| Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917. | | | | Ernest Renan | | By Mary Darmesteter |
| | | “TRUTH is an idol,” spake the Christian age. | |
| “Thou shalt not worship Truth divorced from Love. | |
| Truth is but God’s reflection: Look above!” | |
| So Pascal wrote, and still we trace the page. | |
| |
| “Truth is divine,” said Plato, “but on high | 5 |
| She dwells, and few may be her ministers, | |
| For truth is sad and lonely and diverse; | |
| Heal thou the weakling with a generous lie!” | |
| |
| But thou in Truth delightedst! Thou of soul | |
| As subtle-shimmering as the rainbow mist, | 10 |
| And still in all her service didst persist. | |
| For me One truth thou livedst, but the Whole. | | | | |
|
|
