He that would not be burnt, must dread the fire; he that would not hear the bell, must not meddle with the rope. To venture upon the occasion of sin, and then to pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation,’ is all one as to thrust thy finger into the fire, and then to pray that it might not be burnt.
Thomas Brooks, The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks Volume One, (James Nisbet, 1866 [1676]), pg 39
