The Sufistic Quatrains Of Omar Khayyam Part 11

The inspiration for this quatrain is to be found in C. 266.

O heart! Suppose all this world's affairs were within your power, And the whole world from end to end as you desire it, And then, like snow in the desert, upon its surface Resting for two or three days, understand yourself to be gone!

_Ref._: C. 266, L. 420, B. 416, P. 144, B. ii. 260, T. 168.--V 443.

XVII.

Think, in this batter'd Caravanserai Whose Portals are alternate Night and Day, How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp Abode his destined Hour, and went his way.

This quatrain owes its origin to C. 95.

This worn caravanserai which is called the world Is the resting-place of the piebald horse of night and day; It is a pavilion which has been abandoned by an hundred Jamshyds; It is a palace that is the resting-place of an hundred Bahrams.[40]

_Ref._: C. 95, L. 203, B. 200, S.P. 67, P. 120, B. ii. 42, T. 79 and 357.--W. 70, N. 67, V. 199.

XVIII.

They say the Lion and the Lizard keep The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep: And Bahram, that great Hunter--the Wild a.s.s Stamps o'er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep.

The original of this quatrain is C. 99.

In that palace where Bahram grasped the wine-cup; The foxes whelp, and the lions take their rest; Bahram who was always catching (_gur_) wild a.s.ses,-- To-day behold that the (_gur_) grave has caught Bahram.

_Ref._: C. 99, L. 210, B. 207, S.P. 69, P. 48 and 139, B. ii. 51, T. 82 and 294, P. iv. 12, P. v. 156.--W. 72, N. 69, V. 205.

XIX.

I sometimes think that never blows so red The Rose as where some buried Caesar bled That every Hyacinth the Garden wears Dropt in her Lap from some once lovely Head.

The original of this quatrain is found in O. 43.

Everywhere that there has been a rose or tulip bed, It has come from the redness of the blood of a king; Every violet shoot that grows from the earth Is a mole[41] that was (once) upon the cheek of a beauty.

_Ref._: O. 43, C. 47, L. 110, B. 106, B. ii. 105, T. 304, P. v. 159.--W.

104, E.C. 4, V. 109.

XX.

And this reviving Herb whose tender Green Fledges the River-lip on which we lean-- Ah, lean upon it lightly! for who knows From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen!

The original of this quatrain was C. 44.

All verdure that grows upon the margin of a stream, You may say, grows from the lip of one angel-natured; Beware not to set foot contemptuously upon the verdure, For that verdure grows from the clay of one tulip-cheeked.

_Ref._: C. 44, L. 62, B. 59, S.P. 59, P. 64, T. 349, P. iv. 20.--W. 62, N. 59, V. 61.

XXI.

Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears TO-DAY of past Regrets and future Fears: _To-morrow!_--Why, To-morrow I may be Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n thousand Years.

This quatrain is translated from C. 348.

Come, O friend! and let us not suffer anguish concerning the morrow.

Let us take advantage of these few ready-money moments, When, to-morrow, we depart from the face of the earth We shall be equal with those who went seven thousand years ago.

_Ref._: C. 348, L. 546, B. 540, S.P. 268, P. 122, B. ii. 351, T. 233, P.

v. 96.--W. 312, N. 269, V. 586.

XXII.

For some we loved, the loveliest and the best That from his Vintage rolling Time hath prest, Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before, And one by one crept silently to rest.

The inspiration for this quatrain is found in C. 185.

All my sympathetic friends have left me, One by one they have sunk low at the foot of Death.

In the fellowship of souls they were cup-companions, A turn or two before me they became drunk.

_Ref._: C. 185, L. 381, B. 377, P. ii. 4, B. ii. 141.--W. 219, V. 379.

XXIII.

And we, that now make merry in the Room They left, and Summer dresses in new bloom, Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth Descend--ourselves to make a Couch--for whom?

The main inspiration of this quatrain comes from C. 388.

Arise, and do not sorrow for this fleeting world, Be at peace, and pa.s.s through the world with happiness.

If the nature of the world were constant The turn of others would not have descended to you yourself.[42]

_Ref._: C. 388, L. 585, B. 578, S.P. 322, P. 159 and 178, B. ii. 430, T.

264, P. iv. 29 and 62.--W. 366, N. 325, V. 632.

Combined with the suggestion contained in this ruba'i, we find the echo of a sentiment that recurs continually in the originals, _e.g._, C. 82 (ll. 3 and 4) and O. 129 (ll. 3 and 4).

This verdure, which for the present is my pleasure-ground Until the verdure (springing) from my clay shall become a pleasure-ground--for whom?

_Ref._: C. 82, L. 191, B. 188, S.P. 70, P. 305, B. ii. 36, T. 63 and 351.--W. 73, N. 70, V. 187.

Sit upon the greensward, O Idol, for it will not be long Ere that greensward shall grow from my dust and thine.

_Ref._: O. 129, C. 416, L. 634, B. 626, S.P. 345, P. 47, B. ii. 464, P.

v. 131--W. 390, N. 348, E.C. 3, V. 683.