| On Talking | |
| And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking." | |
| And he answered, saying: | |
| You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts; | |
| 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. | |
| And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered. | |
| For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words many indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly. | |
| There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone. | |
| The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape. | |
| And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand. | |
| And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words. | |
| In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence. | |
| 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. | |
| Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear; | |
| For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered | |
| When the colour is forgotten and the vessel is no more. |