“Let dogs delight to bark and bite”

Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

LET dogs delight to bark and bite,

For God hath made them so;

Let bears and lions growl and fight,

For ’t is their nature to;

But, children, you should never let

Your angry passions rise;

Your little hands were never made

To tear each other’s eyes.

Let love through all your actions run,

And all your words be mild;

Live like the blessèd Virgin’s Son,—

That sweet and lovely child.

His soul was gentle as a lamb;

And as his stature grew,

He grew in favor both with man

And God his father, too.

Now, Lord of all, he reigns above;

And from his heavenly throne,

He sees what children dwell in love,

And marks them for his own.