emiged's review against another edition
4.0
The River
In the Valley of Kadisha where the mighty river flows, two little streams met and spoke to one another.
One stream said, "How came you, my friend, and how was your path?"
And the other answered, "My path was most encumbered. The wheel of the mill was broken, and the master farmer who used to conduct me from my channel to his plants, is dead. I struggled down oozing with the filth of those who do naught but sit and bake their laziness in the sun. But how was your path, my brother?"
And the other stream answered and said, "Mine was a different path. I came down the hills among fragrant flowers and shy willows; men and women drank of me with silvery cups, and little children paddled their rosy feet at my edges, and there was laughter all about me, and there were sweet songs. What a pity that your path was not so happy."
At that moment the river spoke with a loud voice and said, "Come in, come in, we are going to the sea. Come in, come in, speak no more. Be with me now. We are going to the sea. Come in, come in, for in me you shall forget your wanderings, sad or gay. Come in, come in. And you and I will forget all our ways when we reach the heart of our mother the sea."
(511)
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Said a sheet of snow-white paper, "Pure was I created, and pure will I remain for ever. I would rather be burnt and turn to white ashes than suffer darkness to touch me or the unclean to come near me."
The ink-bottle heard what the paper was saying, and it laughed in its dark heart; but it never dared to approach her. And the multicoloured pencils heard her also, and they too never came near her.
And the snow-white sheet of paper did remain pure and chaste for ever - pure and chaste - and empty.
************
A fish said to another fish, "Above this sea of ours there is another sea, with creatures swimming in it - and they live there even as we live here."
The fish replied, "Pure fancy! Pure fancy! When you know that everything that leaves our sea by even an inch, and stays out of it, dies. What proof have you of other lives in other seas?"
************
Make me, oh God, the prey of the lion, ere You make the rabbit my prey.
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Should you really open your eyes and see, you would behold your image in all images.
And should you open your ears and listen, you would hear your own voice in all voices. (176)
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It takes two of us to discover truth: one to utter it and one to understand it. (176)
************
Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
************
Poetry is wisdom that enchants the heart.
Wisdom is poetry that sings in the mind.
If we could enchant man's heart and at the same time sing in his mind,
Then in truth he would live in the shadow of God.
************
A madman is not less a musician than you or myself; only the instrument on which he plays is a little out of tune.
************
Love that does not renew itself every day becomes a habit and in turn a slavery.
************
The difference between the richest man and the poorest is but a day of hunger and an hour of thirst.
************
If the other person laughs at you, you can pity him; but if you laugh at him you may never forgive yourself.
If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.
In truth the other person is your most sensitive self given another body.
************
Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too self-ful to seek other than itself. (208)
In the Valley of Kadisha where the mighty river flows, two little streams met and spoke to one another.
One stream said, "How came you, my friend, and how was your path?"
And the other answered, "My path was most encumbered. The wheel of the mill was broken, and the master farmer who used to conduct me from my channel to his plants, is dead. I struggled down oozing with the filth of those who do naught but sit and bake their laziness in the sun. But how was your path, my brother?"
And the other stream answered and said, "Mine was a different path. I came down the hills among fragrant flowers and shy willows; men and women drank of me with silvery cups, and little children paddled their rosy feet at my edges, and there was laughter all about me, and there were sweet songs. What a pity that your path was not so happy."
At that moment the river spoke with a loud voice and said, "Come in, come in, we are going to the sea. Come in, come in, speak no more. Be with me now. We are going to the sea. Come in, come in, for in me you shall forget your wanderings, sad or gay. Come in, come in. And you and I will forget all our ways when we reach the heart of our mother the sea."
(511)
************
Said a sheet of snow-white paper, "Pure was I created, and pure will I remain for ever. I would rather be burnt and turn to white ashes than suffer darkness to touch me or the unclean to come near me."
The ink-bottle heard what the paper was saying, and it laughed in its dark heart; but it never dared to approach her. And the multicoloured pencils heard her also, and they too never came near her.
And the snow-white sheet of paper did remain pure and chaste for ever - pure and chaste - and empty.
************
A fish said to another fish, "Above this sea of ours there is another sea, with creatures swimming in it - and they live there even as we live here."
The fish replied, "Pure fancy! Pure fancy! When you know that everything that leaves our sea by even an inch, and stays out of it, dies. What proof have you of other lives in other seas?"
************
Make me, oh God, the prey of the lion, ere You make the rabbit my prey.
************
Should you really open your eyes and see, you would behold your image in all images.
And should you open your ears and listen, you would hear your own voice in all voices. (176)
************
It takes two of us to discover truth: one to utter it and one to understand it. (176)
************
Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
************
Poetry is wisdom that enchants the heart.
Wisdom is poetry that sings in the mind.
If we could enchant man's heart and at the same time sing in his mind,
Then in truth he would live in the shadow of God.
************
A madman is not less a musician than you or myself; only the instrument on which he plays is a little out of tune.
************
Love that does not renew itself every day becomes a habit and in turn a slavery.
************
The difference between the richest man and the poorest is but a day of hunger and an hour of thirst.
************
If the other person laughs at you, you can pity him; but if you laugh at him you may never forgive yourself.
If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.
In truth the other person is your most sensitive self given another body.
************
Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too self-ful to seek other than itself. (208)
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