Such zeal, O brother, did I see from thee, like flashes burst,
As thou the Christian martyrs’ deaths and steadfast faith rehearsed:
E’en at the very time when sore afflicted, thou didst lie,
And thou didst seem to realize that thou must shortly die.
Wilt thou not save that care and zeal which thou dost now exhaust,
And cease awhile that sacrifice, which all thy strength has cost?
And with the sick and weak awhile from active service hold,
In which, as I have said, thou hast engaged with zeal untold.
Yet, well I know that thou, like Christ, must ever onward go,
And teach the world the word of God, while traveling here below.