Most of my readers
will of course be aware, that the literary sensation of the nineteenth
century, on both sides of the Atlantic, was the justly celebrated poem, the
~ Ruba`iyyât of Omar Khayyâm ~
as more or less creditably translated from the medieval Persian,
by one Edw. Fitzgerald, Esq.,
otherwise mostly unknown to fame.
What, therefore, was my excitement, when the following
incident supervened.
My nephew, the Very Reverend Wilfrid Gaspilton, currently
serving on the Eastern Front (in some chaplain-like capacity, one supposes),
has sent us a Flash message, which it has proved within our capabilities to decrypt.
He avers -- not explicitly on his oath, yet the word of a
clergyman counts for something,
after all -- that he has this from the lips of a dying Saqi, who had been distributing tins of water in the trenches,
before the inevitable obus hit,
and who had received it from the hands of a one-eyed Qalandar, who had it from a Qadi, who
had obtained it (who knows how -- some dinars may well have changed hands) from a Philologian, who had
translated it
~ from the Original
Persian ~
The fragment consists of but a single quatrain. Previously unpublished in any
language, the World of Doctor Justice
offers it up humbly to you now:
A Mouse that prayed for Allah’s aid
Blasphemed
when no such aid befell;
A Cat, who feasted on that mouse,
Thought Allah managed vastly well.
-- O. Khayyam (??) [1048-1131,
according to the calendar of infidels]
Is this stupendous verse indeed from the hand of the master
-- the son of the tent-maker -- idol of Victorian drawing-rooms? It certainly sounds like his work.
And, , whatever the alleged shortcomings of Mr. Khayyam in point of
doctrine elsewhere in his poem (as
regards indulgence in the blushful, along with certain other irregularities), this bit at least, is obviously theologically impeccable.
However -- to a degree that the public possibly does not
appreciate, we here at the W. of D. J. (Headquarters: Geneva; largest
employer of philologers in the Old World) are ever vigilant to protect an
unsuspecting populace from any
taint, any hint, of literary fraud. We are, after all, the most widely trusted news source
in the known world, not excluding The Onion. It is purely owing to
such Fleiss, that we have been permitted, confidently to present to a trusting public such undoubtedly authentic finds as the
and the
Therefore, we ourselves EMPHATICALLY DO NOT // DO NOT,
vouch for the validity of this fragment, -- not until we have seen, with our own
eyes, and upon the original papyrus,
=> the original Persian
<=
and have had the opportunity to submit it to the critical
gaze of Dr C. Miller, a Persianist of note.
Till then, its authenticity or otherwise, must remain the
sport of speculators.
[Update 3 Sept 2014] This just in:
Ahlan wa-sahlan, ya ikhwan! We heartily welcome this!
.
~
[Postscript, 14 Feb 2014] Since publishing this sensational discovery, I have been bombarded with demands from
the international media (Iceland’s being particularly importunate, for some
reason) for the whereabouts of said reverend nephew. To this we
are constrained to reply:
“Military considerations forbid any
disclosures which might throw unnecessary
light on my nephew’s movements.”
And for all you television networks that have been screaming
for onscreen interviews -- Please, desist, our health does not permit such
public appearances.
[Update, Saturday 17 May 2014] This just in -- It's National Celebrate Omar Khayyam Day! Hooray! Everybody take the rest of the day off!
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/05/17/362984/iran-to-mark-national-khayyam-day/
[Update, Saturday 17 May 2014] This just in -- It's National Celebrate Omar Khayyam Day! Hooray! Everybody take the rest of the day off!
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/05/17/362984/iran-to-mark-national-khayyam-day/
My turban's bigger than yours ... |
[Update 15 August 2014]
A very nice article, comparing the poets Khayyam and al-Rumi, just
appeared here:
http://kgou.org/post/khayyam-and-rumi-how-ancient-persian-poems-resonate-modern-culture
[Update 3 Sept 2014] This just in:
Statue of Omar Khayyam to be set up
in Manhattan
Created by the Iranian sculptor
Hossein Fakhimi, the two-meter tall statue was sent from Tehran to New York.
The decision to set up the statue
as a Persian symbol was made by Manhattan municipal officials during Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to New York in September 2013.
http://tehrantimes.com/arts-and-culture/118127-statue-of-omar-khayyam-to-be-set-up-in-manhattan-
Ahlan wa-sahlan, ya ikhwan! We heartily welcome this!
.
Funny.
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