The Ballad of St. Barbara and other verses/The Philanthropist
THE PHILANTHROPIST
(With apologies to a beautiful poem.)
Abou ben Adhem (may his tribe decreaseBy cautious birth-control and die in peace)Mellow with learning lightly took the wordThat marked him not with them that love the Lord,And told the angel of the book and pen"Write me as one that loves his fellow-men:For them alone I labour; to reclaimThe ragged roaming Bedouin and to tameTo ordered service; to uproot their vineWho mock the Prophet, being mad with wine,Let daylight through their tents and through their lives,Number their camels, even count their wives,Plot out the desert into streets and squares;And count it a more fruitful work than theirsWho lift a vain and visionary loveTo your vague Allah in the skies above."
Gently replied the angel of the pen:"Labour in peace and love your fellow-men:And love not God, since men alone are dear,Only fear God; for you have cause to fear."