The cruel rage of the tyrant
may prove a blessing to the thousands who come after him, and the
sweetheartedness of a holy man may make a nation slaves. Man doeth this,
and doeth that from the good or evil of his heart; but he knoweth not
to what end his moral sense doth prompt him; for when he striketh he is
blind to where the blow shall fall, nor can he count the airy threads
that weave the web of circumstance. Good and evil, love and hate, night
and day, sweet and bitter, man and woman, heaven above and the earth
beneath--all these things are necessary, one to the other, and who knows
the end of each? I tell thee that there is a hand of fate that twines
them up to bear the burden of its purpose, and all things are gathered
in that great rope to which all things are needful. Therefore doth it
not become us to say this thing is evil and this good, or the dark is
hateful and the light lovely; for to other eyes than ours the evil may
be the good and the darkness more beautiful than the day, or all alike
be fair.
Pages:
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383