Isn't it strange that princes and kings
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings
And common folk like you and me
Are the builders of eternity.
To each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass and a book of rules;
And each must make, ere time is flown,
A stumbling-block or a stepping-stone.
R. L. Sharpe, Major Edward Bowes, "Verses I like," Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., 1937
