inānis

空

Vanitas Vanitatis, Etc. / Vanitas Vanitatum, Omnia Vanitas

[Page 33]

VANITAS VANITATUM, OMNIA VANITAS.

IN all we do, and hear, and see,

Is restless Toil, and Vanity.

While yet the rolling earth abides,

Men come and go like ocean tides;

And ere one generation dies,

Another in its place shall rise;

That, sinking soon into the grave,

Others succeed, like wave on wave;

And as they rise, they pass away.

The sun arises every day,

And hastening onward to the West,

He nightly sinks, but not to rest:

Returning to the eastern skies,

Again to light us, he must rise.

And still the restless wind comes forth,

Now blowing keenly from the North;

Now from the South, the East, the West,

For ever changing, ne'er at rest.

The fountains, gushing from the hills,

Supply the ever-running rills;

The thirsty rivers drink their store,

And bear it rolling to the shore,

[Page 34]

But still the ocean craves for more.

'Tis endless labour everywhere!

Sound cannot satisfy the ear,

Light cannot fill the craving eye,

Nor riches half our wants supply;

Pleasure but doubles future pain,

And joy brings sorrow in her train;

Laughter is mad, and reckless mirth–

What does she in this weary earth?

Should Wealth, or Fame, our Life employ,

Death comes, our labour to destroy;

To snatch the untasted cup away,

For which we toiled so many a day.

What, then, remains for wretched man?

To use life's comforts while he can,

Enjoy the blessings Heaven bestows,

Assist his friends, forgive his foes;

Trust God, and keep his statutes still,

Upright and firm, through good and ill;

Thankful for all that God has given,

Fixing his firmest hopes on heaven;

Knowing that earthly joys decay,

But hoping through the darkest day.

ACTON.

"Vanitas Vanitatum, Omnia Vanitas." by Anne Brontë (1820-1849)

First Publication: Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell London: Aylott and Jones, 8, Paternoster Row, 1846. pp. 33-34.

vanitas vanitatis

vānitās f (genitive vānitātis); third declension

1. emptiness, nothingness

   vanitas vanitatum ― vanity of vanities

2. falsity, falsehood, deception, untruth, untrustworthiness, fickleness
3. vanity, vainglory

from vānus (feminine vāna, neuter vānum, superlative vānissimus); first/second-declension adjective

from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty”). Cognate with Proto-Germanic *wanaz, Sanskrit ऊन (ūná).

1. vain, empty, vacant, void
2. unsubstantial
3. (figuratively) groundless, baseless, meaningless, pointless
4. ostentatious, boastful
5. deceptive, untrustworthy

から • (kara) 

1. 空: emptiness
2. 殻: shell
3. 唐: the old name for China
4. 漢: China

inānis (neuter ināne, comparative inānior, superlative inānissimus, adverb ināniter); 3rd-declension 2-termination adjective

1. empty, void, hollow 
2. vain
3. worthless
4. foolish, inane

唐

1. ^† to exaggerate; to boast
2. ^† exaggerative; boastful
3. ^† vast; wide; extensive
4. ^† road inside temple quotations ▲

   • 中唐有甓，邛有旨鷊。 

     From: The Classic of Poetry, circa 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Zhōng táng yǒu pì, qióng yǒu zhǐ yì. [Pinyin]

     The middle path of the temple is covered with its tiles; on the height is the beautiful medallion plant.

5. ^† in vain; to no avail
6. 50th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "vastness, emptiness, pointlessness" (𝌷)
7. (～朝) Tang Dynasty

   唐詩 / 唐诗  ―  tángshī  ―  Tang poetry

8. (figuratively) China

   唐人  ―  tángrén  ―  Chinese person