Grocott & Ward, comps. Grocott’s Familiar Quotations, 6th ed. 189-?.
Sin
A mighty man, had not some cunning sin,
Amidst so many virtues, crowded in.
Cowley.—The Davideis, Book III. Line 75.
Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.
Shakespeare.—Measure for Measure, Act II. Scene 1. (Ercalus in reference to the execution of Claudio.)
Compound for sins they are inclined to,
By damning those they have no mind to.
Butler.—Hudibras, Canto I. Line 215.
That which he hath an inclination to is always dressed up in all the false beauty that a fond and busy imagination can give it; the other appeareth naked and deformed, and in all the true circumstances of folly and dishonour.
Swift.—On Knowing One’s self.
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart-rope.
Isaiah, Chap. v. Ver. 18.
Where lives the man that has not tried
How mirth can into folly glide,
And folly into sin?
Scott.—Bridal of Triermain, Canto I. Stanza 21.
Sin let loose, speaks punishment at hand.
Cowper.—Expostulation, Line 160.
Think not for wrongs like these unscourged to live;
Long may ye sin, and long may Heaven forgive;
But when ye least expect, in sorrow’s day,
Vengeance shall fall more heavy for delay.
Churchill.—Gotham, Book II. Line 557.
Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.
Shakespeare.—Romeo and Juliet, Act I. Scene 5. (Romeo to her.)
So nature prompts: drawn by her secret tie,
We view a parent’s deeds with reverent eye;
With fatal haste, alas! the example take,
And love the sin for the dear sinner’s sake.
Juvenal.—Transl. by Gifford, Sat. 14, Line 31.
How shall I lose the sin yet keep the sense,
And love the offender yet detest the offence?
Pope.—Abelard and Eloise, Line 191.