Edward FitzGerald > Quotes

“Oh, come with old Khayyám, 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 blown for ever dies.”
― Edward FitzGerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie,
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and - sans End!”
― Edward FitzGerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“Tis all a Checkerboard of Nights and Days Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and stays, And one by one back in the Closet lays.”
― Edward FitzGerald

“Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss'd
Of the Two Worlds so wisely - they are thrust
Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn
Are scatter'd, and their Mouths are stopt with Dust.”
― Edward FitzGerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“Tis all a chequer board of Nights and Days
Where Destiny with men for pieces plays:
Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays,
And one by one back in the Closet lays”
― Edward FitzGerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam

“Heav'n but the Vision of fulfill'd Desire,
And Hell the Shadow from a Soul on fire,
Cast on the Darkness into which Ourselves,
So late emerged from, shall so soon expire.”
― Edward FitzGerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“And if the Wine you drink, the Lip you press,
End in the Nothing all Things end in - Yes -
Then fancy while Thou art, Thou art but what
Thou shalt be - Nothing - though shalt not be less.”
― Edward FitzGerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“Strange, is it not? that of the myriads who
Before us pass'd the door of Darkness through,
Not one returns to tell us of the Road,
Which to discover we must travel too.”
― Edward FitzGerald

“With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow,
And with my own hand labour'd it to grow:
And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd --
"I came like Water and like Wind I go.”
― Edward FitzGerald

“But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays
Upon this chequer-board of Nights and Days
Hither and thither moves, and checks and slays”
― Edward FitzGerald

“One thing is certain and the rest is Lies;/The Flower that once has blown forever dies.”
― Edward FitzGerald

“And fear not lest Existence closing your
Account, and mine, should know the like no more;
The Eternal Saki from that Bowl has pour'd
Millions of Bubbles like us, and will pour.”
― Edward FitzGerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám Rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald followed by Euphranor a Dialogue on Youth and Salámán and Absál, an Allegory Translated from the Persian of Jámí

“If you can prove to me that one miracle took place, I will believe he is a just God who damned us all because a woman ate an apple.”
― Edward FitzGerald

“but helpless pieces of the game he plays
Upon this chequer-board of nights and days
Hither and thither moves, and checks and slays”
― Edward FitzGerald, رباعيات خيام

“Tis all a chequer board of nights and days, where destiny with men for pieces plays; hither and thither, and mates and slays.”
― Edward Fitzgerald

“If good with Men, how much better with Children, Rich or Poor, to lean to Indulgence rather than Severity. And still truer with regard to Morals than Intellect. You at least get at Truth, if ugly Truth, by letting a child display his character without fear; and evil humours that determine outwardly, are far more likely to disguise than when repressed to rankle within. And, any how, the ugliest Truth is better than the handsomest Falsehood.”
― Edward FitzGerald, Euphranor: A Dialogue on Youth

“And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky,
Whereunder crawling coop't we live and die,
Lift not thy hands to It for help—for it
Rolls impotently on as Thou or I.”
― Edward FitzGerald, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“I often wonder what the Vintners buy
One half so precious as the Goods they sell”
― Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam