since they throw themselves, with full consent, into the
charge of devotees and hypocrites. What is most singular
about them is that they, under a mantle of piety,
preach Islamism and are, in reality, worse than idolaters.
115.
When the tree of my existence shall be cut down, when
my members shall be dispersed, let them make pitchers
of my dust and fill these pitchers with wine; then shall
my dust be revived [through the wine contained in
them].
116.
O Thou, God, before whom sin is without consequence,
tell him who possesses intelligence to proclaim this important
point: that in the eyes of a philosopher it is an
absolute absurdity to make divine fore-knowledge in league
with sin.
117.
In the first place, my being was given me without my
consent, which makes my own existence a lasting problem
to me. Then, we leave this world with regret, and without
having accomplished the aim of our coming, of our
stay, or our departure.
118.
When my sins come back to mind, the fire which then
burned in my heart makes my boldness stream forth;
for everywhere is it established that when a slave repents,
a generous master pardons him.
119.
These potters who constantly plunge their fingers into
the clay, who employ all their mind, all their intelligence,
all their faculties to mould it, even to the crushing of
it with their feet and striking with their hands, of what
think they? It is the same clay as the human body that
they are treating thus.
120.
Those who, through knowledge, are the cream of the
world; who, with intelligence scan the heights of the
heavens, they also, like the firmament, have their heads
turned in their search for divine knowledge, and are
taken with vertigo and dimness of sight.
121.
God has promised us wine in Paradise. In that case
why should He prohibit it in this world? One day an
Arab in a state of drunkenness cut the hams of Hamzah's
camel with his sword. It is only for him that our
Prophet makes wine illicit.
122.
Since at this moment there only remains to you the
memory of pleasure passed away; since for a perfect friend
you have only a cup of wine; finally, since that is all you
own, rejoice at least in this possession and let the cup
not slip from your hands.
123.
Oh! for the time when we shall be no more and the
world shall still be here! There will remain no fame or
trace of us. The world was not unfinished when we
came; naught will be changed when we have gone
from it.
124.
Those whose feet have trodden the world, who have
run over it for the sake of appropriating the riches of
the two hemispheres to themselves, they are not the
ones, I believe, who have ever been able to explain the
true state, the real situation of things here below.
125.
O regret! The capital [of life] has slipped from our
hands. Alas! many hearts have been through death
drowned in blood, and no one returns from the other
world that I may ask him news of the travelers who
have gone.
126.
These numerous great lords, so proud of their titles,
are so gnawed by cares and sorrows that existence to
them is a burden. And most ridiculous it is that they
deign not to call by the name of men those who, unlike to
them, are not slaves to their passions.
127.
This lofty Wheel, whose trade it is to tyrannize, has
never loosed for man the knot of any difficulty. Wherever
it has seen an ulcerated heart, there has it come to add
wound unto wound.
128.
Alas! the period of adolescence reaches home. The
springtime of our pleasures slips away! That bird of
gaiety which is called _youth_, alas! I know not when it
came nor when it flew away!
129.
In the midst of this whirlpool of the world, hasten to
gather some fruit. Seat thyself upon the throne of gaiety
and bring the cup to thy lips. God is indifferent both
to creed and sin; enjoy then here below, what pleases
thee.
130.
Do you see those two or three imbeciles who hold the
world in their hands, and who, in their candid ignorance,
believe themselves the wisest in the universe? Do not
disturb yourself for, in their high content, they deem
all heretics who are not asses [like themselves].
131.
Would that the tavern could always be animated by
the presence of drinkers, that fire would reach the hem
of the holy robe of devotees, that their monk's frock might
be torn to tatters and their blue woolen garment be trampled
under the feet of the drinkers.
132.
How long wilt thou be a dupe to colors and perfumes?
When wilt thou cease to seek out good and bad?
Thou mightest be the source of Zemzem, thou mightest
even be the water of life since thou wouldst not know how
to escape entering the bosom of the earth.
133.
Renounce not the drinking of wine if you have any,
for a hundred repentances follow one such resolution.
The roses scatter their blossoms, the nightingales fill the
air with their song, and would it be reasonable to renounce
drinking in a moment like this?
134.
As long as the friend [God] will pour for me the wine
which rejoices my soul, as long as the heavens have
not deposited a hundred kisses upon my head and feet,
whatever they may do, when the moment comes, to induce
me to renounce drinking, how can I renounce it,
God not having ordered me to?
135.
Whoever has constancy will not renounce drinking wine,
for wine has within itself the virtue of the water of life.
If any one renounce it during the month of Ramazan, let
him at least abstain from engagement in prayer.
136.
When I am dead, smooth to the level of the soil the
dust of my tomb, that I may thus be an example to other
men. Then, mix with wine the earth of my body and
make of it--a cover for a wine-jar.
137.
O Khayyam! although the Wheel of the Heavens has,
in setting up his tent, closed the door to discussions, [it
is evident, nevertheless,] that the cupbearer of eternity
[God] has produced, in the form of globules of wine in
the cup of creation, a thousand other Khayyams like
thee.
138.
Give thyself to gaiety, for sorrow will be infinite. The
stars will continue movement in the firmament, and the
bricks which will be made of thy body will serve to construct
palaces for others.
139.
Pass joyously thy life, for many other travelers will file
through this world; the soul will cry after the body from
which it will be separated, and the head, the seat of
the passions, will be trampled under the potter's feet.
140.
Happy the heart of him who has passed unknown,
who has not been clothed in a robe of ceremony, nor in
luxurious garments, nor in stuffs of great price, who,
like the _simourg_, is lifted into the skies to the place of
his delight as the owl sits among the ruins of this world.
141.
Drinkers alone know how to appreciate the language
of the roses and of wine, and not the feeble in heart or
the poor in spirit. Those who have no idea of what is
occult, to them ignorance is pardonable, for drunkards
alone can understand what belongs to such an order of
of things.
142.
Once in the tavern, one can make his ablutions only
with wine. There, when a name is soiled, it cannot be
restored. Bring, then, some wine, since the veil of our
shame is torn in such a manner that it cannot be repaired.
143.
Pierced with a vain hope, I have thrown to the wind
a part of my existence, and that without having known
here below a day of happiness. That which I fear now
is that time will prevent me from seizing the opportunity
to make amends for the past.
144.
Alas! my heart has not been able to find any remedy
[for its grief], my soul has arrived at the edge of my
lips [death], without having attained the object of its love.
Alas! my life has passed in ignorance, and the enigma
of this love has not been explained.
145.
In the regions of the soul, it is necessary to walk with
discernment; upon the things of this world, it is well to
be silent. While we have our eyes, our tongues, and our
ears, we should be without eyes, without tongues, and
without ears.
146.
In this world, he who commands a loaf of bread and
who can cover his body with any garment whatsoever,
he who is neither master nor servant, tell him to live
content, for he has a sweet existence.
147.
One should not plant in his heart the tree of sadness.
On the contrary, he should ever peruse the book of joy.
One should drink wine, and follow the trend of his own
heart, for behold, the length of time remaining to you in
this world is quickly measured.
148.
Has Thy empire gained in splendor by my obeisance,
O God? Or have my sins retrenched in any degree Thy
immensity? Pardon, O God, and do not punish, for I
know well that Thou punishest late and pardonest early.
149.
It would be troublesome if my hand, accustomed to
seize the cup, took the Koran and depended upon Mohammedan
diet. With you it is different; you are a dry
devotee, while I am a depraved one, moist [through drink],
and the only fire I know is kindled by wine.
150.
Upon earth, no one presses to his heart a charmer with
cheeks of the tints of a rose without the time comes
that he feels the sting of the thorn. See the comb: before
it could caress the perfumed hair of the beauty, it
had to be cut into many teeth.
151.
Would that I had constantly in my hand the juice of
the vine! Would that my love for these beautiful idols,
that are like houris, might never leave my heart! They
say to me: God has ordered you to renounce these things.
Oh! should He give me such a command, I would not
obey it. Far be the thought!
152.
Behold, I must go, and life is saddened by my going; for,
out of a hundred precious pearls but one have I pierced.
Alas! thanks to the ignorance of men, a hundred thousand
things of deepest import yet remain unheard.
153.
To-day the season smiles; 'tis neither hot nor cold. The
clouds have washed away the dust which dimmed the
roses; and nightingales seem whispering to the yellow
flowers that wine is balm for all.
154.
The day when I shall know myself no more, and when
they will speak of me as of a fable, then I desire [do
I dare say it?] that my clay be made into a jar for wine
and destined to service at the tavern.
155.
Drink thou of wine before thy name shall vanish from
this world, for, when this nectar enters thy heart, sorrow
disappears. Unbind strand by strand the hair of thy
charming idol, before the jointure of thy frame itself is
loosed.
156.
O idol! ere sorrow comes to assail thee, order rose-colored
wine. Thou art not gold, O imbecile! to believe
that after burial in the earth, you can be drawn from it
again.
157.
This world has not derived any advantage from my
coming here below. Its glory and its dignity are equally
unaffected by my departure. My two ears have never
heard any one say why I have come, or why I am forced
to go again.
158.
All thy secrets are known to the wisdom of Heaven
[God]· He knows them hair by hair and vein by vein.
I admit that by power of hypocrisy you may be able
to deceive men, but what will you do before Him who
knows your misdeeds one by one in every detail?
159.
Wine gives wings to those attacked by melancholy;
wine is a mole of beauty upon the cheek of intelligence,
we have not drunk of it during the Ramazan which
has passed, but now the eve of [the month of] Burak
hath arrived and we shall make amends.
160.
Live in joy, for the time is coming when all the creatures
that you see will disappear under the earth; drink,
drink of wine, and never abandon yourself to the sorrow
of this world. Those who come after you only too soon
become a prey to it.
161.
There is not a night when my mind is not in a state of
stupefaction. There is not one when my breast is not
inundated with pearls that flow from my eyes. The disquiet
which possesses me keeps the bowl of my head from
filling itself with wine, can a bowl overturned ever be
filled?
162.
When my nature has seemed disposed to fasting and
prayer, I have a moment's hope that I am going to attain
the aim of my desires; but alas! a breath of wind has
sufficed to destroy the efficacy of my ablutions, and a
mouthful of wine has annihilated my fast.
163.
All my being is attracted by the sight of beautiful,
rose-colored faces; my hand is aye ready to seize a cup
of wine. Oh, I wish to enjoy for its part what belongs
to each of my members, ere these same members are
lost in the Whole.
164.
A worldly love knows not how to produce reflection.
It is like a fire half extinguished which no longer gives
heat. A true love should know neither tranquillity, nor
repose, nor nourishment, nor sleep for months and years,
day nor night.
165.
How long wilt thou pass thy life in adoring thyself, and
seeking the cause of annihilation of thy being? Drink
wine, for a life that is followed by death is better spent
in sleep or drunkenness.
166.
To-morrow I shall have surmounted the mountain
which separates us, and with indescribable happiness
take the cup in my hand. My mistress longs for me,
the day is bright; if I do not hasten to enjoy myself
in such a moment, when shall I find enjoyment?
167.
There are people who through outrageous presumption
are sunk in pride; and others who abandon themselves
to the houris of celestial palaces. When the curtain is
raised, we shall see that they have fallen far, far, far,
from Thee [O God]!
168.
We are assured that there is a Paradise for us peopled
with houris, and that we shall find there limpid wine and
honey. It must then be permitted us to love women and
wine here below, for is not this our end and aim?
169.
They pretend that there exists a Paradise where there
are houris, where the _Koocer_ flows, where there is limpid
wine, honey and sugar. Oh! fill quickly a cup of wine
and put it in my hand, for one present joy is worth more
than a thousand promised for the future.
170.
Even a mountain would dance for joy if you soaked it
in wine. Poor is the fool who scorns the cup. You dare
order me to renounce the juice of the vine! Know then
that wine is a soul which helps to bring man to perfection.
171.
From time to time my heart finds itself much straitened
in its cage. Shameful is it to be mixed with water
and clay. I have often thought of destroying this prison,
but my foot would come in contact with a stone and slip
on the stirrup of the Koran's law.
172.
They say that the moon of Ramazan [month of fasting]
is about to appear and that wine must no longer be
thought of. It is well; but let me during the remainder
of Cheeban [the month preceding] drink such
a quantity of it that I may remain drunk up to the day
of the fast.
173.
Cease, if ye are my friends, all vain discourse, and,
to relieve my mental pains pour out the wine. And
when to dust my frame returns, the self-same dust
collect and make it brick to stop some crevice in the
tavern wall.
174.
The beverage of our existence is sometimes limpid,
sometimes muddy. Our garments are at one time of
coarse wool, at another of finest fabric. All this is insignificant
to a clear mind; but is it insignificant to die?
175.
No one has penetrated the secrets of the Principle
[First Cause]. No one has taken a step outside himself.
I look about and see only insufficiency from pupil to
master, insufficiency in all that the mother brings forth.
176.
Restrain thy envy of the things of this world if thou
wishest to be happy; break the bonds which enchain
thee to the good and the bad here below; live contented,
for the periodic movement of the heavens takes its course,
and this life will not be of long duration.
177.
No one has had access behind the curtain of destiny;
no one has knowledge of the secrets of Providence. For
seventy-two years I have reflected day and night, I have
learned nothing anywhere, and the enigma remains unexplained.
178.
They say that at the last day there will be judgments,
and that our dear Friend [God] will be in anger. But
from pure goodness only goodness emanates. Be then
without fear, for finally you will see that He is full of
gentleness.
179.
Drink wine, since it is that which will put an end to
the disquiet of thy heart; it will deliver thee from thy
meditations upon the seventy-two sects of the globe. Do
not abstain from this alchemy for, if thou drinkest but a
_men_ [a measure] of it, it will destroy for thee a thousand
infirmities.
180.
Wine has been prohibited, perhaps, but it is only prohibited
according to the person who drinks it, according
to the quantity drunk, and according to the individual
with whom we drink it. These points once observed,
who would drink it if not the wise?
181.
For myself, I should pour some wine into a cup that
would contain a pint. I should be content with two
cups; but first I should divorce myself thrice from religion
and reason, and then espouse the daughter of the
vine.
182.
Yes, I drink wine, and whoever like me is far-seeing
will find that this act is insignificant in the eyes of the
Divinity. From all eternity God has known that I would
drink wine. If I did not drink it, His prescience would
be pure ignorance.
183.
The drinker, if he is rich, ruins himself. The disorder
of his drunkenness provokes scandal in the world. For
this I should put an emerald in the bowl of my ruby pipe,
effectually to blind the serpent of my grief.
184.
There are some ignorant beings who have never passed
a night in quest of truth, who have never taken a step
outside themselves, who show themselves clothed in the
garments of great lords and who are pleased to slander
those whose conduct is irreproachable.
185.
When the azure of dawn shows itself, have the sparkling
cup in thine hand. They say that truth is bitter in the
mouth of mortals. That is a plausible reason for wine
being truth itself.
186.
This is the moment when the verdure begins to ornament
the world, when, like the hand of Moses, the buds begin
to show themselves upon the branches; when, revivified,
as if by the breath of Jesus, the plants spring forth from
the earth; when finally the clouds begin to ope their
eyes and weep.
187.
Keep from the trouble and vexation of aiming to acquire
white silver or yellow gold. Eat with thy friend,
ere thy warm breath be cooled, for after thee come enemies
who will eat thee.
188.
Each mouthful of wine which the cupbearer pours into
the cup helps to extinguish the fire of anger in thy burning
eyes. Has it not been said, O great God, that wine
is an elixir which drives from the heart a hundred sorrows
that oppress it?
189.
When the violet has tinted her cheeks, when the
zephyr has made the roses bloom, then he who is wise in
company with the fact will drink wine until he can dash
the cup against a stone [showing emptiness].
190.
The devotee knows not how to appreciate as well as
we Thy divine pity. A stranger can never know Thee
as perfectly as a friend. [They pretend] that Thou hast
said: If you commit sin, I will send you into Hell. Go
now--tell that to one who knows Thee not.
191.
A cup of wine is worth the empire of the universe;
the brick which covers the jar is worth a thousand lives.
The napkin with which one wipes lips moistened with
wine is indeed worth a thousand turbans.
192.
O Friends! meet together [after my death]. Once reunited,
rejoice in being together and, when the cupbearer
takes in his hand a cup of old wine, remember poor
Khayyam and drink to his memory.
193.
Not a single time has the Wheel of Heaven been propitious
to me, never for one instant has it allowed me
to hear a sweet voice, not a day has it given me a
second of happiness but that very day it has plunged
me into an abyss of grief.
194.
A cup of wine is worth a hundred hearts, a hundred
creeds, a mouthful of this juice divine is worth the Empire
of China. What is there, truly, on the earth preferable
to wine? It is a bitter that is a hundred times
sweeter than life.
195.
The Wheel of Heaven only multiplies our griefs! It
places nothing here below that it does not soon bear
away. Oh! if those who have not yet come knew
the suffering this world inflicts, they would guard themselves
well from coming here.
196.
Drink, drink this wine which gives eternal life; drink,
for it is the source of youthful joy; it burns like fire,
but, like life's essence, drives away your care. Then
drink!
197.
O Friend, to what good art thou preoccupied with
_being_? Why trouble thus thy heart, thy soul with idle
thoughts? Live happily, pass thy time joyously, for you
were not asked your opinion about the making of things
as they are.
198.
The inhabitants of the tomb are returned to earth in
dust; the atoms [of which they are composed] are scattered
here and there, separated one from the other.
Alas! what is this drink in which the human race is
soaked and which holds it thus in dizzy ignorance of all
things, even to the day of doom?
199.
O heart! act as if all the good things of this world
belonged to you; imagine that this house is provided
with everything, that it is richly furnished, and live joyously
in this domain of disorder. Realize that thou restest
here for two or three days, and that thereafter thou
shalt rise and go away.
200.
The dogmas of religion admit only that which places
you under obligation to the Divinity. That morsel of
bread that you have, refuse not to others; keep from
speaking evil; render evil to no one, and it is I who
promise you a future life: bring wine.
201.
Dragged through the rapid course of time, which accords
its favors only to the least worthy, my life is passed
in a gulf of grief and sorrow. In this garden of being,
my heart is hard as is the green bud of a rose; and like
a tulip, it is dipped in blood.
202.
What belongs to youth is wine, the limpid juice of the
vine and the society of beauty; and since water once
brought ruin to this world by annihilating it, it is our
part to drown ourselves in wine, to pass our life in
drunkenness complete.
203.
Bring wine from this ruby vessel and pour it into a
simple crystal cup; bring that thing habitual and dear
to every noble man. Since you know that all beings are
but dust, and that a two-day tempest makes them disappear,
bring wine.
204.
O Thou, the quest of whom holds all in dizziness and
distress, the dervish and the rich are equally void of
means of reaching Thee. Thy name is in the speech
of all, but all are deaf; Thou art present to the eyes of
all, but all are blind.
205.
In company with one dear friend, how pleasing to me
is a cup of wine. When I become the prey of care, it
is fitting that my eyes should be filled with tears. Oh!
this abject world has nothing lasting for us, and best it
is to dwell inebriate.
206.
Keep thyself from drinking wine in the company of a
boorish, violent character, having no mind or self-control,
for such a man knows only how to cause unpleasantness.
For the time, thou wouldst have to undergo the disorder
of his drunkenness, his vociferations, his folly. And the
next day, his prayers for excuse and pardon would come
to weary thy head.
207.
Since you only possess what God has given you, torment
not yourself to obtain the object of your covetousness.
Keep from burdening the heart too much, for the
final drama consists in leaving all and passing beyond.
208.
O my soul! drink this limpid nectar which has not
been stirred; drink it in memory of the charming idols
which ravish the heart. Wine is the blood of the vine,
my friend, and the vine says to thee: Drink of me,
since I render it lawful to you.
209.
In the season of flowers, drink rose-colored wine; drink
to the plaintive sounds of the lute, to the melodious noise
of the harp. As for me, I drink and rejoice in it; may
it be salutary to me! If you do not drink, why not be
willing that I should? Go, then, and eat pebbles!
210.
Art thou sad? Take a piece of hasheesh as large as a
grain of barley, or drink a small measure of rose-colored
wine. Then you will become a Sufi. But, if you will
not drink of this or partake of that, nothing remains for
you but to eat pebbles; go, eat some pebbles!
211.
But yesterday, I saw a potter in a bazaar treading
most vigorously the clay he was molding. The clay
seemed to say to him: I also have been like thee; treat
me, then, with less harshness.
212.
If thou drinkest wine, drink it with intelligent people,
drink it in company with thy ravishing idols, with smiles
upon their lips and their cheeks tinted with the colors of
the tulip. Drink not too much or speak boastingly of
it; make it not a refrain, but drink a little from time
to time in quietude.
213.
Wine should be drunk in the company of slender creatures
who ravish the heart with the color of their cheeks.
Art thou bitten by the serpent of grief, friend--drink, then,
of this antidote. I myself drink of it and plume myself
on the strength of it; would that it might be propitious!
If you drink it not, why not be willing that I should?
Go, eat some earth.
214.