The gloomy clouds, find weapons, arrowy sleet, Skin-piercing volley, blossom-bruising hail,
And snow, that often blinds the traveller's course, And wraps him in an unexpected tomb.
Silently as a dream the fabric rose;
No sound of hammer or of saw was there: Ice upon ice, the well-adjusted parts
Were soon conjoined, nor other cement asked Than water interfused to make them one. Lamps gracefully disposed, and of all hues, Illumined every side: a watery light
Gleamed through the clear transparency, that seemed Another moon new risen, or meteor fallen From heaven to earth, of lambent flame serene. So stood the brittle prodigy; though smooth And slippery the materials, yet frost-bound Firm as a rock. Nor wanted aught within, That royal residence might well befit,
For grandeur or for use. Long wavy wreaths Of flowers, that feared no enemy but warmth, Blushed on the pannels. Mirror needed none Where all was vitreous; but in order due Convivial table and commodious seat
(What seemed at least commodious seat) were there; Sofa, and couch, and high-built throne august.
The same lubricity was found in all,
An all was moist to the warm touch; a scenę
Of evanescent glory, once a stream,
And soon to slide into a stream again. Alas! 'twas but a mortifying stroke Of undesigned severity, that glanced (Made by a monarch) on her own estate, On human grandeur and the courts of kings. 'Twas transient in its nature, as in show 'Twas durable; as worthless, as it seemed, Intrinsically precious; to the foot
Treacherous and false; it smiled, and it was cold. Great princes have great playthings. Some have
At hewing mountains into men, and some At building human wonders mountain-high. Some have amused the dull, sad years of life, (Life spent in indolence, and therefore sad) With schemes of monumental fame; and sought By pyramids and mausolean pomp,
Short-lived themselves, to immortalize their bones. Some seek diversion in the tented field,
And make the sorrows of mankind their sport. But war's a game, which, were their subjects wise, Kings would not play at. Nations would do well To extort their truncheons from the puny hands Of heroes, whose infirm and baby minds Are gratified with mischief; and who spoil, Because men suffer it, their toy the world.
When Babel was confounded, and the great Confederacy of projectors wild and vain Was split into diversity of tongues, Then, as a shepherd separates his flock, These to the upland, to the valley those, God drave asunder, and assigned their lot To all the nations. Ample was the boon He gave them, in its distribution fair
And equal; and he bade them dwell in peace.
Peace was awhile their care: they ploughed, and
And reaped their plenty without grudge or strife. But violence can never longer sleep
Than human passions please. In every heart Are sown the sparks, that kindle fiery war; Occasion needs but fan them, and they blaze. Cain had already shed a brother's blood: The deluge washed it out; but left unquenched The seeds of murder in the breast of man. Soon by a righteous judgment in the line Of his descending progeny was found The first artificer of death; the shrewd Contriver, who first sweated at the forge, And forced the blunt and yet unbloodied steel To a keen edge, and made it bright for war. Him, Tubal named, the Vulcan of old times, The sword and falchion their inventor claim;
And the first smith was the first murderer's son. His art survived the waters; and ere long, When man was multiplied and spread abroad In tribes and clans, and had begun to call These meadows and that range of hills his own, The tasted sweets of property begat Desire of more; and industry in some
To improve and cultivate their just demesne, Made others covet what they saw so fair.
Thus war began on earth: these fought for spoil,
And those in self-defence.
The onset, and irregular.
One eminent above the rest for strength, For stratagem, for courage, or for all, Was chosen leader; him they served in war,
And him in peace, for sake of warlike deeds Reverenced no less. Who could with him compare? Or who so worthy to control themselves
As he, whose prowess had subdued their foes? Thus war, affording field for the display
Of virtue, made one chief, whom times of Which have their exigencies too, and call For skill in government, at length made king. King was a name too proud for man to wear With modesty and meekness; and the crown, So dazzling in their eyes, who set it on, Was sure to intoxicate the brows it bound,
It is the abject property of most,
That, being parcel of the common mass, And destitute of means to raise themselves,
They sink, and settle lower than they need. They know not what it is to feel within A comprehensive faculty, that grasps
Great purposes with ease, that turns and wields, Almost without an effort, plans too vast
For their conception, which they cannot move. Conscious of impotence they soon grow drunk With gazing, when they see an able man Step forth to notice; and besotted thus Build him a pedestal, and say, "Stand there, "And be our admiration and our praise." They roll themselves before him in the dust, Then most deserving in their own account When most extravagant in his applause, As if exalting him they raised themselves. Thus by degrees, self-cheated of their sound And sober judgment, that he is but man, They demi-deify and fume him so, That in due season he forgets it too. Inflated and astrut with self-conceit,
He gulps the windy diet; and ere long, Adopting their mistake, profoundly thinks The world was made in vain, if not for him. Thenceforth they are his cattle: drudges born
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