When I say that I am convinced of these things I speak with too much pride. Far off, like a perfect pearl, one can see the city of God. It is so wonderful that it seems as if a child could reach it in a summer's day. And so a child could. But with me and such as me it is different. One can realise a thing in a single moment, but one loses it in the long hours that follow with leaden feet. It is so difficult to keep 'heights that the soul is competent to gain.' We think in eternity, but we move slowly through time; and how slowly time goes with us who lie in prison I need not tell again, nor of the weariness and despair that creep back into one's cell, and into the cell of one's heart, with such strange insistence that one has, as it were, to garnish and sweep one's house for their coming, as for an unwelcome guest, or a bitter master, or a slave whose slave it is one's chance or choice to be. .Oscar Wilde
About This Quote
It's great to be able to see the city of God in a single moment. To be like a child who can do that is truly amazing. However, we must remember that we need to work out how to get there. There are times when we all need to pull together and make something happen for the good of the world.
The problem is that it's not always easy to get things done. When we lay down our weary heads at night, we may have a small idea of how to move forward but then we have to wait until the next morning before anything will happen. Then, when things finally come together, it might not be easy or pleasant and we may have a hard time doing it again the next day.
It's a long road ahead, but one that is worth travelling for those who live it out with determination and courage.
Source: De Profundis, The Ballad Of Reading Gaol, And Other Poetry
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