The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon Turns Ashes--or it prospers; and anon, Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face Lighting a little Hour or two--is gone.
人们一心寄托的尘世希望,或化为灰烬,或一度兴盛;转眼便如落在沙漠尘土上的雪,停留片刻,就消失无踪。
— Omar Khayyam · Rubáiyát, XIV · Edward FitzGerald, first edition (1859) —