yesterday and today 
by Gibran Khalil Gibran



The gold-hoarder walked in his palace park and with him 
walked his troubles. And over his head hovered worries as a 
vulture hovers over a carcass, until he reached a beautiful 
lake surrounded by magnificent marble statuary. 

He sat there pondering the water which poured from the mouths 
of the statues like thoughts flowing freely from a lover's 
imagination, and contemplating heavily his palace which stood 
upon a knoll like a birth-mark upon the cheek of a maiden. His 
fance revealed to him the pages of his life's drama which he 
read with falling tears that veiled his eyes and prevented 
him from viewing man's feeble additions to Nature. 

He looked back with piercing regret to the images of his early 
life, woven into pattern by the gods, until he could no longer 
control his anguish. He said aloud, "Yesterday I was grazing 
my sheep in the green valley, enjoying my existance, sounding 
my flute, and holding my head high. Today I am a prisoner of 
greed. Gold leads into gold, then into restlessness and finally 
into crushing misery. 

"Yesterday I was like a singing bird, soaring freely here and 
there in the fields. Today I am a slave to fickle wealth, 
society's rules, and city's customs, and purchased friends, 
pleasing the people by conforming to the strange and narrow 
laws of man. I was born to be free and enjoy the bounty of 
life, but I find myself like a beast of burden so heavily 
laden with gold that his back is breaking. 

"Where are the spacious plains, the singing brooks, the pure 
breeze, the closeness of Nature? Where is my deity? I have lost 
all! Naught remains save loneliness that saddens me, gold that 
ridicules me, slaves who curse to my back, and a palace that I 
have erected as a tomb for my happiness, and in whose greatness 
I have lost my heart. 

"Yesterday I roamed the prairies and the hills together with 
the Bedouin's daughter; Virtue was our companion, Love our 
delight, and the moon our guardian. Today I am among women 
with shallow beauty who sell themselves for gold and diamonds. 

"Yesterday I was carefree, sharing with the shepherds all the 
joy of life; eating, playing, working, singing, and dancing 
together to the music of the heart's truth. Today I find 
myself among the people like a frightened lamb among the 
wolves. As I walk in the roads, they gaze at me with hateful 
eyes and point at me with scorn and jealousy, and as I steal 
through the park I see frowning faces all about me. 

"Yesterday I was rich in happiness and today I am poor in gold. 

"Yesterday I was a happy shepherd looking upon his head as 
a merciful king looks with pleasure upon his contented subjects. 
Today I am a slave standing before my wealth, my wealth which 
robbed me of the beauty of life I once knew. 

"Forgive me, my Judge! I did not know that riches would put my 
life in fragments and lead me into the dungeons of harshness 
and stupidity. What I thought was glory is naught but an eternal 
inferno." 

He gathered himself wearily and walked slowly toward the palace, 
sighing and repeating, "Is this what people call wealth? Is this 
the god I am serving and worshipping? Is this what I seek of the 
earth? Why can I not trade it for one particle of contentment? 
Who would sell me one beautiful thought for a ton of gold? Who 
would give me one moment of love for a handful of gems? Who 
would grant me an eye that can see others' hearts, and take 
all my coffers in barter?" 

As he reached the palace gates he turned and looked toward the 
city as Jeremiah gazed toward Jerusalem. He raised his arms 
in woeful lament and shouted, "Oh people of the noisome city, 
who are living in darkness, hastening toward misery, preaching 
falsehood, and speaking with stupidity...until when shall you 
remain ignorant? Unti when shall you abide in the filth of life 
and continue to desert its gardens? Why wear you tattered robes 
of narrowness while the silk raiment of Nature's beauty is 
fashioned for you? The lamp of wisdom is dimming; it is time 
to furnish it with oil. The house of true fortune is being 
destroyed; it is time to rebuild it and guard it. The thieves 
of ignorance have stolen the treasure of your peace; it is time 
to retake it!" 

At that moment a poor man stood before him and stretched forth 
his hand for alms. As he looked at the beggar, his lips parted, 
his eyes brightened with a softness, and his face radiated 
kindness. It was as if the yesterday he had lamented by the 
lake had come to greet him. He embraced the pauper with affection 
and filled his hands with gol, and with a voice sincere with 
the sweetness of love he said, "Come back tomorrow and bring 
with you your fellow sufferers. All your possessions will be 
restored." 

He entered his palace saying, "Everything in life is good; even 
gold, for it teaches a lesson. Money is like a stringed instrument; 
he who does not know how to use it properly will hear only discordant 
music. Money is like love; it kills slowly and painfully the one 
who withholds it, and it enlivens the other who turns it upon 
his fellow man."