quote · Legacy record
Hear the just law, the judgment of the skies; He that hates truth shall be the dupe of lies; And he that will be cheated to the last, Delusions strong as hell shall bind him fast. But if the wanderer his mistake discern, Judge his own ways, and sigh for a return, Bewildered once, must he bewail his loss For ever and for ever? No—the cross! There, and there only, (though the Deist rave, And Atheist, if earth bear so base a slave;) There, and there only, is the power to save. There no delusive hope invites despair; No mockery meets you, no delusion there; The spells and charms that blinded you before, All vanish there, and fascinate no more.
Hear the just law, the judgment of the skies; He that hates truth shall be the dupe of lies; And he that will be cheated to the last, Delusions strong as hell shall bind him fast. But if the wanderer his mistake discern, Judge his own ways, and sigh for a return, Bewildered once, must he bewail his loss For ever and for ever? No—the cross! There, and there only, (though the Deist rave, And Atheist, if earth bear so base a slave;) There, and there only, is the power to save. There no delusive hope invites despair; No mockery meets you, no delusion there; The spells and charms that blinded you before, All vanish there, and fascinate no more.
Approximate author period: c. 1765 AD · early modern
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- William Cowper
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1765 AD · early modern
author lifetime midpoint (1731–1800)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 159 · printed citation: Cowper · subject: CROSS—CRUCIFIXION
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