The Divine Lamp

Ye cannot halve the Gospel of God’s grace;
Men of presumptuous heart!I know you well.
Ye are those that plan that we should dwell,
Each in his tranquil home and holy place;
Seeing the Word refines all natures rude,
And tames the stirrings of the multitude.

And ye have caught some echoes of its lore,
As heralded amidst the joyous choirs;
Ye marked it spoke of peace, chastised desires,
Good-will and mercy,-and ye heard no more;
But as for zeal and quick-eyed sanctity,
And the dread depths of grace, ye pass’d them by.

And so ye halve the Truth; for ye in heart,
At best, are doubters whether it be true,
The Theme discarding, as unmeet for you,
Statesmen or Sages. O new-compass’d art
Of the ancient Foe!- but what, if it extends
O’er our own camp, and rules amid our friends.

-Liberalism (or, Ye Cannot Halve the Gospel) by John Henry Cardinal Newman

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