UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE RUBA'IYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM OF THIS EDITION 1,000 Copies have been priiited. •If KHAYYAM .!« A-FACSI M I LE-OFTHEMSj|p/ INTHE BODLE IAN- LI B RARY I TRANS L AT E D-AND-EDIT E0|'| ftmRD-HEROJALLEMi LONDON THE RUBA'IYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM BEING A Facsimile of the Manuscript in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, u'ith a Transcript into modern Persian Characters, TRANSLATED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND SOME SIDELIGHTS UPON EDWARD FITZGERALD'S POEM BY EDWARD HERON-ALLEN J^ Ik&s )l ^ Jlc» wiuJ ,.^ii ^-Jb ^ 49321^8 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Introduction ........ i — xlii English translation i Photographic facsimile of MS. 29 Bibliographical references, for abbre\iations in the notes 115 Facsimile pages with transcript, translation, and notes 119 Bibliography of Omar Khayyam - • - - 381 Some Sidelights upon Edward Fit^Gerald's Poem, " The Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam " ■ - 289 PREFATORY NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION I CONFESS that I am surprised — and agreeably so — to find that, within six months of the first publication of this volume, a second and larger edition is called for. I am not, however, so blinded with satisfaction as not to realize that the success of my book has been brought about, not so much by any intrinsic merits of its own, as by the ever-widening interest that is felt in the matchless poem of FitzGerald which was primarily responsible for its appearance. I have taken advantage of the opportunity thus afforded me to make several revisions suggested by scholarly critics, and to add a considerable mass of material which was not selected, or not discovered, in January last. I am glad to have found this further occasion for addressing my readers, if for no other reason than to record my indebtedness to Professor E. Denison Ross, who has not only helped me very greatly with the revision, but has had the kindness to correct the proofs of this edition for me during my absence from England. EDWARD HERON-ALLEN. Venice, May, i8g8. With a pathetic insistence, equalled only by that with which King Charles's head intruded upon the memorial of Mr. Dick, a few biographical details concerning the Life of Ghias ud-din Abul Fath 'Omar bin Ibrahim Al Khayyam ^ (as recorded in the Testament of Nizam ul Mulk, and cited thence in Mirkhond's History of the Assassins,^ in Khondemir's Habib us-Siyar, and in the Dabistan^) have intruded upon the prefatory excursions of almost every author, poet, or translator that has published any book or article having these quatrains 1. The European forms of our author's name vary in accordance with his translators' and historians' nationalities and tastes in transliteration. In English works and catalogues alone we get the variations Omar Khayyam, Omar-i-Khayyam, and Omar al Khayyam. Mons. Nicolas, in his note on p. 2, says : " His real name was Omar, but being constrained to follow the oriental custom which requires every poet to assume a surname (takhallus), he preserved the name which indicated the profession of his father, and his own, i.e., Khayyam — ' tent maker ' {vide note i to q. 22, post; vide also p. xl.). The Persians say that it was the extreme modesty of Omar that prevented his taking a more brilliant surname, like that of Firdausi (= the Celestial) ; Sa'di (= the Happy) ; Anwarl (= the Luminous) ; Hafiz ( = the Preserver)." Prof. Cowell favours me with the following observations : "The Atash Kadah calls him ' Khayyam,' adding (and Persian authors generally do so) 'and they call him 'Omar' (JcJ»^ y4S> ••*> j)- Still, the Persian preface of the Calcutta MS. has ' Omar Khayyam ' like us Europeans. . . . Sprenger in his Catalogue calls him ' Omar Khayyam,' and so does Dr. Rieu in his British Museum Catalogue. ' Omar Khayyam ' has therefore (as you see) plenty of authority for it. ' Omar al Khayyam,' as far as I can see, has none." 2. Muhammad ibn Khavand Shah Mir Khwand. " History of the Early Kings of Persia," translated by D. Shea. London, 1832. (Oriental Translation Fund.) 3. The Dabistan is a treatise upon religious sects, the author of which is not named, but which is supposed to have been written by one Mulla Mubad. A translation by D. Shea and A. Troyer was issued in 1S43 by the Oriental Translation Fund. b ii Intrudiiction for theme. Broadly speaking, these may be said to include the story of the tripartite agreement for their mutual advan- tage of Omar Khayyam with Nizam ul Mulk and Hasan ibn Sabah ; his reform of the calendar ; the critical exordium of Shahrastani ; the story of his apparition to his mother ; and the one about his tomb related by his pupil, NizamI of Samarcand. It may be further observed that recent criticism has cast grave doubts upon the authenticity of these details. In like manner, since the death of Mr. FitzGerald, we may apply the same observation to the biographical details of his life, which have been sifted from his own charming letters, or strained from the mass of magazine literature that has appeared during the intervening periods, to appear as integral portions of introductions, ever increasing in bulk and weight. As it is improbable that this work will reach the hands of, or at any rate be seriously studied by, anyone who has not read Edward FitzGerald's own preface to his poem, and as it is un- likely that any student will read this volume unless his interest in that poem has been sufficient to have caused him to read the "Letters and Literary Remains of Edward FitzGerald," I will allow myself to preserve a discreet silence upon these points, and will not burden my introduction with stories that are already wearisomely familiar to my readers. I would refer those who desire to study the magazine literature of the subject to the articles of Mr. Gosse {Fortnightly Review, July, 1889), Mr. Groome {Blackwood's Magazine, November, 1889), Mr. Clodd {English Illnstrated Magazine, February, 1894), and Mr. Schiitz- Wilson {Contemporary Review, March, 1876). For the rest, the enquirer is referred to the Bibliographical Appendix and to Poole's Index of Periodical Literature. There remains at our disposal the story 01 how the first edition of FitzGerald's poem fell from grace to the penny box, and rose thence to twenty guineas per copy — and an honoured anecdotage. For the details of this progression the reader is referred to the introduction to Mr. J. H. McCarthy's prose Introduction iii version, which is, as far as my studies have taken me, the most scholarly, the most enthusiastic, and the most graceful essay upon these more than triturated themes that has yet seen the Hght. (7iWg Terminal Essay, p. 297.) Of critical essays upon FitzGerald's poem, probably the best is that of Mr. Keene {Macmillan's Magazine, November, 1887), though it will pre- sently be seen that I disagree with the views he has expressed; and of essays ex cathedrd — that is to say, written by oriental scholars, since the fundamental essay of Professor Cowell {Calcutta Review, March, 1858) nothing has surpassed that of Professor Pickering {National Review, December, 1890). Apart, however, from the anecdotal history of this collec- tion of quatrains, and of the matchless poem which they inspired, there is a chapter of history worthy our careful con- sideration — the chapter containing the history of the period ex- tending from about a.d. 1050-60, within which limits the birth of Omar Khayyam has by consent of his historiographers been fixed, until the year 1123 (a.h. 517), when his death is recorded upon more or less contemporaneous authority. Within this period our poet-mathematician lived, and from the events of that period — events which were stirring Islam to the foundation of its faith — came influences which may have tinged the philosophy preached by the singer. The internal evidence of the collection negatives the idea that the quatrains were written at one time as components of a consecutive whole, and suggests that they were written at intervals extending over the whole period ol Omar's life, and collected, generally into the consecutive- alphabetical, or familiar dlwan form, at the end of his life, or, as is more probable, after his death. In point of fact, I think it not unlikely that most of his quatrains were transmitted as traditional epigrams, and collected at the instance of later poets such as Hafiz or Jami, or his pupil NizamI, many of whose recollections of Omar's quatrains, strongly imbued with the proclivities of their recorders, have passed into currency as the ipsissima verba of Omar, among the voluminous col- iv Introduction lections of quatrains which, during five centuries, have been brought together and issued from time to time as his work. It is reasonable to assume that passing events had little or no influence upon Omar and his work until, at earliest, A.D. 1076, when the conquest of Jerusalem by the Turks led to that protracted convulsion of the Muhammadan world whose opening phase was the First Crusade.^ The Sultan Toghrul Beg had been succeeded in 1063 by Alp Arslan, who extended his dominion from the Mediterranean Sea to Central Asia, and, being assassinated on Christmas Day, 1072, was succeeded by his son Malik Shah, the patron and protector of Omar Khayyam. No more perfect picture of the era of Omar can be found than that contained in the Makamat (or "Assemblies") of El Hariri the silk merchant, who, born in Bussorah in 1054, and dying in 1122, wrote the book of which Professor Chenery and Dr. Steingass have given us a masterly translation.^ The origin of this book was, we are told, his accidental meeting with one of the few survivors of the massacre of Seruj, when that city was attacked and destroyed by Baldwin, brother of Godfrey of Bouillon, in the year 1098, during the period when he ruled the Christian Principality of Edessa.^ In 1084 the conquest of Asia Minor may be said to have been completed by the Turks, in 1088 began the series of persecutions of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem which led to the Crusades, and, in 1092, Malik Shah died, having, in addition to his territorial conquests, reformed the calendar by means of the labours of eight learned men, of whom Omar was one, and inaugurated, by the correction of all errors of reckoning, either past or future, the Jalali era, a computation of time which, says 1. For a simplified account, see "The Crusades" in the " Story of the Nations " series, by T. A. Archer and C. L. Kingsford. London and New York, 1894. 2. "The Assemblies of Al Hariri." London, 1867. This edition con- tained only twenty-six " Assemblies," but the work has now been completed by Dr. Steingass for the subscribers to the Oriental Translation Fund. 3. According to some authorities, the conquests of Syria and Palestine and the Empire of the far East were accomplished by ISIalik Shah (c. 1074-5), but this does not concern us in this place. Introduction v Gibbon, surpassed the Julian, and approached the accuracy of the Gregorian style.^ It is difficult to resist the temptation to touch upon some of the leading episodes of this period — the disgrace of Nizam ul Mulk ; the successive reigns of the Seljuk Sultans, Mahmud (1092), Bargiyaruk (1094), Malik Shah II. (1104), Muhammad (1104), Sanjar (11 17), and the period of comparative tranquillity which supervened, during which Omar died ^ (1123) in retirement and philo- sophical repose at Naishapur, his declining years softened by the companions, the roses, and the wine whose Canticle he sang to such lasting purpose, within sight of the still beautiful and fertile valley of Meshed in Khorasan, that nursery of Persian song, which boasted itself the birthplace in turn of FirdausT, of AsadI, of Ferid ud-dln 'Attar, of Jalal-ud-din Rumi, of JamI, of Hatifi, and many others, and which may justly be named the Persian Parnassus. In the West a sharp line of demarcation is apt to be drawn between men of thought and men of action. The names of a few soldier-poets and artisan-philosophers surge in the mind as one writes this, but these are few and far between. It has not been so in the East. Omar the tent-maker, Attar the druggist occur to one's mind par nobile fratvum, and what better examples could be cited than Omar the Mugherl (who has been confused ere now with our Omar), " the noble- man, the warrior, the libertine, but above all the poet — the Don Juan of Mecca, the Ovid of Arabia and the East — Omar 1. " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," chap. Ivii. Vide also Dr. Hyde's work (p. xiv.), chap, xvi., pp. 200-211. Mr. Binning {vide note 2, p. XXV.) states that this work was done under the auspices of Sultan Jalal-ud-din of Khorasan, who ordered that, once every four years, six extra intercalary days, instead of the usual five, should be added, so as to make up the complete solar year, which consequently corresponds closely with our Gregorian year. (Vol. ii., p. 207.) 2. A. Houtum-Schindler, in a letter to the Academy (24th January, 1885), states that Omar died in a.d. 1124, over one hundred years old; but he does not give his authority for this information. vi Introduction the Mugherl, the f,'randson of Abu-Rabi'ah," ^ and above all, Husain Ibn Sina, known to the western world as Avicenna, the Philosopher, Doctor, Metaphysician, Poet, and Mystic, whose works, varied as they are almost ad infinitum in manner and matter, engaged the printing-presses of Europe (as may be appreciated by a glance at the Bibliographies) at the end of the 15th, through the i6th, and to the beginning of the 17th centuries, almost to the exclusion of contemporary poets and scientists. He was born in a.d. 980 at Bokhara, son of a Persian tax-collector, and died in 1036, and his compara- tively recent fame may well have spurred the ambition of the youthful Omar ; but his fame presents this contrast to that of Omar : his science lived, and lives eternal, whilst his poetry is relegated to the Walhalla of pre-historic verse, whereas the science of Omar is disregarded, existing only for the curious in the " Algebre d"Omar al Khayyami, traduite et accompagnec d'extraits de MSS. inedits " (Paris, 185 1, Woepcke), whilst his " Ruba'iyat " hav^e assumed the purple among classic poems. Professor Pickering {loc. cit.) has ably dealt with this side of Omar's fame. {Vide Terminal Essay, p. 290.) It is not for me to enter upon a discourse concerning the fundamental principles of his religion and philosophy; this is a field that has been ploughed (and harrowed) by eminent students of philosophical history and problems ; Professor Cowell, Professor Pickering, and Mr. Schutz-Wilson, in the articles above referred to, have argued and expounded the matter from their various standpoints. Mr. Whinfield has given us in his "Introduction" a masterly resume of the subject. I think that every student of Omar reads into this poet's quatrains his own pet philosophy, and interprets him according to his own religious views. For me, Omar was at once a transcendental agnostic and an ornamental pes- simist, not always supported (as was natural, considering the 1. \V. G. Palgrave in Frascr's Magazine, April, 1871, "Arabiana." The curious are referred to " "Umar ibn Abi Rebi'a, ein arabischer Dichter der Umajjadenzeit." by P. Schwarz. Leipzig, iSgo. This Omar was born in the year a.u. 644. Introduction vii era of religious hysteria in which he lived) by the courage of his own opinions — in which respect, I think, Shahrastani appreciated his peculiar attitude — but profoundly imbued with the possible beauty of the present world, apart from all ulterior speculations, and the everlasting and unendable search after the absolute knowledge of truth.^ This trait in his individuality led him often into amazing obscurity of metaphor, an obscurity, however, that a modern translator resents the less when he reflects that it was in most instances the object and intention of the poet. His attitude reminds us, as a writer in Frasefs Magazine for June, 1870, has observed, of the saying of the French philosopher, Royer-Collard, to the effect that philosophy is the art of tracing back human ignorance to its fountain-head.^ A point which strikes one more forcibly than any other c|,fter studying many hundreds of quatrains composed by, or attributed to, him, is, that though the sensuous imagery inseparable from Persian belles-lettres is abundantly present in his work, it is singularly free from that coarseness — that wealth of ignoble illustration and licentious anecdote which render practically all Persian poems and romances unsuitable for ears polite in an unexpurgated form. " We find in his verses," says Professor Cowell, "a totally different character to that which we should naturally have expected from the prevailing habit of thought in which he lived. . . . Every other poet of Persia has written too much — even her noblest sons of genius weary with their prolixity. The language has a fatal facility of rhyme, which makes it easier to write in verse than in prose, and every author heaps volumes on volumes, until he buries himself and his reader beneath their weight. Our mathematician is the one solitary exception. He has left 1. Mr. W. L. Phelps, in an able article in The New Englmuiev (New Haven, Conn.), vol. xlix., 1888, draws a scholarly parallel between Omar and Schopenhauer. 2. Vide "Academie de Paris. Faculte des Lettres. Cours de I'Histoire de la Philosophic Moderne. Premiere le9on de la troisieme annee." P. P. Royer-Collard. viii Introduction fewer lines than Gray." Were it not that one instinctively recoils from instituting even a passing comparison between Omar and the late Mr. Tupper, one would be inclined to write him down the Sultan of proverbial philosophers, an attribute which is generally enhanced by the want of sequence of idea in- separable from the diwan form of poetic arrangement, in which the quatrains follow one another strictly according to the alpha- betical sequence of their rhyme-endings and without regard to the series of thoughts expressed, or to the pictures evolved. A primary difficulty which confronts the student of Omar Khayyam is the great difficulty and doubt which exists as to which of the ruba'iyat have reached us in a form most nearly approaching that in which they left the master's hand. Diligent search in the older cities of Central Asia, where Persian is the language, or at least the elegant study of the more cultured classes, may bring to light some MS. that may fairly be regarded as a " Codex," and! serve as the point of departure for the student. At present the oldest MS. available for the student is that of the year a.h. 865 (a.d. 1460), in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, which is reproduced by photo- graphy, transcribed, and translated in the present volume. It was discovered among an uncatalogued mass of Oriental MSS., forming the Ouseley collection in 1856 by Professor Cowell, who made a transcript of it, which transcript lies before me, and has been of the greatest assistance to me in deciphering the MS. The original MS. is probably one of the most beautiful Persian MSS. of its age^ in existence, and is written upon thick yellow paper in purple-black ink, profusely powdered with gold. These gold spots have frequently confused the workman who made the line-blocks which accompany my translation, a further element of difficulty being introduced by the fact that the points are often merged into the borders, and therefore invisible in the line-blocks. My publishers, however, have with great liberality had executed for me, in I. It is wriiten, according to the Catalogue, in Nasta'lik ; but I should be inclined to describe it as written in a hand midway between Nasta'lik and Introduction ix addition, a set of half-tone blocks, which the student will fully appreciate, as in them all the faint indications of the original are reproduced with exact fidelity. The permanence of the ink is extraordinary, the only places where it has faded being here and there on the borders, and in the formal heading dJUiajlj (" and likewise to him") which appears above each quatrain. Internal evidence seems to point to the fact that the borders and headings were added afterwards in a different ink, which would account for this. The scribe has been exceptionally careful in his work, even for a Persian (than which praise could hardly go higher ^), but, even [so, the diacritical points are omitted here and there ; these I have supplied in the transcript." Next in order of age among the MSS. come those in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, which I have made a point of carefully examining before committing these sheets to the press. There are three principal MSS., one, No. 349 of the " Ancien Fonds," and two, Nos. 823 and 826 of the Supple- Shikasta — Nim-Shikasta. There are three predominant classes or types of hand- writing under which it is customary to class oriental MSS. : Naskh, Nasta'lik, and Shikasta. Naskh is the equivalent of perfect modern printed characters, Nasta'lik is small and cursive, but beautifully fine in execution, answering to our "copper-plate" writing, whilst Shikasta {i.e. "broken") is the current hand in which ordinary commercial writing and correspondence is carried on. A far- reaching knowledge of the language and all its idioms and inflections is required to decipher it. The three types are excellently illustrated in Sir William Jones's Grammar. 1. In no country has the art of caligraphy been carried to so high a point, and been so highly honoured as in Persia. Their MSS. are ornamented with marvellous miniatures, the paper is powdered with silver and gold, and fre- quently perfumed with the most costly essences. (Cf. Fitzgerald's " youth's sweet-scented manuscript.") Sir William Jones recorded his opinion that the MS. of Yusuf and Zuleika at Oxford (No. i of the Greaves' collection) is the most beautiful MS. in the world. Since he wrote, however, many MSS. of equally marvellous beauty have come to light, and copies of the Qur'an are to be found in eastern mosques of surpassing workmanship. The learned Fakr-ud-din Rasi, speaking of the Khalif Mustassim Billah, can find no higher eulogy than " He knew the Qur'an by heart, and his handwriting was very beautiful." Some of the finest specimens of Persian MSS. in existence are to be found in the library of the Asiatic Society in London, and in the British Museum, where some chosen specimens are generally on view in the King's Library. 2. As for instance in qq. 20, 50, 99, 112, 130, and elsewhere. X Introduction ment Persan. The first, which is dated a.h. 920 (a.d. 1514), is beautifully written in Nasta'lik between blue and gold lines and an ornamental heading in red, blue, and gold. It contains 213 ruba'iyat. The second MS. forms part of a large collection ot poems transcribed by the same hand, the terminal leaf of which bears the following inscription : " The copying of these quatrains was finished by the aid of God and by the excellence of his assistance, the fifteenth day of the month of Jumada, the second of the year 934 " {i.e., i6th February, 1528). This MS. is written in Nasta'lik between blue ruled borders, and presents, like the first cited MS., the peculiarity that the ruba'ij'at are not in alphabetical or dlwan order. The third MS. also forms part of a collection of poems, dated a.h. 937 (a.d. 1530), written in a neat Nasta'lik, in a Turkish hand which is extremely difficult to read. Another MS. in this library has been cited, but Mons. Omont, the keeper of the Oriental MSS., informs me that it has been missing for many years. In addition, there are eight ruba'iyat written in a handwriting of the late ninth or early tenth century, a.h., upon the blank leaves of a dlwan of Emad which is dated a.h. 920 ; six in an eleventh-century handwriting in a collection of poems, undated; and thirty-one in a fine MS. of the Atash Kadah of Azr dated a.h. 1217 (a.d. 1802), in the colophon of which Azr is described as afsah dl niu'dsirtn, "the most eloquent of con- temporaries," indicating that he was then alive. It will be observed, therefore, that the Bodleian MS. is not only the earliest MS. known, but is one of the very few which are complete in themselves, and do not form part of collections in bdyaz or commonplace books. There are a considerable number of later MSS. in various public libraries, in which the number of the quatrains is swelled by the addition of a vast number which are for the most part either variants of those in the earlier MSS., or frank repetitions of one another,^ until we arrive at the comparatively modern Cambridge MS., in which the ruba'iyat reach the alarming total of 801. I. I have found quatrains repeated even in the Paris MS. of a.h. 934 (e.g.. qq. 154 and 172). Introduction xi Of these the most valuable and interesting is, I think, the MS. No. 1548 in the Bengal Asiatic Society's Library at Calcutta, and it is especially interesting to English students as having been the principal other authority consulted by Professor Cowell when writing his article in the Calcutta Review, and used by Edward FitzGerald in the construction of his poem. Professor Cowell has kindly placed his copy of this MS. at my disposal for the purposes of this work. (Vide Terminal Essay, p. 296.) At the moment that the first edition was leaving the press, I received through the courtesy and pains of Mr. A. S. Pringle, Director of Indian Records in the Home Department at Calcutta, a copy of a very impor- tant MS. once the property of one Maulavi Khuda Baksh Khan Bahadur, by whom it had been presented to the public library at Bankipur. It forms (as usual) part of a collection of literary extracts, written by two Indian scribes in the year g6i A.H. It contains 604 ruba'iyat, of which 81 are not to be found in any of the MSS. and other collections noted in my Bibliographical References (p. 115). It will be observed therefore that, for its age, this is the largest collection that has hitherto been found, and, on account of the large number of ruba'iyat not found elsewhere, one of the most important. It will also be remarked by the student that, as a general rule, the readings of this MS. are identical with those of the Bodleian MS., even when all other texts are at variance with it, and that the meaning is more clear in this MS. than in any other under consideration. There are over 40 ruba'iyat in the Bodleian MS. that are not in this MS., so that these two alone give us nearly 650 ruba'iyat, of a date not later than 1553 A.D. Scarcely less important than the MSS. are the litho- graphed editions of Teheran, Calcutta, Lucknow, Bombay, and Tabriz, from the first of which Mons. Nicolas made his printed text,^ and from the last of which Professor I. It would ill-beseem me to criticise adversely so valuable and in many respects scholarly a work as that of Mons. Nicolas, but it must be admitted that the accuracy of his translation, in many places, leaves much to be desired. Where the meaning is more than ordinarily obscure, he generally shirks the xii Introduction Schuchovsky, of St. Petersburg, made his lithographed edition.^ These will be found duly noted in the Biblio- graphical References (p. 115), and in the Bibliography (p. 281). For the European student the text and translation of Mons. Nicolas is probably the best, though as a text alone, that of Mr. Whinfield, issued by Messrs. Triibner in 1883, is unsurpassed. This text Mr. Whinfield framed from a comparison of the Bodleian, the Calcutta, and the two India Office MSS., the Calcutta and Lucknow lithographs, and the printed editions of MM. Blochmann and Nicolas. It may seem churlish to look so valuable a text in the foot- notes (so to speak), but regard being had to the very great diversities existing in the various texts, it is a great pity that Mr. Whinfield did not pursue a system of numbering the quatrains in his authorities, and so save the conscientious student a world of troublesome labour." A very interesting collection of quatrains attributed to Omar is included in that pantheon of Persian poetry, the Atash Kadah of Hajji Lutf Ali Beg of Isfahan, known as Azr, a collection numbering thirty-one quatrains, of which ten are represented in the translation and merely gives the intention of the original, and the assistance that Mr. McCarthy would seem, from internal evidence, to have derived from Mons. Nicolas's translation, has caused the same observation to be applicable to his prose rendering. Mons. Nicolas was essentially a Sufi, and dragged in Sufistic interpre- tations wherever he could, attributing a mystic or divine interpretation to Omar's most obviously materialistic passages, by way of apology for the " sensualite quelquefois revoltante," which has passed into a proverb among students of Omar. Edward FitzGerald dealt at length with this amiable weakness (if one may so call it) in the preface to his second and subsequent editions. The reader is referred to Nicolas's note 5 on p. 105, note 5 on p. 143, note i on p. 170, note 4 on p. 171, and note 2 on p. 183 of his translation, to quote only five out of a great number of such notes. The two last refer to qq. 128 and 137 of the Bodleian quatrains. 2. It must be borne in mind that in the MSS. and lithographs the ruba'iyat are never numbered, and when in the course of this volume I refer to them by numbers, it must be understood that I am referring to numbers I have myself affixed in my copies to simplify the work of reference. Thus, therefore, if Mr. Whinfield had numbered his Lucknow lithograph (for instance) his numbers would differ from mine, as I have used a later edition, containing more ruba'iyat than his. Introduction xiii Bodleian MS.^ and twenty-one are of different, and probably later, origin.^ The Paris MS. of this work has already been referred to. Azr was not born until a.d. 1722, and his "new" quatrains are as a whole very inferior to those in this MS. Everything, therefore, seems to point to the fact that the quatrains have been multiplied in every succeeding MS. by unscrupulous scribes, who boldly repeated quatrains, with or without slight variations, in view of the fact that they were probably paid "by the piece"; by religious objectors, who either altered quatrains to suit their own views, or added new ones to answer quatrains to which they especially objected ; and by editors who have sought to give their work the im- portance of mere bulk. Thus Mr. Whinfield's copy of the Lucknow lithograph, printed in 1868, contains 716 quatrains, the edition of 1878 con- tains 763, and my own copy, a re-issue lithographed in 1894, contains 770. Mrs. Jessie E. Cadell, who made the quatrains of Omar Khayyam a principal study of her regrettably short life, and published the results of her labours in Eraser's Magazine (May, 1879), collated all the authorities to be found in public libraries in Europe, and found over twelve hundred distinct quatrains attributed to him. I have attempted a catalogue of authorities available to the student in the Biblio- graphical Appendix. Passons outre. A history of this poem in its most widely accepted European dress must necessarily partake largely of the nature of a Bibliographical Essay, which would take us beyond the purpose of an Introduction. A few words on the subject are, however, permissible in this place. The first Persian scholar to introduce Omar Khayyam to European readers was 1. These are Nos. g, 47, 77, 62, i, 103, 102, 109, 136, and 155. For fear of overburdening my work with variant readings I have not compared these with the Bodleian MS. quatrains in the following pages. 2. The editions of i860 and 1881, Hthographed by Fath-al-Kirim, at Bombay, contain 42 quatrains, of which 13 are represented in the Bodleian MS. The extra 11 quatrains are evidently recently added to the collection. xiv Introduction Dr. Thomas Hyde, Regius Professor of Hebrew and Arabic at Oxford, who, in his " Veterum Persarum et Parthorum, et Medorum religionis historia" (Oxford, 1700, 2nd edition, 1760), recounts the story of the apparition of Omar, after his death, to his mother, and his recital of the well-known quatrain to her {vide post, note to q. i). The first to make an extended study of the quatrains was Von Hammer-Purgstall, who, in his " Geschichte der schonen Redekiinste Persiens " (Vienna, 1818), gave verse-translations of twenty-five quatrains, but does not state from what MS. he translated. Friedrich Riickert, who died in 1866, included two quatrains in his " Grammatik, Poetik und Rhetorik der Perser " (published at Gotha in 1874), ^^^ ^i^ Gore Ouseley, gave the same number in his " Biographical Notices of Persian Poets " (London, 1846), one of which was q. 8g, post. Save for the pamphlet in which Garcin de Tassy, in 1857, forestalled FitzGerald, from materials derived from him, this brings us to the time when Omar was taken in hand by Professor Cowell and Edward FitzGerald. It will not, I think, be uninteresting to gather from the letters written by Edward FitzGerald to his friends, and recently published by Messrs. Macmillan,^ his own account of the Persian studies that culminated in the production of the poem by which, it may fairly be said, the Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam became known to European readers.'-^ In 1845 it is clear that he had no leaning towards oriental sub- jects ; indeed, in a letter to Frederick Tenn5'son (6th February, 1845) he says : 1. " Letters of Edward FitzGerald " (edited by W. Aldis Wright). London (Macmillan). 1894 2 vols. Extracted from L. R. 2. I wish, in this place, to record my sincere thanks to Mr. Aldis Wright and Messrs. Macmillan for their permission, readily granted me, to reprint the following voluminous extracts from their publication. Their edition of FitzGerald's works, referred to throughout this work as " L. R.," is indispensable to the student of the poem, for all FitzGerald's work was more or less tinged by his studies of Omar Khayyam. Introduction XV Eliot Warburton has written an Oriental book.^ Ye Gods ! In Shakespeare's day the nuisance was the Monsieur Travellers who had " swum in a gundello," but now the bores are those who have smoked Tschibouques with a Pcshcnv ! Early in 1846, however, we find him writing to his friend E. B. Cowell (now Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Cambridge) : Your Hafiz is fine; 2 and his tavern world is a sad and just idea. ... It would be a good work to give us some of the good things of Hafiz and the Persians; of bulbuls and ghuls we have had enough. Two years later he writes to Cowell (25th January, 1848) : Ten years ago I might have been vext to see you striding along in Sanskrit and Persian so fast; reading so much; remem- bering all; writing about it so well. But now I am glad to see any man do anything well, and I know that it is my vocation to stand and wait and know within myself whether it is well done. , In answer to some queries about FitzGerald's early Persian studies, Professor Cowell writes me as follows (21st October, 1896) : Edward FitzGerald began to read Persian with me in 1853 ; he read Jones's Grammar,^ which exactly suited him, as its examples of the values are always beautiful lines of poetry from Hafiz, Sadi, &c. FitzGerald himself records the matter in his Letters, thus, to Cowell (25th October, 1853) : I have ordered Eastwick's Gulistan;* for I believe I shall potter out so much Persian. The weak Apologue goes on,^ for I have not had time for much here,^ and I find it difficult enough even with Jones's Translation. 1. " The Crescent and the Cross, or Romance and Realities of Eastern Travel." London, 1S45, 2 vols. lamo. 2. This refers to certain translations of selected Odes of Hafiz, by Cowell, which he sent to FitzGerald to read. They were subsequently incor- porated by him in an article upon Hafiz, and published anonymously in Fraser's Magazine for September, 1854. 3. "A Grammar of the Persian Language," by Sir William Jones. London, 1771. 7th edition, London, 1809. 4. An early edition of the translation cited in the Bibliographical Re- ferences (p. 115). 5. "The Gardener and the Nightingale " in Sir William Jones's Persian Grammar. 6. Richmond, Surrey. xvi Introduction Later (27th December, 1853) he writes to F. Tennyson : I also amuse myself with poking out some Persian which E. Cowell would inaugurate me with ; I go on with it because it is a point in common with him and enables us to study a little together. After mastering the rudiments, FitzGerald first addressed himself seriously to Jaml's poem of Salaman and Absal ; Professor Cowell tells me {lac. cit.) : I read J ami's Salaman and Absal with him at Oxford in 1854 and '55, which he translated and published in 1856. J. W. Parker and Son were the pubhshers.^ The Life of J ami appeared in that volume. Accordingly, we find FitzGerald writing to Cowell in 1855, in reply to a letter concerning Hafiz: Any such translation of such a writer as Hafiz by you into pure, sweet and partially measured prose ^ must be better than what I am doing for J ami, whose ingenuous prattle I am stilting into too Miltonic verse. This I am very sure of. But it is done. In the earliest days of 1856 the translation of Salaman and Absal was for practical purposes complete, and FitzGerald \vrites to Cowell : I send you a sketch of Jami's Life, which cut, correct and annotate as you like. Where there was so little to tell, I have brought in all the fine names and extra bits I could to give it a little sparkle. There is very little after all ; I have spread it over paper to give you room to note upon it. Only take care not to lose either these or yesterday's papers, for my terror at going over the ground. You must put in the corrected Notice about the Sultan Hussein, both in the Memoir and in the Note to the Poem. The latter will have room for at least four (I think five) lines of note type, which you must fill, and not overflow: "Strong without rage," etc. I feel guilty at taking up your time and thoughts, and also at dressing myself so in your plumes. But I mean to say a word about this, (/jwi-ui'Ttt o-i'vcToicrtv', in my Preliminary Notice ; and would gladly dedicate the little book to you by name, with due acknow- ledgment, did I think the world would take it for a compliment to you. But though I like the version, and you like it, we know very 1. " Salaman and Absal, an Allegory." Translated from the Persian of Jaml. London, 1856. A reprint of this edition was made in 1871 by Cowell and Sons, of Ipswich. The original was printed by Messrs. Childs, of Bungay. 2. This evidently refers to the article upon Hafiz cited in note 2, p. xv. Introduction xvii well the world — even the very little world, I mean, who will see it — may not ; and might laugh at us both for any such compliment. They cannot laugh at your scholarship ; but they might laugh at the use I put it to, and at my dedicating a cobweb (as Carlyle called Maud the other night) to you. FitzGerald was evidently desirous of seeing his first oriental translation in print, for a few days later (loth February, 1856) he writes further to Cowell, as follows : I sent you a string of questions about Salamiln last week, all of which I did not want you to answer at once, but wishing at least to hear if you had leisure and inclination to meddle with them. There is no reason in the world you should, unless you really have time and liking. If you have, I will send you the proofs of the little book which Mr. Childs is even now putting in hand. Pray let me know as soon as you can what, and how much, of this will be agreeable to you. You don't tell me how Hilfiz gets on. There is one thing which I think I find in Salamiin which may be worth your con- sideration (not needing much) in Hafiz : namely, in Translation to retain the original Persian names as much as possible — " Shah " for " King," for instance, " Yusuf and Suleyman" for " Joseph and Solomon," etc. The Persian is not only more musical, but removes such words and names further from Europe and European preju- dices and associations. So also I think best to talk of " a moon " rather than "a month," and perhaps "sennight" is better than " week." This is a little matter, but it is well to rub off as little Oriental colour as possible. As to a notice of Jaml's Life, you need not trouble j'ourself to draw it up unless you like, since I can make an extract of Ouseley's,^ and send you for any addition or correction you like. This is the notice of Jaml's life referred to by Professor Cowell in his letter to me. It was immediately after the pub- lication of the Salaman and Absal in 1856 that Mr. Cowell was appointed Professor of History at the Presidency College in Calcutta, whither he went in August, 1856. In a letter written to him (22nd January, 1857) FitzGerald says : I have read really little except Persian since you went ; and yet, from want of eyes, not very much of that. I have gone care- fully over two-thirds of Hafiz again with Dictionary and Von 1. Sir Gore Ouseley. "Bibliographical Notices of the Persian Poets." London, 1846. P. 131, No. 9, " Jami." C xviii Introduction Hammer;^ and gone on with JamI and Nizaml. But my great performance all lies in the last five weeks since I have been alone here; when I wrote to Napoleon Newton- to ask him to lend me his MS. of Attar's Mantic ut tair; and, with the help of Garcia de Tassy, have nearly made out about two-thirds of it. For it has greatly interested me, though I confess it is always an old story. On the i2th March, 1857, FitzGerald writes to Cowell: To-day I have been writing twenty pages of a metrical sketch of the Mantic, for such uses as I told you of. It is an amusement to me to take what liberties I like with these Persians, who (as I think) are not poets enough to frighten one from such excursions, and who really do want a little art to shape them. I don't speak of Jelaleddin,'' whom I know so little of (enough to show me that he is no great artist, however), nor of Hafiz, whose best is untrans- latable, because he is the best musician of words. Old Johnson said the poets were the best preservers of a language ; for people must go to the original to relish them. I am sure that what Tennyson said to you is true: that Hafiz is the most Eastern — or, he should have said most Persian — of the Persians. He is the best representative of their character, whether his Saki and Wine be real or mystical. Their religion and philosophy is soon seen through, and always seems to me cuckooed over like a borrowed thing, which people, once having got, don't know how to parade enough. To be sure their Roses and Nightingales are repeated enough; but Hafiz and old Omar Khayyam ring like true metal The philosophy of the latter is, alas ! one that never fails in the world. " To-day is ours," etc. While I think of it, why is the sea (in that Apologue of Attar once quoted by Falconer) supposed to have lost God ? Did the Persians agree with something I remember in Plato about the sea and all in it being an inferior nature? in spite of Homer's " Divine Ocean," etc. This idea appears to have struck FitzGerald so much that he introduced it into the 33rd stanza of his Omar. Professor Cowell, writing on the subject to Mr. Aldis Wright, says : 1. Joseph von Hammer, " Der Diwan von Mohammed Schemsed-din Hafis" . . . uLersetzt von J. von H. Stuttgart, 1812, 2 vols. lamo. 2. Vide note i, p. xxvi., post. The influence which this study of the Mantik ut tair had upon Fitzgerald's paraphrase of the ruba'iyat will be seen in the notes to the translation post. 3. More than one critic has called attention to the fact that so careful a scholar as FitzGerald should have given this mistransliteration of the name of Jalal-ud-din Ruml. Introduction xix I well remember showing it to Fitzgerald, and reading it with him in his early Persian days at Oxford in 1855. I laughed at the quaintness ; but the idea seized his imagination from the first, and like Virgil with Ennius's rough jewels, his genius detected gold where I had only seen tinsel. He has made two grand lines out of it.^ FitzGerald's correspondence with Garcin de Tassy would appear to have commenced about this period, and on the 2gth March, 1857, he writes to Cowell, in a letter referring to other oriental translations : Well ; and I have had a note from Garcin de Tassy, whom I had asked if he knew of any copy of Omar Khayyam in all the Paris libraries; he writes: " I have made by means of a friend," etc. But I shall enclose his note to amuse you. Now what I mean to do is, in return for his politeness to me, to copy out as well as I can the Tetrastichs as you copied them for me, and send them as a present to De Tassy. Perhaps he will edit them. I should not wish him to do so if there were any chance of your ever doing it ; but I don't think you will help on the old Pantheist, and De Tassy really, after what he is doing for the Mantic, deserves to make the acquaintance of this remarkable little fellow. Indeed, I think you will be pleased that I should do this. Now for some more iEschylus. Friday, April ijth. — I have been for the last five days with my brother at Twickenham ; during which time I really copied out Omar Khayyam, in a way ! and shall to-day post it as a "cadeau" to Garcin de Tassy in return for his courtesy to me. I am afraid a bad return; for my MS. is but badly written, and it would perhaps more plague than profit an English "savant" to have such a present made him. But a Frenchman gets over all this very lightly. Garcin de Tassy tells me he has printed four thousand lines of the Mantic. And in a letter enclosed in this one for Mrs. Cowell, he says : You may give him {i.e. E. B. C.) the enclosed instead of a former letter from the same G. de T. For is it not odd he should not have time to read a dozen of those 150 tetrastichs ? I pointed out such a dozen to him of the best, and told him if he liked them, I would try and get the rest better written for him than I could write. I had also told him that the whole thing came from E. B C, and I now write to tell him I have no sort of intention of I. The first two lines of F. v. 33. XX Introduction writing a paper in the Journal Asiaticjite,^ nor I suppose E. B. C. neither ; G. de Tassy is very civil to me, however. Wednesday, April 22nd. — Now this morning comes a second letter from Garcin de Tassy, saying that his first note about Omar Khayyam was "in haste," that lie had read some of the tetrastichs, which he finds not very difficult — some difficulties which are pro- bably errors of the " copist " ; and he proposes his writing an article in the Journal Asiatique on it, in which he will "honourably mention" E. B. C. and E. F. G. I now write to deprecate all this, putting it on the ground (and a fair one) that we do not yet know enough of the matter ; that I do not wish E. B. C. to be made answerable for errors which E. F. G. (the " copist ") may have made ; and that E. F. G. neither merits nor desires any honourable mention as a Persian scholar, being none.'* In the following month (7th May, 1857) he writes to Cowell : To-day I have a note from the great De Tassy, which an- nounces: " My dear Sir, — Definitively I have written a little paper upon Omar, with some quotations taken here and there at random, avoiding only the too badly-sounding Rubaiyat. I have read that paper before the Persian Ambassador and suite, at a meeting of the Oriental Society, of which I am Vice-President, the Due de Doudeauville being President. The Ambassador has been much pleased with my quotations." So you see I have done the part of an ill subject in helping France to ingratiate herself with Persia when England might have had the start. I suppose it probable Ferukh Khan himself had never read or perhaps heard of Omar. I think I told you in my last that I had desired De Tassy to say nothing about you in any paper he should write ; since I cannot have you answerable for any blunders I may have made in my copy, nor may you care to be named with Omar at all. I hope the French- man will attend to my desire ; and I dare say he will, as he will then have all credit to himself. He says he cannot make out the metre of the Rubaiyat at all, never could, though " I am enough skilful in scanning the Persian verses, as you have seen" (Qy.) "in my Prosody of the Languages of Mussulman Countries," etc. So much for De Tassy. And in a continuation of the above letter, dated June 5th, FitzGerald says : 1. The Journal of the (London) Asiatic Society is here referred to; not the Journal Asiatique of the Paris Society, in which De Tassy 's " Note" was subse- quently published. Vide the Bibliographical References (p. 115). 2. Accordingly, in G. de Tassy's pamphlet and article [vide Bibliography) there is no mention of E. B. C. or E. F. G., the discovery of the Ruba'iyat in the Bodleian appearing to be De Tassy's own. Introduction xxi When in Bedfordshire, I put away almost all books, except Omar Khayyam, which I could not help looking over in a paddock covered with buttercups and brushed by a delicious breeze, while a dainty racing filly of W. Browne's came startling up to wonder and sniff about me. "Tempus est quo Orientis, Aura mundus renovatur. Quo de fonte pluviali, dulcis Imber reseratur; Musi- mantis undecumque ramos insuper splendescit, Jesu-spiritusque salutaris terram pervagatur,"^ which is to be read as Monkish Latin, like "Dies Irae," etc., retaining the Italian value of the vowels, not the classical. You will think me a perfectly Aristo- phanic old man when I tell you how many of Omar I could not help running into such bad Latin. ^ I should not confide such follies but to you, who won't think them so, and who will be pleased at least with my still harping on our old studies. You would be sorry, too, to think that Omar breathes a sort of consolation to me 1 Poor fellow; I think of him and Oliver Basselin^ and Anacreon; lighter shadows among the shades, perhaps, over which Lucretius presides so grimly. Thursday, June nth. — Your letter of April is come to hand, very welcome; and I am expecting the MS. Omar, which I have written about to London.* And now with respect to your proposed Fraser ' Paper on Omar. You see, a few lines back, I talk of some lazy Latin versions of his Tetrastichs, giving one clumsy example. Now I shall rub up a few more of those I have sketched in the same manner, in order to see if you approve. The letter breaks off abruptly at this point, but is con- tinued on the 23rd of June : June 2yrd. — I begin another letter because I am looking into the Omar MS. you have sent me, and shall perhaps make some notes and enquiries as I go on. I had not intended to do so till I had looked all over and tried to make out what I could of it ; since it is both pleasant to oneself to find out for oneself if possible, and 1. Vide Ruba'i No. 13, post. 2. Mr. Herbert W. Greene, of Magdalen College, Oxford, has completed this task, and turned FitzGerald's Omar into a most elegant and charming volume of elegiacs, privately printed for him. — Vide the Bibliography (No. 94). 3. An apt illustration of the extent and breadth of FitzGerald's reading. Many of Omar's quatrains must have reminded him of Olivier Basselin's line (Vaux de Vire, xvii.), " Les morts ne boivent plus dedans la sepulture." I am surprised that the analogy between Omar and Herrick never seems to have struck FitzGerald. Compare with this, for instance, Herrick's " Anacreontike " (Hesperides) : Born I was to be old. But before that day comes. And for to die here : Still I be Bousing ; After that, in the mould For I know, in the Tombs Long for to lye here. There's no Carousing. Several such analogies are cited in the notes to the quatrains. 4. The copy of the MS. in the Bengal Asiatic Society's Library at Calcutta to which I have referred above. xxiv Introduction Hamlet in representing him to j'our audience, for fear of mischief. Now I do not wish to show Hamlet at his maddest ; but mad he must be shown, or he is no Hamlet at all. G. de Tassy eluded all that was dangerous, and all that was characteristic. I think these free opinions are less dangerous in an old Mahometan or an old Roman (like Lucretius) than when they are returned to by those who have lived on happier food. I don't know what you will say to all this. However, I dare say it won't matter whether I do the paper or not, for I don't believe they'll put it in.^ . . . I must, however, while I think of it, again notice to you about those first Introductory Quatrains to Omar in both the copies you have seen, taken out of their alphabetical place, if they be Omar's own, evidently by way of putting a good leg foremost — or perhaps not his at all. So that which Sprenger says begins the Oude MS. is, manifestly, not any Apology of Omar's own, but a Denunciation of him by someone else ; and is a sort of parody (in form at least) of Omar's own quatrain 445,2 with its indignant reply by the Sultan.^ In January he sent the manuscript to his pubHsher, and later again to Parker, and on the 3rd September, 1858, he says to Covvell : I have not turned to Persian since the spring, but shall one day look back to it, and renew my attack on the "Seven Castles," if that be the name.* I found the Jami MS. at Rushmere; and there left it for the present, as the other poem will be enough for me for my first onslaught. I beUeve I will do a little a day, so as not to lose what little knowledge I had. As to my Omar, I gave it to Parker in January, I think; he saying Fraser was agreeable to take it. Since then I have heard no more; so as, I suppose, they don't care about it; and may be quite right. Had I thought that they would be so long, however, I would have copied it out and sent it to you ; and I will still do so from a rough and imperfect copy I have (though not now at hand), in case they show no signs of printing me. My translation will interest you from its form, and also in many respects in its detail, very unliteral as it is. Many quatrains are mashed together and something lost, I doubt, of Omar's simplicity, which is so much a virtue in him.^ But there 1. This anticipation, as will presently be seen, was realised. 2. In the Calcutta MS. 3. These are the two quatrains Nos. 316 and 317 of Nicolas's text. 4. The seven castles of Bahram Giir alluded to by FitzGerald in his note upon that hero. They were made the subject of a well-known poetical romance, the Haft Paikar of Nizami, which is the work alluded to in the above letter. 5. Professor Cowell, writmg to me under date 31st December, 1896, says : " You will be able to decide whether his first translation was made from the Oxford MS. only, by seeing whether that will account for all the tetrastichs. He altered and added, but he never, I fancy, invented an entire tetrastich of his own." Introduction xxv it is, such as it is. I purposely said in the very short notice I prefixed to the poem that it was so short because better infor- mation might be furnished in another paper which I thought you would undertake. So it rests. And on the 2nd November he writes again to Cowell : As to Omar, I hear and see nothing of it in Eraser yet ; and so I suppose they don't want it. I told Parker he might find it rather dangerous among his Divines; he took it, however, and keeps it. I really think I shall take it back; add some stanzas, which I kept out for fear of being too strong; print fifty copies and give away ; one to you, who won't like it neither. Yet it is most ingeniously tesselated into a sort of Epicurean eclogue in a Persian garden. On the 13th January, 1859, he writes to Cowell : I am almost ashamed to write to you, so much have I forsaken , Persian, and even all good books of late. There is no one now to "prick the sides of my intent"; vaulting ambition having long failed to do so ! I took my Omar from Fraser [? Parker] , as I saw he didn't care for it ; and also I want to enlarge it to near as much again of such matter as he would not dare to put in Fraser. If I print it, I shall do the impudence of quoting your account of Omar, and your apology for his freethinking ; it is not wholly my apology, but you introduced him to me, and your excuse extends to that which you have not ventured to quote, and I do. I like your apology extremely also, allowing its point of view. I doubt you will repent of ever having showed me the book. I should hke well to have the Uthograph copy of Omar which you tell of in your note.i My translation has its merit, but it misses a main one in Omar, which I will leave you to find out. The Latin versions, if they were corrected into decent Latin, would be very much better. ... I have forgotten to write out for you a little quatrain which Binning found written in Persepolis ; the Persian tourists having the same propensity as English to write their names and sentiments on their national monuments. This is the quatrain : The palace that to Heav'n his pillars threw. And kings the forehead on his threshold drew— I saw the solitary ring-dove there. And " Coo, coo, coo," she cried, and "Coo, coo, coo."" And on the 27th of April, having printed his Quatrains,' he wrote to Cowell : 1. The Calcutta edition of 1836. 2. Vide Robert B. M. Binning. " A Journal of Two Years' Travel in Persia, Ceylon, etc." London, 1857. vol. ii.. p. 20. 3. The copy in the Library of the British Museum was received there on the 30th March, 1S59. xxvi Introduction I sent you poor old Omar, who has his kind of consolation for all these things. I doubt you will regret you ever introduced him to me. And yet you would have me print the original, with many worse things than I have translated. The Bird Epic might be finished at once;i but ciii bono? No one cares for such things, and there are doubtless so many better things to care about. I hardly know why I print any of these things, which nobody buys ; and I scarce now see the few I give them to. But when one has done one's best, and is sure that that best is better than so many will take pains to do, though far from the best that might be done, one likes to make an end of the matter by print. I suppose very few people have ever taken such pains in translation as I have, though certainly not to be literal. But at all cost, a thing must live, with a transfusion of one's own worse life if one can't retain the originals better. Better a live sparrow than a stuffed eagle. I shall be very well pleased to see the new MS. of Omar. He evidently did not look upon this as the last word to be said on the subject of Omar, for on the 7th December, 1861, we find him writing to Cowell : I shall look directly for the passages in Omar and Hafiz which you refer to and clear up, though I scarce ever see the Persian character now. I suppose you would think it a dangerous thing to edit Omar ; else, who so proper ? Nay, are you not the only man to do it ? And he certainly is worth good re-editing. I thought him from the first the most remarkable of the Persian poets, and you keep finding out in him evidences of logical fancy I. This was never printed in FitzGerald's lifetime. It occupies pp. 433- 4S2 of vol. ii. of the " Letters and Literary Remains." The following note by Professor Cowell is prefixed to it : " FitzGerald was first interested in ' Attar's Mantik-ut-tair ' by the extracts given in De Sacy's notes to his edition of that poet's Pand-namah, and in 1S56 he began to read the original in a MS. lent to him by Mr. Newton of Hertford. In 1857, Garcin de Tassy published his edition of the Persian text, of which he had previously given an analysis in his ' La Poesie philosophique et religieuse chez les Persans ' ; and FitzGerald at once threw himself into the study of it with all his characteristic enthusiasm. De Tassy subsequently published, in 1863, ^ French prose translation of the poem ; but the previous analysis was, I believe, FitzGerald's only help in mastering the difficulties of the original. He often wrote to me in India, describing the pleasure he found in his new discovery, and he used to mention how the more striking apologues were gradually shaping themselves into verse, as he thought them over in his lonely walks. At last, in 1862, he sent me the following translation, intending at first to offer it for publication in the Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society, but he soon felt that it was too free a version for the pages of a scientific journal. He then talked of publishing it by itself, but the project never assumed a definite shape, though I often urged him to print the * Bird ParUament ' as a sequel to the ' Salaman." " Introduction xxvii which I had not dreamed of. I dare say these logical riddles are not his best, but they are yet evidences of a strength of mind which our Persian friends rarely exhibit, I thinlc. I always said about Cowley, Donne, etc., whom Johnson calls the metaphysical poets, that their very quibbles of fancy showed a power of logic which could follow fancy through such remote analogies. This is the case with Calderon's conceits also.^ I doubt I have given but a very one-sided version of Omar; but what I do only comes up as a bubble to the surface and breaks; whereas you, with exact scholarship, might make a lasting impression of such an author. And writing to Prof. W. H. Thompson, who subsequently became Master of Trinity, he says: As to my own peccadilloes in verse, which never pretend to be original, this is the story of Rubaiyat. I have translated them partly for Cowell; young Parker asked me some years ago for something for Fraser, and I gave him the less wicked of these to use if he chose. He kept them for two years without using; and as I saw he didn't want them I printed some copies with Quaritch; and, keeping some for myself, gave him the rest. Cowell, to whom I sent a copy, was naturally alarmed at it; he being a very religious man ; nor have I given any other copy but to George Borrow, to whom I had once lent the Persian, and to old Donne when he was down here the other day, to whom I was showing a passage in another book which brought my old Omar up. Omar drops out of his correspondence from this point until the 28th December, 1867, when he writes to Cowell: I don't think I told you about Garcin de Tassy. He sent me (as no doubt he sent you) his annual Oration.- I wrote to thank him ; and said I had been lately busy with another country- man of his, Mons. Nicolas, with his Omar Khayyam. On which De Tassy writes back by return of post to ask "Where I got my copy of Nicolas? He had not been able to get one in all Paris ! " So I wrote to Quaritch, who told me the book was to be had of Maisonneuve, or any Oriental bookseller in Paris; but I. FitzGerald's first translations from Calderon were published in 1853, under the title " Six Dramas from Calderon." They were badly received by the Press ; the Athememn, in particular, attacked the work so violently that he with- drew them from circulation, and destroyed the whole edition. They are reprinted in extenso in vol. ii. of the " Letters and Literary Remains." 2. As Professor of Oriental Languages in the Institut de France. There is a Recueil Factice of these in the British Museum containing his annual orations from 1853 to 1869. xxviii Introduction that probably the shopman did not understand when " Les Rubaiyat d'Omar," etc., were asked for, that it meant *' Les Quatrains," etc. This (which I doubt not is the solution of the mystery) I wrote to Garcin, at the same time offering one of my two copies. By return of post comes a frank acceptance of one of the copies, and his own translation of Attar's Birds by way of equivalent. ... At p. 256, Translation (v. 4620), I read, " Lorsque Nizdm ul-Mulk fut a I'agonie, ildit: 'O mon Dieu! je m'en vais entre les mains du vent.' " Here is our Omar in his friend's mouth, is it not ? ^ In September, 1863, Mr. Ruskin addressed a letter to " The Translator of the Rubaiyat of Omar," which he en- trusted to Mrs. Burne Jones, who, after an interval of nearly ten years, handed it to Charles Eliot Norton, Professor of the History of Fine Art in Harvard University.^ By him it was transmitted to Carlyle, who sent it to FitzGerald, with the letter which follows, of which the signature alone is in his own handwriting : Chelsea, i^th April, 1873. Dear FitzGerald, — Mr. Norton, the writer of that note, is a distinguished American (co-Editor for a long time of the North American Review), an extremely amiable, intelligent and worthy man, with whom I had some pleasant walks, dialogues and other communications of late months, in the course of which he brought to my knowledge, for the first time, your notable Omar Khayyam, and insisted on giving me a copy from the third edition, which I now possess, and duly prize. From him, too, by careful cross- questioning, I identified beyond dispute the hidden " FitzGerald," the translator ; and, indeed, found that his complete silence and unique modesty in regard to said meritorious and successtui per- formance was simply a feature of my own Edward F. I The translation is excellent; the book itself a kind of a jewel in its way. I do Norton's mission without the least delay, as you perceive. Ruskin's message to you passes through my hands sealed. I am ever your affectionate T. Carlyle. At the same time Carlyle wrote to Prof. Norton : 5 Cheyne Row, Chelsea, i8th April, 1873. Dear Norton, — It is possible FitzGerald may have written to you ; but whether or not, I will send you his letter to myself, as a 1. Vide note 2 to Ruba'i No. 121, post. 2. Vide the Bibliography, No. 71. Introduction xxix slight emblem and memorial of the peaceable, affectionate, and ultra-modest man, and his innocent far niente life, and the con- nection (were there nothing more) of Omar, the Mahometan Blackguard, and Oliver Cromwell, the English Puritan, dis- charging you completely, at the same time, from ever returning me this letter, or taking any notice of it, except a small silent one. The following was enclosed : ie,th April, 1873. My dear Carlyle, — Thank you for enclosing Mr. Norton's letter, and will you thank him for his enclosure of Mr. Ruskin's ? It is lucky for both R. and me that you did not read his note ; a sudden fit of fancy, I suppose, which he is subject to. But as it was kindly meant on his part, I have written to thank him. Rather late in the day, for his letter (which Mr. Norton thinks may have lain a year or two in his friend's desk) is dated September, 1863. . . . P.S. — Perhaps I had better write a word of thanks to Mr. Norton myself, which I will do. I suppose he may be found at the address he gives. Accordingly, he wrote to Prof. Norton : WooDBRiDGE, lytJi April, 1873. Dear Sir, — Two days ago Mr. Carlyle sent me your note, enclosing one from Mr. Ruskin "to the Translator of Omar Khayyam." You will be a little surprised to hear that Mr. Ruskin's note is dated September, 1863; all but ten years ago! I dare say he has forgotten all about it long before this. How- ever, I write him a note of thanks for the good, too good, messages he sent me; better late than never; supposing that he will not be startled, and bored by my acknowledgments of a forgotten favour rather than gratified. It is really a funny little episode in the ten years' dream. I had asked Carlyle to thank you also for such trouble as you have taken in the matter. But as your note to him carries your address, I think I may as well thank you for myself. I am very glad to gather from your note that Carlyle is well, and able to walk, as well as talk, with a congenial companion. Indeed, he speaks of such agreeable conversation with you in the message he appends to your letter. For which, thanking you once more, allow me to write myself, yours sincerely, Edward FitzGerald. After this we hear nothing further of Omar from FitzGerald until the ist March, 1882, when he writes to Mr. Schiitz Wilson ^ the following letter : I. Vide the Bibliography, No. 75. XXX Introduction ist March, 1882. My dear Sir, — I must thank you sincerely for your thoughts about Salaman, in which I recognise a good will towards the Translator as well as liking for his work. Of course, your praise could not but help that on ; but I scarce think that it is of a kind to profit so far by any review as to make it worth the expense of time and talent you might bestow upon it. In Omar's case it was different ; he sang in an acceptable way, it seems, of what all men feel in their hearts, but had not had exprest in verse before. Jami tells of what everybody knows, under cover of a not very skilful allegory. I have undoubtedly improved the whole by boiling it down to about a quarter of its original size, and there are many pretty things in it, though the blank verse is too Miltonic for Oriental style. All this considered, why did I ever meddle with it ? Why, it was the first Persian poem I read, with my friend Edward Cowell, near on forty years ago ; and I was so well pleased with it then (and now think it almost the best of the Persian poems I have read or heard about), that I published my version of it in 1856 (I think) with Parker, of the Strand. When Parker disappeared, my unsold copies, many more than of the sold, were returned to me ; some ot which,ifnot all,I gave to little Quaritch, who, I believe, trumpeted them off to some little profit, and I thought no more of them.^ But some six or seven years ago that Sheikh of mine, Edward Cowell, who liked the version better than anyone else, wished it to be reprinted. So I took it in hand, boiled it down to three- fourths of what it originally was, and (as you see) clapt it on the back of Omar, where I still believed it would hang somewhat of a dead weight ; but that was Quaritch's look out, not mine. I have never heard of any notice taken of it, but just now from you ; and I believe that, say what you would, people would rather have the old sinner alone. Therefore it is that I write all this to you. I doubt not that any of your editors would accept an article from you on the subject, but I believe also they would much prefer one on many another subject ; and so probably with the pubUc whom you write for. Thus "liberavi animam meam" for your behoof, as I am rightly bound to do in return for your goodwill to me. As to the publication of my name, I believe I could well dispense with it, were it other and better than it is. But I have some unpleasant associations with it; not the least of them being that it was borne. Christian and surname, by a man who left college just when I went there. . . . What has become of him I know not; but he, among other causes, has made me dislike my name, and made me sign myself (half in fun, of course) to my friends, as now I do to you, sincerely yours, (The Laird of) Littlegrange, where I date from. I. It is strange that FitzGerald makes no allusion here to the reprint of the first edition made by Cowell and Sons, of Ipswich, in 1S71. Introduction xxxi The FitzGerald referred to in this letter was Edward Marlborough FitzGerald, who, I am informed, achieved some notoriety in unenviable directions. To this correspondence with Mr. Schiitz Wilson the year before his death he refers in two of his letters to Fanny Kemble^ in the terms following: February, 1882. Mr. Schiitz Wilson, a litterateur en general, I believe, wrote up Omar Khayyam some years ago, and I dare say somewhat hastened another (and so far as I am concerned) final edition. March, 1882. Not content with having formerly appraised that Omar in a way that, I dare say, advanced him to another edition, he (S. W.) now writes me that he feels moved to write in favour of another Persian who now accompanies Omar in his last Avatar. I have told him plainly that he had better not employ time and talent on what I do not think he will ever persuade the public to care about, but he thinks he will. He may very likelj' cool upon it ; but in the meanwhile such are his good intentions, not only to the little poem, but, I believe, to myself also — personally unknown as we are to one another. Such is the history, as recorded by its author, of the Poem which of late years has become in a manner the gospel of a cult. So many eminent scholars, poets and essayists have given to the world critical essays and appreciations, having for their theme this poem of Edward FitzGerald's, that were I to add a further discourse on the subject I should be adding an item of little or no value to the mass of analytical criticism. One aspect of the poem I may, however, be allowed to consider, on the ground that I have an intimate acquaintance with the original in general and with FitzGerald's sources of inspiration in particular ; and that is its claim to consideration as a translation.^ A translation pure and simple it is not, but a translation in the most artistic sense of the term it undoubtedly is. In considering this question it is necessary to bear in mind 1. " Letter of Edward FitzGerald to Fanny Kemble, 1871-1883," edited by William Aldis Wright. London (Bentley), 1895. 2. My researches upon this subject are embodied in the Terminal Essay to this edition, p. 28S. xxxii Introduction the first and the second editions of the poem, for these were written under the direct inspiration of the original Persian/ The first edition was written from the Bodleian MS. and the transcript of the Calcutta MS. ; the second — but it will profit us to read FitzGerald's own words from the preface to the second (1868) edition: "While the present edition of Omar was preparing, Mons. Nicolas, French Consul at Rescht, published a very careful and a very good edition of the text, from a lithograph copy at Teheran, comprising 464 ruba'iyat, with translation and notes of his own. Mons. Nicolas's edition has reminded me of several things, and instructed me in others. . . ." In this second edition FitzGerald expanded his original seventy-five quatrains to one hundred and ten, nine of which were suppressed in the third and subsequent editions. The method of construction adopted by FitzGerald must be borne in mind. I assumed at one time that he had made a more or less literal prose translation of his originals, and, after steeping himself in these, wrote his poem ; and I suggested this theory to Professor Cowell. He writes me under date 8th July, 1897 : " I am quite sure that Mr. Fitz- Gerald did not make a literal prose version first ; he was too fond of getting the strong, vivid impression of the original as a whole. He pondered this over and over afterwards, and I. Dr. Talcott Williams, the eminent Arabic scholar, writing to Mr, Nathan H. Dole (vol. i. of N. H. Dole's edition, p. 123), observes: "In my judgment Omar owes more to FitzGerald than he does to himself, as far as English readers are concerned. I do not mean by this that Omar's thought differs with the utterances of FitzGerald's translation, but the utterance owes so much in our language to the form in which FitzGerald has cast it, that I have always felt, in the few quatrains which I have laboriously translated, that pretty much everything had evaporated when the thought was taken out of FitzGerald's setting. The truth is, in literature, form is everything. Everybody has the same ideas, I fancy, and it is only the capacity for expression which makes literature. ... I really cannot exaggerate the difference between native and European knowledge of an oriental language. We generally know their formal grammar, history and derivatives of their tongues especially, a hundredfold better than they do ; but when it comes to the meaning of a particular passage, we are simply nowhere. It is a simple and soul-humbling truth that the first translation or two of almost any Oriental work is full of the wildest shot." The student who undertakes the translation of any Persian author speedily realises that not to Sa'adi alone might be applied the well-known Eastern saying, " Each word of Sa'adi has seventy-two meanings." Introduction xxxiii altered it in his lonely walks, sometimes approximating nearer to the original, and often diverging further. He was always aiming at some strong and worthy equivalent ; verbal accuracy he disregarded." Professor Cowell has honoured me with a good deal of information on this matter of FitzGerald's methods, supplementing the information contained in Fitz- Gerald's own letters reproduced above. I will quote some of this information at once : 2ist October, 1896. — In 1856 I found the MS. of 'Omar Khayyam in the Bodleian and made a copy for him, which I sent him just before I went to India in August of that year. He sent a transcript of that copy to Garcin de Tassy. ... I reviewed Omar Khayyam in the Calcutta Review in 1858. ... I made a French edition of one of Khayyam's mathematical works my 'text.' FitzGerald alludes to my article in his preface. . . , He read the " Parliament of Birds " in a MS. directly I left England, and sent me his account of it, and subsequently his verse translation. Garcin de Tassy published his text and translation in 1858 and '59, and this FitzGerald used for his revised translation, published after , his death, 1 . . . z^rd October, 1896. — The MS. in the Ouseley collection was the only MS. I then (1856) knew — all the MSS. were then un- catalogued. My copy is dated " May 31st, 1856. Bodleian Library." I had never seen a MS. of the quatrains, so it was a real " find I " . . . 2^th October, 1896. — I have the copy of the Oxford MS. which I sent to E. F. G., but it is too sacred a legacy to be lent to anyone'^ — it is filled with his notes as well as with letters of mine to him from Calcutta. . . . 3isi December, 1896. — I got a copy made for him from the one MS. in the Bengal Asiatic Society's Library at Calcutta soon after I arrived in November, 1856. It reached FitzGerald, June 14th, 1857, as I learn by a note in his writing. Some time after this I sent him a copy of that rare Calcutta printed edition,^ which I got from my Munshi. I had just got it when I wrote my article in the Calcutta Review, which was mainly compiled from the two texts of the Calcutta and Oxford manuscripts. . . . You will be able to decide whether his first translation was made from the Oxford MS. only, by seeing whether that will account for all the tetrastichs. He altered and added, but he never, I fancy, invented an entire tetrastich of his own. ... I feel persuaded 1. Vide note i, p. xxvi. 2. I had asked Professor Cowell to lend me this. 3. The Calcutta lithograph of 1836. xxxiv Introduction that his first translation was compiled from the Oxford and Calcutta MSS. combined. You will find tetrastichs from the latter represented in his translation which have no parallel in the brief Oxford MS. . . . I have no MS. copy of his translation. That was all done after I had left England. He used to send me questions by letter. . . . I desire to record in this place my profound gratitude to Professor Cowell for all this most interesting information, which he alone is competent to give ex cathedra. To return, in the light of these extracts, to the question of how far Edward FitzGerald may be called the translator of the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, Professor Charles Eliot Norton, in the North American Review (October, 1869), says: "He is to be called * translator ' only in default of a better word, one which should express the poetic transfusion of a poetic spirit from one language to another, and the re-representation of the ideas and images of the original in a form not altogether diverse from their own, but perfectly adapted to the new conditions of time, place, custom, and habit of mind in which they reappear. It has all the merit of a remarkable original production, and its excellence is the highest testimony that could be given to the essential impressiveness and worth of the Persian poet. It is the work of a poet inspired by the work of a poet ; not a copy, but a reproduction ; not a trans- lation, but the re-delivery of a poetic inspiration ... in its English dress it reads like the latest and freshest expression of the perplexity and of the doubt of the generation to which we ourselves belong." The opposition in the debate, if I may so call it, is sup- ported by Mr. H. G. Keene in an article written for Macmillan's Magazine (November, 1887). Reviewing FitzGerald's paraphrase, he says: "This unique and beautiful poem does not in truth show the real Khayyam. Unquestionably among the fine things in modern English verse, these quatrains give no accurate representation of the original in any of their versions ; as indeed the variations of successive editions do themselves Introduction xxxv tend to show. ... In FitzGerald ... of the flighty Persian freethinker, eclectic and unsystematic, we see little or nothing." The want of system here described as lacking in FitzGerald's poem is explained for the orientalist by the exigencies of the dlwan form in which Omar's quatrains have for the most part been preserved and published. It is beyond the function of criticism from the standpoint of accurate rendering to brand FitzGerald's compulsory marshalling and re-organisation of his material with the stigma of inaccuracy. After presenting us with some renderings of the original into English verse — renderings, by-the-way, far above the average of such achieve- ments, both as to manner and translation — Mr. Keene says : ** It is difficult to explain by isolated specimens FitzGerald's deviations from his original, because his variation is general and total. The difference between him and Khayyam is the same as that between a group of epigrams and a long satire." The essayist then illustrates by quoting two out of the four quatrains (F. v. 78-81), in which FitzGerald has summed up the philosophy of the whole poem, and appends a literal prose translation of two out of the twenty or thirty quatrains of the original that contain the inspiration of those four verses. It is unfair to make this juxtaposition and to imply that FitzGerald intended his two verses as translations of the two originals given. During the twelve years that I have been working at the subject, it has interested me to note wherever I found a line in the Bodleian or in the Calcutta MSS. that could be distinctly pointed out as " the original " of a line of FitzGerald. A very few emendations were taken by him, as he himself says, for his second and subsequent editions, from the text of Nicolas, and at some future time I propose to print an edition of FitzGerald's quatrains, giving the original, or inspiration, of every quatrain, if not ot every individual line. The reader of the following pages will be able to judge for himself how close to the originals whole quatrains of FitzGerald's poem really are. xxxvi Introduction Whilst these pages have been passing through the press I have been following up the clue afforded by Professor Cowell's observations {vide p. xviii. and xix.) as to the origin of the distich beginning " Earth could not answer, nor the seas that mourn,'' and FitzGerald's own quotation of the dying utter- ances of Nizam ul Mulk from the Mantik ut tair of Ferld ud din Attar, and I have made the discovery that most, if not all of FitzGerald's lines which have baffled students of the ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam, are taken from that poem, which FitzGerald had deeply studied immediately before he addressed himself to his Omar. {Vide note i, p. xxvi.) These parallels I propose to set forth in another place ; ^ for the present, suffice it to say that I have found in the Mantik ut tair the originals of the quatrain beginning " Oh Thou ! who man of baser earth didst make," and that beginning, "Heaven but the Vision of fulfilled desire," and many other quatrains and isolated lines. A number of these parallels are indicated in the notes accompanying the text {vide post). The faults, if faults they be, which Mr. Keene attributes to FitzGerald, are necessarily inseparable from any verse trans- lation, the exigencies of rhyme and metre compelling a distor- tion of the translated lines. These faults are abundantly manifest in the verse translations of Mr. Keene himself. Mr. Whinfield has observed : " Omar is a poet who can hardly be translated satisfactorily otherwise than in verse. . . . The successor of a translator like Mr. FitzGerald, who ventures to write verse, and especially verse of the metre which he has handled with such success, cannot help feeling at almost every step that he is provoking comparisons very much to his own disadvantage. But I do not think this consideration ought to deter him from using the vehicle which everything else indi- cates as the proper one." Even admitting this contention, one cannot help regretting that Mr. Whinfield did not also give us the literal prose translation he may be assumed to have made in the first instance ; a comparison of the literal I. Vide the Terminal Essay to this edition, p. 288. Introduction xxxvii translations comprised in the present volume with his verse renderings of the same quatrains, will, I think, abundantly justify this regret, from the point of view of the mere student. It is next door to impossible to imitate in English the prevail- ing metre of the ruba'iyat : Mr. Michael Kerney, the anonymous editor of the American reprint of FitzGerald's collected works (Boston, 1887), has attempted it in his notes to the quatrains, with a result which must be seen to be believed. One enthusiastic student of the ruba'iyat, however, has handled the metre of the original with grace and felicity, and that is Mr. Nathan H. Dole, editor of the Boston Variorum Edition of i8g6, in his own introductory " ruba'iyat " ; these contain the true lilt of the original without resorting to verbal quirks that jar upon the occidental ear. Of verse translations, the best I have seen are those of Professor C. J. Pickering, in the National Review for December, 1890.^ ' A few words in conclusion, by way of apology for my own work. It does not aim at being an edition of the Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam in general, but it is an attempt to place before English readers a literal translation of the oldest known MS. of the quatrains, and an exposition of the most important section of the material used by FitzGerald in the construction of his poem. In the case of the majority of the quatrains the task is not an especially difficult one, but in the case of the residual minority, the obscurity of the original has made the work one of the greatest doubt and anxiety. Such, for instance, are qq. 14, 19, 30, 50, 57, 98, 104, 106, 113, 142 — quatrains in which the correct rendering of almost every individual line is highly debateable.^ Later scribes and editors have made bold emendations, and these I have diligently marshalled, with the result that I have decided to supplement and, where possible, elucidate the readings of the Bodleian MS. by reference to the following texts : 1. The reader or critic who feels curious to know to what extent a trans- lation can be abused is referred to the Spectator, vol. Ixiii., p. 215 (Aug. 17, 1889). 2. Vi.ie note i, p. xxxii. / / xxxviii Introduction 1. The MS. No. 1458 in the Bengal Asiatic Society's Library at Calcutta. It is a i2mo containing 49 leaves. It has 9 ruba'iyat on each leaf, and 87 further ruba'iyat are written upon the margins. Page b of leaf i contains a prose preface ending with the anecdote of Omar's apparition to his mother, which leads to the opening ruba'i of the MS. quoted in the note to q. i, post. la. The Bankipur MS. described at p. xi. 2. The Lucknow lithographed edition. My copy, referred to as L. in the notes to this text, is one of the edition of a.h. 1312 (a.d. 1894), containing 770 quatrains. 3. The text printed opposite to his prose translation by Mons. Nicolas. Taken from the edition Hthographed in Teheran in a.h. 1278 (a.d. 1861).^ 4. The text lithographed in St. Petersburg in 1888, taken from the Tabriz edition of a.h. 1285 (a.d. 1868). It is identical with the text of Mons. Nicolas, excepting that it contains one ruba'i (No. 48) not in Nicolas, and does not contain the Nos. 35, 190, 316, 317, 365, 390, 439, and the concluding five ruba'iyat, which are out of their diwan order at the end of that text. 5. The Paris MS. before referred to, containing 346 ruba'iyat, and dated a.h. 934 (a.d. 1538).^ 6. The Bombay lithographed edition of a.h. 1297 (a.d. 1880), containing 756 ruba'iyat. 7. The text printed by Mr. Whinfield, described elsewhere. 1. Dr. Rieu, in his Catalogue of the Persian MSS. in the British Museum, states that Nicolas's text is that of Sanjar Mirza, lithographed at Teheran in A.H. 1278, with a few additional ruba'iyat from other sources. 2. The copy of the Paris MS. of a.h. 934 which I have had made for me only reached me when these sheets were almost ready for the printer. The first edition was, in fact, kept back in order that the information to be found in so important a MS. might be included. My copy was unfortunately made by hand instead of by photography, and contains clerical errors ; still, it is clear that nearly all the Bodleian ruba'iyat are to be found in it, and that where this is the case the readings are in the majority of cases identical. The haste in which I compared this Paris MS. with this and the other texts may have caused me to overlook some few references that might have been added, had it been in my hands during the years that these notes have been in course of preparation. Introduction xxxix I have also consulted, for the elucidation of obscure readings, but have not collated all through, or given cross- references to, the following : 8. The MS. in the British Museum, Or. 330. g. The MS. in the British Museum, Add. 27,318. 10. The Calcutta lithographed edition of 1836. 11. A collection of ruba'iyat by Omar Khayyam, Baba Tahir, and Attar, lithographed at Teheran in 1857. 12. The 41 quatrains contained in the Atash Kadah of Azr, described elsewhere (p. xiii. and note 2). 13. The Paris MS. of a.h. 920 (a.d. 1514). 14. The Paris MS. of a.h. 937 (a.d. 1530). I have also noted, where necessary, the translations of Nicolas, Whinfield, Cowell, and Garcin de Tassy. It will therefore be observed that when it would appear from the notes to my text that a ruba'i is " only to be found in the Bodleian MS.," it must be borne in mind that I have actually searched for it only among the 4,415 ruba'iyat comprised in the first eight of the texts above referred to. The exigences of time, space, my reader's patience, and my publisher's pocket have made me, with some regret I own, but, I think, with advantage to my book, omit a vast mass of references to other ruba'iyat, not identical with, but more or less closely corresponding to, ruba'iyat that are contained in this MS. The inclusion of these would have swelled my notes far beyond the dimensions of the whole work as it stands. The curious who care to see what they have been spared may make the following comparisons between this text and that of Mons. Nicolas alone. They are picked at random from several hundred references : Compare Bodleian MS. q. 21 with Nicolas's text, q. 117 „ „ 29 „ „ 177 34 ». " 168-9 xl Introduction Compare Bodleian MS. q. 85 with Nicolas's text, q. 191 116 „ „ 115 >> >> ^27 »> )t 04 >> >> ^29 >> )i 72 In like manner, when referring to parallel passages from other authors, I have only given the originals (in the Persian notes) in the cases where there exist printed or lithographed texts available for reference and easily obtainable. It seems a grievous thing to refer the student to an isolated MS. in the British Museum or elsewhere, and I have avoided doing so, but it may be observed that my quotations from the Beharistan are taken from the British Museum MSS., Add. 18,579 3-^d 7,775. I do not think that the most exacting critic will blame me for transposing the order of the pages of the original MS. ; to have arranged them to read backwards, according to oriental custom, would have savoured of pedantry. Most translators of oriental works have given elaborate explanations of the system they have adopted in transliterating Persian words. It is pitiable that no universal system has been established, for the diversities to be found in all trans- literations are confusing in the extreme. One finds this even in the name Khayyam, which will be found transliterated in the Bibliography (p. 281) Khaiam, Khaiyam, Chiam, Chajjam, etc., etc. I have adopted the expedient of noting only strong vowel sounds represented in the original by Alif, Waw, and Ye, giving always a supplementary note of the actual Persian where I have been compelled to transliterate. Edward FitzGerald crystallized (so to speak) for all time the trans- literation " ruba'iyat," a transliteration which I would fain see fall into disuse and thence into oblivion. The word ruba'i is common to more than one oriental language, and is correctly translated " quatrain." Between the letters of the first part of the word " ruba " and the terminal -i, or -y, occurs the purely oriental letter 9 = soft gh, as in our word Introduction xli " high," as opposed to the 6 = hard gh, as in our word "ghost," the terminal -at being an artificial form of Persian plural borrowed from the Arabic, in which language it is the regular plural termination of feminine nouns. If, there- fore, it be desired to retain this Persian word in the title of an English translation (a pedantry which would be deemed inexcusable were it to occur in such a title as, for instance, "The Gedichte of Henry Heine"), it seems a pity that the transliteration " ruba^^/iyat," which conveys an idea of the rich sonority of the original, tajLob^ should not be adopted in place of the spiritless and thin rendering " ruba'iyat," even with the gh indicated as is usual by an inverted comma. I have, however, taken counsel with Professor Cowell, Mr. Whin- field and Dr. Ross, and they warn me earnestly against dis- turbing an accepted rendering, and point out that my suggestion would involve similarly transliterating the p which commences the name "Omar" (or, as some purists have it, 'Umar), and reading it " GAomar," which would offend widely spread susceptibilities. It is also difficult to pronounce this gh with- out giving it the value of the thick (grasseye) continental r. I have, therefore, avoided attempting this innovation. Finally, let me acknowledge the sympathetic assistance that I have received in preparing these sheets for the press from Professor Cowell, who placed his MSS. at my disposal, and thereby greatly lightened my labours ; from Mr. Whinfield, who has favoured me with his valuable opinion upon some of the most obscurely-worded quatrains ; and from Professor E. Denison Ross, who has taken a keen interest in my work, even to the point of going through the whole with me line by line and note by note, and without whose help I should even now have hesitated to give the result of my labours to the world. As regards the actual translation of the quatrains, it has been my endeavour to give a literal rendering of the original line for line, either in the translation proper or in the accom- panying notes, and in this I have been very greatly assisted by xlii Introduction Mr. Barry Pain, who has gone through it with me and helped me to turn the intricate Persian construction of the Hnes into English, a task for which one is entirely unfitted after being steeped, as I had been during the preparation of this volume for the press, in the involved phrasing of the original. The arrangement of the quatrains upon the pages of the MS., a bait, a ruba'i, and another bait on each, being very awk- ward for the English reader, and the translation being much confused by note-references, I have inserted between this In- troduction and the text accompanied by the translation and the facsimiles, etc., a clean copy of the English only, for the convenience of readers who wish to gather a general impres- sion of the whole poem, without going into the minutiae dealt with in the notes. It must, however, be borne in mind by those who read this English translation, that the nature of the original is such that in many places it is quite incompre- hensible without reference to the notes which accompany the text. In conclusion, I cannot do better than quote the concluding distich of the edition from which the Kama Shastra Society's translation of the Gulistan was made : Gratitude is due that this book is ended Before my life has reached its termination.^ London, April, i8g8. I. The originals of these lines will be found on p. 287. They are taken from a text of the Gulistan lithographed in Bombay in 1875. The Editor remarks, in a marginal note, that he has never seen them in any MS. other than that from which his text was taken, and Mr. Ellis consulted a quantity of MSS. and texts of the Gulistan at the British Museum before he found them for me in the 1875 lithograph. '^^5\ I? €2 ENGLISH TRANSLATION QUATRAINS OF OMAR KHAYYAM (OusELY MS., 140, Bodleian Library, Oxford) Note. — Words printed in italics are not, properly speaking, repre- sented in the Persian text, but are ifiserted for the purpose of converting Oriental into Occidental forms of phraseology. I. If I have never threaded the pearl of Thy service, and if I have never wiped the dust of sin from my face ; nevertheless, I am not hopeless of Thy merc}^ for the reason that I have never said that One was Two. 2. If I talk of the mystery with Thee in a tavern, it is better than if I make my devotions before the Mihrab without Thee. O Thou, the first and last of all created beings ! burn me an Thou wilt, or cherish me an Thou wilt. 3. So far as in thee lies, reproach not drunkards, lay thou aside pretence and imposture ; if, henceforth, thou desirest rest from this life of thine, do not for a moment shun humble folk. 4- So far as in thee lies, cause no pain to anyone, nor cause anyone to suffer from thy \vrath ; if thou hast a desire for eternal peace, fret thyself always and harass no one. 2 Rnhaiyat of Omar Khayyam 5. Since no one will guarantee thee a to-morrow, make thou happy now this love-sick heart; drink wine in the moonlight, O Moon, for the moon shall seek us long and shall not find us. 6. The Qur'an, which men call the Supreme Word, they read at intervals but not continually, hut on the lines upon the goblet a text is engraved which they read at all times and in all places. 7- Here are we ; and so is the wine, and the drinking bench ; and the ruined furnace ; careless of hopes of mercy, and of fears of punishment ; our souls, and our hearts, and our goblets, and our garments full of the lees of wine, independent of earth and air, and fire and water. In this life it is best that thou shouldst make but few friends ; distant intercourse with one's fellow men is good ; that person upon whom thou leanest entirely, when thou examinest him closely, he is thine enemy. 9. This jug was once a plaintive lover as I am, and was in pursuit of one of comely face ; this handle that thou seest upon its neck is an arm that once lay around the neck of a friend. 10. Ah, woe to that heart in which there is no passion, which is not spell-bound by the love of a heart-cheerer ! the day that thou spendest without love, there is no day more useless to thee than that day. English Translation 3 II. To-day being the season of my youth, I desire wine, for thence comes my happiness ; reproach me not, even though acrid it is pleasant ; it is acrid in that it represents my life. 12. Thou hast no power to-day over the morrow, and anxiety about the morrow brings thee only melancholy ; waste not thou this moment if thy heart be not mad, for the value of the remainder of this life is not manifest. 13. Now that there is a possibility of happiness for the world, every living heart has yearnings towards the desert, upon every bough is the appearance of Moses' hand, in every breeze is the exhalation of Jesus' breath. 14. For him for whom the fruit ot the branch of truth has not grown, the reason is that he is not firm in the Road. Every one has feebly shaken with his hand the bough 0/ truth. Know that to-day is like yesterday, and that to-morrow is like the First Day of Creation. 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." 16. Arise and give me wine — what time is this for words ? for to-night thy little mouth fills all my needs ; give me wine, rose-coloured as thy cheeks, for this penitence of mine is as full of tangles as thy curls. I — 2 4 RuhaHyat of Omar Khayyam 17- The spring breeze blows sweetly upon the face of the rose, in the shade of the garden plot a darling's face is sweet ; nothing thou canst say of yesterday that is past, is sweet, be happy and do not speak of yesterday, for to-day is sweet. i8. How long shall I throw bricks upon the surface of the sea ? I am disgusted with the idol-worshippers of the pagoda. Khayyam ! who can say that he will be a denizen of hell, who ever went to hell, and who ever came from heaven ? 19. The elements of a cup which he has put together, their breaking up a drinker cannot approve, all these heads and delicate feet — with his finger-tips, for love of whom did he make them ? — for hate of whom did he break them ? 20. Like water in a great river and like wind m the desert, another day passes out of the period of my existence; grief has never lingered in my mind — concerning two days, the day that has not yet come and the day that is past. 21. Seeing that my coming was not tor me the Day of Creation, and that my undesired departure hence is a purpose fixed for me, get up and gird well thy loins, O nimble Cup-bearer, for I will wash down the misery of the world in wine. 22. Khayyam, who stitched at the tents of wisdom, fell into the furnace of sorrow and was suddenly burnt ; the shears of doom cut the tent-rope of his existence, and the broker of hope sold him for a mere song. English Translation 5 23- Khayyam, why mourn thus for thy sins ? from grieving thus what advantage, more or less, dost thou gain ? Mercy was never for him who sins not, mercy is granted for sins — why then grieve ? 24. In cell, and college, and monastery, and synagogue are those who fear hell and those who seek after heaven ; he who has knowledge of the secrets of God sows none of such seed in his heart of hearts. 25- If in the season of spring a being, houri-shaped, gives me on the green bank of a field a goblet full of wine, (though to everyone this saying may seem uncouth) a dog is better than I am if thenceforth I pronounce the name of heaven. 26. Know this — that from thy soul thou shalt be separated, thou shalt pass behind the curtain of the secrets of God. Be happy — thou knowest not whence thou hast come : drink wine — thou knowest not whither thou shalt go. 27. I fell asleep, and wisdom said to me : — ** Never from sleep has the rose of happiness blossomed for anyone ; why do a thing that is the mate of death ? Drink wine, for thou must sleep for ages." 28. 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." 6 Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam 29. No one can pass behind the curtain that veils the secret, the mind of no one is cognizant of what is there ; save in the heart of earth we have no haven. Drink wine, for to such talk there is no end. 30. The mystery must be kept hidden from all the ignoble, and the secrets must be withheld from fools. Consider thine actions towards thy fellow men : our hopes must be concealed from all mankind. 31. From the beginning 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. 32. In the spring, on the bank of the river and on the edge of the field, with a few companions and a playmate houri-shaped, bring forth the cup, for those that drink the morning draught are independent of the mosque and free from the synagogue 33- The heavenly vault is the girdle of my weary body, Jihun 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. 34- They say that the garden of Eden is pleasant with houris : I say that the juice of the grape is pleasant. Hold fast this cash and let that credit go, for the noise of drums, brother, is pleasant from afar. English Translation 7 35. Drink wine, for thou wilt sleep long beneath the clay without an intimate, a friend, a comrade, or wife ; take care that thou tell'st not this hidden secret to anyone : — The tulips that are withered will never bloom again. 36. Drink wine, for this is life eternal, this is thy gain firom the days of thy youth ; a season of roses, and wine, and drunken companions — be happy for a moment for this is life ! 37- Give me wine which is a salve for my wounded heart, it is the boon companion of those who have trafficked in love ; to my mind the dregs of a single draught are better than the vault of heaven which is the hollow of the world's skull. 38. I drink wine, and my enemies from left and right say : — " Do not drink wine, for it is the foe of religion." When I knew that wine was the foe of religion, I said: — "By Allah! let me drink the foe's blood, for that is lawful." 39- Wine is a melted ruby and the cup is the mine thereof ; the cup is a body and its wine is the soul thereof; that crystal cup that is bubbling over with wine is a tear in which the heart's blood is hidden. 40. I know not whether he who fashioned me appointed me to dwell in heaven or in dreadful hell, but some food, and an adored one, and wine, upon the green bank of a field — all these three are cash to me : thine be the credit-heaven ! 8 Rnba'iyat of Oniav Khayyam 41. 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. 42. Whosoever has engrafted the leaf of love upon his heart, not one day of his life has been wasted ; either he strives to meet with God's approbation, or he chooses bodily comfort and raises the wine-cup. 43- Everywhere that there has been a rose or tulip-bed, there has been spilled the crimson blood of a king ; every violet shoot that grows from the earth is a mole that was once upon the cheek of a beauty. 44. Be prudent, for the means of life are uncertain ; take heed, for the sword of destiny is keen. If fortune place almond-sweets in thy very mouth, beware ! swallow them not, for poison is mingled therein. 45. One jar of wine and a lover's lips, on the bank of the sown field— these have robbed me of cash, and thee of the credit. Some are pledged to heaven or hell, but who ever went to hell, and who ever came from heaven ? 46. O thou, whose cheek is moulded upon the model of the wild rose, whose face is cast in the mould of Chinese idols, yesterday thy amorous glance gave to the Shah of Babylon the moves of the Knight, the Castle, the Bishop, the Pawn, and the Queen. English Translation g 47- Since life passes ; what is Baghdad and what is Balkh ? When the cup is full, what matter if it be sweet or bitter ? Drink wine, for often, after thee and me, this moon will pass on from the last day of the month to the first, and from the first to the last. 48. Of those who draw the pure date wine and those who spend the night in prayer, not one is on the dry land, all are in the water. One is awake : the others are asleep. 49. This intellect that haunts the path of happiness keeps saying to thee a hundred times a day : — " Understand in this single moment of thine existence, that thou art not like those herbs which when they gather them spring up again." 50- Those who are the slaves of intellect and hair-splitting, have perished in bickerings about existence and non-existence ; go, thou ignorant one, and choose rather grape-juice, for the ignorant from eating dry raisins have become like unripe grapes themselves. 51- My coming was of no profit to the heavenly sphere, and by my departure naught will be added to its beauty and dignity ; neither from anyone have my two ears heard what is the object of this my coming and going. 52. We must be effaced in the way of love, ' we must be destroyed in the talons of destiny ; O sweet-faced Cup-bearer, sit thou not idle, give to me water, for dust I must become. 10 RubaHyat of Omar Khayyam 53. Now that nothing but the mere name of our happiness remains, the only old friend that remains is new wine; withhold not the merry hand from the wine-cup to-day that nothing but the cup remains within our reach. 54. What the Pen has written never changes, and grieving only results in deep affliction ; even though, all thy life, thou sufferest anguish, not one drop becomes increased beyond what it is. 55- heart, for a while seek not the company of the frail ones ; cease for a while to be engrossed with the commerce of love. Frequent the thresholds of the darvlshes — perhaps thou mayest be accepted for awhile by the accepted people. 56. Those who adorn the Heavens for a fragment of time, come, and go, and come again as time goes on ; in the skirt of Heaven, and in the pocket of earth, are creatures who, while God dies not, will yet be born. 57- Those whose beliefs are founded upon hypocrisy, come and draw a distinction between the body and the soul ; 1 will put the wine jar on my head, if, when I have done so, they place a comb upon my head, as if I were a cock. 58- The bodies which people this heavenly vault, puzzled the learned. Beware lest thou losest the end of the string of wisdom, for even the controllers themselves become giddy. English Translation ii 59- I am not the man to dread my non-existence, for that half seems pleasanter to me than this half; this is a life which God has lent me, I will surrender it when the time of surrender comes. 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 ? give us a cup of wine, for the night wanes. 61. Being old, my love for thee led my head into a snare ; if not, how comes it that my hand holds the cup of date-wine? My sweetheart has destroyed the penitence born of reason, and the passing seasons have torn the garment that patience sewed. 62. Although wine has rent my veil, so long as I have a soul I will not be separated from wine; I am in perplexity concerning vintners, for they — what will they buy that is better than what they sell ? 63. So much generosity and kindness at the beginning, why was it ? and that maintenance of me with delights and blandishments, why was it ? Now Thine only endeavour is to afflict my heart ; after all, what wrong have I done — once more, why was it ? 64. In my mind may there be desire for idols houri-like, in my hand may there be, all the year round, the juice of the grape ; they say to me, " May God give thee repentance ! " He himself will not give it ; I will none of it ; let it be far off ! 12 RubaHyat of Omar Khayyam 65. In the tavern thou canst not perform the Ablution save with wine, and thou canst not purify a tarnished reputation ; be happy, for this veil of temperance of ours is so torn that it cannot be repaired. 66. I saw upon the terrace of a house a man, alone, who trampled upon the clay, holding it in contempt ; that clay said to him in mystic language : — " Be still, for like me thou wilt be much trampled upon." 67. It is a pleasant day, and the weather is neither hot nor cold ; the rain has washed the dust from the faces of the roses ; the nightingale in the Pehlevi tongue to the yellow rose cries ever : — " Thou must drink wine ! " 68. Ere that fate makes assault upon thy head, give orders that they bring thee rose-coloured wine ; thou art not treasure, O heedless dunce, that thee they hide in the earth and then dig up again. 69. Take heed to stay me with the wine-cup, and make this amber face like a ruby ; when I die, wash me with wine, and out of the wood of the vine make the planks of my coffin. 70. O Shah ! destiny appointed thee to sovereignty, and saddled for thee the horse of empire ; when thy golden-hoofed charger moved, setting foot upon the clay, the earth became gilded. English Translation 13 71. A love that is imaginary has no value ; like a fire half-dead, it gives no heat. A true lover, throughout the month, and year, and night, and da}-, takes neither rest, nor peace, nor food, nor sleep. 72. No one has solved the tangled secrets of eternity, no one has set foot beyond the orbit, since, so far as I can see, from tyro to teacher, impotent are the hands of all men born of woman. 73. Set limits to thy desire for worldly things and live content, sever the bonds of thy dependence upon the good and bad of life, take wine in hand and play with the curls of a loved one ; for quickly all passeth away — and how many of these days remain ? 74- The heavens rain down blossoms from the clouds, thou mayest say that they shed blossoms into the garden ; in a lily-like cup I pour rosy wine, as the violet clouds pour down jessamine. 75- I drink wine, and every one 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 was ignorance. 76. Do not allow sorrow to embrace thee, nor an idle grief to occupy thy days ; forsake not the book, and the lover's lips, and the green bank of the field, ere that the earth enfold thee in its bosom. 14 RuhaHyat of Omar Khayyam 77' Drink wine, that will banish thy abundant woes, and will banish thought of the Seventy-two Sects ; avoid not the alchemist, for, from him, thou takest one draught, and he banishes a thousand calamities. 78. Even though wine is forbidden, for all that it depends tipon who drinks it, and then in what quantity, and also with whom he drinks it ; these three conditions being as they should be ; say ! who drinks wine if a wise man does not do so ? 79- Drink wine, for thy body becomes atoms in the earth, thine earth, after that, becomes goblets and jars; be thou heedless of hell and heaven, why should a wise man be deceived about such things ? 80. Now is the time when by the spring-breezes the world is adorned, and in hope of rain it opens its eyes, the hands of Moses appear like froth upon the bough, the breath of Jesus comes forth from the earth. 81. Every draught that the Cup-bearer scatters upon the earth quenches the fire of anguish in some afflicted eye. Praise be to God ! thou realizest that wine is a juice that frees thy heart from a hundred pains. 82. Every morning the dew bedecks the faces of the tulips, the crests of the violets in the garden are bent downward ; verily, most pleasing to me is the rosebud which gathers its skirts close around itself. English Translation 15 83. Friends, when ye hold a meeting together, it behoves ye warmly to remember your friend ; when ye drink wholesome wine together, and my turn comes, turn a goblet upside down. 84. Friends, when with consent ye make a tryst together, and take delight in one another's charms, when the Cup-bearer takes round in his hand the Mugh wine, remember a certain helpless one in your benediction. 85. One cup of wine is worth a hundred hearts and religions, one draught of wine is worth the empire of China, saving ruby wine there is not, on the face of earth, any acrid thing that is worth a thousand sweet souls. 86. // thou desirest Him, be separated from wife and children, bravely move thine abode from thy relations and friends ; whatever is, is an hindrance on the road for thee, how canst thou journey with these hindrances ? — remove them ! 87. Bring me that ruby in a clear glass, bring me that companion and intimate of all excellent people : since thou knowest that the duration of this earthly world is a wind that quickly passes by, — bring me wme. 88. Arise ! bring physic to this oppressed heart, bring that musk-scented and rose-coloured wine ; if thou desirest the elements of sorrow's antidote, bring ruby wine and the silk stringed lute. i6 Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam 89. I saw a potter in the bazaar yesterday, he was violently pounding the fresh clay, and that clay said to him, in mystic language, " I was once like thee — so treat me well." 90. Drink of that wine that is eternal life, it is the stock-in-trade of youthful pleasure, drink ! it burns like fire, but sorrows it makes like the water of life — drink ! gi. Follow not the Traditions, and leave alone the Commands, withhold not from anyone the morsel that thou possessest : neither slander, nor afflict the heart of anyone, I guarantee you the world beyond — bring wine ! 92. Wine is rose-red, and the cup is filled with the water of roses, — maybe, in the crystal casket is a pure ruby, — maybe, a melted ruby is in the water, — maybe, moonlight is the veil of the sun, — maybe. 93. Every vow we make, we break again, we shut once more upon ourselves the door of fame and fair repute ; blame me not if I act as a fool, for once more am I drunken with the wine of love. 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 chessboard of existence, and one by one we return to the box of non-existence. English Translation 17 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. 96. On the face of the rose there is still a cloud-shadow, in my nature and heart there is still a desire for wine ; sleep not, what right hast thou to sleep yet ? give me wine, sweetheart, for it is still daylight. 97- Go ! throw dust upon the face of the heavens, drink wine, and consort with the fair of face ; what time is this for worship ? and what time is this for supplication ? since, of all those that have departed, not one has returned? 98. Fill the cup ! for the day breaks white like snow, learn colour from the wine that is ruby ; take two fragrant aloe logs, and brighten the assembly, make one into a lute, and burn the other. 99. We have returned to our wonted debauch, we have renounced — the Five Prayers ! wherever the goblet is, there thou mayst see us, our necks stretched out like that of the bottle. 100. In great desire I pressed my lips to the lip of the jar, to enquire from it how long life might be attained ; it joined its lip to mine and whispered : — ** Drink wine, for, to this world, thou returnest not." } i8 RuhaHyat of Omar Khayyam lOI. I will give thee counsel if thou wilt give ear to me, for the sake of God do not wear the garment of hypocrisy, the hereafter will fill all hours, and the world is but a moment, do not sell the kingdom of eternity for the sake of one moment. 102. Khayyam, if thou art drunk with wine, be happy, if thou reposest with one tulip-cheeked, be happy, since the end of all things is that thou wilt be naught ; whilst thou art, imagine that thou art not, — be happy ! 103. I went last night into the workshop of a potter, I saw two thousand pots, some speaking, and some silent ; suddenly one of the pots cried out aggressively : — " Where are the pot maker, and the pot buyer, and the pot seller ? " 104. Of this spirit, that they call pure wine, they say : — " It is a remedy for a ruined heart " ; set quickly before me two or three heavily filled cups, why do they call a good water "wicked water"? 105. Regard my virtues one by one, and forgive my crimes ten by ten, pardon every crime that is past, the reckoning is with God ! let not the wind and air fan the flame of thy rancour, by Muhammad's tomb ! forgive me. 106. Verily wine in the goblet is a delicate spirit, in the body of the jar, a delicate soul reposes, nothing heavy is worthy to be the friend of wine save the wine-cup, for that is, at the same time, heavy and delicate. English Translation 19 107. Where is the limit to eternity to come, and where to eternity past ? 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. 108. This vault of heaven, beneath which we stand bewildered, we know to be a sort of magic-lantern : know thou that the sun is the lamp-flame and the universe is the lamp, we are like figures that revolve in it. log. I do not always prevail over my nature, — hut what can I do ? and I suffer for my actions, — but what can I do ? I verily believe that Thou wilt generously pardon me on account of my shame that Thou hast seen what I have done, — but what can I do ? no. Let me arise and seek pure wine, make thou the colour of my cheek like that of the jujube fruit, as for this meddling intellect, a fist-full of wine will I throw in its face, to make it sleep. III. How long shall we continue slaves to every-day problems ? what matter whether we live one year, or one day, in this world ? pour out a cup of wine, before that we become pots in the workshop of the potters. 112. Since our abode in this monastery is not permanent without the Cup-bearer and the beloved, it is painful to support life; how long of ancient creeds or new, O philosopher ? when I have left it what matter if the world be old or new ? 20 RubaHyat of Omar Khayyam 113- In loving Thee I incur reproaches for a hundred sins, and if I fail in this obligation I pay a penalty : if my life remain faithful to Thy cruelty, please God, I shall have less than that to bear till the Judg- ment Day. 114. The world being fleeting, I practise naught but artifice, I hold only with cheerfulness and sparkling wine ; they say to me : — " May God grant thee penitence." He himself does not give it, and if He gives it, I will none of it. 115- Although I have come with an air of supplication to the mosque, by Allah ! I have not come to pray ; I came one day and stole a prayer-mat — that sin wears out, and I come again and again. 116. When I am abased beneath the foot of destiny and am rooted up from the hope of life, take heed that thou makest nothing but a goblet of my clay, haply when it is full of wine I may revive. 117. My heart does not distinguish between the bait and the trap, one counsel urges it towards the mosque, another towards the cup ; nevertheless the wine-cup, and the loved one, and I continually together, are better, cooked, in a tavern, than raw, in a monastery. 118. It is morning : let us for a moment inhale rose-coloured wine, and shatter against a stone this vessel of reputation and honour; let us cease to strive after what has long been our hope, and play with long ringlets and the handle of the lute. English Translation 21 119. We have preferred a corner and two loaves to the world, and we have put away greed of its estate and magnificence; we have bought poverty with our heart and soul — in poverty we have discerned great riches. 120. I know the outwardness of existence and of non-existence, I know the inwardness of all that is high and low ; nevertheless let me be modest about my own knowledge if I recognise any degree higher than drunkenness. 121. For a while, when young, we frequented a teacher, for a while we were contented with our proficiency ; behold the foundation of the discourse: — what happened to us? we came in like water and we depart like wind. 122. To him who understands the mysteries of the world, the joy and sorrow of the world is all the same ; since the good and the bad of the world will come to an end ; what matter, since it must end ? an thou wilt, be all pain, or, an thou wilt, all remedy. 123. So far as in thee lies, follow the example of the profligate, destroy the foundations of prayer and fasting: hear thou the Word of Truth from Omar Khayyam, " Drink wine, rob on the highway, and be benevolent." 124. Since the harvest for the human race, in this wilderness, is naught but to suffer affliction or to give up the ghost, light-hearted is he who passes quickly from this world, and he who never came into the world is at rest. 22 Riiba'iyat of Ouiar Khayyam 125. Darvlsh ! rend from thy body the figured veil, rather than sacrifice thy body for the sake of that veil ; go and throw upon thy shoulders the old rug ot poverty — beneath that rug thou art equal to a sultan. 126. Behold the evil conduct of this vault of heaven, behold the world — empty by the passing away of friends ; as far as thou art able live for thyself for one moment, look not for to-morrow, seek not yesterday, behold the present ! 127. To drink wine and consort with a company of the beautiful is better than practising the hypocrisy of the zealot ; if the lover and the drunkard are doomed to hell, then no one will see the face of heaven. 128. One cannot consume one's happy heart with sorrow, nor consume the pleasure of one's life upon the touchstone ; no one is to be found who knows what is to be ; wine, and a loved one, and to repose according to one's desire, — these things are necessary. 129. This heavenly vault, for the sake of my destruction and thine, wages war upon my pure soul and thine ; sit upon the green sward, O my Idol ! for it will not be long ere that green sward shall grow from my dust and thine. 130. What profits it, our coming and going? and where is the woof for the warp of the stuff of our life ? How many delicate bodies the world burns away to dust ! and where is the smoke of them ? English Translation 23 131- Flee from the study of all sciences — 'tis better thus, and twine thy fingers in the curly locks of a loved one — 'tis better thus, ere that fate shall spill thy blood ; pour thou the blood of the bottle into the cup — 'tis better thus. 132. Ah ! I have brushed the tavern doorway with my moustaches, I have bidden farewell to the good and evil of both worlds ; though both the worlds should fall like balls in my street, seek me, — ye will find me sleeping like a drunkard. 133- From everything save wine abstinence is best, and that wine is best when served by drunken beauties in a pavilion, drinking, and Kalendarism, and erring, are best, one draught of wine from Mah to Mahi is best. 134- This heavenly vault is like a bowl, fallen upside down, under which all the wise have fallen captive, choose thou the manner of friendship of the goblet and the jar, they are lip to lip, and blood has fallen between them. 135- See, the skirt of the rose has been torn by the breeze, the nightingale rejoices in the beauty of the rose ; sit in the shade of the rose, for, by the wind, many roses have been scattered to earth and have become dust. 136. How long shall I grieve about what I have or have not, and whether I shall pass this life light-heartedly or not ? Fill up the wine-cup, for I do not know that I shall breathe out this breath that I am drawing in. 24 RiihaHyat of Omar Khayyam 137- Submit not to the sorrow of this iniquitous world, remind us not of sorrow for those who have passed away, give thine heart only to one jasmine-bosomed and fairy-born, be not without wine, and cast not thy life to the winds. 138. Though thy life pass sixty years, do not give up ; wherever thou directest thy steps, walk not save when drunk ; before they make the hollow of thy skull into a jar, lower not the jar from thy shoulder, neither relinquish the cup. 139- One draught of old wine is better than a new kingdom, avoid any way save that of wine — 'tis better so ; the cup is a hundred times better than the kingdom of Feridun, the tile that covers the jar is better than the crown of Kal- Khosru. 140. Those, O Saki, who have gone before us, have fallen asleep, O Saki, in the dust of self-esteem ; go thou and drink wine, and hear the truth from me, whatever they have said, O Saki, is but wind. 141. Thou hast broken my jug of wine, O Lord ; Thou hast shut upon me the door of happiness, O Lord ; thou hast spilled my pure wine upon the earth ; may I perish ! but thou art strange, O Lord ! 142. O heaven ! thou givest something to every base creature, thou suppliest baths, and millstreams, and canals ; the pure man plays hazard for his night's provisions : wouldst thou give a fig for such a heaven ? English Translation 25 143- O heart ! at the mysterious secret thou arrivest not, at the conceits of the ingenious philosophers thou arrivest not ; make thyself a heaven here with wine and cup, for at that place where heaven is, thou mayst arrive, or mayst not. 144. Thou eatest always smoke from the kitchen of the world ; how long wilt thou suffer miseries concerning what is or is not ? thou desirest not a stock in trade, for its source weakens, and who will consume the capital, seeing that thou consumest all the profit ? 145- soul ! if thou canst purify thyself from the dust of the body, thou, naked spirit, canst soar in the heavens, the Empyrean is thy sphere, — let it be thy shame, that thou comest and art a dweller within the confines of earth. 146. 1 smote the glass wine-cup upon a stone last night, my head was turned that I did so base a thing ; the cup said to me in mystic language, " I was like thee, and thou also wilt be like me." 147. Grasp the wine-cup and the flagon, O heart's desire ! pleasantly, pleasantly, and cheerfully, wander in the garden by the river brink ; many are the excellent folk whom malicious heaven has made a hundred times into cups, and a hundred times into flagons. 148. In a thousand places on the road I walk. Thou placest snares, Thou sayest, " I will catch thee if thou placest step in them " ; in no smallest thing is the world independent of Thee, Thou orderest all things, and callest me rebellious. 3 26 RiibaHyat of Omar Khayyam 149. I desire a little ruby wine and a book of verses, just enough to keep me alive and half a loaf is needful ; and then, that I and thou, should sit in a desolate place is better than the kingdom of a sultan. 150. Do not give way so much to vain grief, — live happily, and, in the way of injustice, set thou an example of justice, since the final end of this world is nothingness ; suppose thyself to be nothing, and be free. 151. Gaze as I may on all sides, in the garden flows a stream from the river Kausar, the desert becomes like heaven, thou mayst say hell has disappeared, sit thou then in heaven with one heavenly-faced. 152. Be happy ! they settled thy reward 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 ! 153. Pour out the red wine of pure tulip colour, draw the pure blood from the throat of the jar, for to-day, beside the wine-cup, there is not, for me, one friend who possesses a pure heart. 154- To the ear of my heart Heaven whispered secretly : — "The commands that are decreed thou mayst learn from me: had I a hand in my own revolutions, I would have saved myself from giddiness." English Translation 27 155- If a loaf of wheaten-bread be forthcoming, a gourd of wine, and a thigh-bone of mutton, and then, if thou and I be sitting in the wilderness, — that would be a joy to which no sultan can set bounds. 156. If henceforth two measures of wine come to thy hand, drink thou wine in every assembly and congregation, for He who made the world does not occupy Himself about moustaches like thine, or a beard like mine. 157- Had I charge of the matter I would not have come, and likewise could I control my going, where should I go ? were it not better than that, that in this world I had neither come, nor gone, nor lived ? 158. The month of Ramazan passes and Shawwal comes, the season of increase, and joy, and story-tellers comes ; now comes that time when "Bottles upon the shoulder!" they say, — for the porters come and are back to back. END OF THE QUATRAINS. Written by the humble slave, who is in need of mercies of Eternal God, Mahmud Yerbudakl. Finished in the last decade of Safar, with blessing and victory, in the year Eight hundred and sixty-five of the Hijrah of the Prophet, upon whom be peace, and benediction, and honour ; in the capital Shiraz. May God most high protect her from evils. THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT The Original Manuscript 31 >ty''* ■/.■ ^1 :'>^it/^'^''i^ 80 ^^'^Lc;^.(^o I -l?;^-^^i^.f>*-ll>'y ^ J-if^i 157 ^ — "^isty'/j^y '^^'t^'j-sjl-^-/^ •-^/^t>/>'cfrt>^^': '-tl/- L 158 79 4—2 The Original Manuscript i5 J. J 5 jLi=^b 156 1 4:^d^-^>^^ 78 I J U •'- ''• -' ' 'y I I ^^J^y^V^ U"-> -aja 7,5J 754 77 The Original Manuscript 35 151 152 . *^ *(.. * *' -V. Jl^lj 6ry, -ri^l. y/T-r^'^'-D'^ .1. ^^ "»■ V ""cr•^^^^ 76 ■^tj/ If -'^v {,">'»/ ■^ ' ^" ^ V V l^^-'^'i^'ei^ i i S ■ ^/^^ «■■ »!-|iiiuuit-*affgn! 149 150 75 The Original Maimscript 57 147 U8 ^. "■ ' iU'b ''■'■•J. ^ v'*- jU/j 773 '•'. 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' *•' ''' ' 2/ 22 The Original Manuscript lOI 19 20 7'.. >A y^^^s JU>(> ■'^:-C^(^:?^ ' ♦• :^ ■i***^ if.:**-. /7 75 The Original Manuscript 103 15 16 WKtmmmmmik Jiw 11 1 1 1 11 jd>h J lib » • . -a) A ■»*■ ♦ * ■' 13 14 The Original Manuscript 105 77 ^& 72 ■JUL jt/t^^JoV'/* vt§'( 1 . .,j5-r'^i*^^v'-^>'j ^:J>y >/^^^^>-^£n}>':. ' : /i^/^ (^Jj/) 10 The Original Manuscript 107 ^vV^utg "yA. \:^, JUffj ^-'•i/^jbii^^/.^ U^^J' ml /^^. ^^O^i^^t...: .■■,-' ' '' • >» '■ -^ .. J \^b ■'^j ^^^J'^i^/O}^ I - ■ r* The Original Manuscript 109 /; i^^y^^:-| y-jr^^ 'y <^'j7jyJiA C;^^t:^<-^'f '^^^r^fVifjj^^j TEXT, TRANSCRIPT, TRANSLATION AND NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES With the Ahbyeviations used in the Notes to the Text and Translation. In order to save reiteration in referring to the translations, texts, and other authorities consulted in the construction of this work, they are referred to in the notes in the following manner : — C. — The transcript of the MS. No. 1548 in the Asiatic Society's Library at Calcutta, which Prof. Cowell had made for Edward FitzGerald {vide Introduction). P. — The MS. in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. Sup- plement Persan, No. 823. B. ii. — The Bankipur MS. described on page xi (Introduction). L. — The Lucknow lithographed edition (1894). S. P. — The edition lithographed at St. Petersburg in the year A.H. 1306 (a.d. 1888), which is copied from an edition litho- graphed at Tabriz, a.h. 1285 (a.d. 1868). B. — The Bombay Hthographed edition of 1880. It is almost identical with the Lucknow Edition. Note. — The ruba'iyat are not numbered in any ot the above, but I have numbered my copies for convenience of reference. The numbers in the lithographs may be taken as correct ; those in the MS. are as correct as ordinary care can make them, regard being had to the Oriental habit of writing extra quatrains in the margins — at least, they are very closely approximate. N. — J. B. Nicolas. " Les Quatrains de Kheyam, traduits du Persan." Paris, 1867. Imprimerie Imperiale. W.— E. H. Whinfield. "The Quatrains of Omar Khayyam. The Persian text with an English verse translation." London, 1883. Triibner. F. i. — Edward FitzGerald's poem, ist edition. London, 1859. Quaritch. F. ii. — Ditto, 2nd edition. London, 1868. Quaritch. F. iii. — Ditto, 3rd edition. London, 1872. Quaritch. F. iv. — Ditto, 4th edition. London, 1879. Quaritch. F. V. — Ditto, 5th edition. London, 1890. Macmillan. De T.— Garcin de Tassy. " Note sur les Rubaiyat de 'Omar Khaiyam." Paris, 1857. Imprimerie Imperiale. (Extract from ih& Journal Asiatique, 1857.) L. R. — " Letters and Literary Remains of Edward FitzGerald." London, 1889. Macmillan. 3 vols. ii6 Bibliographical References D. — N. H. Dole. " Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: English, French, and German translations. Comparatively arranged in accordance with the text of Edward FitzGerald's version. With further selections, notes, biographies, bibliography, and other material." Boston, 1896. J. Knight. E. C. — E. B. Cowell in the Calcutta Review, No. 59, March, 1858, p. 149. " A Review of the Algebra of Omar Khayyam (Paris, 1851) and of Dr. Sprenger's Catalogue." S. — A. Sprenger. " Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian, and Hindustany Manuscripts of the Ubraries of the Kings of Oudh." Vol. I. Calcutta, 1854. M. — M antic ut tair, ou le langage des oiseaux, par Ferld ud din Attar, publie en persan par M. Garcin de Tassy. Paris, 1857. Translation, Paris, 1863. P.N. — " Pend Nameh, ou le livre des Conseils de Ferid-eddin Attar, traduit et publie par M. le B"". Silvestre de Sacy." Paris, 1 81 9. Persian text and translation with variorum notes. Gulistan. — When referring to this work I have used the text printed from the Calcutta edition by Francis Gladwin in 1806, revised by Sir Wm. Gore Ouseley (London, 1809) ; the Translation privately printed for members of the Kama Shastra Society at " Benares " (London) in 1888 ; and the standard translation of Edward B. Eastwick (last edition, London, 1880; Triibner). Beharistan. — When referring to this work, I have used the two British Museum MSS. Add. 7775 and 18,579, and the translation privately printed for the members of the Kama Shastra Society at " Benares " (London) in 1887. Steingass. — " A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary . . . being Johnson and Richardson's Persian, Arabic, and English Dictionary," revised, enlarged, and entirely re- constructed, by F. Steingass, Ph.D. London (W. H. Allen & Co.), n.d. (1892). Note. — It may be taken as a general rule that, in the actual notes, where N. is mentioned S. P. is also implied, and where L. is mentioned B. is implied ; that is, of course, when references are given to both authorities in the headnote to a quatrain. lO NOTES. This quatrain is C. 274, P. 4, B. ii. 302, L. 423, S. P. 228, B. 419, N. 229, W. 268, and (as also the following one) is out of its diwan order, and was probably placed at the commencement of this MS. to satisfy some scruple of the writer, Mahmud Yerbfidakl. Edward FitzGerald (F. v., Preface, pp. 14, 15) remarks concerning it: "The scribes of the Oxford and Calcutta MSS. seem to do their work under a sort of protest, each beginning with a tetrastich (whether genuine or not) taken out of its alphabetical order. . . . The Bodleian Quatrain pleads Pantheism by way of justification : " ' If I myself upon a looser Creed Have loosely strung the Jewel of Good-deed, Let this one thing for my Atonement plead, That One for Two I never did mis-read.' " The Calcutta MS. begins with one of expostulation, supposed (says a notice prefixed to the MS.) to have arisen from a dream, in which Omar's mother asked about his future fate. It may be rendered thus : " O Thou who burn'st in Heart for those who burn In Hell, whose fires thyself should feed in turn ; How long be crying, ' Mercy on them, God ! ' Why, who art Thou to teach, and He to learn ? " 1 This is quoted by Dr. Sprenger as the first tetrastich of the MS. in the library of the Kings of Oudh (S., p. 464), and may be literally rendered : " O drunken student deserving to be burnt, Woe ! that the fire of Hell shall blaze from you, How long will you keep saying, ' Have mercy upon Omar ' ? What claim have you to be a teacher of mercy to God ? " It also figures as B. ii. 537, L. 769, B. 755, N. 459, W. 488. 1. Note the error of the scribe, zd'atat^ for td'atat.^ There are several such errors in the MS., but, excepting where they obscure the meaning, I do not think it worth while to call attention to them. 2. The phrase gauhar suftan* = " to thread pearls," and is used in Persian to mean "to write verses," or to tell a story. Cf. M., 1. 378: "Behold the pearls of the sword of my tongue ; every pearl that falls from my mouth on thy path comes from the bottom of my heart."" Compare Hafiz's : "When thou composest verses, thou seemest to make a string of pearls : come, sing them sweetly." 1^ 3. N.'s text reads, " And if I have never swept the dust of your path with my heart." 2 In this line we have an echo of the expression in F. v., 81, "the Sin wherewith the Face of Man is blacken'd," which he took from M., 11. 225-227. Vide post, q. log. 4. The other texts read, " I am not hopeless of mercy at your tribunal." ^ 5. C, B. ii., L., N., and W. begin zlril A» ' = because that. 6. In this line Omar boasts that he has never questioned the Unity of God. taivhld kerdan^ = to acknowledge One God. C/. M., 11. 116, "Keep steadfast in unity, and keep away from duality," 1* and 3210, and chap. xlii. : " The valley of the Tawhid." i** (Notes to page 119 continued on page 120.) Transcript and Translation 119 J — ^j — 5> /^■^y ^j-^ j' ^^ ^^ I. If I have never threaded the pearl ^ of Thy service/ and if I have never wiped the dust of sin from my face ; ^ nevertheless, I am not hopeless of Thy mercy,* for the reason that'' I have never said that One was Two.*^ 2. If I talk of the mystery with Thee in a tavern, it is better than if I make my devotions^ before the Mihrab^ without Thee ID — 2 120 Notes This quatrain is C. 272, P. 7. B. ii. 294, L. 427, S. P. 221, B. 423, N. 222, W. 262. It is one of those that FitzGerald reproduced almost faithfully (F. i., No. 5G ; F. v., No. 77), and scarcely altered in his own four editions : 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. 1. The Mihrab is the spot in a mosque giving the exact direction of Mecca, towards which all Muslims turn in prayer. 2. The nemdz are the prayers prescribed by Muhammadan law to be repeated five times a day, the panj irakt-i-uemaz^ {vide post, 99). They are respectively the nemdz-i-bdniddd i" = morning prayers said before dawn ; the nemds-i-pTshiii^^ = midday prayers; the nemdz-i-digav^'- = afternoon prayers; the nemOz-i-shdm i-' = prayers immediately after sunset ; and the \neiiidz-i-khif- tan^* = prayers before bed. L. reads the line, "Since then I do not make a pretence of prayer before the Mihrab." '" ^_^^^ "tJu^y^ =6.Xi.^^ ^ (1) r^f Jo^ ^A; ^u. jf (■■■) ^j^ti^ ybf (-1) /o jUi (1^) ,^^. ;U (11) oU-b J;J^ (1-^) ;UJ ^\^^. ^jj ^ 6^1; (1-^) .j^^ jU (1^)^ l=x»b. ^^1^ Ji.yi. 3. Cf. the appellation of Muhammad, "first and last of prophets." 1 Cf. M., 1. 176: "Oh God! who but Thou is infinite? Who is without beginning or ending? "- 4. Vide note 5, q. 122. 3- I do not find this quatrain in any other text. L. 2 (B. ii. 13, S. P. 12, B. 2, N. 12, W. 11) begins like it, but is really quite different. I. Literally, " Do not give from (your) hand." 4- This quatrain is W. 15, and is the first of those in de T., but I do not find it in C, B. ii.. P., L., or N. I. Literally, " Upon the fire of your own anger do not cause anyone to sit." ft Lol J, so*- ^T^ jy (1) Transcript and Translation 121 c>j-^ d^i= ^jl^^j b' jj-x I ™^i^ ^jiij^t* y^^) "-^^-^^ ^j> ^^ l^^«<«>i *IJj_X — * ^■iS^J ^^> I »~>oJ A Lcujw* . W J^i^ ^^UE. It i^f-r^^j';/ O Thou, the first and last of all created beings ! ^ burn me an Thou wilt, or cherish me an Thou wilt.* 3- So far as in thee lies, reproach not drunkards, lay thou aside pretence and imposture ; if, henceforth, thou desirest rest from this life of thine, do not for a moment shun^ humble folk. So far as in thee lies, cause no pain to anyone, nor cause anyone to suffer from thy wrath ; ' 122 Notes 2. There is a parallel passage in M., 1. 3195 : " If thou art wounded, tell no one of it, add wound to wound and do not complain." ^ 5- This quatrain is C. 7, P. 219, B. ii. 8, L. 5, S. P. 8, B. 4, N. 8, W. 7, E. C. 5, and is no doubt the source of FitzGerald's quatrain (F. i. 74) : " Ah ! Moon of my Delight, who know'st no wane The Moon of Heav'n is rising once again ; How oft hereafter rising shall she look Through this same Garden after me — in vain." The quatrain is altered, but hardly, I think, improved in F.v. Cf. Purgatorio, xii. 84 : " Pensa che questo di mai non raggiorna." 1. C, B. ii.. P., N., and W. read " becomes surety for." ' 2. C, B. ii. , N., and W. read " this heart full of melancholy (or passion)." ^ L. reads " passionate " heart. ' 3. Here we have three meanings of the word mdh.^ The moon (of heaven), a beautiful mistress, and a month. Cf. M., 1. 74: "The moon wanes for love of thee ; every month she swoons in her stupefaction." ^ 4. N. reads bigardad ^ = " (many moons) shall revolve," etc. C. reads bitdbad ki' = "(many a moon) shall shine that (shall not, etc.)." W. reads bitdbadu =" shall shine and," etc. This is given as a good specimen of the kind of verbal variations to be found between the various texts and MSS. In future I do not propose to set out variations when so minute as this. 6 This quatrain is C. 6, P. 316, B. ii. 12, L, 22, S. P. 11, B. 20, N. 11, W. 10. I. C, B. ii.. P., and W. read behTn^ = hest. ^^. (*) sU (3) 1^1^^ y^ Jo ^\ p) o^A ^ (1) Transcript and Translation 123 at* d^ 2>t» ,^1 &L« ^^ i/*y cS*^ — ^pMpMll^lUIMmilUWU ^. if thou hast a desire for eternal peace, fret thyself always and harass no one.^ Since no one will guarantee thee^ a to-morrow, make thou happy now this love-sick heart ;^ drink wine in the moonlight, O Moon, for the moon ^ shall seek us long* and shall not find us. 6. The Qur'an, which men call the Supreme ^ Word, they read at intervals but not continually. 124 Notes 2. kliatt may mean either a measuring mark or a written line ; so, khatt-i- pjaleh ' may mean either the lines engraved upon the inside of a goblet to measure the draughts, or the edge or rim of the goblet itself. P. reads " on the rim of the cup." i"* 3. So, Ctyct- means either a mark or sign, or a verse of the (jur'iin. The whole line is an elaborate play upon these words. 4. C. and W., lushan'i hast"' = "(a te.xt) is clear or luminous." N. reads rawishl ast^ = " there is a precept or (divine) law." 5. The word muddm having also the meaning " wine," this line might be rendered, "Which in all places they read as 'wine.'" This form of pun is called iltam. Verses in praise of wine were, and are, frequently engraved round wine-goblets in Persia. Allusion is made by Edward FitzGerald to Jamshyd's seven- ringed cup. The seven lines alluded to were called respectively the khatt-i-jaur,^ or mark of oppression ; the khatt-i-BaghdudS' or mark of plenty; the kliatl-i- basiah,'' or mark of all wisdom; the khatt-i-siyaJi," or black mark ; the kliatt-i-dslik," or mark of tears ; the khatt-i-kusagai-}'^ or potter's mark ; and the khatt-i- farUdinah,^'^ or lowest mark. 7- This quatrain is C. 17, P. 241, B. ii. 17, S. P. 19, B. 28, N. 19, W. 22, in all of which lines 2 and 3 are transposed. It is also L. 30, which is a good deal varied. 1. C, B. ii., L., X., and W. read mutrib i- = singers. P. reads " mu'shnk " i' = lovers. 2. C, P., B. ii., L., N., and W. read In kunj-i-khardb^" = this desolate corner, i.e. a tavern, which in Persia is generally to be found in the waste outskirts of a town. Cf. M., 11. 979-983 : " I am weak ; I was born among ruins and I am happy there ; but not in drinking wine. . . . He who would live in peace must retire, like a drunkard among ruins." '^ 3. P., N., and W. read "in pawn for wine,"i^ meaning that the speaker had renounced his future hopes for the forbidden pleasures of this world. L. reads this, " Souls and hearts and faith and intellects in pawn for wine " i^ as the second line. The third and fourth lines in L. are entirely different to the other texts. Compare Hafiz : "Virtuous Sufi, he who, like me, pawns his garments at the tavern to pay his score, will never be an inhabitant of Paradise." ^"^ 8. This quatrain is C. 102, P. 70, B ii. 32, L. 65, S. P. 75, B. 62, N. 75, W. 77. I. iihli-zemdnah means probably "people of this time." Transcript and Translatii 125 ■:^ — Jb .ci^jj d3Lj k_fc. 5^ ^- > \j^\ J-ol^^-i* ^Ij.^ U .Jl^ b^ ^>J^>|. <^^^^ fW^ J^^ O^^ /<-^^;''j-'^' ^/''>^>^,^I/> p ^Ufi (v .. r ^ ^ 'fn'j^Z^\4^J^j' - ^> v' that person upon whom thou leanest entirely,^ when thou examinest him closely,^ he is thine enemy. This jug was once a plaintive lover as I am, and was in pursuit of one of comely face ; ^ this handle that thou seest upon its neck is an arm that once lay around the neck^ of a friend. 10. Ah, woe to that heart in which there is no passion, which is not spell-bound by the love of a heart-cheerer ! 128 Notes I. B. ii. and L. read " without wine." " This quatrain is C. 30, B. ii. 26, L. 133, S.P. 24, B. 130, N. 24, W. 28, and in it we find the sentiment of Fitzgerald's quatrain (F. %•. S) that made its first appearance in F. ii., and was never altered. The more direct inspiration of that quatrain came, no doubt, from the 47th quatrain of this MS. (q. v. post). 1. C, B. ii., L., N., and W. read naniet,^ which conveys rather the idea of a passing period or crisis, than that of a lengthy season. 2. C, B. ii., L., N., and W. read " I drink,'"- for " I desire. ' 3. B. ii., L., N., and W. read kdmrilniye," a. synonym. C. reads for this line, " I make a wine-drinking, for that is my life " ; < but I think this must be an error of the scribe in my copy, his eye having wandered to the fourth line. 4. C, B. ii., N., and W. all read "Do not reproach it,"'' i.e., the wine, not me. 5. L. reads " It is pleasant, because it is bitter." " Vide post, note to q. 89. 6. The word "acrid" is not quite right. Binning {vide p. xxv., note 2) observes very appositely (vol. ii., p. 331, note): "The word mei-khoosh^ ex- presses a combination of sweet and acid flavour, common to the juice of many fruits and different wines, etc. It is singular that we have no English word to express this ; for I suppose a mongrel term like ' dulco-acid ' can hardly be called an English word." This quatrain is C. 91, P. 124, B. ii. 37, L. 41, S. P. 26, B. 38, N. 26, and W. 30. There is a strong suggestion of F. v. 25 (F. i. 24) in it. I. dasi yusi,^ - literally, "arriving of the hand at," i.e., power. ^ 'J6^j> t^ f^ juy ^ (*) jy l^ (S) ^y (2) e^y (1) Transcript and Translation i2g w &^ «^ — '^ s?-^'>-^ r^>-^ *^^ ^^r i^ — x^ JUoUs dXjJ ^) ^l^c:. -^ si fT**^ fcK.-w%a~Jj <%^) J^^s^^» z*--^ «i>wvj;>-/« JL-S'jJ^ dXjT)l '//?^ '(■ » * • the day that thou spendest without love,^ there is no day more useless to thee than that day. II. To-day being the season^ of my youth, I desire ^ wine, for thence comes my happiness ; ^ reproach me not,* even though acrid ^ it is pleasant ;° it is acrid in that it represents my life. 12. Thou hast no power ^ to-day over the morrow, and anxiety about the morrow brings thee only melancholy ; 130 Notes 2. shaidd^ = literally, "love-sick." In C. the line ends "for your heart cannot persevere."^ 3. C, B. ii., N., and W. all read "bakd"^ for this, meaning "end, upshot, remainder," rather than as here, " value, beauty." 13- This quatrain is P. 194, W. 116, de T. 2, and this and No. 80 {q. v. post), but especially this one, give us the original sources of FitzGerald's quatrain (No. 4 in all his editions) : Now the New Year, reviving old Desires, The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires, Where the White Hand of Moses on the Bough Puts out, and Jesus from the ground suspires. It is one of the quatrains found only in the Bodleian MS. and in P. 1. Vide note i to q. 12. W. appends a note, " bakhushi dust ras'i,"* an aid to Joy, i.e., Spring. The line might be rendered, " Now that happiness is within reach of the world." 2. zendah delira means here the heart, alive in the spiritual sense of the mystic or initiated, as opposed to the pleasure-seekers of the world indicated in the first line. De Tassy (de T. 2) translates it " le spiritualiste " ; F.'s " thought- ful soul" is a good rendering. W.'s rendering, "And lively hearts wend forth, a joyous band," is, I think, unfortunate. 3. The White Hand of Moses is a reference to the sign of his election given to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus iv. 6) : " And he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, ivhite as snow." We find references to this also in the QurTm, in ch. vii. 205, and again in ch. xxvi. 32, where the miracle is stated to have been performed before Pharaoh: "And he drew forth his hand out of his bosom, and behold, it appeared white unto the spectators." The learned commentator Al Beidawi says that Moses was a very swarthy man, and that " his hand became bright like the sun." Cf. M., 1. 453, a reference to this same miracle. 4. The revivifying properties of the breath of Jesus are alluded to alike in Christian and Muhammadan traditions. In the QurTm, ch. iii., we find : " I will make before you of clay as it were the figure of a bird ; then I will breathe thereon and it shall become a bird." Jellal'ud-din, commenting on this passage, refers to Christ's miracles of the raising of Lazarus, the widow's son, and the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. We find reference hereto also in the 43rd quatrain of Whinfield's text : "Since Isa breathed new life into my soul."'' There is a beautiful reference to this life-giving breath in the Masibat namah of Ferid-ud-din Attar. Cf. also M., 1. 451 : " If someone was resuscitated by the breath of Jesus." 1° 14. This quatrain is P. 66, B. ii. 135, L. 64, B. 61, W. 115, and is found only in the Bodleian MS. and the Lucknow lithographed edition by W. The objective dn-ra that commences the first line makes the meaning of the Bodleian quatrain almost hopelessly obscure, or, rather, makes literal translation impossible, and the ft-ra^ which begins the ruba'i in P. does not help us. W. has grasped the meaning, but his charming lines do not exactly represent the Persian. B. ii. reads ^i7_ya,3 "as one might say," "as it were," which makes sense and has the authority of age. 1. L. reads " Torment grows not on every shoot of (the Tree of) Knowledge." s 2. B. ii., L. and the Paris MS. read " Because in this path no one is perfect."' ^j «^-,o ^^ (4) 15. (3) ^..^U J .^^ J (2) lo^ (1) ")/ v^ite* JW* ji j-^ "^J"^ (") o^ '^'^j (***^ S5>*~^ f**^ •^' ^ (^) ^-/ (:') W {') — ;>^ — ^ vT-f «b ^.j^ ^ U) (") Transcript and Translation ^31 S^w<^ l«>-w8 fcs-Jj j] ^^ ^j ^jC« ^Ub fa s ««>.<. ..... Tl fcJ) l^^<2-=> ^5**^ VcS''^ 5JJ^ *ifc LTl?^ v.5'-^ y^ >J^ »^J 5[; ^„^»3 fc::... — J ^) dkS" fcc-. l\j jUh '^^c^jf^y/A >' . y waste not thou this moment if thy heart be not mad/ for the value ^ of the remainder of this life is not manifest. 13. Now that there is a possibility of happiness ^ for the world, every living heart -^ has yearnings towards the desert, upon every bough is the appearance of Moses' hand,^ in every breeze is the exhalation of Jesus' breath.^ 14. For him for whom the fruit ot the branch of truth has not grown, ^ the reason is that he is not firm in the Road." 1 32 Notes 3. The precise meaning of this Hne in this place is obscure. I take it to mean that men shake the loose bough that bears the fruit of knowledge in vain. L. reads: "Everyone has struck the loose bough with impotent hand."i The variant in the Paris MS. takes us no further. 4. Meaning, life begins anew each day, and the Last Day will be identical with the Day of Creation. 15- This quatrain is one of the few that seem to be linked with a preceding or subsequent one. This again only occurs in the Paris, Bankipur and Bodleian MSS. and the Lucknow edition; it is P. 114, B. ii. 69, L. 59, and B. 56, and is reproduced as W. 114. It formed the original of F. v. 66, which did not make its appearance until F. ii., in which it is No. 71, the two last lines differing somewhat : I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After-life to spell ; And by and by my Soul returned to me. And answered, " I Myself am Heav'n and Hell." Here we have an echo of FitzGerald's study of M. Cf. 1. 303 (Terminal Essay, p. 310). Vide in his own translation of that poem (L. R., vol. ii., p. 451) : I was the Sin that from Myself rebeli'd ; I the Remorse that tow'rd Myself compell'd Sin and Contrition — Retribution owed. And cancell'd — Pilgrim, Pilgrimage, and Road, Was but Myself toward Myself: and Your Arrival but Myself at my own Door. I. The Laiih ii Kalam are the Tablet and Pen wherewith divine decrees of what should be from all time were written. Compare Qur'fin, ch. Ixviii. i : "By the Pen and what they write, oh! Muhammad, thou art not distracted." Cf. M., 1. 262 : " The Tablet of divine decrees, and the Kalam appeared manifest." - 16. This quatrain is not found elsewhere than in the Bodleian MS., and it is W. 113, though W. 's translation of the first two hnes is more than free. We find an echo of it in F. v. 41, which made its appearance in its original form as F. ii. 55 : Perplext no more with Human or Divine, To-morrow's tangle to the winds resign. And lose your fingers in the tresses of The Cypress-slender Minister of Wine. I. ruzJyi man ast : literally, " is my sustenance, or daily bread." «< ' ^^^ J^ J=^ "= — '^ ''^j U-^ J^ (M Transcript and Translation 133 \6 c \i W ■iifivi.'fTiiii^ /U)^ •• V. L/* * * /.z±^ ..A «• jU-lj Every one has feebly shaken with his hand the bough oj tnith.^ Know that to-day is Hke yesterday, and that to-morrow is hke the First Day of Creation.*^ 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." 16. Arise and give me wine — what time is this for words ? for to-night thy little mouth fills all my needs ; ^ II 134 Notes 2. \V. reads jiawhet} i.e., " turn, condition, period ' ; but as he only collates the Bodleian MS., one may assume that he was deceived by a clerical error in his copy. 17- This quatrain is C. 84, P. 126, B. ii. 59, L. 193, B. 190, and W. 112, and is one of those (No. 6) translated by E. C. Vide post, note to q. 20. There is an echo in it of F. v. 21. 1. nislm-i-iwruz : literally, "the breath of the spring." 710-ruz is the Persian New Year's Day (21st March), on which the Sun enters Aries and begins the Vernal Equinox of the old Solar year, as compared with the variable Lunar year, which dates from the Hejra. It is commemorated to this day by a festival, said to have been instituted by Jamshyd, whose calendar Omar Khayyam rectified, and to which he refers in F. v. 57. 2. dil-fiirilz : literally, "heart enlightening," vide q 10, 1. 2. 3. L. reads " upon the lawn." ^ 18. This quatrain is C. 113, P. 201. B. ii. 75, L. 214, B. 211, and W. iii. C/. Inferno, ix. 97 : " Che giova nelle fata dar di cozzo ? " 1. The meaning of this is " How long shall I perform empty ceremonies ? " The futility of the operation is referred to in F. V. a,'] , q. v . suh (\. 51. It is a reference to the game of " Ducks and Drakes," which was known to the ancient Egyptians, and also to the Greeks under the name €Tro(TTpaKi(Tfio {-) «^y (^) Transcript and Translation 135 w '•^--- ^ ' ^ ^;»;y ^♦-y^ J_^ S^^^ ^ 1^- — -> (j^y^ t^y" ^y^ *^ -.itSs ^S^^^^ j\ give me wine, rose-coloured as thy cheeks, for this penitence^ of mine is as full of tangles as thy curls. 17- The spring breeze^ blows sweetly upon the face of the rose, in the shade of the garden plot^ a darling's^ face is sweet; nothing thou canst say of yesterday that is past, is sweet, be happy and do not speak of yesterday, for to-day is sweet. 18. How long shall I throw bricks upon the surface of the sea?^ I am disgusted with^ the idol- worshippers of the pagoda.^ II — 2 / 136 Notes 4. In L. and with a slight variation in B. ii. these two lines read : " To-night I am occupied with fair youths, I desire wine and a loved one — what are heaven and hell ? " ^ 19. This quatrain is C. 64, P. 95, B. ii. 77, L. 40, S.P. 37, N. 38, W. 42, and is the original of Fitzgerald's quatrain (F. i. 62, ii. 92, v. 85) : Then said a second — "Ne'er a peevish boy Would break the bowl from which he drank in joy ; And He that with his hand the vessel made Will surely not in after wrath destroy." 1. C. is identical with this, but B. ii., N., and W. read ki(ja ravii ddrdd^ = "Why should he permit," etc. 2. B. ii. and N. read sak 2 =" legs " ior pat, and L. reads dast — " hands." 3. N. and W. read If A^/ t7 (fas/ 3 = " and palms and hands." C. and B. ii. read sar = " head " for kef, which is neater than this, which can only be rendered " from (his) finger tips." Sir William Jones, in his delightful "Grammar" (London, 1771 and i8og, p. 91), justly observes ; " The noun sar has a number of different senses, and is therefore the most difficult word in the Persian language ; it signifies the head, the top, the poitit, the principal thing, the air, desire, love, ivill, intention, etc. ; and sometimes its meaning is so vague that it seems a mere expletive." 4. C. reads az berd'i* = " on what account," etc. 5. P. and L. use the synonym ajzdl.^ I am not sure that " the ingredients of a drink that he has compounded " would not be a better rendering of this line. 20. The references to this quatrain are somewhat confusing ; compare C. 23 and 55, B. ii. 24 and 88, L. 84, N. 22 and 42, S. P. 22, B. 80 ; the nearest to it, as a whole, is P. 162 : Line i is the same as L. 84, line i, and W. 26, line 2. This line is not at all in C. or N. Line 2 is the same as C. 23, line i (var.) ; L. 84, line 2 (var.) ; N. 22, line i (var.) ; and W. 26, line i (var.). Line 3 is the same as in C. 23, L. 84, N. 22 (var.), and identical with N. 42. Line 4 is the same in all the texts, and is repeated in N. 42. It contains the germ of F. v. 28-9: "I came like water, and like wind I go," etc. ; and this quatrain and No. 17 doubtless suggested F. i. 37, which he eliminated in its complete form from all subsequent editions : Ah ! fill the Cup : what boots it to repeat How Time is slipping underneath our Feet ; Unborn To-morrow, and dead Yesterday, Why fret about them if To-day be sweet ! Compare also the notes to q. 121. 1. juybdr means a great river formed of many small ones, or a place abounding in streams, as opposed tojity,^ a small stream. 2. This line in C, B. ii., S. P., N., and W. reads; "These two or three days of the period of my existence pass by."^ 3. This line in C, B. ii., S. P., and N. reads: "They pass as passes the wind in the desert."'' v5r^ (') Sf. j' (') — ^ ^'-^ }(:')^ ^^ (-) '^)^^ ^i) ^ {') 4,jS -♦* «-s^*> t'j^J fix-* «<>> <^ lOi' (^) .^ (9) ^I^T (8) Transcript and Translation ny \=1 / ' Khayyam ! who can say that he will be a denizen of hell, who ever went to hell, and who ever came from heaven ? * ig. The elements ^ of a cup which he has put together, their breaking up a drinker cannot approve,^ all these heads and delicate feet'^ — with his finger-tips,^ for love of whom did he make them ? — for hate of whom * did he break them ? 20. Like water in a great river ^ and like wind in the desert,' another day passes out of the period of my existence ; ' 138 Notes 4. This line in C, P., B. ii., and N. reads; " So long as I live I will not grieve for two days," etc.^ This quatrain is C. 49, B. ii. 86, L. 94, B. 90, and W. no, without variation. We hear its echo in F. v. 29, and it forms the original of F. i. and V. 30 ; ii. 33. E. C. translates it also (No. 8) : What, without asking, hither hurried whence ? And, without asking, ti'hither hurried hence ! Oh, many a Cup of this forbidden Wine Must drown the memory of that insolence ! Cf. Inferno, xxiv. 119 : " O giustizia di Dio, quant' e severa ! " 1. Compare F.'s " First Morning of Creation." 2. No doubt, in composing his two first lines, FitzGerald had also in his mind C. 235, which is N. 117 and W. 145, which may be rendered thus : ^ In the beginning, to my surprise, he brought me into existence ; what do I gain from life save my amazement (at it) ? We come to an end of it, and do not know what was the purpose of this coming, and going, and being. This quatrain is C. 59, P. 205, B. ii. 94, L. 74, S. P. 81, B. 70, N. 81, W. 83, and FitzGerald himself gives a translation of it in his preface (F. v., p. 8), an unrhymed translation made by Prof. Cowell, and forming part of a quotation from his Calcutta Review article, and therefore literally exact. The original Persian is very clear and simple, and no variation of Prof. Cowell's translation is necessary or desirable. I. An allusion to his father's trade, tent-making, from which he took his Takhallus or poetic name, and at the same time to his own philosophical labours. 0^-A# ^^o^^ ^^Jf ^^,^^\ ^^J Transcript and Translation 139 fcs,..£uNi JIj \y j)ij^ ^J ^ 3^y^ «^..-si ))j J.J ^ ^JX.T ^^ s>.^J^-^ fca..^X e> ^gl^fc yjT. di (•Uc* JUO ** ^^ grief has never lingered in my mind — concerning two days,* the day that has not yet come and the day that is past. 21. Seeing that my coming was not for me the Day of Creation/ and that my undesired departure hence is a purpose fixed for me,"^ get up and gird well thy loins, O nimble Cup-bearer, for I will wash down the misery of the world in wine. Khayyam, who stitched at the tents ot wisdom,^ fell into the furnace of sorrow and was suddenly burnt ; 140 Notes 2. C, B. ii., and W. rea.d dalldl-i-kasd^ =" the broker of destiny," and N. reads dalldl-i-'ajl^ =" the broker in a hurry," as a pendant doubtless to mikruz-i-'ajl = the shears of Fate in line 3. We have in this line an echo of the concluding line of F. v. 93, "and sold ray reputation for a song." 23- This quatrain is C. 96, P. 204, B. ii. g6, L. 82, S. P. 42, B. 78, N. 43, W. 46, and is the third of de T.'s examples. It is one of a not infrequently recurrent class of ruba'i which inspired FitzGerald's remarkable quartette of quatrains, F. V. 78-81. Those quatrains, however, were directly inspired by one of the finest passages in the Mantic-ut-tair. (M., 11. 215-218 and 218 bis (error of num- bering) = 22o.) Compare, also, the Epistle to the Romans, ch. v. 20: "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound." FitzGerald had also before him another ruba'i (C. 65), whose concluding lines closely resemble this quatrain : " If I do not sin, what is Mercy to do (with itself) ? His Mercy is called into existence by my sins." ^ W. 120 is a variant of this latter quatrain. 24. This quatrain is C. 75, P. 21, B ii. 108, L. 181, S. P. 45, B. 178, N. 46, W. 49, and we find an echo of it in the first line of F. v. 63: "Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise." It is also the fourth of de T.'s examples. I . sauma'ah is distinctively a Christian cell or monastery ; madraseh, the school attached to a mosque; da'ir, a collective monastery or cloister ; and kinisht, a Jewish synagogue. .; 8L_^ ^ ^^ ^ (3) ^ JHo (2) UJ JJo (I) Transcript and Translation 141 rr Jl^)^ — the shears of doom cut the tent-rope of his existence, and the broker of hope^ sold him for a mere song. 23- Khayyam, why mourn thus for thy sins ? from grieving thus what advantage, more or less, dost thou gain ? Mercy was never for him who sins not, mercy is granted for sins — why then grieve ? 24. In cell, and college, and monastery, and synagogue ^ are those who fear hell and those who seek after heaven ; \ 142 Notes 2. Literally, "in the stomach of his heart." C, B. ii., P., N., and W. read andrun-i-kbud} i.e., " in his own bowels (or heart)." W. appends a note: " Meaning souls reabsorbed into the Divine essence have no concern with the material heaven or hell." I think the simplicity of the original sufficiently conveys the writer's meaning. 25- In this precise form this quatrain is, as far as my researches go, only to be found in this MS., in B. ii. 115, and in L., where it is No. 96, with trifling verbal variations, and B. 92 ; but a variant so close in general form and meaning as to be readily referred to as identical is P. 328, N. 82, and W. 84, and, with slight variations which bring it nearer to our Bodleian MS., C. 67. This quatrain (C, P., N., and W.) may be rendered : In the season of Spring with a houri-shaped idol, If there be one jar of wine on the edge of the field, However much, according to doctrine, this may be bad, I am worse than a dog if I remember heaven. 2 We have in this quatrain the sentiment of F. v. 12, 13 ; but a closer parallel is found to them in qq. 149 and 155 of this MS. {q. v. post). I. "Thenceforth" is perhaps a liberty, but in many places in this MS. it seems indicated as the correct rendering of uz dnhi, or of uz anguh. 26. This quatrain, which hardly varies in the texts I am using for reference, is C. 83. B. ii. no, L. 192, S. P. 85, B. 189, N. 85, and W. 87. We have here the sentiment of the first two lines of F. v. 47 : When you and I behind the Veil are past, Oh, but the long long while the World shall last ; and the last two lines of F. v. 74, which made its first appearance as F. ii. 80 : Drink ! for you know not whence you came, nor why, Drink ! for you know not why you go, nor where. Vide note to q. 29. i,^ ;^ «i^ b ;IV? Jo* ;0 (2) O^ ^^^;^l (1) /? v>>? /• cS- fij^ ^. 1^1 %iA\i Ou aI^ ^T^ >A^ Jb V Transcript and Translation 143 13 he who has knowledge of the secrets of God sows none of such seed in his heart of hearts.^ 25- If in the season of spring a being, houri-shaped, gives me on the green bank of a field a goblet full of wine, (though to everyone this saying may seem uncouth) a dog is better than I am if thenceforth^ I pronounce the name of heaven. 26. Know this — that from thy soul thou shalt be separated, thou shalt pass behind the curtain of the secrets of God. 144 Notes I. The other texts begin, line 3, " mai khur," and line 4, " khush bash." The meaning is not affected. 27. This is quatrain C. 79, P. 228, B. ii. 112, L. 200, S. P. 47, B. 197, N. 48, and W. 51, which are identical as to the first three lines, save for unimportant synonyms, such as budam for shudam in the first line, and kdri ^ for chtzi in the third. 1. W. notes here KacrlyvrjTo^ Oavarolo. Compare the opening lines of Shelley's " Queen Mab " : How wonderful is Death — Death, and his brother Sleep! 2. C, B. ii., L., N., and W. all read for umrahat, bt-zir-i-khdh^ = " beneath the earth," and begin the line " mai khur," as passim. 28. This, one of the most mystic and interesting quatrains known to me, occurs only in this MS., and is reproduced as W. 109. A remote echo of it is to be found in F. V. 50 : " Yes, and a single Alif were the clue. Could you but find it — to the Treasure-house, And peradventure to the Master too." ^^ jiji e) ^j^ Transcript and Translation 145 rv jdii -^^^P^/Zl^^hi } U»>h ^^f-y'/^ i^' ^^'^'/m 14 Be happy — thou knowest not whence thou hast come : drink wine^ — thou knowest not whither thou shalt go. 27. I fell asleep, and wisdom said to me : — " Never from sleep has the rose of happiness blossomed for anyone ; why do a thing that is the mate of death ? ^ Drink wine, for thou must sleep for ages."^ 28. My heart said to me: — "I have a longing for inspired knowledge; teach me if thou art able." 146 Notes I. Mr. Whinfield, instead of dividing the line after " Alif," reads: " I said the Alifkafat," 1 and dispenses with the verb gtift ( = " it said"), and appends a note : "The One (God) is enough; probably a quotation. Hafiz (Ode 416) uses the same expression ' He who knows the One, knows all.' " With all respect, I differ, for gu/t seems the necessary verb in the line, governed by dil = "the heart." The Alt/ kafat is, however, a recognised oriental idiom, meaning " Alif sufficeth," i.e., the one necessary letter, meaning "the One God," referred to again in the fourth line as kes, literally " Some-one = The One " and " One letter," i.e., the Alif representing God, as well as the numeral "one." The whole quatrain is mystical and doctrinal. 29. This quatrain is C. 56, P. 63, B. ii. 103, L. 61, S. P. 43, B, 58, N. 44, and W. 47, and we get the echo of it in F. v. 32, 34, and 47 : There was the Door to which I found no Key ; There was the Veil through which I might not see, etc. Cf. M., 11. 3891-2. And again : When you and I behind the Veil are past, etc. F. infused into this quatrain the sentiment of M., 11. 146-153. (Terminal Essay, p. 308.) 1. Literally, " there is not a way for anyone." 2. ta'biyah (or ta'hiyat), an Arabic word signifying " an array set out," as of soldiers or furniture, etc. For this word C. has shu'badeh-yijdn'^ = "juggling about of the soul." It will be observed that the coupling of these words gives quite a new construction to the whole line. 3. C. and W. for hich read tlrah,^ obliterating the double negative and giving us " save in the dark heart," etc. B. ii. and N. are identical with this. 4. C. and B. ii. are identical with this; but L., N., and W. begin: afsils hi 1)1 fasdnahd^ = "Pity (it is) that these fables are not short." The line trans- lates literally, " Drink wine, for such fables are not short," meaning, " It will take long to expound the fable (or illusion) of human life." The Paris MS. reads, "Hear thou that such fables," etc. Cf. M., 11. 152-3: "They have harassed themselves much, and reap in the end but feebleness and astoundment." ^ 30- This quatrain is C. 108, P. 155, L. 49, S. P. 51, B. 46, N. 51, and W. 54. It is B. ii. 497, ending in he, and, in it we find the germ of more than one of F.'s quatrains dealing with the Secret. The whole verse is a protest against the mystery made of holy things by the self-styled " initiates." 1. C, B. ii., P., N., and W. for rdz read sirr.^ Note in these two lines the words sirr and its broken Arabic plural asrdr, and its synonym rdz. rdz-i-nihdn means idiomatically a profound secret, such as the place of one's death, future events, etc. 2. S. P. and N. (alone) begin the line "rdz az hemeh bidbuldn," ^ etc., " the secret must be hidden from every nightingale." P., B. ii., and L. begin " rdz az hemeh ablahdn," etc., a slight variant of this MS. LyL.i ^.1 (5.^ ^^1 (■') ij-i^ (■') o^ ao..;Jui. (-) «:^2^ <_all (l) oJLL &^ j\ j\j (6) ^ (0) Transcript and Translation 147 j^ ^^ j-^-^. >?"^ »|j Job ^^^-J ^^^li <'uJb ^j ^[; Ji^tj «»•/? 15 I said the Alif. My heart said:^ — "Say no more. If One is in the house, one letter is enough." 29. No one can pass^ behind the curtain that veils the secret, the mind of no one is cognizant of what is there ; ^ save in the heart of earth we have no* haven. Drink wine,* for to such talk there is no end. 30. The mystery^ must be kept hidden from all the ignoble, and the secrets must be withheld from fools.^ 148 Notes 3. This line in C, P., N., and W. has the same meaning, but is constructed differently.! B. ii., L. and N. for bejai read hejdn-i-mardavidn r giving us, " Consider how you yourself act towards the souls of men." L., "men and souls," u for the izdfat. 4. chashm means " eyes" and " hope" {vide post, q. 80, note 2). This pas- sage might be rendered, " Our regard (for them)," etc., sed quare. Cf. Dante, Convivio, iii. 8. 31- This quatrain is P. 25, C. 87, B. ii. 60, L. 195, S. P. 31, N. 31, and W. 35. Compare q. No. 95 (post). This quatrain inspired F. v. 71 : 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. And the same idea reappears in the parallel quatrain F. v. 73 : 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. N. quotes in a note a parallel passage from Anwary : — " If the affairs of this world are not governed by Fate, why do the projects of men turn out contrariwise to their desires ? Yes, it is Fate that leads men irresistibly towards good and bad, and that is why their endeavours come always to naught." ^ Compare Ephesians iii. 9 : " The mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God." Cf. Paradiso, xx. 52 : " '1 giudizio eterno non si trasmuta." 1. C, B. ii., L., N., and W. for zJn pish read bar /wA^ — upon the Tablet. Compare lilh u kalam in q. 15. 2. C, B. ii., L., N., and W. read dsudah,^ meaning the same. 3. P., C, B. ii., L., N., and W. read andar takdiy^ = ln Destiny. 32. This quatrain is B. ii. 129, L. 105, B. loi. I do not find it in C, N., or W., but it is the fifth of the examples given in de T.'s pamphlet. 1. fasl-i-gul, the time of flowers (esp. roses) = the Spring. 2. kisht = a sown field as opposed to a wild prairie ; so F. in F. v. ii., " the sown," vide qq. 40 and 45. The lab-i-kisht is the raised embankment of grass round a cultivated field. Compare the passage in Jami's Beharistan (6th Garden) : "We went out one spring day with a company of friends and acquaintances to enjoy the air of the fields and obtain a view of the desert." 3. Literally, " With one, two, three people," etc. 4. sirisht means either "shaped" or " natured. L. for dhl reads tdzeh,'' giving us " with a few young houri-shaped playmates." 6j^ (J) ^aJ ;0ol (6) SJ^I {'■>) ey jf (^) Transcript and Translation 149 ^J^ ^^^ %,^^ 15* ^ ^ y^ j!j4 «A-.v^b dsJl ^ J^) )^j j^ rv • V '-^ 16 Consider thine actions towards thy fellow men :* our hopes ^ must be concealed from all mankind. 31- From the beginning^ 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. 32. In the spring,^ on the bank of the river and on the edge of the field,' with a few companions* and a playmate houri-shaped/ 12 150 Notes 5. Independent alike of Islam and Judaism, the two principal creeds followed in Iran. 33- This quatrain is C. 90, P. 148, L. 199, S. P. 90, B. 196, N. 90, W. 92, and inspired F. v. 67 : Heav'n but the Vision of fulfilled 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. He got his verse mainly, however, from M., 1. 1866. (Terminal Essay, p. 311.) 1. N.andW. for ten read '«7?;r= existence — a frequent interchange in the MSS. 2. Jihun = the river Oxus. Compare line 399 in "Prometheus Bound": SaKpvcria-TaKTov d—' 6cr(rwv paSti'wi' S' eifSofieva peos Trapetav voriots erey^a TTa-yat? = " shedding from tender eyes a trickling river of tears, I wet my cheeks with fountains of rain." 3. C, P., L., and W. read chashn} giving us " my strained eyes." 4. It is interesting to note the interchange of "f" for "p" in Persian. Firdus = paradise ; Farsi = Persian ; Peri = fairy ; Farsang = parasang (Gr.), etc. 34- This quatrain is C. 51, P. 323, L. 95, B. 91, and W. 108, and contains the original inspiration of F. i. 12 : " How sweet is mortal sovran'ty ! " think some : Others, " How blest the Paradise to come ! " Ah, take the Cash in hand and wave the Rest, Oh, the brave music of a distant Drum ! As F. ii. 13, it practically reached its final form : Some for the glories of this World ; and some Sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to come ; Ah, take the Cash and let the Credit go. Nor heed the rumble of a distant Drum ! 1. L. and W. read mora chu sur^ for behisht-i-'Adan, meaning " for me like a nuptial banquet with houris," etc. Paris MS. has a synonymous variant. 2. The second line in C. reads, " And that that after-life will be pleasant with music and brightness." ^ iJ^r- jr ^ } ^y ^ 1^^ o^ ) (^) ;^ ^ '^ (-) r^ C) Transcript and Translation 151 A^U Sj^b tM^l ^ ^^yi o^"^"*^ JU/j f'jS'iu^'-^ yjj^^^}(fyjc/ ;/ 7- 17 bring forth the cup, for those that drink the morning draught are independent of the mosque and free from the synagogue.^ 33. The heavenly vault is the girdle of m)' weary body,^ Jihun^ 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. 34- They say that the garden of Eden ^ is pleasant with houris : I say that the juice of the grape is pleasant." 12 — 2 152 Notes 3. This is W. s line, which cannot be improved upon. It is a common Persian proverb. Compare the last line of q. 40 (post). L. for be-dar reads be-shu, synonymous. 4. C, L., and W. for birader read shinudan 1 = to hear. 5. Compare q. 125, 1. 4. This line refers to the kettledrums suspended at the gates of oriental palaces to summon soldiers, etc. Compare Gulistfin, ch. v., story 20 ; Till thou hearest the morning call from the Friday mosque, Or the noise of kettledrums on Atabek's palace-gate. 2 Compare also the distich in FitzGerald's translation of M. in I,,. R., vol. ii., p. 463 : Or lust of worldly Glory — hollow more Than the Drum beaten at the Sultan's Door. Cf. M., 11. 2162 and 2753. (Terminal Essay, p. 312.) 35- This quatrain is C. 80, P. 284, L. 188, B. 185, and W. 107. In the first two lines we recognise the sentiment of F. i. 23, v. 24, which remained unaltered in all the editions : Ah ! make the most of what we yet may spend. Before we too into the Dust descend ; Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie. Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and — sans End ! And in the last line we recognise the last lines of F. v. G^, which alone remain as the last lines of F. i. 26. This (F. i. 26) is undoubtedly inspired by this ruba'i : Oh ! come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise, To talk ; one thing is certain, that life flies ; One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies — The Flower that once has blown for ever dies. It occurs also as in the last line of F. ii., 23, which was omitted in F. iii. and iv. Cf. Purgatorio, xiv. 86: "O gente umana, perche poni il core la 'v' e mestier di consorto divieto? " I. It is open to conjecture whether this word should be read ^il'^ — clay, or gul* = roses; and in C. there is a zammah, making it gul;^ and W. affixes a kasrah, making it gU.° Non nostrum tantas compo7iere lites. 36. This quatrain is B. 93 ; it is found by W. only in this MS. and the Lucknow edition, where it is 97, and it is reproduced as W. 106. I. Literally, " This is your very interest from the period of your youth." L. reads " your very self." ■> KJ"^ 9^^ *^^ vS'r* J'^ )' ^- Transcript and Translation 153 «— ^^ >>^^ J>^ j^^y. >^ >b^ ^^1. Hold fast this cash and let that credit go," for the noise of drums, brother,* is pleasant from afar.^ 35- Drink wine, for thou wilt sleep long beneath the clay^ without an intimate, a friend, a comrade, or wife ; take care that thou tell'st not this hidden secret to anyone : — The tulips that are withered will never bloom again. 36. Drink wine, for this is life eternal, this is thy gain from the days of thy youth ; ^ 154 Notes 2. W.'s text reads (from the Lucknow edition) : "It is the season of roses and wine and drunken friends." i 3. i.e., " for that is the only thing worth Hving for." 37- I do not find this quatrain in C, L., N., or W., nor does F. appear to have used it. 1. Note the objective >d governing all that goes before it. 2. Literally, " after my heart," i.e., " in my heart's opinion." 38. This quatrain is C. 81, P. 261, L. 189, S. P. 93, B. i85, N. 93, and W. 95, and we find in it the sentiment of F. v. 61, which made its first appearance as F. ii. 63, and was never altered, though F. had C. Si before him when he made his first edition : 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 ? Mr. Dole (D., p. 118) derives this from a quatrain N. 226 and W. 265, but he had not studied the Calcutta and Bodleian MSS. It is true that F. had N. before him when he made his second edition, but this C. and B. quatrain is nearer the sentiment of his own, and N.'s translation takes unwarrantable liberties with his text. •y*- o';^ ^ J^ .> "'-~' v3^ (*^^^ (*) Transcript and Translation 155 Ll.*-^jl ^^X.U^ b(3'^'~^ ^l—S^J^jj^ 19 a season of roses, and wine, and drunken companions^ — be happy for a moment for this is life ! ^ 37. Give me wine which is a salve for my wounded heart, it is the boon companion of those who have trafficked in love ; ^ to my mind" the dregs of a single draught are better than the vault of heaven which is the hollow of the world's skull. 38. I drink wine, and my enemies from left and right say : — " Do not drink wine, for it is the foe of religion." 156 Notes I. A reference to the permission given to Muhammadans in ch. ii. of the Qur'an and elsewhere to slay all foes of Islam. 39- This quatrain is B. 55, and is found by W. only in this MS. and in the Lucknow edition, where it is 58, and it is reproduced as W. 105. 1. L. begins, " Wine ! thou art a melted ruby."i All the texts teem with references to the ruby that " kindles in the vine " (F. v. 5), and the idea of the " molten ruby " is commonly recurrent in oriental verse. Compare the passage in the Beharistan (7th Garden) : Wine is said to be a molten ruby, Whoever beheld that cornelian wine Cannot discern it from melted cornelian ; Both are of one essence, but in nature, The one is solid, the other fluid. The one powdered colours the hand, the other tasted mounts to the head. 2. Literally, " that is laughing with wine." 3. L. begins, "Cup, thou art a charm" 2 (or hope). The change in these two lines from the second to the third person is noteworthy. 40. This quatrain is C. 107, L. 89, S. P. 92, B. 85, N. 92, and W. 94, and we get again in it the images of the earthly cash and heavenly credit (F. v. 13), and the sensuous repose of the desert verses (F. v. 11 and 12) before referred to. I. N. begins bud — " was an inhabitant of Heaven " ; whilst C. and W. read "Made an inhabitant of pleasant Heaven or," etc.^* L. reads herd for gtift, " Made me to dwell," etc. 0/ (3) iJU y (w^ (2) M^ ^ r J*^ C) Transcript and Translation 157 ce-wsl^^ <3L^ bi-J^^ 4^^ f^J^^ <^l? r=) ll^ i-'-wJ L-C>, ^jiUJ I Vi*^ «W I ; ■— I , <.:^A.vv>.»,W.fc, IP. J(i'^ m^j:-/; 'y T^^ ■^'iLiJ^^ji ';< When I knew that wine was the foe of rehgion, / said : — *' By Allah ! let me drink the foe's blood, for that is lawful."^ 39- Wine is a melted ruby ^ and the cup is the mine thereof ; the cup is a body ^ and its wine is the soul thereof ; that crystal cup that is bubbling over ^ with wine is a tear in which the heart's blood is hidden. 40. I know not whether he who fashioned me appointed^ me to dwell in heaven or in dreadful hell, 158 Notes 2. Literally, "an idol." 3. C, L., N., and W. for "food" and "wine" read " goblet " 1 and "lute,"' from which F. doubtless got his " Thou beside me singing in the wilderness." 4. i.e., " These are what I am enjoying (as ready cash) in this life, whilst you are only expecting them (credit) in Heaven." 41. This quatrain is C. 62^ P. 45, L. 80, S. P. 95, B. 76, N. 95, W. 96, and contains the inspiration for F. v. 72 (F. i. 52) : 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 L Cf. M., 1. 24 : " The sky is like a bird that flutters in the direction commanded by God." (Terminal Essay, p. 308.) Compare q. 154. 1. N. reads " Everything good." ^ 2. nihad is " a thing placed," therefore nihdd-i-bashar = h-amai,n nature. 3. kaza and kadar : "The decree existing in the divine mind from all eternity, and the execution and declaration of the decree at the appointed time ; the Recording Angels " (Steingass, Diet.). 4. C. and N. read dar mk-i-'ishk,* in the way of (divine) love. 42. This quatrain is C. 114, P. 149, L. 215, S. P. 98, B. 212, N. 98, and W. 99. We get in it an echo of q. 10, ante. I. waraki-zi-'ishk is eminently symbolical. It may be interpreted " a love story " ; so in French, "une page d'amour." N. and W. read for this tarabi-zi-akl,^ "a joy from wisdom"; whilst C. and L. have rahami-zi-'ahl,^ "the study of wisdom," and the verb is in the negative.' .\^ (7) Js;. J ^j (6) Transcript and Translation I5Q «-^ ^j-i ^^^^ s^^ s^>-5 islj^j ^Lo J^y=» .^j ^JV '■^^^^ 7 6?fi some food, and an adored one,^ and vvine,^ upon the green bank of a field — all these three are cash to me : thine be the credit-heaven ! ^ 41. 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. 42. Whosoever has engrafted the leaf of love^ upon his heart, not one day of his life has been wasted ; i6o Notes 2. C, P., N., and W. for ten read khud ; i.e., hts own comfort. L. reads idn ; i.e., "the comfort of his soul." 43- This quatrain is C. 47, B. ii. 105, L. no, and W. 104 (W. does not collate C), and it is included as E. C. 4. It is the original of one of F.'s most beautiful verses, F. v. 19 (F. i. 18) : 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. Compare Herrick's verse (Hesperides) : In this little Urne is laid Prewdence Baldwin (once my maid), From whose happy spark here let Spring the purple violet. 1. B. ii., L. and C. read, " In every desert where there is a tulip-bed." * 2. B. ii., L. and C. read, "Those tulips have come there from the blood of a king." " 3. L. and W. for shdkh read barg^ = leaf. 4. This admiration for moles is universal in the East. Compare Beharis- tan, 4th Garden : " He fell madly in love with her attractions, distracted by her curls and her mole." And so Hafiz ; If that lovely maid of Shiraz would accept my heart, I would give for the black mole on her cheek the cities of Samarcand and Bokhara.^ 44. This quatrain is C. 109, P. 165, L. 83, B. 79, and W. 103. I. Literally, " Sit not secure." l> Jo 0;l «^^ ^;l^ ^J ^] /I (4) ^j. (3) Ijls^ * *A^ ■♦.WW «»-X«j&* iJ^itfJJJb A'C^ Transcript and Translation i6i JwN^k^ ^lj^ ijS^J «_-JJa Js^ b rr V/ ^^.>><^: 'It /1 'T^iijKJSj/Ky^ ')y , a^>-^-^ti^y' jii'^ either he strives to meet with God's approbation, or he chooses bodily ^ comfort and raises the wine-cup. 43- Everywhere that there has been a rose or tuHp-bed/ there has been spilled the crimson blood of a king;'^ every violet shoot ^ that grows from the earth is a mole that was 07ice upon the cheek of a beauty.^ 44- Be prudent, for the means of life are uncertain ; take heed,^ for the sword of destiny is keen. 1 62 Notes 45- It wil be observed that this quatrain, which is not to be found in C, N., or W., is practically a paraphrase of q. 40 (ante). Line 2 is practically identical with line 4 of q. 40, whilst line 4 is identical with line 4 of q. 18 (ante). The quatrain is probably spurious. Compare also q. 32 (ante) and q. 76 (post). P. 221 is almost identical, and L. has a corresponding quatrain, No. 37 (B. 34), the first three lines of which read : A goblet, and wine, and a cup-bearer on the bank of the field ; Let all these be mine, and mayst thou enjoy all heaven ; Hearken not to discourse concerning heaven and hell from anyone. 1 1. See note 2, q. 32, ante. 2. Compare q. 40, 1. 4. "Cash" = present enjoyment; "credit" = future bliss. It will be observed that, though the Persian is here practically identical, the rendering is different. The laws of Persian prosody, to which Omar ever paid strict attention, require that lines 2 and 4 should not end with a word identical in sound and meaning, he-hisht, therefore, at the end of line 2, is the third person singular of the aorist tense of the verb hishtan 2 = to rob. 3. Compare q. 18, 1. 4. 46. This quatrain is P. 183, B. 225, and W. 135 (taken by him from this MS. and the Lucknow edition, where it is No. 228), and is one of the pair (with q. 94, post) from which F. derived his allusion to chess in F. v. 69. Cf. also C. 336. I. To the Persian the Chinese type of countenance was singularly beauti- ful, chin means also porcelain (or a porcelain idol). Compare Beharistan (7th Garden) : " When my love arranged the entangled hyacinth lock of hair. She placed the stamp of envy upon the heart of Chinese painters.' Transcript and Translation fcax-Su^ <^^vJ 1^^ Jji3 j^ *^ eX^ Ju» dJ 5^ ^) JjT SyU Jua ^j ^J,'iS»i\i/^^^,^j j^)^ 24 yesterday thy amorous glance gave to the Shah of Babylon^ the moves of the Knight, the Castle, the Bishop, the Pawn, and the Queen.^ 47- Since life passes ; ^ what is Baghdad ^ and what is Balkh ? ^ When the cup is full, what matter if it be sweet or bitter ? * Drink wine, for often, after thee and me, this moon will pass on from the last day of the month to the first, and from the first to the last.^ 48. Of those who draw the pure date wine ^ and those who spend the night in prayer,^ 13 1 66 Notes When the pure soul is on the point of departure, What if one dies on a throne or on the face of the earth. ^ 5. Here will be observed an echo of F.'s concluding quatrains. The P. MS. for " Drink wine ! " reads the equally recurrent " Be happy ! " 48. This quatrain is P. 214, B. 283, and W. 222, derived from this MS., and No. 287 of the Lucknow edition. 1. L. reads sherdb for nablz. = "pure wine." P. reads "continual draughts of date wine " " = mudam. Vide note 2, q. 117. 2. Literally, "and those who by night are always at the Mihrab." (Vide q. 2, note i.) L. ior hemisheh gives the synonym mudam.^ There are other equally unimportant variations in L. o^ {') ^j u^ {*) ^J ^ (') e^>^ {-) o^'-^W, {') i^ j,^ O^jJlj^ y^^ O"^ >X»\ «_-Jl; ^jIe. ^^^^ {^^ Jk*l «__Jj ^^l&■ i)l> ^ Ai£ y^^ liU*! ^^)^ (8) jt &S. ^ \:f.Ji^ o^ U f.\^ (11) ijj; U (10) ^ij^ (9) 3. i.e., "Not one is sure; all are at sea." Cf. M., 1. 387. "I trust that Thou wilt rescue me from this dark water, and re-establish me in Thy path. ""^ Cf. Shahbistarl, Gnhhan i raz, 1. 27. 4. x.f., God. Compare P. v. 51: " They change and perish all — but He remains." 49. This quatrain is C. 140, P. 127, B. ii. 153, L. 264, B. 260, W. 217, and is a good specimen of the quatrains that have " carpe diem" for their text. There is a suggestion also in it of q. 68. 1. puyidan means literally " to run to and fro, to search." 2. B. ii. and L. read " this single moment of companionship." 1 3. Cf. Paradiso, xxvi. 137, " I'uso de' mortali e come fronda in ramo. che sen va, ed altra viene." 50- This quatrain occurs only in this MS. and L. 262 (in which there are unim- portant variations), and is reproduced in W. 216. It contains, I think, the inspiration of F. v. 54 : 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. I. tcmy'iz, literally "discernment." >j «»X"ic i>.«>. \ 5o (1^ Transcript and Translation 167 25 not one is on the dry land, all are in the water.^ One is awake : * the others are asleep. 49. This intellect that haunts^ the path of happiness keeps saying to thee a hundred times a day : — " Understand in this single moment of thine existence,^ that thou art not like those herbs which when they gather them spring up again." 50- Those who are the slaves of intellect and hair-spHtting,^ have perished in bickerings about existence and non-existence; 13 — 2 i68 Notes 2. W. reads bakhabardn = " wise ones," but this is not in this MS., to which alone he refers in his note. 3. The obscurity of the meaning here baffles satisfactory translation. 51- This quatrain is C. 129, P. 55. B. ii. 158, L. 232, S. P. 157, N. 157, W. 176, de T. 17, and doubtless inspired F. v. 47 ; 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. It varies considerably in the texts under consideration, excepting in B. ii., which is identical. FitzGerald's last Une contains an echo of the first line of q. 18 {vide ante). 1. N. reads for this line, "From»«>' creation the Age (derived) no advantage."* C. and P. are identical with N., preserving gardunrd for dawrdnrd. 2. C, P., N., L., and W. read "burdan " 2 for "raftan," which gives a passive rather than an active meaning to the process of departure. 3. C, P., L., N., and W. read jdh Ujaldlish'^ lor jemdl wajdhash, which conveys the same idea. 4. N. reads this line (in conformity with his line i), "What might be the object of my creation or extinction." ^ C, L., and P. retain the expression az bahr=" on account of," as in this MS. 52. This quatrain varies a good deal in the texts. The parallel quatrains are C. 117, B. ii. 148, L. 358, S. P. 112, and N. 112, and it forms the sixth of de T.'s examples from this MS. L. 371 and B. 367 are corresponding qq. 1. i.e., "The Path of (Divine) Love leads to destruction," i.e., to spiritual annihilation. C. and N. for andar rdh-i-'ishk read az defter-i-'umr* = "from the Book of Existence." Compare Hafiz : The path of love is a path to which there is no end. In which there is no remedy for lovers but to give up their souls.' 2. C, B. ii., L., and N. for chang read the weaker form dast = " hands." Cf. M., 11. 1059-1062. "If thou becomest as I say, thou wilt not be God, but thou wilt be annihilated in Him."' 3. Literally, " we must perish." ui,v--o 6jU^ ij''^^ ^ &^^ ''b "•- — ^b (^) J** 'y*^ j' (*) Transcript and Translation i3jjw» yiyc-^ ^Jy*^' t!)'>5"®^ c)^"^ i6g c/^X-J^V>^^ ^'^r'ojj^'/ulirul/ JU'ij ^'^^'^^-^(/C 6\ ^^ <^ y^- J>^ f*^^.? ^ O^^ ^ j^ jjb ^ ^\ <5^^ «2S^ J 6j ^i (3) COLO, fj\» )'/r^ y '^^ J—* (") 'r* i/'y^ J^y^ O Transcript and Translation 171 jjij jjb ^^ jiJLfc. d^ &j^j ^T ^yu^ ^^^ ^J ^-^ ^ 6A»J j\ 27 O sweet-faced Cup-bearer, sit thou not idle,* give to me water, for dust I must become.^ 53- Now that nothing but the mere name of our happiness remains, the only old friend that remains is new wine;* withhold not the merry hand from the wine-cup to-day that nothing but the cup remains within our reach.^ 54- What the Pen has written never changes,* and grieving only results in deep affliction ; " 172 Notes 3. A somewhat similar expression, khun hhuidan, "to eat blood"; ie., to suffer affliction. 4. i.e., "You do not influence any part of your destiny." Compare Matthew vi. 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto his stature" (or "age"). — Revised Version. 55- This quatrain is not to be found in any of the texts under consideration, and it is not surprising that it has been avoided in the European editions, for it is one of the most obscure and involved quatrains in the collection. I am indebted to Mr. Whinfield and Dr. E. Denison Ross for my rendering. 1. ma'liili signifies " sick people," here taken to refer to the morally diseased. It might be translated " the love-sick." 2. There is a play upon words here : mashguli, besides meaning " occu- pation" or "commerce," is also a Sufi term, meaning "having spiritual concen- tration." 3. The Darvish is a religious mendicant ; the word (like that denoting fakir- dom) has a secondary meaning — "poor, indigent." {Vide q. iig, post.) 4. Another instance of Omar's affection for the use of words of similar sound. makbuli is a term applied to Darvishes and the Faithful generally; i.e., the accepted (of God) — the Elect. 56. This quatrain is P. 79, B. 241, and is W. 215, drawn from this MS., and No. 244 of the Lucknow edition. There is an echo of F. v. 46 in it, but this was, no doubt, inspired by a quatrain in Nicolas' text (N. 137, W. 161), as F. himself suggests. I think that the poet intends in this quatrain to compare mortals (earthly bodies) with the planets (heavenly bodies). I. Literally, " and come again with time." Transcript and Translation 173 i^Jy^ 6^ ji^ j^ 66 61 4^y^,l •}^^J>^^^j if:i"^K UJJ ^'^w/ / •'J>rJ>-^:^/3. 28 even though, all thy life, thou sufferest anguish,^ not one drop becomes increased beyond what it is.* 55- O heart, for a while seek not the company of the frail ones ; ^ cease for a while to be engrossed with the commerce ^ of love. Frequent the thresholds of the darvlshes^ — perhaps thou mayest be accepted for awhile by the accepted people.* 56. Those who adorn the Heavens for a fragment of time, come, and go, and come again as time goes on ; ^ 174 Notes 2. L., for " in the pocket of," reads " beneath the." ' 3. L. reads "who in God's own time will rise up "' P. reads "who until they are annihilated will come again." ^ 57- This quatrain is P. 298, L. 313, B. 309, and W. 236. The meaning is very obscure, and is involved in verbal gymnastics. 1. Literally, " fallacies." 2. This contracted " if " comes from the beginning of the next line. 3. Literally, " after this." 4. These latter two lines depend upon the double meaning oikhuyiis = " cock" and "jar." W. reads azjah ^ (meaning " lime ") for arra in the last line, and renders the two lines : If they will shut their mouths with lime, like jars. My jar of grape juice I will then forego. He appends the following note : " B. reads arra, of which I can make no sense. bay /ark luham, ' I will put aside ' ; bar fark (line 4), ' on their mouths.' " I think he stretches the translator's licence too far here. I cannot hear of any authority for his rendering. In the Paris MS. and the Lucknow edition also, it is quite clearly arra, which means simply a cock's comb or a saw. We have here two double puns (so to speak), each word playing on both its meanings in both places. L. simplifies line 3 greatly by using " sabii-i-mal" ^ for " khurus." In line 4 we get hamchu khurusem ; the second meaning of khurus, " like ajar," or " like a cock." 5. i.e., They wish to kill me (by striking my head with a saw). Dr. Denison Ross sends me the following rendering from St. Petersburg : " Those who set the foundations of faith upon hypocrisy, who come and draw a distinction between soul and body, if they wish to place a saw upon my head (i.e., kill me), I, after this, will (none the less) place on my head the wine-jar " (i.e., will con- tinue to drink wine). 58. This quatrain is P. 141, L. 270, B. 266, and W. 214, and it is one of the quatrains that inspired F. v. 26. (The others were C. 236 (N. 120, W. 147) and No. 140 of this MS., q. v. post.) 1. W. says this quatrain is a hit at the astrologers of the period. Omar plays on the word aiwan, which may mean also " a palace " ; he refers at once to the inhabitants of earth and to the planetary bodies. 2. Literally, " Are the cause of hesitation to wise men." \S &^ (S) ^ ^^^ (4) oUiUT ^O ^\^ li (3) jt) ;0 (2) 8j| (1) •X<>| jS O iJl> ,^^ Transcript and Translation 175 6V 6A av « .11 1 Jlili 'j\/j^ij-'f^^^j\ -k^ ^v' ^•/!.-yy -^'/i^'c^^C^*!^^/ ^ ^1/i * A 7' u/ 29 in the skirt of Heaven, and in the pocket of^ earth, are creatures who, while God dies not, will yet be born.^ 57- Those whose beliefs are founded upon hypocrisy,^ come and draw a distinction between the body and the soul ; I will put the wine jar on my head, if,^ when I have done so,^ they place a comb upon my head,"" as if I were a cock.* 58. The bodies which people this heavenly vault,* puzzled the learned.^ / 176 Notes 5. iiioM ki mmddeier-aad = " those who TSgalai&." 59- Tcis -ziz-^ is C zj.-. P. 112. B ii. 155, L. =53, B 25-, W. 213. E. C. 16. F. ii. &5 Piire G-::; ::r --' "r e": - - ir-iiivd— I. " I aj= -:: ihax man (to ^rtiom) fe3r ::-;; i -r liea ci ~v oon- ezLs'.e-ze >•';:= u:e use of mim and tea in tiicac r* j iirs: .^ea. : r . L . ard W. read ioi far ns, making it " that /ear is pleasanter to me th=- - • E C. translates practically as I have firom this MS. As we have it bere, -:t :.i:t izl life hereafter are considered as ooe vast wfaoie. divided into two halve: t .i:izii i^i ::' t ; 'i 3. P. readi, ' I: ii 1 = ;:.: :; —= in this world."* 60. This quaxrain is C. 135. P. 223, B. ii. 146, L. 245, S. P. 106. N. 106, W. 136, and E. C. 12, and coiitai:is the iasjaration of F. i. 38 : Oae Moment in Annihilation's Waste, Ore Moment of the Well of life to taste — The Stars are setting, and the Caravan Draws (F. ii. 49) to the Dawn of Nothing — Oh, make haste ! wtdcfa is mTjch closer to the oriatnal, and finer, I think, than the final form F. V. 48 : And lo '. the Phantc— Caravan has reach'd The Nothing i: set cz: frcm — Oh, make haste! ;\C ij» ^^ ^;0 Transcript and Translation 177 6^ jjT ^ ^J^ yS ^ jj^ ^T ^.T ^ ^^>1 >^^ 'j^ (^ o^ ;u»'^ v^^ I • "^ hC Beware lest thou losest the end of the string of wsdom, for even the controllers^ themselves become giddy. 59. I am not the man to dread my non-existence,^ for that half seems pleasanter to me than this half ; ^ this is a life which God has lent me,^ I will surrender it when the time of surrender comes. 60. This caravan of life passes by mysteriously ; mayest thou seize the moment that passes happily ! 178 Notes 1. /;a^//". ^O'^'-^-'^c/^^ ■re 31 Cup-bearer, why grieve about the to-morrow of thy patrons ? ^ give us a cup of wine,^ for the night wanes. 61. Being old, my love for thee led my head into a snare ; if not, how comes it that my hand holds the cup of date-wine? My sweetheart ^ has destroyed the penitence born of reason,'-^ and the passing seasons have torn the garment that patience sewed. 62. Although wine has rent my veil,^ so long as I have a soul I will not be separated from wine; i8o Notes 2. This " they belongs, as indicated, to the fourth hne. 63 This quatrain is only to be found in B. ii., where it is No. 173, and in this MS., and it is reproduced as W. 235. Its sentiment is recognisable in F. v. 61, and in the great quatuor F. v. 78-81, but F. made no closer use of it. 64. This quatrain (in varied forms) is C. 242, B. ii. 163, L. 340, S. P. 151, B. 336, N. 151, W. 172. In it, as in q. 63, we find the sentiment of F. v. 79 and perhaps 94. Line i of this quatrain is No. 2 in B. ii., L., N., and W., which begin with line 2 of this quatrain. 1. C, B. ii., N., and W. (11. 2) read dar sar (as at the beginning of line i), "in my head," a rare expression, though as W. notes, the Persians generally regard the head as the seat of all human passions. Compare the line in N. 139 (L. 386, B. 386, a quatrain neither in W., C, nor in this MS.), "That hollow head that you see is so sensual." ^ Note in 11. i and 2 the conjunctive pronoun "m" (my) separated from sar and from kef, as is frequent in Persian poetry. L. reads "dast" for " ke/." 2. B. ii., N. and W. read " always " 2 for " all the year round." fi-i-.»-6 «i.*«o ^o (2^ j_5~o yj-'y^Sy 6^ j^ •&— l^ ^^l (l) Transcript and Translation i8i sr*/ sT* /*^^ ^^ ^"^ *^^ c5>^^ kJ^ d^ ^b J.J 5J^ 2sUS' «ifc> ^T If ^^ C>>^=^ c?>^ O^- cTl?-^ r^ >J^ ju /v^^ "-^"^ ''^^ *^'*^ ""^ y- ^^.^^JJJJ^^J, PL ^^- "O^.' ->' • j'^ ■ji^i; 32 I am in perplexity concerning vintners, for they^ — what will they buy that is better than what they sell ? 63. So much generosity and kindness at the beginning, why was it ? and that maintenance of me with delights and blandishments, why was it ? Now Thine only endeavour is to afflict my heart ; after all, what wrong have I done — once more, why was it ? 64. In my mind^ may there be desire for idols houri-like, in my hand may there be, all the year round,^ the juice of the grape ; i82 Notes 3. W. alone) reads for khuda, Izadat,^ your God. L. reads : •' Certain people tell me God will give repentance."" 4. N. and W. read "gives"^ for "will not give"; i.e., "(even if) he gives it, I will none of it." 5. duram had answers here to the exclamation " procul esto ! " 65. This quatrain is C. 172, L. 312, S. P. 142, B. 308, N. 142, and W. 165, and it contains the germ {inter alia) of F. v. 93-95, inculcating the vanity of regrets over soiled reputation or lost honour, and the futility of repentance. 1. The Wuzu ablution, or ceremonial washing before prayers, which consists in washing first the hands, then the inside of the mouth, then throwing water on the forehead, washing the whole face, the arms, and lastly the feet. (Steingass.) 2. Vulg., " to whitewash " = nikU kerdan.^ 3. N. and W. for "Be happy" read "give wine, for now this veil," etc.* L. is identical with this MS., and C. begins " Drink wine, for this veil," etc.^ 4. N. appends a note to the effect that this is an epigram against the fatalism of the Qur'an with regard to pre-ordained punishment, which the Sufis deny as being contrary to the infinite mercy of God. 66. This quatrain in this identical form occurs only in this MS. Q. 8g {q. v., post) is, however, so closely allied to it as to suggest that one or the other has been added by a later scribe. Compare also q. 146. 1. A Persian acquaintance of mine reads this gid (rose) instead oi gil (clay). Both readings are within the spirit of the poem, but the weight of evidence is, I think, on the side oi gul. Vide note i, q. 35. 2. khvar kerdan — to despise. Transcript and Translation 183 jL_fcJ 6i^ \j-J )J^ ^ ^>-4^ ^b in ^b:>!^'>s— jy;J/ ■ ^'r''^A>i}xi •-<-r^. .■••••/•'. " '^V^:r-'-'^><'^^/ ^/ s?" U^-^'->^^ j>. jX3 dj ^ / I • f-^T, ^h>'/,^'JJ 33 they say to me, "May God^ give thee repentance!" He himself will not give* it; I will none of it; let it be far off! 65. In the tavern thou canst not perform the Ablution^ save with wine, and thou canst not purify ^ a tarnished reputation ; be happy,^ for this veil of temperance of ours is so torn that it cannot be repaired.* 66. I saw upon the terrace of a house a man, alone, who trampled upon the clay,^ holding it in contempt ; ^ 14 — 2 184 Notes 3. This expression, which occurs similarly in qq. 89 and 146, refers to the language of the unknown world. Steingass gives as a rendering " language expressed by one's condition," therefore "as well as it could," but the rendering given here is more correct in this poem. 4. lakad khurdan, literally " to eat kicks." 67. This quatrain is P. 230, L. 291, S.P. 153, B. 287, N. 153, W. 174, and is the original of F. v. 6 : And David's lips are lockt ; but in divine High-piping Pehlevi with " Wine ! Wine ! Wine ! " Red Wine ! " the Nightingale cries to the Rose That sallow cheek of hers to' incarnadine. The reference to " David's lips " comes not from this MS., but from M., 1. 625, and C. 89 (et passim), David being, in Oriental poetry, the type of a sweet singer, as is Joseph of male beauty. Cf. M., 1. 3813. Compare the Gulistan (ch. v., story 10), " That David-like throat had changed, his Joseph-like beauty had faded." 1 Persian poetry is filled with references to the love of the Nightingale for the Rose. Cf. M., 11. 742-6. Vide q. 135, note 2. (Terminal Essay, p. 310.) Binning {vide p. xxv., note 2) observes that the Persian nightingale arrives from its migration with the roses in April, and disappears with them at the end of the summer. (Vol. ii., p. 312.) 1. Literally, " the cloud." 2. Literally, " from the cheek of the rose-garden." 3. Pehlevi (or Pahlawi) was the language of the ancient Persians. F. calls it in a note, "the old heroic Sanskrit," but this is a philological error. L., N., and W. read ha zahan-i-hal, as in the preceding quatrain. Vide q. 66, note 3. 4. Yellow is the colour indicative, in Persian literature, of illness, answering to our word "sallow." Compare q. 69, line 2. Cf. Vita Nuova, viii. : " Lo viso mostra lo color del core." 68. This quatrain is C. 151, P. 336, L. 277, S.P. 156, B. 273, N. 156, W 175, E.C. 31. The last two lines give us the origin of the last two in F. v. 15 : And those who husbanded the Golden grain, And those who flung it to the winds like Rain, Alike to no such aureate Earth are turn'd As, buried once, Men want dug up again. 1. E. C. translates "my," but sar-at can only mean "your head." P., C, L., N., and W., for bar sar-at, read ghammahat - = " your sorrows." 2. Literally, " a night attack," leading to the inference in line 4. 3. P., L., and W. are identical with this ; C. and N. read the line : " Order, oh Idol, some rose-coloured wine." ^ C5- ^- ^ S^J> (') Transcript and Translation 185 34 that clay said to him in mystic language:^ — "Be still, for like me thou wilt be much trampled upon."^ 67. It is a pleasant day, and the weather is neither hot nor cold ; the rain ^ has washed the dust from the faces of the roses ; ^ the nightingale in the Pehlevi tongue ^ to the yellow * rose cries ever : — " Thou must drink wine ! " 68. Ere thd± fate makes assault^ upon thy head,^ give orders that they bring thee rose-coloured wine ; ^ 1 86 Notes 4. Literally, " gold." These two lines refer to the practice in the East of burying treasure to hide it when a night attack (line i) of dacoits or robbers is anticipated. Omar whimsically compares this practice with the resurrection of the body after death, which he doubts. 5. E. C. translates "poor brain-sick fool!" which would aptly translate P.'s variant, which, however, he had not seen. 6g. This quatrain is C. 158, P. 212, B. ii. 199, L. 308, S. P. 109, N. 109, and W. 139. It is the original of F. v. 91 : Ah ! with the Grape my fading life provide, And wash the body whence the life has died. And lay me, shrouded in the living Leaf, By some not unfrequented Garden-side ; which made its first appearance as F. i. 67, with the last two lines : And in the Winding-sheet of Vine-leaf wrapt. So bury me by some sweet Garden-side. Cf. the story of Hippocrates in M., 11. 2360-2364: "When Hippocrates was at the point of death one of his pupils said to him, ' Oh Master, when we have washed and shrouded thy body, where shall we bury thee ? ' "s 1. zitthar = Beware ! C. L., N., and W. begin, " Oh Friends ! sustain me," etc. ^ 2. Compare q. 67, note 4. C, B. ii., L., N., and W. read " cheek "^ for "face." hah-ruba means, literally, " attracting straws " ; hence "amber," the ^jXeKTpov of the Greeks. Cf. Gulshan i raz, 1. 194 : " The Truth, as amber, attracts thee like a straw."'' 3. N. and W. read chun murdah shavam,^ and C. and L. read chiin fawt shavam,^ which mean the same. B. ii. is identical with this. 70. This quatrain occurs only in this MS. (of those under consideration). It is probably a casually interpolated address to Malik Shah. ^ *^^\. e* i r*)^ \J^ Oft Transcript and Translation 187 ^yJ^^hjjiUj,://, i Vyv— •'/'y^ 35 thou art not treasure,^ O heedless dunce,^ that thee they hide in the earth and then dig up again. 69. Take heed^ to stay me with the wine-cup, and make this amber face ' Hke a ruby ; when I die,^ wash me with wine, and out of the wood of the vine make the planks of my coffin. 70. O Shah ! destiny appointed thee to sovereignty, and saddled for thee the horse of empire ; 1 88 Notes I. til in line 3, and na-nih'id in line 4, go together. Literally, " until he did not place." 71- This quatrain is P. iig, B. ii. 208, L. 294, S. P. 164, B. 290, N. 164, "W. 182, and is No. 8 of de T.'s examples. Cf. M., 1. 3316 : The true lover must be like fire .... There can be no second thoughts to the true lover ; etc. 1 1. Literally, "it has no water." One of the many figurative uses of db. "It has no splendour," vulgarly speaking, cf. "it doesn't hold water." Cf. M., 1. 1749 : " I am helpless," literally, " My liver holds no water." 2 2. khabish ; the third pers. sing, termination sh governs all the antecedents. 3. C/. M., 1. 3167 : "Can he who shares the torment and passion of love find rest by day or night ?"3 Cf. also M., 11. 3499-3509, the story of "The Sleepy Lover," and Purgatorio, xviii. 103: " Ratto, ratto, che il tempo non si perda per poco amor." 72. This quatrain is C. 176, B. ii. 211, L. 357, S. P. 175, B. 353, N. 175, and W. 190. In it we recognise the sentiment of F. v. 27 (concerning which, however, vide post, q. 121), and also F. v. 32 : There was the Door to which I found no Key ; There was the Veil through which I might not see ; etc. Compare Tennyson's lines in "In Memoriam " : So runs my dream, but what am I ? An infant crying in the night ; An infant crying for the light, And with no language but a cry. I. i.e., the orbit of human understanding. f^ )^ ^J' ^ (-) Transcript and Translation i8g Jlgjj ^^)^. &jl^^ J^ (*^ <-^l yj^ 36 when thy golden-hoofed charger moved/ setting foot upon the clay, the earth became gilded. 71- A love that is imaginary has no value ; ^ like a fire half-dead, it gives no heat. A true lover, throughout the month, and year, and night, and day,^ takes neither rest, nor peace, nor food, nor sleep.^ 72. No one has solved the tangled secrets of eternity, no one has set foot beyond the orbit,^ I go Notes 2 Literally, " when I look." C, B. ii., L., N., and W. read man mi-nigaram,^ " I see." 3. Literally, "impotence is in the hand of," etc. Cf. Faradiso, vii. 62: " Molto si mira e poco si discerne." 73- This quatrain is C. 179, L. 256, S. P. 176, B. 253, N. 176, W. igi, and we find in it the germ of F. v. 41, which made its first appearance as F. ii. 55. Perplext no more with Human or Divine, To-morrow's tangle to the winds resign, And lose your fingers in the tresses of The Cypress-slender Minister of Wine. Cf. Paradiso, xv. 146 : " il mondo fallace il cui amor molte anime deturpa." 1. N. and W., for "live thou," read "that thou mayst be." 2 L. reads jehan bemiri,^ " worldly empire." 2. Vide the original MS. The transcription of this word is doubtful, but the best sense is made with begusil. C, L., N., and W. so read it, and I have so transcribed it. 3. This line varies considerably in the texts. N. and W. read " Be happy in that thou art (for) this revolving sky." * C. reads " Be happy, for bereft of me and thee, these months and years." ^ L. reads "Be happy a moment, inasmuch as this revolving sky."^ 4. C. and L. follow this MS. N. and W. for "days" read "revolutions."* 74- This quatrain occurs only in this MS., and is reproduced as W. 211, and this and q. 82 contain that flower-sentiment which one traces in F. v. 40, which made its first appearance in a slightly modified form as F. ii. 43. I. ncstrin has many flower-meanings; one finds it used to mean narcissus principally, but also dog-rose, white rose, and clover. &^U^ Ji.lAy6, (4) ^5^^ ^^\^ (3) ^5;^0 (7) eU» ;,^0 ^J^I fi^Ue. ^^ ^J»\i Ji,yi, (6) Transcript and Translation igr (J Jjj i> ^> i^^ ^^^^v* 37 since, so far as I can see,** from tyro to teacher, impotent are the hands ^ of all men born of woman. Set limits to thy desire for worldly things and live^ content, sever ^ the bonds of thy dependence upon the good and bad of life, take wine in hand and play with the curls of a loved one ; for quickly ^ all passeth away — and how many of these days* remain ? 74- The heavens rain down blossoms^ from the clouds, thou mayest say that they shed blossoms into the garden ; 192 Notes 2. W. reads this to mean a violet jug, but I fail to find his authority. 75- This quatrain is C. 202, P. 324, B. ii. 234, L. 356, S. P. 182, B. 352, N. 182, and W. 197. It contains a humorous protest against the doctrine of predesti- nation, whose highest expression we find in F. v. 80. There is also here a strong suggestion of F. v. 61, which made its first appearance as F. ii. 63. 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 ? 1. i.e., " sensible." 2. N. and W. for tnan binazd read u nazd-i-khuda} that (wine-drinking of mine), etc. 3. With the exception of B. ii. the other texts read az azal,"^ from earliest eternity, for bi azal, on the Day of Creation. Concerning azal, vide post, q. 107, note I. 76. This quatrain is C. 173. P. 189, B. ii. 233, L. 315, B. 311, and is No. q of de T.'s examples. We find in it the idea conveyed by F. v. 24 : Ah ! make the most of what we yet may spend, Before we, too, into the Dust descend ; Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie, Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and — sans End. Compare Herrick's verse " To Sappho," which might also be appended as a parallel to qq. 5, 35, 73 and 97 : " Let us now take time and play. Love and live here while we may ; Drink rich wine ; and make good cheere, While we have our being here : For once dead, and laid i'th grave, No return from thence we have." Jjljl(2) \^,,y)\(l) Transcript and Translation 193 V6 T t/'^ jdl^ ^>u/ ^^^ 38 in a lily-like cup I pour rosy wine, as the violet clouds ^ pour down jessamine. 75. I drink wine, and every one 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 was ignorance. 76. Do not allow sorrow to embrace thee, nor an idle grief to occupy thy days ; 194 Notes I. Vide q. 32, note 2, and compare also q. 45. Line 3 in L. reads, " Drink wine! on the verge of the verdure and of the flowing stream." ^ P. reads, "For- sake not, for a moment, the bank of the river and the margin of the stream." ^ B. ii. combines these two readings, ^ 77- This quatrain is C. 165, P. 283, L. 305, B. 301, S. P. 179, N. 179, W. 194, and is the original of F. v. 59 : 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. 1. Literally, " bear away." P. reads, " the calamities of time."* 2. i.e., wine. 3. Literally, "you drink." 4. P., N., and W. read, yck men,^ one measare. As to men, vide q. 155, note 2. 78. This quatrain is C. 174, P. 282, B. ii. 228, L. 243, S. P. 180, B. 240, N. 180, W. 195. Compare Herrick's verse : "... I love to have it smirke and shine, 'Tis sin I know, 'tis sin to throtle Wine. What Mad-man's he, that when it sparkles so, Will coole his flames, or quench his fires with snow ? " Transcript and Translation fca.«J > .. ^ <_.Jj j\i «--~J^ <_»U^ ^JJvX^ 195 vv ^j>l 6^ Jl ...*..;^ < ; ^^jJC >Jt.^. J^ fcs-J^ ^^Jh** <^Jj^ ^^J^ '■^ VA '/'• IL^^/i'jhk V jtji l^ 'ly i /f ^^'4-e4(::<^. *• I 4 A > Yf(j?S^/, ■^^v^ '^yj 39 forsake not the book, and the lover's lips, and the green bank of the field,! ere that the earth enfold thee in its bosom. Drink wine, that will banish^ thy abundant woes, and will banish thought of the Seventy-two Sects ; avoid not the alchemist,^ for, from him, thou takest^ one draught,* and he banishes a thousand calamities. 78. Even though wine is forbidden, for all that it depends upon who drinks it, and then in what quantity, and also with whom he drinks it ; ig6 Notes 1. This line varies very much in the texts. C. and P. and B. ii., slightly varying, read, " Whenever you have collected these four conditions." i L. is the same, substituting cin-gdh'^ for har gdh. N. ends the line amad jam',^ "are collected." 2. In L. the fourth line is the second repeated. In B. ii. and N. this line reads, " After that who would drink save wise men." * 79- This quatrain is P. 281, B. ii. 227, L. 293, B. 289, and is not elsewhere. It recalls the lines in the Gulistfin (ch. i, story 2) : " Many famous men have been buried underground, Of whose existence upon earth not a trace has remained. And that old corpse which had been surrendered to the earth Was so consumed by the soil that not a bone remains."* 1. Note the double preposition bi-khak dar, etc. 2. L. reads hhttmrah " a synonym. 3. L. reads '»'= existence. 80. This quatrain is C. 204, P. 157, L. 272, S. P. 186. B. 268, N. 186, and W. 201, and has been referred to as one of the originals of F. v. 4, in the notes to q. 13, ante. 1. Literally, " zephyrs." C, L., N., and W. read sebzah,'' verdure. 2. This is line 4 in the other texts, and varies considerably. C. reads, " In the eyes of the clouds (or, in hope of rain) the veils are parted." " L., N., and P. read d'ula,^ synonym for chashm-ha. The use of the word chashm, meaning "hopes" and "eyes," imparts obscurity to this line. L. and N. make their meaning clear. ^ (j-j (*) f-*j^ J-«T (•') sl^l (-) JkiT ^e. \oyi, Juif^ ^^>\ a.^ c\S js, (i) Transcript and Translation 197 v=i J^ 6;j^j ^LaJ d^ ^>=^sr- J^ &y^^ ^^, ^^j^ jj~J. fci^-s^lc* A. ^>j/ijf<^ J. ?^ /;/\ ^c:^^^^ ^ ^'p?) O'^^^./ t )\!i\> -t^(7u»;/