"There Is No God Found Stronger Than Death"
Context: These lines are being spoken by a dying Roman pagan of the fourth century, to Proserpine, goddess of death and the underworld. His mood is one of ennui, and longing for release from life, from its pleasures and pains alike. He rejects everything in life, including the young Christian faith and its message of life extended for eternity. Of all the old gods he salutes only Proserpine, for while the others may bring joy, their ways are uncertain, and often their influence brings strife to earth; Proserpine offers permanent peace, respite from struggles and memories of struggles.
I know
I shall die as my fathers died, and sleep as they sleep; even so.
For the glass of the years is brittle wherein we gaze for a span;
A little soul for a little bears up this corpse which is man.
So long I endure, no longer; and laugh not again, neither weep.
For there is no God found stronger than death; and death is a sleep.
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