by J. H. Saltzer, 6 May 2003, from recitation notes of several years earlier
51 The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line.
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
--The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (circa 1120 a.d.)
257 ...the Eternal pen
Will not unwrite its roll for thee,...
--Edward H. Whinfield translation (1883)
Saltzer@mit.edu