School Thy Feelings

 


Lyrics

  1. 1. School thy feelings, O my brother;

    Train thy warm, impulsive soul.

    Do not its emotions smother,

    But let wisdom’s voice control.

    School thy feelings; there is power

    In the cool, collected mind.

    Passion shatters reason’s tower,

    Makes the clearest vision blind.

  2. [Chorus]

    School thy feelings, O my brother;

    Train thy warm, impulsive soul.

    Do not its emotions smother,

    But let wisdom’s voice control.

  3. 2. School thy feelings; condemnation

    Never pass on friend or foe,

    Though the tide of accusation

    Like a flood of truth may flow.

    Hear defense before deciding,

    And a ray of light may gleam,

    Showing thee what filth is hiding

    Underneath the shallow stream.

  4. 3. Should affliction’s acrid vial

    Burst o’er thy unsheltered head,

    School thy feelings to the trial;

    Half its bitterness hath fled.

    Art thou falsely, basely, slandered?

    Does the world begin to frown?

    Gauge thy wrath by wisdom’s standard;

    Keep thy rising anger down.

  5. 4. Rest thyself on this assurance:

    Time’s a friend to innocence,

    And the patient, calm endurance

    Wins respect and aids defense.

    Noblest minds have finest feelings;

    Quiv’ring strings a breath can move;

    And the gospel’s sweet revealings

    Tune them with the key of love.

  6. 5. Hearts so sensitively molded

    Strongly fortified should be,

    Trained to firmness and enfolded

    In a calm tranquility.

    Wound not willfully another;

    Conquer haste with reason’s might;

    School thy feelings, sister, brother;

    Train them in the path of right.

Text: Charles W. Penrose, 1832–1925. © 1948 IRI

Music: George F. Root, 1820–1895