I THANK thee that I am none of the wheels of power but I am one with the living creatures that are crushed by it.

BLESSINGS HAVE I won in this life
of the Beautiful.
In the vessel of man's affection I taste His own divine nectar.
Sorrow, hard to bear,
has shown me the unhurt, unconquered soul.
On the day when I felt death's impending shadow,
fear's defeat has not been mine.
The great ones of the Earth
have not deprived me of their touch,
their undying words have I stored in my heart.
Grace I had from the god of life:
this memory let me leave
in grateful words.

I WAS MUSING last night on my spendthrift days, when I thought you spoke to me-
In youth's careless career you kept all the doors open in your house.
The world went in and out as it pleased-the world with its dust, doubts, and disorder-and with its music.
With the wild crowd I came to you again and again unknown and unbidden.
Had you kept shut your doors in wise seclusion how could I have found my way into your house?'