Ad Amicum

"Let no gainsaying lips despise thy youth;
Like his, the great Apostle's favorite son,
"Whose early rule at Ephuses begun:
Thy Urim and thy Thummim — Light and Truth —
Be thy protection from the Holy One:
And for thy fiery trials, be there shed
A sevenfold grace on thine anointed head,
Till thy ' right onward' course shall all be run.
And when thy earthly championship is through,
Thy warfare fought, thy battle won,
And heaven's own palms of triumph bright in view,
May this thy thrilling welcome be: ' Well done!
Because thou hast been faithful over few, i
A mightier rule be thine, O servant good and true.'"