good men, like a ray of dawn, shines oil and on to the full light of day." In the 10th chapter "the Eternal never stints an honest man" and "the hopes of good men end in bliss." In the 11th chapter "the path of a right-minded man is cleared by his own goodness" and "the good man is brought safe out of adversity." I quote from Moffatt's translation, because the words in modern language become suddenly striking sometimes, when passages from the older versions seem overfamiliar.
Quotations could be multiplied almost endlessly. Besides the ones I have mentioned there are many more in succeeding chapters of Proverbs. There are many in The Psalms. Moses said the same thing, as did Isaiah. So did the ancient writers of the Vedas, and Confucius, and Lao-tse. In one form or another all the sages of all the ages have told us that God wants us to have what we desire. How do they--or did they--know? By experience, of course--by observation--by revelation. Just as we can know if we will fulfill one condition. As Kingsley said, "Be good . . . and let who will be clever." That's the single condition of our finding out. We don't have to take Emerson's word, or Solomon's, or Lao-tse's.
The proverbs of a people always contain the distilled wisdom of its great men. No proverb that is not true can live very long. "Be good and be happy" is a proverb. It has been ridiculed endlessly, but it is still alive because it is still true. It is a demonstrable axiom.
133
