1209. Thoughts on the Commandments by George Augustus Baker. Stedman, Edmund Clarence, ed. 1900. An American Anthology, 1787-1900

Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

1209. Thoughts on the Commandments

By George Augustus Baker


“LOVE your neighbor as yourself,”—
So the parson preaches:
That ’s one half the Decalogue,—
So the prayer-book teaches.
Half my duty I can do	5
With but little labor,
For with all my heart and soul
I do love my neighbor.

Mighty little credit, that,
To my self-denial;	10
Not to love her, though, might be
Something of a trial.
Why, the rosy light, that peeps
Through the glass above her,
Lingers round her lips,—you see	15
E’en the sunbeams love her.

So to make my merit more,
I ’ll go beyond the letter:—
Love my neighbor as myself?
Yes, and ten times better.	20
For she ’s sweeter than the breath
Of the Spring, that passes
Through the fragrant, budding woods,
O’er the meadow-grasses.

And I ’ve preached the word I know,	25
For it was my duty
To convert the stubborn heart
Of the little beauty.
Once again success has crowned
Missionary labor,	30
For her sweet eyes own that she
Also loves her neighbor.