Lord, Bend Me, Or I Shall Rot.

There's A Devil Inside Me Which Cries, "you're Not The Son Of The Carpenter, You're The Son Of King David! You Are Not A Man, You Are The Son Of Man Whom Daniel Prophesied." And Still More: "the Son Of God! And Still More: God!

I Should Learn To Run, To Wrestle, To Swim, To Ride Horses, To Row, To Drive A Car, To Fire A Rifle. I Should Fill My Soul With Flesh. I Should Fill My Flesh With Soul. In Fact, I Should Reconcile At Last Within Me The Two Internal Antagonists.

What First Truly Stirred My Soul Was Not Fear Or Pain, Nor Was It Pleasure Or Games; It Was The Yearning For Freedom. I Had To Gain Freedom-but From What, From Whom? Little By Little, In The Course Of Time, I Mounted Freedom's Rough Unaccommodating Ascent. To Gain Freedom First Of All From The Turk, That Was The Initial Step; After That, Later, This New Struggle Began: To Gain Freedom From The Inner Turk-from Ignorance, Malice And Envy, From Fear And Laziness, From Dazzling False Ideas; And Finally From Idols, All Of Them, Even The Most Revered And Beloved.

Before Me Is The Abyss. How Can I Leap Across It? And If I Do Not Leap, How Shall I Ever Be Able To Reach God?

This Book Was Not Written Because I Wanted To Offer A Supreme Model To The Man Who Struggles; I Wanted To Show Him That He Must Not Fear Pain, Temptation Or Death - Because All Three Can Be Conquered, All Three Have Already Been Conquered. Christ Suffered Pain, And Since Then Pain Has Been Sanctified. Temptation Fought Until The Very Last Moment To Lead Him Astray, And Temptation Was Defeated. Christ Died On The Cross, And At That Instant Death Was Vanquished Forever.