Cleopatra died B. C. 30.
William Paley born 1743.
Julian A. Weir born 1852.
Thyself and thy belongings
Are not thine own so proper as to waste
Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee.
Heaven doth with us as we with torches do,
Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues
Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike
As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touched
But to fine issues, nor Nature never lends
The smallest scruple of her excellence,
But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines
Herself the glory of a creditor,
Both thanks and use.
--William Shakespeare.
Brethren, be ye imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk
even as ye have us for an ensample.
--Philippians 3. 17.
My Father, I pray that I may not let my life become commonplace
through habit. May I not be content to rest in my virtues and let the
days pass neglected. Awaken my dull satisfactions to a desire to live
for the greatest, that I may have the greatest to live for. Amen.