 | Miscellanies in Verse and Prose |  |
29
Upon Religious Solitude.
Occasion'd by Reading the Inscription on the Tomb of Casimir King of Poland, who Abdicated his Crown, and spent the Remainder of his Days in the Abbey of St. Germain's at Paris, where he is interr'd.
Man, foolish Man! made wretched by his Will,
Conscious of Good, yet still declines to Ill,
Reason in vain directs our wand'ring Choice:
Each Passion turns us with her Syren Voice.
Through Airy Visions (giddy with the Round)
Our Fancy leads us o'er inchanted Ground;
Till tir'd, at length, with Change, and out of Breath,
We close the Scene, and shut up all in Death.
Conscious of Good, yet still declines to Ill,
Reason in vain directs our wand'ring Choice:
Each Passion turns us with her Syren Voice.
Through Airy Visions (giddy with the Round)
Our Fancy leads us o'er inchanted Ground;
Till tir'd, at length, with Change, and out of Breath,
We close the Scene, and shut up all in Death.
But ah! how bless'd are they, and only they,
Who Nature's wise Instructions can obey:
Who within Bounds their Appetites confine;
Nor drink too deep of Pleasure's heady Wine:
Who free from Bus'ness too the Leisure find
To dress the little Garden of their Mind.
That Grateful Tillage best rewards our Pains:
Sweet is the Labour, certain are the Gains.
The rising Harvest never mocks our Toil;
Secure of Fruit, if we manure the Soil.
Who Nature's wise Instructions can obey:
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Nor drink too deep of Pleasure's heady Wine:
Who free from Bus'ness too the Leisure find
To dress the little Garden of their Mind.
That Grateful Tillage best rewards our Pains:
Sweet is the Labour, certain are the Gains.
The rising Harvest never mocks our Toil;
Secure of Fruit, if we manure the Soil.
Cities and Courts, with false Allurements bright,
Mislead the Judgment by their dazzling Light.
Our Envy sometimes we on those bestow,
Whom we our Pity rather should allow.
Gay Looks too oft the sadned Heart belye;
And the loud Laugh is follow'd by a Sigh.
Not all the Charms of the luxurious East,
Can quell the Tumults of a troubled Breast.
Musick and Wine in vain exert their Pow'r:
The Musick grates our Ears, the Wine turns sow'r.
Nor Beauty Love, nor Wit can Mirth excite:
Dull lags the Day, and joyless is the Night.
Mislead the Judgment by their dazzling Light.
Our Envy sometimes we on those bestow,
Whom we our Pity rather should allow.
Gay Looks too oft the sadned Heart belye;
And the loud Laugh is follow'd by a Sigh.
Not all the Charms of the luxurious East,
Can quell the Tumults of a troubled Breast.
Musick and Wine in vain exert their Pow'r:
The Musick grates our Ears, the Wine turns sow'r.
Nor Beauty Love, nor Wit can Mirth excite:
Dull lags the Day, and joyless is the Night.
31
Ye bold Disturbers of Mankind be warn'd,
Dear costs the Glory, which your Guilt has earn'd.
Fortune, awhile, deceitfully may smile,
And with smooth Hopes your secret Fears beguile;
But Horrour will succeed, and dire Remorse
Nor Strength can check, nor Skill elude their Force,
They board the Three-deck'd Ship, and bade the Warrior-Horse.
Dear costs the Glory, which your Guilt has earn'd.
Fortune, awhile, deceitfully may smile,
And with smooth Hopes your secret Fears beguile;
But Horrour will succeed, and dire Remorse
Nor Strength can check, nor Skill elude their Force,
They board the Three-deck'd Ship, and bade the Warrior-Horse.
Greatness, at best, when by just Arts persu'd,
Is but a partial and unequal Good.
Those needful Cares that do the Throne secure,
Give Princes Pains, which Peasants ne'er endure.
Sick of this Evil, Casimir retir'd,
And gave the Kingdom back his Arms acquir'd.
He saw the tempting Lustre of a Crown;
But felt its Weight, and laid the Burthen down.
Pride, Cruelty, Contempt of Sacred Things,
(The usual Ministers of Conqu'ring Kings)
Banish'd by him, to grace his future Reign,
Faith, Hope, and Charity were all his Train.
Is but a partial and unequal Good.
Those needful Cares that do the Throne secure,
Give Princes Pains, which Peasants ne'er endure.
Sick of this Evil, Casimir retir'd,
And gave the Kingdom back his Arms acquir'd.
He saw the tempting Lustre of a Crown;
But felt its Weight, and laid the Burthen down.
Pride, Cruelty, Contempt of Sacred Things,
(The usual Ministers of Conqu'ring Kings)
Banish'd by him, to grace his future Reign,
Faith, Hope, and Charity were all his Train.
32
Hail, gentle Piety! (unmingled Joy!)
Whose Fullness satisfies, but ne'er can cloy:
Spread thy soft Wings o'er my devoted Breast,
And settle There, an everlasting Guest.
Not cooling Breezes to the languid Swain,
To Winter Sun-shine, or to Summer Rain;
To sinking Mariners the friendly Hand,
That bears 'em up, and guides 'em safe to Land;
Bring half the Comfort, or the Welcome find,
As thy Accesses to a Shipwreck'd Mind.
Whose Fullness satisfies, but ne'er can cloy:
Spread thy soft Wings o'er my devoted Breast,
And settle There, an everlasting Guest.
Not cooling Breezes to the languid Swain,
To Winter Sun-shine, or to Summer Rain;
To sinking Mariners the friendly Hand,
That bears 'em up, and guides 'em safe to Land;
Bring half the Comfort, or the Welcome find,
As thy Accesses to a Shipwreck'd Mind.
| Miscellanies in Verse and Prose | |