Vanity of Life.

I

The evils that beset our path,
Who can prevent or cure?
We stand upon the brink of death
When most we seem secure.

II

If we to-day sweet peace possess,
It soon may be withdrawn;
Some change may plunge us in distress
Before to-morrow’s dawn.

III

Disease and pain invade our health,
And find an easy prey;
And oft, when least expected, wealth
Takes wings and flies away.

IV

A fever or a blow can shake
Our wisdom’s boasted rule,
And of the brightest genius make
A madman or a fool.

V

The gourds from which we look for fruit
Produce us only pain;
A worm unseen attacks the root,
And all our hopes are vain.

VI

I pity those who seek no more
Than such a world can give;
Wretched they are and blind and poor,
And dying while they live.

VII

Since sin has fill’d the earth with woe,
And creatures fade and die,
Lord, wean our hearts from things below,
And fix our hopes on high.