Question

If you can wait and not to be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise. What message does the poet give here?

Answer 1

Answer:

Here, he is advising his son to learn patience, to become an honest man, and to hate no one else; all of this must be done although the boy will likely encounter liars, haters, and people in a constant rush. The last line of this stanza also cautions him to allow his ego (via his public acknowledgment of his own "goodness" and "knowing") to act in equally as destructive ways. It is not enough to be good; one must be humble as well.