O thou unpolished shaft, why leave the quiver?
O thou blunt axe, what forests canst thou hew?
Untempered sword, canst thou the oppressed deliver?
Go back to thine own maker's forge anew.
Submit thyself to God for preparation,
Seek not to teach thy Master and thy Lord;
Call it not zeal; it is a base temptation.
Satan is pleased when man dictates to God.
Down with thy pride! with holy vengeance trample
On each self-flattering fancy that appears;
Did not the Lord himself, for our example,
Lie hid in Nazareth for thirty years?