Excerpt from Omar and Fitzgerald: And Other Poems To an author who has lived his compositions in a measure, it would seem that unless his work carries with it its own interpreta tion, it would lack the first and most essential characteristic of true literature, and, therefore, the principal reason for its existence. Caution suggests, however, that a few words revealing the circum stances which gave rise and impetus to certain compositions might not be entirely out of place, and might serve to throw a little light into the dark corners which occasional readers may discover, Omar and Fitzgerald, the first and principal poem, was suggested, of course, by the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, as translated by Edward Fitzgerald. The dominant note which I have endeavored to strike in this poem is one of optimism, and, in this, I may have departed somewhat from the spirit of Omar. The form of rubaiyat lends itself readily to/the expression of the philosophy of life. In my judgment the world is growing, spiritually, more hopeful and more optimistic, and, intellectually, more modest of its achieve ments and of its judgments. Progress is constantly at work upon our idols, either destroying, or remodeling them into new and some times into fantastic shapes. It seems to me, though, that, in the midst of the mutations of life, we must anchor to some ideal. L have therefore in this first poem in the book endeavored to give expression to the conviction that nothing of good, of glory, or of beauty ever absolutely dies. The body or form in which these. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.