Words are deeds. The words we hear 
May revolutionize or rear 
A mighty state. The words we read 
May be a spiritual deed 
Excelling any fleshly one, 
As much as the celestial sun 
Transcends a bonfire, made to throw 
A light upon some raree-show. 
A simple proverb tagged with rhyme 
May colour half the course of time; 
The pregnant saying of a sage 
May influence every coming age; 
A song in its effects may be 
More glorious than Thermopylae, 
And many a lay that schoolboys scan 
A nobler feat than Inkerman.