The horrid eye of murder, scowling in the dark, 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; 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, 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: Thou canst not sound its depths with the shallow plumb-line of reason, Till religion, the pilot of the soul, have lent thee her unfathomable coil: Therefore, for this grand knowledge, and knowledge is the parent of dominion, 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; Shame upon Creation's lord, the fierce ensanguined despot: What, man! are there not enough, hunger, and diseases and fatigue,-. And yet must thy goad or thy thong add another sorrow to existence? What! art thou not content thy sin hath dragged down suffering and death On the poor dumb servants of thy comfort, and yet must thou 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? For very shame be merciful, be kind unto the creatures thou hast ruined; 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 lamb, and the timorous hare, and the labouring ox at plough; 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: They are thine by gift for thy needs, to be used in all gratitude and kind ness; Gratitude to their God and thine,-their Father and thy Father, Kindness to them who toil for thee, and help thee with their all: 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, goal; Also, in the winter of life, when worn by constant toil, If ingratitude forget his services, he cannot bring them to remembrance; Yea, the sad eye of the tortured pleadeth pathetically for him; side, 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 the door is shut upon suspicion, but candour is bid glad welcome: For friendship abhorreth doubt, its life is in mutual trust, 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; Come, I will show thee a friend; I will paint one worthy of thy trust: Thine heart shall not weary of him: thou shalt not secretly despise him Thou art long in learning him, in unravelling all his worth; And he dazzleth not thine eyes at first, to be darkened in thy sight afterward, But riseth from small beginnings, and reacheth the height of thine esteem. He remembereth that thou art only man; he expecteth not great things from thee; And his forbearance toward thee silently teacheth thee to be considerate unto him. He despiseth not courtesy of manner, nor neglecteth the decencies of life: Nor mocketh the failings of others, nor is harsh in his censures before thee: For so, how couldst thou tell, if he talketh not of thee in ridicule ? For as an ill example strengtheneth the hands of the wicked, So to put forward thy guilt, is a secret poison to thy friend: For the evil in his nature is comforted, and he warreth more weakly against it, If he find that the friend whom he honoureth, is a man more sinful than himself. I hear the communing of friends; ye speak out the fulness of your souls, Ye commune of hopes and aspirations, the fervent breathings of the heart, Ye speak with pleasant interchange the treasured secrets of affection, Ye listen to the voice of complaint, and whisper the language of comfort, And as in a double solitude, ye think in each other's hearing. Choose thy friend discreetly, and see thou consider his station, For the graduated scale of ranks accordeth with the ordinance of heaven: If a low companion ripen to a friend, in the full sunshine of thy confidence, Know, that for old age thou hast heaped up sorrow For thou sinkest to that level, and thy kin shall scorn thee, Yea, and the menial thou hast pampered haply shall neglect thee in thy death: And if thou reachest up to high estates, thinking to herd with princes, What art thou but a footstool, though so near a throne? |