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.