| RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM Hardback Book Translated into English Quatrains by Edward FitzGerald Over 145 pages with many color illustrations Copyright © 1947 by Random House, Inc. " The world has known only a few great colleague-collaborators from Beaumont and Fletcher to Gilbert and Sullivan. Yet the strangest and most remarkable collaboration ever achieved was accomplished by a pair of minor poets separated by three thousand miles and more than seven hundred years.
Had it not been for a nineteenth century English country squire, it is doubtful whether we would have known, and it is certain that we would never have quoted, the simple but unforgettable stanzas of an eleventh century Persian mathematician. " " The author of the original rhymes (literally rubá-i: hence rubáiyát, a collection of rhymes) was Ghiyáthuddin Abulfath Omar bin Ibráhim al-Khayyámi - or, in more concise English, Omar, son of Abraham, the tent-maker. A native of the little town of Naishapur, he followed his father's profession - even whimsically speaks of "stitching the tents of science" - studied with the wise men and was favored by the Sultan. But court life did not tempt the young student; he remained in Naishapur, applied himself to astronomy and to reform the calendar, and died in his birthplace in A.D. 1123. " " Somehow, in the midst of a crowded, free-ranged, free-thinking career, the mathematician managed to jot down a few hundred rhymed thoughts. They were never popular in his country. They departed from the prevailing mystical tradition; for Omar, with no concern about the Hereafter, was an earth-bound realist who declared, "I, myself, am Heaven and Hell." A few mutilated manuscripts traveled westward; only one copy found its way to England. An Oriental scholar or two occasionally mentioned Omar without approving of him; Ralph Waldo Emerson celebrated "The Seven Masters of Persian Parnassus" but Omar was not considered one of the seven. " Contents include: " Introduction by Louis Untermeyer
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
First Edition
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Edition
FitzGerald's Prefaces and Notes " The book is in very good condition with only minor wear.
It has a decorative black and red cloth-like cover.
All of the pages have a illustrative border around the text.
No torn or ripped pages.
There is a sticker with the previous owner's name on the first page.
No other markings or writing. |
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