The Sufistic Quatrains Of Omar Khayyam Part 87

358.

Best is it to abstain from all that is not joyful; and best it is to receive the cup from the hands of odalisques shut up in the palaces of the princes; but best of all is drunkenness, indifference to the Kalendars, forgetfulness of self. A mouthful of wine, finally, is worth more than all that exists in the s.p.a.ce between Mah and Mahi.

359.

For thee, that which is best is to flee from the seeking of knowledge and devotion; to finger the tresses of thy ravis.h.i.+ng friend; to pour into the cup the blood of the vine ere time has spilled thine own.

360.

O friend! be in repose amidst human vicissitudes; disturb not thyself in vain because of the march of time.

When the envelope of thy being shall be torn in tatters, what matters what thou hast done, what thou hast said, or how defiled thou mayest be?

361.

O thou who hast not done good, but who hast done evil, and who hast afterward sought refuge in the Divinity, guard thyself from relying upon pardon; for he who has done nothing resembles no more him who has sinned than he who has sinned resembles him who has done nothing!

362.

Count upon life not longer than the sixtieth year.

Place thy foot in no direction without being overcome with wine. As long as thy skull hath not been made a pitcher, go always on thy way, nor take the wine-gourd from thy shoulder or the wine-cup from thy hand.

363.

This firmament is a porringer overturned upon our heads. Wise men, thereat, humble and unpresumptuous are. But see the friends.h.i.+p which obtains between the cup and the flask. Lip against lip are they, and twixt them ever flows the blood.

364.

I have swept the sill of the tavern with my hair. Yes, I have given up reflecting upon the good and the bad in this world and the next. I saw them, like two bowls, rolling in a ditch, when I was sleeping overcome with wine, and I no more occupied myself with them than if I had seen a grain of barley rolling along.

365.

The drop of water began to weep on being separated from the ocean. The ocean began to laugh, saying to it: It is we who are all; in truth, there is no other G.o.d beside us, and if we are separated, it is only by a simple point almost invisible.

366.

How long shall I trouble myself with the care of knowing whether I possess or do not possess--if I ought or ought not to pa.s.s life gaily? Fill ever the cup of wine, O cupbearer! for I do not know whether I shall breathe out this breath that I am actually breathing or not.

367.

Become not a prey to sorrow in this world of iniquity; recall not to thy soul the memory of those who are no longer here; give up thy heart only to a friend with sweet lips and fairy-like in form and never be deprived of wine, or throw life to the winds.

368.

How long will you speak to me of the mosque, of prayer and fasting? Go rather to the tavern and intoxicate yourself, and even for that ask alms. O Khayyam!

drink wine, drink; for this earth of which thou art composed will be made into cups, bowls, and pitchers.

369.

So in this palace of brief being, you ought, O wise man, to give yourself up to rose-colored wine. Then each atom of your dust that the wind carries away will fall on the sill of the tavern, all saturate with wine.

370.

Note how the zephyrs have made the roses bloom!

Note how their fragrant beauty glads the nightingale!

Go, then, repose in the shadow of these flowers, for very speedily they depart from the earth and very often ne'er return again.

371.

Behold us re-united in the midst of lovers; behold us freed from the pain which time inflicts; having emptied the cup of His love, behold us all free, all tranquil, all o'ercome with wine.

372.

Suppose that you have lived in this world in accordance with your desires; ah, well! after that? Think to yourself that the end of your days has arrived; ah, well!

after that? Admitting that you have lived for a hundred years surrounded by all that your heart could desire, imagine in your turn, that you have another hundred years to live; ah, well! after that?

373.

Do you know how the cypress and the lily have acquired the name for freedom which they enjoy among men?

It is because one has ten tongues but remains mute, and the other possesses a hundred hands and keeps them all empty.

374.

O cupbearer! put into my hand some of that delicious wine, some of that juice attractive as a charming idol, some of that nectar, in short, which like a chain whose links, turning and returning upon each other, hold fools and sages alike in sweet captivity.

375.

O regret! that life should be pa.s.sed in pure loss! How lawless all our eating and how defiled our bodies! I have the blame, O G.o.d! of not having done what Thou hast commanded. What will come to me for having done what Thou hast not commanded?

376.