Quotes from Black Elk

Hear me, four quarters of the world - a relative I am Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only can I face the winds.

If you will read again what is written, you will see how it was.

Grown men may learn from very little children, for the hearts of little children are pure, and, therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.

Any man who is attached to things of this world is one who lives in ignorance and is being consumed by the snakes of his own passions

They told me I had been sick twelve days, lying like dead all the while, and that Whirlwind Chaser, who was Standing Bear's uncle and a medicine man, had brought me back to life.

It is hard to follow one great vision in this world of darkness and of many changing shadows. Among those men get lost.

There can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men.

It's in the darkness of men's eyes that they get lost.

And as he spoke of understanding, I looked up and saw the rainbow leap with flames of many colors over me.

But if the Vision was true and mighty, as I know, it is true and mighty yet;for such things are of Spirit, and it is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost.

It is in the darkness of their eyes that men lose their way.

You see, I had been riding with the storm clouds, and had come to earth as rain, and it was drought that I had killed with the power that the Six Grandfathers gave me.

I know now what this meant, that the bison were the gift of a good spirit and were our strength, but we should lose them, and from the same good spirit we must find another strength.

May you always walk in Beauty.

I had a vision with which I might have saved my people, but I had not the strength to do it.

And if the great fear had not come upon me, as it did, and forced me to do my duty, I might have been less good to the people than some man who had never dreamed at all, even with the memory of so great a vision in me.

You remember that my great vision came to me when I was only nine years old, and you have seen that I was not much good for anything until after I had performed the horse dance near the mouth of the Tongue River during my eighteenth summer.

I think I have told you, but if I have not, you must have understood, that a man who has a vision is not able to use the power of it until after he has performed the vision on earth for the people to see.

To use the power of the bison, I had to perform that part of my vision for the people to see.

Everything tries to be round.

Grown men can learn from very little children for the hearts of little children are pure. Therefore the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.