I Shall No Longer Ask Myself. . .

"I shall no longer ask myself if this or that is expedient, but only if it is right.

I shall do this, not because I am noble or unselfish,

but because life slips away,

and because I need for the rest of my journey a star that will not play false to me,

a compass that will not lie.

I shall do this, because I cannot find it in me to do anything else.

I am lost when I balance this against that,

I am lost when I ask if this is safe,

I am lost when I ask if men will approve.

Therefore I shall try to do what is right, and to speak what is true."

Alan Paton

Cry, The Beloved Country