  “Let us accept from God even our own nature, and treat it charitably.”—Henri Amiel. GREATER than Fate ordains we fain would be; Wiser and purer, strung with life and power And insight and compelling energy; But with the first breath of our first faint hour The limit line is set, vain our endeavor, Our longing and our hope; we pass it never. Since this is so, since this indeed is so, Let us accept ourselves as God has made,— The lagging zest, the pulse which beats too slow, Dull wit, and scanty joy,—nor be afraid That we shall thwart the purpose of our living By such self-tolerance and such forgiving; For the least spark which fires the mortal clod, And wakes the hunger and the thirst divine In the least soul, as truly is of God As the great flame which burns a beaconing sign To light the nations when their hope is dim, Set in the darkness as a type of Him. Take courage then, poor soul, so little worth In thine own eyes, so puny and afraid, And all unfit to combat the fierce earth; Forgive thyself because the Master made And meant thee meeker than thy wish and will, And knows, and understands, and loves thee still. |
|
