Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MORAL HERO, by DANIEL MCMILLAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MORAL HERO, by                    
First Line: He may be rich, he may be great
Last Line: The man, the moral hero, thou!
Alternate Author Name(s): Dalintober
Subject(s): Heroism; Heroes; Heroines


HE may be rich, he may be great,
He may be poor and low;
Of high renown in church and state,
Or all unhonour'd go;
Yet what his station, where his place,
He is an honour to his race.

No partial part in church or state
He for himself doth claim;
A deed unjust to perpetrate
He deems an open shame;
For what he claims, his will bequeaths
To every human thing that breathes.

The love of truth, a fountain deep,
Disposes heart and will,
Alike when stormy tempests sweep,
As when the winds are still;
Though interest prompt, temptation try,
He will not make, nor act a lie.

Within his heart a lamp of love,
Such as a god might claim,
Burns like a sun-ray from above --
A pure and holy flame;
And folds beneath its ample wings
The God, and all created things.

Hail, mercy, hail! benignant shade,
Sweet friend of the oppress'd,
Thou like a holy dove hast made,
Thy home within his breast;
And where thou claim'st a covert meet,
To bear and to forbear is sweet.

Where pinching Want with leaden eye,
Hath singled out her prey,
He of his bounty doth supply,
And drives the wolf away;
And sees a deed the gods might share,
Provoke the smile of dull despair.

Where sickness, prelude of decay,
Hath fixed the barbed dart;
Where death had reft the loved away,
From friendship's wounded heart,
He soothes the soul by sorrows riven,
And points the eye of faith to Heaven.

He sows the seed while sluggards sleep,
O'er earth's unkindly sward;
Secure in Heaven at last to reap
His guerdon and reward;
From youth to age his path hath been
The footprints of the Nazarene.

Rejoice, oh man, that such there be
Thy right of kindred claim:
Rejoice and labour such as he,
With high and holy aim:
Then wreathe the laurel round thy brow,
The man, the moral hero, thou!





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