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§g§ The Quarrel of Faith % Hope, and Charity.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
§G§ The Quarrel Of Faith % Hope, And Charity.
§ g § The Quarrel of Faith % Hope , and Charity .
Untitled Article
" I would not , dear sisters , e'en harbour a thought , 44 That might peril a friendship so truly divine ; 44 And if in our feelings a change has been wrought , 44 I humbly submit that the fault is not mine .
" Christianity ' s attributes , holy and hi g h , 44 When first you deli g hted to practise and teach , " And Hope only wafted your words to the sky , " I seconded gladly the labours of each :
" But when , sister Faith ! you began to affect " A thousand disguises and masquerades new , " When you dressed yourself up in the badges of sect , 44 Nay , even of Mussulman , Pagan , and Jew ,
44 when in each garb , as * yourself have just said , 44 scatter'd a firebrand wherever you went , 44 While Hope spent her breath , as she followed or led , 44 In fanning the flames of religious dissent ,
44 I raised up my voice in a solemn appeal , 44 Against your whole course of unchristian life , 44 its accents were drowned in the clashing of steel , 44 In the clamour of councils , and schismatic strife .
44 But now , when men turning from dogmas to deeds , 44 Bear the scriptural dictum of Jesus in mind , 44 That salvation depends not on canons an 4 creeds , 44 on love of the Lord , and the love of our kjnd ,
44 My voice can be heard , and my arguments wejgh * d , 44 Which explains why such numerous converts of late 44 under my love-breathing standard array'd , 44 Who once , beneath yours , were excited to hate .
44 Superstition must throw off religion ' s disguise ; 44 men , now enlighten'd , not darkling li ^ e owls , 44 While they reverence priests who are froly and wise , 44 Will no longer be hood-winked by cassocks or cowls .
44 , sisters ! forgetting your priniitiv « troth , 44 You would still part the world into tyrants and slaves , 44 What wonder th ^ t sages should look on yau both , 44 As t ^ e virtues of dupes , for the profit of knaves .
" You would separate—do so—I give yau full scopej « But reflect , you are both of you qftug ht when we part ; < While I , ' tis well known , can supply Faith and Hope , H When I choose for my temple an innocent heart , "
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 1, 1837, page 322, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1837/page/26/
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