4 JUNE 1892, Page 14

POETRY.

THE AGNOSTIC'S QUESTION: "IS LIFE WORTH LIVING?"

LIFE is a thing worth living to the brave Who fear not Fortune's spite; in Truth who trust, Whose spirit, not thralled by pride or earthward lust, Stands up while mortal tumults round them rave, Like Teneriffe above the ocean wave ; Who, mailed in Duty, with divine disgust Recoil from frivolous joys and aims unjust, Nor miss rewards which Reason scorns to crave.

Life is worth living to those souls of light Who live for others, and by gift bestow On them the jubilant beams their own by right ; Who, knowing Life's defects, more inly know This Life is not the Temple but the Gate Where men secure of entrance watch and wait.

AUBREY DE VERB.