Episode #18: 1 Christopher - Chapter 18 - Newcomers

Jan,15 2026

<-#17: 1 Christopher - Chapter 17 - Winter#19: 1 Christopher - Chapter 19 - Spread ->

Concerning those who gathered, and the error of imitation renewed

18:1

In time, word spread beyond the village,

and some came who cast aside garments.

18:2

They did not come seeking Christopher's counsel,

but a place where their way would not be questioned.

18:3

They settled near the fields,

built simply,

and lived openly.

18:4

I asked Christopher how he felt about this,

for many now looked to him

as the cause.

18:5

And he answered,

"I am neither pleased nor troubled."

18:6

"For every person may live as they choose,

and no man belongs to my approval."

18:7

He said,

"If they live in peace,

they do no harm."

18:8

Seeing this, I felt a stirring in myself.

18:9

And I said,

"My wife has chosen her way.

Perhaps it is time that I choose it also."

18:10

And I laid aside my garments

and stood as they did.

18:11

Christopher looked at me then,

and his face grew heavy.

18:12

He said,

"You have moved too quickly."

18:13

I said,

"Have I not learned?"

18:14

And he answered,

"You have seen.

You have not yet understood."

18:15

"For you imitate the fruit

without tending the root."

18:16

He did not forbid me,

nor shame me.

18:17

But I perceived his disappointment,

and it troubled me more

than any rebuke.

18:18

Thus I learned that copying may still be distance,

and that freedom borrowed

is not yet one's own.

<-#17: 1 Christopher - Chapter 17 - Winter#19: 1 Christopher - Chapter 19 - Spread ->