He went so blithely on the way
Which people call the Road of Life,
That good folks who had stopped to pray,
Shaking their heads, would look, and say,
It was not right to be so gay
Upon that weary road of strife!
He whistled as he went, and still
He bore the young where streams were deep.
He helped the feeble up the hill,
He seemed to go with heart a-thrill
Careless of deed, and wild of will—
He whistled—that he might not weep.
Dallett Fuguet
Life is struggle, combat, victory, —
Wherefore have I slumbered on
With my forces all unmarshalled,
With my weapons all undrawn?
Oh, how many a glorious record
Had the angel of me kept,
Had I done, instead of doubted,
Had I warred, instead of wept!
Anon
The fact is, that to do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.
Sydney Smith
Fear never won a conquest yet,
Nor overcome a foe;
Tis Courage scales the parapet
While cowards flee below.
The victory falls to him who fights,
Whose heart with faith is warmed;
Success has fortified the heights,
Her bastions must be stormed.
Then climb, as all earth’s conquerors must,
Achievement’s stormiest hill,
With inextinguishable trust,
Indomitable will!
Still upward, lad, through cloud and smoke!
The last redoubt will yield.
Your heart must be as staunch as oak
If you would win the field!
And when upon life’s bloody slope
You fall, though wounded sore,
Arise! Apply the salve of hope,
And raise your sword once more!
When duty calls, be quick with “Yes”—
Aspire, and serve, and pray,
And know no language but success,
No future but today!
Frederic L. Knowles
Nothing is to be done without boldness and strength.
William E. Channing
