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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ATHEISM: FAITH by ELIZABETH OAKES PRINCE SMITH

First Line: BEWARE OF DOUBT - FAITH IS THE SUBTLE CHAIN
Last Line: THAT QUESTIONS OF THY FAITH, THE COLD EXTERNAL DOUBT.
Subject(s): ATHEISM; DOUBT; FAITH; LIFE; SKEPTICISM; BELIEF; CREED;

Beware of doubt -- faith is the subtle chain
Which binds us to the Infinite: the voice
Of a deep life within, that will remain
Until we crowd it thence. We may rejoice
With an exceeding joy, and make our life,
Ay, this external life, become a part
Of that which is within, o'erwrought and rife
With faith, that childlike blessedness of heart.
The order and the harmony inborn
With a perpetual hymning crown our way,
Till callousness, and selfishness, and scorn,
Shall pass as clouds where scatheless lightnings play.
Cling to thy faith -- 'tis higher than the thought
That questions of thy faith, the cold external doubt.



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