The laws of God, the laws of man,
The laws of God, the laws of man, He may keep that will and can; Now I: let God and man decree Laws for themselves and not for me; And if my ways are not as theirs Let them mind their own affairs. Their deeds I judge and much condemn, Yet when did I make laws for them? Please yourselves, say I, and they Need only look the other way. But no, they will not; they must still Wrest their neighbour to their will, And make me dance as they desire With jail and gallows and hell-fire. And how am I to face the odds Of mans bedevilment and Gods? I, a stranger and afraid In a world I never made. They will be master, right or wrong; Though both are foolish, both are strong, And since, my soul, we cannot fly To Saturn or Mercury, Keep we must, if keep we can, These foreign laws of God and man.
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"The laws of God, the laws of man,..."
Alfred Edward Housman's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "The laws of God, the laws of man,"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...