So shall thou stop the way against the foes that hem thee; Trust in God to strengthen man;--be bold, for He doth help. [Illustration] Yet more: for confidence in man, even to the worst and meanest, Hath power to overcome his ill, by charitable good. Fling thine unreserving trust even on the conscience of a culprit, Soon wilt thou shame him by thy faith, and he will melt and mend: The nest of thieves will harm thee not, if thou dost bear thee boldly; Boldly, yea and kindly, as relying on their honour: For the hand so stout against aggression, is quite disarmed by charity; And that warm sun will thaw the heart case-hardened by long frost. Treat men gently, trust them strongly, if thou wish their weal; Or cautious doubt and bitter thoughts will tempt the best to foil thee. Believe the well in sanguine hope, and thou shall reap the better; But if thou deal with men so ill, thy dealings make them worse; Despair not of some gleams of good still lingering in the darkest, And among veterans in crime, plead thou as with their children: So, astonied at humanities, the bad heart long estranged, Shall even weep to feel himself so little worth thy love; In wholesome sorrow will he bless thee; yea, and in that spirit may repent; Thus wilt thou gain a soul, in mercy given to thy Faith. Look aside to lack of faith, the mass of ills it bringeth: All things treacherous, base, and vile, dissolving the brotherhood of men. Bonds break; the cement hath lost its hold; and each is separate from other; That which should be neighbourly and good, is cankered into bitterness and evil. O thou serpent, fell Suspicion, coiling coldly round the heart,-- O thou asp of subtle Jealousy, stinging hotly to the soul,-- O distrust, reserve, and doubt,--what reptile shapes are here, Poisoning the garden of a world with death among its flowers! No need of many words, the tale is easy to be told; A point will touch the truth, a line suggest the picture. For if, in thine own home, a cautious man and captious, Thou hintest at suspicion of a servant, thou soon wilt make a thief; Or if, too keen in care, thou dost evidently disbelieve thy child, Thou hast injured the texture of his honour, and smoothed to him the way of lying: Or if thou observest upon friends, as seeking thee selfishly for interest, Thou hast hurt their kindliness to thee, and shalt be paid with scorn; Or if, O silly ones of marriage, your foul and foolish thoughts, Harshly misinterpreting in each the levity of innocence for sin, Shall pour upon the lap of home pain where once was pleasure, And mix contentions in the cup, that mantled once with comforts, Bitterly and justly shall ye rue the punishment due to unbelief; Ye trust not each the other, nor the mutual vows of God; Take heed, for the pit may now be near, a pit of your own digging,-- Faith abused tempteth unto crime, and doubt may make its monster.