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Khwaja Shams-ad-din Muhammad Hafiz [or Hafez]

Although Hafiz (or Hafez) is considered the greatest poet in the Persian language, and to this day is quoted regularly by Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, very little is known about his life. The

Oft have I said, I say it once more

by Khwaja Shams-ad-din Muhammad Hafiz [or Hafez] (1320–89)

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20

Oft have I said, I say it once more,

I, a wanderer, do not stray from myself.

I am a kind of parrot; the mirror is holden to me;

What the Eternal says, I stammering say again.

Give me what you will; I eat thistles as roses,

And according to my food I grow and I give.

Scorn me not, but know I have the pearl,

And am only seeking one to receive it.

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

Which poem contains the advice "carpe diem quam minimum credula postero"?

Answer

Roughly translated as "seize the day, for the future believe the minimum," this bit of wisdom appears in Horace's "Ode 1" of Book 1 . The theme is taken up by the poets Robert Herrick, Andrew Marvell and Alfred Tennyson to name a few.

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