AGAINST QUARRELING AND FIGHTING

Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For 't is their nature, too:
But, children, you should never let
Such angry passions rise;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each other's eyes.
Let love through all your actions run,
And all your words be mild;
Live like the blessed Virgin's Son,
That sweet and lovely Child.
His soul was gentle as a lamb;
And as His stature grew,
He grew in favor both with man
And God, His Father, too.
Now, Lord of all, He reigns above,
And from His heavenly throne
He sees what children dwell in love,
And marks them for His own.
--Isaac Watts.

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LOVE BETWEEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Whatever brawls disturb the street,
There should be peace at home;
Where sisters dwell and brothers meet,
Quarrels should never come.
Birds in their little nests agree,
And 't is a shameful sight,
When children of one family
Fall out, and chide, and fight.
Hard names at first, and threatening words
That are but noisy breath,
May grow to clubs and naked swords,
To murder and to death.
The devil tempts one mother's son
To rage against another;
So wicked Cain was hurried on
Till he had killed his brother.
The wise will make their anger cool,
At least before 't is night;
But in the bosom of a fool
It burns till morning light.
Pardon, O Lord, our childish rage,
Our little brawls remove;
That, as we grow to riper age,
Our hearts may all be love.
--Isaac Watts.

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A SUMMER EVENING

How fine has the day been! How bright was the sun!
How lovely and joyful the course that he run;
Though he rose in a mist when his race he begun,
And there follow'd some droppings of rain:
But now the fair traveler's come to the West,
His rays are all gold, and his beauties are best;
He paints the skies gay as he sinks to his rest,
And foretells a bright rising again.
Just such is the Christian. His course he begins,
Like the sun in the mist, when he mourns for his sins,
And melts into tears; then he breaks out and shines,
And travels his heavenly way:
But when he comes nearer to finish his race
Like a fine setting sun, he looks richer in grace,
And gives a sure hope, at the end of his days,
Of rising in brighter array.
--Isaac Watts.

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THE PITTI MADONNA
By Murillo (1618-1682)

"The Pitti Madonna is one of this sweet company, and perhaps the loveliest of them all. Both she and her beautiful boy are full of gentle earnestness, and if they are too simple-minded to realize what is in store for them, they are none the less ready to do the Father's will."

--Hurll