The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

By Omar Khayyam

First published in English by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859 from its original Farsi, “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” is a collection of quatrains attributed to Omar Khayyam, a Persian astronomer and mathematician born in the later part of the 11th century. Omar Khayyam’s poetry, which received very little international notoriety in its own day, achieved classic status when it was discovered and rendered into English verse by Edward Fitzgerald over seven hundred years later. Omar Khayyam was famous in his time for his important contributions to geometry and the creation of a highly accurate solar calendar, yet it is the beautiful and captivating verses of his poetry that have withstood the test of time and continue to inspire readers and writers to this day. Omar Khayyam celebrated life in all its humor, pleasure, and beauty, while also capturing its frailty and impermanence. Romantic, clever, funny, passionate and bittersweet, this collection is a must-read for all who love language and poetry. Presented here are the beloved and traditionally collected first and fifth editions with the original notes and introduction by Edward Fitzgerald.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing
• Release date: Jun 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781420962185

Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet. He was born in Nishapur, in northeastern Iran, and spent most of his life near the court of the Karakhanid and Seljuq rulers in the period which witnessed the First Crusade. (Wikipedia)

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THE RUBÁIYÁT OF

OMAR KHAYYÁM

Translated by

EDWARD FITZGERALD

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

By Omar Khayyám

Translated by Edward Fitzgerald

Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-6217-8

eBook ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-6218-5

This edition copyright © 2019. Digireads.com Publishing.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Cover Image: a detail of an illustration by Gilbert James from the 1908 edition of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám published by R. F. Fenno & Company, New York.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

First Edition

Fifth Edition

Notes

Introduction

Omar Khayyám, The Astronomer-Poet of Persia

Omar Khayyám was born at Naishápúr in Khorassán in the latter half of our Eleventh, and died within the First Quarter of our Twelfth Century. The Slender Story of his Life is curiously twined about that of two other very considerable Figures in their Time and Country: one of whom tells the Story of all Three. This was Nizám ul Mulk, Vizier to Alp Arslán the Son, and Malik Shah the Grandson, of Toghrul Beg the Tartar, who had wrested Persia from the feeble Successor of Mahmúd the Great, and founded that Seljukian Dynasty which finally roused Europe into the Crusades. This Nizám ul Mulk, in his Wasiyat—or Testament—which he wrote and left as a Memorial for future Statesmen—relates the following, as quoted in the Calcutta Review, No. 59, from Mirkhond’s History of the Assassins.

‘One of the greatest of the wise men of Khorassán was the Imám Mowaffak of Naishápúr, a man highly honored and reverenced,—may God rejoice his soul; his illustrious years exceeded eighty-five, and it was the universal belief that every boy who read the Korán or studied the traditions in his presence, would assuredly attain to honor and happiness. For this cause did my father send me from Tús to Naishápúr with Abd-us-samad, the doctor of law, that I might employ myself in study and learning under the guidance of that illustrious teacher. Towards me he ever turned an eye of favor and kindness, and as his pupil I felt for him extreme affection and devotion, so that I passed four years in his service. When I first came there, I found two other pupils of mine own age newly arrived, Hakim Omar Khayyám, and the ill- fated Ben Sabbáh. Both were endowed with sharpness of wit and the highest natural powers; and we three formed a close friendship together. When the Imám rose from his lectures, they used to join me, and we repeated to each other the lessons we had heard. Now Omar was a native of Naishápúr, while Hasan Ben Sabbáh’s father was one Ali, a man of austere life and practise, but heretical in his creed and doctrine. One day Hasan said to me and to Khayyám, It is a universal belief that the pupils of the Imám Mowaffak will attain to fortune. Now, even if we all do not attain thereto, without doubt one of us will; what then shall be our mutual pledge and bond? We answered, Be it what you please. Well, he said, let us make a vow, that to whomsoever this fortune falls, he shall share it equally with the rest, and reserve no pre-eminence for

Reviews for The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

[reinadecopiaypega · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I haven't a clue what I just read, was way over my head. To my poor addled brain it was just line after line of sentences that made no sense to one whose Menopause Fairy has long ago eaten her brain.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting linguistic curiosity

[anietzerck · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One thing I learned...Omar Khayyam was all about the wine drinking! I've mentioned before, poetry isn't really my cup of tea but drinking as much wine as I do, it was entertaining to read this collection of poetry. Though marked as 14th century literature according to first known edition, Omar Khayyam actually lived during the 11th and 12th century. To read something this old was definitely interesting. This edition in particular actually contained the first and fourth edition of the book and although very similar, the translations are different. I enjoyed comparing how much the world changes in just a few years. (Sorry I can't remember what the exact years were, and I already returned the book to the library.) Anyway, not bad. And now I've almost completed the poetry across the centuries challenge, only one more book to go! ;)

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lovely poetry -- I didn't realize some of the more familiar lines came from this -- "The moving finger writes, and having writ, moves on."

[bluereader-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lovely illustrations by Dulac.

[dasam-5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I originally read this in high school and have not ventured back since then. It is in many ways a long plea for carpe diem and a kind of "To His Coy Mistress" seduction song, with the mistress being both a woman and wine. I was reminded of the number of common expressions which came from this poem. One I did not recall, but admire is:

"The Stars are setting and the Caravan/Starts for the Dawn of Nothing..."

[jessiqa_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Omar Khayyám was a twelfth-century scientist and poet in Persia. This slim volume contains seventy-five quatrains (rubáiyát) each accompanied by an illustration by Sullivan. The text was translated by Fitzgerald in the late nineteenth century. The central theme of the poetry presented her seems to be drink and be merry, but especially drink. Khayyám is very fond of the daughter of the vine, as he calls it. Some of the poems also reveal a personal philosophy that no one knows why we are here on this earth and we never will learn, so live for today because yesterday has passed and tomorrow never really comes. I enjoyed the poetry, though it was sometimes difficult to understand. (That probably owes to the date of the translation and to my own unfamiliarity with poetry in general.) Each drawing coincides with a quatrain of the poem. The artwork is truly wonderful, line and ink drawings with expressive faces and lithe bodies. I quite liked this book and would like to read another edition, with a more modern translation.

[tututhefirst_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The poetry is beautiful, the rhyme scheme is melodic, and the illustrations definitely enhance the words. I came away with an appreciation of the beauty of the words, the pictures, and life in general. It can be read in about an hour. It can be studied and analysed for a lifetime.

[mandochild · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The particular edition I read comes with an amazing wealth of detail, including a long introduction, a facsimile of the original manuscript and detailed information on the translation from the Persian (Farsi). Unfortunately I only managed to read a few pages of the introduction and didn't have time to read the quattrains with the attention they deserved. As a result, I have only my own uneducated impressions to go by. I was fascinated by the tension and ambiguity between divinity and earthly pleasures (wine). My sense was that this tension is deliberate. A colleague summed it up beautifully as the impossible tension between the desire to live divinely, but the knowledge that it is physically impossible to do other than live in the real world, which involves acquiring money and possessions, and earthly pleasures. This is an impossible tension to reconcile and yet it exists. What did seem clear was the view that it is better to worship God sincerely in a tavern than to feign worship in a mosque. Absolutely fascinating reading.

[shoreline_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Timeless & Deep Poetry, with a good dose of obtuse, philosophical humor. Highly Recommended.---

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was expecting more from this than it seemed to deliver. it's a series of 4 lines verses that sound good, but, mostly, seemed to be concerned with drinking! There's a lot of taverns and pots and vines going on in here. I'm not sure this was the great work of mystical literature I was expecting.

[hellbent_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the Rubaiyat so much that I memorized it as a young man, while walking home from work. I was only able to recall the entire book 4 times, but I can still recall certain quatrains.

[salmondaze · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A deserved classic, Fitzgerald's translation of the poetry of Omar Kayyam, here presented in his first two editions, is simply transcendent. In fact I compared the two editions and even though they communicated the same pearl their "shells" were completely different. Fitzgerald said he took liberties with the original verse, and if he did I actually applaud him because what's contained in this volume is nevertheless a living thing in the English language. Rarely have I seen verse this wise, this celebratory, this probing through our materialistic world. If that's what Omar Kayyam had intended to communicate through his verse then Fitzgerald is actually truer to Kayyam than if he had stuck closely to what was literal and there.

[twileteyes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Verses from this are the first I ever memorized and had to recite (that I can remember anyway). It was in 8th grade, and when I reread the book at leisure as an adult, I was amazed at how different my perception of the themes is now that I am 10 years older.

[kaycliff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Collins' delightful little edition, 6" x 4", red-leather-bound, includes an introduction by Laurence Housman, illustrations by Marjorie Anderson, and versions of both the 1959 and the 1868 versions of the poem.