A time like this demands
Strong minds, stout hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office cannot kill,
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy,
Men who possess opinion and a will,
Men who have honor, men who will not lie,
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And scorn 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!
--_Unknown._
644
He who attacks an absent friend, or who does not defend him when spoken
ill of by another--that man is a dark character; beware of him.
645
Be my friend, and teach me to be thine!
646