We, in one hand, take the Koran; with the other we
seize the cup: sometimes you see us carried away with
that which is lawful, sometimes with what is prohibited.
We, then, beneath this azure vault, are not completely
infidel, or absolutely Musulman.
Present a salutation on my account to Mostapha, and
afterward say to him with all the deference due: O
Lord Hachemite! why, in accordance with the law of the
Koran, is the sharp doug [whey] lawful, yet pure wine
prohibited?
Present a salutation on my part to Khayyam, and then
say to him: O Khayyam! you are an ignorant man. When
have I said that wine was prohibited? It is lawful for
intelligent men; it is prohibited only to the ignorant.
O thou that lusteth night and day for the goods of
this world, dost thou not reflect upon the terrible day?
Take into consideration thy last breath, come back to
self, and see how time deals with others.
O thou who art the summing up of the universal creation,
cease for an instant to occupy thyself with gain or
loss; take a cup of wine from the hand of the etern
cupbearer, and free thyself thus altogether from the cares
of this world and from those of the other!