Tame Xenia

GOD gave to mortals birth,

In his own image too;
Then came Himself to earth,

A mortal kind and true.

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BARBARIANS oft endeavour

Gods for themselves to make
But they're more hideous ever

Than dragon or than snake.

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WHAT shall I teach thee, the very first thing?--
Fain would I learn o'er my shadow to spring!

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'WHAT is science, rightly known?
'Tis the strength of life alone.
Life canst thou engender never,
Life must be life's parent ever.

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It matters not, I ween,

Where worms our friends consume,
Beneath the turf so green,

Or 'neath a marble tomb.
Remember, ye who live,

Though frowns the fleeting day,
That to your friends ye give

What never will decay.

poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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