"...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?' "
Authors
Details: Kahlil Gibran is a poet, philosopher
and artist. His poetry has been transalated into more than
twenty languages.
He was born in Lebanon in 1883 and he died in 1931. |
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