It is better to have tried in vain,
sincerely striving for a goal,
than to have lived upon the plain
an idle and a timid soul.

It is better to have fought and spent
your courage missing all applause
than to have lived in smug content
and never ventured for a cause.

For he who tries and fails may be
the founder of a better day;
though never his the victory,
from him shall others learn the way.