The Hope of the World and other poems by Charles Mackay |
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THE TRUE GENTLEMAN. |
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 | The Hope of the World and other poems |  |
165
THE TRUE GENTLEMAN.
The man whose heart is kind and pure,
Unswayed by greediness of pelf,
Who worships God without a show,
And loves his neighbour as himself,
May be as poor as Lazarus,
And all deform'd as heathen Pan;
Yet kings might press him to their hearts,
And own him as a gentleman.
Unswayed by greediness of pelf,
Who worships God without a show,
And loves his neighbour as himself,
May be as poor as Lazarus,
And all deform'd as heathen Pan;
Yet kings might press him to their hearts,
And own him as a gentleman.
Who hath but little of his own,
Yet gladly shares it with the poor,
Who makes the best of mortal ills,
Slow to complain, long to endure,
May own his fathers have been churls
Ever since pride of birth began,
Yet waive no fraction of his right
To be consider'd gentleman.
Yet gladly shares it with the poor,
Who makes the best of mortal ills,
Slow to complain, long to endure,
May own his fathers have been churls
Ever since pride of birth began,
Yet waive no fraction of his right
To be consider'd gentleman.
166
Among the rare but glorious ranks
Of Nature's nobles he doth stand,
And shines within his lowly sphere
The pride and blessing of a land.
A monarch upon parchment writes
His patents, sold in honour's mart;
But Nature, when ennobling men,
Inscribes her patents on the heart.
Of Nature's nobles he doth stand,
And shines within his lowly sphere
The pride and blessing of a land.
A monarch upon parchment writes
His patents, sold in honour's mart;
But Nature, when ennobling men,
Inscribes her patents on the heart.
| The Hope of the World and other poems | |