You have seen a ship out on the bay, swinging with the tide, and seeming as if it would follow it; and yet it cannot, for down beneath the water it is anchored. So many a soul sways toward heaven, but cannot ascend thither, because it is anchored to some secret sin.
Henry Ward Beecher (1858). “Life Thoughts”, p.12
![You have seen a ship out on the bay, swinging with the tide, and seeming as if it would follow it; and yet it cannot, for down beneath the water it is anchored. So many a soul sways toward heaven, but cannot ascend](http://cdn.myquotes.org/images/henry-ward-beecher/you-have-seen-a-ship-out-on-the-bay-swinging-with-the-tide-and-seeming-as-if-it-would-follow.jpg)