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Lament XI

Topics: classic

"Virtue is but a trifle!" Brutus said     In his defeat; nor was he cozened.     What man did his own goodness e'er advance     Or piety preserve from evil chance?     Some unknown foe confuses men's affairs;     For good and bad alike it nothing cares.     Where blows its breath, no man can flee away;     Both false and righteous it hath power to stay.     Yet still we vaunt us of our mighty mind     In idle arrogance among our kind;     And still we gaze on heaven and think we see     The Lord and his all-holy mystery.     Nay, human eyes are all too dull; light dreams     Amuse and cheat us with what only seems.     Ah, dost thou rob me, Grief, my safeguards spurning,     Of both my darling and my trust in learning?

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""Virtue is but a trifle!" Brutus said..."

This evocative piece by Jan Kochanowski, titled "Lament XI", represents a masterful exploration of classic. The lines capture a profound emotional resonance... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

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"Where are those gates through which so long ago   ..."

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