“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.”

“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.”

“Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.”

“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!”

“I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.”

“And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fullfilment. you should be free indeed when your days are not without care nor your nights without a word and a grief, but rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked unbound.”

“The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.For self is a sea boundless and measureless.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.”