"For reason, reason's self being judge, by laws, / That rule her province, can't decide the cause."
— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for A. Bettesworth and James MackEuen
Date
1722
Metaphor
"For reason, reason's self being judge, by laws, / That rule her province, can't decide the cause."
Metaphor in Context
He, who the revelation owns, yet brings
The sacred truths and high mysterious things
Of Christian faith, which heav'nly light reveals,
To reason's bar, to a wrong court appeals.
For reason, reason's self being judge, by laws,
That rule her province, can't decide the cause.
Since spirits are to man so little known,
Not only those without us, but our own,
As well their essence, as their properties,
And hidden intellectual springs; the wise,
Who search for sacred truth, will ne'er rely
On dark decisions of philosophy.
Religion's controverted points, resolv'd
Into scholastick maxims, are involv'd
In doubt and mist, to which with diffident
And fluctuating minds we yield assent.
Nor does religion her true force express,
And beauties in a metaphorick dress,
But is suspected much, if not despis'd,
When by the schoolman's subtile arts disguis'd.
(Book VI, pp. 301-2)
The sacred truths and high mysterious things
Of Christian faith, which heav'nly light reveals,
To reason's bar, to a wrong court appeals.
For reason, reason's self being judge, by laws,
That rule her province, can't decide the cause.
Since spirits are to man so little known,
Not only those without us, but our own,
As well their essence, as their properties,
And hidden intellectual springs; the wise,
Who search for sacred truth, will ne'er rely
On dark decisions of philosophy.
Religion's controverted points, resolv'd
Into scholastick maxims, are involv'd
In doubt and mist, to which with diffident
And fluctuating minds we yield assent.
Nor does religion her true force express,
And beauties in a metaphorick dress,
But is suspected much, if not despis'd,
When by the schoolman's subtile arts disguis'd.
(Book VI, pp. 301-2)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "rule" and "reason" in HDIS (Poetry); found again searching "judge" and "reason" (9/1/2004)
Citation
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1722).
See Richard Blackmore, Redemption: A Divine Poem, in Six Books (London: A. Bettesworth and James MackEuen, 1722). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
See Richard Blackmore, Redemption: A Divine Poem, in Six Books (London: A. Bettesworth and James MackEuen, 1722). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
06/10/2004
Date of Review
05/16/2012
