The Works of the Late Aaron Hill ... In Four Volumes. Consisting of Letters on Various Subjects, And of Original Poems, Moral and Facetious. With An Essay on the Art of Acting |
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The Choice, to a Friend. |
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 | The Works of the Late Aaron Hill |  |
The Choice, to a Friend.
Oh, greatly bless'd! who can, as fate requires,
By ductile wisdom, temper your desires!
Balanc'd, within, you look abroad, serene,
And, marking both extremes, pass, clear, between.
Oh! could your lov'd example teach your skill!
And, as it moves my wonder, mend my will!
Calm would my passions grow: my lot might please;
And my sick soul should think itself, to ease,
But to the future, while I strain my eye,
Each present good slips, undistinguish'd by.
Still, what I would contends with what I can;
And my wild wishes leap the bounds of Man.
By ductile wisdom, temper your desires!
Balanc'd, within, you look abroad, serene,
And, marking both extremes, pass, clear, between.
Oh! could your lov'd example teach your skill!
And, as it moves my wonder, mend my will!
Calm would my passions grow: my lot might please;
And my sick soul should think itself, to ease,
But to the future, while I strain my eye,
Each present good slips, undistinguish'd by.
Still, what I would contends with what I can;
And my wild wishes leap the bounds of Man.
If in my power it lies, to limit hope,
And my unchain'd desires can fix a scope:
This were my choice—Oh, friend, pronounce me poor:
For I have wants, which wealth can never cure!
Mean is that soul, which its own good can fill;
A prosp'rous world, alone, could feast my will.
He's poor, at best, who others misery sees,
And wants the wish'd-for power, to give it ease.
He's rich, who sole-supreme, and unconfin'd,
Can, with unbounded influence, bless mankind.
A glory this! unreach'd—but on a throne!
All were enough—but less, than all, is none.
This my first wish—But, since 'twere wild and vain,
To grasp at glitt'ring clouds with fruitless pain;
More safely low, let my next prospect be:
And life's mild evening this fair sun-set see.
Far, from a Lord's loath'd neighbourhood—a state,
Whose little greatness is a pride, I hate!
On some lone wild, should my strong house be plac'd,
Surrounded, by a vast, and healthy, waste:
Sterile and coarse, the untry'd soil should be;
But forc'd to flourish, and subdued by me.
Seas, woods, meads, mountains, gardens, streams, and skies,
Shou'd, with a changeful grandeur, charm my eyes,
Still, where I mov'd, new marks of my past pains,
Shou'd plume the mountain tops, and paint the plains:
Greatly obscure, and shunning courts, or name,
Widely befriended, but escaping fame.
Peaceful, in studious quiet, would I live;
Lie hid, for leisure; and grow rich, to Give.
And my unchain'd desires can fix a scope:
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For I have wants, which wealth can never cure!
Mean is that soul, which its own good can fill;
A prosp'rous world, alone, could feast my will.
He's poor, at best, who others misery sees,
And wants the wish'd-for power, to give it ease.
He's rich, who sole-supreme, and unconfin'd,
Can, with unbounded influence, bless mankind.
A glory this! unreach'd—but on a throne!
All were enough—but less, than all, is none.
This my first wish—But, since 'twere wild and vain,
To grasp at glitt'ring clouds with fruitless pain;
More safely low, let my next prospect be:
And life's mild evening this fair sun-set see.
Far, from a Lord's loath'd neighbourhood—a state,
Whose little greatness is a pride, I hate!
On some lone wild, should my strong house be plac'd,
Surrounded, by a vast, and healthy, waste:
Sterile and coarse, the untry'd soil should be;
But forc'd to flourish, and subdued by me.
Seas, woods, meads, mountains, gardens, streams, and skies,
Shou'd, with a changeful grandeur, charm my eyes,
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Shou'd plume the mountain tops, and paint the plains:
Greatly obscure, and shunning courts, or name,
Widely befriended, but escaping fame.
Peaceful, in studious quiet, would I live;
Lie hid, for leisure; and grow rich, to Give.
| The Works of the Late Aaron Hill | |