Henry Charles Beeching, ed. (1859–1919). Lyra Sacra: A Book of Religious Verse. 1903.
By Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1809–1861)Work
| WHAT are we set on earth for? Say, to toil; | |
| Nor seek to leave thy tending of the vines, | |
| For all the heat o’ the day, till it declines, | |
| And Death’s wild curfew shall from work assoil. | |
| God did anoint thee with His odorous oil | 5 |
| To wrestle, not to reign; and He assigns | |
| All thy tears over, like pure crystallines, | |
| For younger fellow-workers of the soil | |
| To wear for amulets. So others shall | |
| Take patience, labour, to their heart and hand, | 10 |
| From thy hand and thy heart and thy brave cheer; | |
| And God’s grace fructify through thee to all. | |
| The least flower with a brimming cup may stand | |
| And share its dewdrop with another near. | |