“Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self.You are the way and the wayfarers.And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone.Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone.”

“Aye, and he falls for those ahead of him, who, though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone.”

“Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you,So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also.And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree,So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all.Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self.You are the way and the wayfarers.And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone. ”

“And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone.”

“But you who walk facing the sun, what images drawn on the earth can hold you? You who travel with the wind, what weathervane shall direct your course? What man's law shall bind you if you break your yoke but upon no man's prison door? What laws shall you fear if you dance but stumble against no man's iron chains? And who is he that shall bring you to judgment if you tear off your garment yet leave it in no man's path? People of Orphalese, you can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?”

“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!”

“When love beckons to you, follow him,Though his ways are hard and steep.And When his wings enfold you yield to him,Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.And When he speaks to you believe in him,Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden...But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out oflove’s threshing-floor,Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears...But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.To know the pain of too much tenderness.To be wounded by your own understanding of love;And to bleed willingly and joyfully.”