# LXXX explained — The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

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

## What happens

The speaker addresses a divine power, accusing it of setting traps and snares along the path of life, and questions the justice of predestining evil and then blaming the individual for falling into sin.

## Themes in this chapter

### Determinism and Fate

The quatrain directly addresses the concept of predestined evil and the entrapment of human beings by divine will.

### Skepticism and Doubt

The speaker expresses doubt about the fairness of a deity that sets traps and then punishes the victim.

## Character check-ins

### Omar Khayyám

The speaker of the quatrain, expressing a theological complaint against divine predestination.

## Key lines

> Oh, Thou, who didst with pitfall and with gin Beset the Road I was to wander in, Thou wilt not with Predestined Evil round Enmesh, and then impute my Fall to Sin!

O God, you set traps and snares along the path I was destined to walk; you will not surround me with predetermined evil and then blame my downfall on sin.

_A direct paraphrase of the quatrain's complaint against divine predestination and entrapment._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_rub_iy_t_of_omar_khayy_m_se/chapters/lxxx
- 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