No!—­then thine Innocence thy Mentor be! 
  Science can teach thee naught—­she learns from thee! 
  Each law that lends lame succor to the Weak—­
  The cripple’s crutch—­the vigorous need not seek! 
  From thine own self thy rule of action draw;
  That which thou dost—­what charms thee—­is thy Law,
  And founds to every race a code sublime—­
  What pleases Genius gives a Law to Time! 
  The Word—­the Deed—­all Ages shall command,
  Pure if thy lip and holy if thy hand! 
  Thou, thou alone mark’st not within thy heart
  The inspiring God whose Minister thou art,
  Know’st not the magic of the mighty ring
  Which bows the realm of Spirits to their King: 
  But meek, nor conscious of diviner birth,
  Glide thy still footsteps thro’ the conquered Earth!

* * * * *

VOTIVE TABLETS

[Under this title Schiller arranged that more dignified and philosophical portion of the small Poems published as Epigrams in the Musen Almanach; which rather sought to point a general thought, than a personal satire.—­Many of these, however, are either wholly without interest for the English reader, or express in almost untranslatable laconism what, in far more poetical shapes, Schiller has elsewhere repeated and developed.  We, therefore, content ourselves with such a selection as appears to us best suited to convey a fair notion of the object and spirit of the class.—­Translator]

* * * * *

MOTTO TO THE VOTIVE TABLETS.

  What the God taught—­what has befriended all
  Life’s ways, I place upon the Votive Wall.

* * * * *

THE GOOD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

(ZWEIERLEI WIRKUNGSARTEN)

  The Good’s the Flower to Earth already given—­
    The Beautiful, on Earth sows flowers from Heaven!

* * * * *

VALUE AND WORTH

  If thou hast something, bring thy goods—­a fair return be thine;
  If thou art something, bring thy soul and interchange with mine.

* * * * *

THE KEY

  To know thyself—­in others self discern;
  Wouldst thou know others?  Read thyself—­and learn!

* * * * *

THE DIVISION OF RANKS

  Yes, in the moral world, as ours, we see
  Divided grades—­a Soul’s Nobility;
  By deeds their titles Commoners create—­
  The loftier order are by birthright great.[5]

* * * * *

TO THE MYSTIC

  Spreads Life’s true mystery round us evermore,
  Seen by no eye, it lies all eyes before.