Saint Augustine! well hast thou said,
That of our vices we can frame
A ladder, if we read more

Saint Augustine! well hast thou said,
That of our vices we can frame
A ladder, if we will but tread
Beneath our feet each deed of shame.

Who has a book of all that monarchs do,
He's more secure to keep it shut than shown;
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Who has a book of all that monarchs do,
He's more secure to keep it shut than shown;
For vice repeated is like the wand'ring wind,
Blows dust in others' eye, to spread itself;
And yet the end of all is bought thus dear,
The breath is gone, and the sore eyes see clear
To stop the air would hurt them.

Men wish to be saved from the mischiefs of their vices, but not from their vices.

Men wish to be saved from the mischiefs of their vices, but not from their vices.

Vices of the time; vices of the man.
[Lat., Vitia temporis; vitia hominis.]

Vices of the time; vices of the man.
[Lat., Vitia temporis; vitia hominis.]

The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us.

The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us.

Vice gets more in this vicious world
Than piety.

Vice gets more in this vicious world
Than piety.

I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores

I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores

We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke straps our vice.

We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke straps our vice.

This is the essential evil of vice, that it debases man.

This is the essential evil of vice, that it debases man.