1 Think gently of the erring one! O, let us not forget, However darkly stained by sin, He is our brother yet! Heir of the same inheritance, Child of the self-same God, He hath but stumbled in the path We have in weakness trod. 2 Speak gently to the erring ones! We yet may lead them back, With holy words, and tones of love, From misery's thorny track. Forget not, brother, thou hast sinned, And sinful yet may'st be; Deal gently with the erring heart, As God hath dealt with thee. 285. C. M. Anonymous. Speak Gently. 1 Speak gently,--it is better far To rule by love than fear; Speak gently,--let no harsh word mar The good we may do here. 2 Speak gently to the young,--for they Will have enough to bear; Pass through this life as best they may, 'Tis full of anxious care. 3 Speak gently to the aged one, Grieve not the careworn heart; The sands of life are nearly run, Let them in peace depart. 4 Speak gently to the erring ones; They must have toiled in vain; Perchance unkindness made them so; O, win them back again! 5 Speak gently,--'tis a little thing, Dropped in the heart's deep well; The good, the joy, that it may bring, Eternity shall tell. 286. C. M. Jones Very. Kind Words. 1 Turn not from him who asks of thee A portion of thy store; Thou poor in worldly goods may'st be, Yet canst give what is more. 2 The balm of comfort thou canst pour Into his grieving mind, Who oft is turned from wealth's proud door, With many a word unkind. 3 Does any from the false world find Naught but reproach and scorn? Does any, stung by words unkind, Wish that he ne'er was born? 4 Do thou raise up his drooping heart, Restore his wounded mind; Though naught of wealth thou canst impart Yet still thou may'st be kind. 5 And oft again thy words shall wing Backward their course to thee, And in thy breast will prove a spring Of pure felicity. 287. C. M. Anonymous. "Neither Do I Condemn Thee." 1 O, if thy brow, serene and calm, From earthly stain is free, View not with scorn the erring one,-- He once was pure like thee. 2 O, if the smiles of love are thine, Its joyous ecstasy, Shun not the poor forsaken one,-- He once was loved like thee! 3 And still, 'mid shame, and guilt, and woe, One Being loves him still, Who, blessing thee, hath poured on him The world's extremest ill.