Voice

There were once three men. Let us for the sake of this story call them Thomas, Richard, and Maurice. Thomas was older than the other two men, though not much older than his friend and colleague, Richard. Both were very learned men. Maurice was a very young man who sought out Thomas and Richard to discover that which they had already learned. Thomas taught many people during his life, but eventually he grew old and he passed from the material world.

Soon after, Richard, who was born without sight, was sitting alone with Maurice. He told Maurice, " I have been blind these many years. Since I have been unable to see, I have come to listen carefully to the voices of those around me. In so doing, I judge the true nature of those persons. I have found that most people, when they express happiness and joy for another person's success, there is an element of envy in their voice. Just as I note that touch of envy, I also have found that most people when expressing their sorrow to another in a time of grief, actually have a hint of satisfaction in their voice, as if there is something good to be gain from the situation."

However, whenever Thomas spoke, whether expressing happiness or sorrow, whenever I listened, I heard joy when joy as spoken and sadness when events brought sadness to another.