R. A. Lafferty 
Flame Is Green 
The Coscuin Chronicles Book 1

Let us say that we have a green thing growing forever. Everything that is done is done by it. And on it we also have the red parasite crunching forever; and everything that is undone by that. It is required of each man that he rule over himself in justice, and that he rule over the world in justice. This has gone on forever, though it is hard to trace through garbled history. And it must still is hard to trace through garbled history. And it must still go on forever. For all your own life and for the life of all your children, you will carry on the green battle.