MAY I reach

That purest heaven, -be to other souls

That cup of strength in some great agony!-

Enkindle generous ardour, -feed pure love,-

Beget smiles that have no cruelty,-

Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,

And in diffusion ever more intense!

So shall I join the choir invisible,

Whose music is the gladness of the world!

G. Eliot, The Cloud of Witness, p.136