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THE OPTIMIST'S GOOD MORNING
Compiled by
FLORENCE HOBART PERIN
Boston
Little, Brown, and Company
1911
Copyright, 1907,
By Little, Brown, and Company.
All rights reserved
Printers
S. J. Parkhill & Co., Boston, U. S. A.
TO
My Mother and father
Acknowledgments
The compiler desires to make her grateful acknowledgments to the
publishers and authors who have so generously given their permission to
use selections from their copyrighted publications. She is especially
indebted to Dodd, Mead & Co., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., The Century Co.,
The Outlook Co., Small, Maynard & Co., McClure, Phillips & Co., for
extracts from "The Simple Life" by Charles Wagner and from "The Angelus"
by Edwin Markham; G. P. Putnam's Sons for selections from "Christus
Victor" by Henry Nehemiah Dodge; to Doubleday, Page & Co. for extracts
from "The Story of My Life" by Helen Keller, copyright 1902, 1903; also
for selections from "Afterwhiles," copyright 1887, "Riley Farm Rhymes,"
copyright 1885, "Riley Songs o' Cheer," copyright 1883, "Pipes o' Pan,"
copyright 1888, used by special permission of the publishers, The
Bobbs-Merrill Co., to Charles Scribner's Sons for selections from
"Fisherman's Luck," "The Lost Word," "Little Rivers," "The Story of the
Psalms," "The Toiling of Felix and Other Poems," by Henry Van Dyke, and
a selection from "El Dorado" by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Preface
Once family devotions were general, now they are rare. There are reasons
for the change. One reason is that the simplicity of the old family life
is gone. It is not easy to get all the members of the family together at
any one time in the day. A part of this is due to less leisure now than
formerly. Men must catch trains in the morning. In the evening they are
distracted by manifold social engagements.
Yet the need of spiritual adjustment is ever the same. Rapid transit,
the telephone, the telegraph, do not take the place of God. Indeed the
more rapid pace involved in these modern pace-makers, renders the more
necessary some pause in the day for prayer, some upward look, when for a
moment the soul may find an open way between itself and God. But how and
when? Why not the breakfast table? Surely one or two minutes may be
spared. Thirty seconds of silence, then the reading of a noble sentiment
from some one who has been thinking for us,--another pause,--and a few
words of prayer, framed by some one with more leisure than we have, but
who puts us in the mood of prayer and so starts us right upon the duties
of the day,--this will bring the needed readjustment.
Such is the plan and purpose of this little book. It is made for busy
men and women, who _need_ to begin the day with God. The quotations for
each day are brief, but they are gleaned from the great Masters of
thought. The prayers are from devout men of all the denominations.
As the title will have suggested, both quotations and prayers are
generally in the spirit of a truly optimistic faith. However life may
look in the middle of the night, it is a good thing to start out to do
the work of the day with hope and courage. I shall be glad if I can feel
that this little book has helped some busy people to begin the day in
this spirit. I shall be particularly glad if I can feel that it has
helped a little to keep the candles lighted on the family altar.
FLORENCE HOBART PERIN.
List of Authors of Selections
Abbott, Lyman, 234, 296.
Albee, John, 348.
Alden, Marion, 263.
Ambrosius, Johanna, 254.
Ames, Charles G., 51, 68.
Amiel, Henri-Frederic, 305, 340, 350.
Anonymous, 16, 33, 52, 91, 93, 129, 181, 198, 213, 268, 354.
Arnold, Edwin, 39.
Arnold, George, 249.
Aughey, 315.
Aurelius, Marcus, 216.
Babcock, Maltbie Davenport, 279.
Baldwin, Mary, 72.
Banks, G. L., 135.
Bashford, H. H., 9.
Beecher, Henry Ward, 120, 141, 144, 192, 317, 333.
Bisbee, Frederick A., 248.
Bolton, Sarah Knowles, 211.
Boyd, A. H. K., 78.
Bridges, Madeline S., 304.
Brooke, Stopford A., 27, 115, 289.
Brooks, Phillips, 17, 24, 36, 75, 137, 212, 235, 240, 264, 271,
288, 362.
Brown, Alice, 218.
Brown, Anna Robertson, 51.
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 29, 104, 148, 232, 331.
Browning, Robert, 28, 64, 69, 79, 90, 109, 130, 179, 201, 221, 243.
Bryant, William Cullen, 249, 338.
Bulkeley, Benjamin R., 347.
Burton, Richard, 59.
Carlisle, J. H., 220.
Carlyle, Thomas, 37, 61, 85, 107, 164, 183, 209, 219, 269, 331.
Carman, Bliss, 156.
Carpenter, Edward, 147.
Carruth, William H., 252.
Cary, Alice, 123, 138, 366.
Chadwick, John White, 134.
Child, Lydia Maria, 364.
Clarke, James Freeman, 267.
Cleaves, Charles P., 214.
Coates, Florence E., 189.
Coleridge, Hartley, 245.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 217.
Collyer, Robert, 77, 287.
Confucius, 191.
Coolidge, Susan, 150, 157, 207, 339.
Cowper, William, 335.
Cox, Francis Augustus, 276.
Craig, Dinah Mulock, 143.
Crashaw, Richard, 151.
Danforth, Abbie E., 357.
Davis, Ozora Stearns, 82.
DeVere, Aubrey, 71.
Dix, William F., 261.
Dodge, Henry Nehemiah, 49, 300, 371, 372.
Donaldson, Alfred L., 244.
Dowd, Emma C., 169.
Drummond, Henry, 91, 203, 323.
Dunbar, Paul Laurence, 88, 186, 256.
Earle, Mabel, 278.
Eliot, George, 48, 241.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 19, 42, 57, 87, 108, 124, 127, 151, 158, 185,
210, 228, 271, 281, 344.
Epictetus, 56, 284.
Faunce, W. H. P., 153.
Fiske, John, 11.
Ford, Mary Hanaford, 8.
Foss, Sam Walter, 99, 341.
Fox, George, 104.
Franklin, Benjamin, 158.
Gannett, William C., 116, 132, 239, 302.
Garland, Hamlin A., 196.
Gilder, Richard Watson, 168, 367.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 4, 146.
Goethe, 360.
Gordon, Anna A., 247.
Gotthold, 23.
Gray, John, 378.
Green, J. R., 199.
Grover, Edwin Osgood, 155.
Hale, Edward Everett, 65, 188, 219, 280, 281.
Harraden, Beatrice, 80.
Hart, Estelle M., 337.
Havergal, Frances Ridley, 282.
Hawkes, Clarence, 97.
Hay, John, 67.
Hoar, George F., 83.
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 29, 55, 172, 188, 253, 286, 297, 311, 352.
Homer, 341.
Hopkins, Ellice, 265.
Hovey, Richard, 292.
Hughes, Thomas, 194.
Humboldt, Alexander von, 306.
Hunt, Leigh, 143.
Huntington, Bishop, 70.
Huxley, Thomas Henry, 202.
Hyde, William DeWitt, 118.
Ibsen, Henrik, 312.
Ingelow, Jean, 221, 327.
Jackson, J. S., 7.
James, Henry, Sr., 165.
Johnson, Samuel, 66.
Jones, T. Edgar, 224.
Karr, Alphonse, 264.
Keats, John, 295.
Keller, Helen, 93, 128, 145.
King, T. Starr, 275.
Kingsley, Charles, 85.
Kiser, S. E., 318.
Klingle, George, 106.
Larcom, Lucy, 32, 161.
Leonard, Priscilla, 60, 299, 312, 329, 336.
Livermore, Mary A., 119.
Longfellow, Henry W., 30, 52, 162, 308.
Lowell, James Russell, 54, 92, 174, 242, 291.
Luther, Martin, 43.
Mabie, Hamilton W., 173.
MacDonald, George, 159, 177, 179, 200, 272, 326, 374.
Maeterlinck, 170, 193.
Marius, 35.
Markham, Edwin, 14, 257.
Markwell, Mary, 126.
Martin, Theodore, 96.
Mason, Caroline Atwater, 152.
Massey, Gerald, 66.
Meredith, Owen, 89.
Merriam, George S., 112.
Miller, James Russell, 293.
Milton, John, 62, 125, 136, 262, 307.
Montaigne, 69.
Moodie, William, 44, 178, 195, 226, 237.
Moore, Henry Hoyt, 238.
Moore, Thomas, 229, 309.
Moxom, Philip S., 149.
Murray, Ada Foster, 246.
O'Reilly, John Boyle, 314.
Parker, Theodore, 34.
Partridge, William Ordway, 18.
Payne, J. Howard, 361.
Peabody, Francis G., 332, 334.
Perin, George L., 3, 12, 153, 163, 176, 215, 290, 322, 368, 379.
Perry, Carlotta, 231.
Perry, Nora, 101.
Plutarch, 298.
Procter, Adelaide A., 10.
Procter, Bryan Waller, 166.
Pullman, James M., 21, 56, 225.
Rankin, Isaac Ogden, 25.
Ravenscroft, James, 255.
Realf, Richard, 223.
Reimer, Edward F., 227.
Rexford, Eben E., 94.
Richter, 285.
Riley, James Whitcomb, 182, 230, 266, 283, 310.
Robertson, Frederick W., 250.
Rollins, Alice Wellington, 26.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 65, 74, 197.
Rosetti, Christina, 171.
Ruskin, John, 23, 58, 83, 139, 190, 206.
Russell, Bessie L., 259.
Sangster, Margaret, 117, 205.
Savage, Minot J., 47.
Schiller, 363.
Scollard, Clinton, 84.
Scott, Walter, 235.
Shafer, Sara Andrew, 184, 260.
Shakespeare, 38, 107, 113, 258, 345, 351.
Shelley, 100, 111.
Shipman, George W., 277.
Sill, Edward Rowland, 98, 274.
Smiles, Samuel, 236, 320.
Smyth, Julian K., 73.
Spofford, Harriet P., 101.
Spurgeon, 197.
Stanton, Frank L., 160, 343.
St. Bernard, 269.
Stebbins, Horatio, 280.
Stedman, Edmund Clarence, 95.
Stevenson, Robert Louis, 180, 353.
Stoddard, Richard H., 45.
Story, William Wetmore, 6, 321.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 230.
Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 53, 167.
Swing, David, 46.
Symonds, John Addington, 175, 346.
Taylor, Bayard, 240, 321.
Taylor, Jeremy E., 59.
Tennyson, Alfred, 232, 326.
Thaxter, Celia, 95.
Tholuck, 357.
Thompson, Maurice, 110.
Thoreau, Henry David, 50, 335.
Townsend, Mary Ashley, 81.
Trowbridge, Robertson, 273.
Urmy, Clarence, 268.
Van Dyke, Henry, 142, 154, 294, 313, 324, 328, 355, 365, 377.
Vinci, Leonardo da, 74.
Wagner, Charles, 20, 63, 114, 204, 356.
Waterman, Nixon, 173.
Whitman, Walt, 22, 40, 102, 270, 349, 358.
Whitney, Mrs. A. D. T., 31, 86, 122, 127, 147, 167, 298, 301, 303, 348.
Whittier, John Greenleaf, 15, 41, 103, 140, 289, 359, 376.
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler, 5, 13, 87, 121, 222, 231, 325.
Willard, Frances E., 105.
Wordsworth, William, 76, 131, 251, 319.
Wright, Mary Frances, 233.
List of Authors of Prayers
Adams, J. Coleman, 119.
Albion, James F., 91.
Alcott, A. N., 299.
Allen, James F., 265.
Amee, E. McP., 264.
Ames, Charles Gordon, 6.
Anderson, Thomas D., 132.
Annas, J. W., 253.
Atwood, Isaac M., 34.
Atwood, John Murray, 36.
Ayers, Samuel Gilbert, 121.
Babcock, William G., 10.
Backus, Wilson M., 139.
Badger, George H., 271.
Barker, J. H., 107.
Barney, Edward M., 74.
Bartlett, A. Eugene, 11.
Batchelor, George, 108.
Bates, Lewis P., 226.
Beane, Samuel C., 236.
Benton, Herbert E., 272.
Berle, Adolph A., 319.
Betts, Frederick W., 70, 181, 317.
Billings, Charles T., 316.
Bisbee, Frederick A., 27.
Bissell, Flint M., 79.
Blake, Edwin Alonzo, 228.
Blanchard, Henry, 24.
Bliss, Charles B., 206.
Brandow, Melvin, 287.
Brett, Francis W., 182.
Brigham, L. Ward, 20.
Brodie, James Fairbairn, 320.
Bronson, Dillon, 9.
Brown, Howard N., 354.
Brown, William Channing, 106.
Buckshorn, Louis H., 191.
Burch, Ernest W., 312.
Burleigh, W. H., 118.
Burr, Everett D., 136.
Bush, R. Perry, 82.
Bushnell, Samuel C., 37.
Bygrave, Hilary, 212.
Canfield, Harry L., 39.
Carter, John Wesley, 48.
Cary, Phoebe, 274.
Chapin, Eben H., 323.
Chapman, Edward M., 30.
Charlton, J. E., 341.
Chase, J. Frank, 237.
Cheney, George H., 192.
Church, Augustus B., 99.
Clark, C. C., 144.
Clark, DeWitt S., 257.
Clark, Francis E., 38.
Clark, Hobart, 218.
Clarke, William N., 258.
Clayton, Francis Treadway, 302.
Coddington, Isaac P., 190.
Coleman, Albert J., 353.
Collier, Frank W., 174.
Conklin, Abram, 19.
Conklin, Charles, 361.
Conner, Ralph E., 211.
Coons, Leroy W., 68.
Cooper, Joseph, 84.
Cooper, J. Francis, 310.
Corby, James D., 280.
Couden, Henry N., 26.
Crandall, Lathan A., 202.
Crane, Cephas B., 60.
Crane, Frank, 337.
Crooker, Florence Kollock, 98.
Crooker, Joseph H., 23.
Crooker, Orin Edson, 163.
Cuckson, John, 123.
Curnick, E. T., 93.
Cushman, Henry Irving, 94.
Danforth, Abbie E., 105.
Davis, Charles Edward, 260.
Davidson, John M., 289.
Day, Edward, 62.
Day, John, 78.
Dean, George B., 267.
DeNormandie, James, 125.
Dick, Samuel M., 333.
Dight, Alexander, 290.
Dillingham, Fred A., 41.
Dodge, J. Smith, 340.
Dodson, George R., 197.
Dole, Charles F., 157.
Dole, Walter, 339.
Downey, Edward C., 365.
Earle, A. Gertrude, 104.
East, Charles R., 324.
Eddy, William B., 49.
Eichler, M. M., 195.
Faunce, W. H. P., 307.
Fish, William H., 263.
Fischer, Theodore A., 17.
Fisher, C. E., 67.
Fisk, Richmond, 159.
Fleischer, Charles, 360.
Forbes, John P., 142.
Forbes, Roger S., 161.
Fortier, George F., 77.
Foster, Augustine N., 154.
Fraser, Donald, 284.
Freeman, L. A., 255.
Frick, Philip L., 348.
Frothingham, Paul Revere, 169.
Full, William, 300.
Fulton, J. W., 282.
Galbraith, John, 220.
Gannett, William C, 373.
Gaskin, William E., 251.
Gerrish, George Mayo, 75.
Gibbs, William E, 168.
Gifford, O. P., 209.
Gooding, Alfred, 245.
Gould, William H., 146.
Grant, Elihu, 238.
Grant, Eugene M., 288.
Graves, Herbert H., 242.
Gray, Francis A., 111.
Greene, L. L., 131.
Greene, Ransom A., 355.
Greene, Samuel H., 328.
Grier, Albert C., 269.
Grose, Arthur W., 311.
Gunnison, Almon, 4, 47.
Guth, William W., 216.
Hale, Edward Everett, 55, 92, 120, 304, 345.
Hall, Frank Oliver, 278.
Hammatt, Albert, 232.
Hammond, L. H., 244.
Hamilton, Franklin, 322.
Hatch, William H. P., 318.
Hawkins, J. E., 279.
Haynes, Myron W., 58.
Healy, Walter, 100.
Helms, E. J., 343.
Henry, Carl F., 248.
Hiller, Charles C. P., 336.
Hitchcock, Albert Wellman, 64.
Hodge, Dwight M., 81.
Hodges, George, 356.
Holden, C. W., 29.
Holden, James Harry, 204.
Holmes, C. K., 281.
Holt, Frank M., 71.
Horne, Ralph Edwin, 103.
Horner, Thomas J., 329.
Horton, Edward A., 115.
Howe, George M., 346.
Hoyt, Wayland, 54.
Huntley, George E., 325.
Hyde, William DeWitt, 351.
Illman, Thomas W., 247.
Jennings, B. L., 88.
Johnson, L. P., 335.
Johonnot, Rodney F., 252.
Jones, Effie McCollum, 31.
Kellerman, Robert S., 194.
Kent, George W., 147.
Kidner, Reuben, 43.
Kimball, John, 42.
King, Henry M., 57.
Knickerbocker, Charles A., 5.
Lacount, J. Edwin, 350.
Lee, John Clarence, 175.
Leonard, Charles H., 170.
Levy, Maurice A., 155.
Locke, Calvin S., 277.
Longbrake, George Runyon, 327.
Lord, Augustus Mendon, 40.
Lund, Charles E., 178.
Lutterman, E. W., 308.
MacLennan, A. K., 275.
Main, William H., 14.
Martin, T. C., 160.
Martineau, James, 56, 217, 321, 334.
Marshall, Perry, 189.
Marvin, Reginold K., 114.
Masseck, Frank Lincoln, 112.
McCollester, Lee S., 221.
McCollester, S. H., 18.
McGlaughlin, William H., 332.
McKenzie, Alexander, 12.
McKinney, Luther F., 210.
Mead, I. J., 143.
Meyer, John F., 349.
Milburn, U. S., 113.
Mitchell, Stanford, 179.
Moore, Henrietta G., 110.
Morgan, William S., 25.
Morrison, William H., 117.
Mudge, James, 223.
Myers, Cortland, 344.
Nash, C. Ellwood, 188, 362, 371, 372, 377.
Nash, Charles P., 148.
Nash, Henry S., 21.
Northrop, Cyrus, 296.
Norton, Stephen A., 359.
Opdale, Nellie Mann, 243.
Osgood, Edmund Q. S., 101.
Owen, George W., 28.
Parker, Joseph, 59, 214, 219.
Parker, Theodore, 53, 97, 109, 135, 193, 230, 239, 249.
Parkhurst, Charles, 63.
Patterson, A. J., 364.
Pattison, Harold, 225.
Payne, Thomas B., 133.
Payson, James M., 222.
Peloubet, F. N., 331.
Pember, Elmer F., 134.
Penniman, George Wallace, 129.
Perin, Florence H., 375.
Perin, George L., 3, 22, 35, 46, 80, 90, 96, 102, 116, 124, 153,
153, 172, 185, 196, 215, 234, 250, 270, 286, 297, 306, 330,
342, 352, 366, 368, 376, 378.
Perkins, Frederick W., 229.
Perkins, O. Howard, 66.
Perkins, Warren S., 164.
Perrin, Willard T., 276.
Perry, Edward A., 61.
Petty, Charles E., 85.
Polk, Robert T., 224.
Potter, Wilburn D., 83.
Potter, William F., 150.
Potterton, Thomas Edward, 165.
Powers, LeGrand, 73.
Preble, Edgar W., 72.
Priest, Frederick C., 208.
Puffer, Charles H., 357.
Putnam, Alfred P., 162.
Randall, J. O., 198.
Reardon, John B., 140.
Rexford, E. L., 16, 128, 233.
Rice, Charles F., 256.
Rice, Clarence E., 173.
Rice, Frank S., 87.
Richardson, W. G., 314.
Roblin, Stephen H., 183.
Rose, Henry R., 303.
Rowley, Francis H., 13.
Rugg, Henry W., 126.
Safford, Oscar F., 65.
Sage, Nathaniel S., 32.
Sallaway, James, 293.
Sargent, Frank D., 347.
Scott, Alva Roy, 44, 141.
Scott, O. W., 186.
Scrivener, George S., 268.
Selleck, Willard C., 227.
Shaw, Annette J., 231.
Shaw, Avery A., 45.
Shields, Albert B., 309.
Shinn, Q. H., 149.
Snippen, Rush R., 201.
Simons, Minot O., 138.
Skene, George, 315.
Slicer, Thomas R., 166.
Small, E. E., 203.
Smiley, Edmund L., 266.
Smiley, George M., 295.
Smith, Thomas W., 283.
Stephan, J. W., 76.
Straub, Jacob, 177.
Studley, Elliott F., 261.
Sweetser, Edwin C., 151.
Taylor, Frederick A., 254.
Taylor, Henry B., 69.
Tenney, Charles R., 294, 313, 326, 363, 367, 379.
Thayer, George A., 199.
Thompson, J. Frank, 51.
Tillinghast, Alan R., 86.
Tillinghast, James D., 358.
Tomlinson, Charles W., 33.
Tomlinson, Vincent E., 205.
Towne, Edward C., 291.
Tupper, Kerr Boyce, 95.
Tuttle, Walter A., 213.
Vail, Charles H., 246.
Varney, Charles E., 292.
Vossema, Hendrick, 235.
Wallace, O. C. S., 50.
Ward, Merrill C., 262.
Ward, W. I., 127.
Warner, E. M., 187.
Weatherly, Arthur L., 200.
Weil, Fred Alban, 338.
Wendte, Charles W., 156.
Wentworth, Margaret, 259.
West, Julius P., 145.
Weston, Costello, 207.
Wheeler, C. H., 8.
Wheeler, F. H., 89.
Whippen, Frank W., 7.
Whitaker, George, 15.
White, Albert C., 167.
Whitney, Elbert W., 301.
Williams, Leon O., 298.
Willson, Andrew, 122.
Wilson, John M., 171.
Wilson, Lewis G., 180.
Wood, W. A., 130.
Wright, Arthur, 184.
Wright, James Edward, 176.
Wright, M. Emory, 273.
Yantis, Arnold S., 52.
Young, George H., 240, 285.
Young, Joshua, 158, 241, 305.
The Optimist's Good Morning
January 1
_Throughout the year, why not keep sweet? No frown ever made a
heart glad; no complaint ever made a dark day bright; no bitter
word ever lightened a burden or made a rough road smooth; no
grumbling ever introduced sunshine into a home. What the world
needs is the resolute step, the look of cheer, the smiling
countenance, and the kindly word. Keep sweet!_
GEORGE L. PERIN.
God of the years, our Heavenly Father, whatever the message of the old
year may have been, whether of darkness or light, joy or sorrow,--we
stand this morning waiting expectantly and confidently for some message
with glad tidings. May we therefore enter upon the New Year in the mood
of hope and good cheer,--brushing from our faces every sign of care, let
us go forth into the New Year with the spirit of a child who puts his
hand into the hand of a Father to be led into a field where the flowers
blossom and the birds sing. Not for to-day only do we pray for sweetness
and light, but let us be glad and happy every day. Thou art with us
today,--Thou wilt be with us through all the journey of the year. May
our own daily gladness be born of the conviction that Thou art always
near. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
January 2
_To keep my health!
To do my work!
To live!
To see to it I grow and gain and give!
Never to look behind me for an hour!
To wait in weakness and to walk in power
But always fronting forward to the light,
Always, and always facing toward the right.
Robbed, starved, defeated, fallen, wide astray--
On, with what strength I have!
Back to the way!_
CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN.
With this new day, O God, let some new strength be mine, to walk in
patience, the way appointed for me. Let me be strong to battle with the
ills that shall beset me, to toil with faith and honest heart, to keep
myself untainted and make my life helpful to my fellowmen. Help me to be
forgetful of myself, but thoughtful to do no evil to any man. Thy hand
is strong and mine is weak. I need Thy guidance, let Thy strength be
mine, that though I stumble I may not fall nor fail. And when the day is
done, may happy memories be mine. Amen.
ALMON GUNNISON.
January 3
_Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of Thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness. Waste no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain to thee._
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
O Thou All-persuasive God, who dost speak within the souls of men in
language which the heart interprets as its own! enlarge our trust in
that better self which beckons us, that we may be led out of the
lingering darkness of regret, out of the shadow of embittered memory
into the brightness of a new resolve where we may see Thy face. Smile
upon us in the smiling day; in the joy of strength renewed, and
opportunity reborn; in the beauty of the promise each hour whispers to
us as it passes by. So fill us with Thyself that each new day shall mean
new life led by the glory of those hopes which do not fade at evening.
Amen.
CHARLES A. KNICKERBOCKER.
January 4
_We of our age are part, and every thrill that wakes
The tremulous air of Life its motion in us makes._
_The imitative mass mere empty echo gives
As walls and rocks return the sound that they receive._
_But as the bell, that high in some cathedral swings,
Stirred by whatever thrill, with its own music rings,_
_So finer souls give forth, to each vibrating tone
Impinging on their life, a music of their own._
W. W. STORY.
O living and loving One, brighter than the morning and fairer than the
day, from Thee we come, to Thee we turn, who art more than Father and
Mother to us all. Our times are in Thy hand. Thou, who hast set the sun
and stars in the sky, hast appointed our place and part in this human
world. May Thy light lead and Thy love win us into the harmonies of law
and grace, that we may become responsive to every touch of nature, every
whisper of truth, every appeal of humanity. So prepare us to serve our
generation in the spirit of Him who has taught us to do Thy will on
earth as it is done in heaven. Amen.
CHARLES G. AMES.
January 5
_All such as worked for love, not wages--some
Who, painting for a perfect tint did drain
Their hearts, or some to save their country slain,
Or many who for truth braved martyrdom,
Or more who, in what common days may come,
Have toiled in hope, beyond the hope of gain,
Of doing something well,--all such would fain
Speak thus: These gifts more free than flowers from
The earth are given. Good world, if to our need
Ye offer bread and shelt'ring roof unsought,
As guests our thanks we give, but not for greed,
As if our gifts were bartered for and bought;
And if, perchance, good world, ye offer nought,
Ah, well, that were of life the lesser meed._
J. S. JACKSON.
Father in Heaven, we thank Thee, as we enter upon another day, for
strength with which to work. We thank Thee for our tasks; for our
opportunities to work for Thee and for those we love, we thank Thee. May
we know the joy, when night shall come, of having accomplished something
worthy. Help us to see in that satisfaction a part of our pay. Make each
of us faithful in his place; and help the humblest worker to understand
that consecration and not rank is the all-important thing. Above all,
may we not forget that living is giving, and may our desire either for
rest or gain keep us from no helpful act. May we follow Him who came to
minister, and live as sons and daughters of God. Amen.
FRANK W. WHIPPEN.
January 6
_The sculptor moulds his clay with reverent hand,
That clay thro' which his fancy flashes free--
Quick with an answer to his soul's demand,
And pliant to his fingers' minstrelsy!
Could ever bronze or marble so respond
In wordless echo of the being's will?
Naught but the clay, as to a rapture fond
Could he with fire of genius thus infill!
And so the common people are the clay,
Swift moulded by Divine Deific hand,
Until transfigured, in the glorious day,
The statue of humanity shall stand!
It knows no tinsel crown, this masterpiece.
But all the sovereignty of God's release!_
MARY HANAFORD FORD.
Heavenly Father, we are of Thy plain common people: we feel ourselves of
very little worth. For what can we do of ourselves? But, if Thou wilt
graciously use us, shaping us to Thine ends as the potter his clay, it
may be that we shall serve some worthy purpose. We therefore yield
ourselves to Thee, and beg Thee to use us this day. Make us pliant to
Thy purposes, make us a help to someone who needs us today. So take us
into partnership with Thyself, and so may this day be a day of delight,
and our plain common lives be made rich with the Glory of service. Amen.
C. H. WHEELER.
January 7
_And I, too, sing the song of all creation,
A brave sky and a glad wind blowing by,
A clear trail and an hour for meditation,
A long day and the joy to make it fly,
A hard task and the muscle to achieve it,
A fierce noon and a well-contented gloom,
A good strife and no great regret to leave it,
A still night--and the far red lights of home._
H. H. BASHFORD.
Almighty God, we thank Thee that Thou art our Father, and that Thou
lovest us as though Thou hadst no other children; we adore Thee for the
beautiful world in which Thou hast placed us; for trees and birds and
flowers and sky, for friends and music and books and all the ten
thousand mercies which crown our lives. We thank Thee too, for hard
tasks and severe disciplines, for everything that is intended to make us
strong and brave and true. Thou art the Lord of the day and of the night
also. Give us grace to trust Thee and to believe in Thy motherly
solicitude at all times. May Thy goodness lead us to repentance and to
joyous unselfish living and may we so improve our opportunities for
service that we shall make others think of Him who went about doing good
and trusted in His Father with a perfect trust. Amen.
DILLON BRONSON.
January 8
_Have we not all, amid life's petty strife,
Some pure ideal of a noble life
That once seemed possible? Did we not hear
The flutter of its wings and feel it near,
And just within our reach? It was. And yet
We lost it in this daily jar and fret.
But still our place is kept and it will wait,
Ready for us to fill it, soon or late.
No star is ever lost we once have seen:
We always may be what we might have been._
ADELAIDE A. PROCTER.
O Thou, whose goodness is new to us every morning and fresh every
evening, we bless Thee for Thy patient and unforgetting care of all of
us. Though we transgress Thy beneficent laws and frequently lose sight
of our cherished ideals, our hunger and thirst for righteousness never
dies, for we partake of Thy Divine Nature. O that we might always be
animated with Thy spirit of disinterested Love. We thank Thee this day
for the inspiration of light and joy of our gifted poets and pray that
we may meet the daily trials of life with a sweet and courageous spirit,
remembering that "no star we have ever seen will cease to shine." Amen.
WILLIAM G. BABCOCK.
January 9
_The future is lighted for us with the radiant colors of hope.
Strife and sorrow shall disappear. Peace and love shall reign
supreme. The dream of poets, the lesson of priest and prophet, the
inspiration of the great musician, is confirmed in the light of
modern knowledge; and, as we gird ourselves for the work of life,
we may look forward to the time when in the truest sense the
kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of Christ, and He
shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords._
JOHN FISKE.
All-wise and all-loving Father, we invoke Thy aid at the opening of a
glad, new day. For the past we thank Thee, remembering that each day
yielded its blessings. We rejoice that the victories of yesterday are
the promise of larger successes today. Whenever during the day, we shall
be conscious of our littleness, give us at that moment the vision of our
possible largeness. Teach us, however tumultuous be the outward
conditions, to maintain the inward calm. Today may Thy love work its
miracle upon our pain and pleasure. So through faithful, hopeful work
may we find Thy kingdom nearer at this day's close. Amen.
A. EUGENE BARTLETT.
January 10
_Blessings on the man who smiles! I do not mean the man who smiles
for effect, nor the one who smiles when the world smiles. I mean
the man whose smile is born of an inner radiance, the man who
smiles when the clouds lower, when fortune frowns, when the tides
are adverse. Such a man not only makes a new world for himself, but
he multiplies himself an hundred fold in the strength and courage
of other men._
GEORGE L. PERIN.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our Father in heaven and on the earth! Give to
us of Thy blessedness that all this day we may rejoice in Thee. Incline
our hearts to see Thy goodness and wisdom. Make the gladness of our
hearts constant that it may illumine our presence, so that those who
walk with us may walk in Thy light and give Thee thanks. Make Thy joy
our strength, whether expressed in storm or sunshine, that we may
consent to Thy will cheerfully. We ask these and all gifts in the name
of Him who would have His joy abide in us, that our joy may be
fulfilled. Amen.
ALEXANDER MCKENZIE.
January 11
_Talk happiness! The world is sad enough,
Without your woes. No path is wholly rough;
Look for the places that are smooth and clear
And speak of those who rest the weary ear
Of earth, so hurt by one continuous strain
Of human discontent and grief and pain._
_Talk health! The dreary, never changing tale
Of mortal maladies is worn and stale.
You cannot charm or interest or please,
By harping on that minor chord, disease.
Say you are well, or all is well with you,
And God shall hear your words and make them true._
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
Heavenly Father, by whose mercy we are permitted to greet another day,
we offer Thee this morning our grateful praise for all the blessings of
this life. We take from Thee with thankful heart the gift of health,
conscious that we shall never know how rich the gift until we lose it.
Now, while it is ours, may we use it with abounding joy for the good of
those we may meet this day. To be able to bring light where there is
darkness, hope where there is despair, comfort where there is sorrow,
and so to be the children of our Father which is in Heaven, for this we
pray, with the pardon of our sins, in Jesus' name. Amen.
FRANCIS H. ROWLEY.
January 12
_The crest and crowning of all good,
Life's final star, is Brotherhood;
For it will bring again to Earth
Her long-lost Poesy and Mirth;
Will send new light on every face,
A kingly power upon the race,
And till it comes, we men are slaves,
And travel downward to the dust of graves.
Come clear the way, then, clear the way;
Blind creeds and kings have had their day,
Our hope is in the aftermath--
Our hope is in heroic men,
Star-led to build the world again.
To this event the ages ran;
Make way for Brotherhood--make way for Man._
EDWIN MARKHAM.
O Lord, make us like Thee. There can be no greater ambition, no loftier
desire, no holier purpose, for Thou holdest the secret of Brotherhood.
Like Thee, the only begotten of the Father, the essence of love, the joy
of angels, the hope of the world,--make us like Thee, O Christ. Let Thy
light be our light; thy service our joy; Thy peace our inheritance.
Touch our lips that we may say no unkind word; touch our hearts that we
may feel no wrong desires. May our living be for the world's good, our
acts precious helps to Thy kingdom, our all consecrated to Thy blessed
service. May we be satisfied when we awake with Thy likeness. Amen.
WILLIAM H. MAIN.
January 13
_If there be some weaker one,
Give me strength to help him on;
If a blinder soul there be,
Let me guide him nearer Thee.
Make my mortal dreams come true
With the work I fain would do;
Clothe with life the weak intent,
Let me be the thing I meant;
Let me find in Thine employ
Peace that dearer is than joy!_
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.
Heavenly Father! We humbly beseech Thee to breathe upon us Thy Holy
Spirit, that we may be Thy true disciples, that we may be quick to see
our brother's need, and quicker to relieve it. If he has lost his way,
may we be aided to show it to him clearly. May we see our brother in the
Master's "prodigal," and find in every needy soul our sphere of service.
Forgive our weak excuses, and make the flickering embers burn to fervent
heat, that the ideal Thou hast given in Thy Word may command every power
of our lives. For Jesus' sake, Amen.
GEORGE WHITAKER.
January 14
_A German allegory tells of two little girls. They had been playing
together in a strange garden, and soon one ran in to her mother
full of disappointment. "The garden's a sad place, mother." "Why,
my child?" "I've been all around, and every rose-tree has cruel,
long thorns upon it!" Then the second child came in breathless. "O
Mother, the garden's a beautiful place!" "How so, my child?" "Why,
I've been all around, and every thorn-bush has lovely roses growing
on it!" And the mother wondered at the difference in the two
children._
ANONYMOUS.
Divine Spirit and Soul of this day! We rejoice in its accomplished and
its prophetic beauty and wealth which even our undisciplined hearts and
minds may readily perceive, but may we increase the joy of its
activities and its whole divine meaning by a deeper appreciation of its
ministry to the disciplined life we bear. If there shall be fortunes in
its passing which we would not choose, if there shall be encountered any
experiences we would shun, may we remember that our reverses only
emphasize our successes, that our sorrows intensify our joys, that even
the humiliation and shame of the "far country" add divine meaning to the
Father's House where wait the sandals and robes and rings for the
comfort and beauty that are yet to be. May we learn that the thorn
protects the rose, that the flaming sword turning in all directions
protects the Tree of Life in every Eden of the world. May we remember
that every great and good fortune of life is guarded by a seeming
hostility which bears in its soul the secret of a lasting benevolence
appointed for our own good. Amen.
E. L. REXFORD.
January 15
_We are haunted by an ideal life, and it is because we have within
us the beginning and the possibility of it. God is our continual
incitement because we are His children. So the ideal life is in our
blood and never will be still. We feel the thing we ought to be
beating beneath the thing we are. Every time we see a man who has
attained our ideal a little more fully than we have it wakens our
languid blood and fills us with new longings._
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
O God, we thank Thee each morning for ideals which appeal to us with
such persistence that we have no peace unless we pursue them. Even in
our seeming indifference we are ill at ease, because Thy voice calling
to us disturbs our fancied content. We are not satisfied with ourselves
nor with our attainments. "We shall be satisfied only when we wake in
Thy likeness." Weary though we often are in our service yet we thank
Thee that Thou relentlessly pursuest us with even greater and higher
demands. Help us in our onward and upward plodding. Revive our failing
spirits. Lead us ever on. Help us to realize that "in our patience we
shall win our souls." We pray as followers of Jesus Christ. Amen.
THEODORE A. FISCHER.
January 16
_O Singer of today, this glorious hour
Is all for you and me--what shall it give
To us, and ask of fate--what splendid power
In brain and hand, what glorious right to live
Among our fellows and to war with sin?
What quickening of the pulse as we aspire
To claim our right, and risk earth's joys to win,
To conquer self, and force it through the fire!
Give us this force, dear God, and evermore
Give us a deepening love of all our fellowmen;
Give us new insight--courage to explore
With all the tenderness of human ken
The lowliest heart that beats in human kind,
Its glory and its soul to seek and find!_
WILLIAM ORDWAY PARTRIDGE.
O Soul of all souls! Baptize us afresh this morning into the lustral
waters that we may devoutly thank Thee that Thou art and that Thou dost
clearly reveal Thyself to Christian souls through Thy Son, as the Father
of the great brotherhood of mankind. So wait upon us that we shall go
forth to this day's duties resolved upon so living as to render the
morning glad, the noon redolent with merciful activity, and the evening
full of praise. Thus quickened and enlarged the night will afford rest
and recuperation fitting us to welcome the morrow, still hoping, loving,
progressing, obedient to the sainted call, "Up higher," being
incessantly recompensed with the coveted refrain, "Well done." Amen.
S. H. MCCOLLESTER.
January 17
_There is one topic peremptorily forbidden to all well-bred, to all
rational mortals, namely, their distempers. If you have not slept
or if you have slept, or if you have headache, or sciatica, or
leprosy or thunder stroke, I beseech you, by all angels, to hold
your peace, and not pollute the morning, to which all the
housemates bring serene and pleasant thoughts, by corruption and
groans._
RALPH WALDO EMERSON.
Our Father, when we remember the multitude of Thy mercies our hearts are
filled with peace and praise and we are ashamed to murmur and complain.
Turn our thoughts toward the love and joy that this day holds for us;
its opportunities, its privileges and victories. Let the morning light
dispel the shadows on our faces and the fears in our hearts. Thou hast
glorified us and will glorify us again. Help us to be grateful for the
rose that smiles amidst the thorns and the light that ever shines behind
the clouds. Grant that the spirit of trust may prevail in us and send us
on our way with power to conquer. Amen.
ABRAM CONKLIN.
January 18
_Simplicity is a state of mind. It dwells in the main intention of
our lives. A man is simple when his chief care is the wish to be
what he ought to be, that is, honestly and naturally human. And
this is neither so easy nor so impossible as one might think. At
bottom it consists in putting our acts and aspirations in
accordance with the law of our being, and consequently with the
Eternal Intention which willed that we should be at all. Let a
flower be a flower, a swallow a swallow, a rock a rock, and let a
man be a man, and not a fox, a hare, a hog, or a bird of prey; this
is the sum of the whole matter._
CHARLES WAGNER.
Dear Heavenly Father, we rejoice in the awakening of body and soul to
new activities. We thank Thee for the gift of divinity in the soul and
for opportunity to give it expression. We would be true to ourselves,
knowing we can thus alone be true to Thee. O God, hush the voice of evil
passion. Quicken every noble aspiration. Grant the vision of Thy holy
love that Thy image within us may remain clear in the turmoil of our
life. We pray Thee stir the heart and mind that both may grow up to the
full stature of man as it was in Jesus, our Saviour. Amen.
L. WARD BRIGHAM.
January 19
_God has put the keys to His kingdom into your own hands. Your
intelligence is a key, your affection is a key, your conscience is
a key. With these keys you are to unlock the great doors of life,
and gain access to its heavenly treasures._
JAMES M. PULLMAN.
Master of life, as Thou hast opened our eyes to see the sun, open the
eyes of our hearts to see the splendor of Thy law. And even as Thou dost
bring to birth, through the marriage of our eye and the sun, all the
beauty of this visible world, so through the union between our hearts
and Thy holy will, create a world rejoicing in the beauty of truth and
justice and peace. Lead us this day deeper into the mystery of Thy life
and our life and make us interpreters of life to our fellows, through
Him who by His death opened for us the book of life, Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
HENRY S. NASH.
January 20
_A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark'd how on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them._
_And you, O my soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to
connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer threads you fling catch somewhere O my soul._
WALT WHITMAN.
Thou Infinite Spirit, we are glad of all human relationships. We are
thankful for all companionship with nature. We rejoice in the fellowship
with books, yet like the child who grows tired with every plaything and
every childish task and lonely for a mother's love, we look to Thee with
an infinite longing. In our effort to solve the problems of life, we
throw our web of life hither and thither, but it will not hold. Only
when at last we have thrown the thread of faith to Thee, shall the
ductile anchor hold. Our Heavenly Father, as we go forth into this day,
may we not leave Thee for any dream or phantom, but may we walk with
Thee all day long, and find in Thee the answer to every longing and the
solution of every problem. Though we may not see, we may trust and wait.
Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
January 21
_Do not think of your faults, still less of others' faults; in
every person who comes near you, look for what is good and strong;
honor that; rejoice in it; and as you can, try to imitate it; and
your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes._
RUSKIN.
_With a clear sky, a bright sun, and a gentle breeze, you will have
friends in plenty; but let fortune frown, and the firmament be
overcast, and then your friends will prove like the strings of the
lute, of which you will tighten ten before you find one that will
bear the stretch and keep the pitch._
GOTTHOLD.
Dear Father, may the new day bring some fresh and inspiring thought of
Thyself. May it give some tender communion with the universe, kindling
into beauty as Thy smile shines through. May we make and keep a few dear
friends. May some good book enrich the passing hours. May love flow
through all acts, and the star of hope shine in all shadows. And
trusting Thee supremely, may we humbly do our best that good may abound
on earth. Amen.
JOSEPH H. CROOKER.
January 22
_The power of mere activity is often overrated. It is not what the
best men do, but what they are, that constitutes their truest
benefaction to their fellowmen. The things that men do get their
value, after all, from the way in which they are able to show the
existence of character which can comfort and help mankind.... It is
the lives, like the stars, which simply pour down on us the calm
light of their bright and faithful being, up to which we look and
out of which we gather the deepest calm and courage._
PHILLIPS BROOKS.
Thou knowest, dear Father, how often we wish to do many things which are
beyond our power. Help us to believe that Thou dost accept the wish when
we cannot do the deed. But we thank Thee that we can do some things,
though they are not large nor many. We know that as we grow in faith, in
patience, in courage, in love, we radiate light and peace and power to
those who are around us. As we begin a new day, we are uplifted by the
thought that we have been called into being because Thou desirest the
love of children, and because we are to co-work with Thee by loving and
serving all whom we can reach. Always, we believe, art Thou ready to
help us. Always art Thou brooding over us to draw us nearer to Thee, and
to give us light and strength to be fellow-workers with Thee. In this
new day, may we speak some word and do some work which shall please Thee
and give us joy as we shall lie down to sleep. Amen.
HENRY BLANCHARD.
January 23
_We pride ourselves, in weighing worth and merit,
Too much in virtues that we but inherit.
Some punctual grandsire makes us hate delay
And we are proud to keep our oath and day.
But our ancestral follies and abuses
We still indulge in, and make for them excuses.
Let him be proud, dared man be proud at all,
Who stands where all his fathers used to fall,
Holding their virtues fast and passing on
Still higher good through his own victories won._
ISAAC OGDEN RANKIN.
This morning, the sun shines by his own inherent worth. The clouds often
intercept his influence but he shines back of them and finds a way
through the slightest cleft to tip them with glory. He always reveals
himself--his inner self--and makes all purer and more beautiful. May we
so shine! The world needs the divinity there is in us. We are a part of
Thee. Thou art our deeper self. The Nazarean prophet relied entirely
upon his inner life and found ancient good uncouth. Whatever clouds
intercept our influence, teach us to reveal what conscience dictates,
what intuition illumines, what reason shows, to purify our time, and all
unrighteousness, wrong thinking and useless and hurtful custom. To this
end, give us purity, courage, and nobility. Amen.
WILLIAM S. MORGAN.
January 24
_My faith begins where your religion ends,--
In service to mankind. This single thread
Is given to guide us through the maze of life.
You start at one end, I the other; you,
With eyes fixed only upon God, begin
With lofty faith, and, seeking but to know
And do His will who guides the universe,
You find the slender and mysterious thread
Leads down to earth, with God's divine command
To help your fellowmen; but this to me
Is something strangely vague. I see alone
The fellowmen, the suffering fellowmen.
Yet, with a cup of water in my hand
For all who thirst, who knows but I one day,
Following faithfully the slender thread,
May reach its other end, and kneel at last
With you in heaven at the feet of God?_
ALICE WELLINGTON ROLLINS.
Our Father in heaven, author of life and light, justice and mercy,
liberty and love, we hail with joy and gratitude this new born day,
token of Thy presence, good will and continued care. Help us with high
ideals, pure thoughts and noble endeavors to hallow Thy name, trusting
where we cannot prove, proving where we cannot trust, by a willing
service to our fellowmen, ever advancing by faith, by works, with a
strong heart, a firm step, a generous hand, a sunny smile, and a
cheering voice, until we all come into the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ; and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.
HENRY N. COUDEN.
January 25
_If you would have sunlight in your home, see that you have work in
it: that you work yourself and set others to work. Nothing makes
moroseness and heavy-heartedness in a house so fast as idleness.
The very children gloom and sulk if they are left with nothing to
do. Every day there is the light of something conquered in the eyes
of those who work. In such a house, if there be also the good
temper of love, sunshine never ceases. For in it the great law of
humanity is obeyed, a law which is also God's law. For what said
Christ, "My Father worketh hitherto and I work." Sunlight comes
with work._
STOPFORD A. BROOKE.
O Thou, who art the source of light and life, we pause in Thy presence
at the opening of the day, that in the light of thy countenance we may
see ourselves as we are and as we ought to be, and receive the
inspiration to consecrated effort and worthy achievement. We thank Thee
that Thou hast done so much for us and yet left so much for us to do.
May we think how important are these lives we are going to live today;
that no matter how small we are, this universe in all its majesty can
never be complete without our effort, and Thou, Almighty God, art
waiting with infinite patience for us to do our part. Thus shall our
work, however humble, be glorified by a Godlike temper and a Christlike
faith. Amen.
FREDERICK A. BISBEE.
January 26
_All that is, at all,
Lasts ever, past recall:
Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure;
What entered into thee,
That was, is and shall be._
* * * * *
_He fixed thee 'mid this dance
Of plastic circumstance,
This Present, thou, forsooth, wouldst fain arrest;
Machinery just meant
To give thy soul its bent,
Try thee, and turn thee forth, sufficiently impressed._
ROBERT BROWNING.
We thank Thee, O Father, for the yet unwrought possibilities of this
day. Show us Thy purpose; or, if it please Thee, withhold the entire
plan, yet may our faith claim a divine sanction for each hour's work as
a part of the fulfilment of Thy purpose. We pray for strength and
patience to have our souls rightly impressed by the cares, the joys, and
disappointments of life. Make the things of the body only incidental to
us. Save us from all but the best things. Give us the happiness of
harmony with Thee. Wilt Thou grant these things through the power of Thy
spirit, and in the name of Thy perfect Son, the vision of whom
transforms our lives. Amen.
GEORGE W. OWEN.
January 27
_Beloved, let us love so well,
Our work shall still be better for our love
And still our love be sweeter for our work._
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.
_If your name is to live at all, it is so much more to have it live
in people's hearts than only in their brains! I don't know that
one's eyes fill with tears when he thinks of the famous inventor of
logarithms, but a song of Burns or a hymn of Charles Wesley goes
straight to your heart and you can't help loving both of them, the
sinner as well as the saint._
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.