It is that when one's virtue is extraordinary,
Any defection in the bodily form
May be forgotten; when men do not forget
What is easily forgotten but forget
What is not easily forgotten,
We face a case of real oblivion.
Therefore, a man of the future has that
In which his mind finds its enjoyment;
He looks on wisdom as but the shoots
From an old stump,
All agreements with others are to him
But so much glue; all kindnesses are but
The arts of intercourse; all great skills are but
As merchants' wares in the marketplace.
The man of the future lays out no plans--
Of what use would wisdom be to him?
He has no cutting and hacking to do--
Of what use would glue be to him?
He has lost nothing--
Of what use would the arts
Of intercourse be to him?
He has no goods to dispose of--
What need has he
To play the part of a merchant?
The want of these four things
Are the nourishment of his heavenly properties,
But the nourishment itself
Is fully depended on the heavenly victuals.
Since he receives his foodstuff
Straight from Heaven, what need has he
For anything of men's devising?
He has appearance of man, but not the passions
And desires of the human beings.
Where lusts and desires are deep,
The springs of the heavenly properties are shallow.
Since he has the bodily form of man,
He is a man, but being without the passions
And desires of the humans,
Their approvings and disapprovings,
Certainties and doubts, likings and dislikings
Are not to be found in him--
He pursues his course without effort
And does not try to increase his lifetime.
He does not dream when he sleeps
And has no anxiety when he awakes
And does not care that his food should be pleasant.
His breathing comes deep and silently;
It comes even from his heels when he treads.
Being such, his mind is free from thoughts;
His demeanour is still and unmoved;
His forehead beams the light of simplicity.
Being such, though he may make mistakes,
He has no occasion for repentance; though
He may succeed, he has no self-complacency.
Being such, he can ascend the loftiest heights
Without fear; he can pass through water
Without being made wet by it;
He can go into fire without being burnt;
So it is that by his knowledge
Of his heavenly properties,
More simply, the Mind, he ascends to the stars
And reaches the realms beyond our Galaxy.
At this, alas, he knows nothing
Of the love of life or of the hatred of death.
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well said