Page:Quatrains of Omar Khayyam (tr. Whinfield, 1883).djvu/134

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78
THE QUATRAINS OF

114.

Pen, tablet, heaven and hell I looked to see
Above the skies, from all eternity;
    At last the master sage instructed me,
"Pen, tablet, heaven and hell are all in thee."


115.

The fruit of certitude he cannot pluck,
The path that leads thereto who never struck,
    Nor ever shook the bough with strenuous hand;
To-day is lost; hope for to-morrow's luck.


116.

Now spring-tide showers its foison on the land,
And lively hearts wend forth, a joyous band,
    For 'Isa's breath wakes the dead earth to life,
And trees gleam white with flowers, like Musa's
hand.


114.   Allah writes his decrees with the "pen" on the "tablet."   Koran, lxviii. 1.   See Gulshan i Ráz, 1, n.


115.   L. B.   Lit. "Consider to-morrow your first day."


116.   B.   Alluding to the life-giving breath of Jesus, and the white hand of Moses. (Exodus, iv. 6).   Bahkŭshí dastrase (yá, i tankír), "an aid to joy," i.e. Spring.