George Willis Cooke, comp. The Poets of Transcendentalism: An Anthology. 1903.
The Nobly BornEllen Sturgis Hooper (18121848)
W
Is noble in despite of place,
And honors are but brands to one
Who wears them not with nature’s grace.
Nor feel his state disgraced thereby;
But he who has but small esteem
Husbands that little carefully.
Count it still more thou art thine own;
Stand on a larger heraldry
Than that of nation or of zone.
Those halls have missed a courtly guest;
That mansion is not privileged,
Which is not open to the best.
Nor wrangle for this lesser claim;
It is not to be destitute,
To have the thing without the name.
Disgrace not thy good company;—
If lowly born, so bear thyself
That gentle blood may come of thee.
Of some fair garden’s petty wall,
But scale the open mountain side,
Whose summit rises over all.