We know all their gods; they ignore ours. What they call our sins are our gods, and what they call their gods, we name otherwise.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the subjective nature of belief and morality, suggesting different cultures interpret gods and sins in diverse ways.
Natalie Clifford Barney's quote delves into the complexities of how different societies conceptualize divinity and morality. It highlights that what one culture perceives as sinful may be revered by another as sacred, indicating that our understanding of gods and sins is deeply rooted in our cultural contexts. It thus calls attention to the relativity of values and beliefs, implying that there is no absolute truth in notions of good and evil across different societies.
In practice
A speaker at an interfaith dialogue could use this quote to illustrate the need for understanding diverse belief systems.
I planted my self in the middle of a great many Glasses full of Dew, tied fast about me, upon which the Sun so violently darted his Rays, that the Heat, which attracted them, as it does the thickest Clouds, carried me up so high, that at length I found my self above the middle Region of the Air.
Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonweal, our governance will emerge.
The arbitrary rule of a just and enlightened prince is always bad. His virtues are the most dangerous and the surest form of seduction: they lull a people imperceptibly into the habit of loving, respecting, and serving his successor, whoever that successor may be, no matter how wicked or stupid.
Whatever is happening, whatever is changing, whatever is going or not going according to my plans - I release my hold on all of it. I leave behind who I think I am, who I want to be, what I want the world to be. I come home to the great peace of the present moment.
Such is the cost of immortality. No person is whole. No person is free. Over time, some have determined that the only way to live is to die. In death, a man or a woman is free of the weight of the past [and the future].
The most dangerous of devotions, in my opinion, is the one endemic to Christianity: I was not born to be of this world. With a second life waiting, suffering can be endured - especially in other people. The natural environment can be used up. Enemies of the faith can be savaged and suicidal martyrdom praised.
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