120 philosophical essays you must read in your life

Chapter 65

Chapter 4, Section 5, On Good and Evil

[Lebanon] Gibran
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Goodness is when you are one with yourself.

When you are not one with yourself, it is not evil either.

Because a partitioned courtyard is not a den of thieves; it is just a partitioned courtyard.

A ship without a rudder may drift aimlessly among reefs without sinking to the bottom of the sea.

It is good when you are trying to sacrifice yourself.

When you think of self-interest, it is not evil.

For when you seek to benefit yourself, you are but a root in the earth, sucking in the bosom of the earth.

Naturally, the fruit cannot say to the roots: You must be like me, plump and mature, and always contribute your fullest part.

For, in the fruit, contribution is necessary, as absorption is necessary in the root of the tree.

When you are fully awake in speech, you are good.

When your tongue wags unconsciously in your sleep, it is not evil.

Even the wrong words sometimes excite the feeble tongue.

You are good when you are steadfast in your goal.

You act abruptly, but it is not evil.

Even those who are lame do not walk backwards.

But you who are strong and swift, be on the alert, and do not stumble before the lame, thinking you are merciful.

You are good in countless things, and you are not evil when you are not good.

You just linger and die.

Poor elk can't teach turtles to walk fast.

When you seek your "big self", your goodness hides: this desire is in each of you.

But for some people, this kind of longing is a rush to the sea, carrying with it the mystery of the mountains and the eulogy of the trees.

Among others, it is a slow-flowing stream lost in its twists and turns, stranded on its way back to the sea.

But don't let those who want more deeply say to those who want less: "Why are you so slow?"

For the good man does not ask the naked man, "Where is your clothes?" nor does he ask the homeless man, "What about your house?"

【Together with you】

Good and evil are always relative.There is no absolute good, because "when the water is clear, there will be no fish"; there is also no absolute evil, because the development of things always follows the rule of "things must be reversed".An important criterion for assessing a person's goodness and evil is to see whether his thoughts and actions bring benefits to others, and whether they promote the growth of truth, goodness and beauty.For a truly kind and beautiful person, his consciousness and actions are the most fundamental starting point to see if he can stand on the perspective of others and create good results for others.It is born of greed, symbiotic with evil, and the source of disaster.

(End of this chapter)