"I am. I think. I will. . . "
"What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.
"Stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms: This --my body and spirit-- this is the end of the quest. I wished I know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a warrant foe being. I need no warrant for my being, and no word of sanction upon being. I am the warrant and the sanction...
"I know not of this earth on which I stand is the core of the universe or if it is but a speck of dust lost in eternity. I know not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.
"Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars...
"I am neither foe nor friend to my brothers, but such as each of them shall deserve of me. And to earn my love, my brothers must do more than have been born. I do not grant my love without reasons, nor to any chance passer--by who may wish to claim it. I honor men with my love. But honor is a thing to be earned.
"I shall choose friends among men, but neither slaves nor masters. I shall choose only such as pleases me, and them I shall love and respect, neither command nor obey. And we shall join our hands when we wish, or stand alone when we so desire. For in the temple of his spirit, each man is alone. Let each man keep his temple untouched and undefiled. Then let him join hands with others if he wishes, but only beyond his holy threshold.
"For the word "WE" must never be spoken, save by one's choice and as a second thought. This word must never be placed first within man's soul else it becomes monster, the root of all evils on earth, the root causes man's torture by men, and of an unspeakable lie.
"For the word "WE" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the gray of it. It is word by which the depraved steal the wisdom of the sages.
"What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and impotent, are masters?What is life if I am but to bow, to agree, and to obey?
"But I am done with creed corruption.
"I am done with the monster of "WE," the word of serfdoms, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.
"And now I see the face of God, and I raise this God over the earth, this God whom men have sought since men came into being, this God who will grant them joy and peace and pride.
"This God, this one word: "I."
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