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.