On Virtue

Greetings to all, and welcome, to this, the Lunar Festival, hosted by the Children of the Eclipse.

What is the eclipse? Surely, such a mere coincidence of alignment cannot yet be of such significance? I am sure you are familiar with the term, an occasional occurrence in the other-realm. Yet, I speak not of the event of celestial alignment; I do not speak of the eclipse of the sun, but the eclipse of men, and of women, and of beast, and of tree. For what is the eclipse, but when vision of that is occluded, and all that remains is the effulgent corona? The eclipse of men, and women, and beast, and tree alike is much the same; occlude it, and what persists, but the virtue, that which is the all-encompassing of good traits?

It were good, then, to pause but a moment, and observe the corona, that which crowns each being of virtue. Like the eclipse, the Children of the Eclipse must be among those that would bring out the virtue in themselves, and of others, and nurture it, so that it grow strong.

How, then, may one shine of virtue? It were neither easy, nor simple, and yet, for one with it, natural, and unconscious. He that has strength of will, and unfailing moral compass, he cannot fail to be radiant of virtue, though he may be weak of flesh, or imperfect of figure. Such a one is greater than he, who hath no virtue, though he may have strength of flesh, and untarnished figure, for he is easily turned, and becometh a tool of both good and evil, each engaged in an endless war to claim him as their own. As it were, such a man without virtue were empty, a vessel without inhabitor.

Therefore, I must stress, and stress greatly, these two:

A strong force of will may allow one to achieve many great things, through persistence, through diligence, even through suffering, if it were fated. Nurture, then, a strong will, one that cannot and will not bend. Let your will not be engrained in sand, of the beach, that is swept by the tide, and the wind, but upon that which is stable, and unchanging, as stone. It were easy to chisel in the sand, a mere sweep of the fingers, but to chisel in stone takes persistence, diligence, and oft-times, suffering. Train long, and train hard, not only of your sword, but also of your will. Such is the way of the virtuous.

Furthermore, a good moral compass may arise from many things. It is folly to force the values of one upon another, but the essence of good is still good, and the essence of evil, still evil. To tell the difference, some reason, some feel, some pray. All of these may lead to fair judgment, yet, none of these is infallible. There is occasion to temper justice with mercy, or to pit the life of one against another, or to succumb to passion. None of these is inherently evil, but there is circumstance for which they may be, or may not be.

Once, there were a simple man, who lived behind a mountain. Every so often, he would traverse this mountain on his way to the village, to sell his produce, and purchase that which he needed, and retire once more, to his abode. Each other day, he would toil in his fields, and harvest that which he had sown. He were simple, and upright. Yet, this man were a peculiar creature, for on his journey to the village, as he walked over the mountain, he would pause, and then take a short period to move some earth, and rocks, such that they would roll down the side of the mountain. This ritual gave way to habit, and by chance, some passerby asked of this man,

"Wherefore do you such a ritual? Do not the toils of carting your produce, and sowing your crops, and harvesting that which you sow, suffice?"

The man respondeth: "To sell my crops in the village, I must traverse this mountain, for mine abode lies on one side, and the village on the other, and there were other mountains adjacent, such that this were the path of least resistance. Yet, it were still a long journey. Thus, I have resolved to move this mountain, little by little, and it is right to do so, for it causeth me and my family much suffering."

Such response brought much mirth to the passerby, who thought the man had lost his sanity. Such a story soon spread to the village, and the man became a target of jest, and humiliation. It were then asked of the man,

"Know you not the greatness of this mountain? It were many times greater than you, and that which you move each day were not even a scratch upon the surface, not visible to aught who may see. Know you that you could never move such a mountain in your lifetime?"

Yet the man heeded not this warning, but responded, simply,
"It were great indeed, yet, if I should perish before it were gone, my children should do the same, and their children also, until the mountain were gone, and the path to the village one of lesser hardship. I cannot cease, for I can see only good come of this."

Such a response brought more laughter to those of the village. Yet, the man persisted, and still had not made but a scratch on the surface of the mountain. It came to pass that this story died down in the village, and those who knew him, accepted his habit. Yet, the Moon Goddess shone upon him, and smiled, and took note of his virtue. She beseech'd the land to move for him, and, it did, and one day, the mountain was there, and the next, it were not; in its place, a flat plain. And the man were happy indeed, and remained so, for the rest of his days.

Such was a man of virtue.

The day of the Children of the Eclipse draws close. We stand ready for the passing of day-time, for the tranquility of the night-time. May it be that you, like the Moon, should bring light to those in darkness, and through you, may great things be done.