Noblesse Oblige

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

   I hold it the duty of one who is gifted
      And specially dowered in all men’s sight,
   To know no rest till his life is lifted
      Fully up to his great gifts’ height.

   He must mould the man into rare completeness,
      For gems are set only in gold refined.
   He must fashion his thoughts into perfect sweetness.
      And cast out folly and pride from his mind.

   For he who drinks from a god’s gold fountain
      Of art or music or rhythmic song
   Must sift from his soul the chaff of malice,
      And weed from his heart the roots of wrong.

   Great gifts should be worn, like a crown befitting,
      And not like gems in a beggar’s hands!
   And the toil must be constant and unremitting
      Which lifts up the king to the crown’s demands.

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

from Poems of Power by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1903)
God’s Measure	Through Tears

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