Charles Montagu, Earl of Halifax, born 1661.
Charles W. Peale born 1741.
Sir John Franklin born 1786.
Weary of myself and sick of asking
What I am, and what I ought to be,
At the vessel's prow I stand, which bears me
Forward, forward, o'er the starlit sea
O air-born voice! long since severely clear,
A cry like thine in my own heart I hear.
Resolve to be thyself: and know that he
Who finds himself, loses his misery.
--Matthew Arnold.
This above all to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou can'st not then be false to any man.
--William Shakespeare.
Let thine eyes look right on,
And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Make level the path of thy feet,
And let all thy ways be established.
--Proverbs 4. 25, 26.
My Father, give me a sense of nearness to thee when I may be faltering
from weariness in well doing. May I hold to my determinations. Help me
to know what is useless, that I may not give unnecessary energy, and
to know what is worth while, that I may acquire strength through the
power of truth. Amen.