If the foot said
‘I am not a hand
I am not (a part) of the body,
is it
for this reason {i.e. having said the above}
not (a part) of the body?
And if the ear said
‘I am not an eye
I am not (part) of the body’
is it
for this reason
not (a part) of the body?
If the whole body was an eye,
where is hearing?
If the whole (body) was an ear
where is smelling?
But as it is
God put ‘limbs and organs’
each of them
in the body
just as he chose.
For if all of them were one ‘limb and organ’
where would the body be?
But as it is
(there are) many limbs and organs
but one body.
If the foot said
‘I am not a hand
I am not (a part) of the body,
is it
for this reason {i.e. having said the above}
not (a part) of the body?
And if the ear said
‘I am not an eye
I am not (part) of the body’
is it not
for this reason
not (a part) of the body?
If the whole body was an eye,
where is hearing?
If the whole (body) was an ear
where is smelling?
But as it is
God put ‘limbs and organs’
each of them
in the body
just as he chose.
For if all of them were one ‘limb and organ’
where would the body be?
But as it is
(there are) many limbs and organs
but one body.
Eternal Light, shine into our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil,
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,
Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us;
that with all our heart and mind
and soul and strength we may seek thy face
and be brought by thine infinite mercy
to thy holy presence;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Alcuin (735-804)