THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Men seek their happiness in divers ways:
While one will labor hard, another plays;
Some think their pleasure comes through sensual joys;
One silence cultivates, another noise.
But each and all are searching after good,
Whether in indolent or active mood.
Some traverse land and sea in restless flight;
Some rest secure in ease; some love to fight;
Each is, according to his temperament,
Morose or joyous, froward or content.
Then whence is this elusive happiness
For which we all are striving more or less?
Ask of the rich, amid his hard-earned wealth,
Has he secured the priceless boon of health?
Ask of the poor, struggling with poverty,
Has he for happiness the recipe?
The learned savant, does he know the way?
The clerical professor, or the lay?
They all must answer in unvarying strain—
The joys of earth are tempered all with pain.
One road to happiness, and one alone,
Sweet charity provides and duty done!
Love's the fulfilling of the law divine:
Thy brother's need supply, as if 'twere thine;
To others give as thou wouldst fain receive;
Their sorrows comfort, and their wants relieve;
Forget thyself, and in unselfishness
Thy God, according to His Word, will bless.
Then will the search for happiness be past,
And Love triumphant manifest at last.