Excerpt from The Milton Anthology: 1638-1674 A. D When I consider, how my light is Spent Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide; And that one talent, which is death to hide, Lodged With me, useless: though my soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account; lest He returning chide, 'doth god exact day-labour? Light denied!' I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, 'god doth not need Either Man's work, or his own gifts. Who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best His State Thousands, at his bidding, speed st o'er land and ocean without rest. Also serve, who only stand and wait.' About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.