Is Life Worth Living?

Is life worth living? Yes, so long
  As there is wrong to right,
Wail of the weak against the strong
  Or tyranny to fight;
Long as there lingers gloom to chase,
  Or streaming tear to dry,
One kindred woe, one sorrowing face
  That smiles as we draw nigh;
Long as a tale of anguish swells
  The heart, and lids grow wet,
And at the sound of Christmas bells
  We pardon and forget;
So long as Faith with Freedom reigns,
  And loyal Hope survives,
And gracious Charity remains
  To leaven lowly lives;
While there is one untrodden tract
  For Intellect or Will,
And men are free to think and act
  Life is worth living still.

--Alfred Austin, 1835-1913