Omar Khayyam (284) “God is merciful: Here, have some wine”

Juan Cole 10/05/2012

I staggered, drunk, outside a bar last night
and saw a tipsy older man emerge,
a bottle slung across his shoulder; and
I said to him, “At your age, aren’t you
ashamed before the Lord Almighty?” He
laughed, “God is merciful: Here, have some wine!”

Translated by Juan Cole
from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 284

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