Some men lie by the things they make; some lie in the deeds they do;
And some play false for a woman’s love, and some for a cheer or two;
Some rise to fame by the force of skill, grow great by the might of power,
Then wreck the temple they toiled to build, in a single, shameful hour.

The follies outnumber the virtues good; sin lures in a thousand ways;
But slow is the growth of man’s character and patience must mark his days;
For only those victories shall count, when the work of life is done,
Which bear the stamp of an honest man, and by courage and faith were won.

There are a thousand ways to fail, but only one way to win! 
Sham cannot cover the wrong you do nor wash out a single sin,
And never shall victory come to you, whatever of skill you do,
Save you’ve done your best in the work of life and unto your best were
    true.

Learn to Smile

The good Lord understood us when He taught us how to smile;
He knew we couldn’t stand it to be solemn all the while;
He knew He’d have to shape us so that when our hearts were gay,
We could let our neighbors know it in a quick and easy way.

So He touched the lips of Adam and He touched the lips of Eve,
And He said:  “Let these be solemn when your sorrows make you grieve,
But when all is well in Eden and your life seems worth the while,
Let your faces wear the glory and the sunshine of a smile.

“Teach the symbol to your children, pass it down through all the years. 
Though they know their share of sadness and shall weep their share of
    tears,
Through the ages men and women shall prove their faith in Me
By the smile upon their faces when their hearts are trouble-free.”

The good Lord understood us when He sent us down to earth,
He knew our need for laughter and for happy signs of mirth;
He knew we couldn’t stand it to be solemn all the while,
But must share our joy with others—­so He taught us how to smile.

The True Man

This is the sort of a man was he: 
True when it hurt him a lot to be;
Tight in a corner an’ knowin’ a lie
Would have helped him out, but he wouldn’t buy
His freedom there in so cheap a way—­
He told the truth though he had to pay.

Honest!  Not in the easy sense,
When he needn’t worry about expense—­
We’ll all play square when it doesn’t count
And the sum at stake’s not a large amount—­
But he was square when the times were bad,
An’ keepin’ his word took all he had.

Honor is something we all profess,
But most of us cheat—­some more, some less—­
An’ the real test isn’t the way we do
When there isn’t a pinch in either shoe;
It’s whether we’re true to our best or not
When the right thing’s certain to hurt a lot.