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RELIGION.
And soon the iron hand of death
Shall close our dying eyes.
Such is our state—then, tell me, where,
Oppressed with care and grief,
The anxious bosom can repair,
To seek and find relief?
To mild Religion—heavenly maid!
Belongs the power alone,
To dissipate the deepest shade,
That shrouds the dark unknown.
She gives the glad inquiring mind
This solemn truth to know:
“The soul of man is not confined
To this short space below.”
Then cherish well the hopes she gives,
To banish all our fears:
“The disembodied spirit lives
Beyond the vale of tears.
“Though want, contempt, and scorn, attend
The virtuous here below,
Their future bliss shall far transcend
Their present pain and woe.
