quote · Legacy record
One sound always comes to the ear that is open; it is the steady drum-beat of Duty. No music in it, perhaps,—only a dry rub-a-dub. Ah, but that steady beat marks the time for the whole orchestra of earth and heaven! It says to you: "Do your work,—do the duty nearest you!" Keep step to that drum-beat, and the dullest march is taking you home.
One sound always comes to the ear that is open; it is the steady drum-beat of Duty. No music in it, perhaps,—only a dry rub-a-dub. Ah, but that steady beat marks the time for the whole orchestra of earth and heaven! It says to you: "Do your work,—do the duty nearest you!" Keep step to that drum-beat, and the dullest march is taking you home.
In print by 1911 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- George S. Merriam
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1911 AD · modern
In print by 1911: recorded in The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 128; printed byline: George S. Merriam; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.