i happened to be re-reading “The Rubaiyat” by Omar Khayyam, and was struck among other things by this quatrain:
“Why,” said another, “Some there are who tell
Of one who threatens he will toss to Hell
the luckless pots he marred in the making. Pish!
He’s a good fellow, and ’twill all be well.”
Amen, brother. it boggles the mind to think how many people must have lived their lives in fear of hell, even while thinking they loved the God who could play so unfair a game.
BTW if you haven’t ever read The Rubaiyat, you can easily find it online. It’s great. You already know some of its verses, i suspect, and many of its phrases (well, Edward FitsGerald’s translation of them, anyway).
Certainly you will have seen this one:
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread–and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness–
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
And perhaps this one:
Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring
Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter–and the Bird is on the Wing.
but to see how they all fit together, take a few minutes, read the whole thing. It will brighten your day.: