The blighting power of indecent Conversation,

Who vote for hire, or point it with lampoon-
The dear-bought placeman, and the cheap buffoon.
There is a prurience in the speech of some,
Wrath stays him, or else God would strike them dumb:
His wise forbearance has their end in view;
They fill their measure, and receive their due.
The heathen law-givers of ancient days,
Names almost worthy of a Christian's praise,
Would drive them forth from the resort of men,
And shut up ev'ry satyr in his den.

Oh, come not ye near innocence and truth,
Ye worms that eat into the bud of youth!
Infectious as impure, your blighting pow'r
Taints in its rudiments the promis'd flow'r;
Its odour perish'd and its charming hue,
Thenceforth 'tis hateful, for it smells of you.
Not ev'n the vigorous and headlong rage
Of adolescence, or a firmer age,
Affords a plea allowable or just;
For making speech the pamperer of lust;

Especially in the aged and the disgusting Effect of Oaths in it.

But, when the breath of age commits the fault,
'Tis nauseous as the vapour of a fault.

So wither'd stumps disgrace the sylvan scene,
No longer fruitful, and no longer green;
The sapless wood, divested of the bark,
Grows fungous, and takes fire at ev'ry spark.
Oaths terminate, as Paul observes, all strife-
Some men have surely then a peaceful life!
Whatever subject occupy discourse,
The feats of Vestris, or the naval force,
Asseveration, blust'ring in your face,
Makes contradiction such an hopeless case:
In ev'ry tale they tell, or false or true,
Well known, or such as no man ever knew,
They fix attention, heedless of your pain,
With oaths, like rivets, forc'd into the brain;
And ev'n when sober truth prevails throughout,
They swear it, 'till affirmance breeds a doubt.
A Persian, humble servant of the sun,
Who, though devout, yet bigotry had none,

A Reproof of Duellists in Debate.

Hearing a lawyer, grave in his address,
With adjurations ev'ry word impress,
Suppos'd the man a bishop, or at least,
God's name so much upon his lips, a priest;
Bow'd at the close with all his graceful airs,
And begg'd an int'rest in his frequent pray'rs.
Go, quit the rank to which ye stood preferr'd,
Henceforth associate in one common herd

Religion, virtue, reason, common sense,
Pronounce your human form a false pretence;
A mere disguise, in which a devil lurks,
Who yet betrays his secret by his works.

Ye pow'rs who rule the tongue, if such there are, And make colloquial happiness your care,

Preserve me from the thing I dread and hate→→
A duel in the form of a debate.

The clash of arguments and jar of words,
Worse than the mortal brunt of rival swords,
Decide no question with their tedious length,
(For opposition gives opinion strength)

The arrogance of Disputants.

Divert the champions, prodigal of breath,
And put the peaceably-disposed to death.
Oh, thwart me not, sir Soph, at ev'ry turn,
Nor carp at ev'ry flaw you may discern;
Though syllogisms hang not on my tongue,
I am not surely always in the wrong!
'Tis hard if all is false that I advance—

A fool must now and then be right, by chance.
Not that all freedom of dissent I blame;
No there I grant the privilege I claim.

A disputable point is no man's ground;
Rove where you please, 'tis common all around.
Discourse may want an animated-No,

To brush the surface and to make it flow;
But still remember, if you mean to please,
To press your point with modesty and easę.
The mark, at which my juster aim I take,
Is contradiction for its own dear sake.

Set your opinion at whatever pitch,

Knots and impediments make something hitch.

The caprice with which they

Adopt his own, 'tis equally in vain,
Your thread of argument is snapt again ;
The wrangler, rather than accord with you,
Will judge himself deceiv'd, and prove it too.
Vociferated logic kills me quite ;

A noisy man is always in the right—

I twirl my thumbs, fall back into my chair,
Fix on the wainscot a distressful stare,
And, when I hope his blunders are all out,
Reply discreetly-To be sure-no doubt!

DUBIUS is such a scrupulous good man-
Yes-you may catch him tripping if you can.
He would not, with a peremptory tone,
Assert the nose upon his face his own;
With hesitation admirably slow,

He humbly hopes-presumes-it may be so.

His evidence, if he were call'd by law

To swear to some enormity he saw,

For want of prominence and just relief,

Would hang an honest man, and save a thief.