I am content. In trumpet tones
My song let people know;
And many a mighty man with thrones
And scepter is not so.
And if he is I joyful cry,
Why, then he's just the same as I.
My motto is--Content with this;
Gold--place--I prize not such.
That which I have my measure is:
Wise men desire not much.
Men wish and wish, and have their will,
And wish again as hungry still.
And gold and honor are besides
A very brittle glass;
And time, in his unresting tides
Makes all things change and pass:
Turns riches to a beggar's dole;
Sets glory's race an infant's goal.
Be noble--that is more than wealth;
Do right--that's more than place;
Then in the spirit there is health
And gladness in the face:
Then thou art with thyself at one
And, no man hating, fearest none.
--George Macdonald.