Poem by Lewis Morris

Courage!

THERE are who, bending supple knees,
Live for no end except to please,
Rising to fame by mean degrees ;
But creep not thou with these.

They have their due reward ; they bend
Their lives to an unworthy end
On empty aims the pains expend
Which had knit close a friend.

But be not thou as these, whose mind
Is to the passing hour confined ;
Let no ignoble fetters bind
Thy soul, as free as wind.

Stand upright, speak thy thought, declare
The truth thou hast that all may share ;
Be bold, proclaim it everywhere:
They only live who dare. 

1. A Cynic's Day-Dream
2. Still Waters
3. Marching
4. The Beacon
5. On a Modern Painted Window

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