tonight, someone I love shared this with me
it struck a few chords
and I wanted to share it with you.
an excerpt from The Walking Drum by Louis L'amour
a conversation between "Julot" and "Mathurin Kerbouchard":
""It is good the fire", Julot said.
"The companion of vagabonds. Few men are so poor they cannot have fire."
"You knew your father?"
"Aye."
"My mother was a peasant girl; my father, a soldier in some army or other. She never knew which army or where he was from. He was a gentle man, a handsome beard, so much and no more could she tell me."
"Men without fathers often place more emphasis on them than others would. A mill does not turn on water that is past."
"Perhaps, but without family a man is nothing."
"You are mistaken. Your church has given opportunity to many men without family, the army, also."
"One must conform and I conform badly."
"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparant that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the church if he does so discreetly."
I smiled at him.
"Remember this, Julot, even a rebel grows old, and sometimes wiser. He finds the things he rebelled against are now the things he must defend against newer rebels. Aging bones creak in the cold. Seek warmth, my friend; be discreet, but follow your own mind. When you have obtained position you will have influence. Otherwise, you will tear at the bars until your strength is gone, and you will have accomplished nothing but to rant and rave."
"Compromise is an evil word."
"Think a little Julot. All our lives we compromise, and without it there would be no progress, nor could men live together. You may think a man a fool, but if he is an agreeable fool you say nothing. Is that no compromise? Victory is not won in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later win a little more. A man should not compromise his principles, but he need not flaunt them as a banner. There is a time to talk and a time to be still. If a wrong is being done, then is the time to speak out. Study Julot, gain prestige and people will ask you solemnly for advice about things of which you know nothing."
"I like not the sound of it", Julot grumbled, "I am a fighter. I fight for what I believe."
"There are many ways of fighting. Many a man or woman has waged a good war for truth, honour, and freedom, who did not shed blood in the process. Beware of those who would use violence, too often it is the violence they want and neither truth nor freedom. The important thing is to know where you stand and what you believe, then be true to yourself in all things. Moreover, it is foolish to waste time in arguing questions with those who have no power to change. There! My sermon for the day is finished. No doubt I will make at least some of the mistakes I have advised you against.""
for what it's worth...
by SPAZnik 5 Replies latest jw friends
-
SPAZnik
-
SixofNine
must you always try to change me????
;-)
-
SPAZnik
now why would i risk spoiling such a fine piece of....art? ;)
-
LovesDubs
Obviously limiting my reading time to People Magazine keeps me from running into literature that is particularly character building. :) Thanks for sharing that. It was....deep. What is someone with so much philosphy in them doing by a barrel fire with the vagabonds?
-
Twitch
Beautiful words of wisdom Thx for sharing
-
parakeet
***Victory is not won in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later win a little more.***
Could almost be the motto for JWD.