"School Thy Feelings"

“School thy feelings, O my brother;

Train thy warm, impulsive soul.

Do not its emotions smother,

But let wisdom’s voice control.

School thy feelings; there is power

In the cool, collected mind.

Passion shatters reason’s tower,

Makes the clearest vision blind.

“School thy feelings, O my brother;

Train thy warm, impulsive soul.

Do not its emotions smother,

But let wisdom’s voice control.

“School thy feelings; condemnation

Never pass on friend or foe,

Though the tide of accusation

Like a flood of truth may flow.

Hear defense before deciding,

And a ray of light may gleam,

Showing thee what filth is hiding

Underneath the shallow stream.

“Should affliction’s acrid vial

Burst o’er thy unsheltered head,

School thy feelings to the trial;

Half its bitterness hath fled.

Art thou falsely, basely, slandered?

Does the world begin to frown?

Gauge thy wrath by wisdom’s standard;

Keep thy rising anger down.

“Rest thyself on this assurance:

Time’s a friend to innocence,

And the patient, calm endurance

Wins respect and aids defense.

Noblest minds have finest feelings;

Quiv’ring strings a breath can move;

And the gospel’s sweet revealings

Tune them with the key of love.

“Hearts so sensitively molded

Strongly fortified should be,

Trained to firmness and enfolded

In a calm tranquility.

Wound not willfully another;

Conquer haste with reason’s might;

School thy feelings, sister, brother;

Train them in the path of right.”

(Charles W. Penrose, “School Thy Feelings,” Hymns, 336)