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SOLILOQUY V.
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SOLILOQUY V.

Can some fond lover, by the charming force
Of mortal beauty held, invoke the groves,
The fields, the floods, and all the sparkling stars
To witness his unshaken truth and love;

197

While the frail object of his boasted faith
Fades like a painted flow'r, and is no more:
And shall my heart, with heav'nly love inflam'd,
Grow doubtful, while I swear eternal truth
To the prime excellence, beauty divine?
Shall I protest with caution? shall my tongue
Speak with reserve, and yield but half assent?
No; let me find the most pathetic form;
Beyond the obligations men have known,
Beyond all human ties; solemn as when
Some mighty angel lifts his hand on high,
And by the living God attests his oath.
Thus let me bind my soul—and oh! be witness,
Ye shining ministers (for you surround,
And sanctify the place where holy vows
Ascend to heav'n) be witness when we meet
Upon th' immortal shores, as soon we must,
Be witness! for the solemn hour draws near;
That solemn hour, when with triumphant joy
Or exquisite confusion, I shall hear
Your approbation, or your just reproaches:
Your just reproaches if you find me false;
If this fond heart, ensnar'd by earthly charms,
Shall break its faith, and stain the sanctity
Of plighted vows and consecrated flames.
O thou! to whose all-seeing eye my soul
Lies all unveil'd, to thee I dare appeal:
If thou art not my chief, my only joy,

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Let sacred peace for ever fly my breast,
And rest become an endless stranger there.
Let no harmonious sound delight mine ears
If thy lov'd name is not the sweetest accent,
The most transporting music they convey.
Let beauty ne'er again attract my eyes,
Shut out the sun, and ev'ry pleasant thing
Its rays disclose, if e'er I find a charm
In nature's lovely face, abstract from thee.
Let all my hopes, my gayest expectations
Be blasted, when they are not plac'd on thee.
O! I might speak a bolder language still,
And bid thee cut off all my future hopes
Of heavenly bliss, if thy transporting smiles
Are not the emphasis of all that bliss.