A KING in procession had come to the town,
Riding an ass that was playing the clown :
For as people hailed and saluted their king
And started in joy his great praises to sing,
The ass made a curtsy and smiled and bowed
And sat down to salute the worshiping crowd.
The king in his rage had the ass fully stripped,
And there on the street had him publicly whipped.

Which reminds us of some that our Master has used
Who, puffed up in pride, their office abused ;
And not honoring Him in all their ways,
They took to themselves His honor and praise -
But pride brings destruction, or something quite near it,
And so they were stripped of the Truth and its spirit ;
For they are devoid of true wisdom, alas,
Who possess the audacity of the ass !

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HEAVEN is not gained by a single bound,
But we build the ladder by which we rise
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies,
And we mount it round by round.