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Poems by Thomas Odiorne .

in a series of numbers

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V.

With sapient words, Ithuriel thus rejoin'd:
Man, implicated in the guilt himself,
May thus on grounds of selfishness pretend,

28

And strive against conviction to believe;
But conscience, ever intent upon reproof,
Will from such gross conceptions grant no peace.
As to man's views of moral right and wrong,
'Twere proper to suppose him prone to err;
Especially while partial reason, dim,
Takes its own twilight as the test of truth.
But he who dwells in light invisible,
In whom is all perfection, ever reigns
Benevolent as wise; and he as well
Might be unlovely, as unjust. Indeed,
So bright, so glorious is his character,
And so dispos'd is he, and able too,
To manage for the best his vast concerns,
Evil is made subservient to best ends;
And from the fall a greater good may come,
Than had man still remain'd in innocence.