It is well to have purposes we can carry out. It is also well to have
purposes so lofty that we cannot carry them out; for these latter are
the mighty inner fires which warm our being at its core and without
which our impulse to do even the lesser things would be feeble.
I had rather cut man's purpose deeper than
Achieving it be crowned as conqueror;
To will divinely is to accomplish more
Than a mere deed: it fills anew the wan
Aspect of life with blood; it draws upon
Sources beyond the common reach and lore
Of mortals, to replenish at its core
The God-impassioned energy of man.
And herewith all the worlds of deed and thought
Quicken again with meaning--pulse and thrill
With Deity--that had forgot His touch.
There is not any act avails so much
As this invisible wedding of the will
With Life--yea, though it seem to accomplish naught.
_Henry Bryan Binns._