Vanity of Vanities

VANITAS VANITATUM, OMNIA VANITAS
(Vanity of vanities) by Anne Brontë 1820-1849

Maybe this is a little long..if your not too busy- enjoy some or all-

IN all we do, and hear, and see,

Is restless Toil, and Vanity.

While yet the rolling earth abides,

Men come and go like ocean tides;

And ere one generation dies,
Another in its place shall rise;

That, sinking soon into the grave,

Others succeed, like wave on wave;
.

And as they rise, they pass away.

The sun arises every day,

And hastening onward to the West,

He nightly sinks, but not to rest
:

Returning to the eastern skies,

Again to light us, he must rise.

And still the restless wind comes forth,

Now blowing keenly from the North;
.

Now from the South, the East, the West,

For ever changing, ne’er at rest.

The fountains, gushing from the hills,

Supply the ever-running rills;
:

The thirsty rivers drink their store,

And bear it rolling to the shore,
.

But still the ocean craves for more.

‘Tis endless labour everywhere!

Sound cannot satisfy the ear,
:

Light cannot fill the craving eye,

Nor riches half our wants supply;

Pleasure but doubles future pain,

And joy brings sorrow in her train;
.

Laughter is mad, and reckless mirth–

What does she in this weary earth?

Should Wealth, or Fame, our Life employ,

Death comes, our labour to destroy;
:

To snatch the untasted cup away,

For which we toiled so many a day.

What, then, remains for wretched man?

To use life’s comforts while he can,
.

Enjoy the blessings Heaven bestows,

Assist his friends, forgive his foes;

Trust God, and keep his statutes still,

Upright and firm, through good and ill;
:

Thankful for all that God has given,

Fixing his firmest hopes on heaven;

Knowing that earthly joys decay,

But hoping through the darkest day~