Prophet (version 4)

<p><SPAN name="link68" id="link68"></SPAN>And then a scholar said, Speak of <b><i>Talking</i></b>.</p> <p>And he answered, saying:</p> <p>You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;</p> <p>And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.</p> <p>And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.</p> <p>For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.</p> <p>There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.</p> <p>The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.</p> <p>And there are those who talk, and <SPAN name="link69" id="link69"></SPAN>without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.</p> <p>And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.</p> <p>In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.</p> <p class="p2"> When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you move your lips and direct your tongue.</p> <p>Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;</p> <p>For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered</p> <p>When the colour is forgotten and the vessel is no more.</p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />