quote · Legacy record
’Tis pitiful To court a grin when you should woo a soul; To break a jest, when pity would inspire Pathetic exhortation; and to address The skittish fancy with facetious tales, When sent with God’s commission to the heart! So did not Paul. Direct me to a quip Or merry turn in all he ever wrote, And I consent you take it for your text, Your only one, till sides and benches fail. No, he was serious in a serious cause, And understood too well the mighty terms That he had taken in charge. He would not stoop To conquer those by jocular exploits, Whom truth and soberness assailed in vain.
’Tis pitiful To court a grin when you should woo a soul; To break a jest, when pity would inspire Pathetic exhortation; and to address The skittish fancy with facetious tales, When sent with God’s commission to the heart! So did not Paul. Direct me to a quip Or merry turn in all he ever wrote, And I consent you take it for your text, Your only one, till sides and benches fail. No, he was serious in a serious cause, And understood too well the mighty terms That he had taken in charge. He would not stoop To conquer those by jocular exploits, Whom truth and soberness assailed in vain.
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 35 · printed citation: Cowper · subject: APOSTLES
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.