The Luzumiyat · Chapter
XXII explained
This quatrain reflects on the impartiality of time and fate, which spare neither the powerful nor the powerless.
What happens
This quatrain reflects on the impartiality of time and fate, which spare neither the powerful nor the powerless. The 'hungry Days' and 'fangèd Hours' are predatory, striking humans who are oblivious and vulnerable at the threshold of their lair.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Transience
The quatrain emphasizes the inevitability of death and the fleeting nature of life, as both king and slave are equally subject to time's predation.
Fate and Destiny
The 'hungry Days' and 'fangèd Hours' personify an inescapable fate that ambushes humans, underscoring the theme of predetermined doom.
Key passages
“Nor king nor slave the hungry Days will spare; Between their fangèd Hours alike we fare: Anon they bound upon us while we play Unheeding at the threshold of their Lair.”
Neither the mighty nor the lowly will be spared by time; all of us are treated the same by its cruel moments. Suddenly, they pounce on us while we are carelessly playing, unaware that we are at the entrance to their den.
This paraphrase captures the original's warning about the sudden and impartial nature of death and time.