speeds the nameless thing
Shall put thy spirit to the test.
Haply or e'er yon sinking sun
Shall drop behind the purple West
All shall be lost—or won!
—Richard Watson Gilder.
———
In spite of sorrow, loss, and pain,
Our course be onward still;
We sow on Burmah's barren plain,
We reap on Zion's hill.
—Adoniram Judson.
———
I find no foeman in the road but Fear.
To doubt is failure and to dare success.
—Frederic Lawrence Knowles.
———
DARE TO DO RIGHT
Dare to do right! dare to be true!
You have a work that no other can do,
Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well,
Angels will hasten the story to tell.
Dare to do right! dare to be true!
Other men's failures can never save you;
Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith;
Stand like a hero, and battle till death.
Dare to do right! dare to be true!
God, who created you, cares for you too;
Treasures the tears that his striving ones shed,
Counts and protects every hair of your head.
Dare to do right! dare to be true!
Keep the great judgment-seat always in view;
Look at your work as you'll look at it then—
Scanned by Jehovah, and angels, and men.
Dare to do right! dare to be true!
Cannot Omnipotence carry you through?
City, and mansion, and throne all in sight—
Can you not dare to be true and do right?
Dare to do right! dare to be true!
Prayerfully, lovingly, firmly pursue
The path by apostles and martyrs once trod,
The path of the just to the city of God.
—George Lansing Taylor.
———
PLUCK WINS
Pluck wins! It always wins! though days be slow,
And nights be dark 'twixt days that come and go,
Still pluck will win; its average is sure,
He gains the prize who will the most endure;
Who faces issues; he who never shirks;
Who waits and watches, and who always works.
———
BE NEVER DISCOURAGED
Be never discouraged!
Look up and look on;
When the prospect is darkest
The cloud is withdrawn.
The shadows that blacken
The earth and the sky,
Speak to the strong-hearted,
Salvation is nigh.
Be never discouraged!
If you would secure
The earth's richest blessings,
And make heaven sure,
Yield not in the battle,
Nor quail in the blast;
The brave and unyielding
Win nobly at last.
Be never discouraged!
By day and by night
Have glory in prospect
And wisdom in sight;
Undaunted and faithful,
You never will fail,
Though kingdoms oppose you
And devils assail.
—D. C. Colesworthy.
———
NEVER SAY FAIL
Keep pushing—'tis wiser than sitting aside
And dreaming and sighing and waiting the tide.
In life's earnest battle they only prevail
Who daily march onward, and never say fail.
With an eye ever open, a tongue that's not dumb,
And a heart that will never to sorrow succumb,
You'll battle—and conquer, though thousands assail;
How strong and how mighty, who never say fail.
In life's rosy morning, in manhood's firm pride,
Let this be the motto your footsteps to guide:
In storm and in sunshine, whatever assail,
We'll onward and conquer, and never say
