"Ay," quoth my uncle Gloucester,
"Small herbs have grace, great weeds do grow apace
And since, methinks, I would not grow so fast,
Because sweet flowers are slow and weeds make haste.
O, my lord,
You said that idle weeds are fast in growth:
The prince my brother hath outgrown me far.
I held it truth, with him who sings
To one clear harp in divers tones,
That men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things.
The great world's altar stairs
That slope through darkness up to God.
Then bless thy secret growth, nor catch
At noise, but thrive unseen and dumb;
Keep clean, be as fruit, earn life, and watch
Till the white-wing'd reapers come.
Lick into shape.
And that unless above himself he can
Erect himself, how poor a thing is man.
Teach me, by this stupendous scaffolding,
Creation's golden steps, to climb to Thee.
GUESTS
(See also Hospitality Welcome)
Hail ; guest, we ask not what thou art;
If friend, we greet thee, hand and heart;
If stranger, such no . longer be;
If foe, our love shall conquer thee.
Paul Elmer More says this is an Old Welsh
door Verse.
For whom he means to make an often guest,
One dish shall serve; and welcome make the rest.
Wherever the storm carries me, I go a willing guest.
Sometimes, when guests have gone, the host remembers
Sweet courteous things unsaid.
We two have talked our hearts out to the embers,
And now go hand in hand down to the dead.
Unbidden guests
Are often welcomest when they are gone.
Here's our chief guest.
If he had been forgotten,
It had been as a gap in our great feast.
Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night.
See, your guests approach:
Address yourself to entertain them sprightly,
And let's be red with mirth.
Methinks a father
Is at the nuptial of his son a guest
That best becomes the table.
You must come home with me and be my guest;
You will give joy to me, and I will do
All that is in my power to honour you.
</poem>
GUILT
Guilt is present in the very hesitation, even though the deed be not committed.
Let no guilty man escape, if it can be avoided.
No personal consideration should stand in the
way of performing a public duty.
What we call real estate—the solid ground to
build a house on—is the broad foundation on
which nearly all the'guilt of this world rests.
How guilt once harbour'd in the conscious breast,
Intimidates the brave, degrades the great.
The gods
Grow angry with your patience. 'Tis their care,
And must be yours, that guilty men escape not:
As crimes do grow, justice should rouse itself.
