ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS
XLI. DISTRACTIONS
ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS
MEN, who have ceased to reverence, soon defy, Their forefathers; lo! sects are formed, and split With morbid restlessness;–the ecstatic fit Spreads wide; though special mysteries multiply, ‘The Saints must govern’, is their common cry; And so they labour, deeming Holy Writ Disgraced by aught that seems content to sit Beneath the roof of settled Modesty. The Romanist exults; fresh hope he draws From the confusion, craftily incites 10 The overweening, personates the mad– To heap disgust upon the worthier Cause: Totters the Throne; the new-born Church is sad, For every wave against her peace unites.