Just as the laden wain came rumbling past;
And as he dropped it, lo, in accents clear
A mandate from on high fell on his ear,
A mandate that was quickly understood,
For it was brief, these simple words: ‘Be good.’[1]
“In closing I repeat, with the great poet: ‘Be good.’ Be good if you wish God to love you; be good that you may grow up to be noble-hearted men; be good to one another, helping one another; be good to the animals that give us their fleece, their strength, and their life, and those that protect the fruits of the earth for us by keeping vigilant guard over them. Be kind to them all, even to the humblest among them, the toad, which serves us uncomplainingly and asks in return no pay but a pitying glance.” [[290]]
[1] From “Le Crapaud” (“The Toad”), by Victor Hugo.—Translator. [↑]