Nor taints his dying breath with fear.

No; to fear not earthly thing,
That it is that makes the king;
And all of us, whoe'er we be,
May carve us out that royalty.

--Seneca, tr. by Leigh Hunt.

With comrade Duty, in the dark or day,
To follow Truth--wherever it may lead;
To hate all meanness, cowardice or greed;
To look for Beauty under common clay;
Our brothers' burden sharing, when they weep,
But, if we fall, to bear defeat alone;
To live in hearts that loved us, when we're gone
Beyond the twilight (till the morning break!)--to sleep--
That is Success!

--Ernest Neal Lyon.

The common problem, yours, mine, every one's,
Is, not to fancy what were fair in life
Provided it could be, but, finding first
What may be, then find out how to make it fair
Up to our means; a very different thing.

--Robert Browning.

BETTER THAN GOLD

Better than grandeur, better than gold,
Than rank and titles a thousandfold,
Is a healthy body, a mind at ease,
And simple pleasures that always please;
A heart that can feel for another's woe,
That has learned with love's deep fires to glow,
With sympathy large enough to enfold
All men as brothers, is better than gold.

Better than gold is a conscience clear,
Though toiling for bread in a humble sphere;
Doubly blest is content and health
Untried by the lusts and the cares of wealth.
Lowly living and lofty thought
Adorn and ennoble the poor man's cot;
For mind and morals in nature's plan
Are the genuine tests of the gentleman.

Better than gold is the sweet repose
Of the sons of toil when labors close;
Better than gold is the poor man's sleep
And the balm that drops on his slumbers deep.
Bring sleeping draughts to the downy bed,
Where luxury pillows its aching head;
The toiler a simple opiate deems
A shorter route to the land of dreams.

Better than gold is a thinking mind
That in the realm of books can find
A treasure surpassing Australian ore,
And live with the great and good of yore;
The sage's lore and the poet's lay;
The glories of empires passed away;
The world's great dream will thus unfold
And yield a pleasure better than gold.

Better than gold is a peaceful home,
Where all the fireside characters come,
The shri