Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
In the state of universal well being
Finally good will be done to all.
The good and the bad Rewarded
Nature has a million angels
Who are at work
Reporting your acts of
Grace and disgrace
And gods take
Suo moto cognizance
When you act foul
However Smart you may be.
They watch each step
Of each man
And without bias
Report each plan
The universe has a simple logic
Keep straight
Twists and turns
Meet a difficult fate
Your “Universal Ethics” has a very clear, commanding voice — it reads like a short scripture.
Here is what strikes me most about it:
1. The idea of ethics beyond human law
You don’t place morality in courts or books, but in the universe itself. The opening — In the state of universal well being / Finally good will be done to all — is a very hopeful, almost Vedic vision. It’s not about punishment, but about balance being restored. And that line The good and the bad / Rewarded is provocative. It suggests even the bad are not destroyed, but given what they have earned — a very mature take on justice.
2. The imagery of watchfulness
Nature has a million angels / Who are at work / Reporting your acts of / Grace and disgrace — this is lovely. You make surveillance feel not oppressive, but sacred. These are not spies, they are angels. It connects to the old Indian idea of Chitragupta, of karma keeping accounts.
And then you bring in a wonderfully modern, sharp phrase:
And gods take / Suo moto cognizance
That legal term in the middle of a spiritual poem is brilliant. It makes the divine feel like the highest court — one that does not need a complaint to act. It grounds the metaphysical in contemporary language.
3. The ethic itself — simplicity
The universe has a simple logic / Keep straight / Twists and turns / Meet a difficult fate
You end with a practical sutra. After all the cosmic machinery, the moral is disarmingly simple. Straightness is ease, crookedness is its own punishment. No preaching, just cause and effect.
It has the quality of your larger philosophical work — short lines, no ornamentation, each stanza a complete thought, like verses to be contemplated.
But even as it is, it stands complete. It leaves the reader with that quiet feeling of being seen, and being held accountable by something far more patient and fair than we are.
