4 Mordad 1405
Quatrain 46 of 75
“For in and out, above, about, below,
'Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show,
Play'd in a Box whose Candle is the Sun,
Round which we Phantom Figures come and go.”
Reflection · Summer 1405
In summer the Candle is at its brightest and the shadow-show is most elaborate — the sun at its highest, the figures most clearly delineated, the performance at its peak. This is when the phantom figures are most convincing as real figures, when the show is most successful at hiding the box.
Round which we Phantom Figures come and go — in summer the coming and going is at full speed. The phantom nature of the figures is hardest to see in summer, which is exactly when Khayyam points at it. Look at the box. Look at the candle. Look at the going that is already happening as you come.