Omar Khayyam — "You come like a thief in the night, and steal away a little portion of my life; …"

"I tell you this—When, started from the Goal, Over the flaming shoulders of the Soul Plots the Eternal Saki from his Bowl Ahmad and Mahmud, ere he reach the Goal."

"While you live, drink!—for, once dead, you never shall return."

"Into this Universe, and why not knowing, Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing: And out of it, as Wind along the Waste, I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing."

"Ah, Moon of my Delight who know'st no wane, The Moon of Heav'n is rising once again: How oft hereafter rising shall she look Through this same Garden after me—in vain!"

"Ere the Earth was, or the skies were, I Had a Soul, and with it my desire To drink the Wine of Life, and never cease To drain the Cup until it was quite dry."