God-bearers, you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. If you too lose your savor and grow dark, the world will be a husk of life, the slough a serpent leaves in the thorns.
You hold the heavenly fire in ashes. If you too are extinguished, the world will be a heap of ashes outside the doors of life.
The death-bearers talk of your life, for they have none of their own.
The perjurers swear by your God, for they have none of their own.
The liar justifies himself by your truth, for he has none of his own.
The unrighteous man takes shelter beneath your righteousness, for he has none of his own.
The despairing man comforts himself with hope, for he has none of his own.
The sages of the earth seek wisdom by roundabout ways and return to your wisdom, for they find no other.
The weaklings persecute you, for they fear your strength, and cannot carry it themselves.
The cowards envy you your courage, for there is nothing to make them brave.
Rich men, behold, all beg from you, and no one can give you anything. You are rich men, for you have God. You are rich, for you are God-bearers.
Your soul is the cradle of the God of Life. Your heart is His throne. Your mind is Mount Sinai, where He alone writes upon the tablets and speaks.
Travel freely with God within you; you will not lose the way, and you will not be left without lodging. Enter with Him freely through the gate of day, and the day will be yours. Enter with Him freely through the gate of night, and the night will fall back with its terrors, and will show you its wonders.
Do not sell your treasure, for the world cannot pay for it.
Do not barter with the universe, for the universe can give you nothing but itself. And the whole of it is as paper beside gold. It too will burn one day, and will be a handful of ashes. Will it die? It is already dead, and is not, without your spiritual treasure.
Space from end to end cannot contain your treasure.
Time from end to end cannot count your treasure.
The world persecutes you, for you have peace, and it has none.
The world envies you, for you have riches, and it is poor.
The world fears you, for you have power, and it is powerless.
The world hates you, for you have blessedness, and it is wretched.
Bear no malice toward the world, and add no oil to the fire. For the whole world burns with the fire of malice.
You are lonely, you say? Are graves any company? One living man in a graveyard is less lonely than a whole graveyard of the dead.
You are few, you say? But you are armed. Your adversaries are slaves in bonds.
The world is lifeless without you. You are the channels through which life is poured into the world.
The world is joyless without you. Through you a smile enters the prison-house.
Do not fatten your body, for fattening is festering. Do not heap mud upon your bones, for your bones will grow heavy, and your soul be straitened.
Keep the divine child within you with zeal, and take care that you do not frighten him. Truly he is timid as a bird, and does not impose himself. At one ugly thought he flees from the mind. At one filthy desire he flees from the heart.
Remember: if He forsakes you, His last earthen hut, the world will be a husk of life, the slough a serpent leaves in the thorns.