Not to the dull, the doubting, or the weak, Will Truth explain, or Mystery confess.
Not to the curious or impatient soul That in the start, demands the end be shown, And at each step, stops waiting for a sign;But to the tireless toiler toward the goal, Shall the great miracles of God be known And life revealed, immortal and divine.
THE STRUCTURE
Upon the wreckage of thy yesterday Design the structure of to-morrow. Lay Strong corner stones of purpose, and prepare Great blocks of wisdom, cut from past despair.
Shape mighty pillars of resolve, to set Deep in the tear-wet mortar of regret.
Work on with patience. Though thy toil be slow, Yet day by day the edifice shall grow.
Believe in God--in thine own self believe.
All that thou hast desired thou shalt achieve.
OUR SOULS
Our souls should be vessels receiving The waters of love for relieving The sorrows of men.
For here lies the pleasure of living:
In taking God's bounties, and giving The gifts back again.
THE LAW
When the great universe was wrought To might and majesty from naught, The all creative force was -THOUGHT.
That force is thine. Though desolate The way may seem, command thy fate.
Send forth thy thought -
Create--CREATE!
KNOWLEDGE
Would you believe in Presences Unseen -
In life beyond this earthly life?
BE STILL: Be stiller yet; and listen. Set the screen Of silence at the portal of your will.
Relax, and let the world go by unheard.
And seal your lips with some all-sacred word.
Breathe 'God,' in any tongue--it means the same;LOVE ABSOLUTE: Think, feel, absorb the thought;Shut out all else; until a subtle flame (A spark from God's creative centre caught)Shall permeate your being, and shall glow, Increasing in its splendour, till, YOU KNOW.
Not in a moment, or an hour, or day The knowledge comes; the power is far too great, To win in any desultory way.
No soul is worthy till it learns to wait.
Day after day be patient, then, oh, soul;Month after month--till, lo! the goal! the goal!
GIVE
Live, and thou shalt receive. Give thoughts of cheer, Of courage and success, to friend and stranger.
And from a thousand sources, far and near, Strength will be sent thee in thy hour of danger.
Give words of comfort, of defence, and hope, To mortals crushed by sorrow and by error.
And though thy feet through shadowy paths may grope, Thou shalt not walk in loneliness or terror.
Give of thy gold, though small thy portion be.
Gold rusts and shrivels in the hand that keeps it.
It grows in one that opens wide and free.
Who sows his harvest is the one who reaps it.
Give of thy love, nor wait to know the worth Of what thou lovest; and ask no returning.
And wheresoe'er thy pathway leads on earth, There thou shalt find the lamp of love-light burning.
PERFECTION
The leaf that ripens only in the sun Is dull and shrivelled ere its race is run.
The leaf that makes a carnival of death Must tremble first before the north wind's breath.
The life that neither grief nor burden knows Is dwarfed in sympathy before its close.
The life that grows majestic with the years Must taste the bitter tonic found in tears.
FEAR
Fear is the twin of Faith's sworn foe, Distrust.
If one breaks in your heart the other must.
Fear is the open enemy of Good.
It means the God in man misunderstood.
Who walks with Fear adown life's road will meet His boon companions, Failure and Defeat.
But look the bully boldly in the eyes, With mien undaunted, and he turns and flies.
THE WAY
Between the finite and the infinite The missing link of Love has left a void.
Supply the link, and earth with Heaven will join In one continued chain of endless life.
Hell is wherever Love is not, and Heaven Is Love's location. No dogmatic creed, No austere faith based on ignoble fear Can lead thee into realms of joy and peace.
Unless the humblest creatures on the earth Are bettered by thy loving sympathy Think not to find a Paradise beyond.
There is no sudden entrance into Heaven.
Slow is the ascent by the path of Love.
UNDERSTOOD
I value more than I despise My tendency to sin, Because it helps me sympathise With all my tempted kin.
He who has nothing in his soul That links him to the sod, Knows not that joy of self-control Which lifts him up to God.
And I am glad my heart can say, When others trip and fall (Although I safely passed that way), 'I understand it all.'
HIS MANSION
There was a thought he hid from all men's eyes, And by his prudent life and deeds of worth He left a goodly record upon earth As one both pure and wise.
But when he reached a dark unsightly door Beyond the grave, there stood his secret thought.
It was the mansion he had built and brought To dwell in, on that shore.
EFFECT
An unkind tale was whispered in his ear.
He paused to hear.
His thoughts were food that helped a falsehood thrive, And keep alive.
Years dawned and died. One day by venom's tongue His name was stung.
He cried aloud, nor dreamed the lie was spawn Of thoughts long gone.
Each mental wave we send out from the mind, Or base, or kind, Completes its circuit, then with added force Seeks its own source.
THREE THINGS
Know this, ye restless denizens of earth, Know this, ye seekers after joy and mirth, Three things there are, eternal in their worth.
Love, that outreaches to the humblest things;Work that is glad, in what it does and brings;And faith that soars upon unwearied wings.
Divine the Powers that on this trio wait.
Supreme their conquest, over Time and Fate.
Love, Work, and Faith--these three alone are great.
OBSTACLES
'The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the street.'--PROVERBS xxvi. 13.
There are no lions in the street;
No lions in the way.
Go seek the goal, thou slothful soul, Awake, awake, I say.
Thou dost but dream of obstacles;
In God's great lexicon, That word illstarred, no page has marred;Press on, I say, press on.