The Zoo Fence

An obedience not commanded, but of course.

Still

Existence having born them
And fitness bred them,
While matter varied their forms
And breath empowered them,
All created things render, to the existence
and fitness they depend on,
An obedience
Not commanded but of course.
And since this is the way existence bears issue
And fitness raises, attends,
Shelters, feeds and protects,
Do you likewise:
Be parent, not possessor,
Attendant, not master,
Be concerned not with obedience but with benefit,
And you are at the core of living.

Lao Tzu

Q

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Note: Please consider that, in the second to last line, the English word benefit derives from the Latin bene facere, meaning to do well or to do the right thing.