Poems on several occasions By William Broome ... The second edition, With large Alterations and Additions |
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An Epistle to my Friend Mr. ELIJAH FENTON,
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 | Poems on several occasions |  |
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An Epistle to my Friend Mr. ELIJAH FENTON,
Author of Mariamne, a Tragedy, 1726.
Why art thou slow to strike th'harmonious Shell,
Averse to sing, who know'st to sing so well?
If thy proud Muse the tragic Buskin wears,
Great Sophocles revives and re-appears;
While regularly bold, she nobly sings
Strains, worthy to detain the Ears of Kings;
If by thy Hand th'
Homeric Lyre be strung,
The Lyre returns such Sounds as Homer sung:
The kind Compulsion of a Friend obey,
And tho' reluctant, swell the lofty Lay;
Then list'ning Groves once more shall catch the Sound,
While Grecian Muses sing on British Ground.
Averse to sing, who know'st to sing so well?
If thy proud Muse the tragic Buskin wears,
Great Sophocles revives and re-appears;
While regularly bold, she nobly sings
Strains, worthy to detain the Ears of Kings;
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The Lyre returns such Sounds as Homer sung:
The kind Compulsion of a Friend obey,
And tho' reluctant, swell the lofty Lay;
Then list'ning Groves once more shall catch the Sound,
While Grecian Muses sing on British Ground.
Thus calm and silent thy own
Proteus roves
Thro' pearly Mazes, and thro' coral Groves;
But when, emerging from the azure Main,
Coercive Bands th'unwilling God constrain,
Then heaves his Bosom with prophetic Fires,
And his Tongue speaks sublime, what Heav'n inspires.
Thro' pearly Mazes, and thro' coral Groves;
But when, emerging from the azure Main,
Coercive Bands th'unwilling God constrain,
Then heaves his Bosom with prophetic Fires,
And his Tongue speaks sublime, what Heav'n inspires.
Envy, 'tis true, with barbarous Rage invades
What e'en fierce Lightning spares, the Laurel Shades;
And Critics, byass'd by mistaken Rules,
Like Turkish Zealots, reverence none but Fools.
But Praise from such injurious Tongues is Shame,
They rail the happy Author into Fame;
Thus Phœbus thro' the Zodiac takes his way,
And rises amid Monsters into Day:
Oh Vileness of Mankind! when writing well
Becomes a Crime, and Danger to excel!
With noble Scorn, my Friend, such Insults sees,
And flies from Towns to Wilds, from Men to Trees.
What e'en fierce Lightning spares, the Laurel Shades;
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Like Turkish Zealots, reverence none but Fools.
But Praise from such injurious Tongues is Shame,
They rail the happy Author into Fame;
Thus Phœbus thro' the Zodiac takes his way,
And rises amid Monsters into Day:
Oh Vileness of Mankind! when writing well
Becomes a Crime, and Danger to excel!
With noble Scorn, my Friend, such Insults sees,
And flies from Towns to Wilds, from Men to Trees.
Free from the Lust of Wealth, and glittering Snares,
That make th'unhappy Great in love with Cares,
Me humble Joys in calm Retirement please,
A silent Happiness, and learned Ease,
Deny me Grandeur, Heav'n, but Goodness grant!
A King is less illustrious than a Saint:
Hail, holy Virtue! come thou heav'nly Guest,
Come, fix thy pleasing Empire in my Breast!
Thou know'st her Influence, Friend! thy chearful Mien
Proclaims the Innocence and Peace within;
Such Joys as none but Sons of Virtue know,
Shine in thy Face, and in thy Bosom glow.
That make th'unhappy Great in love with Cares,
Me humble Joys in calm Retirement please,
A silent Happiness, and learned Ease,
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A King is less illustrious than a Saint:
Hail, holy Virtue! come thou heav'nly Guest,
Come, fix thy pleasing Empire in my Breast!
Thou know'st her Influence, Friend! thy chearful Mien
Proclaims the Innocence and Peace within;
Such Joys as none but Sons of Virtue know,
Shine in thy Face, and in thy Bosom glow.
So when the holy Mount the Prophet trod,
And talk'd familiar as a Friend with God;
Cælestial Radiance every Feature shed,
And ambient Glories dawn'd around his Head.
And talk'd familiar as a Friend with God;
Cælestial Radiance every Feature shed,
And ambient Glories dawn'd around his Head.
Sure what th'unthinking Great mistaken call
Their Happiness, is Folly, Folly all!
Like lofty Mountains in the Clouds they hide
Their haughty heads, but swell with barren Pride;
And while low Vales in useful Beauty lie,
Heave their proud naked Summits to the Sky:
In Honour, as in Place, ye Great, transcend!
An Angel fal'n, degenerates to a Fiend:
Th'all-chearing Sun is honour'd with his Shrines,
Not, that he moves aloft, but that he shines:
Why flames the Star on Walpole's generous Breast?
Not that he's highest, but because he's best,
Fond to oblige, in blessing others, blest.
Their Happiness, is Folly, Folly all!
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Their haughty heads, but swell with barren Pride;
And while low Vales in useful Beauty lie,
Heave their proud naked Summits to the Sky:
In Honour, as in Place, ye Great, transcend!
An Angel fal'n, degenerates to a Fiend:
Th'all-chearing Sun is honour'd with his Shrines,
Not, that he moves aloft, but that he shines:
Why flames the Star on Walpole's generous Breast?
Not that he's highest, but because he's best,
Fond to oblige, in blessing others, blest.
How wondrous few, by Avarice uncontroul'd,
Have Virtue to subdue the Thirst of Gold?
The shining Dirt the sordid Wretch ensnares
To buy with mighty Treasures, mighty Cares:
Blindly he courts, misguided by the Will,
A specious Good, and meets a real Ill;
So when Ulysses plough'd the surgy Main;
When now in view appear'd his native Reign,
His wayward Mates th' Æolian Bag unbind,
Expecting Treasures, but out rush'd a Wind;
The sudden Hurricane in Thunder roars,
Buffets the Bark, and whirls it from the Shores.
Have Virtue to subdue the Thirst of Gold?
The shining Dirt the sordid Wretch ensnares
To buy with mighty Treasures, mighty Cares:
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A specious Good, and meets a real Ill;
So when Ulysses plough'd the surgy Main;
When now in view appear'd his native Reign,
His wayward Mates th' Æolian Bag unbind,
Expecting Treasures, but out rush'd a Wind;
The sudden Hurricane in Thunder roars,
Buffets the Bark, and whirls it from the Shores.
O Heav'n! by what vain Passions Man is sway'd,
Proud of his Reason, by his Will betray'd?
Blindly he wanders in pursuit of Vice,
And hates Confinement, tho' in Paradise;
Doom'd, when enlarg'd, instead of Eden's Bow'rs,
To rove in Wilds, and gather Thorns for Flow'rs;
Between th'Extremes, direct he sees the Way,
Yet wilful swerves, perversely fond to stray!
Proud of his Reason, by his Will betray'd?
Blindly he wanders in pursuit of Vice,
And hates Confinement, tho' in Paradise;
Doom'd, when enlarg'd, instead of Eden's Bow'rs,
To rove in Wilds, and gather Thorns for Flow'rs;
Between th'Extremes, direct he sees the Way,
Yet wilful swerves, perversely fond to stray!
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Whilst niggard Souls indulge their craving Thirst,
Rich without Bounty, with Abundance curst;
The Prodigal pursues expensive Vice,
And buys Dishonour at a mighty Price;
On Beds of State the splendid Glutton sleeps,
While starving Merit unregarded weeps;
His ill-plac'd Bounty, while scorn'd Virtue grieves,
A Dog, or fawning Sycophant receives;
And cringing Knaves, or haughty Strumpets share
What would make Sorrow smile, and chear Despair.
Rich without Bounty, with Abundance curst;
The Prodigal pursues expensive Vice,
And buys Dishonour at a mighty Price;
On Beds of State the splendid Glutton sleeps,
While starving Merit unregarded weeps;
His ill-plac'd Bounty, while scorn'd Virtue grieves,
A Dog, or fawning Sycophant receives;
And cringing Knaves, or haughty Strumpets share
What would make Sorrow smile, and chear Despair.
Then would'st thou steer where Fortune spreads the Sails?
Go, flatter Vice! for seldom Flatt'ry fails:
Soft thro' the Ear the pleasing Bane distils:
Delicious Poison! in Perfumes it kills!
Be all, but virtuous: O! unwise to live
Unfashionably good, and hope to thrive!
Trees that aloft with proudest Honours rise,
Root hell-ward, and thence flourish to the Skies.
Go, flatter Vice! for seldom Flatt'ry fails:
Soft thro' the Ear the pleasing Bane distils:
Delicious Poison! in Perfumes it kills!
Be all, but virtuous: O! unwise to live
Unfashionably good, and hope to thrive!
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Root hell-ward, and thence flourish to the Skies.
O happier thou, my Friend, with Ease content,
Blest with the Conscience of a Life well spent!
Nor wou'dst be great; but guide thy gather'd Sails,
Safe by the Shore, nor tempt the rougher Gales;
For sure of all that feel the Wounds of Fate,
None are compleatly wretched but the Great;
Superiour Woes, superiour Stations bring,
A Peasant sleeps, while Cares awake a King:
Who reigns, must suffer! Crowns with Gems inlaid
At once adorn, and load the Royal Head:
Change but the Scene, and Kings in Dust decay,
Swept from the Earth, the Pageants of a Day;
There no Distinctions on the Dead await,
But pompous Graves, and Rottenness in State;
Such now are all that shone on Earth before,
Cæsar and mighty Marlbro' are no more!
Unhallow'd Feet o'er awful Tully tread,
And Hyde and Plato join the vulgar Dead;
And all the glorious Aims that can employ
The Soul of Mortals, must with Hanmer die:
O Compton, when this Breath we once resign,
My Dust shall be as Eloquent as Thine.
Blest with the Conscience of a Life well spent!
Nor wou'dst be great; but guide thy gather'd Sails,
Safe by the Shore, nor tempt the rougher Gales;
For sure of all that feel the Wounds of Fate,
None are compleatly wretched but the Great;
Superiour Woes, superiour Stations bring,
A Peasant sleeps, while Cares awake a King:
Who reigns, must suffer! Crowns with Gems inlaid
At once adorn, and load the Royal Head:
Change but the Scene, and Kings in Dust decay,
Swept from the Earth, the Pageants of a Day;
There no Distinctions on the Dead await,
But pompous Graves, and Rottenness in State;
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Cæsar and mighty Marlbro' are no more!
Unhallow'd Feet o'er awful Tully tread,
And Hyde and Plato join the vulgar Dead;
And all the glorious Aims that can employ
The Soul of Mortals, must with Hanmer die:
O Compton, when this Breath we once resign,
My Dust shall be as Eloquent as Thine.
Till that last Hour which calls me hence away
To pay that great Arrear which all must pay;
O! may I tread the Paths which Saints have trod,
Who knew they walk'd before th'all-seeing God!
Studious from Ways of wicked Men to keep,
Who mock at Vice, while grieving Angels weep.
Come, taste my Friend! the Joys Retirement brings,
Look down on Royal Slaves, and pity Kings.
More happy! laid where Trees with Trees entwin'd,
In bow'ry Arches tremble to the Wind,
With Innocence and Shade like Adam blest,
While a new Eden opens in the Breast!
Such were the Scenes descending Angels trod
In guiltless Days, when Man convers'd with God.
Then shall my Lyre to loftier Sounds be strung,
Inspir'd by Homer, or what thou hast sung:
My Muse from thine shall catch a warmer Ray;
As Clouds are brighten'd by the God of Day.
To pay that great Arrear which all must pay;
O! may I tread the Paths which Saints have trod,
Who knew they walk'd before th'all-seeing God!
Studious from Ways of wicked Men to keep,
Who mock at Vice, while grieving Angels weep.
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Look down on Royal Slaves, and pity Kings.
More happy! laid where Trees with Trees entwin'd,
In bow'ry Arches tremble to the Wind,
With Innocence and Shade like Adam blest,
While a new Eden opens in the Breast!
Such were the Scenes descending Angels trod
In guiltless Days, when Man convers'd with God.
Then shall my Lyre to loftier Sounds be strung,
Inspir'd by Homer, or what thou hast sung:
My Muse from thine shall catch a warmer Ray;
As Clouds are brighten'd by the God of Day.
So Trees unapt to bear, by Art refin'd,
With Shoots ennobled of a generous kind,
High o'er the Ground with Fruits adopted rise,
And lift their spreading Honours to the Skies.
With Shoots ennobled of a generous kind,
High o'er the Ground with Fruits adopted rise,
And lift their spreading Honours to the Skies.
------ bissenis una figuris
Monstra vehit. ------
Monstra vehit. ------
St. p. 429.
Mr. Addison speaking of the Signs of the Zodiac, calls them starry Monsters. Mr. Cowley, radiant Monsters, &c.
| Poems on several occasions | |