A paraphrase upon the canticles and some select hymns of the New and Old Testament, with other occasional compositions in English verse. By Samuel Woodford |
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SOLITUDE. |
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 | A paraphrase upon the canticles |  |
SOLITUDE.
Rura laudamus merito, &c.
The Country, as 'tis fit, we Poets praise,
And there alone, like our gay Laurels thrive;
Laurels, which in the Dust great Cities raise,
And from their Sun conceal'd seem scarce to live.
And there alone, like our gay Laurels thrive;
Laurels, which in the Dust great Cities raise,
And from their Sun conceal'd seem scarce to live.
For Corn ith' Strand, or Cheap, will sooner grow,
And self-rais'd Flowers throng'd Market-places Crown;
Even Grass will sooner all its Lands forego,
To become Burger in some Flint-pav'd Town:
And self-rais'd Flowers throng'd Market-places Crown;
Even Grass will sooner all its Lands forego,
To become Burger in some Flint-pav'd Town:
Than in the City midst its confus'd cries,
A future Harvest of good Verse e're spring;
Verse, that did ever hate the Cities Noise,
And which few Soils to its just growth can bring.
A future Harvest of good Verse e're spring;
Verse, that did ever hate the Cities Noise,
And which few Soils to its just growth can bring.
Rather my Life ith' Country let me spend,
Thither withdrawn Dioclesian like in state;
To th' Town my Envoy'e an Ode I'll send,
And that's enough to' observe, and to relate.
Thither withdrawn Dioclesian like in state;
To th' Town my Envoy'e an Ode I'll send,
And that's enough to' observe, and to relate.
Hail! Beauteous City of the Winged Quire,
Fair Trees, sweet Bowers, inviolable Woods;
The Muses Kingdom, and where they retire,
The Hampton Court of th' happy Gods.
Fair Trees, sweet Bowers, inviolable Woods;
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The Hampton Court of th' happy Gods.
Let me repos'd within your hallow'd Shade,
The Dances of soft-footed Zephyrs hear;
And tir'd with the Disputes the Schools have made,
Hark how by Leaves and Winds they manag'd are.
The Dances of soft-footed Zephyrs hear;
And tir'd with the Disputes the Schools have made,
Hark how by Leaves and Winds they manag'd are.
View but the lusty Year, how 'it smiles and plays,
When vigorous heat, through the gross matter hurld,
Provokes to love, and the swell'd Womb does raise,
Of the Adult and Marriageable World.
When vigorous heat, through the gross matter hurld,
Provokes to love, and the swell'd Womb does raise,
Of the Adult and Marriageable World.
A Summer-House here let me ever find,
Where Nature the wise Architect may be;
And who 'would prefer, that is in his right Mind,
A smooth dead Beam to a rough living Tree?
Where Nature the wise Architect may be;
And who 'would prefer, that is in his right Mind,
A smooth dead Beam to a rough living Tree?
On an Hills flowry Bed, as there I lie,
I'd listen how some Floods new married Streams,
Laugh, and tell o're their Loves as they run by,
Glittering in Light, and flam'd with liquid Gems.
I'd listen how some Floods new married Streams,
Laugh, and tell o're their Loves as they run by,
Glittering in Light, and flam'd with liquid Gems.
He, tho alone, who wants Employment here,
With Life but labours, as an ill Disease;
Or Prodigal of what most buy too dear,
His Hours puts out to none, or the' worst increase.
With Life but labours, as an ill Disease;
Or Prodigal of what most buy too dear,
His Hours puts out to none, or the' worst increase.
Blest Solitude! sacred Companion,
Of God, and even Mankind, till Numbers tree,
Rank springing up, and thick from the' Trunk of One,
Still as in Arms, increast in Misery.
Of God, and even Mankind, till Numbers tree,
Rank springing up, and thick from the' Trunk of One,
Still as in Arms, increast in Misery.
'Tis Thou, who like a skilful Chariotteer,
The Minds wild Passions dextrously dost rein;
Make'st them the Curb receive, approach more near,
And in a straiter Tour their Course confine.
The Minds wild Passions dextrously dost rein;
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And in a straiter Tour their Course confine.
'Tis Thou its languid Heats, and fluid Rays,
When by expansion ready to exspire,
Collect'st again, as with a Burning-Glass,
And hatchest to a new and brisker Fire.
When by expansion ready to exspire,
Collect'st again, as with a Burning-Glass,
And hatchest to a new and brisker Fire.
In vain, fond London, thy Eternal Spring,
From whence a living Thames of People flows;
London, in vain Thou dost Thy Pageants bring,
And to my envy Thy rais'd Towers expose.
From whence a living Thames of People flows;
London, in vain Thou dost Thy Pageants bring,
And to my envy Thy rais'd Towers expose.
For take but all Thy Gaudy Fools away
And Vices large extended Family;
A Village scarce of those, who after stay,
Almost a Solitude Thou too wouldst be.
And Vices large extended Family;
A Village scarce of those, who after stay,
Almost a Solitude Thou too wouldst be.
1668.
| A paraphrase upon the canticles | |