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The Love Of The World Reproved: Or, Hypocrisy Detected.

By William Cowper

Topics: classic

Thus says the prophet of the Turk,     Good Mussulman, abstain from pork;     There is a part in every swine     No friend of follower of mine     May taste, whateer his inclination,     On pain of excommunication.     Such Mahomets mysterious charge,     And thus he left the point at large.     Had he the sinful part expressd,     They might with safety eat the rest;     But for one piece they thought it hard     From the whole hog to be debarrd;     And set their wit at work to find     What joint the prophet had in mind.     Much controversy straight arose,     These choose the back, the belly those;     By some tis confidently said     He meant not to forbid the head;     While others at that doctrine rail,     And piously prefer the tail.     Thus, conscience freed from every clog,     Mahometans eat up the hog.     You laughtis wellthe tale applied     May make you laugh on tother side.     Renounce the worldthe preacher cries.     We doa multitude replies.     While one as innocent regards     A snug and friendly game at cards;     And one, whatever you may say,     Can see no evil in a play;     Some love a concert, or a race;     And others shooting, and the chase.     Reviled and loved, renounced and followd,     Thus, bit by bit, the world is swallowd;     Each thinks his neighbour makes too free,     Yet likes a slice as well as he:     With sophistry their sauce they sweeten,     Till quite from tail to snout tis eaten.

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"Thus says the prophet of the Turk,..."

"The Love Of The World Reproved: Or, Hypocrisy Detected." is a quintessential example of William Cowper's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:William Cowper

"Thus says the prophet of the Turk,..." by William Cowper

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

William Cowper

About William Cowper

William Cowper (1731–1800) was an English poet and hymnodist whose work bridges the gap between the Augustan age and Romanticism. His poems "The Task" and "John Gilpin" were enormously popular, and his hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" remains widely sung.

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