Wisdom

There once was a man (reputed to be the wisest in the world) who, although living to an untold age, confined his reaching to the one word of advice: "Endure!" At length a rival arose and challenged him to a debate which took place before a large assembly. "You say 'Endure,'" cried the rival sage, "but I don't want to endure. I wish to love and to be loved, to conquer and create. I wish to know what is right, then do it and be happy." There was no reply from his opponent, and, on looking more closely at the old creature, his adversary found him to consist of an odd-shaped rock on which had taken root a battered thorn that presented, by an optical illusion, the impression of hair and a beard. Triumphantly he pointed out the mistake to the authorities, but they were not concerned. "Man or rock," they answered, "what does it matter?" And at that moment the wind, reverberating through the sage's moss-grown orifice, repeated with a hollow sound: "Endure!"

p. 53

 

The Unquiet Grave: A Word Cycle by Palinurus by Cyril Connoly