The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám · Chapter
Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-Poet of Persia explained
This chapter introduces Omar Khayyám as a philosopher and poet whose honest skepticism set him apart from the mystical Sufi tradition of Persia.
What happens
This chapter introduces Omar Khayyám as a philosopher and poet whose honest skepticism set him apart from the mystical Sufi tradition of Persia. Unlike poets such as Háfiz, who used wine and pleasure as metaphors for divine union, Omar celebrated literal wine and sensual enjoyment as a response to a world without providence or afterlife. The chapter discusses the rarity of his manuscripts, his comparison to Lucretius, and the debate over whether he was a material Epicurean or a mystic, with the author arguing for the former interpretation against Monsieur Nicolas' Sufi reading.
Themes in this chapter
Skepticism and Doubt
Omar's honest doubt about providence and the afterlife leads him to reject mysticism and focus on the material world.
Hedonism and Wine
Omar celebrates literal wine and sensual pleasure as a serious purpose of life, in defiance of spiritual interpretations.
The Quest for Meaning
Omar's philosophical struggle with questions of deity, destiny, and good and evil reflects a weary pursuit of answers.
Characters to notice
- Omar Khayyám
Portrayed as a philosopher and poet of honest skepticism, who rejected mysticism and embraced sensual pleasure as a response to a world governed only by destiny.
- Monsieur Nicolas
French consul and editor of Omar's rubáiyát, who interprets Omar as a Sufi mystic, a view the author disputes.
- Háfiz
Mentioned as a Persian poet who borrowed from Omar but turned his material to mystical use, in contrast to Omar's literal hedonism.
- Lucretius
Compared to Omar as a fellow philosopher who revolted against false religion but fell short of replacing it with a better hope.
- The Súfi
Referenced as the sect that claims Omar, though the author argues Omar was not a Sufi but a freethinker.
Key passages
“Omar was too honest of heart as well of head for this. Having failed (however mistakenly) of finding any providence but Destiny, and any world but this, he set about making the most of it; preferring rather to soothe the soul through the senses into acquiescence with things as he saw them, than to perplex it with vain disquietude after what they might be.”
Omar was too intellectually and morally honest for mysticism. Since he could find no divine plan or afterlife, he chose to enjoy the present world through the senses rather than torment himself with unanswerable questions.
Summarizes Omar's philosophical stance of carpe diem rooted in skepticism.
“Omar, more desperate, or more careless of any so complicated system as resulted in nothing but hopeless necessity, flung his own genius and learning with a bitter or humorous jest into the general ruin which their insufficient glimpses only served to reveal; and, pretending sensual pleasure, as the serious purpose of life, only diverted himself with speculative problems of deity, destiny, matter and spirit, good and evil, and other such questions, easier to start than to run down, and the pursuit of which becomes a very weary sport at last!”
Omar, more desperate or indifferent than Lucretius, used his genius to mock the hopelessness revealed by philosophy, pretending that pleasure was life's goal while amusing himself with unanswerable metaphysical questions.
Contrasts Omar's attitude with Lucretius' Stoicism, highlighting his bitter humor.