1. Oh say, what is truth? ’Tis the fairest gem That the riches of worlds can produce, And priceless the value of truth will be when The proud monarch’s costliest diadem Is counted but dross and refuse.
2. Yes, say, what is truth? ’Tis the brightest prize To which mortals or Gods can aspire. Go search in the depths where it glittering lies Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies. ’Tis an aim for the noblest desire.
3. The sceptre may fall from the despot’s grasp When with winds of stern justice he copes, But the pillar of truth will endure to the last, And its firm-rooted bulwark outstand the rude blast, And the wreck of the fell tyrant’s hopes.
4. Then say, what is truth? ’Tis the last and the first, For the limits of time it steps o’er. Though the heavens depart and the earth’s fountains burst, Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Eternal, unchanged evermore.