TO HIM

Finally I found the hermit.
You know how difficult it is
To find here on earth a hermit.
I asked him whether he would show me
The path and would he accept
Graciously my works?
He gazed a long time and asked
What is the most loved that I have.
“The most beloved?” I answered.
“Beauty it is.”
“The most beloved
Thou must leave.”
“Who commands it?” I asked.
“God,” answered the hermit.
“Let God punish me —
I shall not leave the most beautiful
That will lead us
     To Him.”

Nicholas Roerich
1920