There will you clearly read reveal'dIn your enlighten'd thought,By mercies manifold, through life,To fresh remembrance brought,A mighty Being! and in himA complicated friend,A father, brother, spouse; no dreadOf death, divorce, or end:Who such a matchless friend embrace,And lodge him in their heart,[pg 281]Full well, from agonies exempt,With other friends may part:As when o'erloaded branches bearLarge clusters big with wine,We scarce regret one falling leafFrom the luxuriant vine.My short advice to you may soundObscure or somewhat odd,Though 'tis the best that man can give,—"E'en be content with God."Through love he gave you the deceas'd,Through greater took him hence;This reason fully could evince,Though murmur'd at by sense.This friend, far past the kindest kind,Is past the greatest great;His greatness let me touch in pointsNot foreign to your state;His eye, this instant, reads your heart;A truth less obvious hear;This instant its most secret thoughtsAre sounding in his ear:Dispute you this? O! stand in awe,And cease your sorrow; know,[pg 282]That tears now trickling down, he sawTen thousand years ago;And twice ten thousand hence, if youYour temper reconcileTo reason's bound, will he beholdYour prudence with a smile;A smile, which through eternityDiffuses so bright rays,The dimmest deifies e'en guilt,If guilt, at last, obeys:Your guilt (for guilt it is to mournWhen such a sovereign reigns),Your guilt diminish; peace pursue;How glorious peace in pains!Here, then, your sorrows cease; if not,Think how unhappy they,Who guilt increase by streaming tears,Which guilt should wash away;Of tears that gush profuse restrain;Whence burst those dismal sighs?They from the throbbing breast of one(Strange truth!) most happy rise;Not angels (hear it, and exult!)Enjoy a larger share[pg 283]Than is indulg'd to you, and yours,Of God's impartial care;Anxious for each, as if on eachHis care for all was thrown;For all his care as absolute,As all had been but one.And is he then so near! so kind!—How little then, and great,That riddle, man! O! let me gazeAt wonders in his fate;His fate, who yesterday did crawlA worm from darkness deep,And shall, with brother worms, beneathA turf, to-morrow sleep;How mean!—And yet, if well obey'dHis mighty Master's call,The whole creation for mean manIs deem'd a boon too small:Too small the whole creation deem'dFor emmets in the dust!Account amazing! yet most true;My song is bold, yet just:Man born for infinite, in whomNor period can destroy[pg 284]The power, in exquisite extremes,To suffer, or enjoy;Give him earth's empire (if no more)He's beggar'd, and undone!Imprison'd in unbounded space!Benighted by the sun!For what the sun's meridian blazeTo the most feeble rayWhich glimmers from the distant dawnOf uncreated day?'Tis not the poet's rapture feign'dSwells here the vain to please;The mind most sober kindles mostAt truths sublime as these;They warm e'en me.—I dare not say,Divine ambition stroveNot to bless only, but confound,Nay, fright us with its love;And yet so frightful what, or kind,As that the rending rock,The darken'd sun, and rising dead,So formidable spoke?And are we darker than that sun?Than rocks more hard, and blind?[pg 285]We are;—if not to such a GodIn agonies resigned.Yes, e'en in agonies forbearTo doubt almighty love;Whate'er endears eternity,Is mercy from above;What most imbitters time, that mostEternity endears,And thus, by plunging in distress,Exalts us to the spheres;Joy's fountain head! where bliss o'er bliss,O'er wonders wonders rise,And an Omnipotence preparesIts banquet for the wise:Ambrosial banquet! rich in winesNectareous to the soul!What transports sparkle from the stream,As angels fill the bowl!Fountain profuse of every bliss!Good-will immense prevails;Man's line can't fathom its profoundAn angel's plummet fails.Thy love and might, by what they know,Who judge, nor dream of more;[pg 286]They ask a drop, how deep the sea!One sand, how wide the shore!Of thy exuberant good-will,Offended Deity!The thousandth part who comprehends,A deity is he.How yonder ample azure fieldWith radiant worlds is sown!How tubes astonish us with thoseMore deep in ether thrown!And those beyond of brighter worldsWhy not a million more?—In lieu of answer, let us allFall prostrate, and adore.Since thou art infinite in power,Nor thy indulgence less;Since man, quite impotent and blind,Oft drops into distress;Say, what is resignation? 'T isMan's weakness understood;And wisdom grasping, with a handFar stronger, every good.Let rash repiners stand appall'd,In thee who dare not trust;[pg 287]Whose abject souls, like demons dark,Are murmuring in the dust;For man to murmur, or repineAt what by thee is done,No less absurd, than to complainOf darkness in the sun.Who would not, with a heart at ease,Bright eye, unclouded brow,Wisdom and goodness at the helm,The roughest ocean plough?What, though I'm swallow'd in the deep?Though mountains o'er me roar?Jehovah reigns! as Jonah safe,I'm landed, and adore:Thy will is welcome, let it wearIts most tremendous form;Roar, waves; rage, winds! I know that thouCanst save me by a storm.From the immortal spirits born,To thee, their fountain, flow,If wise; as curl'd around to theirsMeandering streams below:Not less compell'd by reason's call,To thee our souls aspire,[pg 288]Than to thy skies, by nature's law,High mounts material fire;To thee aspiring they exult,I feel my spirits rise,I feel myself thy son, and pantFor patrimonial skies;Since ardent thirst of future good,And generous sense of past,To thee man's prudence strongly ties,And binds affection fast;Since great thy love, and great our want,And men the wisest blind,And bliss our aim; pronounce us allDistracted, or resigned;Resign'd through duty, interest, shame;Deep shame! dare I complain,When (wondrous truth!) in heaven itselfJoy ow'd its birth to pain?And pain for me! for me was drain'dGall's overflowing bowl;And shall one drop to murmur boldProvoke my guilty soul?If pardon'd this, what cause, what crimeCan indignation raise?[pg 289]The sun was lighted up to shine,And man was born to praise;And when to praise the man shall cease,Or sun to strike the view;A cloud dishonors both; but man'sThe blacker of the two:For oh! ingratitude how black!With most profound amazeAt love, which man belov'd o'erlooks,Astonish'd angels gaze.Praise cheers, and warms, like generous wine;Praise, more divine than prayer;Prayer points our ready path to heaven;Praise is already there.Let plausive resignation rise,And banish all complaint;All virtues thronging into one,It finishes the saint;Makes the man bless'd, as man can be;Life's labours renders light;Darts beams through fate's incumbent gloom,And lights our sun by night;'T is nature's brightest ornament,The richest gift of grace,[pg 290]Rival of angels, and supremeProprietor of peace;Nay, peace beyond, no small degreeOf rapture 't will impart;Know, madam! when your heart's in heaven,"All heaven is in your heart."But who to heaven their hearts can raise?Denied divine support,All virtue dies; support divineThe wise with ardour court:When prayer partakes the seraph's fire,'T is mounted on his wing,Bursts thro' heaven's crystal gates, andSure audience of its king:The labouring soul from sore distressThat bless'd expedient frees;I see you far advanc'd in peace;I see you on your knees:How on that posture has the beamDivine for ever shone!An humble heart, God's other seat!58The rival of his throne:And stoops Omnipotence so low!And condescends to dwell,[pg 291]Eternity's inhabitant,Well pleas'd, in such a cell?Such honour how shall we repay?How treat our guest divine?The sacrifice supreme be slain!Let self-will die: resign.Thus far, at large, on our disease;Now let the cause be shown,Whence rises, and will ever rise,The dismal human groan:What our sole fountain of distress?Strong passion for this scene;That trifles make important, thingsOf mighty moment mean:When earth's dark maxims poison shedOn our polluted souls,Our hearts and interests fly as farAsunder, as the poles.Like princes in a cottage nurs'd,Unknown their royal race,With abject aims, and sordid joys,Our grandeur we disgrace;O! for an Archimedes new,Of moral powers possess'd,[pg 292]The world to move, and quite expelThat traitor from the breast.No small advantage may be reap'dFrom thought whence we descend;From weighing well, and prizing weigh'dOur origin, and end:From far above the glorious sunTo this dim scene we came:And may, if wise, for ever baskIn great Jehovah's beam:Let that bright beam on reason rous'dIn awful lustre rise,Earth's giant ills are dwarf'd at once,And all disquiet dies.Earth's glories too their splendour lose,Those phantoms charm no more;Empire's a feather for a fool,And Indian mines are poor:Then levell'd quite, whilst yet alive,The monarch and his slave;Not wait enlighten'd minds to learnThat lesson from the grave:A George the Third would then be lowAs Lewis in renown,[pg 293]Could he not boast of glory moreThan sparkles from a crown.When human glory rises highAs human glory can;When, though the king is truly great,Still greater is the man;The man is dead, where virtue fails;And though the monarch proudIn grandeur shines, his gorgeous robeIs but a gaudy shroud.Wisdom! where art thou? None on earth,Though grasping wealth, fame, power,But what, O death! through thy approach,Is wiser every hour;Approach how swift, how unconfin'd!Worms feast on viands rare,Those little epicures have kingsTo grace their bill of fare:From kings what resignation dueTo that almighty will,Which thrones bestows, and, when they fail,Can throne them higher still!Who truly great? The good and brave,The masters of a mind[pg 294]The will divine to do resolv'd,To suffer it resign'd.Madam! if that may give it weight,The trifle you receiveIs dated from a solemn scene,The border of the grave;Where strongly strikes the trembling soulEternity's dread power,As bursting on it through the thinPartition of an hour;Hear this, Voltaire! but this, from me,Runs hazard of your frown;However, spare it; ere you die,Such thoughts will be your own.In mercy to yourself forbearMy notions to chastise,Lest unawares the gay VoltaireShould blame Voltaire the wise:Fame's trumpet rattling in your ear,Now, makes us disagree;When a far louder trumpet sounds,Voltaire will close with me:How shocking is that modesty,Which keeps some honest men[pg 295]From urging what their hearts suggest,When brav'd by folly's pen.Assaulting truths, of which in allIs sown the sacred seed!Our constitution's orthodox,And closes with our creed:What then are they, whose proud conceitsSuperior wisdom boast?Wretches, who fight their own belief,And labour to be lost!Though vice by no superior joysHer heroes keeps in pay;Through pure disinterested loveOf ruin they obey!Strict their devotion to the wrong,Though tempted by no prize;Hard their commandments, and their creedA magazine of liesFrom fancy's forge: gay fancy smilesAt reason plain, and cool;Fancy, whose curious trade it isTo make the finest fool.
There will you clearly read reveal'dIn your enlighten'd thought,By mercies manifold, through life,To fresh remembrance brought,A mighty Being! and in himA complicated friend,A father, brother, spouse; no dreadOf death, divorce, or end:Who such a matchless friend embrace,And lodge him in their heart,[pg 281]Full well, from agonies exempt,With other friends may part:As when o'erloaded branches bearLarge clusters big with wine,We scarce regret one falling leafFrom the luxuriant vine.My short advice to you may soundObscure or somewhat odd,Though 'tis the best that man can give,—"E'en be content with God."Through love he gave you the deceas'd,Through greater took him hence;This reason fully could evince,Though murmur'd at by sense.This friend, far past the kindest kind,Is past the greatest great;His greatness let me touch in pointsNot foreign to your state;His eye, this instant, reads your heart;A truth less obvious hear;This instant its most secret thoughtsAre sounding in his ear:Dispute you this? O! stand in awe,And cease your sorrow; know,[pg 282]That tears now trickling down, he sawTen thousand years ago;And twice ten thousand hence, if youYour temper reconcileTo reason's bound, will he beholdYour prudence with a smile;A smile, which through eternityDiffuses so bright rays,The dimmest deifies e'en guilt,If guilt, at last, obeys:Your guilt (for guilt it is to mournWhen such a sovereign reigns),Your guilt diminish; peace pursue;How glorious peace in pains!Here, then, your sorrows cease; if not,Think how unhappy they,Who guilt increase by streaming tears,Which guilt should wash away;Of tears that gush profuse restrain;Whence burst those dismal sighs?They from the throbbing breast of one(Strange truth!) most happy rise;Not angels (hear it, and exult!)Enjoy a larger share[pg 283]Than is indulg'd to you, and yours,Of God's impartial care;Anxious for each, as if on eachHis care for all was thrown;For all his care as absolute,As all had been but one.And is he then so near! so kind!—How little then, and great,That riddle, man! O! let me gazeAt wonders in his fate;His fate, who yesterday did crawlA worm from darkness deep,And shall, with brother worms, beneathA turf, to-morrow sleep;How mean!—And yet, if well obey'dHis mighty Master's call,The whole creation for mean manIs deem'd a boon too small:Too small the whole creation deem'dFor emmets in the dust!Account amazing! yet most true;My song is bold, yet just:Man born for infinite, in whomNor period can destroy[pg 284]The power, in exquisite extremes,To suffer, or enjoy;Give him earth's empire (if no more)He's beggar'd, and undone!Imprison'd in unbounded space!Benighted by the sun!For what the sun's meridian blazeTo the most feeble rayWhich glimmers from the distant dawnOf uncreated day?'Tis not the poet's rapture feign'dSwells here the vain to please;The mind most sober kindles mostAt truths sublime as these;They warm e'en me.—I dare not say,Divine ambition stroveNot to bless only, but confound,Nay, fright us with its love;And yet so frightful what, or kind,As that the rending rock,The darken'd sun, and rising dead,So formidable spoke?And are we darker than that sun?Than rocks more hard, and blind?[pg 285]We are;—if not to such a GodIn agonies resigned.Yes, e'en in agonies forbearTo doubt almighty love;Whate'er endears eternity,Is mercy from above;What most imbitters time, that mostEternity endears,And thus, by plunging in distress,Exalts us to the spheres;Joy's fountain head! where bliss o'er bliss,O'er wonders wonders rise,And an Omnipotence preparesIts banquet for the wise:Ambrosial banquet! rich in winesNectareous to the soul!What transports sparkle from the stream,As angels fill the bowl!Fountain profuse of every bliss!Good-will immense prevails;Man's line can't fathom its profoundAn angel's plummet fails.Thy love and might, by what they know,Who judge, nor dream of more;[pg 286]They ask a drop, how deep the sea!One sand, how wide the shore!Of thy exuberant good-will,Offended Deity!The thousandth part who comprehends,A deity is he.How yonder ample azure fieldWith radiant worlds is sown!How tubes astonish us with thoseMore deep in ether thrown!And those beyond of brighter worldsWhy not a million more?—In lieu of answer, let us allFall prostrate, and adore.Since thou art infinite in power,Nor thy indulgence less;Since man, quite impotent and blind,Oft drops into distress;Say, what is resignation? 'T isMan's weakness understood;And wisdom grasping, with a handFar stronger, every good.Let rash repiners stand appall'd,In thee who dare not trust;[pg 287]Whose abject souls, like demons dark,Are murmuring in the dust;For man to murmur, or repineAt what by thee is done,No less absurd, than to complainOf darkness in the sun.Who would not, with a heart at ease,Bright eye, unclouded brow,Wisdom and goodness at the helm,The roughest ocean plough?What, though I'm swallow'd in the deep?Though mountains o'er me roar?Jehovah reigns! as Jonah safe,I'm landed, and adore:Thy will is welcome, let it wearIts most tremendous form;Roar, waves; rage, winds! I know that thouCanst save me by a storm.From the immortal spirits born,To thee, their fountain, flow,If wise; as curl'd around to theirsMeandering streams below:Not less compell'd by reason's call,To thee our souls aspire,[pg 288]Than to thy skies, by nature's law,High mounts material fire;To thee aspiring they exult,I feel my spirits rise,I feel myself thy son, and pantFor patrimonial skies;Since ardent thirst of future good,And generous sense of past,To thee man's prudence strongly ties,And binds affection fast;Since great thy love, and great our want,And men the wisest blind,And bliss our aim; pronounce us allDistracted, or resigned;Resign'd through duty, interest, shame;Deep shame! dare I complain,When (wondrous truth!) in heaven itselfJoy ow'd its birth to pain?And pain for me! for me was drain'dGall's overflowing bowl;And shall one drop to murmur boldProvoke my guilty soul?If pardon'd this, what cause, what crimeCan indignation raise?[pg 289]The sun was lighted up to shine,And man was born to praise;And when to praise the man shall cease,Or sun to strike the view;A cloud dishonors both; but man'sThe blacker of the two:For oh! ingratitude how black!With most profound amazeAt love, which man belov'd o'erlooks,Astonish'd angels gaze.Praise cheers, and warms, like generous wine;Praise, more divine than prayer;Prayer points our ready path to heaven;Praise is already there.Let plausive resignation rise,And banish all complaint;All virtues thronging into one,It finishes the saint;Makes the man bless'd, as man can be;Life's labours renders light;Darts beams through fate's incumbent gloom,And lights our sun by night;'T is nature's brightest ornament,The richest gift of grace,[pg 290]Rival of angels, and supremeProprietor of peace;Nay, peace beyond, no small degreeOf rapture 't will impart;Know, madam! when your heart's in heaven,"All heaven is in your heart."But who to heaven their hearts can raise?Denied divine support,All virtue dies; support divineThe wise with ardour court:When prayer partakes the seraph's fire,'T is mounted on his wing,Bursts thro' heaven's crystal gates, andSure audience of its king:The labouring soul from sore distressThat bless'd expedient frees;I see you far advanc'd in peace;I see you on your knees:How on that posture has the beamDivine for ever shone!An humble heart, God's other seat!58The rival of his throne:And stoops Omnipotence so low!And condescends to dwell,[pg 291]Eternity's inhabitant,Well pleas'd, in such a cell?Such honour how shall we repay?How treat our guest divine?The sacrifice supreme be slain!Let self-will die: resign.Thus far, at large, on our disease;Now let the cause be shown,Whence rises, and will ever rise,The dismal human groan:What our sole fountain of distress?Strong passion for this scene;That trifles make important, thingsOf mighty moment mean:When earth's dark maxims poison shedOn our polluted souls,Our hearts and interests fly as farAsunder, as the poles.Like princes in a cottage nurs'd,Unknown their royal race,With abject aims, and sordid joys,Our grandeur we disgrace;O! for an Archimedes new,Of moral powers possess'd,[pg 292]The world to move, and quite expelThat traitor from the breast.No small advantage may be reap'dFrom thought whence we descend;From weighing well, and prizing weigh'dOur origin, and end:From far above the glorious sunTo this dim scene we came:And may, if wise, for ever baskIn great Jehovah's beam:Let that bright beam on reason rous'dIn awful lustre rise,Earth's giant ills are dwarf'd at once,And all disquiet dies.Earth's glories too their splendour lose,Those phantoms charm no more;Empire's a feather for a fool,And Indian mines are poor:Then levell'd quite, whilst yet alive,The monarch and his slave;Not wait enlighten'd minds to learnThat lesson from the grave:A George the Third would then be lowAs Lewis in renown,[pg 293]Could he not boast of glory moreThan sparkles from a crown.When human glory rises highAs human glory can;When, though the king is truly great,Still greater is the man;The man is dead, where virtue fails;And though the monarch proudIn grandeur shines, his gorgeous robeIs but a gaudy shroud.Wisdom! where art thou? None on earth,Though grasping wealth, fame, power,But what, O death! through thy approach,Is wiser every hour;Approach how swift, how unconfin'd!Worms feast on viands rare,Those little epicures have kingsTo grace their bill of fare:From kings what resignation dueTo that almighty will,Which thrones bestows, and, when they fail,Can throne them higher still!Who truly great? The good and brave,The masters of a mind[pg 294]The will divine to do resolv'd,To suffer it resign'd.Madam! if that may give it weight,The trifle you receiveIs dated from a solemn scene,The border of the grave;Where strongly strikes the trembling soulEternity's dread power,As bursting on it through the thinPartition of an hour;Hear this, Voltaire! but this, from me,Runs hazard of your frown;However, spare it; ere you die,Such thoughts will be your own.In mercy to yourself forbearMy notions to chastise,Lest unawares the gay VoltaireShould blame Voltaire the wise:Fame's trumpet rattling in your ear,Now, makes us disagree;When a far louder trumpet sounds,Voltaire will close with me:How shocking is that modesty,Which keeps some honest men[pg 295]From urging what their hearts suggest,When brav'd by folly's pen.Assaulting truths, of which in allIs sown the sacred seed!Our constitution's orthodox,And closes with our creed:What then are they, whose proud conceitsSuperior wisdom boast?Wretches, who fight their own belief,And labour to be lost!Though vice by no superior joysHer heroes keeps in pay;Through pure disinterested loveOf ruin they obey!Strict their devotion to the wrong,Though tempted by no prize;Hard their commandments, and their creedA magazine of liesFrom fancy's forge: gay fancy smilesAt reason plain, and cool;Fancy, whose curious trade it isTo make the finest fool.
There will you clearly read reveal'dIn your enlighten'd thought,By mercies manifold, through life,To fresh remembrance brought,A mighty Being! and in himA complicated friend,A father, brother, spouse; no dreadOf death, divorce, or end:Who such a matchless friend embrace,And lodge him in their heart,[pg 281]Full well, from agonies exempt,With other friends may part:As when o'erloaded branches bearLarge clusters big with wine,We scarce regret one falling leafFrom the luxuriant vine.My short advice to you may soundObscure or somewhat odd,Though 'tis the best that man can give,—"E'en be content with God."Through love he gave you the deceas'd,Through greater took him hence;This reason fully could evince,Though murmur'd at by sense.This friend, far past the kindest kind,Is past the greatest great;His greatness let me touch in pointsNot foreign to your state;His eye, this instant, reads your heart;A truth less obvious hear;This instant its most secret thoughtsAre sounding in his ear:Dispute you this? O! stand in awe,And cease your sorrow; know,[pg 282]That tears now trickling down, he sawTen thousand years ago;And twice ten thousand hence, if youYour temper reconcileTo reason's bound, will he beholdYour prudence with a smile;A smile, which through eternityDiffuses so bright rays,The dimmest deifies e'en guilt,If guilt, at last, obeys:Your guilt (for guilt it is to mournWhen such a sovereign reigns),Your guilt diminish; peace pursue;How glorious peace in pains!Here, then, your sorrows cease; if not,Think how unhappy they,Who guilt increase by streaming tears,Which guilt should wash away;Of tears that gush profuse restrain;Whence burst those dismal sighs?They from the throbbing breast of one(Strange truth!) most happy rise;Not angels (hear it, and exult!)Enjoy a larger share[pg 283]Than is indulg'd to you, and yours,Of God's impartial care;Anxious for each, as if on eachHis care for all was thrown;For all his care as absolute,As all had been but one.And is he then so near! so kind!—How little then, and great,That riddle, man! O! let me gazeAt wonders in his fate;His fate, who yesterday did crawlA worm from darkness deep,And shall, with brother worms, beneathA turf, to-morrow sleep;How mean!—And yet, if well obey'dHis mighty Master's call,The whole creation for mean manIs deem'd a boon too small:Too small the whole creation deem'dFor emmets in the dust!Account amazing! yet most true;My song is bold, yet just:Man born for infinite, in whomNor period can destroy[pg 284]The power, in exquisite extremes,To suffer, or enjoy;Give him earth's empire (if no more)He's beggar'd, and undone!Imprison'd in unbounded space!Benighted by the sun!For what the sun's meridian blazeTo the most feeble rayWhich glimmers from the distant dawnOf uncreated day?'Tis not the poet's rapture feign'dSwells here the vain to please;The mind most sober kindles mostAt truths sublime as these;They warm e'en me.—I dare not say,Divine ambition stroveNot to bless only, but confound,Nay, fright us with its love;And yet so frightful what, or kind,As that the rending rock,The darken'd sun, and rising dead,So formidable spoke?And are we darker than that sun?Than rocks more hard, and blind?[pg 285]We are;—if not to such a GodIn agonies resigned.Yes, e'en in agonies forbearTo doubt almighty love;Whate'er endears eternity,Is mercy from above;What most imbitters time, that mostEternity endears,And thus, by plunging in distress,Exalts us to the spheres;Joy's fountain head! where bliss o'er bliss,O'er wonders wonders rise,And an Omnipotence preparesIts banquet for the wise:Ambrosial banquet! rich in winesNectareous to the soul!What transports sparkle from the stream,As angels fill the bowl!Fountain profuse of every bliss!Good-will immense prevails;Man's line can't fathom its profoundAn angel's plummet fails.Thy love and might, by what they know,Who judge, nor dream of more;[pg 286]They ask a drop, how deep the sea!One sand, how wide the shore!Of thy exuberant good-will,Offended Deity!The thousandth part who comprehends,A deity is he.How yonder ample azure fieldWith radiant worlds is sown!How tubes astonish us with thoseMore deep in ether thrown!And those beyond of brighter worldsWhy not a million more?—In lieu of answer, let us allFall prostrate, and adore.Since thou art infinite in power,Nor thy indulgence less;Since man, quite impotent and blind,Oft drops into distress;Say, what is resignation? 'T isMan's weakness understood;And wisdom grasping, with a handFar stronger, every good.Let rash repiners stand appall'd,In thee who dare not trust;[pg 287]Whose abject souls, like demons dark,Are murmuring in the dust;For man to murmur, or repineAt what by thee is done,No less absurd, than to complainOf darkness in the sun.Who would not, with a heart at ease,Bright eye, unclouded brow,Wisdom and goodness at the helm,The roughest ocean plough?What, though I'm swallow'd in the deep?Though mountains o'er me roar?Jehovah reigns! as Jonah safe,I'm landed, and adore:Thy will is welcome, let it wearIts most tremendous form;Roar, waves; rage, winds! I know that thouCanst save me by a storm.From the immortal spirits born,To thee, their fountain, flow,If wise; as curl'd around to theirsMeandering streams below:Not less compell'd by reason's call,To thee our souls aspire,[pg 288]Than to thy skies, by nature's law,High mounts material fire;To thee aspiring they exult,I feel my spirits rise,I feel myself thy son, and pantFor patrimonial skies;Since ardent thirst of future good,And generous sense of past,To thee man's prudence strongly ties,And binds affection fast;Since great thy love, and great our want,And men the wisest blind,And bliss our aim; pronounce us allDistracted, or resigned;Resign'd through duty, interest, shame;Deep shame! dare I complain,When (wondrous truth!) in heaven itselfJoy ow'd its birth to pain?And pain for me! for me was drain'dGall's overflowing bowl;And shall one drop to murmur boldProvoke my guilty soul?If pardon'd this, what cause, what crimeCan indignation raise?[pg 289]The sun was lighted up to shine,And man was born to praise;And when to praise the man shall cease,Or sun to strike the view;A cloud dishonors both; but man'sThe blacker of the two:For oh! ingratitude how black!With most profound amazeAt love, which man belov'd o'erlooks,Astonish'd angels gaze.Praise cheers, and warms, like generous wine;Praise, more divine than prayer;Prayer points our ready path to heaven;Praise is already there.Let plausive resignation rise,And banish all complaint;All virtues thronging into one,It finishes the saint;Makes the man bless'd, as man can be;Life's labours renders light;Darts beams through fate's incumbent gloom,And lights our sun by night;'T is nature's brightest ornament,The richest gift of grace,[pg 290]Rival of angels, and supremeProprietor of peace;Nay, peace beyond, no small degreeOf rapture 't will impart;Know, madam! when your heart's in heaven,"All heaven is in your heart."But who to heaven their hearts can raise?Denied divine support,All virtue dies; support divineThe wise with ardour court:When prayer partakes the seraph's fire,'T is mounted on his wing,Bursts thro' heaven's crystal gates, andSure audience of its king:The labouring soul from sore distressThat bless'd expedient frees;I see you far advanc'd in peace;I see you on your knees:How on that posture has the beamDivine for ever shone!An humble heart, God's other seat!58The rival of his throne:And stoops Omnipotence so low!And condescends to dwell,[pg 291]Eternity's inhabitant,Well pleas'd, in such a cell?Such honour how shall we repay?How treat our guest divine?The sacrifice supreme be slain!Let self-will die: resign.Thus far, at large, on our disease;Now let the cause be shown,Whence rises, and will ever rise,The dismal human groan:What our sole fountain of distress?Strong passion for this scene;That trifles make important, thingsOf mighty moment mean:When earth's dark maxims poison shedOn our polluted souls,Our hearts and interests fly as farAsunder, as the poles.Like princes in a cottage nurs'd,Unknown their royal race,With abject aims, and sordid joys,Our grandeur we disgrace;O! for an Archimedes new,Of moral powers possess'd,[pg 292]The world to move, and quite expelThat traitor from the breast.No small advantage may be reap'dFrom thought whence we descend;From weighing well, and prizing weigh'dOur origin, and end:From far above the glorious sunTo this dim scene we came:And may, if wise, for ever baskIn great Jehovah's beam:Let that bright beam on reason rous'dIn awful lustre rise,Earth's giant ills are dwarf'd at once,And all disquiet dies.Earth's glories too their splendour lose,Those phantoms charm no more;Empire's a feather for a fool,And Indian mines are poor:Then levell'd quite, whilst yet alive,The monarch and his slave;Not wait enlighten'd minds to learnThat lesson from the grave:A George the Third would then be lowAs Lewis in renown,[pg 293]Could he not boast of glory moreThan sparkles from a crown.When human glory rises highAs human glory can;When, though the king is truly great,Still greater is the man;The man is dead, where virtue fails;And though the monarch proudIn grandeur shines, his gorgeous robeIs but a gaudy shroud.Wisdom! where art thou? None on earth,Though grasping wealth, fame, power,But what, O death! through thy approach,Is wiser every hour;Approach how swift, how unconfin'd!Worms feast on viands rare,Those little epicures have kingsTo grace their bill of fare:From kings what resignation dueTo that almighty will,Which thrones bestows, and, when they fail,Can throne them higher still!Who truly great? The good and brave,The masters of a mind[pg 294]The will divine to do resolv'd,To suffer it resign'd.Madam! if that may give it weight,The trifle you receiveIs dated from a solemn scene,The border of the grave;Where strongly strikes the trembling soulEternity's dread power,As bursting on it through the thinPartition of an hour;Hear this, Voltaire! but this, from me,Runs hazard of your frown;However, spare it; ere you die,Such thoughts will be your own.In mercy to yourself forbearMy notions to chastise,Lest unawares the gay VoltaireShould blame Voltaire the wise:Fame's trumpet rattling in your ear,Now, makes us disagree;When a far louder trumpet sounds,Voltaire will close with me:How shocking is that modesty,Which keeps some honest men[pg 295]From urging what their hearts suggest,When brav'd by folly's pen.Assaulting truths, of which in allIs sown the sacred seed!Our constitution's orthodox,And closes with our creed:What then are they, whose proud conceitsSuperior wisdom boast?Wretches, who fight their own belief,And labour to be lost!Though vice by no superior joysHer heroes keeps in pay;Through pure disinterested loveOf ruin they obey!Strict their devotion to the wrong,Though tempted by no prize;Hard their commandments, and their creedA magazine of liesFrom fancy's forge: gay fancy smilesAt reason plain, and cool;Fancy, whose curious trade it isTo make the finest fool.
There will you clearly read reveal'dIn your enlighten'd thought,By mercies manifold, through life,To fresh remembrance brought,A mighty Being! and in himA complicated friend,A father, brother, spouse; no dreadOf death, divorce, or end:Who such a matchless friend embrace,And lodge him in their heart,[pg 281]Full well, from agonies exempt,With other friends may part:As when o'erloaded branches bearLarge clusters big with wine,We scarce regret one falling leafFrom the luxuriant vine.My short advice to you may soundObscure or somewhat odd,Though 'tis the best that man can give,—"E'en be content with God."Through love he gave you the deceas'd,Through greater took him hence;This reason fully could evince,Though murmur'd at by sense.This friend, far past the kindest kind,Is past the greatest great;His greatness let me touch in pointsNot foreign to your state;His eye, this instant, reads your heart;A truth less obvious hear;This instant its most secret thoughtsAre sounding in his ear:Dispute you this? O! stand in awe,And cease your sorrow; know,[pg 282]That tears now trickling down, he sawTen thousand years ago;And twice ten thousand hence, if youYour temper reconcileTo reason's bound, will he beholdYour prudence with a smile;A smile, which through eternityDiffuses so bright rays,The dimmest deifies e'en guilt,If guilt, at last, obeys:Your guilt (for guilt it is to mournWhen such a sovereign reigns),Your guilt diminish; peace pursue;How glorious peace in pains!Here, then, your sorrows cease; if not,Think how unhappy they,Who guilt increase by streaming tears,Which guilt should wash away;Of tears that gush profuse restrain;Whence burst those dismal sighs?They from the throbbing breast of one(Strange truth!) most happy rise;Not angels (hear it, and exult!)Enjoy a larger share[pg 283]Than is indulg'd to you, and yours,Of God's impartial care;Anxious for each, as if on eachHis care for all was thrown;For all his care as absolute,As all had been but one.And is he then so near! so kind!—How little then, and great,That riddle, man! O! let me gazeAt wonders in his fate;His fate, who yesterday did crawlA worm from darkness deep,And shall, with brother worms, beneathA turf, to-morrow sleep;How mean!—And yet, if well obey'dHis mighty Master's call,The whole creation for mean manIs deem'd a boon too small:Too small the whole creation deem'dFor emmets in the dust!Account amazing! yet most true;My song is bold, yet just:Man born for infinite, in whomNor period can destroy[pg 284]The power, in exquisite extremes,To suffer, or enjoy;Give him earth's empire (if no more)He's beggar'd, and undone!Imprison'd in unbounded space!Benighted by the sun!For what the sun's meridian blazeTo the most feeble rayWhich glimmers from the distant dawnOf uncreated day?'Tis not the poet's rapture feign'dSwells here the vain to please;The mind most sober kindles mostAt truths sublime as these;They warm e'en me.—I dare not say,Divine ambition stroveNot to bless only, but confound,Nay, fright us with its love;And yet so frightful what, or kind,As that the rending rock,The darken'd sun, and rising dead,So formidable spoke?And are we darker than that sun?Than rocks more hard, and blind?[pg 285]We are;—if not to such a GodIn agonies resigned.Yes, e'en in agonies forbearTo doubt almighty love;Whate'er endears eternity,Is mercy from above;What most imbitters time, that mostEternity endears,And thus, by plunging in distress,Exalts us to the spheres;Joy's fountain head! where bliss o'er bliss,O'er wonders wonders rise,And an Omnipotence preparesIts banquet for the wise:Ambrosial banquet! rich in winesNectareous to the soul!What transports sparkle from the stream,As angels fill the bowl!Fountain profuse of every bliss!Good-will immense prevails;Man's line can't fathom its profoundAn angel's plummet fails.Thy love and might, by what they know,Who judge, nor dream of more;[pg 286]They ask a drop, how deep the sea!One sand, how wide the shore!Of thy exuberant good-will,Offended Deity!The thousandth part who comprehends,A deity is he.How yonder ample azure fieldWith radiant worlds is sown!How tubes astonish us with thoseMore deep in ether thrown!And those beyond of brighter worldsWhy not a million more?—In lieu of answer, let us allFall prostrate, and adore.Since thou art infinite in power,Nor thy indulgence less;Since man, quite impotent and blind,Oft drops into distress;Say, what is resignation? 'T isMan's weakness understood;And wisdom grasping, with a handFar stronger, every good.Let rash repiners stand appall'd,In thee who dare not trust;[pg 287]Whose abject souls, like demons dark,Are murmuring in the dust;For man to murmur, or repineAt what by thee is done,No less absurd, than to complainOf darkness in the sun.Who would not, with a heart at ease,Bright eye, unclouded brow,Wisdom and goodness at the helm,The roughest ocean plough?What, though I'm swallow'd in the deep?Though mountains o'er me roar?Jehovah reigns! as Jonah safe,I'm landed, and adore:Thy will is welcome, let it wearIts most tremendous form;Roar, waves; rage, winds! I know that thouCanst save me by a storm.From the immortal spirits born,To thee, their fountain, flow,If wise; as curl'd around to theirsMeandering streams below:Not less compell'd by reason's call,To thee our souls aspire,[pg 288]Than to thy skies, by nature's law,High mounts material fire;To thee aspiring they exult,I feel my spirits rise,I feel myself thy son, and pantFor patrimonial skies;Since ardent thirst of future good,And generous sense of past,To thee man's prudence strongly ties,And binds affection fast;Since great thy love, and great our want,And men the wisest blind,And bliss our aim; pronounce us allDistracted, or resigned;Resign'd through duty, interest, shame;Deep shame! dare I complain,When (wondrous truth!) in heaven itselfJoy ow'd its birth to pain?And pain for me! for me was drain'dGall's overflowing bowl;And shall one drop to murmur boldProvoke my guilty soul?If pardon'd this, what cause, what crimeCan indignation raise?[pg 289]The sun was lighted up to shine,And man was born to praise;And when to praise the man shall cease,Or sun to strike the view;A cloud dishonors both; but man'sThe blacker of the two:For oh! ingratitude how black!With most profound amazeAt love, which man belov'd o'erlooks,Astonish'd angels gaze.Praise cheers, and warms, like generous wine;Praise, more divine than prayer;Prayer points our ready path to heaven;Praise is already there.Let plausive resignation rise,And banish all complaint;All virtues thronging into one,It finishes the saint;Makes the man bless'd, as man can be;Life's labours renders light;Darts beams through fate's incumbent gloom,And lights our sun by night;'T is nature's brightest ornament,The richest gift of grace,[pg 290]Rival of angels, and supremeProprietor of peace;Nay, peace beyond, no small degreeOf rapture 't will impart;Know, madam! when your heart's in heaven,"All heaven is in your heart."But who to heaven their hearts can raise?Denied divine support,All virtue dies; support divineThe wise with ardour court:When prayer partakes the seraph's fire,'T is mounted on his wing,Bursts thro' heaven's crystal gates, andSure audience of its king:The labouring soul from sore distressThat bless'd expedient frees;I see you far advanc'd in peace;I see you on your knees:How on that posture has the beamDivine for ever shone!An humble heart, God's other seat!58The rival of his throne:And stoops Omnipotence so low!And condescends to dwell,[pg 291]Eternity's inhabitant,Well pleas'd, in such a cell?Such honour how shall we repay?How treat our guest divine?The sacrifice supreme be slain!Let self-will die: resign.Thus far, at large, on our disease;Now let the cause be shown,Whence rises, and will ever rise,The dismal human groan:What our sole fountain of distress?Strong passion for this scene;That trifles make important, thingsOf mighty moment mean:When earth's dark maxims poison shedOn our polluted souls,Our hearts and interests fly as farAsunder, as the poles.Like princes in a cottage nurs'd,Unknown their royal race,With abject aims, and sordid joys,Our grandeur we disgrace;O! for an Archimedes new,Of moral powers possess'd,[pg 292]The world to move, and quite expelThat traitor from the breast.No small advantage may be reap'dFrom thought whence we descend;From weighing well, and prizing weigh'dOur origin, and end:From far above the glorious sunTo this dim scene we came:And may, if wise, for ever baskIn great Jehovah's beam:Let that bright beam on reason rous'dIn awful lustre rise,Earth's giant ills are dwarf'd at once,And all disquiet dies.Earth's glories too their splendour lose,Those phantoms charm no more;Empire's a feather for a fool,And Indian mines are poor:Then levell'd quite, whilst yet alive,The monarch and his slave;Not wait enlighten'd minds to learnThat lesson from the grave:A George the Third would then be lowAs Lewis in renown,[pg 293]Could he not boast of glory moreThan sparkles from a crown.When human glory rises highAs human glory can;When, though the king is truly great,Still greater is the man;The man is dead, where virtue fails;And though the monarch proudIn grandeur shines, his gorgeous robeIs but a gaudy shroud.Wisdom! where art thou? None on earth,Though grasping wealth, fame, power,But what, O death! through thy approach,Is wiser every hour;Approach how swift, how unconfin'd!Worms feast on viands rare,Those little epicures have kingsTo grace their bill of fare:From kings what resignation dueTo that almighty will,Which thrones bestows, and, when they fail,Can throne them higher still!Who truly great? The good and brave,The masters of a mind[pg 294]The will divine to do resolv'd,To suffer it resign'd.Madam! if that may give it weight,The trifle you receiveIs dated from a solemn scene,The border of the grave;Where strongly strikes the trembling soulEternity's dread power,As bursting on it through the thinPartition of an hour;Hear this, Voltaire! but this, from me,Runs hazard of your frown;However, spare it; ere you die,Such thoughts will be your own.In mercy to yourself forbearMy notions to chastise,Lest unawares the gay VoltaireShould blame Voltaire the wise:Fame's trumpet rattling in your ear,Now, makes us disagree;When a far louder trumpet sounds,Voltaire will close with me:How shocking is that modesty,Which keeps some honest men[pg 295]From urging what their hearts suggest,When brav'd by folly's pen.Assaulting truths, of which in allIs sown the sacred seed!Our constitution's orthodox,And closes with our creed:What then are they, whose proud conceitsSuperior wisdom boast?Wretches, who fight their own belief,And labour to be lost!Though vice by no superior joysHer heroes keeps in pay;Through pure disinterested loveOf ruin they obey!Strict their devotion to the wrong,Though tempted by no prize;Hard their commandments, and their creedA magazine of liesFrom fancy's forge: gay fancy smilesAt reason plain, and cool;Fancy, whose curious trade it isTo make the finest fool.
There will you clearly read reveal'dIn your enlighten'd thought,By mercies manifold, through life,To fresh remembrance brought,
There will you clearly read reveal'd
In your enlighten'd thought,
By mercies manifold, through life,
To fresh remembrance brought,
A mighty Being! and in himA complicated friend,A father, brother, spouse; no dreadOf death, divorce, or end:
A mighty Being! and in him
A complicated friend,
A father, brother, spouse; no dread
Of death, divorce, or end:
Who such a matchless friend embrace,And lodge him in their heart,[pg 281]Full well, from agonies exempt,With other friends may part:
Who such a matchless friend embrace,
And lodge him in their heart,
Full well, from agonies exempt,
With other friends may part:
As when o'erloaded branches bearLarge clusters big with wine,We scarce regret one falling leafFrom the luxuriant vine.
As when o'erloaded branches bear
Large clusters big with wine,
We scarce regret one falling leaf
From the luxuriant vine.
My short advice to you may soundObscure or somewhat odd,Though 'tis the best that man can give,—"E'en be content with God."
My short advice to you may sound
Obscure or somewhat odd,
Though 'tis the best that man can give,—
"E'en be content with God."
Through love he gave you the deceas'd,Through greater took him hence;This reason fully could evince,Though murmur'd at by sense.
Through love he gave you the deceas'd,
Through greater took him hence;
This reason fully could evince,
Though murmur'd at by sense.
This friend, far past the kindest kind,Is past the greatest great;His greatness let me touch in pointsNot foreign to your state;
This friend, far past the kindest kind,
Is past the greatest great;
His greatness let me touch in points
Not foreign to your state;
His eye, this instant, reads your heart;A truth less obvious hear;This instant its most secret thoughtsAre sounding in his ear:
His eye, this instant, reads your heart;
A truth less obvious hear;
This instant its most secret thoughts
Are sounding in his ear:
Dispute you this? O! stand in awe,And cease your sorrow; know,[pg 282]That tears now trickling down, he sawTen thousand years ago;
Dispute you this? O! stand in awe,
And cease your sorrow; know,
That tears now trickling down, he saw
Ten thousand years ago;
And twice ten thousand hence, if youYour temper reconcileTo reason's bound, will he beholdYour prudence with a smile;
And twice ten thousand hence, if you
Your temper reconcile
To reason's bound, will he behold
Your prudence with a smile;
A smile, which through eternityDiffuses so bright rays,The dimmest deifies e'en guilt,If guilt, at last, obeys:
A smile, which through eternity
Diffuses so bright rays,
The dimmest deifies e'en guilt,
If guilt, at last, obeys:
Your guilt (for guilt it is to mournWhen such a sovereign reigns),Your guilt diminish; peace pursue;How glorious peace in pains!
Your guilt (for guilt it is to mourn
When such a sovereign reigns),
Your guilt diminish; peace pursue;
How glorious peace in pains!
Here, then, your sorrows cease; if not,Think how unhappy they,Who guilt increase by streaming tears,Which guilt should wash away;
Here, then, your sorrows cease; if not,
Think how unhappy they,
Who guilt increase by streaming tears,
Which guilt should wash away;
Of tears that gush profuse restrain;Whence burst those dismal sighs?They from the throbbing breast of one(Strange truth!) most happy rise;
Of tears that gush profuse restrain;
Whence burst those dismal sighs?
They from the throbbing breast of one
(Strange truth!) most happy rise;
Not angels (hear it, and exult!)Enjoy a larger share[pg 283]Than is indulg'd to you, and yours,Of God's impartial care;
Not angels (hear it, and exult!)
Enjoy a larger share
Than is indulg'd to you, and yours,
Of God's impartial care;
Anxious for each, as if on eachHis care for all was thrown;For all his care as absolute,As all had been but one.
Anxious for each, as if on each
His care for all was thrown;
For all his care as absolute,
As all had been but one.
And is he then so near! so kind!—How little then, and great,That riddle, man! O! let me gazeAt wonders in his fate;
And is he then so near! so kind!—
How little then, and great,
That riddle, man! O! let me gaze
At wonders in his fate;
His fate, who yesterday did crawlA worm from darkness deep,And shall, with brother worms, beneathA turf, to-morrow sleep;
His fate, who yesterday did crawl
A worm from darkness deep,
And shall, with brother worms, beneath
A turf, to-morrow sleep;
How mean!—And yet, if well obey'dHis mighty Master's call,The whole creation for mean manIs deem'd a boon too small:
How mean!—And yet, if well obey'd
His mighty Master's call,
The whole creation for mean man
Is deem'd a boon too small:
Too small the whole creation deem'dFor emmets in the dust!Account amazing! yet most true;My song is bold, yet just:
Too small the whole creation deem'd
For emmets in the dust!
Account amazing! yet most true;
My song is bold, yet just:
Man born for infinite, in whomNor period can destroy[pg 284]The power, in exquisite extremes,To suffer, or enjoy;
Man born for infinite, in whom
Nor period can destroy
The power, in exquisite extremes,
To suffer, or enjoy;
Give him earth's empire (if no more)He's beggar'd, and undone!Imprison'd in unbounded space!Benighted by the sun!
Give him earth's empire (if no more)
He's beggar'd, and undone!
Imprison'd in unbounded space!
Benighted by the sun!
For what the sun's meridian blazeTo the most feeble rayWhich glimmers from the distant dawnOf uncreated day?
For what the sun's meridian blaze
To the most feeble ray
Which glimmers from the distant dawn
Of uncreated day?
'Tis not the poet's rapture feign'dSwells here the vain to please;The mind most sober kindles mostAt truths sublime as these;
'Tis not the poet's rapture feign'd
Swells here the vain to please;
The mind most sober kindles most
At truths sublime as these;
They warm e'en me.—I dare not say,Divine ambition stroveNot to bless only, but confound,Nay, fright us with its love;
They warm e'en me.—I dare not say,
Divine ambition strove
Not to bless only, but confound,
Nay, fright us with its love;
And yet so frightful what, or kind,As that the rending rock,The darken'd sun, and rising dead,So formidable spoke?
And yet so frightful what, or kind,
As that the rending rock,
The darken'd sun, and rising dead,
So formidable spoke?
And are we darker than that sun?Than rocks more hard, and blind?[pg 285]We are;—if not to such a GodIn agonies resigned.
And are we darker than that sun?
Than rocks more hard, and blind?
We are;—if not to such a God
In agonies resigned.
Yes, e'en in agonies forbearTo doubt almighty love;Whate'er endears eternity,Is mercy from above;
Yes, e'en in agonies forbear
To doubt almighty love;
Whate'er endears eternity,
Is mercy from above;
What most imbitters time, that mostEternity endears,And thus, by plunging in distress,Exalts us to the spheres;
What most imbitters time, that most
Eternity endears,
And thus, by plunging in distress,
Exalts us to the spheres;
Joy's fountain head! where bliss o'er bliss,O'er wonders wonders rise,And an Omnipotence preparesIts banquet for the wise:
Joy's fountain head! where bliss o'er bliss,
O'er wonders wonders rise,
And an Omnipotence prepares
Its banquet for the wise:
Ambrosial banquet! rich in winesNectareous to the soul!What transports sparkle from the stream,As angels fill the bowl!
Ambrosial banquet! rich in wines
Nectareous to the soul!
What transports sparkle from the stream,
As angels fill the bowl!
Fountain profuse of every bliss!Good-will immense prevails;Man's line can't fathom its profoundAn angel's plummet fails.
Fountain profuse of every bliss!
Good-will immense prevails;
Man's line can't fathom its profound
An angel's plummet fails.
Thy love and might, by what they know,Who judge, nor dream of more;[pg 286]They ask a drop, how deep the sea!One sand, how wide the shore!
Thy love and might, by what they know,
Who judge, nor dream of more;
They ask a drop, how deep the sea!
One sand, how wide the shore!
Of thy exuberant good-will,Offended Deity!The thousandth part who comprehends,A deity is he.
Of thy exuberant good-will,
Offended Deity!
The thousandth part who comprehends,
A deity is he.
How yonder ample azure fieldWith radiant worlds is sown!How tubes astonish us with thoseMore deep in ether thrown!
How yonder ample azure field
With radiant worlds is sown!
How tubes astonish us with those
More deep in ether thrown!
And those beyond of brighter worldsWhy not a million more?—In lieu of answer, let us allFall prostrate, and adore.
And those beyond of brighter worlds
Why not a million more?—
In lieu of answer, let us all
Fall prostrate, and adore.
Since thou art infinite in power,Nor thy indulgence less;Since man, quite impotent and blind,Oft drops into distress;
Since thou art infinite in power,
Nor thy indulgence less;
Since man, quite impotent and blind,
Oft drops into distress;
Say, what is resignation? 'T isMan's weakness understood;And wisdom grasping, with a handFar stronger, every good.
Say, what is resignation? 'T is
Man's weakness understood;
And wisdom grasping, with a hand
Far stronger, every good.
Let rash repiners stand appall'd,In thee who dare not trust;[pg 287]Whose abject souls, like demons dark,Are murmuring in the dust;
Let rash repiners stand appall'd,
In thee who dare not trust;
Whose abject souls, like demons dark,
Are murmuring in the dust;
For man to murmur, or repineAt what by thee is done,No less absurd, than to complainOf darkness in the sun.
For man to murmur, or repine
At what by thee is done,
No less absurd, than to complain
Of darkness in the sun.
Who would not, with a heart at ease,Bright eye, unclouded brow,Wisdom and goodness at the helm,The roughest ocean plough?
Who would not, with a heart at ease,
Bright eye, unclouded brow,
Wisdom and goodness at the helm,
The roughest ocean plough?
What, though I'm swallow'd in the deep?Though mountains o'er me roar?Jehovah reigns! as Jonah safe,I'm landed, and adore:
What, though I'm swallow'd in the deep?
Though mountains o'er me roar?
Jehovah reigns! as Jonah safe,
I'm landed, and adore:
Thy will is welcome, let it wearIts most tremendous form;Roar, waves; rage, winds! I know that thouCanst save me by a storm.
Thy will is welcome, let it wear
Its most tremendous form;
Roar, waves; rage, winds! I know that thou
Canst save me by a storm.
From the immortal spirits born,To thee, their fountain, flow,If wise; as curl'd around to theirsMeandering streams below:
From the immortal spirits born,
To thee, their fountain, flow,
If wise; as curl'd around to theirs
Meandering streams below:
Not less compell'd by reason's call,To thee our souls aspire,[pg 288]Than to thy skies, by nature's law,High mounts material fire;
Not less compell'd by reason's call,
To thee our souls aspire,
Than to thy skies, by nature's law,
High mounts material fire;
To thee aspiring they exult,I feel my spirits rise,I feel myself thy son, and pantFor patrimonial skies;
To thee aspiring they exult,
I feel my spirits rise,
I feel myself thy son, and pant
For patrimonial skies;
Since ardent thirst of future good,And generous sense of past,To thee man's prudence strongly ties,And binds affection fast;
Since ardent thirst of future good,
And generous sense of past,
To thee man's prudence strongly ties,
And binds affection fast;
Since great thy love, and great our want,And men the wisest blind,And bliss our aim; pronounce us allDistracted, or resigned;
Since great thy love, and great our want,
And men the wisest blind,
And bliss our aim; pronounce us all
Distracted, or resigned;
Resign'd through duty, interest, shame;Deep shame! dare I complain,When (wondrous truth!) in heaven itselfJoy ow'd its birth to pain?
Resign'd through duty, interest, shame;
Deep shame! dare I complain,
When (wondrous truth!) in heaven itself
Joy ow'd its birth to pain?
And pain for me! for me was drain'dGall's overflowing bowl;And shall one drop to murmur boldProvoke my guilty soul?
And pain for me! for me was drain'd
Gall's overflowing bowl;
And shall one drop to murmur bold
Provoke my guilty soul?
If pardon'd this, what cause, what crimeCan indignation raise?[pg 289]The sun was lighted up to shine,And man was born to praise;
If pardon'd this, what cause, what crime
Can indignation raise?
The sun was lighted up to shine,
And man was born to praise;
And when to praise the man shall cease,Or sun to strike the view;A cloud dishonors both; but man'sThe blacker of the two:
And when to praise the man shall cease,
Or sun to strike the view;
A cloud dishonors both; but man's
The blacker of the two:
For oh! ingratitude how black!With most profound amazeAt love, which man belov'd o'erlooks,Astonish'd angels gaze.
For oh! ingratitude how black!
With most profound amaze
At love, which man belov'd o'erlooks,
Astonish'd angels gaze.
Praise cheers, and warms, like generous wine;Praise, more divine than prayer;Prayer points our ready path to heaven;Praise is already there.
Praise cheers, and warms, like generous wine;
Praise, more divine than prayer;
Prayer points our ready path to heaven;
Praise is already there.
Let plausive resignation rise,And banish all complaint;All virtues thronging into one,It finishes the saint;
Let plausive resignation rise,
And banish all complaint;
All virtues thronging into one,
It finishes the saint;
Makes the man bless'd, as man can be;Life's labours renders light;Darts beams through fate's incumbent gloom,And lights our sun by night;
Makes the man bless'd, as man can be;
Life's labours renders light;
Darts beams through fate's incumbent gloom,
And lights our sun by night;
'T is nature's brightest ornament,The richest gift of grace,[pg 290]Rival of angels, and supremeProprietor of peace;
'T is nature's brightest ornament,
The richest gift of grace,
Rival of angels, and supreme
Proprietor of peace;
Nay, peace beyond, no small degreeOf rapture 't will impart;Know, madam! when your heart's in heaven,"All heaven is in your heart."
Nay, peace beyond, no small degree
Of rapture 't will impart;
Know, madam! when your heart's in heaven,
"All heaven is in your heart."
But who to heaven their hearts can raise?Denied divine support,All virtue dies; support divineThe wise with ardour court:
But who to heaven their hearts can raise?
Denied divine support,
All virtue dies; support divine
The wise with ardour court:
When prayer partakes the seraph's fire,'T is mounted on his wing,Bursts thro' heaven's crystal gates, andSure audience of its king:
When prayer partakes the seraph's fire,
'T is mounted on his wing,
Bursts thro' heaven's crystal gates, and
Sure audience of its king:
The labouring soul from sore distressThat bless'd expedient frees;I see you far advanc'd in peace;I see you on your knees:
The labouring soul from sore distress
That bless'd expedient frees;
I see you far advanc'd in peace;
I see you on your knees:
How on that posture has the beamDivine for ever shone!An humble heart, God's other seat!58The rival of his throne:
How on that posture has the beam
Divine for ever shone!
An humble heart, God's other seat!58
The rival of his throne:
And stoops Omnipotence so low!And condescends to dwell,[pg 291]Eternity's inhabitant,Well pleas'd, in such a cell?
And stoops Omnipotence so low!
And condescends to dwell,
Eternity's inhabitant,
Well pleas'd, in such a cell?
Such honour how shall we repay?How treat our guest divine?The sacrifice supreme be slain!Let self-will die: resign.
Such honour how shall we repay?
How treat our guest divine?
The sacrifice supreme be slain!
Let self-will die: resign.
Thus far, at large, on our disease;Now let the cause be shown,Whence rises, and will ever rise,The dismal human groan:
Thus far, at large, on our disease;
Now let the cause be shown,
Whence rises, and will ever rise,
The dismal human groan:
What our sole fountain of distress?Strong passion for this scene;That trifles make important, thingsOf mighty moment mean:
What our sole fountain of distress?
Strong passion for this scene;
That trifles make important, things
Of mighty moment mean:
When earth's dark maxims poison shedOn our polluted souls,Our hearts and interests fly as farAsunder, as the poles.
When earth's dark maxims poison shed
On our polluted souls,
Our hearts and interests fly as far
Asunder, as the poles.
Like princes in a cottage nurs'd,Unknown their royal race,With abject aims, and sordid joys,Our grandeur we disgrace;
Like princes in a cottage nurs'd,
Unknown their royal race,
With abject aims, and sordid joys,
Our grandeur we disgrace;
O! for an Archimedes new,Of moral powers possess'd,[pg 292]The world to move, and quite expelThat traitor from the breast.
O! for an Archimedes new,
Of moral powers possess'd,
The world to move, and quite expel
That traitor from the breast.
No small advantage may be reap'dFrom thought whence we descend;From weighing well, and prizing weigh'dOur origin, and end:
No small advantage may be reap'd
From thought whence we descend;
From weighing well, and prizing weigh'd
Our origin, and end:
From far above the glorious sunTo this dim scene we came:And may, if wise, for ever baskIn great Jehovah's beam:
From far above the glorious sun
To this dim scene we came:
And may, if wise, for ever bask
In great Jehovah's beam:
Let that bright beam on reason rous'dIn awful lustre rise,Earth's giant ills are dwarf'd at once,And all disquiet dies.
Let that bright beam on reason rous'd
In awful lustre rise,
Earth's giant ills are dwarf'd at once,
And all disquiet dies.
Earth's glories too their splendour lose,Those phantoms charm no more;Empire's a feather for a fool,And Indian mines are poor:
Earth's glories too their splendour lose,
Those phantoms charm no more;
Empire's a feather for a fool,
And Indian mines are poor:
Then levell'd quite, whilst yet alive,The monarch and his slave;Not wait enlighten'd minds to learnThat lesson from the grave:
Then levell'd quite, whilst yet alive,
The monarch and his slave;
Not wait enlighten'd minds to learn
That lesson from the grave:
A George the Third would then be lowAs Lewis in renown,[pg 293]Could he not boast of glory moreThan sparkles from a crown.
A George the Third would then be low
As Lewis in renown,
Could he not boast of glory more
Than sparkles from a crown.
When human glory rises highAs human glory can;When, though the king is truly great,Still greater is the man;
When human glory rises high
As human glory can;
When, though the king is truly great,
Still greater is the man;
The man is dead, where virtue fails;And though the monarch proudIn grandeur shines, his gorgeous robeIs but a gaudy shroud.
The man is dead, where virtue fails;
And though the monarch proud
In grandeur shines, his gorgeous robe
Is but a gaudy shroud.
Wisdom! where art thou? None on earth,Though grasping wealth, fame, power,But what, O death! through thy approach,Is wiser every hour;
Wisdom! where art thou? None on earth,
Though grasping wealth, fame, power,
But what, O death! through thy approach,
Is wiser every hour;
Approach how swift, how unconfin'd!Worms feast on viands rare,Those little epicures have kingsTo grace their bill of fare:
Approach how swift, how unconfin'd!
Worms feast on viands rare,
Those little epicures have kings
To grace their bill of fare:
From kings what resignation dueTo that almighty will,Which thrones bestows, and, when they fail,Can throne them higher still!
From kings what resignation due
To that almighty will,
Which thrones bestows, and, when they fail,
Can throne them higher still!
Who truly great? The good and brave,The masters of a mind[pg 294]The will divine to do resolv'd,To suffer it resign'd.
Who truly great? The good and brave,
The masters of a mind
The will divine to do resolv'd,
To suffer it resign'd.
Madam! if that may give it weight,The trifle you receiveIs dated from a solemn scene,The border of the grave;
Madam! if that may give it weight,
The trifle you receive
Is dated from a solemn scene,
The border of the grave;
Where strongly strikes the trembling soulEternity's dread power,As bursting on it through the thinPartition of an hour;
Where strongly strikes the trembling soul
Eternity's dread power,
As bursting on it through the thin
Partition of an hour;
Hear this, Voltaire! but this, from me,Runs hazard of your frown;However, spare it; ere you die,Such thoughts will be your own.
Hear this, Voltaire! but this, from me,
Runs hazard of your frown;
However, spare it; ere you die,
Such thoughts will be your own.
In mercy to yourself forbearMy notions to chastise,Lest unawares the gay VoltaireShould blame Voltaire the wise:
In mercy to yourself forbear
My notions to chastise,
Lest unawares the gay Voltaire
Should blame Voltaire the wise:
Fame's trumpet rattling in your ear,Now, makes us disagree;When a far louder trumpet sounds,Voltaire will close with me:
Fame's trumpet rattling in your ear,
Now, makes us disagree;
When a far louder trumpet sounds,
Voltaire will close with me:
How shocking is that modesty,Which keeps some honest men[pg 295]From urging what their hearts suggest,When brav'd by folly's pen.
How shocking is that modesty,
Which keeps some honest men
From urging what their hearts suggest,
When brav'd by folly's pen.
Assaulting truths, of which in allIs sown the sacred seed!Our constitution's orthodox,And closes with our creed:
Assaulting truths, of which in all
Is sown the sacred seed!
Our constitution's orthodox,
And closes with our creed:
What then are they, whose proud conceitsSuperior wisdom boast?Wretches, who fight their own belief,And labour to be lost!
What then are they, whose proud conceits
Superior wisdom boast?
Wretches, who fight their own belief,
And labour to be lost!
Though vice by no superior joysHer heroes keeps in pay;Through pure disinterested loveOf ruin they obey!
Though vice by no superior joys
Her heroes keeps in pay;
Through pure disinterested love
Of ruin they obey!
Strict their devotion to the wrong,Though tempted by no prize;Hard their commandments, and their creedA magazine of lies
Strict their devotion to the wrong,
Though tempted by no prize;
Hard their commandments, and their creed
A magazine of lies
From fancy's forge: gay fancy smilesAt reason plain, and cool;Fancy, whose curious trade it isTo make the finest fool.
From fancy's forge: gay fancy smiles
At reason plain, and cool;
Fancy, whose curious trade it is
To make the finest fool.