If Born a Man, Then Be a Man

If born a man, then be a man,

And not a wretched grub
That pusillanimously bears

Fate's every knock and rub!
Fate is a cur that only barks'

But fears a manly blow;
A man must ever ready be

To bravely meet his foe!

If born a man, then be a man,

And boast not of the fact;
More clear tongued than Demosthenes

Are valiant thought and act-
Build up, destroy, but silent be

When finished; spare display
Just as the storm that does its work

Subsides and dies away.

If born a man, then be a man,

Hold honor, faith, thy own;
Express them even if thy blood

Should for thy creed atone.
Forfeit thy life an hundred times

Ere thou thy word dost break;
Let all be lost, 'tis not too much

To pay for honor's sake.

If born a man, then be a man,

And bargain not away
Thy independence e'en for all

The great world's rich array.
Despise the knave who sells himself,

The man who has his price!
"A beggar's staff and liberty''

Be ever thy device!
If born a man, then be a man,

Strong, brave and true as steel!
Then trust that neither man nor fate

Can crush thee 'neath their heel.
An oak be, which the hurricane

May shake and break and rend;
But ne'er possess the power its frame

Or giant force to bend!