DUTY.
When Duty doth call us,Unless we obey,No rest doth she give usBy night, nor by day.We cannot escape her,She gives us no peace.Till duty is doneWe have no release.We try to avoid her,Pretend not to seeThe road she hath takenO’er mountain or lea.We cannot evade her,For by us she stands,And fetters the strongestShe binds on our hands.Though we may not listenTo Duty’s loud voice,Obeying her mandatesMay not be our choice;We ever are happyWhen duty is done;When self is once conquered,A victory is won.She smiles now upon us,The demon is laid.We’re glad that she conquered,That we have obeyed.We will no more stumble,Nor push her aside,Triumphant is Duty,With us will aye bide.We now have acknowledgedHer right to controlEach thought, and each action;Yea—even our soul.We give up the battle,Proclaim our defeat,Now Duty triumphantDoth sweetly us greet.We haul down our banner,Put Duty on throne,Though we were once traitors,We now will atoneFor all our past errors,And sit at her feet,With joy do her bidding,Each duty will meet.The battle is ended,And now we are freeFrom selfish indulgence,And happy are we.
When Duty doth call us,Unless we obey,No rest doth she give usBy night, nor by day.We cannot escape her,She gives us no peace.Till duty is doneWe have no release.We try to avoid her,Pretend not to seeThe road she hath takenO’er mountain or lea.We cannot evade her,For by us she stands,And fetters the strongestShe binds on our hands.Though we may not listenTo Duty’s loud voice,Obeying her mandatesMay not be our choice;We ever are happyWhen duty is done;When self is once conquered,A victory is won.She smiles now upon us,The demon is laid.We’re glad that she conquered,That we have obeyed.We will no more stumble,Nor push her aside,Triumphant is Duty,With us will aye bide.We now have acknowledgedHer right to controlEach thought, and each action;Yea—even our soul.We give up the battle,Proclaim our defeat,Now Duty triumphantDoth sweetly us greet.We haul down our banner,Put Duty on throne,Though we were once traitors,We now will atoneFor all our past errors,And sit at her feet,With joy do her bidding,Each duty will meet.The battle is ended,And now we are freeFrom selfish indulgence,And happy are we.