years, he drifted
aimlessly, earning a precarious living by teaching or bookkeeping at the
estates of various nobles, always dogged by poverty and a sense of
frustration. Although he was gifted and ambitious, his lack of a degree
and his continuous poverty prevented him from attaining the position in
life to which his ability apparently entitled him. During his later
years, he conducted a small school for boys at Ribe, a small city on the
west coast of Jutland, where he died in abject poverty in 1758, only 53
years old.

Stub's work remained almost unknown during his lifetime, but a small
collection of his poems, published after his death, gained him a
posthumous recognition as the greatest Danish poet of the 18th century.
Stub's style is extremely noble and expressive, devoid of the excessive
bombast and sentimentality that many writers then mistook for poetry. He
was of a cheerful disposition with a hopeful outlook upon life that only
occasionally is darkened by the hardships and disappointments of his own
existence. Even the poems of his darker moods are colored by his inborn
love of beauty and his belief in the fundamental goodness of life. Many
of his best poems are of a religious nature, and expressive of his warm
and trustful Christian faith. In view of the discouraging hardships and
disappointments of his own life, the following much favored hymn throws a
revealing light upon the spirit of its author.

Undismayed by any fortune
Life may have in store for me,
This, whatever be my portion,
I will always try to be.
If I but in grace abide,
Undismayed whate'er betide.

Undismayed when others harry
Mind and soul with anxious care;
If the Lord with me will tarry,
All my troubles disappear.
If I but in grace abide,
Undismayed whate'er betide.

Undismayed when others sighing,
Quail before the evil day,
On God's grace I am relying;
Nothing can me then dismay.
If I but in grace abide,
Undismayed whate'er betide.

Undismayed when others fearing,
See the hour of death draw nigh.
With the victor's crown appearing,
Why should I repine and sigh.
If I but in grace abide,
Undismayed whate'er betide.

Dearest Lord, if I may treasure
Thy abundant grace each day,
I shall cherish Thy good pleasure,
Be my portion what it may.
If I but in grace abide,
Und