A Declaration of Freedom

By Edward Earle Purinton.

To dream without apology;
    To act without regret;
    To have convictions that are unconquerable and inviolable;
    To work with the might and skill of a man - but play with the ardor, and sleep with the faith, of a little child;
    To owe nothing, earn all; give much, and save a little;
    To keep an ambition that girdles the globe - then to watch possessions vanish with a smile;
    To value comradeship and cling to the arms of dear ones - but to regard solitude the true source of power;
    To emulate heroes and exalt the world's pioneers - yet imitate no man nor hold any greater than oneself;
    To throw the world away, in pursuit of a cherished ideal;
    To live one's own belief with a quiet, dauntless courage - to respect every other man's belief;
    To find the greatest joy in the simple things of life - but to move as a lord amid the huge things;
    To master all that men call wisdom - then to be infinitely humble in the presence of the vast Unknown;
    To revel in the sweetness and glory in the strength of the perfect human body - yet to care for the body only as revealing the soul;
    To forget the past, and create a splendid future out of each honest day as it comes;
    To be always contented with what one has - but ever unsatisfied with what one is;
    To be calm in sorrow and brave in defeat - yet kind and gentle in the hour of triumph;
    To serve, and to rule, with equal majesty;
    To make happiness for oneself - then be happiest in sharing it;
    To delight in the friendship of children;
    To lift the burden of those oppressed - then teach them how to bear it with cheerfulness and poise;
    To banish fear, even the fear of death, knowing that death but releases the soul for wider activity;
    To see only good everywhere;
    To know and be oneself;
    To voice that within which cries for expression;
    To love - and let go;

This is to be free.