Page:Quatrains of Omar Khayyam (tr. Whinfield, 1883).djvu/374

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318
THE QUATRAINS OF

474.

If, like a ball, earth to my house were borne,
When drunk, I'd rate it at a barley-corn;
    Last night they offered me in pawn for wine.
But the rude vintner laughed that pledge to scorn.


475.

Now in thick clouds Thy face Thou dost immerse,
And now display it in this universe;
    Thou the spectator, Thou the spectacle,
Sole to Thyself Thy glories dost rehearse,


476.

Better to make one soul rejoice with glee,
Than plant a desert with a colony;
    Rather one freeman bind with chains of love,
Than set a thousand prisoned captives free!


474.   C. L. N. A. I. J.   Note the yás i tankír in kuyé, juyé, and girnyé.

475.   C. L. N. A. I. J.   Compare the Vulgate, "ludens in orbe terrarum," and Gulshan i Ráz, p. 11.