Chapter III: Preface (2)

To do the tasks of life, and be not lost;
To mingle, yet dwell apart;
To be by roughest seas how rudely tossed,
Yet bate no jot of heart;

To hold thy course among the heavenly stars,
Yet dwell upon the earth;
To stand behind Fate's firm-laid prison bars,
Yet win all Freedom's worth.

--Sydney Henry Morse.

'Twere sweet indeed to close our eyes
with those we cherish near,
And wafted upward by their sighs soar
to some calmer sphere;
But whether on the scaffold high or
in the battle's van
The fittest place where man can die
is where he dies for man.

--Michael Joseph Barry.

A TRUE HERO

(James Braidwood of the London Fire Brigade; died June, 1861.)

Not at the battle front, writ of in story,
Not in the blazing wreck, steering to glory;

Not while in martyr-pangs soul and flesh sever,
Died he--this Hero now; hero forever.

No pomp poetic crowned, no forms enchained him;
No friends applauding watched, no foes arraigned him;

Death found him there, without grandeur or beauty.
Only an honest man doing his duty;

Just a God-fearing man, simple and lowly,
Constant at kirk and hearth, kindly as holy;

Death found--and touched him with finger in flying--
Lo! he rose up complete--hero undying.

Now all men mourn for him, lovingly raise him,
Up from his life obscure, chronicle, praise him;

Tell his last act; done 'midst peril appalling,
And the last word of cheer from his lips falling;

Follow in multitudes to his grave's portal;
Leave him there, buried in honor immortal.

So many a Hero walks unseen beside us,
Till comes the supreme stroke sent to divide us.

Then the Lord calls his own--like this man, even,
Carried, Elijah-like, fire-winged, to heaven.

--Dinah Maria Mulock Craik.

Unless above himself he can
Erect himself, how poor a thing is man.

--Samuel Daniel.

BATTLES

Nay, not for place, but for the right,
To make this fair world fairer still--
Or lowly lily of the night,
Or sun topped tower of a hill,
Or high or low, or near or far,
Or dull or keen, or bright or dim,
Or blade of grass, or brightest star--
All, all are but the same to him.

O pity of the strife for place!
O pity of the strife for power!
How scarred, how marred a mountain's face!
How fair the face of a flower!
The blade of grass beneath your feet
The bravest sword--aye, braver far
To do and die in mute defeat
Than bravest conqueror of war!

When I am dead, say this, but this:
"He grasped at no man's blade or shield.
Or banner bore, but helmetless,
Alone, unknown, he held the field;
He held the field, with sabre drawn,
Where God had set him in the fight;
He held the field, fought on and on,
And so fell, fighting for the right!"

--Joaquin Miller.

While thus to love he gave his days
In loyal worship, scorning praise,
How spread their lures for him in vain,
Thieving Ambition and paltering Gain!
He thought it happier to be dead,
To die for Beauty than live for bread.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Whether we climb, whether we plod,
Space for one task the scant years lend,
To choose some path that leads to God,
And keep it to the end.

--Lizette Woodworth Reese.

Bravely to do whate'er the time demands,
Whether with pen or sword, and not to flinch,
This is the task that fits heroic hands;
So are Truth's boundaries widened, inch by inch.

--James Russell Lowell.

COURAGE

CONSTANCY, CONFIDENCE, STRENGTH, VALOR

THE BATTLEFIELD

Once this soft turf, this rivulet's sands,
Were trampled by a hurrying crowd,
And fiery hearts and armed hands
Encountered in the battle cloud.

Ah! never shall the land forget
How gushed the life-blood of her brave--
Gushed, warm with life and courage yet,
Upon the soil they fought to save.

Now all is calm and fresh and still,
Alone the chirp of flitting bird,
And talks of children on the hill,
And bell of wandering kine are heard.

No solemn host goes trailing by
The black-mouthed gun and staggering wain;
Men start not at the battle-cry;
Oh, be it never heard again!

Soon rested those who fought; but thou
Who minglest in the harder strife
For truths which men receive not now,
Thy warfare only ends with life.

A friendless warfare! lingering long
Through weary day and weary year;
A wild and many-weaponed throng
Hang on thy front, and flank, and rear.

Yet nerve thy spirit to the proof.
And blench not at thy chosen lot;
The timid good may stand aloof,
The sage may frown--yet faint thou not.

Nor heed the shaft too surely cast,
The foul and hissing bolt of scorn;
For with thy side shall dwell at last
The victory of endurance born.

Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again;
The eternal years of God are hers;
But Error, wounded, writhes in pain,
And dies among his worshipers.

Yea, though thou lie upon the dust,
When they who helped thee flee in fear,
Die full of hope and manly trust,
Like those who fell in battle here.

Another hand thy sword shall wield,
Another hand the standard wave,
Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealed,
The blast of triumph o'er thy grave.

--William Cullen Bryant.

DARE YOU?

Doubting Thomas and loving John,
Behind the others walking on:

"Tell me now, John, dare you be
One of the minority?
To be lonely in your thought,
Never visited nor sought,
Shunned with secret shrug, to go
Through the world esteemed its foe;
To be singled out and hissed,
Pointed at as one unblessed,
Warned against in whispers faint,
Lest the children catch a taint;
To bear off your titles well,--
Heretic and infidel?
If you dare, come now with me,
Fearless, confident and free."

"Thomas, do you dare to be
Of the great majority?
To be only, as the rest,
With Heaven's common comforts blessed;
To accept, in humble part,
Truth that shines on every heart;
Never to be set on high,
Where the envious curses fly;
Never name or fame to find,
Still outstripped in soul and mind;
To be hid, unless to God,
As one grass-blade in the sod;
Underfoot with millions trod?
If you dare, come with us, be
Lost in love's great unity."

--Edward Rowland Sill.

SENSITIVENESS

Time was I shrank from what was right,
From fear of what was wrong;
I would not brave the sacred fight
Because the foe was strong.

But now I cast that finer sense
And sorer shame aside;
Such dread of sin was indolence,
Such aim at heaven was pride.

So when my Saviour calls I rise,
And calmly do my best;
Leaving to Him, with silent eyes
Of hope and fear, the rest.

I step, I mount, where He has led;
Men count my haltings o'er;
I know them; yet, though self I dread,
I love His precept more.

--John Henry Newman.

COURAGE

Because I hold it sinful to despond,
And will not let the bitterness of life
Blind me with burning tears, but look beyond
Its tumult and its strife;

Because I lift my head above the mist,
Where the sun shines and the broad breezes blow,
By every ray and every raindrop kissed
That God's love doth bestow;

Think you I find no bitterness at all?
No burden to be borne, like Christian's pack?
Think you there are no ready tears to fall
Because I keep them back?

Why should I hug life's ills with cold reserve,
To curse myself and all who love me? Nay!
A thousand times more good than I deserve
God gives me every day.

And in each one of these rebellious tears
Kept bravely back He makes a rainbow shine;
Gratefully I take His slightest gift, no fears
Nor any doubts are mine.

Dark skies must clear, and when the clouds are past
One golden day redeems a weary year;
Patient I listen, sure that sweet at last
Will sound his voice of cheer.

Then vex me not with chiding. Let me be.
I must be glad and grateful to the end.
I grudge you not your cold and darkness,--me
The powers of light befriend.

--Celia Thaxter.

DO AND BE BLEST

Dare to think, though others frown;
Dare in words your thoughts express;
Dare to rise, though oft cast down;
Dare the wronged and scorned to bless.

Dare from custom to depart;
Dare the priceless pearl possess;
Dare to wear it next your heart;
Dare, when others curse, to bless.

Dare forsake what you deem wrong;
Dare to walk in wisdom's way,
Dare to give where gifts belong,
Dare God's precepts to obey.

Do what conscience says is right,
Do what reason says is best,
Do with all your mind and might;
Do your duty and be blest.

A PLACE WITH HIM

O tired worker, faltering on life's rugged way,
With faithful hands so full they may not rest,
Forget not that the weak of earth have one sure stay,
And humblest ones by God himself are blest,
Who work for Him!

Then courage take, faint heart! and though the path be long
God's simple rule thy steps will safely guide:--
"Love Him, thy neighbor as thyself, and do no wrong";
In calm content they all shall surely bide
Who walk with Him!

So banish every fear, each daily task take up,
God's grace thy failing strength shall build anew;
His mercy, in thy sorrows, stay the flowing cup:
And His great love keep for thy spirit true
A place with him!

--J. D. Seabury.

GOD A FORTRESS

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing:
Our Helper, he, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth is his name,
From age to age the same,
And he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of darkness grim--
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers--
No thanks to them--abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

--Martin Luther, tr. by Frederick H. Hedge.

STRENGTH

Be strong to hope, O heart!
Though day is bright,
The stars can only shine
In the dark night.
Be strong, O heart of mine,
Look toward the light.

Be strong to bear, O heart!
Nothing is vain:
Strive not, for life is care,
And God sends pain.
Heaven is above, and there
Rest will remain.

Be strong to love, O heart!
Love knows not wrong;
Didst thou love creatures even,
Life were not long;
Didst thou love God in heaven
Thou wouldst be strong.

Why comes temptation but for man to meet
And master and make crouch beneath his foot,
And so be pedestaled in triumph? Pray,
"Lead us into no such temptation, Lord!"
Yea, but, O thou whose servants are the bold,
Lead such temptations by the head and hair,
Reluctant dragons, up to who dares fight,
That so he may do battle and have praise.

--Robert Browning.

BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

Speak thou the truth. Let others fence,
And trim their words for pay:
In pleasant sunshine of pretense
Let others bask their day.

Guard thou the fact; though clouds of night
Down on thy watch tower stoop:
Though thou shouldst see thine heart's delight
Borne from thee by their swoop.

Face thou the wind. Though safer seem
In shelter to abide:
We were not made to sit and dream:
The safe must first be tried.

Where God hath set His thorns about,
Cry not, "The way is plain":
His path within for those without
Is paved with toil and pain.

One fragment of His blessed Word,
Into thy spirit burned,
Is better than the whole half-heard
And by thine interest turned.

Show thou thy light. If conscience gleam,
Set not thy bushel down;
The smallest spark may send his beam
O'er hamlet, tower, and town.

Woe, woe to him, on safety bent,
Who creeps to age from youth,
Failing to grasp his life's intent
Because he fears the truth.

Be true to every inmost thought,
And as thy thought, thy speech:
What thou hast not by suffering bought,
Presume thou not to teach.

Hold on, hold on--thou hast the rock,
The foes are on the sand:
The first world tempest's ruthless shock
Scatters their drifting strand:

While each wild gust the mist shall clear
We now see darkly through,
And justified at last appear
The true, in Him that's True.

--Henry Alford.

COURAGE DEFINED

The brave man is not he who feels no fear,
For that were stupid and irrational;
But he whose noble soul its fear subdues,
And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from.
As for your youth whom blood and blows delight,
Away with them! there is not in their crew
One valiant spirit.

--Joanna Baillie.

DEMAND FOR COURAGE

Thy life's a warfare, thou a soldier art;
Satan's thy foeman, and a faithful heart
Thy two-edged weapon; patience is thy shield,
Heaven is thy chieftain, and the world thy field.
To be afraid to die, or wish for death,
Are words and passions of despairing breath.
Who doth the first the day doth faintly yield;
And who the second basely flies the field.

--Francis Quarles.

When falls the hour of evil chance--
And hours of evil chance will fall--
Strike, though with but a broken lance!
Strike, though you have no lance at all!

Shrink not, however great the odds;
Shrink not, however dark the hour--
The barest possibility of good
Demands your utmost power.

They are slaves who fear to speak
For the fallen and the weak;
They are slaves who will not choose
Hatred, scoffing and abuse,
Rather than in silence shrink
From the truth they needs must think;
They are slaves who dare not be
In the right with two or three.

--James Russell Lowell.

TRUST IN GOD AND DO THE RIGHT

Courage, brother, do not stumble,
Though thy path be dark as night;
There's a star to guide the humble--
Trust in God and do the right.
Though the road be long and dreary,
And the end be out of sight;
Foot it bravely, strong or weary--
Trust in God and do the right.

Perish "policy" and cunning,
Perish all that fears the light;
Whether losing, whether winning,
Trust in God and do the right.
Shun all forms of guilty passion,
Fiends can look like angels bright;
Heed no custom, school, or fashion--
Trust in God and do the right.

Some will hate thee, some will love thee,
Some will flatter, some will slight;
Cease from man and look above thee,
Trust in God and do the right.
Simple rule and safest guiding--
Inward peace and shining light--
Star upon our path abiding--
TRUST IN GOD AND DO THE RIGHT.

--Norman Macleod.

THE PRESENT CRISIS

We are living, we are dwelling, in a grand and awful time.
In an age on ages telling to be living is sublime.
Hark! the waking up of nations; Gog and Magog to the fray.
Hark! what soundeth? 'Tis creation groaning for its latter day.

Will ye play, then, will ye dally, with your music and your wine?
Up! it is Jehovah's rally; God's own arm hath need of thine;
Hark! the onset! will ye fold your faith-clad arms in lazy lock?
Up! O up, thou drowsy soldier! Worlds are charging to the shock.

Worlds are charging--heaven beholding; thou hast but an hour to fight;
Now the blazoned cross unfolding, on, right onward for the right!
On! let all the soul within you for the truth's sake go abroad!
Strike! let every nerve and sinew tell on ages; tell for God!

--Arthur Cleveland Coxe.

BRAVERY

We will speak on; we will be heard;
Though all earth's systems crack,
We will not bate a single word,
Nor take a letter back.

We speak the truth; and what care we
For hissing and for scorn
While some faint gleaming we can see
Of Freedom's coming morn!

Let liars fear; let cowards shrink;
Let traitors turn away;
Whatever we have dared to think,
That dare we also say.

--James Russell Lowell.

NO ENEMIES

He has no enemies, you say?
My friend, your boast is poor;
He who hath mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes. If he has none
Small is the work that he has done.
He has hit no traitor on the hip;
He has cast no cup from tempted lip;
He has never turned the wrong to right;
He has been a coward in the fight.

One deed may mar a life,
And one can make it.
Hold firm thy will for strife,
Lest a quick blow break it!
Even now from far, on viewless wing,
Hither speeds the nameless thing
Shall put thy spirit to the test.
Haply or e'er yon sinking sun
Shall drop behind the purple West
All shall be lost--or won!

--Richard Watson Gilder.

In spite of sorrow, loss, and pain,
Our course be onward still;
We sow on Burmah's barren plain,
We reap on Zion's hill.

--Adoniram Judson.

I find no foeman in the road but Fear.
To doubt is failure and to dare success.

--Frederic Lawrence Knowles.

DARE TO DO RIGHT

Dare to do right! dare to be true!
You have a work that no other can do,
Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well,
Angels will hasten the story to tell.

Dare to do right! dare to be true!
Other men's failures can never save you;
Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith;
Stand like a hero, and battle till death.

Dare to do right! dare to be true!
God, who created you, cares for you too;
Treasures the tears that his striving ones shed,
Counts and protects every hair of your head.

Dare to do right! dare to be true!
Keep the great judgment-seat always in view;
Look at your work as you'll look at it then--
Scanned by Jehovah, and angels, and men.

Dare to do right! dare to be true!
Cannot Omnipotence carry you through?
City, and mansion, and throne all in sight--
Can you not dare to be true and do right?

Dare to do right! dare to be true!
Prayerfully, lovingly, firmly pursue
The path by apostles and martyrs once trod,
The path of the just to the city of God.

--George Lansing Taylor.

PLUCK WINS

Pluck wins! It always wins! though days be slow,
And nights be dark 'twixt days that come and go,
Still pluck will win; its average is sure,
He gains the prize who will the most endure;
Who faces issues; he who never shirks;
Who waits and watches, and who always works.

BE NEVER DISCOURAGED

Be never discouraged!
Look up and look on;
When the prospect is darkest
The cloud is withdrawn.
The shadows that blacken
The earth and the sky,
Speak to the strong-hearted,
Salvation is nigh.

Be never discouraged!
If you would secure
The earth's richest blessings,
And make heaven sure,
Yield not in the battle,
Nor quail in the blast;
The brave and unyielding
Win nobly at last.

Be never discouraged!
By day and by night
Have glory in prospect
And wisdom in sight;
Undaunted and faithful,
You never will fail,
Though kingdoms oppose you
And devils assail.

--D. C. Colesworthy.

NEVER SAY FAIL

Keep pushing--'tis wiser than sitting aside
And dreaming and sighing and waiting the tide.
In life's earnest battle they only prevail
Who daily march onward, and never say fail.

With an eye ever open, a tongue that's not dumb,
And a heart that will never to sorrow succumb,
You'll battle--and conquer, though thousands assail;
How strong and how mighty, who never say fail.

In life's rosy morning, in manhood's firm pride,
Let this be the motto your footsteps to guide:
In storm and in sunshine, whatever assail,
We'll onward and conquer, and never say fail.

ONLY ONE WAY

However the battle is ended,
Though proudly the victor comes,
With fluttering flags and prancing nags
And echoing roll of drums,
Still truth proclaims this motto,
In letters of living light:
No question is ever settled
Until it is settled right.

Though the heel of the strong oppressor
May grind the weak in the dust,
And the voices of fame with one acclaim
May call him great and just,
Let those who applaud take warning,
And keep this motto in sight:
No question is ever settled
Until it is settled right.

Let those who have failed take courage;
Though the enemy seemed to have won,
Though his ranks are strong, if in the wrong
The battle is not yet done.
For, sure as the morning follows
The darkest hour of the night,
No question is ever settled
Until it is settled right.

FORTITUDE AMID TRIALS

O, never from thy tempted heart
Let thine integrity depart!
When Disappointment fills thy cup,
Undaunted, nobly drink it up;
Truth will prevail and Justice show
Her tardy honors, sure, though slow.
Bear on--bear bravely on!

Bear on! Our life is not a dream,
Though often such its mazes seem;
We were not born for lives of ease,
Ourselves alone to aid and please.
To each a daily task is given,
A labor which shall fit for Heaven;
When Duty calls, let Love grow warm;
Amid the sunshine and the storm,
With Faith life's trials boldly breast,
And come a conqueror to thy rest.
Bear on--bear bravely on!

He that feeds men serveth few;
He serves all who dares be true.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

PLUCK

Be firm. One constant element in luck
Is genuine, solid, old Teutonic pluck.
See yon tall shaft? It felt the earthquake's thrill,
Clung to its base, and greets the sunlight still.

Stick to your aim; the mongrel's hold will slip,
But only crow-bars loose the bulldog's grip;
Small as he looks, the jaw that never yields
Drags down the bellowing monarch of the fields.

Yet, in opinions look not always back;
Your wake is nothing,--mind the coming track;
Leave what you've done for what you have to do,
Don't be "consistent," but be simply true.

--Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Do thy little; do it well;
Do what right and reason tell;
Do what wrong and sorrow claim:
Conquer sin and cover shame.
Do thy little, though it be
Dreariness and drudgery;
They whom Christ apostles made
Gathered fragments when he bade.

Is the work difficult?
Jesus directs thee.
Is the path dangerous?
Jesus protects thee.

Fear not and falter not;
Let the word cheer thee:
All through the coming year
He will be near thee.

Well to suffer is divine.
Pass the watchword down the line
Pass the countersign, Endure!
Not to him who rashly dares,
But to him who nobly bears,
Is the victor's garland sure.

--John Greenleaf Whittier.

If thou canst plan a noble deed
And never flag till thou succeed,
Though in the strife thy heart shall bleed,
Whatever obstacles control,
Thine hour will come; go on, true soul!
Thou'lt win the prize; thou'lt reach the goal.

I honor the man who is willing to sink
Half his present repute for freedom to think;
And when he has that, be his cause strong or weak,
Will risk t'other half for freedom to speak.

--James Russell Lowell.

The word is great, and no deed is greater
When both are of God, to follow or lead;
But alas! for the truth when the word comes later,
With questioned steps, to sustain the deed.

--John Boyle O'Reilly.

Stand upright, speak thy thought, declare
The truth thou hast that all may share;
Be bold, proclaim it everywhere;
They only live who dare.

--Lewis Morris.

There is no duty patent in the world
Like daring try be good and true myself,
Leaving the shows of things to the Lord of show
And Prince o' the power of the air.

--Robert Browning.

Tender-handed stroke a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains.

--Aaron Hill (1685-1750).

On the red rampart's slippery swell,
With heart that beat a charge, he fell
Foeward, as fits a man;
But the high soul burns on to light men's feet
Where death for noble ends makes dying sweet.

--James Russell Lowell.

I do not ask that Thou shalt front the fray.
And drive the warring foeman from my sight:
I only ask, O Lord, by night, by day,
Strength for the fight!

No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere;
I see Heaven's glories shine,
And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.

--Emily Bronte.

You will find that luck
Is only pluck
To try things over and over;
Patience and skill,
Courage and will,
Are the four leaves of luck's clover.

The chivalry
That dares the right and disregards alike
The yea and nay o' the world.

--Robert Browning.

God has his best things for the few
Who dare to stand the test;
He has his second choice for those
Who will not have his best.

Dare to be true; nothing can need a lie;
A fault which needs it most grows two thereby.

--George Herbert.

INDEPENDENCE

MANHOOD, FIRMNESS, EARNESTNESS, RESOLUTION

WANTED

God give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor--men who will not lie.
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking;
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps.

--Josiah Gilbert Holland.

TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE

By thine own soul's law learn to live,
And if men thwart thee take no heed;
And if men hate thee have no care;
Sing thou thy song, and do thy deed;
Hope thou thy hope, and pray thy prayer,
And claim no crown they will not give,
Nor bays they grudge thee for thy hair.

Keep thou thy soul-won, steadfast oath,
And to thy heart be true thy heart;
What thy soul teaches learn to know,
And play out thine appointed part,
And thou shalt reap as thou shalt sow,
Nor helped nor hardened in thy growth,
To thy full stature thou shalt grow.

Fix on the future's goal thy face,
And let thy feet be lured to stray
Nowhither, but be swift to run,
And nowhere tarry by the way,
Until at last the end is won,
And thou mayst look back from thy place
And see thy long day's journey done.

--Pakenham Beatty.

LORD OF HIMSELF

How happy is he born and taught
That serveth not another's will;
Whose armor is his honest thought,
And simple truth his utmost skill.

Whose passions not his masters are,
Whose soul is still prepared for death;
Not tied unto the world with care
Of public fame or private breath.

Who envies none that chance doth raise,
Or vice; who never understood
How deepest wounds are given by praise,
Nor rules of state but rules of good.

Who hath his life from rumors freed,
Whose conscience is his strong retreat;
Whose state can neither flatterers feed,
Nor ruin make accusers great.

Who God doth late and early pray
More of his grace than gifts to lend;
And entertains the harmless day
With a well-chosen book or friend.

This man is freed from servile bands,
Of hope to rise or fear to fall;
Lord of himself, though not of lands,
And having nothing, yet hath all.

--Henry Wotton.

High above hate I dwell;
O storms, farewell!

UNCONQUERED

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud;
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll;
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

--William Ernest Henley.

RELIGION AND DOCTRINE

He stood before the Sanhedrim:
The scowling rabbis gazed at him.
He recked not of their praise or blame;
There was no fear, there was no shame,
For one upon whose dazzled eyes
The whole world poured its vast surprise.
The open heaven was far too near
His first day's light too sweet and clear,
To let him waste his new-gained ken
On the hate-clouded face of men.

But still they questioned, Who art thou?
What hast thou been? What art thou now?
Thou art not he who yesterday
Sat here and begged beside the way,
For he was blind.
"_And I am he;
For I was blind, but now I see._"

He told the story o'er and o'er;
It was his full heart's only lore;
A prophet on the Sabbath day
Had touched his sightless eyes with clay,
And made him see who had been blind,
Their words passed by him like the wind
Which raves and howls, but cannot shock
The hundred-fathom-rooted rock.

Their threats and fury all went wide;
They could not touch his Hebrew pride.
Their sneers at Jesus and his band,
Nameless and homeless in the land,
Their boasts of Moses and his Lord,
All could not change him by one word.

"_I know not what this man may be,
Sinner or saint; but as for me
One thing I know: that I am he
Who once was blind, and now I see._"

They were all doctors of renown,
The great men of a famous town
With deep brows, wrinkled, broad, and wise
Beneath their wide phylacteries;
The wisdom of the East was theirs,
And honor crowned their silvery hairs.
The man they jeered, and laughed to scorn
Was unlearned, poor, and humbly born;
But he knew better far than they
What came to him that Sabbath day;
And what the Christ had done for him
He knew, and not the Sanhedrim.

--John Hay.

THE OLD STOIC

Riches I hold in light esteem,
And Love I laugh to scorn;
And lust of fame was but a dream,
That vanished with the morn.

And, if I pray, the only prayer
That moves my lips for me
Is, "Leave the heart that now I bear,
And give me liberty!"

Yes, as my swift days near their goal,
'Tis all that I implore,
In life and death a chainless soul
And courage to endure.

--Emily Bronte.

Keep to the right, within and without,
With stranger and pilgrim and friend;
Keep to the right and you need have no doubt
That all will be well in the end.
Keep to the right in whatever you do,
Nor claim but your own on the way;
Keep to the right, and hold on to the true,
From the morn to the close of life's day!

FOR A' THAT

Is there for honest poverty
That hangs his head, and a' that?
The coward slave, we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that;
For a' that and a' that;
Our toils obscure and a' that;
The rank is but the guinea-stamp,
The man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hodden gray, and a' that:
Gie fools their silks and knaves their wine,
A man's a man for a' that;
For a' that and a' that,
Their tinsel show, and a' that,
The honest man, though e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men, for a' that.

You see yon birkie ca'd a lord,
Wha struts and stares, and a' that:
Though hundreds worship at his word
He's but a coof for a' that.
For a' that and a' that,
His riband, star, and a' that,
The man of independent mind,
He looks and laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, and a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might,
Guid faith, he mauna fa' that,
For a' that and a' that,
Their dignities, and a' that,
The pith of sense and pride o' worth,
Are higher ranks than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will, for a' that,
That sense and worth o'er a' the earth,
May bear the gree and a' that;
For a' that and a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that,
That man to man, the warld o'er,
Shall brothers be, for a' that.

--Robert Burns.

Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for a hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone, that soar above,
Enjoy such liberty.

--Richard Lovelace.

"A MAN'S A MAN FOR A' THAT"

(A new song to an old tune.)

"A man's a man," says Robert Burns,
"For a' that and a' that";
But though the song be clear and strong
It lacks a note for a' that.
The lout who'd shirk his daily work,
Yet claim his wage and a' that,
Or beg when he might earn his bread,
Is _not_ a man for a' that.

If all who "dine on homely fare"
Were true and brave and a' that,
And none whose garb is "hodden gray"
Was fool or knave and a' that,
The vice and crime that shame our time
Would disappear and a' that,
And plowmen be as great as kings,
And churls as earls for a' that.

But 'tis not so; yon brawny fool,
Who swaggers, swears, and a' that,
And thinks because his strong right arm
Might fell an ox, and a' that,
That he's as noble, man for man,
As duke or lord, and a' that,
Is but an animal at best
But _not_ a man for a' that.

A man may own a large estate,
Have palace, park, and a' that,
And not for birth, but honest worth,
Be thrice a man for a' that.
And Sawnie, herding on the moor,
Who beats his wife and a' that,
Is nothing but a brutal boor,
Nor half a man for a' that.

It comes to this, dear Robert Burns,
The truth is old, and a' that,
The rank _is_ but the guinea's stamp,
The man's the gowd for a' that.
And though you'd put the self-same mark
On copper, brass, and a' that,
The lie is gross, the cheat is plain,
And will not pass for a' that.

"For a' that and a' that"
'Tis soul and heart and a' that
That makes a king a gentleman,
And not his crown for a' that.
And whether he be rich or poor
The best is he, for a' that,
Who stands erect in self-respect,
And acts the man for a' that.

--Charles Mackay.

ESSE QUAM VIDERI

The knightly legend on thy shield betrays
The moral of thy life; a forecast wise,
And that large honor that deceit defies,
Inspired thy fathers in the elder days,
Who decked thy scutcheon with that sturdy phrase,
_To be, rather than seem._ As eve's red skies
Surpass the morning's rosy prophecies,
Thy life to that proud boast its answer pays,
Scorning thy faith and purpose to defend.
The ever-mutable multitude at last
Will hail the power they did not comprehend--
Thy fame will broaden through the centuries;
As, storm and billowy tumult overpast,
The moon rules calmly o'er the conquered seas.

--John Hay.

THE HIGHER LAW

Man was not made for forms, but forms for man,
And there are times when law itself must bend
To that clear spirit always in the van,
Outspeeding human justice. In the end
Potentates, not humanity, must fall.
Water will find its level, fire will burn,
The winds must blow around the earthly ball,
The earthly ball by day and night must turn;
Freedom is typed in every element,
Man must be free, if not through law, why then
Above the law, until its force be spent
And justice brings a better. But, O, when,
Father of Light, when shall the reckoning come
To lift the weak, and strike the oppressor dumb.

--Christopher Pearse Cranch.

What I am, what I am not, in the eye
Of the world, is what I never cared for much.

--Robert Browning.