Catalogue Entry: THEM00341

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Be penitent, and for thy fault contrite;

But act not in thy own affliction, son;

Repent the sin; but if the punishment

Thou canst avoid, self-preservation bids:

Or th'execution leave to high disposal,

And let another hand, not thine, exact

Thy penal forfeit for thyself; perhaps

God will relent, and quit thee all his debt;

Whoever more approves, and more accepts,

(Best pleas'd with humble and filial submission)

Him who, imploring mercy, sues for life,

Than who, self-rigorous, chooses death as due;

Which argues over-just, and self-displeas'd

For self-offence, more than for God offended.

Sampson Agonistes, 502.