 | Miscellanies in Prose and Verse |  |
18
The HAPPY LIFE.
Las d' esperer, et de me plaindre
De l' amour des Grands et de sort,
C'est ici que j' attends la mort,
Sans la desirer ou la craindre.
St. Amand.
De l' amour des Grands et de sort,
C'est ici que j' attends la mort,
Sans la desirer ou la craindre.
St. Amand.
Thrice happy they, who in an humble state
Contented live, and aim not to be great;
Whose life not sunk in sloth is free from care,
Nor tost by change, nor stagnant in despair;
Who chearfully receive each mercy given,
And bless the lib'ral hand of bounteous Heaven;
Who with wise authors pass the instructive day,
And wonder how the moments stole away;
Who gently taught by calm experience find
No riches equal to a well form'd mind;
Who not retir'd beyond the sight of life,
Behold its weary cares, its noisy strife;
And safe in virtue's philosophick cell,
Content with thinking right, and acting well,
19
And see the turrets of ambition sink;
Of life without a pang dissolve the tie,
In peace decay, with resignation die.
Breathe out the vital flame in humble trust,
And mingle blameless with their native dust.
| Miscellanies in Prose and Verse | |