Reason The Use Of It In Divine Matters

Some blind themselves, ’cause possibly they may

Be led by others a right way;

They build on sands, which if unmov’d they find,

‘T is but because there was no wind.

Less hard ‘t is, not to err ourselves, than know

If our forefathers err’d or no.

When we trust men concerning God, we then

Trust not God concerning men.

Visions and inspirations some expect

Their course here to direct;

Like senseless chemists their own wealth destroy,

Imaginary gold t’ enjoy.

So stars appear to drop to us from sky,

And gild the passage as they fly:

But when they fall, and meet th’opposing ground,

What but a sordid slime is found?

Sometimes their fancies they ‘bove reason set,

And fast, that they may dream of meat;

Sometimes ill spirits their sickly souls delude,

And bastard forms obtrude:

So Endor’s wretched sorceress, although

She Saul through his disguise did know,

Yet, when the devil comes up disguis’d, she cries,

” Behold! the Gods arise.”

In vain, alas! these outward hopes are try’d;

Reason within’s our only guide;

Reason, which (God be prais’d!) still walks, for all

Its old original fall:

And, since itself the boundless Godhead join’d

With a reasonable mind,

It plainly shows that mysteries divine

May with our reason join.

The holy book, like the eighth sphere, does shine

With thousand lights of truth divine:

So numberless the stars, that to the eye

It makes but all one galaxy.

Yet Reason must assist too; for, in seas

So vast and dangerous as these,

Our course by stars above we cannot know,

Without the compass too below.

Though Reason cannot through Faith’s mysteries see,

It sees that there and such they be;

Leads to heaven’s door, and there does humbly keep,

And there through chinks and key-holes peep;

Though it, like Moses, by a sad command,

Must not come in to th’ Holy Land,

Yet thither it infallibly does guide,

And from afar ‘t is all descry’d.

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External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Answers by Mark Strand by Poetry In English
• And The Black Scythe With Its Beak of Ibis by Martine Morillon-Carreau by Poetry In English
• After Forever by Mark Miller by Poetry In English
• A World So Different by Mary Etta Metcalf by Poetry In English
• A Poet I knew by Martin Zakovski by Poetry In English
• A Piece Of The Storm by Mark Strand by Poetry In English
• A Photograph on the Desk by Mary Etta Metcalf by Poetry In English
• A Misty Morning by Mary Etta Mietcalf by Poetry In English
• A Cozy Little Room by Mary Etta Metcalf by Poetry In English
• À ce point du voyage by Martine Morillon-Carreau by Poetry In English
• A Dream of Rodney King by Mary TallMountain by Poetry In English
• You Ask Why Sometimes I Say Stop by Marge Piercy by Poetry In English
• Yell of Pain by Maria Ivana Trevisani Bach by Poetry In English
• Year’s End by Marilyn Hacker by Poetry In English
• Winter Promises by Marge Piercy by Poetry In English
• What Are Big Girls Made Of? by Marge Piercy by Poetry In English
• Visiting a Dead Man on a Summer Day by Marge Piercy by Poetry In English
• Upon Julia’s Breast by Marie Starr by Poetry In English
• Unloved, unmoved by Maria Jastine Golo by Poetry In English
• Twas’ the Night Before Christmas and Santa got Drunk by Margaret Marie Hubbard by Poetry In English

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

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