They even allege that what by their book is said,
Makes things good or bad under each particular head.
That even as simple a thing as theft,
If out of their book the subject were left,
There would be nothing in our practical observation
To distinguish whether or not stealing was a proper avocation.
Whatever of man’s moral nature the origin may be,
Whether he was created with a certain propensity,
Or whether our tendencies are a matter of growth;
One thing is certain, and needs not any oath,