To dream without apology;
To act without regret;
To have convictions that are unconquerable and inviolable;
To work with the might and skill of a man - but play with the
ardor, and sleep with the faith, of a little child;
To owe nothing, earn all; give much, and save a little;
To keep an ambition that girdles the globe - then to watch
possessions vanish with a smile;
To value comradeship and cling to the arms of dear ones - but
to regard solitude the true source of power;
To emulate heroes and exalt the world's pioneers - yet
imitate no man nor hold any greater than oneself;
To throw the world away, in pursuit of a cherished ideal;
To live one's own belief with a quiet, dauntless courage - to
respect every other man's belief;
To find the greatest joy in the simple things of life - but
to move as a lord amid the huge things;
To master all that men call wisdom - then to be infinitely
humble in the presence of the vast Unknown;
To revel in the sweetness and glory in the strength of the
perfect human body - yet to care for the body only as revealing the soul;
To forget the past, and create a splendid future out of each
honest day as it comes;
To be always contented with what one has - but ever
unsatisfied with what one is;
To be calm in sorrow and brave in defeat - yet kind and
gentle in the hour of triumph;
To serve, and to rule, with equal majesty;
To make happiness for oneself - then be happiest in sharing
it;
To delight in the friendship of children;
To lift the burden of those oppressed - then teach them how
to bear it with cheerfulness and poise;
To banish fear, even the fear of death, knowing that death
but releases the soul for wider activity;
To see only good everywhere;
To know and be oneself;
To voice that within which cries for expression;
To love - and let go;
This is to be free.
Original text by Edward Earle Purinton.
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