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Poor thieves in halters we behold And great thieves in their chains of gold.

Francis Quarles

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Francis Quarles
Age: 52 †
Born: 1592
Born: May 8
Died: 1644
Died: September 8
Author
Poet
Writer
Havering
Behold
Thieves
Chains
Gold
Poor
Great

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The strong desires of man's insatiate breast may stand possess'd Of all that earth can give but earth can give no rest.
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Mercy turns her back to the unmerciful.
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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.
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Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
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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.
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Tis not, to cry God mercy, or to sit And droop, or to confess that thou hast fail'd: 'Tis to bewail the sins thou didst commit: And not commit those sins thou hast bewail' d. He that bewails and not forsakes them too Confesses rather what he means to do.
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To bear adversity with an equal mind is both the sign and glory of a brave spirit.
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Reason can discover things only near,--sees nothing that's above her.
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Heaven finds an ear when sinners find a tongue.
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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.
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Every man's vanity ought to be his greatest shame and every man's folly ought to be his greatest secret.
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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.
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Wrinkle not thy face with too much laughter, lest thou become ridiculous neither wanton thy heart with too much mirth, lest thou become vain: the suburbs of folly is vain mirth, and profuseness of laughter is the city of fools.
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Read not books alone, but men, and amongst them chiefly thyself.
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God's pleasure is at the end of our prayers.
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That friendship will not continue to the end which is begun for an end.
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Mark, how the ready hands of Death prepare: His bow is bent, and he hath notch'd his dart He aims, he levels at thy slumb'ring heart: The wound is posting, O be wise, beware.
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Wisdom not only gets, but once got, retains.
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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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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.
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