Elihu Vedder’s Doubt and Other Things

Recently I’ve become a fan of the American Symbolist painter and poet Elihu Vedder (1836 – 1923). His artwork is fascinating––he is illustrating philosophical and spiritual themes which seemed to have been avoided by most artists during that era. I found a beautiful orignial copy his book “Doubt and Other Things,” (available as a PDF from Google Books) in the special collections section of the library several months ago and read through it.

His poems are smart, witty and clever, and really make you think about “doubt” differently. Months later, one verse has stood out strongly to me, and I’ve searched it out on several occasions to remember correctly the wording and message that it communicates.

I’ve wanted to share this one, as I think it shines a positive light, and presents a message that encourages me to look at life in a different way. For Truth is abundant in every form, and life really is beautiful, as long as you are willing to look at it that way.

Truth

See how the wily Doubter tries
To prove the world is full of Lies,
Ignoring the overwhelming proof
That it is also full of Truth.
So really we need not despair.
If things look dark, they’ll soon be fair,
Nor yet on pessimism sup
For Truth, though slow, ‘is creeping up’.

—Elihu Vedder