THE ROYAL READERS 2: LESSON 65

LESSON 65
LET US SPEAK THE BEST WE CAN

Nay, speak no ill! A kindly word
Can never leave a sting behind;
And oh! To breathe each tale we've heard
Is far beneath a noble mind.
Full oft a better seed is sown
By choosing thus the better plan
For if but little good be known,
Still set us speak the best we can.

Give me the heart that fain would hide --
Would fain another's guilt efface:
How can it pleasure human pride
To prove humanity but base?
No; let us reach a higher mood,
A nobler estimate of man;
Be earnest in the search of good,
And let us speak the best we can.

Then speak no ill, but lenient --be
To other's failings as your own;
If you're the first a fault to see,
Be you the last to make it known.
For life is but a passing day,
No tongue may tell how brief its span;
Then, all the little time we stay,
Still let us speak the best we can.

— Anon