Anthony Findlay by Edgar Lee Masters — Read

Both for the country and for the man, / And for a country as well as a man, / 'Tis better to be feared than loved.

And if this country would rather part / With the friendship of every nation / Than surrender its wealth, / I say of a man 'tis worse to lose / Money than friends.

And I rend the curtain that hides the soul / Of an ancient aspiration:

When the people clamor for freedom / They really seek for power o'er the strong.

I, Anthony Findlay, rising to greatness / From a humble water carrier, / Until I could say to thousands "Come,"

And say to thousands "Go,"

Affirm that a nation can never be good, / Or achieve the good, / Where the strong and the wise have not the rod / To use on the dull and weak.