Nam neq; me tantum venientis fibilus auftri,
Nec percuffa juvant fluctû tam litora, nec quæ
Saxofas inter decurrunt flumina valles.
And Converfation in its better part,
May be esteemed a gift and not an art,
Yet much depends, as in the tiller's toil,
On culture, and the fowing of the foil.
Words learn'd by rote, a parrot may rehearse,
But talking is not always to converfe,
Not more diftinct from harmony divine
The constant creaking of a country sign.
As alphabets in ivory employ
Hour after hour the yet unletter'd boy,
Sorting and puzzling with a deal of glee
Those feeds of science called his A B C,
So language in the mouths of the adult,
Witness its infignificant refult,
Too often proves an implement of play,
A toy to sport with, and pass time away.
Collect at evening what the day brought forth,
Comprefs the fum into its folid worth,
And if it weigh th' importance of a fly,
The scales are falfe or Algebra a lie.
Sacred interpreter of human thought,
How few refpect or ufe thee as they ought!
But all fhall give account of ev'ry wrong
Who dare difhonour or defile the tongue,
Who prostitute it in the cause of vice,
Or fell their glory at a market-price,
Who vote for hire, or point it with lampoon,
The dear-bought placeman, and the cheap buffoon.
There is a prurience in the fpeech of fome. A
Wrath ftays him, or elfe God would ftrike them
dumb;
Blog bas quic3
His wife forbearance has their end in view, StedT
They fill their measure and receive their due, a
The heathen law-givers of antient days at 7
Names almost worthy of a Chriftian praife, to coll
Would drive them forth from the refort of men, ^.
And shut up ev'ry fatyr in his den, novo in than 10
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 promised flow',
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 adolefcence or a firmer age,
Affords a plea allowable or juft,
For making speech the pamperer of luft;
But when the breath of age commits the fault,
'Tis naufeous as the vapor of a vault.
So wither'd ftumps difgrace the fylvan scene,
No longer fruitful and no longer green,
The faplefs wood divefted of the bark,
Grows fungous and takes fire at ev'ry fpark.
Oaths terminate, as Paul obferves, all ftrife-
Some men have furely then a peaceful life,
Whatever fubject occupy discourse,
The feats of Veftris or the naval force,✨
Affeveration bluft'ring in your face
Makes contradiction fuch an hopeless cafe;
In ev'ry tale they tell, or falfe or true,
Well known, or fuch as no man ever knew,
They fix attention, heedlefs of your pain,
With oaths like rivets forced into the brain,
And ev'n when fober truth prevails throughout,
They fwear it, 'till affirmance breeds a doubt.
A Perfian, humble fervant of the fun,
Who though devout yet bigotry had none,
Hearing a lawyer, grave in his addrefs,
With adjurations ev'ry word impress,
Supposed the man a bishop, or at least,
God's name fo much upon his lips, a prieft,
Bowed at the clofe with all his graceful airs,
And begg'd an int'reft in his frequent pray'rs.
Go quit the rank to which ye stood preferred,
Henceforth affociate in one common herd,
Religion, virtue, reafon, common sense
Pronounce your human form a false pretence,
A mere disguise in which a devil lurks,
Who yet betrays his fecret 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
Worfe than the mortal brunt of rival swords,
Decide no question with their tedious length,
For oppofition gives opinion ftrength,
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