APPENDIX.
English Translations of Omar Khayyam’s Quatrains and their Features
In the following I have sorted alphabetically almost all of the known
published translations of Omar Khayyam’s Quatrains. It is worth
mentioning that only few of them have been translated directly from the
original Persian text. Most of these translations are based on prior English
or French translations of the Ruba’iyyat.

Angha, Nahid. Selections. Poems from: Khayyam, Rumi, Hafez, Moulana
Shah Maghsoud. - San Rafael, translated with the greatest care to preserve
the original meaning and graceful style of these timeless poets. A glossary
of Sufi terms is also included: International Association of Sufism
Publication, 1991

Ankenbrand, Frank. Kings in Omar's Rose Garden. Rendered into vignettes
from the translation of Justin Huntly McCarthy by Frank Ankenbrand. With
illustrations by Paul Shaub. - Swarthmore : The Offhand Press, 1959
210

Arberry, Arthur J. Omar Khayyam; a new version based upon recent
discoveries by Arthur J. Arberry. - London, John Murray, 1959
Arberry, Arthur J. Omar Khayyam; a new version based upon recent
discoveries by Arthur
J.Arberry. - New Haven, Yale University Press,
1952
Arberry, Arthur J. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; edited from a newly
discovered manuscript dated 658 (1259-60) in the possession of A. Chester
Beatty Esq. by A.J. Arberry; with comparative English versions by Edward
FitzGerald, E.H. Whinfield and the editor. - London, Emery Walker Limited,
1949

Aryanpur, Abbas. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. A new translation.
Rendered into English verse by Abbas Aryanpur (Kashani) and
Manoochehr Aryanpur. - Tehran : College of Translation, 1971

Avery, Peter. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; translated / by Peter
211
Avery and John Heath-Stubbs. - Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1981
Avery, Peter. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; translated by Peter Avery
and John Heath-
Stubbs. - Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1981. -
(Penguin Classics)
Those who dominated the circle of learning and cultureIn the company of the perfect became lamps among their peers,
By daylight they could not escape from the darkness,
So they told a fable, and went to sleep
Alas, the book of youth is finished,
The fresh spring of life has become winter;
That state which they call youth,
It is not perceptible when it began and when it closed
Avery, Peter. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; A modern version of 235
quatrains, claiming to be "as literal an English version of the Persian
originals as readability and intelligibility permit, translated by Peter Avery
and John Heath-Stubbs. - London, Allen Lane, 1979
212

Azmi, I. The mirror & the eye: Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam translated by
Iftikhar Azmi; illustrated by Richard Kennedy. - Andoversford, Whittington,
[cop. 1984]

Bose, A.C. Ruba’iyyat-i-Omar Khayyam translated by A. C. Bose. - Calcutta,
A. L. Mitter, 1977

Bowen, J.C.E. A new selection from the Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam.
Rendered into English verse by John Charles Edward Bowen. - Warminster
: Aris & Phillips, 1976
Bowen, J.C.E. A new selection from the Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam;
rendered into English verse by John Charles Edward Bowen; with a literal
translation of each Persian quatrain by A.J. Arberry, illustrations by Phyllis
MacKenzie, and Persian script by Sharafuddin Khorassani Sharaf. - London,
The Unicorn Press, 1961
213

Burton, W.G. One hundred and fifty Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam;
[translated and adapted by] W. G. Burton. - Ryde, Francon, 1968

Cowell, Edward Byles. Extracts from Omar Khayyam. By Edward Byles
Cowell. An introduction by A.G. Potter. - Monroe : Walton, 1936

Emami, Karim. The Wine of Nayshabur: a photographer's
promenade in the Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. Shahrokh
Golestan; original calligraphy by Nassrollah Afje'i; new English
rendering by Karim Emami. - Paris, Souffles, 1988
In spring if a houri-like sweetheart
Gives me a cup of wine on the edge of a green cornfield,
Though to the vulgar this would be blasphemy,
If I mentioned any other Paradise, I'd be worse than a dog

Fitzgerald, Edward. (1809 - 1883) He first published a collection
of Ruba’iyyat anonymously in 1859, with notes and a biographical
and critical essay on “Omar Khayyam, the Astronomer-poet of
Persia,” Fitzgerald brought out three subsequent editions – in
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1868, 1872, and 1879- expanding the number of quatrains to 110
in the first of these, and then cutting back 101 in the last two.
These various editions involved continuous revision and
rearrangement. His translation is known to be a free translation.
1859
Here with a Loaf of Bread Beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
And Wilderness is Paradise enow.
1868
Here with a little Bread beneath the Bough
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh,Wilderness were Paradise enow!
1872
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou
215
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
1879 and 1889
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh,Wilderness were Paradise enow!

Gallienne, Richard Le. (1866-1947) produced a verse translation,
subtitled "a paraphrase from several literal translations", in 1897. In his
introductory note to the reader, Le Gallienne cites McCarthy's "charming
prose" as the chief influence on his version. Some example quatrains
follow:
Look not above, there is no answer there;
Pray not, for no one listens to your prayer;
Near is as near to God as any Far,
And Here is just the same deceit as There.
"Did God set grapes a-growing, do you think,
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And at the same time make it sin to drink?
Give thanks to Him who foreordained it thus-Surely He loves to hear the glasses clink!"

Garner, J. L. He published an English translation of 152 quatrains in 1888.
Yes, Loved One, when the Laughing Spring is blowing,
With Thee beside me and the Cup o’erflowing,
I pass the day upon this Waving Meadow,
And dream the while, no thought on Heaven bestowing.

Graves, Robert. (1895-1985) Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; a new
translation with critical commentaries / by Robert Graves and Omar AliShah. - Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1972
Graves, Robert. The original Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; a new
translation with critical commentaries by Robert Graves and Omar AliShah. - Tucson, Omen Press, Inc., 1972
Graves, Robert. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; a new translation with
critical commentaries by Robert Graves and Omar Ali-Shah. - London,
Cassell, 1967
A gourd of red wine and a sheaf of poems
A bare subsistence, half a loaf, not more
217
Supplied us two alone in the free desert:
What Sultan could we envy on his throne?

Gurevich, Nickolay. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. Free translation by
Nickolay Gurevich. - Toronto : Anik Press, 1998

Heron-Allen, Edward. (1861-1943) published a prose translation in 1898.
Example quatrain (equivalent of Fitzgerald's quatrain XI in his 1st edition):
I desire a little ruby wine and a book of verses, Just enough to keep me alive
and half a loaf is needful; And then, that I and thou should sit in a desolate
place Is better than the kingdom of a sultan.

Hofer, Philip. Four quatrains from the Ruba’iyyat - Cambridge : The Four
Winds Press, 1973

Isaacson, Harold J. A cure for love. Verses by Sa'di in eight demi-centuries.
With a supplement of forty quatrains by Omar Khayyam. - New York :
Theatre Arts Books, 1986

Kasra, Parichehr. The Ruba’iyyat of `Umar Khayyam; Ttranslated and with
218
an introd. and notes by Parichehr Kasra. - Delmar, Scholars' Facsimiles &
Reprints, 1975. (Scholars' facsimiles & reprints. Persian heritage series; 21.
UNESCO collection of representative works. Persian series)

Khan, Yussuf. The unknown Omar Khayyam. 79 quatrains translated by
Yusuf Khan. - West Worthing : Fantasma, 1947

Lang, Andrew. From Omar Khayyam. Rhymed from the prose version of
Mr. Justin Huntly McCarthy by Andrew Lang. - The Andrew Lang edition of
the Rubaiyat. - Monroe : The Lilliputian Press, 1935

Laws, Ernest E. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; Fitzgerald's
interpretation, rearranged to include new quatrains embodying an
adaptation of further thoughts from Omar by Ernest E. Laws. - Tisbury,
Element Books, 1983. - (Nadder Books)

Lister, Henry Bertram. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. A century of
paraphrased quatrains by Henry Bertram Lister. - San Francisco : La
219
Boheme Club, 1945
Lister, Henry Bertram. Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam: orphan quatrains by
Henry Bertram Lister. - San Francisco, La Boheme club, 1935
Lister, Henry Bertram. Omar Khayyam. By Henry Bertram Lister. San Francisco : , 1936
Lister, Henry Bertram. The Rubaiyat quatrains 1201 to 1268 and Omar
Khayyam's stag party. By Henry Bertram Lister. - San Francisco : La Boheme
Club, 1936

Mahmoud, Parvine. The Ruba’iyyat. A selection. The original Persian text,
and a literal translation and an introduction by Parvine Mahmoud. - New
York : Carlton Press, 1996
Mahmoud, Parvine. The Ruba’iyyat. The original Persian text and a literal
translation. With an introduction presenting Omar Khayyam and his
poetry, by Parvine Mahmoud. Tehran : San'at Rooz (Kashani) Press, 1996

Mccarthy, Justin Huntley. (1859-1936) published prose translations of 466
quatrains in 1888.
220
In Spring time I love to sit in the meadow with a paramour perfect as a Houri
and a goodly jar of wine, and though I may be blamed for this, yet hold me
lower than a dog if ever I dream of Paradise.
Mccarthy, Justin Huntley. The Quatrains of Omar Khayyam. Three
translations of the Rubáiyát by Justin McCarthy, Richard le Gallienne,
Edward FitzGerald. Illustrations by Herbert Cole. - Oregon House : Bardic
Press, 2005

Moazami, R. Untranslated Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. Rendered into
English verse by R. Moazami. Colour plates by R. A. Hayrapetian. Miniatures
by N. Shirazi. - [S.l.] : Moazami, 1954

NN. Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. - Stodham : Stewards, 1950
NN. Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. - Belfast : Seymour Press, 1945
NN. Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. Lettering and Illustrations by
Barbara Ross Jones. - , 1941
NN. An Omarian alphabet. Arranged and published by Clarke W. Walton. -
221
Monroe : Sunnyside Press, 1935

Nakosteen, Mehdi. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam: (extensive topical
selections); translated into English quatrains by Mehdi Nakosteen. Boulder, Colorado Typographic Society; Este Es Press, [cop. 1973]

Newton, Frank. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; [translated / by Frank
Newton]. - Clarksville, The Harmony Buddhist Mission, 1964

Ouseley, Gore. Persian Sentences from Omar Kheiam. Selected and
translated by Sir Gore Ouseley. - Monroe : The Lilliputian Press, 1936

Plessis, I.D. du. New quatrains of Omar Khayyám and other poems. I.D. du
Plessis. - Aylesbury [etc.], Howard Timmins, [cop. 1980]
Plessis, I.D. du. From a Persian Garden. New quatrains, rendering based
on the Arberry version of the Teheran manuscript. - London : Bailey, 1960
222

Powell, Frederick York. Quatrains from Omar. Frederick York Powell.
With an introduction and bibliographical note by Frank Ankenbrand. Monroe : The Sunnyside Press, 1936

Ray, Sunil B. Omar Khayyam rediscovered. The Ruba’iyyat translated from
the original with a preface by Sunil B. Ray. - Calcutta : Writers Workshop,
1986

Rodwell, E.H. 'OMAR KHAYYAM, Persice, ‘Umar-i-Khayyam’; the Persian text
with paraphrase, and the first and fourth editions of FitzGerald's
translation by E. H. Rodwell. - London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1931

Roe, George. Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. A new metrical version
rendered into English from various Persian sources by George Roe.
Foreword by Nathan Haskell Dole. Illustrations by Giovanni Battista Carlos
Filippone. - Chicago ; New York : Laidlaw Brothers, 1931
223

Rosen, F. The quatrains of 'Omar Khayyam; newly translated with an
introduction by Friedrich Rosen; with eight illustrations. - London,
Methuen, 1930

Saidi, Ahmad. Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; translated and annotated by
Iranian-American scholar Ahmad Saidi. Preface by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Berkeley, Asian Humanities Press, 1991
Awake! The turret’s caught in noose of light,
Day’s Khosrow flung the wine in bowl of night;
Carouse! The Morning Crier let resound
The melody Drink ye with stars in flight.
Since no one can Tomorrow guarantee,
Enjoy the moment, let your heart be free;
Ah, drink, my Moon, in moonlight for the moon
Will make its rounds but won’t find you and me!

Smith, David Eugene. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam; set forth in meter
by David Eugene Smith; based upon a verbatim translation by Hashim
224
Hussein; illustrations by Rassam-i Arjangi. - New York, B. Westermann
Company, 1933

Stokes, Whitley. Some more of Omar's quatrains. By Whitley Stokes. Monroe : The Lilliputian Press, 1936

Talbot, Arthur. This version completed in 1908; here are his quatrains 40,
149, respectively:
Whether my destin'd fate shall be to dwell
Midst Heaven's joys or in the fires of Hell
I know not; here with Spring, and bread, and wine,
And thee, my love, my heart says "All is well."
Give me a scroll of verse, a little wine,
With half a loaf to fill thy needs and mine,
And with the desert sand our resting place,
For ne'er a Sultan's kingdom would we pine.
225

Tariq, A.R. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; 2d ed., thoroughly rev. and enl.
rendered into English by A. R. Tariq. - Lahore, Sh. Ghulam Ali, 1975. (Wisdom of the East series ; 1)

Thompson, Eben Francis. The complete Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam;
translated by Eben Francis Thompson. - Victoria: New Humanity Books,
1990. - (Masterpieces of Sufi Literature Series)
Thompson, Eben Francis.The wisdom of Omar Khayyam. A selection of
quatrains. Translated from the Persian by Eben Francis Thompson. - New
York : Philosophical Library, 1967
Thompson, Eben Francis. ‘The Rose Garden of Omar Khayyam’ founded
on the Persian by Eben Francis Thompson. Worcester, 1932 The Rose
Garden of Omar Khayyam was the result of a process of miniaturization to
produce smaller and smaller books. . It was ranked the smallest book in the
world and it still holds a high rank in the present list of ‘super miniatures’.

Thorner, Horace. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam: a new version by
226
Horace Thorner. - London, The Brookside Press, 1955
Literal translation (by Thorner [iv]):
Those who are endowed with knowledge and virtue, who by
their profound learning have become the torches of their
disciples; even they have not made one step outside of this
deep night. They have babbled some fables and returned to sleep.
Rhymed translation (by Thorner [iv]):
Only the seeming-wise it was who sought
To thread the pearls of knowledge with their Thought
For they were wearied by that twisted Thread
And fell asleep – and Dreams were all they taught.

Whinfield, E.H. The Ruba’iyyat of Omar Khayyam. Abridged and translated
by E.H. Whinfield. : OctaviaOccult.Com, 2004
Whinfield, E.H. The quatrains of Omar Khayyam; the Persian text with an
English verse translation by E.H. Whinfield. - London, Routledge, 2000
Whinfield, E.H. The quatrains of Omar Khayyam; the Persian text with an
227
English verse translation by E.H. Whinfield. - London, The Octagon Press,
1980.
In the sweet spring a grassy bank I sought,
And thither wine, and a fair Houri brought;
And, though the people called me graceless dog,
Gave not to Paradise another thought!
Give me a skin of wine, a crust of bread,
A pittance bare, a book of verse to read;
With thee, O love, to share my lowly roof,
I would not take the Sultan's realm instead!
228