To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing by William Butler Yeats
Now all the truth is out,
Be secret and take defeat
From any brazen throat,
For how can you compete,
Being honor bred, with one
Who were it proved he lies
Were neither shamed in his own
Nor in his neighbors’ eyes;
Bred to a harder thing
Than Triumph, turn away
And like a laughing string
Whereon mad fingers play
Amid a place of stone,
Be secret and exult,
Because of all things known
That is most difficult.
If you have been right, you need not defend yourself in the usual way for the truth needs no defense. True honor is guileless. Only the guileless fool can find his way around the pitfalls that prevent most men from knowing themselves as they truly are and not as others would define them. Through guilelessness is found wisdom.
Whether you leave your father’s house, country and kindred like Abraham or enter the magical castle like Parzifal, you must find the way to leave your “home” behind, that is, the aspects of your identity that are woven of the fabric of the temporal. You must shed the clothing given to you by your parents, siblings, friends and teachers, shake loose from the ties that bind you to societal expectations and rise above the internal prejudices, rigid opinions and faux amis which trick you into thinking you know the truth when you don’t.
In so doing, you realize that compassion, not reaction or retaliation, is essential to aligning yourself with the ever-surging power of life. Hear this carefully and take it deeply to heart: wolves in sheep’s clothing will eventually be seen with blood on their fangs. Ravening wolves in shepherd’s clothing will likewise be known by their fruits. Wise is the man who refrains from judgment through his compassionate understanding of the world around him.
You are “honor bred.” You can triumph over all adversity which comes your way. You needn’t fight against and struggle with that which is beneath you.
“Be secret and exult.”
Gregory Hake 
Thank you for your words. Forgiveness, compassion, non judgement and guilessness are all qualities that bring peace in heart and perspective in mind. Interesting correlation with the timing of what is being celebratred as “The Diamond Jubilee.” The word jubilee has a meaning related to the blast of a trumpet. Your blog is a sounding blast for all to remember there honor bred.
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Thank you Gregg for such a beautiful post!
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You’re welcome!
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It is funny, because while the words you wrote are the secret to overcoming any “foe”, seeing them as such really isn’t the point. They aren’t a foe because they aren’t honor bred, and you aren’t really defeating them. You are allowing yourself to be guileless, which gets you out of the way of the person defeating themselves. There is so much bad advice and so many false truths in the world, but compassion and non-judgement is never bad advice. It allows each of us to find our true power and to find the person who we really are, not the person we were taught we had to settle for.
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THat’s a great way to put it, Colin: “They aren’t a foe because they aren’t honor bred, and you aren’t really defeating them. You are allowing yourself to be guileless, which gets you out of the way of the person defeating themselves.” I would add that getting out of the way also gives you a chance to redirect the negative/aggressive energy they’re sending in your direction in a way that they have the best possible chance to rise up into honor.
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That, to me, is maturity of faith. Not needing to be believed honor bred by my fellows is a freedom I appreciate understanding. People will believe what they believe based on who they’ve become. Defending my choices I’ve realized is a not necessary as the only judgement that is valid is God’s, that is who I, daily, am honor bred to make sure I am square with. I can only be of service to my fellow man when this is where the bar is set.
What a terrific poem. I’ll bet Yeats would enjoy your elaboration.
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Compassion is the skeleton key, the basic virtue, which wisely applied unlocks the doors to honor and integrity in others. It is a harmless approach; the only potential harm comes from a reaction to its presence by those who most need it.
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One more thought…not to reduce this to a religious consideration as I feel its implications and import far exceed such confines, but the attitude of compassion I refer to here is one that says “forgive them, for they know not what they do” no matter how personally uncomfortable the situation may be. It’s hard to think of a purer, more elegant example of the right approach to take in living than this. Even when the world thinks it has won and you have been removed from the scene or silenced in some way, you can “be secret and exult,” for you have established a victory in the name of all that is right…a victory, mind you, that cannot be easily forgotten or rationalized away.
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Beautiful words, thank you.
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My pleasure. Thank you for commenting.
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“We measure success by the things we accrue or the bonds that we form, or the deeds we do. But these too shall pass, as hard as we try to hold on to form, form will die. But inherent in the dance of form is the chance to see what is yet unborn. And the choice to throw this chance away, and be caught up in the play of who we think we are, who we think we are.” Part of the lyrics of the song “Who You Really Are” by Kirtana. This is a beautiful song which so accurately states our struggle to find who we really are.
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Thank you for the quote, Carmen. In my estimation, the best way to discover who you are is to provide a safe, nourishing and compassionate field in which others can discover who they are. You cannot “look inside” or withdraw from the world to get to know yourself, for self-awareness flowers only in the sunlight of radiant service. Turning inward evokes struggle and frustration (such an orientation is antithetical to the eternally radiant one you are), while serving outward is the light and easy way to realization.
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