345. C. L. N. A. I. J. In line 3 the Alif in az is not treated as an Alif i wasl. Bl., Pros. 10.
Never from worldly toils have I been free,
Never for one short moment glad to be!
I served a long apprenticeship to fate,
But yet of fortune gained no mastery.
346. C. L. N. A. I. J. Ek dam zadan, «For one moment.»
One hand with Koran, one with wine-cup dight,
I half incline to wrong, and half to right;
The azure-marbled sky looks down on me
A sorry Moslem, yet not heathen quite.
347. C. L. N. A. I. J. Khayyam here describes himself as akrates rather than akolastos, «Video meliora proboque,» etc.
Khayyam's respects to Mustafa convey,
And with due reverence ask him to say,
Why it has pleased him to forbid pure wine,
When he allows his people acid whey?