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VI
A TALE
OF WHICH THE MORAL IS THAT NEGATION OF THE SELF IS A DOCTRINE INVENTED BY THE SUBJECT RACES OF MANKIND IN ORDER THAT BY THIS MEANS THEY MAY SAP AND WEAKEN THE CHARACTER OF THEIR RULERS.
| HAST thou heard that in the time of old | |
| The sheep dwelling in a certain pasture | |
| So increased and multiplied | |
| That they feared no enemy? | 540 |
| At last, from the malice of Fate, | |
| Their breasts were smitten by a shaft of calamity. | |
| The tigers sprang forth from the jungle | |
| And rushed upon the sheepfold | |
| Conquest and dominion are signs of strength, | 545 |
| Victory is the manifestation of strength. | |
| Those fierce tigers beat the drum of sovereignty, | |
| They deprived the sheep of freedom. | |
| For as much as tigers must have their prey, | |
| That meadow was crimsoned with the blood of the sheep. | 550 |
| One of the sheep which was clever and acute. | |
| Old in years, cunning was a weather beaten wolf, | |
| Being grieved at the fate of his fellows | |
| And sorely vexed by the violence of the tigers, | |
| Made complaint of the course of Destiny | 555 |
| And sought by craft to restore the fortunes of his race. | |
| The weak, in order to preserve themselves, | |
| Seek device from skilled intelligence. | |
| In slavery, for the sake of repelling harm, | |
| The power of scheming becomes quickened. | 560 |
| And when the madness of revenge gains hold, | |
| The mind of the slave meditates rebellion. | |
| "Ours is a hard knot,'' said this sheep to himself, | |
| "The ocean of our griefs hath no shore, | |
| By force we sheep cannot escape from the tiger: | 565 |
| Our legs are silver, his paws are steel. | |
| 'Tis not possible, however much one exhorts and counsels. | |
| To create in a sheep the disposition of a wolf. | |
| But to make the furious tiger a sheep-that is possible: | |
| To make him unmindful of his nature-that is possible." | 570 |
| He became as a prophet inspired, | |
| And began to preach to the blood-thirsty tigers. | |
| He cried out, "O ye insolent liars, | |
| Who want not of a day of ill luck that shall continue for ever!57 | |
| I am possessed of spiritual power, | 575 |
| 1 am an apostle sent by God for the tigers. | |
| I come as. a light for the eye that is dark, | |
| I come to establish laws and give commandments. | |
| Repent of your blameworthy deeds; | |
| O plotters of evil, bethink yourselves of good! | 580 |
| Whose is violent and strong is. miserable: | |
| Life's solidity depends on self-denial. | |
| The spirit of the righteous is fed by fodder: | |
| The vegetarian is pleasing unto God, | |
| The sharpness of your teeth brings disgrace upon you | 585 |
| And makes the eye of your perception blind. | |
| Paradise is for the weak alone, | |
| Strength is but a means to perdition. | |
| It is wicked to seek greatness and glory, | |
| Penury is sweeter than princedom. | 590 |
| Lightning does not threaten the cornseed: | |
| If the seed become a stack, it is unwise. | |
| If you are sensible, you will be a mote of sand, not a Sahara, | |
| So that you may enjoy the sunbeams. | |
| O thou that delightest in the slaughter of sheep, | 595 |
| Slay thy self, and thou wilt have honour! | |
| Life is rendered unstable | |
| By violence, oppression, revenge, and exercise of power. | |
| Though trodden underfoot, the grass grows up time after time | |
| And washes the sleep of death from its eye again and again. | 600 |
| Forget thy self, if thou art wise! | |
| If thou dost not forget thy self, thou art mad. | |
| Close thine eyes, close thine ears, close thy lips,58 | |
| That thy thought may reach the lofty sky! | |
| This pasturage of the world is naught, naught: | 605 |
| O fool, do not torment thy phantom! | |
| The tiger-tribe was exhausted by hard struggles, | |
| They had set their hearts on enjoyment of luxury. | |
| This soporific advice pleased them, | |
| In their stupidity they swallowed the charm of the sheep. | 610 |
| He that used to make sheep his prey | |
| Now embraced a sheep's religion. | |
| The tigers took kindly to a diet of fodder: | |
| At length their tigerish nature was broken. | |
| The fodder blunted their teeth | 615 |
| And put out the awful flashings of their eyes. | |
| By degrees courage ebbed from their breasts, | |
| The sheen departed from mirror. | |
| That frenzy of uttermost exertion remained not, | |
| That craving after action dwelt in their hearts no more. | 620 |
| They lost the power of ruling and the resolution to be independent, | |
| They lost reputation, prestige, and fortune. | |
| Their paws that were as iron became strengthless; | |
| Their souls died and their bodies became tombs. | |
| Bodily strength diminished while spiritual fear increased; | 625 |
| Spiritual fear robbed them of courage. | |
| Lack Of courage produced a hundred diseases— | |
| Poverty, pusillanimity, low mindedness. | |
| The wakeful tiger was lulled to Slumber by the sheep's charm | |
| He called his decline Moral Culture. | 630 |
