Behold, I Give You One COMMANDMENT*
LOVE FIRST THYSELF. Forget about the love
Of God and others; thinkers everywhere
Have reached this one conclusion. Far above
Religions, which are every one a snare,
Decry this love. This first rule first implies,
As streams imply, the truth of water. You
Must know yourself as ancient Greeks and wise
Ones all have tried to teach. This basic view
Allows the rest of wisdom as the root
Brings on great trunks, grown stems, green leaves,
Branched blossoms and then gradually full fruit,
In fields the harvest and the final sheaves.
The growth of wisdom comes from what is won
Inside your soul, the role of number one.
~ Phillip Whidden
According the the built-in automatic counting capability of this website, this sonnet is the 3,800th on posted in The Encyclopedia Sonnetica.
*A 24-carat Golden Rule
“The aim of learning is but to abolish the ‘fence’ which separates man from man. In other words, the distinction between he and I [sic; him and me] will be abolished when we are truly educated.
“The universe and humanity are one, and my parents, brothers, and all men are myself. Sun, moon, rain, dew, mountains, rivers, birds, animals and fish are also my self. Therefore[,] I should love and sympathize with others, because they are my self, and not separable from me.” ~ Nakane Tôri, born 1694
“Even the broken glass, or the fallen tree, or the cut stone gives us sorrow, because we feel they are in our minds.” ~ Oshio Chusai, born 1793
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