On Good and Evil

And one of the elders of the citysaid, Speak to us of Good and Evil.

And he answered:

Of the good in you I can speak, but notof the evil.

For what is evil but good tortured byits own hunger and thirst?

Verily when good is hungry it seeks foodeven in dark caves, and when it thirstsit drinks even of dead waters.

You are good when you are one withyourself.

Yet when you are not one with yourselfyou are not evil.

For a divided house is not a den ofthieves; it is only a divided house.

And a ship without rudder may wanderaimlessly among perilous isles yet sinknot to the bottom.

You are good whenyou strive to give of yourself.

Yet you are not evil when you seek gainfor yourself.

For when you strive for gain you arebut a root that clings to the earth andsucks at her breast.

Surely the fruit cannot say to the root,“Be like me, ripe and full and evergiving of your abundance.”

For to the fruit giving is a need, asreceiving is a need to the root.

You are good when you are fully awake inyour speech,

Yet you are not evil when you sleepwhile your tongue staggers withoutpurpose.

And even stumbling speech may strengthena weak tongue.

You are good when you walk to your goalfirmly and with bold steps.

Yet you are not evil when you go thitherlimping.

Even those who limp go not backward.

But you who are strong and swift, seethat you do not limp before the lame,deeming it kindness.

You are good in countless ways, and youare not evil when you are not good,

You are only loitering and sluggard.

Pity that the stags cannot teachswiftness to the turtles.

In your longing for your giant self liesyour goodness: and that longing is inall of you.

But in some of you that longing is atorrent rushing with might to the sea,carrying the secrets of the hillsidesand the songs of the forest.

And in others it is a flat stream thatloses itself in angles and bends andlingers before it reaches the shore.

But let not him who longs much say tohim who longs little, “Wherefore areyou slow and halting?”

For the truly good ask not the naked,“Where is your garment?” nor thehouseless, “What has befallen yourhouse?”