True Nobility

By Robert Nicoll

I ask not for his lineage,
I ask not for his name;
If manliness be in his heart,
He noble birth may claim.
I care not though of this world’s wealth
But slender be his part,
If yes, you answer, when I ask
Hath he a true man’s heart?
I ask not from what land he came,
Nor where his youth was nursed;
If pure the stream, it matters not
The spot from whence it burst.
The palace or the hovel,
Where first his life began,
I seek not for; but answer this,
Is he an honest man?