Do its glittering wares entice thee, or its shouts and cries confound?
Oh, beware lest thy Lord's business be forgotten, while thy gaze
Is on every show and pageant which the giddy square displays.
Barter not his gold for pebbles; do not trade in vanities;
Pearls there are of price and jewels for the purchase of the wise.
And know this—at thy returning thou wilt surely find the King
With an open book before Him, waiting to make reckoning.
Thus large honors will the faithful, earnest service of one day
Reap of Him; but one day's folly largest penalties will pay.
—Richard Chenevix Trench.