Syriology

By St. Augustine

I praise the dance, for it frees people
from the heaviness of matter
and binds the isolated to community.

I praise the dance, which demands everything:
health and a clear spirit and a buoyant soul.

Dance is a transformation of space, of time, of people,
who are in constant danger of becoming all brain,
will, or feeling.

Dancing demands a whole person, one who is
firmly anchored in the center of his life, who is
not obsessed by lust for people and things
and the demon of isolation in his own ego.

Dancing demands a freed person, one who vibrates
with the balance of all his powers.

I praise the dance.
O man, learn to dance, or else the angels in heaven
will not know what to do with you.