On Freedom

And an orator said, Speak to us of Free-

dom.

And he answered:

At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship

your own freedom,

Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays

them.

Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.

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 fulfilment.

You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights with-

out a want and a grief,

But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and

unbound.