The Moral Hero

To face the world’s malignity and scorn,
   For love of truth, demands a stouter heart
   Than those who ply Bellona’s deadly art,
Though wringing victory from a hope forlorn.

The moral hero of the soul is born, 
   And lofty aims his silent power impart;
   Fame lures him not, nor prizes of the mart;
But love and faith his spotless shield adorn.

Reward comes later, when his frame his dust,
   And men made holy by his life and thought
Live, as he lived, a life of dauntless trust,
   Crowning his work with fame he had not sought
Well may we deem the soul that made his great
Shall wear its earthly stars for its sublime state.