Quatrain 45
Quatrain 45 of 75
“But leave the Wise to wrangle, and with me
The Quarrel of the Universe let be:
And, in some corner of the Hubbub coucht,
Make Game of that which makes as much of Thee.”
Reflection · Summer
The Quarrel of the Universe — the vast ongoing dispute between existence and meaning. Leave it to be. Khayyam is not saying the quarrel is unimportant; he is saying that your personal intervention in it is unlikely to change the outcome, and while you're intervening the corner of the Hubbub is available. Make Game of that which makes as much of Thee — play back.
In summer the Hubbub is at its most full. Finding a corner of it and couching there, making game of the whole hubbub from that corner, is the summer practice of the man who does not need to win the Quarrel of the Universe to enjoy being in it. Leave the Wise to wrangle. Come to where the wine is and the game is being played.