Then to the Lip of this poor earthen Urn
I lean'd, the Secret of my Life to learn;
And Lip to Lip it murmur'd—«While you live,
«Drink!—for, once dead, you never shall return.»
This quatrain is translated from O. 100:
In great desire I pressed my lips to the lip of the jar,
To enquire from it how long life might be attained;
It joined its lip to mine and whispered,
«Drink wine! for to this world thou returnest not.»
Ref.: O. 100, C. 283, L. 446, B. 442, P. 99, B. ii. 303, T. 185, P. v. 193.—W. 274, E.C. 25, V. 482.
C. 489 is a mystic and doctrinal quatrain containing the same injunction.
Drink wine! for I have told you a thousand times
There is no returning for you; when you are gone, you are gone!
Ref.: C. 489, L. 723, B. 712, S.P. 385, B. ii. 526, P. iv. 67, P. v. 104—W. 431, N. 389, V. 775.