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From “Festus,” Scene: “A Country Town”
FESTUS.— Oh! there is | |
A life to come, or all ’s a dream.
LUCIFER.— And all | |
| May be a dream. Thou seest in thine, men, deeds, | |
| Clear, moving, full of speech and order; then | |
| Why may not all this world be but a dream | 5 |
| Of God’s? Fear not! Some morning God may waken. | |
| FESTUS.—I would it were. This life ’s a mystery. | |
| The value of a thought cannot be told; | |
| But it is clearly worth a thousand lives | |
| Like many men’s. And yet men love to live | 10 |
| As if mere life were worth their living for. | |
| What but perdition will it be to most? | |
| Life ’s more than breath and the quick round of blood; | |
| It is a great spirit and a busy heart. | |
| The coward and the small in soul scarce do live. | 15 |
| One generous feeling—one great thought—one deed | |
| Of good, ere night, would make life longer seem | |
| Than if each year might number a thousand days, | |
| Spent as is this by nations of mankind. | |
| We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; | 20 |
| In feelings, not in figures on a dial. | |
| We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives | |
| Who thinks most—feels the noblest—acts the best. | |
| Life ’s but a means unto an end—that end | |
| Beginning, mean, and end to all things—God. | 25 |
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