Penny Dreadfuls, 1900 · page 47 of 142
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and the Salaman and Absal of Jami — page 47: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 21 of Omar Khayyám This is a text page presenting three numbered quatrains (LXXX, LXXXI, LXXXII) from what appears to be a Victorian translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. The verses concern humanity's moral responsibility and divine justice—the speaker questions whether God will hold him accountable for sins he was predetermined to commit, and appeals for forgiveness. The final quatrain shifts to a narrative moment where the speaker stands alone in a potter's house as Ramadan departs. The page features decorative border ornaments typical of Victorian publishing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OMAR KHAYYAM. LXXX. Oh Thou, who didst with pitfall and with gin Beset the Road I was to wander in, Thou wilt not with Predestin’d Evil round Enmesh, and then impute my Fall to Sin ! LXXXI, Oh Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make, And ev’n with Paradise devise the Snake : For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man Is blacken’d—Man’s forgiveness give—and take ! LXXXII. As under cover of departing Day Slunk hunger-stricken Ramazan away, Once more within the Potter’s house alone I stood, surrounded by the Shapes of Clay. ‘ ‘ ’ (C©) IG DOO Si (C@)