Better to smell the violet <br />Than sip the glowing wine; <br />Better to hearken to a brook <br />Than watch a diamond shine. <br /> <br />Better to have a loving friend <br />Than ten admiring foes; <br />Better a daisy's earthy root <br />Than a gorgeous, dying rose. <br /> <br />Better to love in loneliness <br />Than bask in love all day; <br />Better the fountain in the heart <br />Than the fountain by the way. <br /> <br />Better be fed by mother's hand <br />Than eat alone at will; <br />Better to trust in God, than say, <br />My goods my storehouse fill. <br /> <br />Better to be a little wise <br />Than in knowledge to abound; <br />Better to teach a child than toil <br />To fill perfection's round. <br /> <br />Better to sit at some man's feet <br />Than thrill a listening state; <br />Better suspect that thou art proud <br />Than be sure that thou art great. <br /> <br />Better to walk the realm unseen <br />Than watch the hour's event; <br />Better the <br />Well done, faithful slave <br />! <br />Than the air with shoutings rent. <br /> <br />Better to have a quiet grief <br />Than many turbulent joys; <br />Better to miss thy manhood's aim <br />Than sacrifice the boy's. <br /> <br />Better a death when work is done <br />Than earth's most favoured birth; <br />Better a child in God's great house <br />Than the king of all the earth.<br /><br />George MacDonald<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/better-things-2/
