 | Reverberations |  |
101
GOLDEN COUNSEL.
Hear what of late a prophet said,
And prize it for its wisdom's sake:
When truth to melody is wed,
Dear friends! the golden counsel take.
And prize it for its wisdom's sake:
When truth to melody is wed,
Dear friends! the golden counsel take.
Freedom is but the love of law,
The freeman he who still obeys,
With loyal heart and joyful awe,
The statutes of the ancient days.
The freeman he who still obeys,
With loyal heart and joyful awe,
The statutes of the ancient days.
All have not equal gifts or powers,
Though all with equal rights are born;
One common warp and woof are ours,
Yet various are the garments worn.
Though all with equal rights are born;
One common warp and woof are ours,
Yet various are the garments worn.
Only clear eye and loving heart,
Only the sovereign mind is king,
Only the soul that dwells apart
And seeks the root of everything.
Only the sovereign mind is king,
Only the soul that dwells apart
And seeks the root of everything.
102
A nobler order yet shall be
Than any that the world hath known,
When men obey and yet are free,
Are loved, and yet can stand alone.
Than any that the world hath known,
When men obey and yet are free,
Are loved, and yet can stand alone.
The rivers to the ocean run,
The trees spring up on hill and height,
The planets press toward the sun,
Yet circle round the kinglier light.
The trees spring up on hill and height,
The planets press toward the sun,
Yet circle round the kinglier light.
When man shall know and love the law
To which his being vibrates still,
Shall dwell amid the grace and awe
Of the one lone Eternal Will:
To which his being vibrates still,
Shall dwell amid the grace and awe
Of the one lone Eternal Will:
More than all fair, harmonious things,
Fair and harmonious, man, though late,
Through far-off winters, unknown springs,
Glad, shall fulfil a nobler fate.
Fair and harmonious, man, though late,
Through far-off winters, unknown springs,
Glad, shall fulfil a nobler fate.
Then shall the world a temple be
Wherein true service shall be done;
Men shall be loyal, wise, and free,
And serve the Lone the Only One.
Wherein true service shall be done;
Men shall be loyal, wise, and free,
And serve the Lone the Only One.
Oh, boldly speak thy secret thought,
And tell thy want, and by the wise
Be into noble action brought,
And breathe the air of purer skies.
And tell thy want, and by the wise
Be into noble action brought,
And breathe the air of purer skies.
103
Strive less to bring the lofty down,
Than raise the low to be thy peers;
Love is the only golden crown
That will not tarnish with the years.
Than raise the low to be thy peers;
Love is the only golden crown
That will not tarnish with the years.
Soon the wild days of war shall end,
And days of happier work begin,
When love and toil shall man befriend,
And help to free the world from sin.
And days of happier work begin,
When love and toil shall man befriend,
And help to free the world from sin.
From the strong spirit of the air
Shall the pale scholar draw new strength,
Till hands that shape and hearts that dare
Shall join for noble ends at length:
Shall the pale scholar draw new strength,
Till hands that shape and hearts that dare
Shall join for noble ends at length:
Till e'en the poet in the wood,
Shall hear his axe delighted ring,
Feel pleasure rippling through his blood,
While in his verse his work shall sing.
Shall hear his axe delighted ring,
Feel pleasure rippling through his blood,
While in his verse his work shall sing.
'Twas thus, of late, my prophet said;
Oh, hear him for his wisdom's sake!
When truth to melody is wed,
Dear friends! the golden counsel take.
Oh, hear him for his wisdom's sake!
When truth to melody is wed,
Dear friends! the golden counsel take.
| Reverberations | |