\u201cPity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave
and eats a bread it does not harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero,
and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream,
yet submits in its awakening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
save when it walks in a funeral,
boasts not except among its ruins,
and will rebel not save when its neck is laid
between the sword and the block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox,
whose philosopher is a juggler,
and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting,
and farewells him with hooting,
only to welcome another with trumpeting again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years
and whose strongmen are yet in the cradle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pity the nation divided into fragments,
each fragment deeming itself a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2015 Kahlil Gibran, The Garden of The Prophet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cPity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weaveand eats a bread it does not harvest. Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero,and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful. Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream,yet submits … <\/p>\n