You can and you can't,--You shall and you shan't--You will and
you won't--And you will be damned if you read more

You can and you can't,--You shall and you shan't--You will and
you won't--And you will be damned if you do--And you will be
damned if you don't.

O how far remov'd,
Predestination! is thy foot from such
As see not the First Cause entire: read more

O how far remov'd,
Predestination! is thy foot from such
As see not the First Cause entire: and ye,
O mortal men! be wary how ye judge:
For we, who see the Maker, know not yet
The number of the chosen; and esteem
Such scantiness of knowledge our delight:
For all good is, in that primal good,
Concentrate; and God's will and ours are one.

For his religion, it was fit
To match his learning and his wit;
'Twas Presbyterian true blue;
read more

For his religion, it was fit
To match his learning and his wit;
'Twas Presbyterian true blue;
For he was of that stubborn crew
Of errant saints, whom all men grant
To be the true Church Militant;
Such as do build their faith upon
The holy text of pike and gun;
Decide all controversies by
Infallible artillery;
And prove their doctrine orthodox,
By Apostolic blows and knocks.

There are few minds to which tyranny is not delightful

There are few minds to which tyranny is not delightful

The (Christian) "doctrines" are translations into our concepts and ideas of that which God has already expressed in language more read more

The (Christian) "doctrines" are translations into our concepts and ideas of that which God has already expressed in language more adequate, namely the actual incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection

A doctrine capable of being stated only in obscure and involved terms is open to reasonable suspicion of being either read more

A doctrine capable of being stated only in obscure and involved terms is open to reasonable suspicion of being either crude or erroneous

I think a man's duty is to find out where the truth is, or if he cannot, at least to read more

I think a man's duty is to find out where the truth is, or if he cannot, at least to take the best possible human doctrine and the hardest to disprove, and to ride on this like a raft over the waters of life

Thus this brook hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into
Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into read more

Thus this brook hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into
Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean.
And thus the ashes of Wickliffe are the emblem of his doctrine,
which now is dispersed all the world over.

And after hearing what our Church can say,
If still our reason runs another way,
That private read more

And after hearing what our Church can say,
If still our reason runs another way,
That private reason 'tis more just to curb,
Than by disputes the public peace disturb;
For points obscure are of small use to learn,
But common quiet is mankind's concern.