Crime and Punishment

Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, Speak to us of Crime and Punishment.

Then one of the city's judges stepped forward and said, Tell us about Crime and Punishment.

And he answered, saying:

And he answered:

It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind,

It is when your spirit wanders on the wind,

That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself.

That you, alone and unguarded, wrong others and therefore yourself.

And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed.

And for that wrong, you must knock at the gate of the blessed and wait a while without being noticed.

Like the ocean is your god-self;

Your god-self is like the ocean.

It remains for ever undefiled.

It remains pure forever.

And like the ether it lifts but the winged.

And like the air, it lifts only those with wings.

Even like the sun is your god-self;

Your god-self is just like the sun.

It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent. But your god-self dwells not alone in your being.

It does not know the ways of the mole or seek the serpent's holes. But your god-self does not dwell alone within you.

Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man,

Much of you is still human, and much of you is not yet human.

But a shapeless pigmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening.

But a shapeless little being, walking asleep in the mist, searching for its own awakening.

And of the man in you would I now speak.

And now I would speak of the man in you.

For it is he and not your god-self nor the pigmy in the mist, that knows crime and the punishment of crime.

For he knows crime and its punishment, not your god-self or the pygmy in the mist.

Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.

I have often heard you speak of someone who does wrong as if that person were not one of you. You speak as if that person were a stranger and an intruder in your world.

But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you,

But I say that just as the holy and the righteous cannot rise above the best in each of you,

So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also.

So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest part of you.

And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree, So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all.

Just as a single leaf cannot turn yellow without the whole tree silently knowing, no one can do wrong without the hidden will of you all.

Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self.

Like a procession, you walk together toward your god-self.

You are the way and the wayfarers.

You are the path and the travelers.

And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone.

And when one of you falls, you fall for those behind you, warning them of the stone that made you stumble.

Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone.

Yes, and he falls for those ahead of him, who were faster and steadier on their feet but did not remove the stone that caused him to stumble.

And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts:

And this too, though these words weigh heavily on your hearts:

The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder,

The person who was murdered is not free of responsibility for their own murder,

And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed.

And the person who is robbed is not blameless for being robbed.

The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked,

The good are not innocent of the evil deeds of others,

And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon.

And the innocent are not blameless for the crimes of the guilty.

Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured,

Yes, the guilty person is often a victim of the person they injured,

And still more often the condemned is the burden bearer for the guiltless and unblamed.

And even more often, the condemned person carries the burden for those who are innocent and blameless.

You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked;

You cannot separate the just from the unjust or the good from the wicked.

For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together.

For they stand together in the sunlight, just as black and white threads are woven together.

And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also.

And when the black thread breaks, the weaver will look at the whole cloth and examine the loom too.

If any of you would bring to judgment the unfaithful wife,

If any of you would judge the unfaithful wife,

Let him also weigh the heart of her husband in scales, and measure his soul with measurements.

Let him also weigh her husband's heart on a scale and measure his soul.

And let him who would lash the offender look unto the spirit of the offended.

And let anyone who would whip the offender look into the spirit of the person who was wronged.

And if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the ax unto the evil tree, let him see to its roots;

And if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and strike the evil tree with an ax, look to its roots.

And verily he will find the roots of the good and the bad, the fruitful and the fruitless, all entwined together in the silent heart of the earth.

And surely he will find that the roots of the good and the bad, the fruitful and the fruitless, are all intertwined in the silent heart of the earth.

And you judges who would be just,

And you judges who want to be fair,

What judgment pronounce you upon him who though honest in the flesh yet is a thief in spirit?

What judgment do you pass on someone who is honest in action but a thief in spirit?

What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit?

What punishment do you give someone who kills another but is himself dead in spirit?

And how prosecute you him who in action is a deceiver and an oppressor,

And how do you prosecute someone who deceives and oppresses others through his actions,

Yet who also is aggrieved and outraged?

Yet who is also hurt and outraged?

And how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds?

And how can you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their wrongdoing?

Is not remorse the justice which is administered by that very law which you would fain serve?

Isn't remorse the justice delivered by the very law you wish to serve?

Yet you cannot lay remorse upon the innocent nor lift it from the heart of the guilty.

Yet you cannot make innocent people feel remorse, nor can you take remorse from the hearts of the guilty.

Unbidden shall it call in the night, that men may wake and gaze upon themselves. And you who would understand justice, how shall you unless you look upon all deeds in the fullness of light?

It will call out in the night without being asked, so that people may wake and look at themselves. And you who want to understand justice, how can you do so unless you see all deeds in full light?

Only then shall you know that the erect and the fallen are but one man standing in twilight between the night of his pigmy-self and the day of his god-self, And that the corner-stone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in its foundation.

Only then will you know that the upright and the fallen are one person. That person stands in twilight between the night of their tiny self and the day of their godlike self. And you will know that the cornerstone of the temple is no higher than the lowest stone in its foundation.