'God Give Us Men' - a poem
0 comment Wednesday, April 30, 2014 |
God give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds; great hearts, true faith, and ready hands.
Men whom the lust of office does not kill:
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honour; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue,
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog,
In public duty and in private thinking,
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds
Their large professions, and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife - O! Freedom weeps
Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps.
- Maltbie Davenport Babcock
Update: the writer of the poem, which I originally identified as Josiah Gilbert Holland, was apparently Maltbie Davenport Babcock.
Thanks to a reader for pointing this out.

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