Occasional verse, moral and sacred Published for the instruction and amusement of the Candidly Serious and Religious [by Edward Perronet] |
 |
HUMAN ARTIFICE. |
 |
 | Occasional verse, moral and sacred |  |
HUMAN ARTIFICE.
I
Of all that Nature ever made,Or into fair existence brought,
From reptiles to their lordly head,
Endu'd with motion, or its thought;
II
There's nothing that, for guile or art,Pretence, deception, or deceit,
Can Man exceed—except the part
He prides in placing at his feet.
110
III
Deceiv'd herself by the old Snake,That by her ear infus'd her breast;
Like him she holds the beaten track,
Nor follows slow in all the rest.
IV
O, wretched man! and wretched pair!That, once besotted and beguil'd,
Have deep entangled in the snare
Their latest and their fairest child.
V
Tempted by each, they tempt in turn,Destruction find, destruction bring;
And will, as long as meteors burn,
Or wily serpents keep their sting.
| Occasional verse, moral and sacred | |