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II. Continued From Rite and Ordinance abused they fledTo Wilds where both were utterly unknown;But not to them had Providence foreshownWhat benefits are missed, what evils bred,In worship neither raised nor limitedSave by Self-will. Lo! from that distant shore,For Rite and Ordinance, Piety is ledBack to the Land those Pilgrims left of yore,Led by her own free choice. So … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part III. – XIV – Continued, By: William Wordsworth

I. The Pilgrim Fathers Well worthy to be magnified are theyWho, with sad hearts, of friends and country tookA last farewell, their loved abodes forsook,And hallowed ground in which their fathers lay;Then to the new-found World explored their way,That so a Church, unforced, uncalled to brookRitual restraints, within some sheltering nookHer Lord might worship and his word … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part III. – XIII – Aspects Of Christianity In America, By: William Wordsworth

Down a swift Stream, thus far, a bold designHave we pursued, with livelier stir of heartThan his who sees, borne forward by the Rhine,The living landscapes greet him, and depart;Sees spires fast sinking, up again to start!And strives the towers to number, that reclineO'er the dark steeps, or on the horizon lineStriding with shattered crests his eye athwart,So have we hurried on … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part III. – XII – Down A Swift Stream, By: William Wordsworth

A sudden conflict rises from the swellOf a proud slavery met by tenets strainedIn Liberty's behalf. Fears, true or feigned,Spread through all ranks; and lo! the SentinelWho loudest rang his pulpit 'larum bell,Stands at the Bar, absolved by female eyesMingling their glances with grave flatteriesLavished on 'Him', that England may rebelAgainst her ancient virtue. high and … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part III. – XI – Sacheverel, By: William Wordsworth

Ungrateful Country, if thou e'er forgetThe sons who for thy civil rights have bled!How, like a Roman, Sidney bowed his head,And Russel's milder blood the scaffold wet;But these had fallen for profitless regretHad not thy holy Church her champions bred,And claims from other worlds inspiritedThe star of Liberty to rise. Nor yet(Grave this within thy heart!) if spiritual thingsBe … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part III. – X – Obligations Of Civil To Religious Liberty, By: William Wordsworth