He brought me first into being, to my alarm./ This life increased nothing but my bewilderment
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poetry
Rumi and Shakespeare: On Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273) has sometimes been called “the Shakespeare of the East.” The comparison is just
“With them the seed of Wisdom:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:28
And this was all the Harvest that I reap’d- “I came like Water, and like Wind I go.
“Came out by the Same Door:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:27
This original does not question the value of the master’s teaching but shows regret and nostalgia for old school days
How ‘The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám’ inspired Victorian Hedonists
The Rubáiyát brought to mind sensuous embraces in jasmine-filled gardens on balmy Arabian nights, accompanied by cups of cool, intoxicating wine
From T. S. Eliot to the Grateful Dead: echoes of FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:26
it was used by Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley for a Grateful Dead poster in 1966, and for the cover of the group’s second live album in 1971
“All the Saints and Sages:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:25
How long will sages debate if this world is eternal or created? / Once I have left it, why should I care, either way?
“Your Reward is Neither Here nor There!” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:24
A Muezzín from the Tower of Darkness cries “Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There!”
“Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:23
The grimness of the teaching, that life is short is leavened by lighthearted advice to enjoy yourself while you can
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