p. 12 | Two Schools by H. Van Dyke

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Michigan · Apr 22, 1902

Two Schools

By H. Van Dyke

I PUT my heart in school, In the world where men grow wise. “Go out,” I said, “and learn the rule; Come back when you win the prize.”

My heart came back again; “And where is the prize?” I cried. “The rule was false, and the prize was pain, And the teacher’s name was Pride.”

I put my heart to school, In the woods where wild birds sing, In the fields where flowers spring, Where brooks run cool and clear, And the blue of heaven bends near. “Go out,” I said; “you are only a fool, But perhaps they can teach you here.”

“And why do you stay so long, My heart? and where do you roam?” The answer came with a laugh and song, “I find this school is home.”

—H. Van Dyke, in Atlantic Monthly.