Non nobis Domine!—
Not
unto us, O Lord!
The praise or glory be
Of
any deed or word;
For in thy judgment lies
To
crown or bring to nought
All knowledge or device
That
man has reached or wrought.
And we confess our blame—
How
all too high we hold
That noise which men call fame,
That
dross which men call gold.
For these we undergo
Our
hot and godless days,
But in our hearts we know
Not
unto us the praise.
O Power by whom we live—
Creator,
Judge, and Friend,
Upholdingly forgive
Nor
fail us at the end:
But grant us well to see
In
all our piteous ways—
Non nobis Domine!—
Not
unto us the praise!
- Rudyard Kipling