Edgar Lee Masters

. . . the weal of the race, and the cause of humanity, here and now, are enough To give life meaning and death as well.

To this generation I would say: Memorize some bit of verse of truth or beauty.

The tongue may be an unruly member-- But silence poisons the soul.

Genius is a bend in the creek where bright water has gathered, and which mirrors the trees, the sky and the banks. It just does that because it is there and the scenery is there. Talent is a fine mirror with a silver frame, with the name of the owner engraved on the back.

To love is to find your own soul Through the soul of the beloved one.

To put meaning in one's life may end in madness, But life without meaning is the torture Of restlessness and vague desire-It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

And I never started to plow in my life That some one did not stop in the road And take me away to a dance or picnic. I ended up with forty acres; I ended up with a broken fiddle— And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories, And not a single regret.

In time you shall see Fate approach you In the shape of your own image in the mirror.