23
GOOD AND
EVIL: And what is the word 'good' without the word 'evil' but a hollow sound
without a meaning?
Beware, you good men, the hollow sounds of
the 'preachers of goodness', those sounds that never ring true when heard by a
sound ear. There is something false,
cracked, lopsided, irresponsible, and spurious about their message, and more so
about them. It is not the calling of a
good man to denounce evil, but to make use of it for his own benefit. Denouncing evil is tantamount to renouncing
good; for were it not for the existence of evil, a man would have no
opportunity of doing good. But nothing can be got from a bell without a
clapper, and if a man isn't good, which is to say sound, healthy, strong,
realistic, and honest, he can only be bad, or unsound, ill, weak, unrealistic,
and dishonest, which is to say - spurious!
So beware, you good men, the 'preachers of
goodness'! They will not help you to
understand yourselves. And neither will
they give you a sound definition of evil; for a sound definition isn't
something that comes from a cracked bell.
And beware, too, you good men, the
'preachers of evil', lest you become pale and atrophied like them, and
gradually wilt away in their winter negativity.
They are not strong enough for your goodness, but would rather croak
their frog-like evil from a swamp than climb into the light, where they could
be seen by every eye.
Yet their 'evil', like the 'goodness' of
the 'preachers of goodness', is more a caricature than an actuality; a mean,
sickly thing that pales to insignificance when placed beside the authentic
life-giving evil which springs from necessity and not from the impoverished
obsessions of a sickly dabbler. For a
man can no more be evil if he isn't also good, than he can be good if not also
evil!
So beware, you good men, both the 'preachers
of goodness' and the 'preachers of evil', since extremities are equally fatal
and it is not your fate to become either a cracked bell or a croaking
frog. See to it that you remain a man,
and a good one, too!