Poems on Several Occasions By Thomas Gilbert |
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On the Death of the Reverend Mr. John Bingham, Student of Christ-Church in Oxford. |
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 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
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On the Death of the Reverend Mr. John Bingham, Student of Christ-Church in Oxford.
Erat homo ingeniosus, acutus, & acer, qui plurimum & salis haberet, & fellis, nec candoris minus.
Pliny's Epistles.
Tho' vain the tributary tears we shed
For friends in exile, or untimely dead;
When men distinguish'd for their merit die,
The muses love to sing their elegy;
In humble strains the mournful theme pursue,
And give to friendship rigid virtue's due.
For friends in exile, or untimely dead;
When men distinguish'd for their merit die,
The muses love to sing their elegy;
In humble strains the mournful theme pursue,
And give to friendship rigid virtue's due.
What honest nature dictates void of art,
With eyes o'erflowing and a bleeding heart,
Free from the labour'd ornament of verse,
Shall pay the tribute due to Bingham's hearse.
Oh could these lines (illustrious shade) restore
Life to those virtues, which are now no more!
E'en C--- would bless the sacred nine,
And own their inspiration was divine.
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Shall pay the tribute due to Bingham's hearse.
Oh could these lines (illustrious shade) restore
Life to those virtues, which are now no more!
E'en C--- would bless the sacred nine,
And own their inspiration was divine.
In dawn of life so strong thy merit shone,
Mankind could scarce expect a brighter noon:
Sure Oxford universal sorrow wears,
And Isis' stream increases with her tears;
Such was her grief, when Milton's son expir'd,
A rising genius by the world admir'd.
Mankind could scarce expect a brighter noon:
Sure Oxford universal sorrow wears,
And Isis' stream increases with her tears;
Such was her grief, when Milton's son expir'd,
A rising genius by the world admir'd.
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Too partial fate will let the fool and knave
Drag in contempt their beings to the grave;
But like a tyrant labours to destroy
All that excel in worth, or give us joy,
Who shine like meteors glorious in their birth,
But soon in blazing ruins sink to earth.
Drag in contempt their beings to the grave;
But like a tyrant labours to destroy
All that excel in worth, or give us joy,
Who shine like meteors glorious in their birth,
But soon in blazing ruins sink to earth.
So good Marcellus perish'd in his bloom,
The rising hope and ornament of Rome,
With every shining quality adorn'd,
Like thee, by men of worth and virtue mourn'd.
The rising hope and ornament of Rome,
With every shining quality adorn'd,
Like thee, by men of worth and virtue mourn'd.
What art can reach, or science can define,
Among philosophers, or wits, to shine,
Without the help of flattery, was thine.
Among philosophers, or wits, to shine,
Without the help of flattery, was thine.
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Youth's giddy sons, or age severely wise,
From thy sweet converse could instructed rise.
Bless'd with a genius for each science fit,
With strength of judgment and a ready wit:
Thy copious talents would our envy move,
Had not thy sweet behaviour won our love.
Firm to his principles, to honour just,
Faithful as guardian angels to their trust;
He gave his friends and enemies their due,
Above their praises and their censure too.
From thy sweet converse could instructed rise.
Bless'd with a genius for each science fit,
With strength of judgment and a ready wit:
Thy copious talents would our envy move,
Had not thy sweet behaviour won our love.
Firm to his principles, to honour just,
Faithful as guardian angels to their trust;
He gave his friends and enemies their due,
Above their praises and their censure too.
Severe in morals, honest without art,
An able head, and incorrupted heart;
Possess'd of little, with a chearful mind
He relish'd life, and was in death resign'd:
The gay tranquillity, the heart-felt joy,
Were his, which fortune never could destroy.
The best companion, the sincerest friend,
Rever'd in life, lamented in his end.
How few like him in early youth approv'd,
Admir'd by enemies, by friends belov'd!
Such is the merit of an honest fame,
And such the character his virtues claim.
An able head, and incorrupted heart;
Possess'd of little, with a chearful mind
He relish'd life, and was in death resign'd:
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Were his, which fortune never could destroy.
The best companion, the sincerest friend,
Rever'd in life, lamented in his end.
How few like him in early youth approv'd,
Admir'd by enemies, by friends belov'd!
Such is the merit of an honest fame,
And such the character his virtues claim.
Sometimes in converse o'er the midnight bowl,
When wine unfolds the secrets of the soul,
When absent friends our grateful thoughts engage,
Or beauties that adorn and charm this age,
His sacred image damps my rising mirth,
And gives to sad reflections hateful birth;
Imagination paints the pleasure past,
But so refin'd a bliss could never last;
On every word each guest enraptur'd hung,
And bless'd the genius that inspir'd his tongue.
When wine unfolds the secrets of the soul,
When absent friends our grateful thoughts engage,
Or beauties that adorn and charm this age,
His sacred image damps my rising mirth,
And gives to sad reflections hateful birth;
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But so refin'd a bliss could never last;
On every word each guest enraptur'd hung,
And bless'd the genius that inspir'd his tongue.
Now women, wine, nor mirth have pow'r to move,
The friend that shares my soul, or fair I love;
His dear remembrance strikes my troubled mind,
And casts all other pleasures far behind;
Then let the pensive muse resign her pen,
And weep no longer o'er the best of men.
The friend that shares my soul, or fair I love;
His dear remembrance strikes my troubled mind,
And casts all other pleasures far behind;
Then let the pensive muse resign her pen,
And weep no longer o'er the best of men.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |