To the Sons of My Nation
François Ghosn
The time has come for this night
to pass,
and for its darkness to be scattered,
that the fresh dawn of life may break
and its light flood the whole inhabited earth.
The time has come to shake from us
the dust of the past centuries
and to kindle a new dawn,
everlasting,
from the fires of our lances,
flooding the plains and the lowlands
and driving out the darkness of night,
so that the keepers of our vineyards spring out
on the trail of the wanton foxes
and hunt them down for us
before they work their havoc there
and spoil the clusters.
The time has come for us to cast off
rule,
for its day is done,
and to free ourselves from the morals of the stranger,
to throw away the manners of the weak,
to be true to our own mighty selves
and trust in our immortal genius;
for our mission is great
and must be carried out ...
because the generations
now wait
on coals hotter than embers ...
The time has come for the world to listen
to the roar of the lions
before they spring from their dens;
for the air has grown used
to echoing the howling of foxes
until people took it for a roar —
and I hate a roar that is like a howl.
My ears have come
to long for the anthems of war,
their words bursting forth
like molten lava
from the mouths of tried and proven heroes.
To Be Happy!
Mona Freeman

1 - Do not flee from life — that is, from the world of work, love, and trust.

2 - Follow the laws of nature in the care of your body — that is, fresh air, sunshine, food, and exercise.

3 - Cleanse your mind once every year of the poisons of hatred, fear, and rancor.

4 - Define your desires in life, and the price you will pay to fulfill them.

5 - Follow a cheerful philosophy — that is, do not cling to the trifles that affect your relations with people.

6 - Ease your worries by talking them over with a friend in whom you place your trust.

7 - Keep away from the companions of pessimism, for its contagion passes to you through their constant suggestion.

8 - Have a hobby, for fine hobbies are among the means of insuring happiness.

9 - Look for new faces among friends, and work to love people and to have them love you.

10 - Remember that real life begins in the year that you yourself choose — not only at the age of forty.

11 - Make the most, to the furthest possible extent, of the daily means of recreation — that is, of work, play, and love; forget the worries of yesterday, and center your thought and your attention on the happiness of the day you are living in.

12 - Let people share in your happiness, for in the measure that you distribute it to others will be your portion of theirs.

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