A knave, when tried on honesty's plain rule

Quote byWilliam Cowper · 1731–1800

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: "Hope" (1782).

English (original)

A knave, when tried on honesty's plain rule, And, when by that of reason, a mere fool.

— William Cowper

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But oars alone can ne'er prevail To reach the distant coast; The breath of Heaven must swell the sail, Or all the toil is lost.

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Man disobeys, and deity disowns me.

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Damned below Judas; more abhorred than he was.

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Absence from whom we love is worse than death, And frustrate hope severer than despair.

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Beware of desp'rate steps! The darkest day (Live till tomorrow) will have passed away.

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Oh! I could thresh his old jacket till I made his pension jingle in his pockets.

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