quote · Legacy record
Placed for his trial on this bustling stage, From thoughtless youth to ruminating age, Free in his will to choose or to refuse, Man may improve the crisis, or abuse; Else, on the fatalist’s unrighteous plan, Say to what bar amenable were man? With nought in charge he could betray no trust; And if he fell, would fall because he must; If Love reward him, or if Vengeance strike, His recompense in both unjust alike.
Placed for his trial on this bustling stage, From thoughtless youth to ruminating age, Free in his will to choose or to refuse, Man may improve the crisis, or abuse; Else, on the fatalist’s unrighteous plan, Say to what bar amenable were man? With nought in charge he could betray no trust; And if he fell, would fall because he must; If Love reward him, or if Vengeance strike, His recompense in both unjust alike.
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
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- 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 238 · printed citation: Cowper · subject: FREEDOM
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.