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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.
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.
Speak gently to the aged one,
Grieve not the care-worn heart;
The sands of life are nearly run,
Let them in peace depart.
Speak gently to the erring ones,
They must have toiled in vain;
Perchance unkindness made them so;
O, Win them back again!
Speak gently, -- 'tis a little thing
Dropped in the heart's deep well:
The good, the joy, that it may bring,
Eternity shall tell.
--Bates (The Gospel of the Kingdom edited by Hugh Croskery, 1878)
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