“Have mercy on me, my Soul.You have shown me Beauty,But then concealed her.You and Beauty live in the light;Ignorance and I are bound together in the dark.Will e'er the light invade darkness?Your delight comes with the Ending,And you revel now in anticipation;But this body suffers with the lifeWhile in life.This, my Soul, is perplexing.You are hastening toward Eternity,But this body goes slowly toward perishment.You do not wait for him,And he cannot go quickly.This, my Soul, is sadness. You ascend high, though heaven's attraction,But this body falls by earth's gravity.You do not console him,And he does not appreciate you.This, my Soul, is misery.You are rich in wisdom,But this body is poor in understanding.You do not compromise,And he does not obey.This, my Soul, is extreme suffering.In the silence of the night you visit The BelovedAnd enjoy the sweetness of His presence.This body ever remains,The bitter victim of hope and separation.This, my Soul, is agonizing torture.Have mercy on me, my Soul!”

“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself... You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.”

“You may give them your love but not your thoughts,For they have their own thoughts.You may house their bodies but not their souls,For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.For life goes not backwards nor tarries with yesterday.”

“The philosopher's soul dwells in his head, the poet's soul is in his heart; the singer's soul lingers about his throat, but the soul of the dancer abides in all her body.”

“Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.”Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.”For the soul walks upon all paths.The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.”

“Your children are not your children.They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you.And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love but not your thoughts,For they have their own thoughts.You may house their bodies but not their souls,For thir souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.The archer sees the make upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness.For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable.”

“Only yesterday I was no different than them, yet I was saved. I am explaining to you the way of life of a people who say every sort of wicked thing about me because I sacrificed their friendship to gain my own soul. I left the dark paths of their duplicity and turned my eyes toward the light where there is salvation, truth, and justice. They have exiled me now from their society, yet I am content. Mankind only exiles the one whose large spirit rebels against injustice and tyranny. He who does not prefer exile to servility is not free in the true and necessary sense of freedom.”