[Illustration: J. W. GOETHE]
Without haste, without rest!
Bind the motto to thy breast;
Bear it with thee as a spell;
Storm or sunshine, guard it well;
Heed not flowers that round thee bloom
Bear it onward to the tomb.
Haste not! let no thoughtless deed
Mar fore’er the spirit’s speed;
Ponder well and know the right--
Onward then with all thy might;
Haste not! years can ne’er atone
For one reckless action done.
Rest not!--life is sweeping by;
Do and dare before you die;
Something mighty and sublime
Leave behind to conquer time.
Glorious ’tis to live for aye
When these forms have passed away.
Haste not, rest not! calmly wait,
Meekly bear the storms of fate;
Duty be thy polar guide--
Do the right, whate’er betide.
Haste not, rest not! conflicts past,
God shall crown thy work at last.
--JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE.