 | The Harp of Erin |  |
The time is near, (by prophecy imprest,
The big idea bursts my lab'ring breast!)
When baffled factions shall, at length, subside,
And rigid virtue be our surer guide;
Rough industry, with honest hardship brown,
Shall, in domestic quiet, lay him down,
In simple charms, and decent plenty blest,
Light slumbers shall o'ershade his nightly rest,
Of spirit blithe, and vig'rous with repose,
Content attend him as to toil he goes,
And transport, fled from palace-down, adorn
The blushful beauties of each welcome morn.
Intent, from history's prolific page,
To cull the sweets of each immortal sage,
Far from presuming Folly's painful glare,
Shall Learning trim his lamp, with pensive care,
Concentrate ev'ry beam of thought refin'd,
And pour meridian lustre on the mind.
The reptile-race of dulness, that devour
The freshest blossoms of the muse's bow'r,
Whose venom'd rancour has so long defac'd
Th' untainted trophies of impartial taste,
As smote, Ithuriel! by thy lightning spear,
Shall shrink, and hide the guilty head in fear:
The muse herself, in such divine array,
As when she purg'd her Milton's visual ray,
Or, with the glorious visitation warm,
To Avon's bard reveal'd her awful form,
And, proud her utmost favors to impart,
Unlock'd the secret sluices of the heart,
A more exalted portance shall assume,
And in Britannia raise another Rome.
No dauntless chief shall then expire in vain,
Prescrved by the imperishable strain;
No statesman then, without a song sincere,
The cumb'rous burthen of a country bear;
The stately epic shall prolong his praise,
Borne on the tide of time to distant days,
And future states confess his wisdom, crown'd
With all the magic of melodious sound.
No more, to merit ignorantly blind,
Shall pomp, in solemn secrecy enshrin'd,
Bestow on flatt'ry the misjudging ear,
While unregarded worth stands shiv'ring near
Those, whose superior talents boldly claim
Respectful homage to a noble name;
Who look'd on fortune with unalter'd eye,
Prompt, or to greatly live, or bravely die;
Or, by some grand emprize, aspir'd above
All meaner toys to universal love;
Corruption chaining to its loathsome den,
Shall triumph in desert, and feel as men!
Approving Britain, steady to confide
In truth, so often by her fathers tried,
When shrinking the pale crest from circling foes,
Her languid lilly woo'd the hardier rose,
And, emulative touch'd with gen'rous shame,
Shall fan true Freedom's undiminish'd flame;
And weigh'd impartial in her golden scales,
O'er lordly pow'r the peasant's plea prevails;
All legal labyrinths of dull delay,
Develop'd to the candid eye of day;
Themis, from heav'n descending, shall behold
A George's virtues grace an age of gold.
The big idea bursts my lab'ring breast!)
When baffled factions shall, at length, subside,
And rigid virtue be our surer guide;
Rough industry, with honest hardship brown,
Shall, in domestic quiet, lay him down,
In simple charms, and decent plenty blest,
Light slumbers shall o'ershade his nightly rest,
211
Content attend him as to toil he goes,
And transport, fled from palace-down, adorn
The blushful beauties of each welcome morn.
Intent, from history's prolific page,
To cull the sweets of each immortal sage,
Far from presuming Folly's painful glare,
Shall Learning trim his lamp, with pensive care,
Concentrate ev'ry beam of thought refin'd,
And pour meridian lustre on the mind.
The reptile-race of dulness, that devour
The freshest blossoms of the muse's bow'r,
Whose venom'd rancour has so long defac'd
Th' untainted trophies of impartial taste,
As smote, Ithuriel! by thy lightning spear,
Shall shrink, and hide the guilty head in fear:
The muse herself, in such divine array,
As when she purg'd her Milton's visual ray,
Or, with the glorious visitation warm,
To Avon's bard reveal'd her awful form,
And, proud her utmost favors to impart,
Unlock'd the secret sluices of the heart,
A more exalted portance shall assume,
And in Britannia raise another Rome.
No dauntless chief shall then expire in vain,
Prescrved by the imperishable strain;
212
The cumb'rous burthen of a country bear;
The stately epic shall prolong his praise,
Borne on the tide of time to distant days,
And future states confess his wisdom, crown'd
With all the magic of melodious sound.
No more, to merit ignorantly blind,
Shall pomp, in solemn secrecy enshrin'd,
Bestow on flatt'ry the misjudging ear,
While unregarded worth stands shiv'ring near
Those, whose superior talents boldly claim
Respectful homage to a noble name;
Who look'd on fortune with unalter'd eye,
Prompt, or to greatly live, or bravely die;
Or, by some grand emprize, aspir'd above
All meaner toys to universal love;
Corruption chaining to its loathsome den,
Shall triumph in desert, and feel as men!
Approving Britain, steady to confide
In truth, so often by her fathers tried,
When shrinking the pale crest from circling foes,
Her languid lilly woo'd the hardier rose,
And, emulative touch'd with gen'rous shame,
Shall fan true Freedom's undiminish'd flame;
And weigh'd impartial in her golden scales,
O'er lordly pow'r the peasant's plea prevails;
213
Develop'd to the candid eye of day;
Themis, from heav'n descending, shall behold
A George's virtues grace an age of gold.
| The Harp of Erin | |