What weight of woe we owe to thee,
Accurst comparative degree!
Thy paltry step can never give
Access to the superlative;
For he who would the wisest be,
Strives to make others wise as he,
And never yet was man judged best
Who would be better than the rest;
So does comparison unkind
Dwarf and debase the haughty mind.
Make not a man your measuring-rod
If you would span the way to God;
Heed not our petty "worse" or "less,"
But fix your eyes on perfectness.
Make for the loftiest point in view,
And draw your friends along with you.
--Amos R. Wells.
Thy nature be my law,
Thy spotless sanctity,
And sweetly every moment draw
My happy soul to thee.
Soul of my soul remain;
Who didst for me fulfill,
In me, O Lord, fulfill again
Thy heavenly Father's will.
--Charles Wesley.