So goes the world! and strong necessity
Creates the law of action, whose results
Join issue with the love of God himself.
O jealous, wanton, ill-conceited World!
How little dost thou understand the deep
Significance and potency of Love!
Thou hast defiled thyself with gross perversions,
Till purity of love is but a jest,
Or reckoned with the fantasies of fools.
O, I would take thee, dear Humanity,
And set thee face to face with perfect Love.
She is thy mother. Love and Wisdom met
United by Eternal Power. The worlds
Sprang forth from chaos; and the love which brought
Them into being doth sustain them still.
The monad and the angel rest alike
Within its all-embracing arms; and life,
And death, with all that makes our mortal state,
Are cradled at the footstool of this power.
Then, sweet Humanity, thou favored child
Of God, look up! An everlasting chain
Doth bind thee to the mighty heart of all.
Love’s labor never can be lost. He who
Created, shall, through Love, perfect and save;
And that which hath such poor expression here,
Shall find fruition in a brighter sphere.
FOR A’ THAT.
[The following poem was given under the inspiration of Robert Burns.]
Is there a luckless wight on earth,
Oppressed wi’ care and a’ that,
Who holds his life as little worth,
His home is Heaven for a’ that—
For a’ that, and a’ that.
There’s muckle joy for a’ that;
He’s seen the warst o’ hell below,
His home is Heaven for a’ that.
The weary slave that drags his chain,
In toil and grief, and a’ that,
Shall find relief from a’ his pain,
And rest in Heaven from a’ that.
From a’ that and a’ that.
There’s freedom there from a’ that,
For Justice throws into the scale
A recompense for a’ that.
Puir souls, in right not unco strong,
Through love and want and a’ that,
There sure is power to right their wrong,
And save their souls, for a’ that—
For a’ that, and a’ that.
The Lord is guid for a’ that;
The de’il himsel’ can turn and mend,
And come to Heaven for a’ that.
On Scotia’s hills the gowans spring,
The heather blooms, and a’ that;
The mavis and the merlé sing,
But Heaven’s my home for a’ that—
For a’ that, and a’ that.
I wadna’ change for a’ that.
He who once finds the Heaven aboon
Will not come back for a’ that.
WORDS O’ CHEER.
[Given under the inspiration of Robert Burns.]
Guid Friends:
Although not present to your sight,
I gie ye greeting here to-night;
Not claiming to be perfect quite,
Frae taint o’ passion,
Yet will I hauld my speech aright,
In guid Scotch fashion.
O, could some cantie[B] word o’ mine,
But make your careworn faces shine,
Or cause the hearts in grief that pine,
To throb with pleasure,
Then wad my cup to auld lang syne,
Fill to its measure.