Alike if itself be crooked, or the bow be strung awry; And the mind which were excellent in one way, but foolishly toileth in another, What is it but an ill-strung bow, and its aim a crooked arrow ? By knowledge of self, thou provest thy powers; put not the racer to the plough, Nor goad the toilsome ox to wager his slowness with the fleet: Consider thy failings, heed thy propensities, search out thy latent virtues, Choosing from the wardrobe of the world, thou shalt suitably clothe thy spirit, Nor thrust the white hand of peace into the gauntlet of defiance : Acquaint thee with thyself, O man! so shalt thou be humble: The hard hot desert of thy heart shall blossom with the lily and the rose; The frozen cliffs of pride shall melt as an iceberg in the tropics; The bitter fountains of self-seeking be sweeter than the waters of the Nile. But if thou lack that wisdom,-thy frail skiff is doomed, On stronger eddy whirling to the dreadful gorge; Untaught in that grand lore,—thou standest, cased in steel, To dare with mocking unbelief the thunderbolts of heaven. For look now around thee on the universe, behold how all things serve thee; The teeming soil, and the buoyant sea, and undulating air, Golden crops, and bloomy fruits, and flowers, and precious gems, For thee, the cattle on a thousand hills live, and labour, and die : Light is thy daily slave, darkness inviteth thee to slumber; Thou art served by the hands of Beauty, and Sublimity kneeleth at thy feet: Arise, thou sovereign of creation, and behold thy glory! Yet more, thou hast a mind; intellect wingeth thee to heaven, Tendeth thy state on earth, and by it thou divest down to hell; Thou hast measured the belt of Saturn, thou hast weighed the moons of Jupiter, And seen, by reason's eye, the centre of thy globe; Subtly hast thou numbered by billions the leagues between sun and sun, And noted in thy book the coming of their shadows: With marvellous unerring truth thou knowest to an inch and to an instant, The where and the when of the comet's path that shall seem to rush by at thy command: Arise, thou king of mind, and survey thy dignity! Yet more, for once believe religion's flattering tale; Thou hast a soul, aye, and a God,—but be not therefore humbled: Thy Maker's self was glad to live and die—a man; The brightest jewel in his crown is voluntary manhood: By deep dishonour and great price, bought he that envied freedom, O triple crown upon thy brow, most high and mighty Self! Arise thou Lord of all, thou greater than a God !— How saidst thou, wretched being?-cast thy glance within ; Ha! with what fearful imagery swarmeth that small chamber; The bony hand of avarice filching from the poor, The lurid fires of lust, the idiot face of folly, The sickening deed of cruelty, the foul, fierce orgies of the drunken, Envy's devilish sneer, and the vile features of ingratitude,— Man, hast thou seen enough? or are these full proof That thou art a miracle of mercy, and all thy dignity is dross? Well said the wisdom of earth, O mortal, know thyself; But better the wisdom of heaven, O man, learn thou thy God: By knowledge of self thou art conusant of evil, and mailed in panoply to meet it: By knowledge of God cometh knowledge of good, and universal love is at thy heart. Every creature knoweth its capacities, running in the road of instinct, The swift to the race, and the strong to the burden, and the wise for right direction; For self-knowledge filleth with acceptance its niche in the temple of utility: But vainly wilt thou look for that knowledge, till the clue of all truth is in thy hand, For the labyrinth of man's heart windeth in complicate deceivings: Learn God, thou shalt know thyself; yea, and shalt have mastery of all things. OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. Shame upon thee, savage monarch-man, proud monopolist of reason; What, man! are there not enough, hunger, and diseases, and fatigue,— death On the poor dumb servants of thy comfort, and yet thou must rack them with thy spite? The prodigal heir of creation hath gambled away his all,— Shall he add torment to the bondage, that is galling his forfeit serfs? Love, For very shame be merciful, be kind unto the creatures thou hast ruined; Earth and her million tribes are cursed for thy sake; Earth and her million tribes still writhe beneath thy cruelty: Liveth there but one among the million that shall not bear witness against thee? A pensioner of land or air or sea, that hath not whereof it will accuse thee? From the elephant toiling at a launch, to the shrew-mouse in the harvest field, From the whale which the harpooner hath stricken, to the minnow caught upon a pin, From the albatross wearied in its flight, to the wren in her covered nest, From the death-moth and lace-winged dragon-fly, to the lady-bird and the gnat, The verdict of all things is unanimous, finding their master cruel : The ass, thine uncomplaining slave, drudging from morn to even ; The speckled trout, basking in the shallow, and the partridge, gleaning in the stubble, And the stag at bay, and the worm in thy path, and the wild bird pining in captivity, And all things that minister alike to thy life and thy comfort and thy pride, Testify with one sad voice that man is a cruel master. Verily, they are all thine, freely mayst thou serve thee of them all; ness: Gratitude to their God and thine,—their Father and thy Father, For meat, but not by wantonness of slaying; for burden, but with limits of humanity; For luxury, but not through torture; for draught, but according to the strength: For a dog cannot plead his own right nor render a reason for exemption, Also, in the winter of life, when worn by constant toil, If ingratitude forget his services, he cannot bring them to remembrance: Behold, he is faint with hunger; the big tear standeth in his eye; No voice that shall be heard in his defence? no sentence to be passed on his oppressor? Yea, the sad eye of the tortured pleadeth pathetically for him: Yea, all the justice in heaven is roused in indignation at his woes: And hath no tear to shed when a cruel man is damned. OF FRIENDSHIP. As frost to the bud, and blight to the blossom, even such is self-interest to friendship: For Confidence cannot dwell where Selfishness is porter at the gate. If thou see thy friend to be selfish, thou canst not be sure of his honesty; And in seeking thine own weal, thou hast wronged the reliance of thy friend. Flattery hideth her varnished face when Friendship sitteth at his board; And perisheth, when artful praise proveth it is sought for a purpose. For the sum of life is in trifles, and though, in the weightier masses, A coarse man grindeth harshly the finer feelings of his brother; |