Self-Reliance Poem by Martin Farquhar Tupper

Alone,-- at the point of the spear
True Genius does battle, Alone,--
Unhelp'd, and unhinder'd, by favour or fear,
He wins what he wins as his own;
In spite of his foes -- and his friends,
With stern self-reliance he plans
By means all his own to achieve all his ends,
Alone,-- by God's help and not Man's!

Whatever was ever achieved
Of Great in the world or of Good,
Was never at first by the many believed,
But ever malign'd and withstood;
So, Genius goes on with a will,
And sturdily fights the good fight,
Assured in himself that the victory still
Shall stand with the might and the right.

And, when his great fight is well fought,
A fight of hard struggles and strong,
The World, that hath never help'd Right as it ought,
Will turn and repent of its wrong;
But, utterly then will forget
That, till the man made him a name,
It never encouraged nor prophesied yet
The greatness of Children of Fame.