 | The poetical works of Samuel Woodworth |  |
135
OH WHAT IS VIRTUE?
TO A LADY.
Oh what is virtue?—'t is to keep
Each passion under strict control,
Nor let a wily tempter creep
Into the garden of the soul;
It is to conquer selfish pride,
And each inordinate desire,
To take the Scriptures for our guide,
And speak and act as they require.
Each passion under strict control,
Nor let a wily tempter creep
Into the garden of the soul;
It is to conquer selfish pride,
And each inordinate desire,
To take the Scriptures for our guide,
And speak and act as they require.
Oh what is virtue;—'t is to love
Beyond all things in time and space,
Him who descended from above,
To save from death our rebel race;
It is to love the words he spake,
Which none on earth e'er spake before,
His burden and his yoke to take,
And bear them meekly as he bore.
Beyond all things in time and space,
Him who descended from above,
To save from death our rebel race;
It is to love the words he spake,
Which none on earth e'er spake before,
His burden and his yoke to take,
And bear them meekly as he bore.
Oh what is virtue?—'t is to prize
Another's interest as our own;
In joy or grief to sympathize,
For bliss received, or pleasures flown.
It is to keep the mind and heart,
From every selfish motive free;
To walk by Truth's unerring chart—
It is, in short, to be like thee.
Another's interest as our own;
136
For bliss received, or pleasures flown.
It is to keep the mind and heart,
From every selfish motive free;
To walk by Truth's unerring chart—
It is, in short, to be like thee.
| The poetical works of Samuel Woodworth | |