| |
| BUT human purenes none is such, | |
| But it to erre is knowne: | |
| Thinke not we labour here your faults, | |
| And ouerleape our owne. | |
| |
| For in the best of men the flesh | 5 |
| And spirit combat still: | |
| One thing the spirit, and the flesh | |
| The contrarie doth will. | |
| |
| We vertue praise, but practise vice; | |
| Possessed weale we flye, | 10 |
| And tract of woe; at heauen we ayme, | |
| But with a worldly eye. | |
| |
| Our selues we loue, yeat than ourselues | |
| We haue no crosser foe; | |
| For peace we warre, a peruerse war | 15 |
| That doth ourselues ore-throe. | |
| |
| At once we burne, and are key-cold; | |
| We seeme to stande, that fall; | |
| To heale, that hurt: we brag of bad; | |
| We dye ere death doth call. | 20 |
| |
| We triumph while we are subdude; | |
| We bliss our proper baine; | |
| We gladly doe subiect ourselues | |
| Vnto each giddy vaine. | |
| |
| Our gadding thoughts conceite the clouds, | 25 |
| Ourselues meanewhile forgot: | |
| Our nay is yea, our yea is nay; | |
| We will, and then will not. | |
| |
| Our soules like this, our flesh lusts that; | |
| As Proteus changeth, so | 30 |
| Doe our affections and our thoughts | |
| Be shifting to and fro. | |
| |
| Euen hydra-like, we flesh our faults; | |
| Our mindes doe wauer still; | |
| Our selfe-conceits be winged, and | 35 |
| We flie from good to ill. | |
| |
| Our peace with discord breedes our woe; | |
| The contrarie our ease: | |
| We neuer do but plague ourselues, | |
| Whilst that ourselues we please. | 40 |
| |
| We would be we, as if not we, | |
| Vs plentie maketh poore; | |
| We partiall blame, inable, and | |
| Disable vs eremore. | |
| |
| All these, and wilfull sinnes besides, | 45 |
| To vs and with you all | |
| Too common we confesse; but of | |
| Our doctrine speake we shall. | |
| |
| Propitious be to vs, O God, | |
| That faith haue practice too; | 50 |
| Which we omit as publicanes, | |
| As Pharisees ye doe. | |
| |
