Orthodox Islamic apologists rescue Khayyam by interpreting “wine” as spiritual intoxication. (How well this really fits is another matter. And the Song of Solomon is about Christ’s love for His Church.) But one can as easily interpret the verse in a rationalist way. Channelling Fitzgerald for a moment...
The sot knows nothing but the tavern’s wine Rumi and Shams but ecstacy divine The Way of Eli is not here nor there But in the pursuit of a Fun sublime!
Great literature has as many versions as there are readers.
But one can as easily interpret the verse in a rationalist way.
That’s true of most everything if you squint in just the right way :-)
In any case, great literature relies on context and a multilayered web of meanings—it doesn’t work well as an isolated quote stuck into the middle of PUA discussions...
Orthodox Islamic apologists rescue Khayyam by interpreting “wine” as spiritual intoxication. (How well this really fits is another matter. And the Song of Solomon is about Christ’s love for His Church.) But one can as easily interpret the verse in a rationalist way. Channelling Fitzgerald for a moment...
The sot knows nothing but the tavern’s wine
Rumi and Shams but ecstacy divine
The Way of Eli is not here nor there
But in the pursuit of a Fun sublime!
Great literature has as many versions as there are readers.
That’s true of most everything if you squint in just the right way :-)
In any case, great literature relies on context and a multilayered web of meanings—it doesn’t work well as an isolated quote stuck into the middle of PUA discussions...