, B. ii. 69, P. v. 79--W. 114, V. 58.
LXVII.*
Heav'n but the Vision of fulfill'd Desire,
And Hell the Shadow from a Soul on fire,
Cast on the Darkness into which Ourselves,
So late emerged from, shall so soon expire.
The inspiration for this verse comes from O. 33.
The heavenly vault is a girdle (cast) from my weary body.
Jihun[72] is a water-course worn by my filtered tears,
Hell is a spark from my useless worries,
Paradise is a moment of time when I am tranquil.
_Ref._: O. 33, C. 90, L. 199, B. 196, S.P. 90, P. 148, T. 70, P. v.
183.--W. 92, N. 90, V. 195.
FitzGerald's verse was evidently also influenced by distich 1866 of the
Mantik ut-tair.
Heaven and hell are reflections, the one of thy goodness, and
the other of thy wrath.
LXVIII.
We are no other than a moving row
Of Magic Shadow-shapes that come and go
Round with the Sun-illumined Lantern held
In Midnight by the Master of the Show;
This quatrain is translated from O. 108.
This vault of heaven beneath which we stand bewildered,
We know to be a sort of magic-lantern:[73]
Know thou that the sun is the flame and the universe is the lamp,
We are like figures that revolve in it.
_Ref._: O. 108, C. 332, L. 505, B. 501, S.P. 266, P. 40, B. ii. 356, P.
iv. 34.--W. 310, N. 267, E.C. 28, de T. 10, V. 545.
LXIX.
But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays
Upon this Chequer-board of Nights and Days;
Hither and thither moves, and checks, and slays,
And one by one back in the Closet lays.
This quatrain is translated from O. 94.
To speak plain language, and not in parables,
We are the pieces and heaven plays the game,
We are played together in a baby-game upon the chess-board
of existence,
And one by one we return to the box of non-existence.
_Ref._: O. 94, C. 280, L. 443, B. 439, S.P. 230, P. 31, B. ii. 291, T.
183, P. v. 10.--W. 270, N. 231, E.C. 27, V. 480.
LXX.
The Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes
But Here or There as strikes the Player goes;
And He that toss'd you down into the Field,
_He_ knows about it all--HE knows--HE knows!
This quatrain is translated from C. 422.
O thou who art driven like a ball by the mallet of Fate,
Go to the right or take the left, but say nothing;[74]
For He who set thee running and galloping
He knows, he knows, he knows, he----.
_Ref._: C. 422, L. 633, B. 625, P. 167, B. ii. 462, T. 274.--W. 401, V.
682.
LXXI.
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
The origin of this quatrain is to be found in O. 31
From the beginning[75] was written what shall be;
Unhaltingly the Pen (writes) and is heedless of good and bad;
On the First Day He appointed everything that must be--
Our grief and our efforts are vain.
_Ref._: O. 31, C. 87, L. 195, B. 192, S.P. 31, B. ii. 60, T. 67, P. v.
211.--W. 35, N. 31, V. 191.
LXXII.
And that inverted Bowl they call the Sky,
Whereunder crawling coop'd we live and die,
Lift not your hands to _It_ for help--for It
As Impotently moves as you or I.
The inspiration for this quatrain comes from O. 134, ll. 1 and 2, and O.
41.
This heavenly vault is like a bowl fallen upside down,
Under which all the wise have fallen helpless.
_Ref._: O. 134, C. 435, L. 657, B. 649, S.P. 360, P. 34, B. ii. 481, P.
v. 154.--W. 408, N. 363, V. 706.
The good and the bad that are in man's nature,
The happiness and misery that are predestined for us,
Do not impute them to the heavens, for, in the way of Wisdom,
Those heavens are a thousandfold more helpless than thou art.
_Ref._: O. 41, C. 62, L. 80, B. 76, S.P. 95, P. 45.--W. 96, N. 95, V.
79.
LXXIII.
With Earth's first Clay They did the Last Man knead,
And there of the Last Harvest sow'd the Seed:
And the first Morning of Creation wrote
What the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read.
In this quatrain we trace the influence of O. 31 (quoted in the parallel
to quatrain No. 71, _ante_) and of O. 95.
Oh, heart! since, in this world, truth itself is hyperbole,
Why art thou so disquieted with this trouble and abasement?
Resign thy body to destiny and adapt thyself to the times,
For, what the Pen has written, it will not re-write for thy sake.[76]
_Ref._: O. 95, L. 430, B. 426, S.P. 215, P. 59, B. ii. 292.--W. 257, N.
216, E.C. 15, V. 468.
LXXIV.*
YESTERDAY _This_ Day's Madness did prepare;
TO-MORROW'S Silence, Triumph, or Despair:
Drink! for you know not whence you came, nor why
Drink! for you know not why you go, nor where.
The first half of this quatrain comes from O. 152 and the second half
from O. 26, ll. 3 and 4.
Be happy! they settled thy business yesterday,
And beyond the reach of all thy longings is yesterday,
Live happily, for without any importunity on thy part yesterday,
They appointed with certainty what thou wilt do to-morrow--yesterday!
_Ref._: O. 152, C. 473, L. 702, B. ii. 564, P. v. 196.--W. 489, V. 754.
Be happy!--thou knowest not whence thou hast come:
Drink wine!--thou knowest not whither thou shalt go.
_Ref._: O. 26, C. 83, L. 192, B. 189, S.P. 85, B. ii. 110, T. 64, P. v.
34.--W 87, N. 85, V. 188.
LXXV.
I tell you this--When, started from the Goal,
Over the flaming shoulders of the Foal
Of Heav'n, Parwin and Mushtari they flung,
In my predestined Plot of Dust and Soul.
This quatrain is translated from C. 147.
On that day when they saddled the wild horses of the Sun,
And settled the laws of Parwin and Mushtari,[77]
This was the lot decreed for me from the Diwan of Fate:
How can I sin? (my sins) are what Fate allotted me as my portion.
_Ref._: C. 147, L. 286, B. 282, S.P. 110.--W. 140, N. 110, V. 289.
LXXVI.
The Vine had struck a fibre; which about
If clings my Being--let the Dervish flout;
Of my Base metal may be filed a Key,
That shall unlock the Door he howls without.
The sentiment of this quatrain is contained in C. 143.
Since Eternity itself was He created me,
From the first he dictated to me the lesson of love,
At that time a small filing of the dust of my heart,
He made into a key of the treasure-house of substance.[78]
_Ref._: C. 143, L. 311, B. 307, P. 81, T. 134.--V. 314.
LXXVII.
And this I know; whether the one True Light
Kindle to Love, or Wrath-consume me quite,
One Flash of It within the Tavern caught
Better than in the Temple lost outright.
This quatrain is translated from O. 2.
If I talk of the mystery with Thee in a tavern,
It is better than if I make my devotions before the Mihrab[79]
without Thee.
O Thou, the first and last of all created beings,
Burn me an Thou wilt, cherish me an Thou wilt.
_Ref._: O. 2, C. 272, L. 427, B. 423, S.P. 221, P. 7, B. ii. 294, T.
172.--W. 262, N. 222, V. 465.
LXXVIII.*
What! out of senseless Nothing to provoke
A conscious Something to resent the yoke
Of unpermitted Pleasure, under pain
Of everlasting Penalties, if broke!
It is not easy to deal with this and the three following quatrains
separately, the sentiments of all four being closely interchangeable and
largely identical. To avoid confusion, however, I have attempted the
task. There are some scores of ruba'iyat that may be said to have
contributed their imageries to the quatrain. The main sources of the
first of them seem to be C. 85 and N. 226:
God, when he fashioned the clay of my body,
Knew by my making what would come of it;
(Since) there is no sin of mine without his order
Why should he seek to burn me at the Day of Resurrection?
_Ref._: C. 85, L. 194, B. 191, S.P. 99, P. 18, T. 66.--W. 100, N. 99, V.
190.
Thou knowest that abstinence from that (sin) is impossible,
Having (nevertheless) ordered and ordained abstinence from it;
Thus between the order and the prohibition we stand helpless,
We mortals are helpless at the permission to slant
(the cup) but not to spill (its contents).[80]
_Ref._: N. 226, L. 442, B. 438, S.P. 225, P. 317, B. ii. 297, T.
180.--W. 265, V. 479.
LXXIX.*
What! from his helpless Creature be repaid
Pure Gold for what he lent him dross-allay'd--
Sue for a Debt he never did contract,
And cannot answer--Oh the sorry trade!
This quatrain would seem to be specially inspired by C. 201 and 433,
which are so much alike (ll. 2, 3, and 4 are practically identical in
both) that one or the other is obviously the addition of a later scribe.
When they mixed the earth of my shaping-mould,
They produced an hundred wonders from me;[81]
I cannot be better than I am,
For this is how I was turned out of the crucible.
_Ref._: C. 201, L. 355, B. 351, T. 128.--W. 221, V. 354.
LXXX.
Oh Thou, who didst with pitfall and with gin
Beset the Road I was to wander in,
Thou wilt not with Predestined Evil round
Enmesh, and then impute my Fall to Sin!
This quatrain is translated from O. 148.
In a thousand places on the road I walk, Thou placest snares,
Thou say'st «I will catch thee if thou settest foot in them,»
In no smallest thing is the world independent of Thee,
Thou orderest all things, and (yet) callest me rebellious!
_Ref._: O. 148, B. ii. 546.--W. 432, N. 390.
LXXXI.
Oh Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make,
And ev'n with Paradise devise the Snake:
For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man
Is blacken'd--Man's forgiveness give--and take!
* * * * *
This is a very composite quatrain, round which some controversy has
raged. Professor Cowell has given the weight of his authority to the
statement that «there is no original for the line about the snake.» This
is true in so far as that the image does not occur in Omar, but
FitzGerald had seen it in an important apologue in the Mantik ut-tair
(beginning at distich 3229) in which we read of the presence of the
Snake (Iblis) in Paradise, at the moment of the creation of Adam, and in
the course of which, Satan himself addresses God thus:
If malediction comes from Thee, there comes also mercy,
The created thing is dependent upon Thee since Destiny is in Thy hands;
If malediction be my lot, I do not fear,
There must be poison, everything is not antidote.
The influence of the following is traceable in the quatrains, C. 115, C.
286, and C. 510:
I am a disobedient slave, where is Thy mercy?
My heart is dark, where is Thy light and clearness?
If, for serving Thee, Thou givest me heaven,
This a reward, but Thy grace and Thy gifts--where are they?
_Ref._: C. 115, L. 217, B. 214, S.P. 91, P. 23.--W. 93, N. 91, V. 211.
Oh! Thou who knowest the secrets of the hearts of all,
Protector of all in their hours of helplessness:
Oh, Lord! grant me repentance and accept my excuses,
Oh! Thou who grantest repentance and acceptest the excuses of all.