Good & Evil
And one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of Good and Evil."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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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