The Rubaiyat: Second Edition, Quatrain L

Second Edition:  Quatrain L

Would you that spangle of Existence spend
about THE SECRET--quick about it, Friend!
   A Hair, they say, divides the False and True--
And upon what, prithee, does Life depend?


 Fifth Edition:  Quatrain XLIX

Would you that spangle of Existence spend
about THE SECRET--quick about it, Friend!
   A Hair perhaps divides the False and True--
And upon what, prithee, does Life depend?


I can see no difference between the Second and the Fifth Editions, except for the third line when  "they say" is replaced by "perhaps."  The responsibility, if such, is transferred from the ubiquitous and ambiguous "they" to a doubtful statement in the narrator's own mind with the "perhaps."  It makes this quatrain a bit more personal as he assumes responsibility for the doubtful statement.

That "spangle of Existence" seems to refer back to the previous quatrain's "One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,/ One Moment, of the Well of Life to taste--."  The Poet/Narrator asks us if we wish to spend our brief time here wondering about "The Secret."  This, no doubt, refers back to references in earlier quatrains about the secret of life and existence, about which no revelation was made, and more strongly, the claim that no revelation can be made.  The Secret remains a secret.

In addition, should our short time here, therefore, be spent pondering questions when the distinction between "the False and True" is so negligible?  How can we know which side of that "Hair" we are on?  Moreover, does Life itself depend on this knowledge?