2 Mehr 1405
Quatrain 31 of 75
“Up from Earth's Centre through the seventh Gate
I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate,
And many Knots unravel'd by the Road;
But not the Knot of Human Death and Fate.”
Reflection · Autumn 1405
The Throne of Saturn in autumn — Khayyam sitting on the highest available seat, looking down through the seven gates at the human world in its autumn colors, all the knots he spent his life unravelling lying on the ground around him. And this one, central, still tied. Many Knots unravel'd by the Road — the autumn of a life is full of what has been accomplished.
Khayyam came further than almost anyone toward understanding the universe and came back with the same report as everyone else: not that one. In autumn, this is not defeat. It is the specific shape of what it means to be human: to unravel very much, and not this.