Omar Khayyam

And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light.

The first Morning of Creation wrote what the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read.

Oh, Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make, And who with Eden didst devise the Snake; For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man Is blackened—Man's forgiveness give—and take!

The Stars are setting, and the Caravan Draws to the Dawn a Moment to abide; The Caravan of Night has reached the Place Where the Day's Caravan will start to ride.

Ah, fill the Cup:—what boots it to repeat How Time is slipping underneath our Feet: Unborn To-morrow, and dead Yesterday, Why fret about them if To-day be sweet!

And this I know: whether the one True Light Kindle to Love, or Wrath-consume me quite, One Flash of it within the Tavern caught Better than in the Temple lost outright.

Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies; One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies; The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.

The Revelations of Devout and Learn'd Who rose before us, and as Prophets burn'd, Are all but Stories, which, awoke from Sleep They told their comrades, and to Sleep return'd.

Indeed, the Idols I have loved so long Have done my Credit in Men's Eye much wrong: Have drown'd my Honour in a shallow Cup, And sold my Reputation for a Song.

How long, how long, in infinite Pursuit Of This and That endeavour and dispute? Better be merry with the fruitful Grape Than sadden after none, or bitter, Fruit.

And much as Wine has play'd the Infidel, And robb'd me of my Robe of Honour—well, I often wonder what the Vintners buy One half so precious as the stuff they sell.

Earth's secret open, and its hidden things, The veil of heaven, and the flight of wings, The soul's dark journey, and the spirit's quest, All these are mine, and mine the song it sings.

The wise man is one who knows the limits of his knowledge.

To calculate the roots of equations by means of geometry is one of the most important parts of mathematics.

The solution of cubic equations by intersecting conics was a significant achievement.

I have examined the methods used by the ancients, and I have found that they are not sufficient for solving all problems.

The purpose of mathematics is to understand the universe.

The greatest joy is to understand.

The heavens are a book, and the stars are its letters.

The world is a stage, and we are merely players.