The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám · Chapter
LXIII explained
The chapter dismisses religious threats of Hell and hopes of Paradise as uncertain, asserting that the only certainties are the fleeting nature of life and the finality of death, symbolized by a flower that blooms once and then dies forever
What happens
The chapter dismisses religious threats of Hell and hopes of Paradise as uncertain, asserting that the only certainties are the fleeting nature of life and the finality of death, symbolized by a flower that blooms once and then dies forever.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Transience
The chapter emphasizes the certainty of life's fleeting nature and the finality of death, comparing life to a flower that blooms once and dies forever.
Skepticism and Doubt
The chapter dismisses threats of Hell and hopes of Paradise as lies, expressing skepticism toward religious promises of an afterlife.
Key passages
“Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise! One thing at least is certain— This Life flies; One thing is certain and the rest is Lies; The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.”
Despite religious warnings of punishment and promises of reward, only one thing is sure: life passes quickly. Everything else is false; once a flower has bloomed, it dies permanently.
The stanza contrasts religious doctrines with the undeniable reality of mortality.