Poems (Procter)/Maximus

by Adelaide Anne Procter

MAXIMUS.

ANY, if God should make them kings,
 Might not disgrace the throne He gave;
How few who could as well fulfil
 The holier office of a slave!

I hold him great who, for Love's sake,
 Can give, with generous, earnest will,—
Yet he who takes for Love's sweet sake,
 I think I hold more generous still.

I prize the instinct that can turn
 From vain pretence with proud disdain;
Yet more I prize a simple heart
 Paying credulity with pain.

I bow before the noble mind
 That freely some great wrong forgives;
Yet nobler is the one forgiven,
 Who bears that burden well, and lives.

It may be hard to gain, and still
 To keep a lowly steadfast heart;
Yet he who loses has to fill
 A harder and a truer part.

Glorious it is to wear the crown
 Of a deserved and pure success;—
He who knows how to fail has won
 A Crown whose lustre is not less.

Great may he be who can command
 And rule with just and tender sway;
Yet is diviner wisdom taught
 Better by him who can obey

Blessed are those who die for God,
 And earn the Martyr's crown of light;
Yet he who lives for God may be
 A greater Conqueror in His sight.