"God gave us Reason ... A faithful guide to comfort and to save, / Till the mind floats, like Peter on the wave."
— Harte, Walter (1708/9-1774)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Date
1735
Metaphor
"God gave us Reason ... A faithful guide to comfort and to save, / Till the mind floats, like Peter on the wave."
Metaphor in Context
Such in her self is Reason--: Deist say,
What hast thou here t'object, t'explain away?
Think'st thou thy Reason this unerring Rule?
Then live a madman--and yet die a fool!
God gave us Reason as the Stars were giv'n,
Not to discard the Sun, but mark out Heav'n;
At once a Rule of Faith, if well imploy'd,
A Source of Pleasure, if arright enjoy'd,
And Point, round which th'eternal error lies
Of fools too credulous, and wits too wise;
A faithful guide to comfort and to save,
Till the mind floats, like Peter on the wave:
Then bright-ey'd Hope descends, of heav'nly birth,
And Faith, our Immortality on Earth,
A Saviour speaks! lo darkness low'rs no more,
And the husht billows sleep against the shore.
If This be hardship let the dying heir
Spurn back his father's aid, and curse his care?
If this be cruel, partial, or unwise,
Then perish infidel, and God despise!
What hast thou here t'object, t'explain away?
Think'st thou thy Reason this unerring Rule?
Then live a madman--and yet die a fool!
God gave us Reason as the Stars were giv'n,
Not to discard the Sun, but mark out Heav'n;
At once a Rule of Faith, if well imploy'd,
A Source of Pleasure, if arright enjoy'd,
And Point, round which th'eternal error lies
Of fools too credulous, and wits too wise;
A faithful guide to comfort and to save,
Till the mind floats, like Peter on the wave:
Then bright-ey'd Hope descends, of heav'nly birth,
And Faith, our Immortality on Earth,
A Saviour speaks! lo darkness low'rs no more,
And the husht billows sleep against the shore.
If This be hardship let the dying heir
Spurn back his father's aid, and curse his care?
If this be cruel, partial, or unwise,
Then perish infidel, and God despise!
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
5 entries in ESTC (1735, 1736).
Text from Walter Harte, An Essay on Reason, 3rd ed., corr. (London: Printed for J. Wright for Lawton Gilliver, 1736). <Link to LION>
See also An Essay on Reason (London: Printed by J. Wright for Lawton Gilliver at Homer’s Head against St. Dunstan’s Church in Fleetstreet, 1735). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Walter Harte, An Essay on Reason, 3rd ed., corr. (London: Printed for J. Wright for Lawton Gilliver, 1736). <Link to LION>
See also An Essay on Reason (London: Printed by J. Wright for Lawton Gilliver at Homer’s Head against St. Dunstan’s Church in Fleetstreet, 1735). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
06/17/2004
