ther and
well known instances of swift changes in the fortunes of men in those
days when they were subject not only to the ordinary vicissitudes of
human existence but to the fickle humor of an absolute monarch. It is,
therefore, as though Kingo at the height of his own fortune would remind
himself of the quickness with which it might vanish, of the evanescense
and vanity of all worldly glory. That idea is strikingly emphasized in
the following famous hymn:

Vain world, fare thee well!
I purpose no more in thy bondage to dwell;
The burdens which thou hast enticed me to bear,
I cast now aside with their troubles and care.
I spurn thy allurements, which tempt and appall;
'Tis vanity all!

What merit and worth
Hath all that the world puts so temptingly forth!
It is naught but bubbles and tinctured glass,
Loud clamoring cymbals and shrill sounding brass.
What are their seductions which lure and enthrall;
'Tis vanity all!

O honor and gold,
Vain idols which many with worship behold!
False are your affluence, your pleasure and fame;
Your wages are envy, deception and shame,
Your garlands soon wither, your kingdom shall fall;
'Tis vanity all!

O carnal desire,
Thou tempting, consuming and treacherous fire,
That catches like tinder and scorches like flame,
Consigning the victim to sorrow and shame,
Thy honeyest potion is wormwood and gall;
'Tis vanity all!

Then, fare thee farewell,
Vain world, with thy tempting and glamorous spell!
Thy wiles shall no longer my spirit enslave,
Thy splendor and joy are designed for the grave
I yearn for the solace from sorrows and harm
Of Abraham's arm!

There shall all my years
I bloom like the lily when summer appears;
There day is not ruled by the course of the sun
Nor night by the silvery light of the moon;
Lord Jesus shall shine as my sun every day
In heaven for aye.

This is an eloquent farewell, clothed in all the expressive wealth of
language and imagery of which Kingo was such a master. One cannot repress
the feeling, however, that it presents a challenge rather than a
farewell. A man that so passionately avows his repudiation of the world
must have felt its attraction, its power to tempt and enthrall. He fights
against it; the spirit contends with the flesh, but the fight is not
easy. And it is in