XV Amor Prudentitatis Secundus

(The Second Love of Wisdom, the second sonnet on Philosophy)
As Plato said, one ought to question all,
Each answer will lead closer to the Truth,
Philosophy does ever to me call,
For he who knows is better fit to choose.
This modern life is ever full of choice,
And one ought not to choose 'til he is sure,
Yet if you wait too long, you'll have no voice,
And silence cannot be a useful cure.
The Earth is ere beset by many flaws-
Injustices and evil spring to mind,
And what will better shut their hungry jaws,
That Truth's amazing power to unwind?
False thoughts, when brought to light, lose their appeal,
Yet Truth must first be found to make it real.
-Vir Cogitans Americanus
Scribit Dies XI Octobris, Anno Domini MMVII

II Scire Non Scire Cur Est

(To Know Is Not To Know Why)
While science is the cure for many ills,
It answers not the fundamental “why?”
That query set by Grand Eternal Quills
Is questioned now and will be by and by.
What purpose has a strand of DNA,
If not to be the building-block of life?
But why this is to be brings great dismay,
When such a goal is not applied to life.
The purposes which set our reaching goals
Are not derived from how the body works.
But rather they must land upon our souls,
Delivered by Philosophy through Works*.
No scientific thought can claim to say
Why Man must live his life from day to day.
- Vir Cogitans Americanus
Scribit Dies XXVII Maii, Anno Domini MMVII

* Grand works of great thinkers and Religious writers

157 The Partnership

Man longs to know the secrets of the world,
The hidden flow of breezes o’er the earth,
The mystery of death and netherworld,
The gold of living breath, all living’s worth.
To find the secret here, he turns to “laws,”
To thought’s ungainly sphere he does seclude,
He postulates, examines, finds his flaws,
His mind creates new laws, however crude.
Thus knowledge grows, and recreates itself,
Man ever knows much more than once he did,
And yet without a goal, this has no wealth,
As Man without a soul is just an id.
The knowledge by itself is not enough,
Bereft of Wisdom’s wealth it’s naught but fluff.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written March 26, 2007

153 Man’s Dilemma

The beast and Gentleman ne’er end the strife,
The animal, again, does long for flesh,
Philosopher e’er pines for higher life,
It is not her, but Her, who is the best!
Mankind is close to choosing Perfect Will,
Her golden robes are ever just in sight,
And just as Wisdom’s Truth is closer still,
Mankind, in foolish youth, dismisses light!
To serve, our deepest fear and greatest goal,
Does draw so ever near, and we withdraw,
When Wisdom moves into our deepest soul,
We flee in droves, uncertain- what a flaw!
Full self-control is ever what we yearn,
Yet “freedom’s” goal is e’er to Wisdom spurn!
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written March 13, 2007

148 The Nature of Man

Oh mind, thou art a bastion for the truth,
O soul, thou art the metaphysic geist-
The corpse, not perfect, even in the youth,
Does ever wish, of virtue such, the heist!
The body knows it holdeth little gold,
A beauty, yes, but only to the eye,
And time destroys the beauty of the old,
The curse of man is ever that we die.
The mind and soul may yet be quite pristine-
And yet, when unfulfilled they are a void,
Their beauty lies in golden wisdom’s gleam,
On Earth their treasure cannot be destroyed!
And thus is man, he is of parts composed-
Philosopher and beast, in him exposed.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written February 27, 2007

138 Upon the Nature of Good and Evil

The skeptics say there is no good and bad,
Their broken way has taught them not to think,
For ev’ry action’s right or wrong, my lad,
These things your very might can never sink.
‘Tis very hard to tell of right and wrong-
Yet spirit knows full well the very things,
It says you ought to sing a certain song-
And is distraught when wrongful spirit sings.
If seen aright, perversion is the wrong-
The evil blight still seeks for something good-
The murderer may kill for justice’ song,
The theif’s down-battered will just longs for food.
The Evil search for good in wrongful ways,
So act the way you should, for virtue’s praise.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written January 28, 2007

132 Morality

The skepticists hold “right” to be a taste,
The “moralists” are far too strict indeed,
And yet when they are wronged, this view they waste,
No matter how prolonged, it must recede.
For theft and murder’s blight, are not a taste,
No man would call them right in his right mind,
“Morality” must not then be a waste,
Reality declares the skeptic blind.
All times diverge to some quite vast extent,
New tastes emerge, and change affects the faith,
Yet all, in truth, converge to one consent,
And all religions merge, this truth portray.
In Egypt, Greece, or Rome, or even here,
The Right and Wrong are home to men sincere.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written January 4, 2007

131 Corruption

The wise of time agone did well devise,
Their method, greatly strong, was well conceived,
Yet as the rest, which ever slowly dies,
It failed the test, and men no more believed.
An order new is now the question heard,
The thinkers brew another system strong,
To think that it will stand is yet absurd,
The one afore was grand, and it went wrong.
Mankind asserts the flaw to their design,
The breaking of the jaw, to bone itself,
They never ask what agent did malign,
But simply cast a stronger living wealth.
Corruption deals its mighty blow severe,
For order’s steel, mankind must be austere.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written January 2, 2007

130 The Source

A man cannot describe the right and wrong.
The method he contrives is full amiss,
To show the form through what in it belongs
Cannot inform, and leads to great distress.
Alas a gift does then present itself-
None is adrift from what these forms contain,
Thus man is not compelled to share the wealth,
As it’s through all dispelled, none need attain.
Yet if mankind’s aware of good and bad,
The virtues he does share must not be his,
But those of one beyond his knowing clan,
They are the son of what mankind consists.
A puzzle then, the link of all mankind,
Excels the ken, its finder shall be wise.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written January 2, 2007

129 Progress

The ages pass, and men grow slowly old,
Time moving fast, a merciless command,
And now the people ask if time is gold,
If it performs a task so truly grand.
The man who knows disdain does answer no,
In time before the pain he once was glad,
Now sadness reigns, his heart is ever cold,
He knows the pains he once had never had.
The happy man does answer loudly yes,
He now does stand atop the golden stair,
He does remember well his old distress,
And will quite gladly tell of dead despair.
Yet neither speaker knows full well the truth,
For as emotion grows, it blinds the sleuth.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written January 1, 2007

127 Love

A leap of faith compels the seeker’s choice,
The use of reason tells the known result,
If God above has spoken true his voice,
And God is love, philosophy’s a cult.
For if the world was made by Father God,
His truth unfurl’d, in love he died for man,
The purpose of the earth is a façade,
The only thing of worth, what he began.
So love does reign supreme, as under Christ,
The never-ending dream is ended short,
Philosophy, that ever-seeking geist,
A pointless dream, and now a conquered fort.
The answer lies in truest Holy love,
The hermit’s guise is broken from above.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 30, 2006

126 The Victory and Loss

The endless search for purpose in our lives,
The painful lurch of victory and loss,
The answer to the quest one may despise,
If solitude is blest and is the cost.
For endless passing years, great men did think,
Their everpresent fears of pointless life,
Their solitude in searching for the link,
Dare I intrude to quench abstractest strife?
For here I stand, a youngling to be sure,
Not yet a man, a thinker premature,
I now believe I know the very cure,
And yet I fear to show what I endure!
Despite my tendency to search alone,
Love has been shown to be the thing unknown.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 30, 2006