My Creed

This is my creed: To do some good,
  To bear my ills without complaining,
To press on as a brave man should
  For honors that are worth the gaining;
To seek no profits where I may,
  By winning them, bring grief to others;
To do some service day by day
  In helping on my toiling brothers.

This is my creed: To close my eyes
  To little faults of those around me;
To strive to be when each day dies
  Some better than the morning found me;
To ask for no unearned applause,
  To cross no river until I reach it;
To see the merit of the cause
  Before I follow those who preach it. . . .

To keep my standards always high,
  To find my task and always do it:
This is my creed--I wish that I
  Could learn to shape my action to it.

--S. E. Kiser