Man walks in a vain shadow; he
Disquieteth himself in vain.

The things that were shall be again;
The rivers do not fill the sea,

But turn back to their secret source;
The winds too turn upon their course.

Our treasures moth and rust corrupt,

Or thieves break through and steal, or they
Make themselves wings and fly away.

One man made merry as he supped,

Nor guessed how when that night grew dim His soul would be required of him.

We build our houses on the sand
Comely withoutside and within;
But when the winds and rains begin
To beat on them, they cannot stand:
They perish, quickly overthrown,
Loose from the very basement stone.

All things are vanity, I said:

Yea vanity of vanities.

The rich man dies; and the poor dies:
The worm feeds sweetly on the dead.
Whate'er thou lackest, keep this trust:
All in the end shall have but dust:

The one inheritance, which best

And worst alike shall find and share :
The wicked cease from troubling there,

And there the weary be at rest ;
There all the wisdom of the wise
Is vanity.of vanities.

Man flourishes as a green leaf,
And as a leaf doth pass away ;

Or as a shade that cannot stay
And leaves no track, his course is brief:
Yet man doth hope and fear and plan
Till he is dead :-oh foolish man!

Our eyes cannot be satisfied

With seeing, nor our ears be filled With hearing yet we plant and build And buy and make our borders wide; We gather wealth, we gather care, But know not who shall be our heir.

Why should we hasten to arise

So early, and so late take rest? Our labour is not good; our best Hopes fade; our heart is stayed on lies: Verily, we sow wind; and we Shall reap the whirlwind, verily.

He who hath little shall not lack;

He who hath plenty shall decay: Our fathers went; we pass away; Our children follow on our track: So generations fail, and so

They are renewed and come and go.

The earth is fattened with our dead;

She swallows more and doth not cease:
Therefore her wine and oil increase

And her sheaves are not numbered;
Therefore her plants are green, and all
Her pleasant trees lusty and tall.

Therefore the maidens cease to sing,
And the young men are very sad;
Therefore the sowing is not glad,
And mournful is the harvesting.
Of high and low, of great and small,
Vanity is the lot of all.

A King dwelt in Jerusalem :

He was the wisest man on earth; He had all riches from his birth, And pleasures till he tired of them; Then, having tested all things, he Witnessed that all are vanity.

/PARADISE.

NCE in a dream I saw the flowers

ONCE

That bud and bloom in Paradise More fair they are than waking eyes Have seen in all this world of ours. And faint the perfume-bearing rose, And faint the lily on its stem, And faint the perfect violet Compared with them.

I heard the songs of Paradise:
Each bird sat singing in his place;
A tender song so full of grace

It soared like incense to the skies.
Each bird sat singing to his mate
Soft cooing notes among the trees :
The nightingale herself were cold
To such as these.

I saw the fourfold River flow,

And deep it was, with golden sand; It flowed between a mossy land With murmured music grave and low. It hath refreshment for all thirst,

For fainting spirits strength and rest; Earth holds not such a draught as this From east to west.

The Tree of Life stood budding there,
Abundant with its twelvefold fruits;
Eternal sap sustains its roots,

Its shadowing branches fill the air.
Its leaves are healing for the world,
Its fruit the hungry world can feed.
Sweeter than honey to the taste
And balm indeed.

I saw the gate called Beautiful;

And looked, but scarce could look within;
I saw the golden streets begin,

And outskirts of the glassy pool.

Oh harps, oh crowns of plenteous stars.
Oh green palm branches many-leaved-
Eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard,
Nor heart conceived.

I hope to see these things again,

But not as once in dreams by night;
To see them with my very sight.
And touch and handle and attain:
To have all Heaven beneath my feet

For narrow way that once they tro;
To have my part with all the saints,
And with my God.