| On Giving | |
| Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving." | |
| And he answered: | |
| You give but little when you give of your possessions. | |
| It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. | |
| For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow? | |
| And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city? | |
| And what is fear of need but need itself? | |
| Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable? | |
| There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome. | |
| And there are those who have little and give it all. | |
| These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty. | |
| There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward. | |
| And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism. | |
| And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue; | |
| They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space. | |
| Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth. | |
| It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding; | |
| And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving | |
| And is there aught you would withhold? | |
| All you have shall some day be given; | |
| Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'. | |
| You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving." | |
| The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. | |
| They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish. | |
| Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you. | |
| And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream. | |
| And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving? | |
| And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed? | |
| See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving. | |
| For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness. | |
| And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives. | |
| Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings; | |
| For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father. |