In the fell clutch of circumstance
  I have not winced nor cried aloud;
  Under the bludgeonings of chance,
  My head is bloody but unbowed.

And only so can the spirit hope to achieve emancipation and win out into the clear.  This is the crown of life.  Michael Angelo represents Joseph of Arimathea standing at the tomb of the Master with head erect and with the mien of faith.  He did not understand at all, and yet his faithful heart encouraged him to hope and to hold his head from drooping.  He was faithful even in the darkness and on the morning of the Resurrection he received his crown.

When we set up loyalty as one of our major goals we shall become alert to every illustration of it that falls under our gaze.  The story of Nathan Hale will become newly alive and will thrill as never before.  Over against Nathan Hale we shall set Philip Nolan for the sake of comparison and contrast.  Even though our pupils may regard Joan of Arc as a fanatic, her heroism and her fidelity to her convictions will shine forth as a star in the night and her example as illustrating loyalty will be as seed planted in fertile soil.  In our quest for exemplars we shall find the pages of history palpitating with life.  We may sow dead dragon’s teeth, but armed men will spring into being.  Thermopylae will become a new story, while William Tell and Arnold Winkelried will take rank among the demigods.  Sidney Carton will become far more than a mere character of fiction, for on his head we shall find a halo, and Horace Mann will become far more than a mere schoolmaster.  Historians, poets, novelists, statesmen, and philanthropists will rally about us to reinforce our efforts and to cite to us men and women of all times who shone resplendent by reason of their loyalty.

Our objective being loyalty, we shall omit the lesson in grammar for today in order to induce the spirits of our pupils to react to the story of Jephthah’s daughter.  For once they have emotionalized it, have really felt its power, this story will become to them a rare possession and will entwine itself in the warp and woof of their lives and form a pattern of exceeding beauty whose colors will not fade.  They shall hear the solemn vow of the father to sacrifice unto the Lord the first living creature that meets his gaze after the victory over his enemies.  They shall see him returning invested with the glory of the victor.  Then the child will be seen running forth to meet him, the first living creature his gaze has fallen upon since the battle.  They will note her gladness to see him and to know that he is safe.  They will see the dancing of her eyes and hear her rippling, joyous laughter.  They will become tense as the father is telling her of his vow.  But the climax is reached when they hear her saying, “My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth.”  And, with bated breath, they see her meeting death with a smile that her father may keep his covenant with the Lord.  Ever after this story will mark to them the very zenith of loyalty, and the lesson in grammar can await another day.