 | [Poems by Dwight in] American poems, selected and original |  |
EPISTLE to Col. HUMPHRYES.
Greenfield, 1785.
From realms, where nature sports in youthful prime,
Where Hesper lingers o'er his darling clime,
Where sunny genius lights his sacred flame,
Where rising science casts her morning beam,
Where empire's final throne in pomp ascends,
Where pilgrim freedom finds her vanish'd friends,
The world renews, and man from eastern fires,
Phœnix divine, again to Heaven aspires,
Health to my friend this happy verse conveys,
His fond attendant o'er the Atlantic seas.
Where Hesper lingers o'er his darling clime,
Where sunny genius lights his sacred flame,
Where rising science casts her morning beam,
Where empire's final throne in pomp ascends,
Where pilgrim freedom finds her vanish'd friends,
The world renews, and man from eastern fires,
Phœnix divine, again to Heaven aspires,
Health to my friend this happy verse conveys,
His fond attendant o'er the Atlantic seas.
Health to my friend let every wish prolong;
Be this the burden of each artless song;
This in the prayer of every morn arise;
Thou angel guardian, waft it to the skies!
His devious course let fostering Heaven survey;
Nor ills betide, nor foes arrest his way.
Be this the burden of each artless song;
This in the prayer of every morn arise;
Thou angel guardian, waft it to the skies!
76
Nor ills betide, nor foes arrest his way.
Nor health alone—may bliss thy path attend;
May truth direct thee, and may peace befriend;
From virtue's fount thy taintless actions flow;
The shield of conscience blunt the dart of woe;
To rising bliss refin'd above alloy,
Where budding wishes blossom into joy,
Where glory dwells, where saints and seraphs sing,
Let Heaven, in prospect, tempt thy lifted wing.
May truth direct thee, and may peace befriend;
From virtue's fount thy taintless actions flow;
The shield of conscience blunt the dart of woe;
To rising bliss refin'd above alloy,
Where budding wishes blossom into joy,
Where glory dwells, where saints and seraphs sing,
Let Heaven, in prospect, tempt thy lifted wing.
Me the same views, the same soft tide of cares,
Bear gently onward down the stream of years,
Still the same duties call my course along;
Still grows, at times, the pain-deluding song;
Still scenes domestic earthly joys refine,
Where blest Maria mingles cares with mine;
The same fond circle still my life endears,
Where Fairfield's elms, or Stamford's groupe appears;
Or where, in rural guise, around me smile
Mansions of peace, and Greenfield's beauteous hill;
Still to my cot the friend delighted hies,
And one lov'd parent waits beneath the skies.
Bear gently onward down the stream of years,
Still the same duties call my course along;
Still grows, at times, the pain-deluding song;
Still scenes domestic earthly joys refine,
Where blest Maria mingles cares with mine;
The same fond circle still my life endears,
Where Fairfield's elms, or Stamford's groupe appears;
Or where, in rural guise, around me smile
Mansions of peace, and Greenfield's beauteous hill;
Still to my cot the friend delighted hies,
And one lov'd parent waits beneath the skies.
To thee, far summon'd from each native scene,
With half the breadth of this wide world between,
How bless'd the news my happy verse conveys,
Of friends, divided by interfluent seas?
Health, peace, and competence, their walks surround,
On the bright margin of yon beauteous Sound;
Where Hartford sees the first of waters glide,
Or where thy Avon winds his silver tide.
With half the breadth of this wide world between,
How bless'd the news my happy verse conveys,
Of friends, divided by interfluent seas?
Health, peace, and competence, their walks surround,
On the bright margin of yon beauteous Sound;
Where Hartford sees the first of waters glide,
Or where thy Avon winds his silver tide.
77
Yet thou must mourn a friend,
a brother dear,
And o'er departed merit drop a tear.
Him sense illum'd, the hero's warmth inspir'd,
Grace taught to please, and patriot virtue fir'd;
Alike in peace, in war, at home, abroad,
Worth gain'd him honor, where his footsteps trode;
Yet all in vain: his laurel'd garlands bloom;
But waste their beauty on the untimely tomb.
And o'er departed merit drop a tear.
Him sense illum'd, the hero's warmth inspir'd,
Grace taught to please, and patriot virtue fir'd;
Alike in peace, in war, at home, abroad,
Worth gain'd him honor, where his footsteps trode;
Yet all in vain: his laurel'd garlands bloom;
But waste their beauty on the untimely tomb.
Meantime, invited o'er the Atlantic tide,
Where arts refin'd allure thy feet aside,
May'st thou, unmov'd by splendor's painted charms,
And steel'd, when pleasure smiling spreads her arms,
The great simplicity of soul retain,
The humble fear of Heaven, and love of man.
When round thy course temptations sweetly throng,
When warbling sirens chant the luscious song,
When wealth's fair bubble beams its hues afar,
When grandeur calls thee to her golden car,
When pleasure opes the bosom bright of joy,
And the dy'd serpent gazes to destroy;
Oh! may the heavenly Guide thy passions warm,
Up virtue's hills thy feet resistless charm,
Shew thee what crowns reward the glorious strife,
And quicken fainting duty into life.
Where arts refin'd allure thy feet aside,
May'st thou, unmov'd by splendor's painted charms,
And steel'd, when pleasure smiling spreads her arms,
The great simplicity of soul retain,
The humble fear of Heaven, and love of man.
When round thy course temptations sweetly throng,
When warbling sirens chant the luscious song,
When wealth's fair bubble beams its hues afar,
When grandeur calls thee to her golden car,
When pleasure opes the bosom bright of joy,
And the dy'd serpent gazes to destroy;
Oh! may the heavenly Guide thy passions warm,
Up virtue's hills thy feet resistless charm,
Shew thee what crowns reward the glorious strife,
And quicken fainting duty into life.
Oft has thine eyes, with glance indignant seen
Columbia's youths, unfolding into men,
Their minds to improve, their manners to adorn,
To Europe's climes by fond indulgence borne;
Oft hast thou seen those youths, at custom's shrine,
Victims to pride, to folly, and to sin,
Of worth bereft, of real sense forlorn,
Their land forget, their friends, their freedom spurn;
Each noble cause, each solid good desert,
For splendor happiness, and truth for art;
The plain, frank manners of their race despise,
Fair without fraud, and great without disguise;
Where, thro the life the heart uncover'd ran,
And spoke the native dignity of man.
Columbia's youths, unfolding into men,
78
To Europe's climes by fond indulgence borne;
Oft hast thou seen those youths, at custom's shrine,
Victims to pride, to folly, and to sin,
Of worth bereft, of real sense forlorn,
Their land forget, their friends, their freedom spurn;
Each noble cause, each solid good desert,
For splendor happiness, and truth for art;
The plain, frank manners of their race despise,
Fair without fraud, and great without disguise;
Where, thro the life the heart uncover'd ran,
And spoke the native dignity of man.
For these, the gain let Virtue blush to hear,
And each sad parent drop the plaintive tear!
Train'd in foul stews, impoison'd by the stage,
Hoyl'd into gaming, Keyser'd into age,
To smooth hypocrisy by Stanhope led,
To truth an alien, and to virtue dead,
Swoln with an English butcher's sour disdain,
Or to a Fribble dwindled from a man,
Homeward again behold the jackdaw run,
And yield his sire the ruins of a son!
And each sad parent drop the plaintive tear!
Train'd in foul stews, impoison'd by the stage,
Hoyl'd into gaming, Keyser'd into age,
To smooth hypocrisy by Stanhope led,
To truth an alien, and to virtue dead,
Swoln with an English butcher's sour disdain,
Or to a Fribble dwindled from a man,
Homeward again behold the jackdaw run,
And yield his sire the ruins of a son!
What tho' his mind no thought has e'er perplex'd,
Converse illum'd, or observations vex'd;
Yet here, in each debate, a judge he shines,
Of all, that man enlarges, or refines;
Religion, science, politics, and song;
A prodigy his parts; an oracle his tongue.
Hist! hist! ye mere Americans, attend;
Ope wide your mouths; your knees in homage bend;
While Curl discloses to the raptur'd view
What Peter, Paul, and Moses, never knew;
The light of new-born wisdom sheds abroad,
And adds a leanto to the word of God.
What Creole wretch shall dare, with home-made foils;
Attack opinions, brought three thousand miles;
Sense, in no common way to mortals given,
But on Atlantic travellers breath'd by Heaven;
A head, en queue, by Monsieur Frizzle dress'd;
Manners, a Paris Taylor's arts invest;
Pure criticism, form'd from acted plays;
And graces, that would even a Stanhope grace?
Commercial wisdom, merchants here inhale
From him, whose eye hath seen the unfinish'd bale;
Whose feet have pass'd the shop, where pins were sold,
The wire was silver'd, and the heads were roll'd!
Conven'd, ye lawyers, make your humblest leg!
Here stands the man has seen Lord Mansfield's wig!
Physicians hush'd, hear Galen's lips distil,
From Buchán's contents, all the Art to heal!
Divines, with reverence cease your scripture whims,
And learn this male Minerva's moral schemes;
Schemes theologic found in Drury-lane,
That prove the bible false, and virtue vain!
Heavens! shall a child in learning, and in wit,
O'er Europe's climes, a bird of passage flit;
There, as at home, his stripling self unknown,
By novel wonders stupified to stone,
Shut from the wise, and by no converse taught,
No well-read day, nor hour of serious thought,
His head by pleasure, vice, and hurry, turn'd,
All prudence trampled, all improvements spurn'd;
Shall he, with less of Europe in his cap,
Than satchell'd school-boy guesses from the map,
On every subject struttingly decree,
Ken the far shore, and search the unfathom'd sea,
Where learning has her lamp for ages oil'd,
Where Newton ponders, and where Berkeley toil'd?
Of all the plagues, that rise in human shape,
Good Heaven, preserve us from the travell'd Ape!
“Peace to all such:” but were there one, whose mind
Bold genius wing'd, and converse pure, refin'd,
By nature prompted science' realms to roam,
And both her Indies bring with rapture home;
Who men, and manners, search'd with eagle eye,
Exact to weigh, and curious to descry;
Himself who burnish'd with the hand of care,
Till kings might boast so bright a gem to wear;
Should he, deep plung'd in Circe's sensual bowl,
Imbrue his native manliness of soul,
With eye estrang'd, from fair Columbia turn,
Her youth, her innocence, and beauty scorn;
To that soul harlot, Europe, yield his mind,
Witch'd by her smiles, and to her snares resign'd;
To nature's bloom prefer the rouge of art,
A tinsell'd outside to a golden heart,
Show, to the bliss by simple freedom given,
To virtue, Stanhope, and Voltaire to Heaven;
Who but must wish, the apostate youth to see?
Who but must agonize, were Humphreys he?
But all thy soul shall 'scape, the escape to aid,
Fair to thy view be every motive spread.
Of each gay cause the dire effects survey,
And bring the painted tomb disclos'd to day.
Tho' there proud pomp uprears his throne on high;
Tho' there the golden palace lights the sky;
Tho' wealth unfolds her gay, Edenian seats,
Her walk of grandeur, and her wild of sweets;
The stage, the park, the ring, the dance, the feast,
Charm the pall'd eye, and lure the loathing taste;
Yet there fierce war unceasing sounds alarms;
Pride blows the trump, and millions rush to arms;
See steel and fire extinguish human good!
See realms manur'd with corses, and with blood!
At slaughter's shrine expires the new-born-joy,
And all Jehovah's bounty fiends destroy.
See the huge jail in gloomy grandeur rise,
Low'r o'er mankind, and mock the tempted skies!
Hear the chain clank! the bursting groan attend!
And mark the neighboring gibbet's pride ascend.
See earth's fair face insatiate luxury spoils!
For one poor tyrant, lo, a province toils!
To brothels, half the female world is driven,
Lost to themselves, and reprobates of heaven.
There too refinement glances o'er the mind;
And nought but vice, and outside, is refin'd;
To vice auspicious, brilliant manners blend,
The waxen saint, and sinner, foe and friend,
Melt from the soul each virtue, as they shine,
And warm the impoison'd blossom into sin.
In fair Columbia's realms, how chang'd the plan;
Where all things bloom, but, first of all things, man!
Lord of himself, the independent swain,
Sees no superior stalk the happy plain:
His house, his herd, his harvest, all his own,
His farm a kingdom, and his chair a throne.
Unblench'd by foul hypocrisy, the soul
Speaks in her face, and bids his accents roll;
(Her wings unclipp'd) with fire instinctive warms,
Strong pulses feels, and bold conceptions forms;
At noblest objects aims her flight supreme,
The purpose vast, and enterprize extreme.
Hence round the pole her sons exalt the sail,
Search southern seas, and rouse the Falkland whale;
Or on bold pinions hail the Asian skies,
And bid new stars in spicy oceans rise.
Hence in bright arms her chiefs superior flame,
Even now triumphant on the steep of fame,
Where Vernon's Hero mounts the throne sublime,
And sees no rival grace the reign of time.
Hence countless honours rising Med'cine claims;
Hence Law presents her constellated names;
The Sacred Science sees her concave bright
Instarr'd, and beauteous, with the sons of light;
Hence Edwards cheer'd the world with moral day,
And Franklin walk'd, unhurt, the realms where lightnings play.
Mechanic genius hence exalts his eye,
All powers to measure, and all scenes descry,
Bids Rittenhouse the heavenly system feign,
And Bushnell search the chambers of the main.
Hence too, where Trumbull leads the ardent throng,
Ascending bards begin the immortal song:
Let glowing friendship wake the cheerful lyre,
Blest to commend, and pleas'd to catch the fire.
Be theirs the fame, to bards how rarely given!
To fill with worth the part assign'd by Heaven;
Distinguish'd actors on life's busy stage,
Lov'd by mankind, and useful to the age;
While science round them twines her vernal bays,
And sense directs, and genius fires their lays.
While this fair land commands thy feet to roam,
And, all Columbian, still thou plan'st for home,
From those bright sages, with whose mission join'd,
Thou seek'st to build the interests of mankind,
Experience, wisdom, honour, may'st thou gain,
The zeal for country, and the love of man.
There thro' the civil science may'st thou run;
There learn how empires are preserv'd, or won;
How arts politic wide dominions sway;
How well-train'd navies bid the world obey;
How war's imperial car commands the plain,
Or rolls majestic o'er the subject main;
Thro' earth, how commerce spreads a softer sway,
And Gallia's sons negociate realms away.
Converse illum'd, or observations vex'd;
Yet here, in each debate, a judge he shines,
Of all, that man enlarges, or refines;
Religion, science, politics, and song;
A prodigy his parts; an oracle his tongue.
Hist! hist! ye mere Americans, attend;
Ope wide your mouths; your knees in homage bend;
79
What Peter, Paul, and Moses, never knew;
The light of new-born wisdom sheds abroad,
And adds a leanto to the word of God.
What Creole wretch shall dare, with home-made foils;
Attack opinions, brought three thousand miles;
Sense, in no common way to mortals given,
But on Atlantic travellers breath'd by Heaven;
A head, en queue, by Monsieur Frizzle dress'd;
Manners, a Paris Taylor's arts invest;
Pure criticism, form'd from acted plays;
And graces, that would even a Stanhope grace?
Commercial wisdom, merchants here inhale
From him, whose eye hath seen the unfinish'd bale;
Whose feet have pass'd the shop, where pins were sold,
The wire was silver'd, and the heads were roll'd!
Conven'd, ye lawyers, make your humblest leg!
Here stands the man has seen Lord Mansfield's wig!
Physicians hush'd, hear Galen's lips distil,
From Buchán's contents, all the Art to heal!
Divines, with reverence cease your scripture whims,
And learn this male Minerva's moral schemes;
Schemes theologic found in Drury-lane,
That prove the bible false, and virtue vain!
Heavens! shall a child in learning, and in wit,
O'er Europe's climes, a bird of passage flit;
80
By novel wonders stupified to stone,
Shut from the wise, and by no converse taught,
No well-read day, nor hour of serious thought,
His head by pleasure, vice, and hurry, turn'd,
All prudence trampled, all improvements spurn'd;
Shall he, with less of Europe in his cap,
Than satchell'd school-boy guesses from the map,
On every subject struttingly decree,
Ken the far shore, and search the unfathom'd sea,
Where learning has her lamp for ages oil'd,
Where Newton ponders, and where Berkeley toil'd?
Of all the plagues, that rise in human shape,
Good Heaven, preserve us from the travell'd Ape!
“Peace to all such:” but were there one, whose mind
Bold genius wing'd, and converse pure, refin'd,
By nature prompted science' realms to roam,
And both her Indies bring with rapture home;
Who men, and manners, search'd with eagle eye,
Exact to weigh, and curious to descry;
Himself who burnish'd with the hand of care,
Till kings might boast so bright a gem to wear;
Should he, deep plung'd in Circe's sensual bowl,
Imbrue his native manliness of soul,
With eye estrang'd, from fair Columbia turn,
Her youth, her innocence, and beauty scorn;
To that soul harlot, Europe, yield his mind,
Witch'd by her smiles, and to her snares resign'd;
81
A tinsell'd outside to a golden heart,
Show, to the bliss by simple freedom given,
To virtue, Stanhope, and Voltaire to Heaven;
Who but must wish, the apostate youth to see?
Who but must agonize, were Humphreys he?
But all thy soul shall 'scape, the escape to aid,
Fair to thy view be every motive spread.
Of each gay cause the dire effects survey,
And bring the painted tomb disclos'd to day.
Tho' there proud pomp uprears his throne on high;
Tho' there the golden palace lights the sky;
Tho' wealth unfolds her gay, Edenian seats,
Her walk of grandeur, and her wild of sweets;
The stage, the park, the ring, the dance, the feast,
Charm the pall'd eye, and lure the loathing taste;
Yet there fierce war unceasing sounds alarms;
Pride blows the trump, and millions rush to arms;
See steel and fire extinguish human good!
See realms manur'd with corses, and with blood!
At slaughter's shrine expires the new-born-joy,
And all Jehovah's bounty fiends destroy.
See the huge jail in gloomy grandeur rise,
Low'r o'er mankind, and mock the tempted skies!
Hear the chain clank! the bursting groan attend!
And mark the neighboring gibbet's pride ascend.
See earth's fair face insatiate luxury spoils!
For one poor tyrant, lo, a province toils!
To brothels, half the female world is driven,
Lost to themselves, and reprobates of heaven.
82
And nought but vice, and outside, is refin'd;
To vice auspicious, brilliant manners blend,
The waxen saint, and sinner, foe and friend,
Melt from the soul each virtue, as they shine,
And warm the impoison'd blossom into sin.
In fair Columbia's realms, how chang'd the plan;
Where all things bloom, but, first of all things, man!
Lord of himself, the independent swain,
Sees no superior stalk the happy plain:
His house, his herd, his harvest, all his own,
His farm a kingdom, and his chair a throne.
Unblench'd by foul hypocrisy, the soul
Speaks in her face, and bids his accents roll;
(Her wings unclipp'd) with fire instinctive warms,
Strong pulses feels, and bold conceptions forms;
At noblest objects aims her flight supreme,
The purpose vast, and enterprize extreme.
Hence round the pole her sons exalt the sail,
Search southern seas, and rouse the Falkland whale;
Or on bold pinions hail the Asian skies,
And bid new stars in spicy oceans rise.
Hence in bright arms her chiefs superior flame,
Even now triumphant on the steep of fame,
Where Vernon's Hero mounts the throne sublime,
And sees no rival grace the reign of time.
Hence countless honours rising Med'cine claims;
Hence Law presents her constellated names;
The Sacred Science sees her concave bright
Instarr'd, and beauteous, with the sons of light;
83
And Franklin walk'd, unhurt, the realms where lightnings play.
Mechanic genius hence exalts his eye,
All powers to measure, and all scenes descry,
Bids Rittenhouse the heavenly system feign,
And Bushnell search the chambers of the main.
Hence too, where Trumbull leads the ardent throng,
Ascending bards begin the immortal song:
Let glowing friendship wake the cheerful lyre,
Blest to commend, and pleas'd to catch the fire.
Be theirs the fame, to bards how rarely given!
To fill with worth the part assign'd by Heaven;
Distinguish'd actors on life's busy stage,
Lov'd by mankind, and useful to the age;
While science round them twines her vernal bays,
And sense directs, and genius fires their lays.
While this fair land commands thy feet to roam,
And, all Columbian, still thou plan'st for home,
From those bright sages, with whose mission join'd,
Thou seek'st to build the interests of mankind,
Experience, wisdom, honour, may'st thou gain,
The zeal for country, and the love of man.
There thro' the civil science may'st thou run;
There learn how empires are preserv'd, or won;
How arts politic wide dominions sway;
How well-train'd navies bid the world obey;
How war's imperial car commands the plain,
Or rolls majestic o'er the subject main;
Thro' earth, how commerce spreads a softer sway,
And Gallia's sons negociate realms away.
84
Then, crown'd with every gift, and grace, return,
To add new glories to the western morn;
With sages, heroes, bards, her charms display,
Her arts, arms, virtues, and her happy sway;
Bid o'er the world her constellation rise,
The brightest splendor in the unmeasur'd skies,
Her genial influence thro' all nations roll,
And hush the sound of war from pole to pole.
To add new glories to the western morn;
With sages, heroes, bards, her charms display,
Her arts, arms, virtues, and her happy sway;
Bid o'er the world her constellation rise,
The brightest splendor in the unmeasur'd skies,
Her genial influence thro' all nations roll,
And hush the sound of war from pole to pole.
And oh, may he, who still'd the stormy main,
And lightly wing'd thee o'er the glassy plain,
Thro' life's rough-billow'd sea, with kinder gales,
With skies serener, and with happier sails,
Each shoal escap'd, a far each tempest driven,
And nought but raptures round the enchanted Heaven,
To bliss, fair shore, thy prosperous course convey,
And join my peaceful bark, companion of thy way.
And lightly wing'd thee o'er the glassy plain,
Thro' life's rough-billow'd sea, with kinder gales,
With skies serener, and with happier sails,
Each shoal escap'd, a far each tempest driven,
And nought but raptures round the enchanted Heaven,
To bliss, fair shore, thy prosperous course convey,
And join my peaceful bark, companion of thy way.
| [Poems by Dwight in] American poems, selected and original | |