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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE VANITY OF UNWARRENTED NOTIONS by LUIS DE CAMOENS

First Line: TRUTH, REASON, LOVE, AND MERIT MAY ENDURE
Last Line: BELIEVE IN CHRIST, AND LET THE REST ALONE.
Subject(s): FAITH;

TRUTH, Reason, Love, and Merit may endure
Some shocks, to make us think ourselves secure:
But Fortune, Time, and Destiny, do still
Dispose all human matters at their will.

What various strange effects perplex the mind,
For which we can no certain causes find?
We know we live, but what succeeds our end,
Man's understanding cannot comprehend.

Yet doctors will their notions justify,
And vouch for truths what no man e'er could try;
Doubt real things, as if no such had been,
And things believe which never yet were seen.

These men are proud to have their madness known;
Believe in @3Christ@1, and let the rest alone.



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