History of Omar Khayyam

The man who was to keep the torch of scientific humanism alight within early Islamic civilization was born a thousand years after the death of Lucretius, and into a vastly different cultural setting. Nevertheless, in all that Omar Khayyam wrote one can clearly recognize the influence of the great Roman poet, and of the naturalistic Epicureanism that he celebrated. This is doubly remarkable when we recall that, during the centuries between Lucretius and Khayyam, a …showed first 75 words of 4907 total…

…showed last 75 words of 4907 total…thoughtful treatment of humanity and an irreverent dismissal of the importance of philosophy. He approached poetry -- the emotional expression of his scientific findings -- with a scientist’s resignation to law. However, his resignation seems more a joyous apathy for tough life-questions. Despite his concrete findings, he still viewed life as a crapshoot, a mystery not worth fretting over. A happily conflicted soul, Omar al-Khayyam was both a scientific inquirer and a devil-may-care celebrator.