September 4, 2014

Word

I hate the judge who loves money, the scribe who loves war, chiefs who do not guard their subjects, and nations without vigor.

I hate houses without dwellers, lands untilled, fields that bear no harvest.

Landless clans, the agents of error, the oppressors of truth.

I hate him who respects not father or mother, those who make strife among friends.

A country in anarchy, lost learning, and uncertain boundaries.

I hate journeys without safety, families without strength, lawsuits without reason.

Ambushes and treasons, faults in counsel, and justice unhonored.

I hate a man without a trade, a laborer without freedom, a society without teachers, false witness before a judge, the undeserving exalted to high position. -- Cadoc, poet of ancient Ireland.

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