Omar Khayyam Quotes & Sayings

But leave the wise to wrangle and with me
the quarrel of the universe let be,
and in some corner of the hubbub couch't
make game of that which makes as much of thee — Omar Khayyam

Come, fill the Cup, in the fire of Spring
Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter--and the Bird is on the Wing — Omar Khayyam

To all of us the thought of heaven is dear
Why not be sure of it and make it here?
No doubt there is a heaven yonder too,
But 'tis so far away
and you are near. — Omar Khayyam

Think, in this batter'd Caravanserai
Whose portals are alternate Night and Day,
How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp
Abode his destin'd Hour and went his way. — Omar Khayyam

The lower the soul of a person, the higher the nose up. He stretches his nose to where the soul has not grown. — Omar Khayyam

Your hand can seize today, but not tomorrow; and thoughts of your tomorrow are nothing but desire. Don't waste this breath, if your heart isn't crazy, since "the rest of your life" won't last forever. — Omar Khayyam

Thy Return is as another Sun to Heaven; a new Rose blooming in the Garden of the Soul. — Omar Khayyam

Girl, have you any thought what your eyes mean?
You must have stolen them from some dead queen.
O little empty laughing soul that sings
And dances, tell me
What do your eyes mean? — Omar Khayyam

I can't reveal the mystery to either saint or sinner; I can't state at length what I've said curtly; I achieve an altered state that I can't explain; I have a secret that I cannot share. — Omar Khayyam

My tomb shall be in a spot where the north wind may scatter roses over it. — Omar Khayyam

A hair divides what is false and true. — Omar Khayyam

There was a door to which I found no key: There was the veil through which I might not see. — Omar Khayyam

This world
that was our home
for a brief spell
never brought us anything
but pain and grief;
its a shame that not one of our problems
was ever solved.
We depart
with a thousand regrets
in our hearts. — Omar Khayyam

The scent of wine rising
from my grave will be so strong
that it will intoxicate passers-by.
There will be such an atmosphere of serenity
that couples in love will find it impossible
to tear themselves away. — Omar Khayyam

The leaves of life are falling one by one — Omar Khayyam

For in and out, above, about, below, 'Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show, Played in a Box whose Candle is the Sun, Round which we Phantom Figures come and go. — Omar Khayyam

The Stars are setting and the Caravan Starts for the Dawn of Nothing-Oh, make haste! — Omar Khayyam

Why do you sell your wine, merchant?
What can they give you in exchange for your wine? Money? ... And what can money give you? Power? ... Aren't you the owner of the world when you are holding a drink? Is anyone richer than you, who have gold in your cup, Rubies, Pearls, Dreams, and Love? Don't you feel the blood burning in your veins when the cup kisses your lips. — Omar Khayyam

Shall I still sigh for what I have not got,
Or try with cheerfulness to bear my lot?
Fill up my cup! I know not if the breath
I now am drawing is my last, or not! — Omar Khayyam

Then to this earthen Bowl did I adjourn
My Lip the secret Well of Life to learn:
And Lip to Lip it murmur'd
'While you live,
Drink!
for once dead you never shall return. — Omar Khayyam

You say some Greek philosophers could dazzle their audiences
with their riddles? That does not interest me at all. Bring
more wine instead and play your lute; your changes in tones
remind me of the wind that rushes past and disappears,
just like us. — Omar Khayyam

Up from Earth's Centre through the Seventh Gate rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate; And many a Knot unravel'd by the Road; But not the Master-knot of Human Fate. — Omar Khayyam

There are too many tears in my eyes!
The fires of Hell are no more than sparks of fire
as compared to the flames that consume me inside.
Paradise? For me it means
a moment of peace. — Omar Khayyam

Myself when young did eagerly frequent doctor and saint, and heard great argument about it and about: but evermore came out by the same door as in I went. — Omar Khayyam

Heaven's wheel gained nothing from my coming,
Nor did my going augment its dignity;
Nor did my ears hear from anyone
Why I had come and why I went.
He began my creation with constraint,
By giving me life he added only confusion;
We depart reluctantly still not knowing
The aim of birth, existence, departure. — Omar Khayyam

A drink is shorter than a tale — Omar Khayyam

Think not I dread to see my spirit fly,
Through the dark gates of fell mortality;
Death has no terrors when the life is true;
'Tis living ill that makes us fear to die. — Omar Khayyam

Youth, like a magic bird, has flown away
He sang a little morning-hour in May
Sang to the rose, his love, that too is gone
Whither is more than you or I can say. — Omar Khayyam

We are thinking about bad only those who are worse than we are, and those who are better than us ... I'm just not up to us ... One does not follow it than smell roses. Another of the bitter herbs will produce honey. Give bread to one - will remember forever. Another life donation - do not understand ... — Omar Khayyam

As far as you can avoid it, do not give grief to anyone. Never inflict your rage on another. If you hope for eternal rest, feel the pain yourself; but don't hurt others. — Omar Khayyam

To wisely live your life, you don't need to know much
Just remember two main rules for the beginning:
You better starve, than eat whatever
And better be alone, than with whoever. — Omar Khayyam

Yes, the first morning of creation wrote what the last dawn of reckoning shall read. — Omar Khayyam

Close your Koran.
Think in freedom and look with open mind
at Heaven and Earth. Forgive everyone his sins. Don't cause anyone grief. — Omar Khayyam

Indeed the Idols I have loved so long, have done my credit in this World much wrong; have drowned my Glory in a shallow Cup, and sold my Reputation for a Song. — Omar Khayyam

Whoever thinks algebra is a trick in obtaining unknowns has thought it in vain. No attention should be paid to the fact that algebra and geometry are different in appearance. Algebras (jabbre and maqabeleh) are geometric facts which are proved by propositions five and six of Book two of Elements. — Omar Khayyam

A book of verses underneath the bough
A flask of wine, a loaf of bread and thou
Beside me singing in the wilderness
And wilderness is paradise now. — Omar Khayyam

Be quiet, pain and sorrow!
Let me find a remedy. I have to live,
as once dead there is no memory. And I want
to see my love and be with her. And I
want to remember our being together. — Omar Khayyam

Dead yesterdays and unborn tomorrows, why fret about it, if today be sweet. — Omar Khayyam

Of all my seeking this is all my gain:
No agony of any mortal brain
Shall wrest the secret of the life of man;
The Search has taught me that the Search is vain. — Omar Khayyam

The moving hand once having writ moves on. Nor all thy piety nor wit can lure it back to cancel half a line. — Omar Khayyam

Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring The Winter Garment of Repentance fling: The Bird of Time has but a little way To fly-and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing. — Omar Khayyam

I see a horseman disappearing into
the evening mist. Will he travel through woods
or across wild plains? Where is he heading? I don't know.
Tomorrow, will I be stretched out above or
below the earth? I don't know. — Omar Khayyam

Scholars really have nothing to teach you.
But from the soft touch of the eyelashes of
a woman you will know all there is to know about happiness. — Omar Khayyam

Wake! For the Sun, who scatter'd into flight
The Stars before him from the Field of Night,
Drives Night along with them from Heav'n,
and strikes
The Sultan's Turret with a Shaft of Light — Omar Khayyam

Is it not folly, Spider-like to spin
The Thread of present Life away to win-
What? for ourselves, who know not if we shall
Breathe out the very Breath we now breathe in! — Omar Khayyam

A piece of bread,
some fresh water,
the shadow of a tree and your eyes, my beloved.
No sultan is happier than me,
no beggar more sad. — Omar Khayyam

Ah Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire
To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire,
Would not we shatter it to bits
and then
Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire! — Omar Khayyam

Don't cry upon you losses
Don't mesure today with tommorows
Don't trust to passed and coming day
Believe in now - and be happy today. — Omar Khayyam

To friends and eke to foes true kindness show; No kindly heart unkindly deeds will do; Harshness will alienate a bosom friend. And kindness reconcile a deadly foe. — Omar Khayyam

Dreaming when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry, Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry. — Omar Khayyam

Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse - and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness -
And Wilderness is Paradise enow. — Omar Khayyam

For in the Market-place, one Dusk of Day, I watch'd the Potter thumping his wet Clay: And with its all obliterated Tongue It murmur'd - "Gently, Brother, gently, pray!" XXXVII. — Omar Khayyam

Here's to the man
Who owns the land
That bears the grapes
That makes the wine
That tastes as good
As this does. — Omar Khayyam

The secret must be kept from all non-people. The mystery must be hidden from all idiots. — Omar Khayyam

A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou. — Omar Khayyam

I hide my distress, just like
the blessed birds hide themselves
when they are preparing to die. Wine! Wine, roses, music and your
indifference to my sadness, my loved-one! — Omar Khayyam

Dawn filled the sky with roses. In the
crystal-clear air the last song of the nightingale
dies. The smell of the wine weakens. This is the moment
when fools dream of fame! How soft
is your hair, my beloved! — Omar Khayyam

I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell:
And by and by my Soul return'd to me,
And answer'd: 'I Myself am Heav'n and Hell — Omar Khayyam

When I want to understand what is happening today or try to decide what will happen tomorrow, I look back. — Omar Khayyam

Would you be happy! hearken, then, the way:
Heed not to-morrow, heed not yesterday;
The magic words of life are here and now -
O fools, that after some to-morrow stray! — Omar Khayyam

The rose that once has bloomed forever dies. — Omar Khayyam

We shall perish
along the path of Love.
Fate will trample us. Yeah, tempting
young woman, get up and give me your lips
before I return to dust. — Omar Khayyam

Today is the time of my youth
I drink wine because it is my solace;
Do not blame me, although it is bitter it is pleasant,
It is bitter because it is my life. — Omar Khayyam

Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and
sans End!
Alike for those who for To-day prepare,
And those that after some To-morrow stare,
A Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries
Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There. — Omar Khayyam

I brought the cup to my lips with greed
Begging for longevity, my temporal need
Cup brought its to mine, its secret did feed
Time never returns, drink, of this take heed — Omar Khayyam

When your soul and mine
have left our bodies and we are
burried alongside each other,
a Potter may one day mould
the dust of both of us
into the same clay. — Omar Khayyam

To be free of belief and unbelief is my religion. — Omar Khayyam

Oh Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make,
And ev'n with Paradise devise the snake;
For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man
Is blackened - Man's forgiveness give and take! — Omar Khayyam

It is a shame for anyone
to be well-known for righteousness.
It is a great disgrace to feel
distress at the injustice of
the turning of the wheels of fate. — Omar Khayyam

So when that Angel of the darker Drink, at last shall find you by the river-brink,
And, offering his Cup, invite your Soul forth to your Lips to quaff-you shall not shrink. — Omar Khayyam

Alas, that Spring should vanish with the Rose! That Youths sweet-scented Manuscript should close! — Omar Khayyam

With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow, And with my own hand labour'd it to grow: And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd - "I came like Water, and like Wind I go. — Omar Khayyam

From the house of unbelief
to true religion
is a single breath;
From the world of doubt
to certainty
is a single breath;
Enjoy this precious single breath,
for the harvest
of our whole lives
is that same one breath. — Omar Khayyam

When you are so full of sorrow
that you can't walk, can't cry anymore,
think about the green foliage that sparkles after
the rain. When the daylight exhausts you, when
you hope a final night will cover the world,
think about the awakening of a young child. — Omar Khayyam

How sweet is mortal Sovranty!" - think some: Others - "How blest the Paradise to come!" Ah, take the Cash in hand and waive the Rest; Oh, the brave Music of a distant Drum! — Omar Khayyam

Oh, the brave Music of a distant drum! — Omar Khayyam

When you have planted
the rose of Love into your heart
your life has not been in vain. — Omar Khayyam

The unbeliever knows his Koran best. — Omar Khayyam

The Grape that can with Logic absolute
The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute:
The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice
Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute. — Omar Khayyam

Drunk am I with love and awe;
'Twas ever thus with veritable seers
Too drunk with joy to tell us what they saw. — Omar Khayyam

How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting?
Better go drunk and begging round the taverns.
Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this clay of yours
Will make a cup, bowl, one day a jar.
When once you hear the roses are in bloom,
Then is the time, my love, to pour the wine;
Houris and palaces and Heaven and Hell-
These are but fairy-tales, forget them all. — Omar Khayyam

A Moment's Halt-a momentary taste
Of BEING from the Well amid the Waste-
And, Lo! the phantom Caravan has reach'd
The NOTHING it set out from. Oh, make haste! — Omar Khayyam

Into this Universe, and why not knowing,
Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing;
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing. — Omar Khayyam

We come into this world in the waters and leave it in the winds — Omar Khayyam

If I don't enjoy myself now, when shall I? — Omar Khayyam

You know, my friends, with what a brave carouse I made a Second Marriage in my house; favored old barren reason from my bed, and took the daughter of the vine to spouse. — Omar Khayyam

Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie, Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and-sans End! — Omar Khayyam

One can no more set fire to the sea,
than convince people of the dangers of happiness - And yet, we know that though the smallest shock is fatal
to the filled up bottle, that shock will not break
the empty one. — Omar Khayyam

O ignorant world that brutishly denies
Free speech unto the exquisitely wise! — Omar Khayyam

O friend, for the morrow let us not worry
This moment we have now, let us not hurry
When our time comes, we shall not tarry
With seven thousand-year-olds, our burden carry — Omar Khayyam

God is great!
That shout from the mosque seems like
a grand lamentation. Five times a day
the earth seems to groan against
its indifferent creator! — Omar Khayyam

Why, if the Soul can fling the Dust aside,
And naked on the Air of Heaven ride,
Is it not a Shame
is it not a Shame for him
So long in this Clay suburb to abide! — Omar Khayyam

Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears
To-day of past Regrets and future Fears
To-morrow?
Why, To-morrow I may be
Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years. — Omar Khayyam

I hide my grief, just like the blessed birds hide themselves when they are preparing to die, my love. — Omar Khayyam

My friend, let's not think of tomorrow, but let's enjoy this fleeting moment of life. — Omar Khayyam

The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon Turns Ashes - or it prospers; and anon, Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face, Lighting a little hour or two - is gone. — Omar Khayyam

Then said another -- "Surely not in vain
My Substance from the common Earth was ta'en,
That He who subtly wrought me into Shape
Should stamp me back to common Earth again. — Omar Khayyam

The Revelations of Devout and Learn'd Who rose before us, and as Prophets burn'd, Are all but Stories, which, awoke from Sleep They told their comrades, and to Sleep return'd. — Omar Khayyam

Heaven but the vision of fulfilled desire, and Hell the shadow from a soul on fire. — Omar Khayyam

Of threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise! One thing at least is certain - This Life flies; One thing is certain and the rest is — Omar Khayyam