Page:Here and there in Yucatan - miscellanies (IA herethereinyucat00lepl 0).djvu/146

 that we either ignore or regard as infinitely inferior to ourselves; identities that are, in fact, no less important in the Great Whole than we—we who consider ourselves of such vast interest to the Supreme Power; we, who deem ourselves so wise! though we cannot even in our brief mundane life, learn half the wonders of the world we inhabit—this little ball of matter! Spread some earth over the pitful of flesh so foul to our coarse sight. Soon it will yield most sweet-scented flowers, nevertheless they and their perfume are the product of corruption."

The old man paused. Stretching my hand toward the darkening heavens, already studded with a few glittering stars, I asked him, "Is there, then, no perfect happiness in any part of that immensity, no divine abode where sorrow is unknown?"

"Happiness and sorrow only exist by comparison. The two conditions are as inseparable as light and shadow. Wert thou to live a million years in every part of the universe, thou couldst never escape all pain. To be, is to suffer as well as to rejoice. Subdue thy emotions in order to be less sensitive to grief, and thy capacity for joy will likewise be decreased. If thou wouldst know the way to avoid suffering as far as it lies in thy power, I admonish thee to commune much with nature, and little with man; and if