'He has no enemies!' you say. <br />I pity his condition; <br />His manhood he has thrown away, <br />His candour and position. <br /> <br />'He has no enemies!' Well, then, <br />The reason is,—he never <br />Has heart enough to act but when <br />He sees 'which way's the weather.' <br /> <br />His principles are very light, <br />If he is not contented <br />To be traduced for doing right, <br />When once he has assented. <br /> <br />'He has no enemies!' Indeed! <br />Then what has he been doing? <br />Or, what on earth can be his creed? <br />What has he been pursuing? <br /> <br />A truckling—vacillating course,— <br />Unmanly, undecided;— <br />His little puny soul is worse <br />Than sixpence twice divided! <br /> <br />Then give me one of upright heart, <br />Who dares the truth to utter, <br />And act a nobler, manlier part, <br />Though enemies do mutter. <br /> <br />A man of earnest, iron will, <br />Whose enemies are many; <br />And yet, whose virtue, strength, and skill, <br />Are undeterred by any: <br /> <br />Whose fearless love for truth and right <br />Keeps falsehood ever distant; <br />And though he may be crushed by might, <br />Yet always acts consistent. <br /> <br />Aye! like the sturdy forest oak, <br />Through which the winds do rattle, <br />Stands firmer from the heavy stroke, <br />Prepared for Truth to battle. <br /> <br />Such is the man, whose noble soul, <br />When roused to proper action, <br />Disdains a sordid, base control, <br />Or enemies' detraction. <br /> <br />Who knows, when virtue's lost or fled, <br />That time is really trying; <br />For if the man is not then dead, <br />He truly must be dying.<br /><br />Benjamin Cutler Clark<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/no-enemies/
