rank,
  Lie there for pavement to the abject rear,
  O’errun and trampled on:  then what they do in present,
  Though less than yours in past, must o’ertop yours;
  For time is like a fashionable host,
  That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand,
  And with his arms outstretched, as he would fly,
  Grasps in the comer:  welcome ever smiles,
  And farewell goes out sighing.  O! let not virtue seek
  Remuneration for the thing it was; for beauty, wit,
  High birth, vigor of bone, desert in service,
  Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all
  To envious and calumniating time. 
  One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,
  That all with one consent praise new-born gawds,
  Though they are made and moulded of things past,
  And give to dust that is a little gilt
  More laud than gilt o’er-dusted. 
  The present eye praises the present object,
  Since things in motion sooner catch the eye
  Than what not stirs.

William Shakespeare.

FAITH

Faith is not a passive thing—­mere believing or waiting.  It is an active thing—­a positive striving and achievement, even if conditions be untoward.

  Faith is not merely praying
    Upon your knees at night;
  Faith is not merely straying
    Through darkness to the light.

  Faith is not merely waiting
    For glory that may be,
  Faith is not merely hating
    The sinful ecstasy.

  Faith is the brave endeavor
    The splendid enterprise,
  The strength to serve, whatever
    Conditions may arise.

S.E.  Kiser.

OPPORTUNITY

What is opportunity?  To the brilliant mind of Senator Ingalls it is a stupendous piece of luck.  It comes once and once only to every human being, wise or foolish, good or wicked.  If it be not perceived on the instant, it passes by forever.  No longing for it, no effort, can bring it back.  Notice that this view is fatalistic; it makes opportunity an external thing—­one that enriches men or leaves their lives empty without much regard to what they deserve.

  Master of human destinies am I! 
  Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait. 
  Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate
  Deserts and seas remote, and passing by
  Hovel and mart and palace—­soon or late
  I knock, unbidden, once at every gate! 
  If sleeping, wake—­if feasting, rise before
  I turn away.  It is the hour of fate,
  And they who follow me reach every state
  Mortals desire, and conquer every foe
  Save death; but those who doubt or hesitate,
  Condemned to failure, penury, and woe,
  Seek me in vain and uselessly implore. 
  I answer not, and I return no more!

John James Ingalls.

OPPORTUNITY