POETRY.
SPEAK NO ILL. Speak no ill, a milder word Can never leave a sting behind; And oh! to breathe each tale we’ve heard Is far beneath a noble mind. How much a better seed is sown, By choosing thus the kinder plan ; For if but little good be known, Still let us say the best we can. Give me the heart that fain would hide, Would fain another’s faults efface : How can it pleasure angry pride, To prove humanity but base ? No —let us reach a higher mood, A nobler estimate for man ; Be earnest in the search for good And speak of all the best we can. Nay, speak no ill, but lenient be To others’ failings as your own : If you’re the first a fault to see, Be not the first to make it known. For Life is but a passing dav, No lip can tell how brief the span ; Then oh ! the little time we stay Let’s speak of all the best we can.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/PBS18740210.2.16
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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 133, 10 February 1874, Page 2
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168POETRY. Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 133, 10 February 1874, Page 2
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