Sunday, February 12, 2017

The Rubaiyat: Second Edition, Quatrain LXXXV

This quatrain is linked to the previous quatrain in which the  Poet/Narrator points out that the Creator has put before us certain pleasures and then denies them to us "under pain/Of Everlasting Penalties..."



Second Edition:  Quatrain LXXXV

What! from his helpless Creature be repaid
Pure Gold for what he lent us dross-allay'd
    Sue for a Debt we never did contract,
And cannot answer--Oh, the sorry trade!




Fifth Edition:  Quatrain LXXIX

What! from his helpless Creature be repaid
Pure Gold for what he lent us dross-allay'd--
    Sue for a Debt we never did contract,
And cannot answer--Oh, the sorry trade!


Aside from the dash after "dross-allay'd" in the second line of the Fifth Edition, I can see no other differences between the Second Edition and the Fifth (Final) Edition. 

This quatrain develops the theme of the previous quatrain--the injustice of an eternal punishment of Creatures for partaking in pleasures put before them.   We are helpless creatures who are expected to act with perfect obedience, "Pure Gold," when we were given only imperfect and sinful characters to begin with, characters that are "dross-allay'd."  Is it reasonable to expect perfect performance from imperfect creatures?   Moreover, we were not given the opportunity to review this "contract."  It was simply placed upon us without our consent.  Would a human court would enforce such a contract?     

10 comments:

  1. sort of like beating a dead horse... hope the time off was restorative; something to ponder right off the bat: excellent...

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  2. Mudpuddle,

    I wonder if that horse was dead when the Rubaiyat was published.

    Yes, got some head things straightened out somewhat, at least for now. But, the world is too much with us. . .

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    1. haha: another subject suitable for intense speculation... WW had his difficulties, also, idylizing in France and coping with that nutso, Coleridge....

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    2. Mudpuddle,

      I was at De Paul Univ. as an undergraduate. It is a Catholic university. As I was still a practicing Catholic at that time, I took a number of theology courses. One of the instructors, a Catholic priest, told me once, outside of class, that he had considerable difficulty accepting that a merciful God could condemn anyone to eternal punishment.

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    3. a prestigious university; i'm impressed but not surprised... but not terribly surprised re the priest's comment... at certain level it's been my, extremely limited, experience that professional religious are fairly tolerant and open-minded...

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    4. Mudpuddle,

      I must admit that there were times in those theology courses that I was surprised at the difference between their beliefs and my own which I had learned in Catholic grammar and high schools.

      Prestigious? I am surprised. When I was there in the late 50s and early 60s, we just saw it as another Catholic University. It must have grown some in the past half century or so.

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    5. i just recall the name as being frequently referred to in connection with higher learning...

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    6. Mudpuddle,

      Ah. I just wondered if there was something specific.

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  3. All that glitters is not gold. (Sorry, I could not resist that one. And it is great to see you active again. I hope all is well, and I wish you fair winds and following seas as you resume your voyage.)

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    1. R.T.,

      Chuckle. . . and may the road rise to meet your feet and the wind be always at your back. . .and may there always be a last homely house at the end of every day.

      I find time out to be very helpful at times. I don't always find a solution, but I find I can think about things more clearly.

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