Omar Khayyam (307) “clerics drink the people’s blood”

Juan Cole 09/10/2012

I am busier than you are,
cleric of the faith!
And, despite my drunkenness,
I’m soberer than you.
I drink the blood of the vine,
while you drink that of people.
Be fair, which one of us
is more bloodthirsty?

Translated by Juan Cole
from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 307

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page