Leaves of Life Part 27

--Thomas Jefferson.

We hold these truths to be self-evident--that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

--Declaration of Independence.

Breathes there the man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land!

Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned As home his footsteps he hath turned From wandering on a foreign strand?

--Sir Walter Scott.

Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

--Matthew 22. 21.

My Lord, I thank thee for the wisdom and love that is spoken through the lives of strong men and women. Grant that I may be willing to learn of them, and gladly serve where I am needed, remembering that thou art Lord of all. Amen.

APRIL THIRD

George Herbert born 1593.

Was.h.i.+ngton Irving born 1783.

Edward Everett Hale born 1822.

John Burroughs born 1837.

Sum up at night what thou hast done by day And in the morning what thou hast to do: Dress and undress thy soul: mark the decay And growth of it; if with thy watch that too Be dowl, then wind up both; since we shall be Most surely judged, make thy accounts agree.

--George Herbert.

To look up and not down, To look forward and not back, To look out and not in, and To lend a hand.

--Edward E. Hale.

There is a healthy hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble.

--Was.h.i.+ngton Irving.

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: My justice was as a robe and a diadem.

--Job 29. 14.

My Lord, I pray that I may always be found clothed in love and kindness. Make me worthy to minister to those who may be dependent on me, and whether they be rich or poor, high or low, may I try to help them. Amen.

APRIL FOURTH

Oliver Goldsmith died 1774.

Dorothea Dix born 1802.

James Freeman Clarke born 1810.

"The greatest object in the universe," said a certain philosopher, "is a good man struggling with adversity"; yet there is still a greater, which is the good man who comes to relieve it.

--Oliver Goldsmith.

Yet I believe that somewhere, soon or late, A peace will fall Upon the angry reaches of my mind; A peace initiate In some heroic hour when I behold A friend's long-quested triumph, or unbind The tressed gold From a child's laughing face. I still believe-- So much believe.

--J. Drinkwater.

But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compa.s.sion from him, how doth the love of G.o.d abide in him?

--1 John 3. 17.

Almighty G.o.d, may I have a liberal heart. Grant that I may feel the needs of thy children in all lands; and may I be willing to give of thy blessings, as I am ready to receive them. May my tribute be not only of tender thoughts and kind words, but may I give of myself, and of what I have, as thou hast through love and wisdom done for me.

Amen.

APRIL FIFTH

Elihu Yale born 1648.

Sir Henry Havelock born 1795.

Frank Stockton (Francis) born 1834.

Algernon Charles Swinburne born 1837.

As morning hears before it run The music of the mounting sun, And laughs to watch his trophies won From darkness, and her hosts undone, And all the night becomes a breath, Nor dreams that fear should hear and flee The summer menace of the sea, So hear our hope what life may be, And know it not for death.

--Algernon Charles Swinburne.

I came from G.o.d, and I'm going back to G.o.d, and I won't have any gaps of death in the middle of my life.

--George MacDonald.

The hope of the righteous shall be gladness; But the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

--Proverbs 10. 28.

Lord G.o.d, teach me the way and show me the light of the eternal day; and may the vision fill my soul as I take courage and follow it. May I not be fearful of what may be provided, but remember that before the creation of life thou didst have a purpose in death. May I be trustful. Amen.