To laugh often and much; to win the
respect of intelligent people and the affection
of children; to earn the appreciation of honest
critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better whether by a
healthy child, a garden patch, or redeemed social
condition; to know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived. This is to have
succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Finis
I strove with none, for none was worth my strife.
Nature I loved and, next to nature, art:
I warm'd both hands before the fire of life;
It sinks, and I am ready to depart.
