Remember, if He guard thee and secure, Whoe'er assails thee, thy success is sure; 700 But if He leave thee, though the skill and pow'r And thou could'st laugh away the fear of harin, Say not, (and if the thought of such defence Through the dry leaves and pants upon the strings, A nation scourg'd, yet tardy to repent. 705 710 715 720 I know the warning song is sung in vain ; 725 Reclaim the wand'ring thousands, and bring home 730 HOPE. doceas iter, et sacra ostea pandas. VIRG. En. 6. ASK what is human life-the sage replies, A scene of fancied bliss and heart-felt care, 5 10 15 By which Heav'n rules the mix'd affairs of man ; Through life's sad remnant, what no sighs restore : 8 20 Our years a fruitless race without a prize, 25 35 35 Dangling his cane about, and taking snuff, Lothario cries, What philosophick stuffO querulous and weak !-whose useless brain Once thought of nothing, and now thinks in vain; 30 Whose eye reverted weeps o'er all the past, Whose prospect shows thee a disheart'ning 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 priz'd, when plac'd 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; 40 Banks cloth'd with flow'rs, groves fill'd with sprightly sounds, 45 The yellow tilth, green meads, rocks, rising grounds, Streams edg'd with osiers, fatt'ning ev'ry 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, 50 Ten thousand charms, that only fools despise, Or Pride can look at with indiff'rent eyes, All speak one language, all with one sweet voice Man feels the spur of passions and desires; 55 And she gives largely more than he requires ; The wretch may pine, while to his smell, taste, sight, 60 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, 65 That Heav'n's intentions are not what they seem, Thus things terrestrial wear a different hue, As youth or age persuades; and neither true. 70 So Flora's wreath through colour'd crystal seen, 75 To fill the dull vacuity till four; And, just when ev'ning turns the blue vault gray, 80 To spend two hours in dressing for the day: Through mere necessity to close his eyes 85 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 ev'ry breath, Serves merely as a soil for discontent To thrive in; an incumbrance ere half spent. O weariness beyond what asses feel, That tread the circuit of the cistern wheel; 100 A dull rotation, never at a stay, That remedy, not hid in deeps profound, 105 110 Life is his gift, from whom whate'er life needs, 115 With ev'ry good and perfect gift proceeds; 120 Its value what no thought can ascertain, 125 Nor all an angel's eloquence explain. Men deal with life as children with their play, Who first misuse, then cast their toys away; Live to no sober purpose, and contend That their Creator had no serious end. 130 When God and man stand opposite in view, Man's disappointment must of course ensue. The just Creator condescends to write, His names of wisdom, goodness, pow'r, and love, 135 |