# LXII explained — The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

> Chapter companion for The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám by Omar Khayyám.

## What happens

The speaker rejects the comforts of life, driven by fear of an afterlife or hope for a divine reward, only to face the inevitable decay into dust.

## Themes in this chapter

### Mortality and Transience

The chapter emphasizes the inevitability of death and the crumbling into dust.

### Skepticism and Doubt

The speaker questions the trustworthiness of after-reckoning and divine promises.

## Key lines

> I must abjure the Balm of Life, I must, Scared by some After-reckoning ta’en on trust, Or lured with Hope of some Diviner Drink, To fill the Cup⁠—when crumbled into Dust!

I must renounce life's comforts, either frightened by a supposed afterlife judgment or enticed by a promise of heavenly drink, only to fill the cup when I am already reduced to dust.

_The speaker rejects worldly and spiritual hopes in the face of mortality._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lxii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters