Omar Khayyam (Abul-fath Omar ibn Ibrahim Khayyam) is a famous Persian scientist, philosopher, and poet. He was born in 1048 in the city of Nishapur, in the Persian province of Khorasan, one of the cultural centers of the East at that time, where he also died at the age of 83. The Islamic world was at its peak then, and the sultans and viziers were patrons of many scientists.
His biographers say that he excelled in all the sciences that were studied in the East at that time, and that he had no equal in astronomy and mathematics. Around 1074, the then ruler, Sultan Malikshah, entrusted him to assemble a team of astronomers and to reform the ancient Persian calendar based on their measurements. Due to his merits, he was appointed as the director of the great observatory in Isfahan, then the largest in the world. Omar Khayyam also made significant contributions to mathematics. His most significant work relates to the general method of solving cubic equations.
However, in the West, Khayyam is best known for his poetry.
When the English translator Edward FitzGerald translated Khayyam’s quatrains into English in the 19th century, he popularized him as a philosopher and a poet of hedonism, with his famous work “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam”. In this translation, Khayyam is portrayed as a wine-loving, pleasure-seeking philosopher who questions the meaning of life and the existence of a higher power.
poštovanja pjesniku Edwardu Fitzgeraldu koji je preveo 101 rubaiju i objavio ih pod naslovom “Rubaije Omara Hajjama”. Ova zbirka je privukla pažnju ne samo šire europske, već i američke javnosti. Njegovi stihovi su bili izvor inspiracije za mnoge pjesnike na Zapadu. Alfred Tennyson, engleski pjesnik, opisuje Hajjama kao zvijezdu koja se može takmičiti suncem kada se izdiže na horizontu. Drugi engleski pjesnik, John Keats, opisuje svoje oduševljenje kada je prvi put upoznao Hajjama, uspoređujući to s astronomom koji otkriva novo nebesko tijelo. Nakon Fitzgeraldovog prijevoda, Rubaije su prevedene i u druge europske zemlje.
Prema poznavateljima njegovog života, Fitzgerald je, dok je odmarao od pisanja svojih znanstvenih djela, koristio stihove kako bi izrazio probleme o kojima je razmišljao. Za tu svrhu je odabrao pjesničku formu rubaije.
Rubaija je tipična perzijska pjesnička forma koja se sastoji od četiri stiha. U ovoj formi, prvi, drugi i četvrti stih su rimovani, dok treći, obično, nema rime.
Izuzetno mi je drago što je Fitzgerald svojim prijevodom oživio rubaije Omara Hajjama i pružio priliku širokom broju ljudi da uživa u njihovoj ljepoti i dubini. divljenje prema ljudskoj slobodi i odgovornosti. Njegovi stihovi su puni filozofskih pitanja, ali istovremeno odišu i jednostavnošću životnih radosti. Hajjam je smatrao da je život prolazan i da treba uživati u svakom trenutku, ali isto tako je osjećao da postoji dublje značenje i svrha za sve što se događa. Njegova poezija je otvorena za različite interpretacije i svatko može pronaći nešto osobno u njoj. There is no denying the existence of free will.
Hajjam’s rubaiyat represent one of the most important works of Persian literature.
Do not judge a person by their knowledge,
But by their firm belief and human behavior.
If they promise and keep their word,
You cannot determine their worth!
No one has peeked – since the world began –
behind the curtain of fate, although many have tried!
Seventy-two years, day and night, I contemplate,
But I have learned nothing, the unsolved mystery remains!
Once a nightingale flew into my garden,
When wine was drunk and flowers bloomed,
And it sang in its language: “Remember,
Life that passed will not return!”
When we are no longer on Earth – the world will still be the world,
When our trace and voice are lost – the world will still be the world.
Even before we existed – the world was the world,
And when our last hour strikes – the world will still be the world.
Bind friendship with the noble and wise!
Run a thousand miles away from villains and fools!
If a wise person offers you poison, drink it!
Do not strive for nectar from the hand of a simpleton! I came into the world without my consent,
And witnessed life on it in awe.
I go against my will, so what is the purpose
Of coming, going – I would like to know!