Classic Poem

PARABLE XXXVIII.

The Beam and the Mote.

Judge not, lest ye be judg'd for pride:
For with what judgment you decide,
Ye shall be censur'd like for like;
And the same measure that ye strike,
That shall be measur'd you again
And why beholdest thou with pain
The mote that's in thy brother's eye,
And thine own beam canst not descry?
Thy brother, how canst thou reprove,
‘From thee let me that mote remove,
‘That I may set thy vision right;’
When, lo! a beam obstructs thy sight.
Thou hypocrite with canting tone,
First cast the beam from out thine own:
And then shalt thou distinctly note
Thy brother's eye, and clear the mote.
?Men, with regard to mental light,
Are wilfully depriv'd of sight;
With others crimes themselves amuse,
Lest their own hearts they should peruse,
And, irksome task! all joy forbear,
Urg'd to tears, temperance, and pray'r.
This the worst men the most will grudge,
For ev'ry Judas is a judge,
And all that deviate from God's way
The great accuser must obey