Morality.
Evil itself may be but good disguised,
As many a virtue now was once a vice,
Or held to be such by the moralists;
Or as even in the eyes of foreigners
Our virtues may be vices, theirs to us
As vicious too. We make us new laws still,
And hold that finable and barred to-day
That was but yesterday allowable.
Our neighbours haply no such laws enact,
And privilege what we make punitive.
So right and wrong are still conditional,
And there's no absolute morality
In all the world; for conscience herself is
Full oft but Custom's creature, whom he keeps,
Who sees with him, and hears with him, and acts
As by his power of attorney still.
poem by Robert Crawford
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The Inner Voice - Conscience
Laws on earth can be made, unmade;
Laws can be bettered or worsened by change;
Laws may be just or unjust and never perfect;
Laws can be changed for comfort and convenience.
Laws may change from time to time;
Laws cannot reflect truth always;
Laws depend on the constituent makers;
Laws can never be ideal for all times!
But the inner Voice -the Conscience is static;
It always speaks the truth irrevocably;
It is not transmutable anytime;
It can never lie ever even by chance.
The Inner Voice scores over laws always;
One's conscience always tells what is right;
Freedom of man's conscience is paramount;
Laws to stifle the Inner Voice are simply futile!
Laws are needed but must be just and fair;
Laws aren't needed to fetter the conscience;
Laws are man-made and transmutable;
Conscience is God-given, remaining the same in everyone!
Obey the laws when they are fair and just;
Heed to your Conscience, God's law-maker within!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 14-02-12
poem by John Celes
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The Laws of God, The Laws of Man
The laws of God, the laws of man,
He may keep that will and can;
Not I: let God and man decree
Laws for themselves and not for me;
And if my ways are not as theirs
Let them mind their own affairs.
Their deeds I judge and much condemn,
Yet when did I make laws for them?
Please yourselves, say I, and they
Need only look the other way.
But no, they will not; they must still
Wrest their neighbor to their will,
And make me dance as they desire
With jail and gallows and hell-fire.
And how am I to face the odds
Of man's bedevilment and God's?
I, a stranger and afraid
In a world I never made.
They will be master, right or wrong;
Though both are foolish, both are strong.
And since, my soul, we cannot fly
To Saturn nor to Mercury,
Keep we must, if keep we can,
These foreign laws of God and man.
poem by Alfred Edward Housman
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Conscience
Society may pass laws to make wrong right
But inside each man is the Conscience
Inherently it gives him moral insight
When Wrong disturbs his basic senses.
Man never needed human laws to say
It is basically wrong to kill another
When Cain killed Abel, he ran away
After he murdered his own brother.
Nobody saw him, no witnesses coming
But he was troubled by an inner turmoil
No one accused him but he kept running
From his own conscience he could not recoil.
A barrage of wrongs made right legally
Would eventually make humans react
Some may be blinded by insensitivity
But Right tilts the balance and that's a fact.
poem by Cynthia Buhain-Baello
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It will never make any difference to a hero what the laws are. His greatness will shine and accomplish itself unto the end, whether they second him or not. If he have earned his bread by drudgery, and in the narrow and crooked ways which were all an evil law had left him, he will make it at least honorable by his expenditure. Of the past he will take no heed; for its wrongs he will not hold himself responsible: he will say, All the meanness of my progenitors shall not bereave me of the power to make this hour and company fair and fortunate. Whatsoever streams of power and commodity flow to me, shall of me acquire healing virtue, and become fountains of safety.
quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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The more a government strives to curtail freedom of speech, the more obstinately is it resisted; not indeed by the avaricious … but by those whom good education, sound morality, and virtue have rendered more free. Men in general are so constituted that there is nothing they will endure with so little patience as that views which they believe to be true should be counted crimes against the laws. … Under such circumstances they do not think it disgraceful, but most honorable, to hold the laws in abhorrence, and to refrain from no action against the government.
Baruch Spinoza in Tractatus Theologico-Politicus
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Honor & The Doors Of Life
Honor, morality, faith and integrity
Are the glue which holds society in place.
Pornography, hate, jealousy and greed
Cause man to be plagued by disgrace.
Night and day we're informed by headlines
Which seem to give evil added time.
Always at war killing one another
In our world full of violence and crime.
Be thankful for the upright among us
Who desire to obey God's laws.
Repentant when wrong they change their ways
Serving the rest of us despite our flaws.
Honor, morality, faith and integrity
Are what life's heroes are made of.
Defending what's right; confronting what's wrong
Propelled by achievement, and love.
In The Garb Of Good
You can easily
Do away with evil
When it comes to you
In the form of an evil
But it is not easy to
Do away with evil
When it comes to you
In the form of good
When it comes to you
In the garb of something good
And you can not recognized
Good and bad or evil
As evil disguised as good
First make yourself free from
Attachment of any kind
And be cautious always
With alert and full-mind.
poem by Gajanan Mishra
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The way of the world is to make laws, but follow custom.
quote by Michel de Montaigne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To The Countess Of Bedford II
TO have written then, when you writ, seem'd to me
Worst of spiritual vices, simony ;
And not to have written then seems little less
Than worst of civil vices, thanklessness.
In this, my debt I seem'd loth to confess ;
In that, I seem'd to shun beholdingness.
But 'tis not so ; nothings, as I am, may
Pay all they have, and yet have all to pay.
Such borrow in their payments, and owe more
By having leave to write so, than before.
Yet, since rich mines in barren grounds are shown,
May not I yield (not gold but) coal or stone ?
Temples were not demolish'd, though profane ;
Here Peter Jove's ; there Paul hath Dian's fane.
So whether my hymns you admit or choose,
In me you've hallowed a pagan muse,
And denizen'd a stranger, who, mistaught
By blamers of the times they marr'd, hath sought
Virtues in corners, which now bravelv do
Shine in the world's best part, or all it—you.
I have been told, that virtue in courtiers' hearts
Suffers an ostracism, and departs.
Profit, ease, fitness, plenty, bid it go ;
But whither, only knowing you, I know.
Your, or you virtue, two vast uses serves ;
It ransoms one sex, and one court preserves.
There's nothing but your worth, which being true
Is known to any other, not to you.
And you can never know it ; to admit
No knowledge of your worth, is some of it.
But since to you your praises discords be,
Stoop others' ills to meditate with me.
O ! to confess we know not what we should,
Is half excuse, we know not what we would.
Lightness depresseth us, emptiness fills ;
We sweat and faint, yet still go down the hills.
As new philosophy arrests the sun,
And bids the passive earth about it run,
So we have dull'd our mind ; it hath no ends ;
Only the body's busy, and pretends.
As dead low earth eclipses and controls
The quick high moon, so doth the body souls.
In none but us are such mix'd engines found,
As hands of double office ; for the ground
We till with them, and them to heaven we raise.
Who prayerless labours, or, without this, prays,
Doth but one half, that's none ; He which said,
“ Plough
And look not back,” to look up doth allow.
Good seed degenerates, and oft obeys
The soil's disease, and into cockle strays.
Let the mind's thoughts be but transplanted so
Into the body, and bastardly they grow.
What hate could hurt our bodies like our love ?
We, but no foreign tyrants, could remove
These not engraved, but inborn dignities,
Caskets of souls, temples and palaces ;
For bodies shall from death redeemed be,
Souls but preserved, born naturally free.
As men to our prisons now, souls to us are sent,
Which learn vice there, and come in innocent.
First seeds of every creature are in us ;
Whate'er the world hath bad, or precious,
Man's body can produce ; hence hath it been
That stones, worms, frogs, and snakes in man are seen.
But whoe'er saw, though nature can work so,
That pearl, or gold, or corn in man did grow ?
We've added to the world Virginia, and sent
Two new stars lately to the firmament.
Why grudge we us (not heaven) the dignity
To increase with ours those fair souls' company ?
But I must end this letter ; though it do
Stand on two truths, neither is true to you.
Virtue has some perverseness, for she will
Neither believe her good, nor others' ill.
Even in you, virtue's best paradise,
Virtue hath some, but wise degrees of vice.
Too many virtues, or too much of one,
Begets in you unjust suspicion ;
And ignorance of vice makes virtue less,
Quenching compassion of our wretchedness.
But these are riddles ; some aspersion
Of vice becomes well some complexion.
Statesmen purge vice with vice, and may corrode
The bad with bad, a spider with a toad.
For so, ill thralls not them, but they tame ill,
And make her do much good against her will.
But in your commonwealth or world in you,
Vice hath no office or good work to do.
Take then no vicious purge, but be content
With cordial virtue, your known nourishment.
poem by John Donne
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Laws and customs may be creative of vice; and should be therefore perpetually under process of observation and correction: but laws and customs cannot be creative of virtue: they may encourage and help to preserve it; but they cannot originate it.
quote by Harriet Martineau
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Our civil laws will never be supple enough to fit the immense and changing variety of facts. Laws change more slowly than custom, and though dangerous when they fall behind the times are more dangerous still when they presume to anticipate custom.
quote by Marguerite Yourcenar
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Sonnet: Laws Are For All
No one on earth can be above the law;
But laws are not the same for man world-o’er;
When lawmakers break laws, it causes awe;
Yet, criminals must get jud’cial cover.
But laws, vary from time to time you see,
And innocents to gallows could sent;
Can all afford the exorbitant fees?
Delaying justice can produced a dent.
But corruption has gained mighty in-roads;
And not a field is spared from its illness;
The world is filled by spineless man like toads;
Cities and towns too look like wilderness.
No soul on earth can be above the law;
And yet, men make the laws sometimes so raw.
poem by John Celes
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But black people fall for that same argument, and they go around talking about law breakers. We did not make the laws in this country. We are neither morally nor legally confined to those laws. Those laws that keep them up, keep us down.
quote by H. Rap Brown
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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0004 Love and law; law and love
Law of love? Sounds good… so, tell me more…
Love of law? mmm…maybe…not so sure…
You can disregard the ancients –
label them Not Applicable – bin that bulky file…
or try to make some sense; and they insist
that love and law are so close intertwined
that together, they may tell
more than each other taken individually.
What might this mean? Where can we start?
Those ancients say that all this universe,
all this creation, is one single act of love;
love brings it forth, sustains it, nourishes it,
and so ultimately, it merges into love;
and by the laws of love,
which hold all forms by law,
our natural state is naught but love;
and knowing this, knows no injustice in ourself;
knows all as equal; knows no pressures nor compulsions;
knows no darkness; and no partiality or preferentiality;
and partaking of this universal love,
we’re therefore just, and light of heart,
and ready of response..
and so, this love, which knows ourself as love,
(for every creature's nature is pure love)
may love the laws which make our nature thus;
love the laws of love, and live as love;
so out of love, comes law;
and out of law, comes love.
only in this fleeting moment of the present
is our life lived;
and only if, in this continuous now,
love and law are present in each action,
may we make our golden future;
live a golden life, where law has made us free.
this, the ancients say; the proof is ours to live.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Evil's Goodness
Evil’s Goodness
Christian U. Garan
You and I are sinful being.
Denying the fact is lying.
So accept the unacceptable reality,
Coz’ doing such reflects your maturity.
Yet, there are times in which our “Id” demands;
Worldly pleasures it commands.
And the “Ego” will instantly be on the go.
But wait, never let go!
Be firm enough to resist temptations.
Then there will be feathers on your hat!
You have a brain to decide,
and conscience which will guide.
So, my dear, make a dry run!
Make a dry run!
Can’t you run away from this and that?
Admit that you can’t and
make a dry run.
Physical evil is imperfection.
But moral evil is a violation.
Authentic evil is the moral evil.
The two are true but of different level.
The value of things lies on the morale.
Morality isn’t singular but it’s plural.
Yet, why is evil created by God?
Can he just program human not to be bad?
But my dear I tell you,
Something good from the seemingly evil
He can draw!
poem by Christian Garan
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Do You Have Power?
The word power is ambiguous and mystifying
Power is interrelated and measurable
The word power is vague and ambivalent
Everybody is believed to have some form of power
Nations and societies are said to have their own powers
The use of power depends on circumstances
Power can be used positively or negatively
The president as the commander-in-chief
Has power to declare war and federal emergency
The congress has power to enact laws
The bank has power to grant or deny you a
Loan to improve your status in life
The editor has power to decide what gets
Published in a book, dailies, or journals
Armed forces have power to defend the nation
Police have power to arrest and detain crooks
Medical doctors have power to heal the sick
Many of us have power to make a beggar smile
Voters have power to elect their representatives
For both the lower house and the senate
Employers have power to enrich and enhance
The lives and positions of their employees
Teachers have power to educate our mind
Husbands have power to please their wives
And keep their children happy and contented
As power cannot be used or exercised in isolation
We should realize that we are all citizens of this world
We owe it to our children to use our powers positively
To help make this world a better and friendly place
So that we can create a just and compassionate society
poem by Julius Babarinsa
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Conscience –
The ‘Inner Voice’ in-built by God,
In every human being born,
That tells what’s wrong and what is right,
And helps in moral decisions!
The laws of lands may change a lot;
The guidelines may be different;
The ethics too metamorphose;
But Conscience keeps the truth standard!
The modern man has ‘conscience rot’!
His faith in science has grown mammoth;
He thinks all things are human made –
Believing in mere human strength!
The world cannot ignore conscience;
No man can do much, without God;
If laws are made for human rights,
They shan’t be anti-God /Nature!
Man better heed to conscience first;
All things he does will turn out fine;
Ethical dilemmas vanish,
And soul of man will stay most pure!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 1-21-2010
poem by John Celes
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Nature, who for the perfect maintenance of the laws of her general equilibrium, has sometimes need of vices and sometimes of virtues, inspires now this impulse, now that one, in accordance with what she requires.
quote by Marquis de Sade
Submitted by Simona Enache
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At the heart of these challenges lies the question of how the institutions of the European Union make laws, the types of laws they pass and the effectiveness with which those laws are implemented on civil society and the economy.
quote by John Hutton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet- You Can't Have Opposites
When vices, virtues are but parallel lines,
The former moves backward, latter forward;
No one can take the mixture of such wines;
No one can be both fish and also bird.
There isn't a hybrid of vices, virtues;
There isn't a place where both of them can meet;
Just one and only one, a man must choose;
You can't have Heaven's joy and Hell's great heat!
The virtuous way is like climbing a hill;
The road to vice is like slipping from one;
While God rewards Heaven as former's bill,
The latter, yields hell's eternal fire-den!
One can't be both a good and bad a man;
You try to have Heaven and hell, how can?
poem by John Celes
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