We have two things to do, to live and die:
To win another and a longer life
Out of this earthly change and weary strife;
To catch the hours that one by one go by,
And write the Cross upon them as they fly.
So shall they lay their burden gently down,
Sinking, perchance hard-by, beneath the Throne,
Withdrawn anew into eternity.
'Tis hard to live by youth's fast bubbling springs,
And treat our loves, joys, hopes, as flowery things
That for awhile may climb the boughs, and twine
Among the prickly leaves of discipline.
Yet, wouldst thou rise in Christ's self-mastering school,
Thy very heart itself must beat by rule.