Thomas H. Benton born 1782.
Johann Strauss born 1804.
Victor Emmanuel born 1820.
Rivers to the ocean run,
Nor stay in all their course;
Fire ascending seeks the sun;
Both speed them to their source;
So a soul that's born of God,
Pants to view his glorious face,
Upward tends to his abode,
To rest in his embrace.
--Robert Seagrave.
As the bird trims her to the gale
I trim myself to the storm of time;
I man the rudder, reef the sail,
Obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime;
Lowly faithful, banish fear,
The port well worth the cruise is near
And every wave is charmed.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson.
As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
--Psalm 42. 1.
My Father, I pray that if I meet with difficulty, I may not go
backward, nor stand still, and fear to go forward. Unfold to me the
depth and breadth of the ideal and beautiful, that I may not be
content to succeed in the shallowness of life: but may I aspire to the
height of the soul, even if I fail to acquire great things. Amen.