By every charm that smiles upon her face, By joys possess'd, and joys still held in chase, If dear society be worth a thought,
And if the feast of freedom cloy thee not, Reflect that these, and all that seems thine own, Held by the tenure of his will alone, Like angels in the service of their Lord, Remain with thee, or leave thee at his word; That gratitude and temp'rance in our use Of what he gives, unsparing and profuse, Secure the favour, and enhance the joy, That thankless waste and wild abuse destroy. But above all reflect, how cheap soe'er Those rights, that millions envy thee, appear, And, though resolved to risk them, and swim down The tide of pleasure, heedless of His frown, That blessings truly sacred, and when given Mark'd with the signature and stamp of Heaven, The word of prophecy, those truths divine, Which make that Heaven, if thou desire it, thine, Awful alternative! believed, beloved, Thy glory, and thy shame if unimproved,) Are never long vouchsafed, if push'd aside With cold disgust or philosophic pride! And that, judicially withdrawn, disgrace, Errour, and darkness, occupy their place.
A world is up in arms, and thou, a spot Not quickly found if negligently sought, Thy soul as ample as thy bounds are small, Endur'st the brunt, and dar'st defy them all: And wilt thou join to this bold enterprise A bolder still, a contest with the skies? Remember, if He guard thee and secure, Whoe'er assails thee, thy success is sure; But if He leave thee, though the skill and power Of nations, sworn to spoil thee and devour, Were all collected in thy single arm,
And thou couldst laugh away the fear of harm, That strength would fail, opposed against the push And feeble onset of a pigmy rush.
Say not (and if the thought of such defence. Should spring within thy bosom, drive it thence) What nation amongst all my foes is free From crimes as base as any charged on ine? Their measure fill'd, they too shall pay the debt, Which God, though long forborne, will not forget. But know that Wrath divine, when most severe, Makes Justice still the guide of his career, And will not punish, in one mingled crowd, Them without light, and thee without a cloud. Muse, hang this harp upon yon aged beech, Still murm'ring with the solemn truths I teach; And while at intervals a cold blast sings Through the dry leaves, and pants upon the strings, My soul shall sigh in secret, and lament
A nation scourged, yet tardy to repent. I know the warning song is sung in vain; That few will hear, and fewer heed the strain; But if a sweeter voice, and one design'd
A blessing to my country and mankind,
Reclaim the wand'ring thousands, and bring home A flock so scatter'd and so wont to roam,
Then place it once again between my knees; The sound of truth will then be sure to please: And truth alone, where'er my life be cast, In scenes of plenty, or the pining waste, Shall be my chosen theme, my glory to the last.
Ask what is human life-the sage replies, With disappointment low'ring in his eyes, A painful passage o'er a restless flood, A vain pursuit of fugitive false good, A scene of fancied bliss and heartfelt care, Closing at last in darkness and despair; The poor, inured to drudgery and distress, Act without aim, think little, and feel less, And no where, but in feign'd Arcadian scenes, Taste happiness, or know what pleasure means. Riches are pass'd away from hand to hand, As fortune, vice, or folly, may command; As in a dance the pair that take the lead Turn downward, and the lowest pair succeed, So shifting and so various is the plan,
By which Heaven rules the mix'd affairs of man; Vicissitude wheels round the motley crowd, The rich grow poor, the poor become purse-proud; Business is labour, and man's weakness such, Pleasure is labour too, and tires as much, The very sense of it foregoes its use,
By repetition pall'd, by age obtuse. Youth lost in dissipation we deplore,
Through life's sad remnant, what no sighs restore; Our years, a fruitless race without a prize, Too many, yet too few to make us wise.
Dangling his cane about, and taking snuff, Lothario cries, What philosophic stuff- O querulous and weak!-whose useless brain Once thought of nothing, and now thinks in vain ; Whose eye reverted weeps o'er all the past,
Whose prospect shows thee a disheartening waste;
Would age in thee resign his wintry reign, And youth invigorate that frame again, Renew'd desire would grace with other speech Joys always prized, when placed within our reach. For lift thy palsied head, shake off the gloom That overhangs the borders of thy tomb, See Nature gay, as when she first began With smiles alluring her admirer, man; She spreads the morning over eastern hills, Earth glitters with the drops the night distils; The Sun obedient at her call appears,
To fling his glories o'er the robe she wears; Banks clothed with flowers, groves fill'd with sprightly sounds,
The yellow tilth, green meads, rocks, rising grounds, Streams edged with osiers, fatt'ning every field, Where'er they flow, now seen and now conceal'd; From the blue rim, where skies and mountains meet, Down to the very turf beneath thy feet,
Ten thousand charms, that only fools despise, Or Pride can look at with indifferent eyes,
All speak one language, all with one sweet voice Cry to her universal realm, Rejoice!
Man feels the spur of passions and desires, And she gives largely more than he requires; Not that his hours, devoted all to Care, Hollow-eyed Abstinence, and lean Despair, The wretch may pine, while to his smell, taste, sight,
She holds a paradise of rich delight;
But gently to rebuke his awkward fear,
To prove that what she gives she gives sincere,
To banish hesitation, and proclaim
His happiness, her dear, her only aim.
'Tis grave philosophy's absurdest dream,
That Heaven's intentions are not what they seem, That only shadows are dispensed below,
And Earth has no reality but woe.
Thus things terrestrial wear a different hue, As youth or age persuades; and neither true.
So Flora's wreath through colour'd crystal seen, The rose or lily appears blue or green, But still th' imputed tints are those alone The medium represents, and not their own. To rise at noon, sit slipshod and undress'd, To read the news, or fiddle, as seems best, Till half the world comes rattling at his door, To fill the dull vacuity till four;
And, just when evening turns the blue vault gray, To spend two hours in dressing for the day; To make the sun a bauble without use,
Save for the fruits his heavenly beams produce; Quite to forget, or deem it worth no thought, Who bids him shine, or if he shine or not; Through mere necessity to close his eyes Just when the larks and when the shepherds rise; Is such a life, so tediously the same,
So void of all utility or aim,
That poor Jonquil, with almost every breath Sighs for his exit, vulgarly call'd death: For he, with all his follies, has a mind Not yet so blank, or fashionably blind, But now and then perhaps a feeble ray Of distant wisdom shoots across his way, By which he reads, that life without a plan, As useless as the moment it began, Serves merely as a soil for discontent
To thrive in; an encumbrance ere half spent. Oh weariness beyond what asses feel, That tread the circuit of the cistern wheel; A dull rotation, never at a stay,
Yesterday's face twin-image of to-day; While conversation, an exhausted stock, Grows drowsy as the clicking of a clock. No need, he cries, of gravity stuff'd out With academic dignity devout,
To read wise lectures, vanity the text: Proclaim the remedy, ye learned, next; For truth self-evident, with pomp impress'd, Is vanity surpassing all the rest.
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