On Reason and Passion

And the priestess spoke againand said: Speak to us of Reason andPassion.

And he answered, saying:

Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield,upon which your reason and your judgmentwage war against your passion and yourappetite.

Would that I could be the peacemaker inyour soul, that I might turn the discordand the rivalry of your elements intooneness and melody.

But how shall I, unless you yourselvesbe also the peacemakers, nay, the loversof all your elements?

Your reason and your passion are therudder and the sails of your seafaringsoul.

If either your sails or your rudder bebroken, you can but toss and drift,or else be held at a standstill inmid-seas.

For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion,unattended, is a flame that burns to itsown destruction.

Therefore let your soul exalt yourreason to the height of passion, that itmay sing;

And let it direct your passion withreason, that your passion may livethrough its own daily resurrection,and like the phoenix rise above its ownashes.

I would have you consider your judgmentand your appetite even as you would twoloved guests in your house.

Surely you would not honour one guestabove the other; for he who is moremindful of one loses the love and thefaith of both

Among the hills, when you sit in thecool shade of the white poplars, sharingthe peace and serenity of distant fieldsand meadows--then let your heart say insilence, “God rests in reason.”

And when the storm comes, and themighty wind shakes the forest,and thunder and lightning proclaim themajesty of the sky,--then let your heartsay in awe, “God moves in passion.”

And since you are a breath in God’ssphere, and a leaf in God’s forest, youtoo should rest in reason and move inpassion.