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?”
