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Uplift our hearts, O God, this day, in gratitude for the greatness of our heritage, bequeathed to us over the ages by the multitude of those who went before. Be with us as we remember those who, even before the dawn of history, struck light from the flint of their own courage to guide them through the dark. In ignorance and barbarism, they dimly saw a truth that drew them onward, and though burdened with error and weighted down with superstition, they struggled forward, finding a path for those who followed after, so that we, because of them, take up our journey with lighter load. For all the centuries of man's endevour, help us, O God, to be truly grateful: for saints and sages, for prophets and exemplars, for those who have not only pushed back the mind's horizons but who, through loving kindness, stretched the heart. Amen.
(Powell-Davies, The Language of the Heart, 1956, 32-3)