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Chapter 22 - Good and Evil |
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one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of
Good and Evil." |
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| And he answered: Of the good in you I can speak,
but not of the evil. For what is evil but good tortured
by its own hunger and thirst? Verily when good is
hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when
it thirsts it drinks even of dead waters. |
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| You are good when you are one with yourself. Yet
when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.
For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is
only a divided house. And a ship without rudder may
wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not
to the bottom. You are good when you strive to give
of yourself. Yet you are not evil when you seek gain
for yourself. |
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| For when you strive for gain you are but a root
that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast.
Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, "Be like
me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance." For
to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a
need to the root. |
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| You are good when you are fully awake in your
speech. Yet you are not evil when you sleep while
your tongue staggers without purpose. And even stumbling
speech may strengthen a weak tongue. |
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| You are good when you walk to your goal firmly
and with bold steps. Yet you are not evil when you
go thither limping. Even those who limp go not backward.
But you who are strong and swift, see that you do
not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness. |
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| You are good in countless ways, and you are not
evil when you are not good, You are only loitering
and sluggard. Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness
to the turtles. |
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| In your longing for your giant self lies your
goodness: and that longing is in all of you. But
in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing
with might to the sea, carrying the secrets of the
hillsides and the songs of the forest. And in others
it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and
bends and lingers before it reaches the shore. But
let not him who longs much say to him who longs little, "Wherefore
are you slow and halting?" For the truly good ask
not the naked, "Where is your garment?" nor the houseless, "What
has befallen your house?" |
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