To every nicer part of thy design,

* But

pass no idle day without a line:

+ And wand'ring oft the crowded streets along, 655
The native gestures of the passing throng
Attractive mark; for many a casual grace,
Th' expressive lines of each impassion'd face
That bears its joys or sorrows undisguis'd,
May by observant taste be there surpris❜d.
Thus, true to art, and zealous to excel,
Ponder on Nature's powers, and weigh them well!
Explore through earth and heaven, through sea and
skies,

The accidental graces as they rise;

660

Nec tamen obtundat genium, mentisque vigorem. 465
Optima nostrorum pars matutina dierum,
Difficili hanc igitur potiorem impende labori.
§ Nulla dies abeat, quin linea ducta supersit:
Perque vias, vultus hominum, motusque notabis
Libertate sua proprios, positasque figuras
Ex sese faciles, ut inobservatus, habebis.

470

* LXVIII. Every day do something.

↑ LXIX. The method of catching natural Passions.

+ LXVIII. Singulis diebus aliquid faciendum.

§ LXIX. Affectus inobservati et naturales.

*And while each present form the Fancy warms, Swift on thy tablets fix its fleeting charms.

666

670

To Temperance all our liveliest powers we owe, She bids the Judgment wake, the Fancy flow; For her the Artist shuns the fuming feast, The midnight roar, the Bacchanalian guest, And seeks those softer opiates of the soul, The social circle, the diluted bowl: Crown'd with the freedom of a single life, He flies domestic din, litigious strife; Abhors the noisy haunts of bustling trade, And steals serene to solitude and shade;

675

+ Mox quod cumque mari, terris, et in aëre pulchrum

Contigerit, chartis propera mandare paratis,
Dum præsans animo species tibi fervet hianti.

Non epulis nimis indulget Pictura, meroque 475
Parcit: Amicorum nisi cum sermone benigno
Exhaustam reparet mentem recreata; sed inde
Litibus, et curis, in cœlibe libera vita,
Secessus procul à turba, strepituque remotos,
Villarum, rurisque beata silentia quærit:
Namque recollecto, totâ incumbente Minerva,

480

* LXX. Of the Table Book.

+ LXX. Non desint pugillares.

There calmly seated in his village bower,
He gives to nobler themes the studious hour,
While Genius, Practice, Contemplation join
To warm his soul with energy divine;
For paltry gold let pining Misers sigh,
His soul invokes a nobler Deity;
Smit with the glorious avarice of fame,

He claims no less than an immortal name;

680

685

Hence on his fancy just conception shines,
True judgment guides his hand, true taste refines ;
Hence ceaseless toil, devotion to his art,
A docile temper, and a generous heart;
Docile, his sage Preceptor to obey,
Generous, his aid with gratitude to pay;

690

Ingenio, rerum species præsentior extat; Commodiusque operis compagem amplectitur om

nem.

Infami tibi non potior sit avare peculi

Cura, aurique fames, modicâ quam sorte beato, 485 Nominis æterni, et laudis pruritus habendæ, Condigna pulchrorum operum mercedis in ævum, Judicium, docile ingenium, cor nobile, sensus Sublimes, firmum corpus, florensque juventa, Commoda res, labor, artis amor, doctusque magister:

490

Blest with the bloom of youth, the nerves of health,

And competence a better boon than wealth.

Great blessings these! yet will not these em-
power

His tints to charm at every labouring hour:
All have their brilliant movements, when alone 695
They paint as if some star propitious shone.
Yet then, e'en then, the hand but ill conveys
The bolder grace that in the fancy plays :
Hence, candid Critics, this sad truth confest,
Accept what least is bad, and deem it best; 700
Lament the soul in error's thraldom held,
Compare life's span with art's extensive field;
Know that, ere perfect taste matures the mind,
Or perfect practice to that taste be join'd,

Et quamcumque voles occasio porrigat ansam,
Ni genius quidam adfuerit, sydusque benignum,
Dotibus his tantis, nec adhuc ars tanta paratur.
Distat ab ingenio longè manus. Optima doctis
Censentur, quæ prava minus; latet omnibus

error;

Vitaque tam longæ brevior non sufficit arti.
Desinimus nam posse senes, cùm scire periti

495

Comes age, comes sickness, comes contracting

pain,

And chills the warmth of youth in every vein.

705

Rise then, ye youths, while yet that warmth

inspires,

While yet nor years impair, nor labour tires, While health, while strength are yours, while that

mild ray

Which shone auspicious on your natal day,
Conducts you to Minerva's peaceful quire,-
Sons of her choice, and sharers of her fire;
Rise at the call of art: expand your breast,
Capacious to receive the mighty guest,
While, free from prejudice, your active eye
Preserves its first unsullied purity;

710

715

Incipimus, doctamque manum gravat ægra se

nectus;

Nec gelidis fervet juvenilis in artibus ardor.
Quare agite, O juvenes, placido quos sydere

natos

500

Paciferæ studia allectant tranquilla Minervæ; Quosque suo fovet igne, sibique optavit alumnos ! Eja agite, atque animis ingentem ingentibus artem Exercete alacres, dum strenua corda juventus Viribus exstimulat vegetis patiensque laborum est;