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A despairing heart is the true prophet of approaching evil his actions may weave the webs of Fortune, but not break them.

Francis Quarles

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Francis Quarles
Age: 52 †
Born: 1592
Born: May 8
Died: 1644
Died: September 8
Author
Poet
Writer
Havering
Action
Weave
True
Approaching
May
Prophet
Heart
Actions
Despair
Fortune
Break
Webs
Evil
Despairing

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Wouldst thou multiply thy riches? diminish them wisely or wouldst thou make thy estate entire? divide it charitably. Seeds that are scattered increase but, hoarded up, they perish.
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If God send thee a cross, take it up willingly and follow him. Use it wisely, lest it be unprofitable. Bear it patiently, lest it be intolerable. If it be light, slight it not. If it be heavy, murmur not. After the cross is the crown.
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The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The Levites are Correctors Heaven Revises. Death is the common Press, from whence being driven, We're gather'd, Sheet by Sheet, and bound for Heaven.
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Let the greatest part of the news thou hearest be the least part of what thou believest, lest the greater part of what thou believest be the least part of what is true.
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God's pleasure is at the end of our prayers.
Francis Quarles
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My soul, sit thou a patient looker-on Judge not the play before the play is done: Her plot hath many changes every day Speaks a new scene the last act crowns the play
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Blessedness is promised to the peacemaker, not to the conqueror.
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Let the ground of all thy religious actions be obedience examine not why it is commanded, but observe it because it is commanded. True obedience neither procrastinates nor questions.
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Money is both the generation and corruption of purchased honor honor is both the child and slave of potent money: the credit which honor hath lost, money hath found. When honor grew mercenary, money grew honorable. The way to be truly noble is to contemn both.
Francis Quarles
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Let the fear of a danger be a spur to prevent it he that fears not gives advantage to the danger it is less folly not to endeavor the prevention of the evil thou fearest than to fear the evil which thy endeavor cannot prevent.
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Deliberate long before thou consecrate a friend, and when thy impartial justice concludes him worthy of thy bosom, receive him joyfully, and entertain him wisely impart thy secrets boldly, and mingle thy thoughts with his: he is thy very self and use him so if thou firmly think him faithful, thou makest him so.
Francis Quarles
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Proportion thy charity to the strength of thine estate, lest God proportion thine estate to the weakness of thy charity. Let the lips of the poor be the trumpet of thy gift, lest in seeking applause, thou lose thy reward. Nothing is more pleasing to God than an open hand and a closed mouth.
Francis Quarles
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No man is born unto himself alone Who lives unto himself, he lives to none.
Francis Quarles
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To fear death is the way to live long to lie afraid of death is to be long a dying.
Francis Quarles
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O lust, thou infernal fire, whose fuel is gluttony whose flame is pride, whose sparkles are wanton words whose smoke is infamy whose ashes are uncleanness whose end is hell.
Francis Quarles
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As there is no worldly gain without some loss, so there is no worldly loss without some gain.... Set the allowance against the loss, and thou shalt find no loss great.
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Nothing is more pleasing to God than an open hand, and a closed mouth.
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Thy ignorance in unrevealed mysteries is the mother of a saving faith, and thy understanding in revealed truths is the mother of a sacred knowledge understand not therefore that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand understanding is the wages of a lively faith and faith is the reward of an humble ignorance.
Francis Quarles
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Be not too rash in the breaking of an inconvenient custom as it was gotten, so leave it by degrees. Danger attends upon too sudden alterations he that pulls down a bad building by the great may be ruined by the fall, but he that takes it down brick by brick may live to build a better.
Francis Quarles
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If thy faith have no doubts, thou has just cause to doubt thy faith and if thy doubts have no hope, thou hast just reason to fear despair when therefore thy doubts shall exercise thy faith, keep thy hopes firm to qualify thy doubts so shall thy faith be secured from doubts so shall thy doubts be preserved from despair.
Francis Quarles